The night was like a thick cloth soaked in ink, weighing heavily over the heavy industrial area.
There are more than a dozen searchlights standing in the warehouse area of Niveus Pharmaceuticals Factory. The bright white light beams sweep across the rusty iron fence, making the shadows of patrolling security guards thin and long.
The security guard's rubber boots stepped on the concrete floor, and his footsteps could be heard from a distance. The flashlight beam in his hand was dangling, and the air was filled with a strange smell of diesel and disinfectant.
Several tall warehouses are connected together, like giant beasts dormant in the darkness. The loading and unloading openings of the dark holes are open, and a bit of cold air is coming out, mixed with a faint smell of sulfur - which is the trace of the devil hiding inside.
In the drainage ditch outside the fence, four people, Sam, Bobby, Castiel, and Bai Haorui, squatted knee-deep in the weeds. Next to them were two bulging rucksacks filled with C4 explosives and detonators.
The dew on the grass blades wetted the trouser legs. No one moved, and even breathing was very light.
Sam was squatting on the far left, holding a modified salt shotgun in his hand, with his fingertips resting on the trigger guard, his eyes staring at the route of the patrolling security guard, and his brows knitted into a knot.
Bobby squatted in the middle, with a crumpled warehouse floor plan spread out on his knees. The end of a pencil was biting in his mouth, and his fingertips were stained with mud. He was marking the placement points of explosives on the map.
Castiel on the far right is particularly eye-catching.
He was holding a nine-millimeter pistol in his hand, fiddling with it over and over. His fingers were unfamiliar with the trigger, and he suddenly let it go. His face was so gloomy that it could drip water. In the past, all evil spirits disappeared wherever his holy light passed, but now that he has lost all his divine power, the cold iron knob in his hand is as heavy as a thousand pounds.
His knuckles turned white from exertion, and his whole body was filled with an irritated and weak air, and even his shoulders were slumped.
"Watch it as you walk, man, don't point the gun at yourself or others." Bobby touched his arm with his elbow, his voice was very low, with the unique vigilance of an old hunter, "The safety is not turned off, be careful of the fire."
"Do you have any opinions?" Castiel's tone was a little angry, without raising his head.
He had never been so frustrated in his life. He didn't even have to raise his hand to deal with demons before, but now he had to rely on such mortal things. The feeling of disparity made him feel uncomfortable like needles.
Bobby didn't answer his question, raised his chin and tapped the gun in his hand. "It's reached a critical point, don't feel sorry for yourself here. Just point it and pull the damn trigger, you can still kill the devil."
"My previous power..." Castiel opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed it back when he reached his lips. He just laughed to himself and rubbed the cold gun body with his fingertips. "It's at the last moment, but I have no use for it. It's a piece of shit like this. It's hard to fight even a low-level demon."
"Just aim and pull the trigger, there's all this nonsense." Bobby said in a flat tone, not getting used to his emo at all, and stretched out his hand to stuff a pack of explosives into his arms, "Without your magic power, you are no longer a hunter? When you had no wings, didn't you stab the devil with a dagger? Stop remembering your glorious days here, there are not enough manpower in the first place, hurry up and load the car."
The explosive bag was so heavy that it made Castiel's chest feel tight.
He pursed his lips, did not talk back, and silently moved the explosive bag to his side, but did not repeatedly fiddle with the trigger with his finger, and the tight shoulder lines relaxed a little.
Bai Haorui, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.
He leaned against the wall, his black jacket blending into the night, and the pale gold Lotus Seal between his eyebrows was looming. Just now he had been running Divine Sense to sweep across the entire warehouse area. At this moment, his breathing was steady, his eyes were clear, and he whispered He said, "There are a total of eight demons inside, all dressed in workers' skins. Three are loading at the front entrance, and the remaining five are guarding the cold storage area at the innermost part of the warehouse. The cold storage is full of virus medicines, and they are packed to the brim, enough for half a United States person."
"Are there any civilians?" Sam immediately turned around and asked, his voice was very low and his eyes were nervous.
"There are three night shift workers locked up in the employee lounge in the southeast corner." Bai Haorui raised his finger and pointed to the right rear of the warehouse, "They are all alive, but they are tied up and not injured. When you go in, rescue them first, and then blow up the warehouse. You can't bury people inside."
"There are security guards and surveillance cameras at the front entrance. It's definitely not possible to break in." Bobby put away the floor plan, frowned and asked, "How to get in?"
Bai Haorui raised his hand and pointed to the top of his head. There was a vent about half a man's height in the northwest corner of the wall, and the iron grille was already rusty and loose. "Enter through the ventilation duct. I Divine Sense swept through it. The duct leads directly to the back of the shelves in the middle of the warehouse. There is no surveillance inside, and no one is guarding it. I will take the lead, you follow me, and step softly."
Castiel raised his head and glanced at the vent, then looked at Bai Haorui, his tone was a bit complicated, and he still had a bit of disappointment. "Your Divine Sense detection is better than my previous angel sense."
"Everyone has their own use." Bai Haorui smiled and reached out to pat his arm. The force was not heavy but very steady. "Don't underestimate yourself. Strength has always been just a tool. Your judgment and courage have never been lost. In the past, you dared to fight against the whole Heaven, but now you still dare to risk your life against the devil with a gun. That's enough."
Castiel was stunned for a moment, looking at Bai Haorui's back as he turned to remove the grille on the vent, the corners of his mouth moved, and he didn't say anything for a long time.
The irritated and oppressive suffocation stuck in my chest seemed to have been blown away by the wind, and the gun in my hand didn't seem so heavy anymore.
The inside of the ventilation duct was narrow and stuffy, the metal pipe walls were cold to the touch, and the air was filled with the smell of dust and rust. The four of them moved forward hunched over, with Bai Haorui walking at the front, walking as light as a cat, and even breathing silently. From time to time, he turned back and gestured to indicate a turn or stop ahead.
After climbing for about tens of meters, there were faint sounds of voices and the muffled sound of boxes being dragged below.
Bai Haorui raised his hand and made a "stop" gesture, and a trace of True Gang condensed on his fingertips, which quietly loosened the vent grille below. He gently opened the grille, glanced down to confirm that no one was there, and jumped down first. When he landed, he tapped his toes without making any sound.
Others followed Lu and landed one after another. As soon as they stood firm, they saw clearly what was inside the warehouse.
The cold white fluorescent lamps were dazzlingly bright, and rows of metal shelves were lined up from near to far, filled with cardboard boxes with the "Niveus Pharmaceuticals" logo printed on them, stacked up to the ceiling.
There are more than a dozen large refrigerators standing in the deepest part of the warehouse. The compressors make a low and continuous hum. Cold air comes out from the gaps in the refrigerators, mixed with the smell of disinfectant and a faint smell of sulfur.
Several "workers" in blue overalls were dragging boxes onto the truck. They moved quickly, but their faces were abnormally white and their eye sockets were sunken, a typical sign of demonic possession.
As soon as a few people hid behind the shelves, they were bumped into by a patrolling demon. The demon just turned around the shelf and came face to face with Sam. He was stunned for a second, and immediately roared and raised his gun, "Someone broke in!"
The bullet roared with the smell of sulfur, hitting the metal shelf and sending up a string of sparks.
"Get back to the side door!" Bobby roared and took the lead in raising his gun to fight back. The salt bullet hit the demon, making a sizzling sound and bursting out white smoke. The demon roared in pain, but as long as it missed the heart, he could turn around and pounce again.
The three of them fired while retreating into the depths of the warehouse. The sound of the salt bullet guns made people's ears ring in the empty warehouse.
Sam held the gun, with his shoulder against the butt of the gun, and shot accurately. The demon that was hit screamed and turned into black smoke and dissipated.
But the demons kept popping up from behind the shelves, gathering more and more, and after a while, the magazine was empty.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Bobby grabbed Castiel who was still changing the magazine and pushed him towards the freezer.
Castiel also had a gun in his hand. Although he had lost his divine power, his thousand-year fighting instincts were still there. He raised his hand and hit a demon in the forehead. His movements were very steady and did not hinder him at all.
In the chaos, Sam suddenly stopped.
From the direction of the lounge next to it, there was a faint voice of a woman calling for help. It was muffled through the door, with a crying voice, desperate and powerless. "Help... Is there anyone... Help..."
"There are people inside." Sam's face changed, and he turned around and rushed over there.
"Sam, don't worry about it!" Bobby stretched out his hand and grabbed his arm, his voice was so anxious that he became hoarse, "The explosives are almost packed. If we don't leave, we will all be blown up inside!"
"No." Sam slammed his hand away with a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiation. "There are civilians inside, we can't leave them behind. Just wait here and I'll go rescue them."
"I'll go with you." Bai Haorui followed up in a few steps, and pulled out the mahogany sword with a clang. The purple-gold color True Gang spread along the sword's body, glowing faintly under the light, "You open the door to save people, I'll help you block it."
The two rushed to the lounge one after the other. Two demons were guarding the door. When they heard the noise, they immediately turned around. The human skin on their faces split open, revealing black eyes and fangs. They rushed forward with a roar, and the fishy wind blew in their faces.
Bai Haorui kept walking, stepped away from Bagua Steps, avoided the first devil's claw on one side of his body, turned his wrist, and swept the peach wood sword out sideways.
Purple-gold True Gang spurted out along the sword body, turning into a half-moon-shaped sword energy and sweeping forward against the ground.
The sword energy carried Pure Yang True Fire heat, and even the dust on the ground was stirred up.
The two demons were unable to dodge, and their calves were hit hard and instantly cut off at the root. Black and green blood spurted out on the ground. White smoke emitted from the section, and the flesh was burned by True Gang.
"Ah--!" The two demons let out a shrill scream and fell to the ground struggling.
Bai Haorui Without stopping, he took half a step forward with his left foot, his center of gravity suddenly dropped, and he held the sword in his right hand and raised it from bottom to top.
The sword blade cut through the air, bringing with it a scorching wave of air. Pure Yang True Fire was attached to the sword, and even the surrounding air was slightly distorted by the heat. This move was fast and cruel, directly piercing the chest of one of the demons.