Yue Xiaofei made up his mind and hesitated no longer.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. Midnight was still more than two hours away.
He had plenty of time.
Instead of setting out at once, he went into his bedroom.
He was confident, but he was no fool blinded by arrogance.
Even a lion used its full strength to catch a rabbit.
If he was going to accept the invitation, he needed to prepare.
He dragged a heavy military equipment case out from under his bed.
Inside, specially modified weapons and equipment were laid out in neat rows.
A pistol fitted with a suppressor and several spare magazines.
A special-operations dagger gleaming coldly.
Several custom-made flashbangs and smoke grenades, all exceptionally powerful.
And a black vest of soft armor, thin as a cicada's wing but as protective as a heavy bulletproof vest.
Bureau 7 had issued him all of it.
He put the armor on beneath his clothes, slipped the pistol and dagger into quick-draw holsters at the back of his waist and along his thigh, then tucked several flashbangs into his coat pockets.
When he was done, he checked himself in the mirror. Nothing looked out of place. He could have been any sharp-looking young man heading to a get-together with friends.
Once everything was ready, Yue Xiaofei left the apartment alone without alerting anyone and slipped silently into the night in Jiangcheng.
Eleven fifty at night.
Jiangcheng Old Wharf.
It had once been Jiangcheng's busiest cargo wharf, but since the New Port District was built, it had gradually fallen into disuse.
Rows of rusted shipping containers stood in haphazard piles, forming a vast steel maze.
Heavy fog had risen over the river.
The white mist, thick with the smell of river water, shrouded the entire