Chapter Twenty-Four: Ambush (Part Two)

Even without the three successive "clear" signals, Lei Dong could see every movement of each team member with absolute clarity. Having mastered the patrol patterns, his team—possessing preternatural senses and an almost inhuman level of perception—moved toward their targets in perfect unison. They struck at the same instant, delivered lethal blows simultaneously, and succeeded almost at the exact same moment. The three groups of nine patrollers were sent to meet their maker without making a sound or triggering a single alarm.

The moment his three team members launched their assault, Lei Dong had already anticipated the outcome. With a light push of his right foot, he vaulted straight up seven or eight meters. As his momentum began to wane, he tapped his left foot lightly against the wall, soaring another dozen meters like a great bird. He then reached out to grip and push against the rock face, lunged upward, and kicked off once more. His entire body neared the parapet; with one hand grabbing the merlon and a quick flip, he was atop the wall. At that precise moment, the three "clear" calls finally echoed in his earpiece.

Standing on the wall, the layout of the Jepanese-style manor within the castle was laid bare.

The top of the castle wall was broad, roughly three meters wide. Based on the distance, there was a gentle ramp leading down to the courtyard every 300 meters. Below each ramp, tucked against the wall, was a modest guard station. These five stations were positioned to provide overlapping fields of fire, capable of creating a dense crossfire if equipped with rifles or machine guns.

However, only two of the five stations were currently occupied, with three men in each—some sitting, some reclining—evidently preparing for their shift change with the mobile patrols.

Inside the perimeter of the wall lay a 200-meter-wide expanse of lawn and gravel paths. It was kept completely clear of trees or shrubs, clearly designed to maintain an unobstructed line of sight for monitoring intruders. Further inward, the grounds were dotted with sparse to dense greenery, interspersed with small bridges, streams, pavilions, and terraces. Concealed and visible sentry posts were scattered throughout, suggesting a rigorous surveillance network, further bolstered by four Austrian-bred black mastiffs being led by guards.

It was clear that the estate’s defensive design was quite comprehensive. Unfortunately, perhaps due to understaffing or sheer complacency, many posts were unmanned, creating numerous blind spots. In a single glance, Lei Dong spotted no fewer than ten defensive vulnerabilities and five or six potential infiltration routes, any one of which could prove catastrophic to the castle’s entire defense system.

Currently, the only elements that could pose even a slight difficulty for the team were the pervasive video surveillance system and those four black mastiffs roaming the grounds. Navigating the 200-meter open zone under such dense monitoring was the linchpin of the entire operation.

Lei Dong’s consciousness expanded like a vast net, enveloping the entire manor, brushing against every inch of earth, every flower, and every blade of grass like a gentle breeze. A faint, nearly imperceptible pressure—an aura of human presence—quietly radiated over the manor along with his consciousness.

In an instant, the four black mastiffs—half a man’s height, their coats slick and shiny, eyes glowing like green lanterns, and sharp fangs protruding from their long muzzles—suddenly sensed a tremendous threat. They let out low, fierce growls that turned into whimpers; their tails tucked between their legs, they nearly collapsed to the ground, refusing to take another step forward.

"Baka!" a burly man in a black suit shouted, "Get up and move!" But the mastiffs, well-trained and usually obedient, defied their master's command for the first time, merely spinning in place.

This caused the man in the black suit to lose face. He shouted angrily, "You beasts, you dare disobey?" and kicked one of the mastiffs in the back.

Beside him, another man in a black suit flicked his lighter with a *click*, took a leisurely drag of his cigarette, and said, "Hey, Hatta, be careful. That’s the boss's favorite pet. If you hurt it, you’ll be paying with your life!"

Hatta shuddered, but then, as if struck by a thought, asked suspiciously, "These beasts are acting so strange... could they have sensed an enemy?"

Hatta’s words drew a burst of laughter from the group. The man who had warned him shook with mirth, shouting, "You... haha... what a coward! Where do you think we are? This is the heart of the Jiaolong Society; who would dare target this place? Besides, with these tight defenses, how could anyone even get in?"

The man seemed to hold some status among the guards, and the group chimed in with agreement. He boasted, "Our shift ends in a few minutes, then we go back inside and let Kuroya and his group take over..."

The group wandered off noisily. The four mastiffs, as if pardoned, picked up their pace and scrambled toward a small cabin hundreds of meters away.

"No one dares target this place? Dammit, you won't even know how you died in a moment!" Though the guards' voices were quiet and they were far away, every word fell clearly into Lei Dong’s ears. A cruel grin curled his lips. At the same time, he felt quite satisfied with the "new function" of projecting his aura.

After the battle on Saint Emperor Bright Island, although Lei Dong could not yet tap into the vast, churning *qi* within his perfected Nascent Soul, and the spiritual energy he absorbed during cultivation—now ten times more efficient—could only be used to temper his physical body, he had made a surprising discovery: his consciousness had not only expanded in range and sensitivity, but he had also inadvertently grasped several new ways to utilize it. Projecting a cultivator's aura was one of them.

Now, seeing the effect, he was quite pleased with his control over such an intangible force.

"B1, monitor Guard Station 4. A2, stand by." As the black-suited men moved away, Lei Dong issued his first order.

"B1, understood!" Hundreds of meters away, Lang Tianyu’s voice crackled. His P9, fitted with a silencer, was aimed at the entrance of Guard Station 5.

"B2, infiltrate Guard Station 1 and take control of the video surveillance system." Lei Dong rested his .50 caliber rifle on the parapet, aiming at Guard Station 3, and began the countdown: "3, 2, 1, move!"

The moment "move" left his lips, Bei Shiliang pressed himself against the inner wall, utilizing the cover of the dark night. In less than half a minute, he slid down the wall, listened for a few seconds outside Guard Station 1, and slipped inside.

A moment later, a faint buzzing—so subtle an ordinary person wouldn't hear it from a meter away—reached Lei Dong’s ears. He knew it was the sound of the hard drive on Bei Shiliang’s military laptop spinning up.

Lei Dong raised his rifle with his right hand and checked his military watch with his left, his expression tense.

According to the patrol rotation, the shift change was in eight minutes. Bei Shiliang had to seize control of the surveillance system quickly to create a window for Wu Yun and Lang Tianyu to cross the 200-meter gap. Otherwise, if they were spotted by the central monitoring room or the incoming patrol, the resulting alarm would ruin the entire plan.

It wasn't that the team couldn't handle the guards—given the disparity in combat prowess, Lei Dong was confident he could gun them all down even if there were twice as many—but the core requirement of the mission was for everything to remain silent and undetected. Only then would the final phase of the operation achieve its full impact. Any loud disruption could lead to the total collapse of the subsequent plan.

"I hope this computer isn't too difficult to crack, please don't be too difficult..." Lei Dong took a deep breath, his right index finger hovering over the cold trigger of his .50, eyes locked on Guard Station 3.

Lei Dong's worries were clearly unnecessary. Less than two minutes later, Bei Shiliang’s voice echoed in his earpiece: "Done!"