The guard scowled, but left.
Huiya stood still as Yunhai subtly adjusted the fall of her sleeve. His hand lingered a second longer than necessary, but she didn't comment.
Moments later, the guard returned. He was paler now, eyes a touch too wide.
"Boss says to let her in. Alone."
Yunhai's expression sharpened. [You sure about that?]
"I'll be fine." Huiya stepped forward smoothly. "Wait here."
The guard led her through a twisting corridor lit with golden panels that shimmered faintly with encrypted sigils.
At the end was a door of black stone and brass filigree, which slid open silently at her approach.
Inside, the chamber was dimly lit, designed to unsettle. Cushions and opulence crowded the corners, but the center was dominated by a sleek obsidian table set with a chessboard. Behind it sat Guang'li.
He hadn't changed.
Sharp-cheeked and beautiful in a venomous way. A draped coat slid from his shoulders like the skin of something dangerous. He looked at her with unveiled surprise, one brow arching.
"Well well.." he purred. "A ghost walks into my den."
"Surprised?"
"More than I care to admit. I had a very convincing body count to mourn you with."
She stepped closer, settling into the chair across from him. Her fingers moved automatically, resetting the chessboard.
He watched her hands. "Rebuilding from the ashes?"
"Playing a new game."
He smiled, but it didn't touch his eyes. "You always were better at knives than words."
"Try me."
He moved a pawn. She mirrored him.
Silence fell after a few turns.
"You didn't come here just to rattle my nostalgia..." Guang'li said lightly, eyes on the board. "What do you want?"
"Information. And a favor."
"Dangerous things to ask for in my line of work."
"You're not loyal to any line. Just to yourself."
He chuckled. "Still sharp, Huiya. You haven't changed a bit after 6 years.."
Her gaze flickered.
He met it evenly. "Though. I keep ears in strange places. Some of them whispered a name change. A rebirth, even."
"I don't indulge in myths. Once you die, you're gone.."
-_-
"You wear the skin of a myth, darling."
She leaned in. "Tell me about the Daybreak intel leaks."
He studied her a beat. Then moved his bishop. "What makes you think I know anything?"
"Because you sell information like it's oxygen, and Daybreak pays well."
"So does Zhao'kyr."
The name hit like a thrown blade, casual and deliberate.
She kept her face blank.
"He's been a surprisingly lucrative partner lately..." Guang'li mused, examining a knight. "Strategic. Quiet. Dangerous. Much like you."
"Your point?"
"Only that alliances can shift. And loyalties are fluid."
She moved her rook. "If you're trying to make me jealous, it's a poor effort."
Guang'li grinned. "Hardly. I simply like watching you calculate."
She let the silence stretch. Then, flatly: "How much did he pay you?"
"Enough to keep certain doors open. But not enough to close others." He leaned back. "Your move, Huiya."
She stared at the board. Then looked up. "You owe me a debt."
"I owe many. Be more specific."
"Katalon.." she said softly.
His smile faltered.
She didn't blink. "I pulled you out of that hellhole with half a squad and a broken wrist. If I hadn't, you would've bled out under a collapsing reactor."
Guang'li sighed. "You bring up ancient history like it matters."
"It does. And this is where you repay me."
He studied her again, the way a beast measures another predator. Then he reached under the table, pulled out a thin data wafer, and slid it across.
"Temporary access codes to Xeron. Valid for 2 days. After that, the system burns them. Find Cuttlefish, she'll tell you about some of the recent happens in Ambrosia."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me."
She stood. He added, lazily..."Zhao'kyr may not be what he seems."
She paused. "And you are?"
"I'm always exactly what I seem."
-_-
She gave him one last look before turning to leave.
As the door shut behind her, Guang'li leaned back in his chair and moved one final piece.
"Checkmate."
He stared at the final piece, she had come back again and was planning on clearing her name.
"She's different than usual.." a voice spoke from behind Guang'li.
"Indeed. 6 years is a long time to change a person. Most of us thought she was dead, I guess she was strong enough to turn herself off for 6 years."
-_-
"Well, nothing quite shapes a person like time."
A slender arm wrapped around Guang'li, now the voice was closer than before.
"Don't you know the people you betrayed will come back to haunt you? You're quite the wicked man."
"I wasn't on any side, only the side that benefits me. Han Guang'li is loyal to only himself."
The hand pinched him a little "Karma is a bitch they say. Just hope it doesn't come back all at once, and FYI, if you dare to betray her again, she will kill you."
Guang'li chuckled low in his throat, fingers drumming idly against the obsidian table. "She'll try."
"You say that like you want her to." The voice now brushed against his ear, equal parts amused and sinister.
"Perhaps I do." His smile was slight, dangerous. "There's something exhilarating about watching someone claw their way back from the grave."
The voice hummed. "You're playing a dangerous game, darling."
"I always am.."
Meanwhile—
Outside the chamber, Huiya stepped out with her expression perfectly neutral, though Yunhai caught the flicker in her eyes.
[You're done?]
She handed him the wafer. "We're heading to Xeron. We have less than two days."
[Got it. Too bad we couldn't spend anymore time here. There's a lot of rewards to win here.]
-_-
"We can always come back.."
Turning to face Yunhai, she smiled darkly "Can you run a background check on someone called Cuttlefish? That's who were going to be in Xenon. And Zhao'kyr's recent dealings, Guang'li's dealings wouldn't be bad as well."
[You know, getting Intel on all these people isn't free.]
Closing the gasp between them, Yunhai leaned closer, so much that their nose could touch.
[How do you plan on paying?]