Infiltration Failed

The upper level of the factory was empty and deathly silent, with only dust drifting through the occasional slivers of light.

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu quickly adjusted to their surroundings after landing. Using their night-vision goggles and the simple floor plan issued earlier, they located the stairs leading down.

The three moved like cheetahs blending into the shadows, silent and efficient.

Hua Yin took the lead, his senses especially sharp in the darkness.

After awakening his ability, he had gained a vague perception of life and energy flows, allowing him to "smell" whether hidden sentries waited around corners or behind doors.

As they approached a rusted iron staircase leading to the first floor of the main factory building, Hua Yin paused slightly and raised a hand.

There were breathing sounds near the stairwell below. More than one.

There was also the pungent smell of cheap cigarettes, along with low voices talking.

His eyes shifted slightly as he raised his left hand, palm up.

Several pale points of light silently appeared, rapidly stretching and gathering into three butterflies no larger than a palm. Their wings were nearly transparent, their edges flowing with faint, barely visible traces of pale green light.

They fluttered lightly in his palm, beautiful yet bizarre.

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu held their breath as they watched, knowing Hua Yin was about to make his move.

With a thought from Hua Yin, the three Pale Bewitching Butterflies fluttered out like ghosts carried down by the night wind, silently drifting through the gaps in the staircase.

On the first floor of the factory, near the stairwell.

Three burly men in filthy work clothes huddled together, smoking. Their eyes were fierce, and the bulges around their waists made it clear they were armed.

They were among the hidden sentries Scarface King had stationed around the factory perimeter.

"Damn it, this shithole doesn't even have a single broad. Who knows how long the boss plans to stay hidden?"

A scar-faced man spat.

"Cut the crap. Things have been tense lately, and those dogs from the Special Affairs Bureau have sharp noses. Behave yourselves. Once this blows over, there'll be plenty in it for us."

Another man, who seemed comparatively steady, replied.

The third man said nothing. He merely took a deep drag from his cigarette, its ember flickering in the darkness.

Just then, a faint, pale speck of light caught his attention.

"Huh?" He narrowed his eyes and looked up the stairs.

Several strange-colored, nearly transparent white butterflies were drifting down. Their wings reflected a dreamlike sheen beneath the weak light filtering through gaps in the distant machinery wreckage.

"Why are there butterflies in the factory this late at night? And this color, too?"

The scar-faced man noticed them as well. Somewhat surprised, he reached out to catch the closest one. "They're pretty nice-looking..."

The instant his fingers were about to touch the Lost Butterfly's wing—

The Pale Bewitching Butterflies, which had been drifting leisurely through the air, suddenly changed!

Their grace turned sharp in an instant!

As if they had received a silent command, they abruptly accelerated, their wavering paths turning straight as blades!

The pale green traces along their wing edges flared brightly, radiating bone-piercing sharpness!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Three exceedingly soft sounds, like hot knives slicing through solidified grease, were nearly inaudible amid the dim, noisy surroundings.

The three burly men stiffened at the same time.

The scar-faced man's outstretched hand froze in midair. His eyes widened, reflecting the pale butterfly perched on his fingertip, a scarlet droplet still falling from the edge of its wings.

The next second, three thin streams of blood burst from the arteries at their necks simultaneously!

The wounds were smooth as mirrors, deep enough to expose bone!

"Ghk... ghk..."

They clutched their throats in vain, trying to cry out, but could only make wheezing sounds like broken bellows. The shock in their eyes was swiftly replaced by deathly gray, and their bodies crumpled to the ground as blood rapidly spread into a dark patch across the dust-covered floor.

The three Pale Bewitching Butterflies that had completed their task flew lightly back and settled on Hua Yin's shoulder. The blood on their wings seemed to be absorbed, vanishing as they became pristine once more.

Hua Yin's expression did not waver in the slightest, as though he had merely brushed away a few specks of dust. He gestured behind him: clear.

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu exchanged a glance, suppressing the chill brought by that strange and efficient method of killing before quickly following.

The three slipped down the stairs like ghosts, stepping over the corpses that were still twitching faintly as they formally entered the first floor of the factory.

This place was even more spacious, filled with more enormous abandoned machines and shipping containers. Only a few emergency lamps hanging from rusted iron frames provided dim illumination.

Louder clamor could vaguely be heard in the distance, as though many people had gathered there.

Sun Haoran stopped walking, his nostrils flaring slightly as he closed his eyes and focused.

His Spirit-Tracking Nose operated at full force, catching a trace of Scarface King's stronger, distinctive "scent" amid the filthy air mixed with rust, engine oil, sweat, cheap tobacco, and even a hint of blood—the smell of special tobacco, sweat, and the faintly restless aura of Genetic Potion.

"This way."

He quickly locked onto the direction and pointed toward an entrance to a sloping underground passage deep within the factory, half-concealed by a large number of shipping containers.

Two heavy iron doors stood partly open there. They looked rusted, but had clearly been reinforced. Brighter light and clearer noise spilled through the gap.

The target was behind those doors.

Hua Yin nodded. The three formed a tactical formation and swiftly, stealthily approached the iron doors using the shadows of abandoned machinery as cover.

With less than twenty meters left to the doors, they could clearly hear shouting, wild laughter, metal clashing, and even the faint crying and pleading of women from within.

Scarface King and his core followers were clearly hiding here, and they were most likely engaged in some kind of "entertainment."

Just as Hua Yin's hand was about to touch the Tang Blade at his waist, with Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu also readying their breaching equipment and crowd-control methods for a thunderous strike—

"Gentlemen,"

A low, hoarse voice with the texture of grinding metal, filled with mockery and coldness, suddenly sounded from the deepest shadows behind and to the side of them.

The voice was not loud, yet it pierced through every noise in the factory with perfect clarity, like a venomous serpent's tongue brushing over their eardrums.

"Looking for me?"

Every muscle in Hua Yin's body tensed as he spun around!

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu reacted like startled beasts, instantly shifting their stances. Weapons in hand and spiritual power surging, they stared warily toward the source of the voice.

From the shadows piled with enormous discarded boilers and pipes, a tall figure slowly stepped out.

The man appeared to be around forty. He was built like forged iron and wore a black tactical vest and work pants. The muscles on his thick, bare arms knotted beneath protruding veins, and countless scars covered his skin.

Most striking was the hideous centipede-like scar running diagonally from his right brow bone to the corner of his left mouth. In the dim light, it seemed to writhe like a living thing, adding even more menace to his already vicious face.

It was Scarface King!

A cruel, cat-toying-with-a-mouse smile sat on his face, while his gaze, like cold razor blades, swept across Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu, who stood ready for battle.

Finally, it settled on Hua Yin, standing at the front. His eyes had returned to calm, but the aura around him had instantly become cold and sharp.

Scarface King's gaze lingered briefly on Hua Yin's overly young face before passing over the Tang Blade on his back.

Then, seemingly intentionally or not, it paused on the three Pale Bewitching Butterflies still resting on his shoulder. A deep trace of wariness flashed through his eyes, along with... an indescribable greed.

"Special Affairs Bureau brats."

Scarface King licked his lips, his voice dripping with mockery. "Your noses are sharp enough. You found your way here pretty quickly. And you even brought along such an... interesting little fellow."

He tilted his head toward Hua Yin, his scar twisting into an even more terrifying smile.

"You're new, aren't you? Never seen you before! Li Fu and Old Smokestack both went down by your hand, right?"

He rolled his neck, producing a string of sharp cracks.

A violent, scorching spiritual pressure filled with pure physical power began surging around him.

It was the fierce aura of a Genetic Warrior, tempered through countless doses of potions and life-or-death battles. Its intensity had reached the peak of D-rank and had even faintly touched the threshold of C-rank!

Genetic Warrior ranks were the same as those of demonic beasts, except they could only reach B-rank at most. After all, human physical strength could not compare to the innate gifts of demonic beasts.

For Scarface King to reach the peak of D-rank, he had already received two Genetic Potion injections. Moreover, the second Genetic Potion was nearly fully digested. Once it was completely absorbed, one more injection would allow him to successfully advance to C-rank.

"Perfect." He grinned, revealing teeth yellowed by tobacco, his eyes blazing with ferocity. "I'd like to taste what your flesh and blood... are like, you little bastard!"

Before his words had even faded, he stomped down hard!

The concrete floor sank into a shallow crater beneath his foot, shards of stone scattering everywhere!

Scarface King shot forward like a cannonball, carrying violent force and a piercing howl through the air as he launched the first attack against Hua Yin's group!

At nearly the same moment, the partly open iron doors were violently slammed open from within. Seven or eight desperadoes with equally fierce auras rushed out howling, wielding all manner of prohibited weapons or radiating the fluctuations of low-level awakened abilities. In an instant, Hua Yin's group was caught between enemies in front and behind!

The infiltration had completely failed.

The battle instantly entered its most brutal, fevered stage!