The night was as still as water!

After finishing their barbecue, the group found a nearby inn to rest for the night.

Baili Qing went out to comfort the girls suffering in the cold of the dark, while Chen Yu lay in his room enjoying a massage from Sophie.

Deep in the night, most of the lights in the Jiang City Safety Zone had been extinguished, and the entire city seemed to have fallen into a deathly silence.

Outside the city, in the wilderness.

Deep within an unnamed hill, several figures gathered inside a hidden air-raid shelter.

Light illuminated the air-raid shelter, where several masked men sat around a long table, deep in discussion.

"Boss, are we really going to do this job?"

Just then, a man in a cat-face mask looked to the man in the ghost-face mask at the head of the table and asked.

Before the man in the ghost-face mask could reply, another man wearing a pig-face mask cut in.

"I’m telling you, Seventh, when did you get so timid? We’re the kind of men who lick blood off a blade. What’s there to be afraid of?"

"If we pull this off, we’ll be set for a good long while."

The man in the cat-face mask looked at the man in the pig-face mask, hesitating. "Second Brother, that’s easy to say, but we’re going up against the Superpower Academy. If they find the slightest trace of us, we’ll be in grave danger."

"Hmph, the Superpower Academy? So what? You think they’re omniscient and omnipotent?"

The man in the pig-face mask scoffed.

The man in the cat-face mask lowered his head.

"I think Second Brother has a point. The pay for this job is huge. If we pull it off, we can take a long break," another man, this one in a dog-face mask, chimed in.

"Boss, what do you think?" the man in the pig-face mask asked, looking at the man in the ghost-face mask seated at the head of the table.

The man in the ghost-face mask said nothing, his fingers drumming silently on the tabletop.

Seeing their leader’s silence, a man in a tiger-face mask also spoke up.

"Boss, we already took the money, so we should do the job. We finish it, then we relocate. Fast. Everyone here is a brother. As long as none of us messes up, not even the Superpower Academy will ever know it was us."

"Third Brother’s right. I think we can do it!" the man in the dog-face mask nodded.

"Besides, Boss, we’re just running support. The Divine Authority Council and the Pantheon Sect are handling the direct assault. If we’re careful, nothing can go wrong."

"The pay is twenty million! If we miss this chance, it’s gone for good."

"Yeah, Boss, let’s do it!"

"They’re just some students from the Superpower Academy. No big deal."

"Boss, since when have we ever been afraid of anyone?"

"Once we finish the job, we can just disappear and lay low if we have to. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

...

The masked men all began talking at once.

The man in the ghost-face mask, sitting in the seat of honor, swept his gaze across the room.

"Are you done talking?"

His softly spoken words instantly silenced the group.

All eyes turned to the man in the ghost-face mask.

He remained seated at the head of the table, deep in thought for a moment before standing up. "Since we took the job, we will see it through. However, we need a solid plan. We will not be used as pawns by those two Heterodox Sects."

"A wise decision, Boss!"

Several of the masked men cheered, but the man in the cat-face mask did not join them. He looked at their leader, as if wanting to say something, but held his tongue.

"Seventh, if you have something to say, just say it. We’re all brothers here, why are you being so hesitant?" the man in the ghost-face mask said, turning to him.

The man in the cat-face mask took a deep breath and stood up. "Boss, you know I always follow your orders. But this time, I have a really bad feeling about this."

"Hm?"

The man in the ghost-face mask gave him a long, hard look.

The man in the cat-face mask continued, "Boss, it’s just my intuition. I can’t explain what it is, but something feels wrong."

"Seventh, you’re just saying that because you’re scared. Do you realize the pay is twenty million? You want us to throw that away because of your ’intuition’? Is that reasonable?"

The man in the pig-face mask shot to his feet, staring daggers at his counterpart.

"Second Brother, I’m just telling you how I feel. I don’t want anything bad to happen to us," the man in the cat-face mask replied, meeting his gaze.

"You..."

"Enough!" the man in the ghost-face mask barked. The man in the pig-face mask shot him a look but sat back down.

The man in the ghost-face mask scanned the faces of his men. "Seventh isn’t entirely wrong. Everyone’s safety comes first. But this time... we’ll go with the majority. We’re doing the job!"

"Yes, sir!"

...

Dawn broke.

Its light sliced through the darkness, purging the ghouls and demons of the night!

At an inn in Jiang City, Chen Yu woke from a dream.

"What time is it?" Chen Yu asked Sophie, who was beside him.

Sophie: "Master, it is currently 8:35 a.m."

"Eight thirty already..."

Lying in bed, Chen Yu glanced out the window, picked up a pack of Da Chong Jiu from the table, and lit a cigarette.

PUFF.

Exhaling a ring of smoke, Chen Yu activated his wrist device. A virtual screen appeared before him. He opened his team’s chat group and sent a message.

"Anyone awake?"

An Ran: "Just got up. Brushing my teeth."

Baili Qing: "Brother Yu, I just woke up too. My back’s a little sore."

Chen Yu: "..."

"Meet outside in ten minutes. We’ll get breakfast, then head to the Mercenary headquarters. Brother Feng, you get in touch with them."

An Ran: "Got it!"

Baili Qing: "Got it!"

Xu Feng: "OK!"

After closing the screen and finishing his cigarette, Chen Yu got out of bed to get washed and dressed.

...

Ten minutes later, the group met downstairs.

Xu Feng had already gone ahead to the Mercenary headquarters to make the arrangements.

The three of them had breakfast at a street-side stall before taking a vehicle to the Mercenary headquarters.

—

Jiang City, Mercenary Headquarters.

A skyscraper more than twenty stories high.