As for West, despite being unaware of Renzhi thoughts, he wasn’t done either.
He still wanted to punish Renzhi properly, because as he walked beside Zu Li, a faint smirk crossed his face.
’Let’s see how you react... When everything you cherish... becos mine.’
—
Zu Li and West arrived at one of the private training centers within the Dragon Fang base.
Unlike the usual training grounds, this was more advanced and refined, built for the higher ups.
The doors slid open with a soft hiss and inside was a vast, high-ceilinged chamber and smooth tallic walls lined with embedded energy panels.
Floating holographic interfaces hovered in the air and at the center was a massive open space designed for combat.
Surrounding it were multiple specialized zones:
— Gravity chambers, where pressure could be increased several tis over to enhance physical training.
— Simulation pods, capable of recreating ruin environnts and enemy behaviors in real-ti combat scenarios.
— Energy resistance zones, where raw elental attacks could be generated and endured.
— Weapon synchronization stations, designed to help awakeners better attune to their weapons and abilities.
Everything here was designed for growth.
Zu Li stepped forward.
"I heard about what happened at the ruins."
She voiced with her usual calm tone but her gaze was piercing.
"That you barely made it out."
She turned slightly toward him.
"Are you okay?"
West shrugged lightly.
"Yeah. I’m good."
"I had everyone retreat while I held it back."
Zu Li didn’t look completely convinced about the part where West said he was good.
"I know."
"I read the report."
West paused before chuckling slightly.
"Of course you did."
~Sigh~
"I don’t even know what that thing was..."
His expression darkened slightly.
"But I made sure it never saw the light of day."
West wasn’t glad that under his leadership, there was a casualty but nothing could be done about the situation... It was utterly unexpected and Zu Li understood this so she never blad him.
"Its not your fault..." she placed a hand on his shoulder, eting his gaze.
She held eye contact with him for a bit before adding. "You’ll be a great gang leader regardless... always rember, you can’t always save everyone under you. Lapses in judgent can occur, as well as inescapable situations... loss is sothing you will have to accept as you grow. As a leader, you’ll learn to adapt to unexpected situations better but even at that, so things can’t be salvaged. Just don’t beat yourself up about it."
"Yeah. Thanks..." West felt the weight he didn’t know was on his shoulders, ease up a bit.
He wasn’t too sentintal about the loss but it had created a bit of doubt in his heart as to whether or not he was fit to lead. Fortunately, Zu Li words had erased those little doubts that crept in.
She smiled at him and West returned the smile before they delved back into the matter.
"My people are already looking into it."
Zu Li’s tone suddenly turned colder.
"Especially since it claid one of ours."
A brief silence followed before she continued.
"So far... we’ve uncovered sothing."
West glanced at her.
"The research facility...is tied to an organization."
She paused before revealing it.
"Frankincense."
West’s eyes narrowed slightly in recognition.
"...Frankincense..."
The na wasn’t unfamiliar to him at all.
"...That’s the sa organization that runs energy plants across Misty High City, right?" He questioned.
Zu Li nodded.
"Yes."
"But it seems..."
Her eyes sharpened.
"They’ve been trying very hard to keep this facility hidden."
"To make sure it was never traced back to them."
West crossed his arms.
"What were they researching?"
His voice carried a faint suspicion.
"That creature...they made it, didn’t they?"
Zu Li exhaled lightly.
"We’re still gathering information... but from what we’ve seen so far..."
"Evolution."
"And replication."
The words lingered in the air with an unsettling feeling.
"But like I said," she continued, "we don’t have the full picture yet."
"But we will."
Her gaze hardened.
"I’ll make sure of it."
West nodded slowly but his mind traveled elsewhere because a mory resurfaced due to the na of the organisation ntioned.
’That’s where she worked...’
The woman who had disappeared from his life years ago...
The woman he hadn’t seen or heard from in ages... his mother.
His expression didn’t change but inside his thoughts swirled.
—
"Focus."
Zu Li’s voice snapped him back.
She had already stepped into the center of the training arena and energy began to gather around her.
"Let’s train."
West exhaled softly before stepping forward.
"Yeah."
But even as they began, his mind kept drifting back...
Back to a question that now refused to leave him.
’What exactly have you been involved in...? And why does it feel like I’m about to find out?’
...
...
~ Thirty Minutes Later ~
West moved with incredible speed, pivoting sharply and following it with a low sweep.
Swwhiiiii~
However, before his strike could connect, Zu Li vanished from sight.
"Too slow," her voice resounded from behind.
West turned but wasn’t fast enough.
THUD!
A clean strike landed across his side, sending him sliding across the reinforced floor.
He caught himself with one hand, flipping back to his feet.
"...Again," he muttered.
They clashed, trading blow after blow while moving across the surroundings swiftly.
However, Zu Li noticed sothing was off with West’s timing. It always seed slightly delayed like his focus was split.
She slipped past his guard again and landed a sharp elbow to his ribs.
She twisted and swept her leg across the floor.
SLAM!
West hit the ground flat on his back as she swept him off his feet.
Before he could react, she was already on top of him, pinning him down.
Her legs straddled his waist as she sat firmly, completely immobilizing him.
She folded her arms while staring down at him with cold eyes.
"You’re distracted."
West blinked.
"...What?"
She leaned forward slightly.
"You’ve been off since we started."
She shifted her body, pressing down harder and causing West to stiffen as he felt her soft curvy buttocks on his crotch.
Despite the fabric in between them... it felt incredibly stimulating...
"...I don’t think this is a good idea," West stated while trying to fight the thoughts creeping into his mind.
Zu Li raised a brow.
"Oh?"
She pressed down even more deliberately.
"Watch ."
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