I fell silent. After a while, I said, "Ling Xuan, there are some things I haven't told you, but you'll find out eventually. How about this: once I'm done with everything, I'll take you there myself. How does that sound?" It had been exhausting trying to keep this secret, and it went against my original intentions. This time, I had made up my mind.
"Okay!" Ling Xuan sounded really happy, her voice full of anticipation. "But you better not back out. I'll be waiting."
"I know, I know..." I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only a little past ten, still more than an hour before the meeting at noon. There was plenty of time, but given what Zhong Guan had said last night, I couldn't be sure something unexpected wouldn't happen. This was no ordinary gathering.
After quickly wrapping up my conversation with Ling Xuan, I made a call to Xiao Rui, asking him to meet me at the school. Half an hour later, when I stepped out of my dorm, Xiao Rui was already waiting quietly.
Clad in his usual black attire, he merely nodded when he saw me. I couldn't resist commenting, "Can't you wear something other than black? Doesn't it tire your eyes to look at all the time?"
Xiao Rui said nothing. As we headed out of the school, he suddenly spoke, "Zhong Guan seemed really angry yesterday..."
The image of Zhong Guan flashed through my mind. I pretended not to care, "So what if she's angry? What's that got to do with me?"
Xiao Rui glanced at me, then said, "She called everyone back. Something's bound to happen today. You should be careful."
I looked at Xiao Rui, feeling a surge of gratitude. Ever since we had met, he had helped me without hesitation. After all, we were the only two from the same place among that group of people. And back then, I had saved his life.
I nodded and said, "I know, she came looking for me in person last night. She even beat me up a bit..."
Xiao Rui looked at me in surprise, but I avoided his gaze. In truth, I didn't want to bring up the past, especially the embarrassing parts. My usual approach is to quietly bury those things deep in my heart, and then, when the time is right, take my revenge in full.
After leaving the school, Xiao Rui and I transitioned from ground travel to air travel. I was flying on my sword, while he had nothing under his feet, just his black clothes billowing in the wind, flapping loudly in my ears. I watched him with envy, thinking I should get something like that for myself one of these days.
Flying on the sword was fast, and in about half an hour, we arrived at our destination—Qingcheng.
The organization we belonged to was codenamed Qingcheng. It was both the name of a building and the term we used to represent our fight against the Maya, a name well-known among the Maya people. The building itself was what stood before us—a forty-something-story skyscraper. It served as our headquarters and primary base of operations. I could proudly say, this building was ours.
Though we claimed Qingcheng Tower as our own, in reality, the first eight floors were a large shopping mall open to the public, and the ninth to twelfth floors were a sort of buffer zone. Only from the thirteenth to fortieth floors were they exclusively ours. To prevent Maya intrusions, the area was surrounded by various restrictions and defensive formations. The core strength of Qingcheng was based here, and there were also rumors of an underground world beneath the building that held even more secrets, known only to a select few. All these defenses had turned Qingcheng into a fortress, strong enough to withstand even cannon fire. As a result, the Maya hadn't dared to openly invade for many years.
I felt a bit uneasy as I checked the time—it was already past eleven. I wasn't keen on heading up to the conference room on the twenty-fourth floor so early, so Xiao Rui and I loitered around the mall downstairs. It wasn't until after eleven forty that we decided to head up.
Just as we stepped into the elevator and I was about to close the door, a hurried voice called out from outside, "Wait, don't close it! Hold the door for me!"
The voice sounded familiar. I was just trying to recall who it was when the person exclaimed in surprise, "Hongkeng... Is that you? Long time no see. I didn't mistake you for someone else, did I?"
I stared at the man's face, quickly searching my mind for who he was, and then it hit me. "Lao Ba!"
Lao Ba grinned and threw his arm around my shoulder, saying, "You rascal, how long has it been since we last met?"
My mood lifted. Lao Ba used to be one of the few people I was close to—tall, from a wealthy family, and I used to benefit quite a bit from him. Six months ago, Zhong Guan had sent him off on a so-called "official mission" to some unknown place, and I hadn't seen him since. I hadn't expected him to return now, which made me think that those old, long-absent figures might be coming back too.
Lao Ba and I chatted away in the elevator, gossiping like old friends, even though Xiao Rui, usually stoic and quiet, occasionally chimed in with a comment or two, since he knew Lao Ba as well.
The elevator soon arrived at the twenty-fourth floor. As we stepped out, the environment was no less sophisticated than that of the research labs. The conference room we were heading to was at the far end, but getting in wasn't easy. As per protocol, we had to go through the tedious process of corneal scans, fingerprints, and full-body security checks, and then leave our phones outside. Lao Ba keyed in the password and led the way through the door.
Inside was a semi-circular hall, empty save for a few fully armed guards patrolling the area. Compared to the secure conference room further inside, this hall was considered the second layer of defense, with the security checks outside being the first.
In the center of the hall was a tightly closed door with no handle on the outside. Next to it was a card slot-like device. Xiao Rui, Lao Ba, and I each pulled out a card from our pockets. This card, which everyone received when joining Qingcheng, contained personal information and palm prints. It not only served as our identification within Qingcheng but was also the key to accessing the secure areas, including the door in front of us.
We each swiped our cards, and soon we heard a faint click from within the door, which then slowly opened to reveal a staircase leading downward.
We made our way down, winding through several twists and turns. Thankfully, I knew the route well, though Lao Ba had been away for so long that he'd forgotten some of it, so I guided him. After what seemed like an eternity, we reached another large door. After more checks and navigating the maze, we finally arrived at one of Qingcheng's main council chambers, hidden behind this door.