Two days later.
It was Monday, the day they had planned to act. A factory was unlikely to shut down on a Monday, so they had a better chance of catching the scent drifting from it.
Honglian pushed open the chief captain's office door and found Xiao Kanong absent again.
He had been showing his face less and less lately.
That was good news. Honglian placed her prepared leave request on his desk, where he would see it as soon as he returned. The organization was not especially strict with Execution Team agents who regularly went into the field. Usually, they only had to let someone know if they wanted time off. That had been the case under Captain Wan, at least.
"What, are you taking leave too?" someone asked behind her.
Honglian gave a slight start and turned to find Wang Qianduan walking in.
"Yes."
Relieved it was not Xiao Kanong, she relaxed a little.
There was nothing unusual about Wang Qianduan visiting the chief captain's office. He and Zhang Yingzi were nominally Execution Team members, but neither belonged to a specific squad. In practice, they served as the chief captain's trusted aides and secretaries.
"What a coincidence. Wang Baihu just asked for leave too. He said he had an event at his family's company." Wang Qianduan kept a straight face. "If neither of you is there, can your squad still function?"
"Xiao Jiu can coordinate, and Jiang Siqi and the other members can all pull their weight," Honglian answered earnestly. "Every one of them works well independently."
He nodded without expression. "Why are you taking leave?"
"I'm tired and want a day off," she said naturally. "I haven't had a break since before the New Year. I doubt the chief captain would refuse."
"I see. Enjoy your rest,