Qiqi took the elevator down to the third basement level. Exiting the elevator, she spotted a floor plan of the basement on the wall and noticed it was roughly divided into two areas—a public parking zone and a reserved parking zone. The public parking lot was on the right, vast and fully connected; the reserved lot was on the left, also sizable, but with small partitions every few parking spaces.
Qiqi stood right at the boundary between these two zones. Behind her was the elevator lobby, beside which were a few small doors; based on the signs, they likely led to utility rooms like electrical shafts within the building.
She pulled the Moon's Guidance from her bag and saw the jade pendant's silver thread pointing toward the reserved parking area.
Following the pendant's lead, she moved forward. The Moon's Guidance trembled more intensely, its glow growing brighter—it seemed the target was drawing closer!
A surge of excitement welled up inside Qiqi. She crouched low, carefully sneaking between the cars.
Since the lighting in the reserved parking lot was softer and dimmer than in the public area, Qiqi had to stow the pendant in her bag, worried its overly bright, glaring light might attract attention.
After crawling a short distance, Qiqi paused to assess what lay ahead. She noticed a small, dark red dot flickering not far in front of her. Near that red dot was a black car, and it seemed someone was inside!
She immediately thought of Zhuang Ruotong's miniature camera—it emitted a red light like that when recording. Could it be Zhuang Ruotong over there?
She crept closer quietly and confirmed it was indeed Zhuang Ruotong!
That woman was crouched low, in a pose similar to Qiqi's own, lurking beside the black car. She held the camera up with one hand, stealthily filming the scene inside the vehicle...
Qiqi instinctively checked the Moon's Guidance in her bag—thankfully, the jade pendant's silver thread maintained its original brightness, unchanged by her proximity to Zhuang Ruotong.
So the Moon Gem had nothing to do with Zhuang Ruotong.
For some reason, Qiqi let out a huge sigh of relief.
Just then, Zhuang Ruotong noticed her too. She immediately pressed a finger to her lips, signaling Qiqi to be quiet: "Shh—"
Qiqi nodded and, like a thief, quickly crawled over to her side.
They put a bit of distance between themselves and the car. Qiqi pointed at the vehicle, silently asking—Is that your target?
Zhuang Ruotong nodded excitedly, a smug look in her eyes, clearly having captured something good.
Unable to contain her thrill, she slipped one earbud from a pair into Qiqi's ear and whispered, "Listen! They're talking about today's auction!"
Sure enough, the earbud relayed the synchronized audio from the camera—a covert conversation from inside the car—
"Director Qian, we really have you to thank for this. The auction wouldn't have gone so smoothly without your help!"
It was a middle-aged man's voice, dripping with flattery and sycophancy, the unmistakable tone of a slick businessman.
"Haha, no need to be so polite, President Xia. This is a win-win for both of us—a pleasure to cooperate..."
An older man's voice, thick with bureaucratic airs, conjuring images of a bloated, corrupt official.
Slick Xia: "You're too modest, Director Qian. The Meilin Garden development project last time also owed a lot to your help... Our Xia Group will still rely on your guidance and support in the future..."