Chapter 88
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Chapter 88: Breaking In
Zhuang Mian and her team, “Butterfly,” were currently divided into three groups, surveilling a target in the inner city.
After a preliminary investigation, the team members had essentially confirmed that this individual was a middleman who trafficked semi-finished products from the research institutes.
The institutes only had the option to destroy certain abandoned reagents, while some individuals in the outer city were willing to pay a hefty price for these items.
This had given rise to the emergence of this illicit trade.
So, what did all this have to do with the organization “Believers” (officially known as “The Sect”)?
The answer was: absolutely nothing.
Zhuang Mian was far from foolish enough to confuse the hierarchy; from the very beginning of this long-term mission, she had already devised her basic strategy.
Just like the suspicious middle-aged man in her binoculars, it was evident he had some dubious ties to the mysterious organization.
After all, this man was far from clean himself; whether he was connected or not was something only he could claim.
With this in mind, Zhuang Mian slightly raised her right hand, preparing to issue the order to apprehend him.
Her new team members were all carefully selected reserve personnel developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the current generation of the peace officer academy, with unwavering trust and loyalty to the organization.
Though their planning and execution still showed some inexperience, Zhuang Mian was confident they would soon grow into a team that met her expectations.
Just as she was about to signal the capture, the communicator inside her jacket vibrated faintly.
That communicator was reserved exclusively for single-line communication within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Zhuang Mian’s nerves immediately tightened, even more so than during the recent capture operations.
She turned her arm halfway and then withdrew it, signaling that the capture plan was temporarily suspended.
She then ducked back behind cover, carefully checking the message on the communicator:
[Ministry of Internal Affairs Cleanup Team “Butterfly” – Latest Order:
Emergency Task: Proceed to the Southern District of the outer city to conduct surprise inspections on the twenty-fourth, thirty-third, and thirty-fifth nutritional paste production lines.
Task Objective: Retrieve all production records and managers from the past month for the three production lines.
Remaining Time: 4 hours, 59 minutes, 50 seconds.
Note: Personnel exhibiting any of the following behaviors may be apprehended on the spot; severe cases may be executed immediately:
Destroying accounts, absconding with funds, refusing to disclose the whereabouts of documents, violently resisting inspection…]
Zhuang Mian tapped the miniature earpiece issued exclusively to cleanup team members and issued orders to her subordinates and the two team members observing the target from another building:
“Fall back to base; headquarters has an emergency task.”
On the other side, the two team members, who had been eager to prove themselves, felt their adrenaline-fueled excitement instantly freeze.
They exchanged a brief glance, their long-term training instilling a discipline that left no room for questioning the order.
Three minutes later, the seven members of Team “Butterfly” regrouped by the roadside at midnight. Zhuang Mian opened the door of an unremarkable-looking vehicle and ushered all the members inside.
The car started almost silently in the still night, its engine barely audible.
Zhuang Mian did not turn on the headlights, instead relying on the faint glow of the inner city streetlights as she drove toward the nearest city gate.
As the vehicle approached the city gate, the guards on either side were in a half-asleep state, barely alert.
Zhuang Mian was tempted to seize this opportunity to pull them into a dream and practice her abilities, but mindful of her mission, she stepped out of the vehicle to wake the two men.
The man, rudely awakened from his dream, was about to unleash a torrent of scolding, but the sight of the gleaming golden embossed emblem on the identification card before him sent a chill creeping up his spine.
Every hair on his body stood on end, and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead in the lingering heat of late summer.
The pure gold emblem bore the image of an upside-down sharp sword.
The slightly elevated perspective gave the sword a menacing depth, as though it might plummet at any moment to execute the Observer on the spot.
Though the guard didn’t grasp the emblem’s significance, he knew all too well what it represented.
He nodded nervously twice, signaling his understanding, and dared not meet Zhuang Mian’s gaze.
“Open the door.”
The command was sharp and authoritative. Without hesitation, the guard produced his identification card from his chest and verified his identity on the machine.
Amidst the creaking and groaning of machinery, the gate to the inner city slowly swung open.
Zhuang Mian returned to the vehicle and led her team into the outer city as dawn broke.
Their nearest target was the thirty-third nutritional paste production line.
This small factory ran twelve hours a day, non-stop throughout the year, and was currently in one of its rare break times.
However, Zhuang Mian bypassed the factory, instead heading to a two-story house two blocks away, guided by the details in her orders.
The seven of them swiftly encircled the seemingly ordinary building. Two took up positions in the small yard to stand guard, while Zhuang Mian peered inside to assess the structure.
This house, nestled close to the inner city walls, was a residence befitting someone of considerable standing in the outer city.
Here lived Wen Zhengcheng, the manager of the thirty-third production line.
Zhuang Mian quietly activated her abilities, confirming that no one on the first floor was in a state of sleep.
She signaled one of her subordinates to silently pick the lock, then led the rest inside.
Though Zhuang Mian knew the first floor was empty, maintaining the facade of a thorough search was essential.
After securing the first floor, she left two members to guard the area and took the remaining two upstairs.
The three of them paused before a bedroom door.
Zhuang Mian sensed two people inside, deep in sleep.
A slight smile played on her lips as she felt the lives of these two individuals now lay in her hands.
Though they were not villains, this sensation was precisely what she craved deep within.
With a wave of her hand, a male team member stepped back two paces and delivered a forceful kick to the wooden door.
The loud bang jolted the two figures on the bed awake, their racing hearts bringing them to full alertness within seconds.
Wen Zhengcheng, the forty-year-old production line manager, saw shadowy figures advancing through the darkness. He grabbed a corner of the blanket with his left hand and tossed it toward his companion’s chest, while his right hand scrambled across the bedside table, finally finding the switch for the bedside lamp.
“Click.”
The warm, gentle light filled the bedroom, and Wen Zhengcheng faced the three ominous figures in black, his voice trembling:
“Gentlemen… there must be some misunderstanding.”
He believed he was being sufficiently submissive, and since he always operated with caution, rarely clashing with others, he was clearly a peace-loving, affable man.
Then, a golden emblem came into view.
In that instant, everything became clear to him.
It was as if a bucket of icy water had been poured over Wen Zhengcheng’s head; he felt his legs beneath the blanket begin to cramp from sheer terror.
