Donghai Normal University lay quiet beneath the night, like a slumbering behemoth.
Yet at the campus's northwest corner, a solitary building radiated a chilling, deathly stillness utterly at odds with its surroundings.
Seventh Music Hall.
A Republic of China era building long forgotten by time.
Withered black vines crawled over its mottled brick walls. Its arched windows resembled hollow eye sockets opened by an abyss, silently watching every living thing that approached.
Five figures, like phantoms blending into the night, silently appeared in the plaza before the music hall.
At the front stood Shen Bingyue. Her pure black skintight combat suit perfectly outlined her tall figure, which seemed capable of astonishing explosive power.
Her silver hair was tied into a neat high ponytail. Beneath the moonlight, her already icy, breathtakingly beautiful face gained an added frost-like chill.
"This is the target location."
Her voice was not loud, yet every team member heard it with exceptional clarity.
"According to intelligence, the Pianist's domain has enveloped the entire building."
"Once we enter, all communication devices will fail. The only people we can trust are the teammates beside us."
As she said the words "teammates," her blade-sharp gaze swept emotionlessly over Qin Feng before lingering on Gao Tianliang for a second.
"I don't care what grudges you have in private, or what pride you carry as heirs of prestigious families."
Shen Bingyue's voice was as cold as ice.
"Once you enter the mission site, you are one unit."
"My orders are the only rule."
"If anyone dares cause trouble in there, don't blame me for treating them as a cleanup target and dealing with them alongside the enemy."
The warning carried unquestionable authority.
Gao Tianliang stood quietly in his silver-white high-tech combat suit.
The pure spiritual power radiating from his body resembled a