"Seems like a lively banquet is underway inside."
"Yes."
"I can already smell the reek of wine and meat wafting out. Truly nauseating."
"......"
On the rooftop of the apartment building closest to the Ouyang Clan estate, twenty figures lay in wait—led by the Martial Monk. How had they reached this rooftop so casually? Not by leaping or flying. They’d simply walked up. The building’s original residents?
—Eliminated......
To secure the perfect vantage point, these twenty had silently slaughtered every soul in the building. Utterly ruthless.
This makeshift squad, commanded by the Martial Monk, consisted of nineteen professional assassins.
"But the hour has come. Let us begin, fellow seekers of justice..."
"Understood. Deployment commencing."
The Martial Monk grinned at the brilliantly lit Ouyang estate and gave the order. Behind him, over a dozen soldiers—fully armored, faces hidden beneath night-vision goggles—melted into the night shadows.
"What a beautiful sight... such a pity. Truly a pity. Amitabha...."
The monk, rosary beads clutched in his hand, sighed with regret.
"When’s shift change? This is so boring."
"Endure it. I want off-duty too. I wanna drink and chase women!"
"You? Your wallet’s always empty ’cause you haunt the red-light district."
"Heh. Those ladies are tempting. No girlfriend means I gotta blow off steam somehow."
"*That’s* why you’ll never get a girlfriend!"
Two guards chatted lazily, oblivious to the two shadows creeping up behind them. Gloved hands reached for their heads.
*Crack.*
A soft snap of vertebrae. The laughing guards slumped, necks twisted beyond ninety degrees, frozen in their final expressions—
—but never hit the ground. The assassins caught them, dragging the bodies into darkness.
"Guard post Alpha: clear."
[Guard post Bravo: clear.]
[Guard post Charlie: clear.]
As reports crackled through their earpieces, the three exits of the Ouyang estate were silently neutralized.
With nearly an hour until shift change, nineteen men had ample time.
The soldiers who’d eliminated the guards slipped inside, footsteps barely whispering as they infiltrated the estate’s depths.
Within half an hour, servants and guards alike—every soul from the outer grounds inward—lay dead. Necks snapped cleanly. No blood. No sound.
"All units: Phase A complete. Perimeter secured. Proceed to Phase B."
[Roger. Planting charges.]
[Planting charges.]
Ten soldiers dispersed, each unzipping a backpack to retrieve a small box.
"Timer set: two minutes. After placement, go dark. Intercept any escapees—eliminate on sight."
[[[[[[Copy!]]]]]]
Nineteen professionals. Their mission ended here.
On the rooftop, the Martial Monk listened to the radio chatter and smiled.
"Professionals indeed. Worthy of praise. Now... my turn."
With effortless grace, the monk leapt from the roof, shooting toward the Ouyang estate.
Two minutes later—
Silent, invisible shockwaves erupted across the compound. Every electronic device died instantly.
—The brilliantly lit Ouyang estate plunged into suffocating darkness.
"It begins."
Ouyang Ge opened his eyes. He stood from his bed.
"So... it’s finally here."
Stepping into the corridor, he adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and vanished into the dark.
At that same moment, Ouyang Shi rose from her chair. She walked silently toward the door.
"Just as my brother predicted. Then I, too, must fight. To protect my little brother—"
She clenched her fist, gazing at the starry sky.
Ouyang Ge moved swiftly through the estate’s shadows, his strides nearly adult in strength. He dared not make a sound. Among these intruders were elite assassins—one misstep meant death.
He froze. Ducking into a thicket, he spotted it:
—A presence, barely breathing, one hundred meters ahead. No ordinary guard. Only a killer could suppress their aura like this.
He set his backpack down soundlessly. Holding his breath, he crept toward the target.
"......."
The soldier crouched nearby, sniper rifle fitted with a suppressor, finger resting on the trigger. Ready to fire at the slightest disturbance. This stakeout was routine. Nothing could go wrong. Unless—
—the threat came from behind.
A non-reflective blade slid across his throat. A spray of blood arced out. The soldier collapsed.
"No time to waste."
Ouyang Ge snatched his backpack and vanished.
The Ouyang estate was vast. Hunting every assassin was impossible. But there were other ways.
Ouyang Shi walked an empty path. With each step, a thin layer of ice spread beneath her boots. Silvery mist coiled around her body.
*Crack—*
A supersonic bullet tore through the air toward her unprotected back.
"......"
The bullet halted one meter from her spine. It clattered to the ground—encased in ice.
Ouyang Shi wordlessly removed the ice-blue crystal bracelet from her wrist.
The silvery mist exploded outward. One hundred meters. Two hundred. Three hundred. It stabilized at a four-hundred-meter radius.
It was enough.
Ten shadowy figures plummeted from hiding spots—shattering into frozen fragments.
"A little... taxing..."
She hugged herself, pain flashing across her face. At her limit, she jammed the bracelet back on. Fatigue washed over her, but she pressed forward.
—Ahead lay the main banquet hall.
