Lin Xiao's fingers marked the third ambush point on the screen—the second-floor window of the abandoned warehouse east of the logging yard. It had a broad field of view and could cover the entire central clearing. He adjusted the simulated ballistic parameters for the sniper rifle, calculating the angle and kinetic force needed for the bullet to graze Su Ying's ribs. Outside the window, the sunset had completely dipped behind the mountains. The sky shifted from orange-red to deep blue, and the first star appeared in the east. There was a soft knock on the office door, followed by Nightingale's voice. "Mr. Lin, Mr. Fletcher sent over the detailed files on the Black Wolf mercenary group, including combat records from their last three operations." Lin Xiao did not turn around. His eyes remained fixed on the trajectory simulation curve on the screen. The red dashed line precisely crossed Su Ying's 3D model, leaving a marker between her sixth and seventh ribs on the left.
"Send it to my terminal."
"Yes."
A data stream popped up in the corner of the screen, and Lin Xiao devoted half his attention to reading it.
Fletcher's intelligence was thorough. The Black Wolf mercenary group, formally known as Black Wolf International Security Contractor, was registered in Cyprus, though its actual operations ranged from the Balkan Peninsula to the Ukrainian border. Its leader used the codename Grey Wolf, with his real name unknown. A former officer of the Former Yugoslav Special Forces, he had left the military after the Kosovo War in 1999 and assembled a team of more than thirty men. Their primary business included arms smuggling, armed escorts, and the occasional assassination contract. Equipment: AK-74M assault rifles, PKM general-purpose machine guns, RPG-7 rocket launchers, and a small number of American-made M4 Carbines acquired through the black market. Their last three operations: two months ago, they hijacked a shipment of medical supplies bound for Sarajevo in Bosnia—actually weapon components—and exchanged fire with local police, leaving three dead; six weeks ago, they clashed with another group of arms dealers at the Romanian border and seized two armored vehicles; four weeks ago, they attacked a small arms depot outside Budapest, Hungary, but were repelled by police who arrived early, losing two men.
Lin Xiao's gaze stopped at the final record.
Repelled because the police arrived early.
He pulled up the police operation records from Budapest that day—there had been no major deployment, no intelligence tip. It had simply been a routine patrol that happened to stumble across them. Coincidence? Or was there a mole inside Black Wolf, or had a third party been monitoring the operation?
It did not matter.
What mattered was that this team was greedy enough, brutal enough, and stupid enough to risk venturing deep into unfamiliar territory over unverified intelligence about a "high-tech weapon component." More importantly, they had clashed with Hydra before. Three years ago in Serbia, Black Wolf had tried to hijack a Hydra shipment of missile guidance systems headed for the Middle East. Hydra's peripheral operations team drove them off, killing five of their men. They also had history with S.H.I.E.L.D. Last year in Croatia, Black Wolf exchanged fire with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents investigating a batch of stolen Vibranium samples, seriously wounding one agent.
The perfect "external threat."
Lin Xiao closed the file and pulled up a satellite map of Continental Hotel's third backup site. It was an abandoned logging yard on the southern foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, along the border between Slovakia and Poland. The nearest village was fifteen kilometers away, and the area was surrounded by dense conifer forests and several dirt roads used for logging. The main building was a two-story concrete office structure with half its roof collapsed. Beside it stood a timber-processing workshop, its machinery long rusted over. Behind it was a row of workers' dormitories with broken doors and windows, vines crawling over their walls.
He selected the processing workshop.
It had enough space to arrange the "bait"—several crates of discarded electronic equipment labeled "Stark Industries Experimental Components," packed with explosives and smoke grenades for remote detonation. The windows on either side of the workshop offered good visibility and were suitable for hidden snipers. The central clearing was open, with no cover. Anyone entering it would be a live target.
Lin Xiao began deploying his personnel.
First group: four snipers, positioned on the second floor of the office building, the roof of the processing workshop, the water tower in the dormitory area, and behind rocks on the southeastern hillside. Their mission: suppress enemy fire, create confusion, and "accidentally wound" Su Ying at the designated moment.
Second group: eight assault team members, concealed behind cover on both sides of the workshop. Their mission: exchange fire with the enemy and create the illusion of fierce resistance, while controlling casualties—they could not wipe out the entire enemy force and had to leave a few survivors to report back.
Third group: six perimeter sentries, spread across the logging yard entrance and the surrounding woods. Their mission: prevent the enemy's escape route from deviating from the plan while monitoring for interference from any third party.
Su Ying's position: the center of the workshop, near the "bait" crates. She needed to expose herself to enemy reconnaissance, draw their fire, then move to the designated position after the firefight began "to protect Lin Xiao while he commanded." That position was directly within the firing lane of Grey Falcon, the sniper.
Grey Falcon was a sniper Lin Xiao had brought in from an outlying site, a former member of the French Foreign Legion with precise marksmanship and steady nerves. Lin Xiao had already spoken with him. The bullet had to graze Su Ying's ribs, causing a fracture and flesh wound without damaging her internal organs. The margin of error could not exceed two centimeters. Grey Falcon had been silent for several seconds before nodding. "Understood, boss. I'll use reduced-charge rounds to lower the muzzle velocity. The trajectory will be flatter and easier to control."
Everything was ready.
Lin Xiao opened the communications channel and connected to Fletcher.
After the screen flickered a few times, Fletcher's face appeared. He sat in a dim office, heavy curtains behind him and only a desk lamp switched on. The light cast deep shadows across his face, making his expression seem even more solemn.
"Lin," Fletcher said in a low voice, "did you receive the intelligence?"
"I did," Lin Xiao said. "Black Wolf is suitable. Greedy, hostile, with a complicated background. What about the channel you arranged for the leak?"
"It's already in place," Fletcher said. "We used an informant in Bucharest. He pretended to get drunk and told one of Black Wolf's minor bosses in a bar that an abandoned logging yard near the Slovakian border was hiding a batch of Stark Industries 'experimental energy weapon components.' The goods were supposedly being stashed by a Hydra faction that had not managed to move them because of internal conflict. There were only four or five perimeter guards, poorly equipped."
"They bought it?"
"They did." Fletcher's mouth curved into a mocking smile. "Grey Wolf is leading the team himself. Twelve men, two modified off-road vehicles. They are expected to arrive in the logging yard area tomorrow evening. They intend to use the cover of night to launch a fast raid."
Lin Xiao nodded.
"My side is ready. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll submit a request to lead a squad into the area for a preventive patrol and ambush under the pretext that we received intelligence about an armed group planning to attack our outer facility."
"I'll approve the request," Fletcher said. "But Lin, be careful. This performance cannot go wrong. Su Ying's injuries must look real, but they absolutely cannot become life-threatening. I've already had Nightingale prepare a medical report template. The moment the operation ends, upload it to the headquarters system."
"Understood."
Fletcher fell silent for several seconds. The desk lamp's light flickered in his eyes.
"There's one more thing," he said. "The Headquarters Inspectorate sent another supplemental inquiry yesterday. They are demanding a detailed explanation of Su Ying's 'combat performance evaluation.' They seem to have doubts about the speed of her promotion."
Lin Xiao's fingers lightly tapped the desk.
"Then we'll give them a performance of 'loyalty and sacrifice.'"
"Let's hope so." Fletcher sighed. "Lin, the stakes are high. If this fails..."
"It won't fail."
The communication cut off.
The office fell quiet again. Night had completely descended outside, and the lights of the town formed a blurred band of illumination in the distance. Lin Xiao shut down every screen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
Su Ying's figure on the training ground appeared in his mind.
Over the past week, she had trained eight hours a day. Cross-country runs under load, close-range firefight simulations, emergency treatment while wounded. Lin Xiao had asked Doctor Anna to give her a full examination. Her bone density was good, her muscular strength exceptional, and her cardiopulmonary capacity at an athlete's level. After evaluating her, Anna had said, "The rib fracture can be kept minor. With special makeup and blood capsules, it will look like a moderate injury. Recovery will take three to four weeks, but she can actually resume normal activity after two."
Su Ying had merely nodded at the time, with nothing else to say.
Her eyes had been calm, like water in a deep pool without a ripple.
Lin Xiao knew what she was thinking—once this act was over, she would completely become "Su Ying." A loyal Hydra warrior, the "butler" of the Continental Hotel. The former rogue agent hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D. would vanish from the files forever.
The price was one carefully calculated injury.
Was it worth it?
Lin Xiao opened his eyes and looked at the shadows on the ceiling.
It was.
To survive, to find a place to stand in this world of lies and violence, it was worth it.
At three o'clock the next afternoon, the convoy left the base.
Four modified off-road vehicles, painted in jungle camouflage with blast-resistant film on the windows. Lin Xiao sat in the front passenger seat of the lead vehicle, while Su Ying sat in the rear, checking her gear: an HK416 assault rifle fitted with a holographic sight and suppressor; a Glock 19 pistol with two spare magazines; smoke grenades, flashbangs, and a medical kit stuffed into her tactical vest. She wore black combat fatigues beneath a bulletproof vest, her face streaked with camouflage paint.
The convoy drove along a mountain road, dense conifer forests lining both sides. The autumn air was crisp and dry, carrying the scent of pine resin and decaying leaves. Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting mottled shadows through the woods. The tires crunched over the gravel road.
Lin Xiao activated his tactical tablet and pulled up the real-time surveillance feed from the logging yard.
Nightingale had already placed miniature cameras around the area, hidden among treetops, in cracks between rocks, and in the corners of abandoned buildings. The feed showed the logging yard empty. There was only the wind moaning through broken windows and several crows hopping across the roof.
"Twenty kilometers from the target area," the driver said. "Estimated arrival in forty minutes."
Lin Xiao nodded and opened the squad communications channel.
"All personnel, attention. Repeating the operational points: we received intelligence that the Black Wolf mercenary group intends to attack our outer facility. Our mission is a preventive ambush, to repel or eliminate the enemy. But remember, this is not an extermination operation. We need to create the illusion of fierce resistance and make the enemy believe there are important supplies here and that the site is heavily guarded. Su Ying will be wounded during the firefight—this is part of the plan. No one is to interfere. Grey Falcon, sniper team, your objective is clear: fire when Su Ying moves to the designated position. The bullet will graze between her sixth and seventh ribs on the left, causing a fracture and flesh wound. The margin of error cannot exceed two centimeters."
A unified response came through the channel. "Understood."
Lin Xiao closed the channel and looked into the rearview mirror.
Su Ying was gazing out the window, her profile especially clear amid the shifting shadows. Her fingers lightly stroked the rifle's handguard, the movement gentle, as though she were caressing something precious.
"Nervous?" Lin Xiao asked.
Su Ying turned toward him. Her eyes remained bright beneath the camouflage paint.
"No," she said. "It just feels... a little strange. Knowing where the bullet will come from and when, but having to walk into it anyway."
"That's acting."
"I know."
She looked out the window again and fell silent for several minutes.
Then she said, "Lin Xiao, if... if headquarters still doesn't believe it after this?"
"They will," Lin Xiao said. "One injury, one 'sacrifice for the organization,' plus Fletcher's endorsement and a forged medical report. Hydra likes stories like that—a loyal warrior wounded while protecting her comrades. It's the sort of drama their culture admires most."
"But what about S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Su Ying's voice was soft. "What if they see through the act?"
Lin Xiao tapped the edge of his tablet.
"Then let them see through it."
Su Ying turned to look at him.
Lin Xiao did not turn back. His eyes were fixed on the winding mountain road ahead.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is in internal chaos right now. Nick Fury is busy dealing with the aftermath of Project Insight, Coulson is building his own team, and Maria Hill is cleaning up the mess. They don't have the energy to thoroughly investigate a wounded Hydra peripheral member. Besides, we have forged reports leading them astray—you're supposed to be in Greece or Bosnia now, not on the Slovakian border."
Su Ying nodded and did not ask again.
The convoy continued onward.
Forty minutes later, the logging yard appeared at the end of their sightline.
It was a forgotten ruin. Years of wind and rain had left the concrete buildings dark, gray, and mottled. Roof tiles were missing in patches, and deep green moss covered the walls. The iron doors of the timber-processing workshop stood half-open. Inside was pitch-black, like an open mouth. The surrounding forest was eerily silent, without even birdsong.
The convoy stopped a kilometer from the logging yard, concealed deep in the woods.
Lin Xiao got out. His tactical tablet displayed the positions of every ambush point. The sniper team was already in place—Grey Falcon on the second floor of the office building sent a confirmation signal; Eagle Eye on the processing workshop roof reported clear visibility; Night Owl on the dormitory water tower was adjusting his scope; Peregrine on the southeastern hillside had found the best firing position.
The assault team spread out behind cover on either side of the workshop: behind a stack of discarded lumber, at the corner of a half-collapsed brick wall, beneath the chassis of a rusted truck. The perimeter team vanished into the forest like ghosts blending into the shadows.
Su Ying stood beside Lin Xiao and checked her equipment one last time.
Her breathing was steady, her heart rate held at sixty-five beats per minute—a technique Doctor Anna had taught her to remain calm under extreme pressure.
"Go," Lin Xiao said. "Remember the position."
Su Ying nodded and turned toward the processing workshop.
Her footsteps were light on the gravel, like a cat's. Sunlight slipped through a gap in the clouds and shone on her, casting a long, thin shadow across her black combat fatigues. She reached the center of the workshop, stopped beside the "bait" crates, crouched down, and pretended to inspect them.
From a distance, she looked like a lone guard.
Lin Xiao went up to the second floor of the office building and crouched at the window beside Grey Falcon.
Grey Falcon was a tall, thin man with heavy camouflage paint on his face, leaving only a pair of gray eyes visible. He lay prone on the ground, a modified M24 Sniper Rifle mounted before him and aimed at the center of the workshop. Correction tables for wind speed, humidity, and range were taped to the rifle's body.
"Target range: three hundred and twenty meters. Wind speed: three meters per second, from the southeast," Grey Falcon said quietly. "The bullet is already calibrated. Reduced charge, muzzle velocity seven hundred meters per second, flat trajectory. I'll fire when she moves onto that red marker."
Lin Xiao looked in the direction he indicated.
On the workshop floor was a tiny red dot painted in fluorescent pigment, no bigger than a coin and nearly invisible in the dim light. That was the position Su Ying needed to reach—right along the extension of the sniper's line of fire, and also the area most likely to be covered by enemy fire.
"She'll move there within two minutes after the firefight starts," Lin Xiao said. "Watch for her signal."
"Understood."
Lin Xiao raised his binoculars and looked toward the logging yard entrance.
Time passed second by second.
Four twenty in the afternoon.
The roar of engines came from the distance.
Two modified off-road vehicles drove in from the mountain road, their bodies painted with crude camouflage and their windows covered in dark film. The vehicles stopped at the logging yard entrance. Their doors opened, and twelve men jumped out. They wore mismatched combat uniforms. Some wore Russian helmets, while others had only baseball caps. All of them carried AK-series rifles. Two had RPG-7 rocket launchers on their shoulders, and one held a PKM general-purpose machine gun.
The leader was a burly bald man with a scar running from his forehead to his chin—Grey Wolf.
He raised a hand, and the team halted.
Grey Wolf looked around, his eyes sweeping across every building and patch of forest like a scanner. He made several hand signals. Two of his men raised their rifles and cautiously approached the processing workshop.
Lin Xiao pressed his Communicator.
"Everyone stay concealed. Wait until they are all inside the ambush zone."
Inside the workshop, Su Ying heard footsteps.
She crouched behind the crates, one finger resting against the trigger guard as she made her breathing even quieter. The footsteps drew closer, crunching over gravel alongside the heavy breathing of men. Two shadows fell across the floor at the workshop entrance, wavering as they probed forward.
Then one man poked his head inside.
He was young, his face covered in freckles and his eyes darting nervously. The instant he saw Su Ying, he froze, then shouted, "Someone's here!"
Gunfire erupted.
But Su Ying had not fired—it came from the sniper Lin Xiao had positioned on the second floor of the office building. The bullet struck the concrete floor at the workshop entrance, showering sparks.
"Enemy attack!"
Black Wolf's team scattered instantly, searching for cover. Grey Wolf roared orders, directing the machine gunner to set up the PKM and spray fire at the office building's second floor. Bullets gouged rows of holes into the walls, spraying cement fragments everywhere.
Lin Xiao pressed the detonator.
The "bait" crates in the center of the workshop exploded with a thunderous boom.
It was not a real explosion, but a combined effect of smoke grenades and flashbangs—deafening noise, flashes of fire, and thick white smoke instantly filled the entire workshop. Before the blast, Su Ying had already rolled to the designated position. Now she lay on the ground, pretending to have been injured by the shockwave, coughing and struggling to rise.
Grey Wolf saw the smoke, and his eyes lit up.
"They're covering something! Charge in!"
Black Wolf's members began their assault. The machine gun suppressed the office building's fire, while the rocket launcher operators fired at the side of the workshop, blasting down a wall. Following the script, the assault team began to "resist"—the gunfire was intense, but most bullets struck empty space or deliberately missed their targets.
Lin Xiao gave the order through the comm channel. "Su Ying, move."
Inside the workshop, Su Ying got up and staggered toward the red marker. Her movements were convincing, as though she had truly been injured. Her left leg dragged across the ground, and her Right Hand clutched her chest. Smoke rolled around her as bullets screamed over her head.
Grey Wolf saw her.
"That woman! Capture her!"
Three Black Wolf members rushed toward Su Ying.
At that moment, Lin Xiao appeared on the second floor of the office building, deliberately exposing himself in the window and firing at the charging enemies. His bullet struck one of them in the leg, and the man screamed as he fell.
Grey Wolf immediately swung his weapon around.
"Second floor! Sniper!"
PKM rounds poured toward the office building like torrential rain. Lin Xiao ducked behind cover as cement fragments struck his helmet with sharp crackling sounds. He glanced out from the edge of the window and saw that Su Ying had reached the red marker.
She turned and looked in Lin Xiao's direction.
That was the signal.
Lin Xiao pressed his Communicator. "Grey Falcon, fire."
Three hundred and twenty meters away, Grey Falcon pulled the trigger.
The reduced-charge bullet left the barrel, tracing an almost invisible path through the air. Time seemed to slow—Lin Xiao watched it pass through the smoke, through the swirling dust, and precisely graze Su Ying's left ribs.
Su Ying's body jerked sharply.
She staggered back two steps, clutching her ribs with her left hand as blood instantly poured through her fingers. She dropped to her knees, her breathing turning ragged, her face pale in the smoke.
Perfect.
Lin Xiao was about to order a withdrawal when his gaze suddenly froze.
Through his sniper scope, he saw an unusual figure.
At the edge of Black Wolf's formation was a man who had not joined the assault. He crouched behind an off-road vehicle with a gun in his hands, but he had not fired. His movements were steady, unlike the panicked mercenaries. He wore a dark gray tactical vest with no insignia, but Lin Xiao recognized the design—it was standard equipment for the S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Tactical Unit, issued only last year.
And that man was observing.
His eyes were not on the battlefield. They were scanning the surroundings, as though searching for something. His gaze swept over the office building, the processing workshop, and the surrounding woods before finally stopping on the spot where Su Ying had fallen.
Then he raised something—not a gun, but a small camera. He pointed the lens at Su Ying and pressed the record button.
Lin Xiao's heart sank.
He was not one of Black Wolf's men.
Who was he?
A S.H.I.E.L.D. pursuer? An "inspector" from Hydra headquarters? Or... an informant for some other force?
Gunfire continued, explosions thundered, and smoke churned over the logging yard. But Lin Xiao's attention was completely fixed on that anomalous figure. He watched the man record for ten seconds, put the camera away, then turn and slip into the driver's seat of the off-road vehicle.
The engine started.
That off-road vehicle did not join the battle. Instead, it turned around and sped down the mountain road it had come from.
Grey Wolf noticed and roared, "Fuck! Someone's running!"
But it was already too late.
Lin Xiao pressed his Communicator, his voice cold as ice. "Everyone, retreat according to plan. Take Su Ying and evacuate immediately. Outer perimeter team, track that SUV. I want to know where it went."
"Understood!"
The battle was still raging, but the script had already gone off the rails.
Lin Xiao gave one last look in the direction where that figure had vanished, then turned and rushed toward the stairs.
Through the smoke, Su Ying was helped to her feet by two team members, blood staining her combat uniform red. Her eyes were half-open as she looked at Lin Xiao. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Lin Xiao ran to her side and took her hand.
Her hand was cold.
"Hang in there," he said. "Doctor is waiting."
Su Ying nodded and closed her eyes.
The convoy roared away from the logging yard, leaving Black Wolf's surviving men howling amid smoke and gunfire. Lin Xiao sat in the vehicle, watching the ruins recede in the rearview mirror as his fingers flew across the tactical tablet.
"Nightingale," he said into the Communicator, "analyze every electromagnetic signal in the combat zone immediately. Pull all road surveillance footage within twenty kilometers. Track a dark gray SUV, license plate unknown, driven by a man wearing a gray S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical vest. I want to know who he is."
"Understood."
The transmission cut off.
Lin Xiao turned to look at Su Ying lying in the back seat.
Her breathing was shallow. The bleeding had stopped, but her face was still pale. Anna was injecting her with a painkiller, her movements practiced and swift.
The plan had succeeded.
Su Ying was injured—injured very "convincingly."
But that anomalous figure was like a thorn lodged in Lin Xiao's heart.
Who, exactly, had this performance been for?
Before you continue