Miss Beautiful C.E.O and her system

Tang Ziyi stared at the corpse for several seconds after issuing the extraction order timeframe.

The second floor had finally fallen silent. The third floor that rooftop team's was responsible also announced secure.

The entire compound extinguished its fire outright. The kind born only after overwhelming violence exhausted itself. Other than collecting important intelligence, many assumed security roles in case the containment team missed them.

Dust floated through flashlight beams. The thick smell of explosives, blood, hot metal, and pulverized concrete lingered heavily in the air. The hallway looked as though artillery had detonated indoors. Entire sections of plaster had collapsed inward. Furniture remained overturned and shredded beyond recognition. Bullet holes layered across the walls so densely they resembled disease-ridden scars.

Nearby, Spirit Fox operators continued SSE with cold efficiency.

Hard drives. Phones. Documents. Maps. Electronic devices. Weapon samples particularly the juggernaut armor.

Everything valuable disappeared into evidence bags. Militias commadoes were extremely keen on such improvised materials while Spirit Fox looked down on them.

The militia commandos moved slower, still shaken from the earlier battle. Several women glanced nervously toward the enormous corpse sprawled in the middle of the ruined corridor.

Even dead, the juggernaut still radiated pressure.

His absurd armor alone resembled something dragged straight out of a science-fiction battlefield.

Tang Ziyi exhaled slowly and leaned briefly against the cracked wall beside Ahmin.

"You girls performed well," Tang Ziyi said casually. "In terms of intelligence collections, I assume you might be better than us."

Ahmin laughed weakly.

"That's only because your people dragged us forward. Besides, we work alongside with Country A special forces in the past."

Tang Ziyi shrugged.

"Momentum matters in CQB. Once hesitation appears, casualties are bound to follow."

Ahmin rubbed her ringing ears. Even with the active protection headset, the enclosed grenade detonations had rattled her badly.

Several of her commandos looked equally miserable.

One sat against the wall drinking water with trembling hands.

Another kept checking her rifle repeatedly as though reassuring herself the nightmare had truly ended.

Ahmin followed Tang Ziyi's gaze and sighed.

"They'll recover," she said quietly. "Tonight was simply…"

"Too much?" Tang Ziyi finished.

Ahmin nodded honestly.

"That thing…" she glanced toward the corpse. "I thought I was fighting some monster from a video game. The final boss in the dungeon requiring a big party to complete the mission."

Tang Ziyi smirked faintly.

"You're not wrong though." If Spirit Fox and she herself weren't here, the fate of Ahmin and her subordinates was dire.

Just then, something caught her eye. Tang Ziyi's pupils contracted slightly.

A strange orb floated faintly above the juggernaut's corpse.

Soft. Bright. Almost translucent.

It hovered like simmering moonlight, flickering gently in the dusty darkness.

Tang Ziyi rubbed her eyes, flipped the NVGs up and down, then straightened immediately. Regardless, the vision never dissipated. The orb pulsed once. Then again.

Her heartbeat slowed.

The surrounding sounds seemed to fade momentarily.

"…Commander Ahmin," Tang Ziyi said slowly. "Do you see that?"

"See what?"

"That light."

Ahmin blinked.

"What light?"

Tang Ziyi frowned and pointed directly toward the corpse.

"There. Above him."

Ahmin narrowed her eyes and stared hard toward the indicated direction.

"I don't see anything," Ahmin admitted.

"You sure?" Tang Ziyi wondered if she hallucinated from the aftermath of the recent battle.

Several nearby militia commandos, who heard the conversation, followed her gaze in confusion, checking around.

Tang Ziyi's expression became serious. She immediately turned toward the nearest Spirit Fox operator.

"You?"

The operator looked puzzled.

"See what, Instructor?"

"That glowing orb."

"…No?"

Tang Ziyi asked two more nearby operators.

Same answer.

Negative.

Ahmin's expression gradually turned worried. She suspected Tang Ziyi receiving interal injury to the head from shockwaves. Multiple times at that.

"Are you alright?"

Tang Ziyi remained silent briefly. The orb continued floating calmly above the corpse.

Impossible to ignore.

Yet apparently invisible to everyone except her.

Ahmin stepped closer, pressed on.

"You've been fighting at the forefront, nonstop," she said carefully. "Concussion maybe? Perhaps exhaustion? Remember, you were closest to the blasts."

Tang Ziyi forced herself to relax slightly. "…Perhaps."

Ahmin nodded immediately, clearly accepting the explanation.

Honestly, from her perspective, Tang Ziyi collapsing from exhaustion would make far more sense than mysterious glowing objects suddenly appearing in hallways.

After all, Ahmin herself had nearly blacked out completely earlier.

Tang Ziyi had remained at the forefront the entire battle with the juggernaut. Nobody would question fatigue-induced hallucinations.

"Get checked once we return," Ahmin warned.

Tang Ziyi waved dismissively.

"I'm not that fragile."

Ahmin snorted.

"That's exactly what dangerous people always say."

Tang Ziyi chuckled lightly. She knew it was definitely not injury with the monstrous stats she didn't even know how far she had reached. Not to mention, the protection talisman hadn't reacted at all.

But internally, she was far from calm. Her breathing deepened subtly. The orb still floated there. Unmoved. Just a slight simmer like waving at her.

Real. Undeniably real.

Tang Ziyi slowly approached the corpse.

Step by step. Careful. Vigilant. Extreme caution. This was the first time she had directly faced a supernatural element with her eyes.

Even dead enemies could leave surprises behind. Worse for something unknown.

She stopped several meters away and kicked the corpse hard first, tested her conjecture.

No reaction.

The massive armored body shifted slightly.

Still dead.

Tang Ziyi narrowed her eyes and crouched slowly beside the corpse. The orb floated just above the chest.

Close now.

Very close.

Her instincts screamed that the object was important. Extremely important. Maybe even the answer to her question regarding Juggernaut's oddness.

After everything tonight—

The endless ammunition. The impossible grenade spam. The storage phenomenon like Ling Qingyu.

The abnormal resilience. This thing was likely the source.

Tang Ziyi grit her teeth slightly and reached forward.

Her fingers passed through empty air—

Then suddenly touched something.

Warm. Weightless.

Almost intangible.

Like touching flowing water mixed with smoke.

Tang Ziyi's eyes widened slightly. She carefully closed her hand. The orb settled into her palm obediently.

Very light.

So light she would almost believe nothing existed there at all if not for her sharpened senses. Her martial instincts could barely perceive its presence.

Tang Ziyi inhaled deeply.

Good thing.

Very good stuff.

Thankfully, Ling Qingyu had insisted on crushing ISIS early. Otherwise…

Tang Ziyi didn't dare imagine what kind of monster this organization might eventually become if allowed to grow freely with such a cheat.

Out of nowhere, a voice echoed calmly inside her mind.

Serene.

Ancient.

Beyond human.

'You finally noticed.'

Tang Ziyi froze.

Her eyes sharpened instantly. The voice carried no soundwave. It simply appeared directly inside her consciousness.

Tang Ziyi remained silent several seconds before finally asking inwardly:

'…Are you that existence protecting Sister Ling?'

'It is I.'

Tang Ziyi's heartbeat settled slightly and felt relieved yet also stressed facing an existence beyond understanding.

Even though both Tang Ziyi and Xiao Yue were aware of Ling Qingyu's golden fingers and understood their entry to this world was because of the entity, directly encountering it herself produced a completely different pressure.

It felt vast. Boundless. Gentle and warm.

Not oppressive—

But incomprehensibly distant. Like staring upward at an endless sky, and realizing how small in front of the colossal void.

Tang Ziyi asked cautiously: 'May I know what this is about? Or do I have the qualification to know?'