First Reconnaissance Operation
Looking at himself against the backdrop of the night, reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window, Henry's muscles weren't the overly muscular type; they were well-defined and clearly sculpted. But he didn't have a big belly or loose, flabby upper arms.
Looking out the window of this high-rise building at the Moscow late at night, a sense of absurdity filled my heart.
People who say they don't want to pursue hatred have actually traveled thousands of kilometers away to see unfamiliar scenery.
It's often said that those who study medicine don't heal themselves. When the subject is oneself, there are always things one doesn't want to admit.
Henry, unable to analyze, or rather unwilling to analyze, his mental state, returned to bed, finding solace in the unfamiliar warmth.
Henry woke up as the morning sunlight streamed through the French windows, the curtains of which were not drawn.
The beautiful woman was nowhere to be seen; in her place was a simple breakfast placed on a wooden tray.
Things I carelessly tossed around in my room were all thoughtfully tidied up and placed together. Clothes I took off were either hung in the closet or washed and folded neatly.
Although no specific count was taken, the bulging of the small package suggested that the contents, including the banknotes, had not been touched.
It is evident that there is no buying or selling within Continental Hotel, not even petty theft, and the hotel staff strictly adhere to this rule.
Although none of his belongings were lost, Henry didn't believe that these people hadn't conducted a background check on him.
Unfortunately, I smuggled myself in by air, saving the trouble of using a fake passport. I didn't have any conspicuous identification items, my clothes were bought locally, my appearance was disguised, and even my fingerprints were covered with special disguise gloves.
If someone tries to investigate themselves, they'll only find an unrelated person, or perhaps no such person at all. This is because all the clues don't point to the same person.
The Continental Hotel didn't offer any check-out service, so Henry simply walked out through the main entrance without any problem. The female concierge he had spent the night with wasn't at the front desk; instead, another beautiful woman stood in the same spot, sporting a sweet, business-like smile.
He concealed his small bag inside his coat, pulled his hat down low, and stepped out of the hotel. There were 600 people keeping watch outside.
The situation is different from that in the United States. In Los Angeles, most people with some connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles know about the Continental Hotel. However, no one deliberately keeps watch on it or targets it. They treat the Continental Hotel like any other restaurant, or even keep their distance.
However, on the Russia side, the behind-the-scenes influence of the Continental Hotel prevents officials from easily crossing the line. But they will flexibly test the boundaries, trying to keep the situation under control.
Being on guard and conducting background checks on people entering and leaving are the bare minimum. Therefore, experienced locals leaving the Moscow Continental Hotel will use other discreet entrances and exits.
Only a clueless outsider like Henry would openly enter and exit through the main gate. Sure enough, after walking only a few steps, the man in the hanging boots followed him.
If you're chased to a remote place, you'll likely be knocked unconscious, dragged into a car, and subjected to a secret interrogation—a one-stop service. Whether you end up being deported or sunk to the bottom of the Moscow River depends on the circumstances.
Unlike cities like New York and Los Angeles, which are filled with skyscrapers, Moscow, or rather Russia as a whole, takes advantage of its vast land area and sparse population to generally avoid building tall buildings. However, the land area they occupy is usually incredibly large.
The site of Moscow City, the Moscow International Business Center, was originally a stone quarry. Clearing and land preparation only began in 1995. In the future, many of the tallest buildings in Europe will be located here. Now it is just a large construction site.
Because the snowfall lasts for a long time, most of the roofs here have ridges, allowing the snow to fall naturally by gravity, rather than flat rooftops, in order to create an extra layer of public space.
In a place like Los Angeles, it's impossible to simply slip into a dark alley and fly to a building rooftop to hide and observe pursuers. People standing on rooftops are far too conspicuous.
Moreover, anyone living nearby, not too low up, could easily spot a strange fellow standing on the roof ridge. He wasn't fixing a chimney or tinkering with the roof tiles; it was as if he were carrying a sign that read, "I have a problem," announcing it to the world.
The new tactic is to immediately leave the scene at Super Speed after escaping everyone's sight. While this prevents observation of subsequent developments, it eliminates the possibility of Nemesis, so what else is there to worry about?
In a few breaths, Henry shook off the group of booted ghosts and went straight to their headquarters, the All-Russian Insurance Building.
Near the building, there is a park where people can relax and exercise. However, those who frequent such places are probably not ordinary people.
To avoid drawing too much attention, Henry didn't choose to stay there. He chose a spot a little further away, but with rooftops providing cover, as his observation point.
Without Super Vision, monitoring an area becomes quite troublesome.
Hacking into the internal systems of 6C and accessing surveillance footage was not so easy given the relatively underdeveloped computer technology of that era.
Unless the 5CΦ monitoring system's route is investigated beforehand, and intrusion devices and methods are prepared accordingly,
Only then is success possible.
Without thorough prior investigation, acting rashly could easily leave clues that could be traced. Henry could only rely on his Kryptonian talents to solve the problem.
Of course, you can't pinpoint a target by listening to their appearance. So you have to wait for someone to mention Andrei Popov, or just their first name, or just their last name.
Andrei Popov is the name Mikhail Kuzmin adopted after being absorbed into 5C. This is mentioned in the materials provided by the Continental Hotel.
But to avoid missing anything, Henry also included his original name in the list of keywords he was paying attention to, carefully listening to this building that had been feared since the Red Empire era.
Although he heard a lot of classified information, some of which, if made public, could even overthrow a country, Henry still found this form of surveillance boring since it didn't concern him personally.
While utterly bored, Henry took the opportunity to use the sounds and Silk he heard to construct a model of the building in his mind.
Because the received messages are not being verified at close range, the modeling process is much slower than usual.
After hearing the keyword mentioned several times, Henry tried every possible angle to see the speaker and their conversation partner through the window and binoculars. However, none of them were the person he was looking for.
After this happened several times, Henry began to wonder if the person he was looking for was away on a business trip, or if they had simply taken the day off.
Speaking of which, isn't it a bit too difficult to choose someone from 6CΦ as the first task on my to-do list?
Self-doubt was growing, and the demons in his delusional fantasies were urging him to give up. Henry suddenly overheard a conversation that instantly focused his attention.
First, someone asked, "Andrei, are you leaving get off work so early?"
The person who answered said, "Yes, what else am I supposed to do if I don't get off work? Just doing some paperwork reminds me of the three boring years I spent at the Alien Research Institute, where I could only do the most basic tasks."
"My superb skills were banned by the director at the time. Without the opportunity to hone them, I felt my inspiration was drying up. I thought joining 6C would allow me to live the good life I had back in KGB. But it turned out to be just as boring."
Ah, I found you.