A corridor was cleared in an instant, the security cameras destroyed without anyone noticing. Someone saw through the glass reflection that the corridor stretched to the end, lined with offices, people coming and going, and armed men patrolling outside.
Someone carrying documents was walking towards them.
Jiang Yujin glanced at the layout, then turned: "Two people per group, one office at a time, from front to back. Don't use guns. I'll handle the corridor."
His light-colored pupils followed the reflection of the person carrying documents in the glass. He said, "Move when this person comes over. Just charge forward."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling as he assured them no one would die here today.
Even at this point, he seemed unconcerned.
The footsteps drew closer.
As the blue folder appeared around the corner, the team moved instantly.
The person carrying the folder didn't even have time to see what was happening before they were on the ground, the blue folder snatched away.
Suddenly, a group of people appeared. Those patrolling the corridor were on alert, instantly raising their guns. Before they could even fire, their vision went black, revealing unnumbered black uniforms.
The uniforms were stained with blood.
The gunman belatedly realized it was his own blood.
The corridor cleared. In the chaos, someone grabbed a gun, intending to fire wildly, but when they pulled the trigger, the gun and hand were severed in two.
All danger was extinguished in less than a few seconds, without a single shot fired or stray bullet. Everyone else safely entered their assigned offices.
After a brief commotion, the corridor fell silent. People emerged from the offices, giving a gesture of completion.
There were still some potentially useful documents on the computers in the offices on this floor that could be taken, but time constraints forced them to abandon that plan.
Jiang Yujin, propped up on his hand at his desk, glanced at the situation opposite and said, "There's still time. Copy them down."
The building appeared to be an interconnected ring, but it was actually divided into two areas, from which one could vaguely see the situation on the other side. At least for now, Hu Li's side still had some time to finish.
He wasn't concerned about whether the Special Investigation Bureau had obtained the information; his main concern was the fast pace here. If he finished, he might still have to help Hu Li's side, which wasn't worthwhile. He was paid for his work,
and he didn't want to contribute even a tiny bit more for nothing.
The others, well-versed in the ways of the working class, simply waited to have the data transferred.
In this tense atmosphere, there was an inexplicable relaxation.
Jiang Yujin yawned, then glanced at the time on the running computer and said, "We need to speed things up."
Although he had damaged the cameras, it wouldn't take long. The monitors would notice the large areas of screen tearing and would likely come to check. Judging by the time, it was almost time for them to become worried and come to check.
The person sitting next to him suddenly bent down, his vision filled with white, and the smell of blood mixed with a strange, faint fragrance wafted over. The fingers of the person still copying the data involuntarily tensed as they typed, not daring to breathe.
The other person glanced at the time, then sat up straight again. Only then did he dare to let out a small, long sigh of relief, his ears inexplicably reddening.
Hu Li's side finally finished as well.
Leaving his desk and standing on the ground, Jiang Yujin rubbed his hair and said, "Let's go down."
To be honest, Captain Jiang really wanted to take the elevator next door, but it couldn't hold so many people, so he had to walk downstairs.
There was someone guarding the stairs, but because he had always lived a peaceful life, he didn't seem to be guarding very diligently. His head was bowed low, as if he could fall asleep at any moment.
And in the next moment, he really did fall into an eternal dream.
They were lucky—at least Jiang Yujin thought so—the monitoring room was on the next floor, and they ran into the people who were going upstairs to check the situation as they were going downstairs.
After silently dealing with the people on the stairs and in the corridor, Jiang Yujin stood outside the monitoring room.
The people inside were still talking. They already sensed something was wrong, but mostly they complained, saying, "The broken monitor is broken again. It broke a few times a few days ago, and now it's broken again. I just think this place is unreliable. They can't even buy a decent monitor. I should have stayed where we are now."
Several others agreed with him, talking about the branches they used to be in.
It seemed the people in the monitoring room were also a motley crew, not all from the main branch.
That was actually better, more convenient. The people inside were listing all the shortcomings of this branch, getting increasingly agitated, completely forgetting about the monitor going black. They were gesticulating wildly, looking like they were about to storm into a fight with the leaders.
Under the watchful eyes of the others, Jiang Yujin knocked on the door, three times, neither too loud nor too soft, very politely.
The person who was talking so enthusiastically didn't look at the door and opened it directly, still muttering, "They're so stingy, they put so much stuff in the warehouse but they just don't..."
As he spoke, he turned his head, saw the black uniform in front of him, and suddenly his mouth stopped moving.
The white-haired guy said "thank you" to him, and then knocked him unconscious with a karate chop.
With his life at stake, the other person standing by the control panel in the monitoring room reacted quickly, his hands trembling as he grabbed the intercom.
Before he could speak, he felt a cold touch on his hand; the person who had been at the door appeared beside him, smiling as they pressed his hand down.
Then he too was knocked unconscious with a karate chop, and the others were dealt with as well. Jiang Yujin, acting on his own initiative, pulled up a chair and sat down, leaning against the table as he looked at the large screen.
Many parts of the screen were black, a concentrated area of darkness, presumably the places they had passed through. Hu Li was also working on the footage, the screens along the route turning black one by one.
Pulling the chair back, Jiang Yujin said, "Let's divide the work."
Someone, quick-witted, asked, "Rock, paper, scissors?"
This time it wasn't the slightly absurd rock, paper, scissors; it was a real division of labor.
Rather than assigning tasks, Jiang Yujin seemed to be pointing randomly, glancing at the screen: "Two people at the stairwell, two people on the roof of the third office from the right in the third-floor lab, two people at the stairwell of the second-floor prison."
After this haphazard pointing, there were exactly two people left. He nodded in satisfaction: "The remaining two will stay here."
Then he tapped his earpiece lightly: "Wait for further instructions once you're in position."
His arrangements were casual, and the others accepted them.
Including Bai Mao, there were only three people left in the monitoring room. Before the others arrived at their designated locations, Jiang Yujin comfortably settled into his chair.
Having grown accustomed to this inexplicably relaxed atmosphere, one of the other two consciously went outside to stand guard, while the other pulled up a chair and sat down, asking, "Why are you all in pairs?"
Jiang Yujin, his light-colored pupils fixed on the constantly moving figures on the screen, lowered his head, pulled out a piece of paper and pen, and wrote as he said, "Two people together can chat about gossip, it's not boring."
Once everyone else was in position, he handed the paper to the person next to him, along with a megaphone, and pressed a [3] button, saying, "Read this."
The person next to him didn't understand, but did as he was told, speaking into the megaphone: "Attention all units on the third floor, there is an intruder at the right entrance. Combat personnel, please take your positions immediately; researchers, please evacuate quickly."
His eyes widened as he read.
Those waiting in the office above, hearing the familiar voice, were equally stunned. While they were still wondering what had happened, a clear, calm voice came through their earpiece:
"The offices downstairs are empty, go down."
The path had been paved; whether it was finding information or going around to deal with the others, these people would figure it out themselves.
Jiang Yujin turned off his microphone and said to the person next to him, "Just do the rest like this."
One advantage of the branch being scattered and new is that the various parties are unfamiliar with each other. In this emergency, even if they hear unfamiliar voices, there's no time to doubt.
Or rather, no one would expect the intruder to be sitting in the monitoring room giving orders so brazenly.
After coordinating to take care of the second floor, Jiang Yujin stood up.
The person next to him asked, "Where is Boss Jiang going?"
This person's words touched a sore spot, and Jiang Yujin's expression was indescribable.
He hadn't expected that the right half he won in rock-paper-scissors would actually include the big boss's office.
The office was on the first floor, and given the current situation, only he could go there himself.
...
The second and third floors fell one after another. Although the commotion wasn't as loud as usual, the chaotic footsteps coming from the second floor could still be heard from the first floor. The person sitting on the sofa slowly pouring tea looked down at the slight ripples in the teacup and stopped.
Just as he put down the teapot and was about to get up, there was a knock on the office door.
Those still monitoring the surveillance watched as the man with the white hair walked into the office, even sitting down on the sofa. He was offered a cup of tea, which he drank.
Drinking tea offered by someone else in such a place was questionable; it was hard to say whether this person was simply carefree or what.
The entire branch descended into chaos.
Hu Li arrived on the first floor later. The first floor was interconnected, from the stairs to the corridor, the floor littered with people lying quietly, making it difficult to find a place to walk.
The door to the innermost office was closed, light filtering through the crack.
He opened the door, and the person sitting on the sofa inside, holding tea, turned to look at him.
Opposite this person was a corpse that had transformed into an unidentified species, blood splattered.
Jiang Yujin put down his teacup, trying to negotiate, saying, "You see, dealing with him took quite a bit of effort, could you give me a raise?"
Hu Li: "..."
—The
mission was over, and the entire team returned safely, some with minor injuries, but nothing serious.
The aftermath was no longer their responsibility; a dedicated team would handle the cleanup. The already bustling city was now even more noisy.
This mission was much easier than expected. They had anticipated a protracted battle with potential losses, but surprisingly, they managed to finish in time for dinner. Because it was so easy, there was a surreal feeling afterward, as if something had been missed.
Dinner was on their way back to City A. On the way, Jiang Yujin borrowed a mirror and scrutinized his face, finally finding a small scratch. He quickly took a picture and informed Hu Li that it was a work injury and he needed extra pay.
After dinner, Citizen Jiang didn't leave. It was already past closing time, and he joined Xu Gao, who always left on time despite having a lot of work to do. Together with the rest of the team, they found a place to squat and continue their gossip.
The gossipy Bai Mao was eventually led away by Xu Tonggui, who had returned from work. Just as the gossip ended, Bai Mao stood up, dusted himself off, and politely said goodbye to the crowd of gossipers. Xu Tonggui quietly tidied his tangled hair.
The gossipers watched the two leave, their voices fading into the wind.
"What did Captain Jiang do today?"
"Climbed stairs!" White Hair gestured in the afterglow of the setting sun. "Climbed a really long staircase, a really long one..."