Mysterious Bracelet

Draped in a black cloak and carrying an adorable little wooden horse, Xu Jiang set off.

Half-crouching, he jogged toward the wall. After only a few steps, he heard a notification.

Alert: A surveillance zone lies three meters ahead at the ten o'clock direction. It is expected to disappear in ten seconds.

Reconnaissance Sense was indeed incredibly useful. Based on the cameras' movement and coverage, it gave advance warnings, allowing Xu Jiang to plan his own route.

Of course, many agents could evade ordinary cameras. The real test lay at the perimeter wall.

Alert: A fully covered surveillance zone lies three meters ahead. Detour recommended.

Sure enough, the real surveillance zone started here.

Yong'an City was anything but peaceful and harmonious.

Its crime rate was so high that even the Public Security Bureau could not be bothered to keep count. Wealthy major factions surrounded their territories with walls and installed vast numbers of cameras along them.

The instant they detected any abnormal moving object, they would send an alarm to the monitoring room. With total coverage like this, ordinary detours could not avoid surveillance.

Fortunately, Xu Jiang had Shadowstep.

Though he had not had time to upgrade the skill, Shadowstep had reached Level 3. Its invisibility-and-speed boost lasted 1.5 seconds, which was enough for him.

Still some distance from the wall, Xu Jiang made three separate dashes. His first target was a trash can.

Shadowstep—Dash—Sliding Tackle. Cover me, trash can!

Damn! This feels so stupid. I'm never taking a job like this again. Xu Jiang complained inwardly.

Although he was perfectly positioned in a surveillance blind spot, the place stank! Garbage lay everywhere, and he had to wait for his next skill cooldown before moving.

When he looked back, he saw a group of teammates hiding in the shadows and giving him thumbs-ups. What a truly unforgettable welcome party.

Once the five-minute cooldown ended, Xu Jiang activated Shadowstep again. He sped forward, changed cover a third time, and finally pressed himself against the wall.

This spot happened to be a blind spot directly beneath the camera. Half doubtful, Xu Jiang picked up the wooden horse toy and gently pressed it against the wall.

At a single touch, the wooden horse slowly turned into smoke, as though it were being absorbed, seeping bit by bit into the camera.

In a daze, Xu Jiang seemed to see little imps squatting atop the camera. Grins appeared on their ghostly faces as they stretched out their hands and covered the surveillance lens, before vanishing abruptly.

That was it? Was this how the Trojan horse intrusion worked?

As Xu Jiang pondered this, several figures appeared as well.

"Nicely done!" Ying Xiaoxiao walked over and patted Xu Jiang on the shoulder in encouragement.

"You performed very well. Our team needs Shadow Dancers like you."

"...Thanks for the praise, but I'm a Mech Warrior. Please don't ask me to do this kind of work next time."

They had walked over openly and even started talking, yet the cameras showed no reaction whatsoever. The Trojan horse was clearly working.

Looking at Xiao Zhen, mysterious supernatural energy radiated from her body and enveloped everyone. It was likely complementing the little imps that blocked the cameras.

This ability was truly useful. Magic defeating technology was simply too easy.

"What do we do next?"

"Climb straight over the wall, quietly find the item, then quietly leave." Ying Xiaoxiao laid out the plan, and everyone quickly sprang into action.

Ying Xiaoxiao's combat strength truly was formidable. She crouched slightly, her long legs suddenly exerting force, and effortlessly vaulted over the wall.

Sha Tu might not have had a pair of beautiful long legs, but he had prosthetic limbs. Extending a chain, he easily crossed the wall as well.

Only Baozi and Xu Jiang were helpless before the wall covered in barbed wire, their clumsy movements unable to do anything about it.

"I'll take you up," Xiao Zhen said flatly. With a rub of her fingers, a ghost balloon split into three, and she gave one to each of them.

Holding it in his hand, Xu Jiang felt a pulling force carry him upward. He drifted lightly over the wall and landed inside the base.

The power of a mysterious arts user was indeed impressive. Still, being carried through the air by a balloon felt rather embarrassing.

Xu Jiang decided that he would install a set of thrusters on Qianji in the future. At the very least, it needed to be capable of brief flight.

Once inside the Black Tiger Gang's base, things became much simpler.

All the cameras had failed, and it was the middle of the night. With only a few lazy patrol grunts around, there was no way they could see through Xiao Zhen's mist.

Keeping to the shadows, they soon arrived outside the largest research building.

Ying Xiaoxiao flipped through the mission records. "This is it. The item is in the laboratory on the third floor."

"???"

"How do you know that so clearly?"

"This is intelligence the Public Security Bureau gave me! The last time they wanted to buy the bracelet, they inspected it on the third floor."

"The Black Tiger Gang wants to sell it? Then why did they hire us to steal it?"

"Because it's expensive." Ying Xiaoxiao shrugged as though it were only natural.

Sure enough, the people at the Public Security Bureau were no saints either.

Because the price was too high, they gave up on buying it, then spent less money to hire someone to steal it. What a shrewd little calculation.

No matter what, the operation had to continue.

Sha Tu's figure flashed as he leaped five meters straight up from where he stood. His mechanical legs hooked onto the wall, and he casually made his way to the third-floor window.

He found an unoccupied spot and covered the others as they climbed up. Everything appeared to be going smoothly.

But when they saw the target bracelet, their expressions changed slightly.

"No wonder the Public Security Bureau was certain this thing was on the third floor. Damn it, we've been played." Experienced as he was, Sha Tu noticed something wrong the instant he saw the bracelet.

The two guards at the door were easily taken down, and the sealed research room was easy to enter. But in its current state, the bracelet would not be easy to retrieve.

The bracelet was currently sealed inside a powerful electromagnetic field. It was not meant to keep outsiders away, but to restrain the bracelet itself.

Humans had a hard time controlling alien technology. This bracelet must have been impossible to control as well, which was why it had been placed here under suppression.

The moment they deactivated the electromagnetic field, the bracelet would likely cause a huge commotion. A major battle would be unavoidable.

Most likely, those people from the Public Security Bureau were waiting outside the perimeter right now. Once both sides started fighting, they would come out and reap the benefits.

Anger filled Ying Xiaoxiao's eyes. She was clearly deeply dissatisfied with the Public Security Bureau's intelligence. Turning to Xiao Zhen, she asked, "Can you suppress the bracelet with your power?"

Upon hearing that, Xiao Zhen sent a ghost drifting over. It circled the electromagnetic field and inspected it for a while.

"I can, but I'll have to suppress it with my full strength." Xiao Zhen's indifferent voice made everyone frown.

It could be said that Xiao Zhen's role in the entire operation was irreplaceable.

Once she devoted herself fully to suppressing the bracelet, all work involving blocking surveillance, providing support, and protection would have to stop.

If a fight broke out, they might even have to divide their attention to protect Xiao Zhen. A chaotic battle on the Black Tiger Gang's turf would put them at a severe disadvantage.

Should they take this thing, or not?