3:30 a.m.: Silent Blades

The operation began at 3:30 a. m.

Kitchen area.

The agent codenamed "Black Stone," disguised as the kitchen helper "Old Shi," managed to retrieve a small packet of tools wrapped in oil paper from a damp corner of the kitchen where rotten vegetable leaves were piled up the moment the power outage and chaos erupted.

The tools were simple: a few specially made short metal spikes, barely thicker than a human hair, with tips coated with neurotoxins; a palm-sized alloy knife with a blood groove and exceptionally sharpened edges; and a roll of thin, oil-soaked, tough steel wire.

Without the slightest hesitation, he tucked the short spikes between the fingers of his right hand, gripped the knife in reverse with his left hand, wrapped one end of the wire around his left wrist, and fastened the other end to an inconspicuous hook at his waist.

He did all this in less than five seconds. The other two real helpers in the kitchen were already terrified, huddled behind the stove trembling, completely unaware of his actions.

Like a cat adapted to the darkness, he silently crept to the back door leading from the kitchen to the inner courtyard, listening intently. He heard running footsteps and Brother Bo's furious shouts approaching. Brother Bo, with several men, was running from the security guards' lounge towards the main building, seemingly worried about the general's safety.

Footsteps approached, flashlight beams flared wildly. Brother Bo ran in front, cursing under his breath, followed by three bodyguards, all armed but looking terrified, constantly shining their flashlights into the darkness.

Just as Brother Bo's figure was about to disappear through the narrow passageway behind the kitchen door—

"Old Shi" made a move.

Without a shout or warning, he sprang from the shadows behind the door, as fast as a black lightning bolt. With a flick of his left hand, a poisoned dagger, almost invisible in the darkness, pierced precisely into the side of the neck of the last security guard. The guard froze, not uttering a sound, his face still showing a look of terror, before his body went limp and he fell backward.

At the same time, "Old Shi's" right hand reached out, the cold blade of the alloy knife pressed against the throat of the penultimate bodyguard. Before the opponent could even realize his companion had fallen or turn his head, he suddenly pulled him sideways!

The sharp blade instantly severed the trachea and aorta, and scalding blood gushed out in the darkness with a soft "hiss." The bodyguard only managed a short, whimpering "hoarse" before collapsing to the ground, clutching his neck.

Hearing the strange noise behind them, Brother Bo and another security guard turned around abruptly, their flashlight beams sweeping haphazardly. "Old Shi," in the instant he slit the throat, had already used the recoil to crouch down, the flashlight beam passing over his head. With a flick of his left wrist, the pre-prepared steel wire shot out like a venomous snake, precisely ensnaring the ankle of the security guard who had turned to check, and then yanked sharply!

"Ah!" The security guard screamed, lost his balance, and fell forward. "Old Shi" pounced on him like a shadow, his knee slamming into the man's back, while his right hand stabbed the small knife from the gap between the shoulder blades, diagonally into the heart. The security guard convulsed violently twice and then fell silent.

The entire process, from initiating the attack to eliminating the three individuals, took less than four seconds. It was fast, accurate, and ruthless, with not a single unnecessary movement, as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times.

Brother Bo only saw a dark shadow sway behind him, and the flashlight beam swept across his fallen companion's body and the splattered blood, terrifying him to the core. He didn't even see who the attacker was, and instinctively raised his pistol, ready to pull the trigger in the direction of the shadow.

But "Old Shi" was faster. While dealing with the third person, he had already pulled out a piece of frozen lard the size of a child's fist from his waist with his left hand. The moment Brother Bo raised his gun, he flicked his wrist, and the frozen lard flew out like a projectile, hitting Brother Bo's wrist holding the gun accurately!

"Snap!" The frozen lard was hard and slippery, Brother Bo felt a sharp pain and numbness in his wrist, causing the gun to veer off course. "Bang!" The bullet fired, hitting the wall beside him and sending up a few sparks.

In that brief moment of hesitation, "Old Shi" pounced on Brother Bo like a cheetah, his right hand wielding a small knife that plunged from bottom to top into Brother Bo's jaw, the tip piercing through his mouth and reaching his skull! Brother Bo's eyes widened instantly, filled with unbelievable terror, a strange "gurgling" sound emanating from his throat, his body stiffening, before he slowly fell backward.

"Old Shi" released the knife handle, letting Brother Bo's body fall to the ground. He crouched down and quickly searched Brother Bo's body, finding a walkie-talkie, a set of Key, and a spare pistol. He tucked the pistol into his lower back, turned down the volume of the walkie-talkie, and put the Key away. The whole process was frighteningly calm.

He looked up, glanced at the main building, then at the security guards' dormitory. Without pausing, he bent down, picked up an AK-47 that a security guard had dropped, checked the ammunition, then retrieved the wire, wiped the knife on the corpse's clothes, and tucked it back into his waistband. He didn't even glance at the two actual kitchen helpers huddled in the kitchen, witnessing everything and nearly fainting from fright, as if they were merely insignificant background figures.

He faced the darkness and mimicked a bird call slightly different from Bai Shan's (meaning "clear and control the kitchen area"), then, gun in hand, he vanished back into the shadows, stealthily making his way towards the security guards' quarters. He needed to rendezvous with another infiltrated agent to deal with the remaining security guards in the quarters and seize the armory Key.

Internal Security Dormitory.

The dormitory was even more chaotic. Most of the security guards were asleep when the power went out, with only a few on night duty outside. The darkness and chaotic screams woke everyone up, and they were frantically searching for clothes, shoes, and weapons in the dark, amidst curses, questions, and the sounds of clattering. No one turned on the lights, because the backup power supply didn't seem to be connected here, or the wiring was faulty.

Just then, the dormitory door was silently pushed open. Several dark figures flashed in like ghosts, seemingly equipped with some kind of night vision gear, moving without hindrance in absolute darkness.

Just as a security guard touched his trousers, a cold steel wire suddenly tightened around his neck from behind. Before he could struggle, the wire snapped shut, digging deep into his flesh and severing his throat and cervical vertebrae. He twitched twice like a fish out of water, then went still.

Another security guard heard a strange noise from the bed next to him and was about to ask when a cold dagger was already plunged precisely into his temple from the side, the hilt disappearing completely. He collapsed onto the bed without even uttering a sound.

The third security guard was more alert. He heard a faint sound of a blade piercing flesh and a dull thud as a body fell. Terrified, he rushed barefoot towards the door without even putting on his shoes, instinctively wanting to shout, "Someone's here!"

Before he could even utter the word "human," a thin, long metal spike (similar to the one used by "Black Stone") flew from the side and pierced the back of his neck. He felt all the strength drain from his body instantly, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground, twitching a few times before going still.

The massacre proceeded silently in the darkness. Three agents entered, working in perfect coordination. One opened the door to draw attention, while the other two stormed in from both sides, using wire, daggers, and poisoned daggers to eliminate the seven or eight unsuspecting security guards in the dormitory within seconds. The entire process was barely audible, with only the muffled thuds of bodies falling, the faint cutting sounds of blades, and the faint gasps of the dying, masked by the noisy background sounds of the dormitory.

One agent quickly checked all the beds, confirming there were no survivors. Another had already reached the small compartment enclosed by an iron fence near the entrance—a makeshift armory. The padlock on the fence door was opened in just two seconds with the help of specialized tools. Inside stood four gun cabinets, two unlocked and two locked. The unlocked ones contained some old Type 56 assault rifles and a small amount of ammunition, while the locked ones required Key.

An agent pulled a small, screen-equipped device from his pocket and attached it to the mechanical lock of the gun cabinet. Numbers scrolled rapidly on the screen. A few seconds later, with a soft click, the lock opened. It was a portable lock-breaking device. Inside the gun cabinet, neatly arranged were relatively new AK-74U short assault rifles, pistols, grenades, smoke grenades, and ample ammunition.

"Replenish ammunition, get grenades and smoke grenades. One short-barreled assault rifle per person, pistols as spares. Move quickly," the lead agent ordered in a low, steady voice.

The three men quickly and methodically changed their equipment, discarding their old Type 56 assault rifles and replacing them with the superior AK-74Us. They then attached pistols, grenades, and smoke grenades, stuffing the ammunition into their small pouches. The entire process took less than a minute.

"Cleanup complete, equipment upgraded. Head towards the main building to rendezvous." The lead agent whispered into his miniature earpiece, and then the three of them, just as they had entered, silently left the blood-soaked dormitory, blending into the darkness outside, and hurried towards the main building and the rendezvous point designated by Captain Bai Shan.

Armory (near the entrance to the main building's basement).

The main entrance to the armory is in the basement of the main building, guarded by the "general's" guards, making a direct assault impractical. However, the intelligence provided by K mentions a hidden ventilation and maintenance hatch for emergency access to the armory from the outside. This hatch is located behind a low building disguised as a tool shed on the side and rear of the main building, and has been in disrepair for years, so few people remember it.

The two agents in charge of this area had already confirmed the location during the day under the pretext of "checking the drainage." Now, taking advantage of the darkness and chaos, they silently crept to the back of the tool shed. One of them kept watch while the other easily cut the rusted padlock with hydraulic shears, pushed open the heavy sheet metal inspection cover, revealing a dark, downward-sloping opening that could only accommodate one person at a time, from which came a strong smell of mildew and dust.

Without hesitation, the two crawled inside. It was a narrow pipe, covered in cobwebs and dust. They crawled forward for about ten meters before being blocked by an iron fence. Behind the fence, a large space was vaguely visible, filled with wooden crates.

The vigilant agent retrieved a small oxygen cutting torch (miniature, with only enough fuel for a short time), and a silent blue flame shot out, quickly severing several key welds on the iron fence. Another agent pulled hard, tearing a gap in the fence.

The two crawled out and found themselves in a corner piled with spare gun parts and ammunition supplies, with the main armory just ahead. A guard was leaning against the heavy iron door of the armory, seemingly tense due to the power outage and the chaos outside, constantly listening intently, his hand tightly gripping his gun.

The two agents exchanged a glance. One silently approached from the shadows, and when he was two meters away from the guard, he lunged out, covering the guard's mouth with one hand while the military dagger in his other hand precisely pierced the guard's heart through the gap in his ribs. The guard's body stiffened, then collapsed.

The other man quickly stepped forward, caught the body, gently laid it down, and then took a bunch of Key from his waist. Instead of trying to open the main door of the armory (that would alert the others inside), the two men quickly rummaged through the pile of supplies near the door and found several bundles of military explosives, detonators, and remote-controlled detonators, stuffing them into their waterproof backpacks.

"Got it. Let's get out of here," one person whispered.

The two quickly retreated the way they came, climbed out of the ventilation duct, left the inspection cover slightly ajar, and disappeared into the shadows on the side of the main building. Their mission was not to storm the weapons depot, but to obtain possible explosives in preparation for a possible subsequent assault or to create chaos.

Watchtower.

The situation was similar on both the east and west watchtowers. Sentinel A Qiang and the sentry on the west tower were panicked after the power outage and the chaos below. They frantically fiddled with their walkie-talkies and shone their flashlights down, trying to see what was happening, but apart from darkness, the scattered beams of flashlights flickering in the distance, and the faint noise coming from below, they could see nothing. Their attention was completely drawn to what was below, and they were completely unaware of the threat coming from below the tower.

Two agents stealthily approached the east and west watchtowers. They didn't climb the rusty, creaking ladder. One of them, using the gaps and protrusions in the steel pipes of the tower, silently scaled the edge of the seven- or eight-meter-high platform in just a few seconds, like a monkey, relying solely on the strength of his hands and feet. The other used a rope with a grappling hook to easily hook onto the platform railing and quickly climb up as well.

A Qiang was leaning against the railing, shining his flashlight down and cursing under his breath, completely unaware of what was behind him. Suddenly, a cold, strong hand covered his mouth and nose from behind, and at the same time, a sharp dagger slashed across his carotid artery. Hot blood spurted out, A Qiang's eyes widened, his body convulsed violently, and then he was firmly held down by that hand and slowly laid down on the cold, damp wooden board. The flashlight rolled to the side, its light gradually dimming.

The West Tower sentries all died in almost the same way. Agents who had climbed onto the platform approached from behind, strangled them with wire, and quickly finished them off.

The two agents quickly inspected the watchtower, dragged the sentry's body to a corner, picked up their rifles (old AKs), but didn't take them; they simply unloaded and stowed the ammunition. They valued the watchtower's visibility and control more. One remained on the tower, using captured binoculars and night vision goggles to observe the area below, especially the main building and the finance office. The other slid down the tower to rendezvous with other agents nearby.

Around 3:35 a. m.

Within five minutes, the key passage from the kitchen area to the wall was cleared, several security leaders were eliminated, the remaining personnel in the security barracks were silently slaughtered and their equipment upgraded, key explosives were acquired, and two watchtowers were captured without a sound.

The entire armed force in the park was torn apart and disintegrated as quickly as paper in the face of the sudden darkness, chaos, and the ghostly, efficient, and ruthless attackers.

Only the main building remained, the last and most fortified fortress, still standing like an isolated island in a raging storm under the dim, flickering backup lights.

Meanwhile, Captain Bai Shan and his four most elite agents, like four unsheathed blades, silently approached the shadows of the main building under the cover of the thick night.

The real battle is about to begin.