The second room opened with a shriek of metal.
Tang Li Yue nearly smiled.
It's not because the sound was pleasant. It absolutely was not.
But because the lock had finally surrendered after several deeply insulting minutes of refusing to cooperate.
The door swung inward.
The man inside was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.
He was older than the others, perhaps in his late forties. His hair had gone gray at the temples, and his clothes were rumpled beneath a thin hospital blanket. A plastic restraint cuff was attached to one wrist, but the other had been left free.
His face was calm. Too calm.
The sort of calm that made Tang Li Yue wary. She's seen a lot of those on experts in the Central Plains. It was distinctive. It doesn't always mean the person is powerful, it often means they have enough brains to survive for millennia.
He looked up when the door opened.
