Secretly Crossing to Chencang

The silence that followed the call was starkly different from the deathly stillness before it. Previously, it was the fear of being trapped in the eye of a storm, unsure when one would be swallowed whole; now, it was the tense calm before the storm, a tense atmosphere of frantic preparation and strategic maneuvering. The goal was set, the course was clear; all that remained was the power to translate decisions into action.

Lin Feng didn't linger in the study. He got up and went to the adjacent room, which was used for highly secure communications. The walls, doors, and windows here were specially treated and equipped with top-of-the-line signal shielding and anti-eavesdropping equipment. In the center of the room was a large metal table with only a few cold, hard-edged terminal devices without any brand logos on it.

He first activated the dedicated terminal for communicating with K. The pale blue screen lit up, and the command-line interface was so simple it was almost cold. Lin Feng's fingers tapped rapidly on the specially made keyboard, inputting a long string of complex verification commands and a piece of encrypted information.

The core of the instruction is clear and unambiguous:

Target: Kong Xiang (codename "Prisoner A"), located in Seattle Washington State United States. Specific coordinates (encrypted coordinates attached).

Mission: Highest level of personal safety protection.

Execution unit: "Blood Spear" mercenary group (already incorporated).

Require:

Initiate immediately. In a decentralized and multi-pronged manner, within 48 hours, infiltrate all of "Blood Spear's " existing combat forces (approximately 12-15 core combat personnel) into the United States through legal or gray channels (tourism, business, labor, smuggling), and ultimately secretly assemble them in the Seattle area.

Upon entering the United States, all communication devices and identities were immediately changed, and a backup safe house was activated (arranged in advance by K through local channels).

Upon arrival in Seattle, immediately establish a three-tiered perimeter around the target (Kong Xiang): inner circle (close guard, 2-3 people), middle circle (surveillance and counter-reconnaissance around the residence, 4-6 people), and outer circle (area patrol and threat warning, 4-6 people). Equipment will be provided by K through the North America arms network (emphasizing concealment and suitability for urban environments).

Principles: Absolute concealment, without attracting the attention of any law enforcement agencies. Firing is strictly prohibited unless the target faces a direct, immediate, and lethal threat. Intelligence gathering, counter-tracking, deterrence, and covert withdrawal are the primary means of operations.

Command: For now, Locke, the former leader of "Blood Spear," will be in charge of on-site command, receiving remote instructions and intelligence support from K. He will await further instructions from the new leadership.

Lin Feng added a highest priority marker to the end of the message and set a self-destruct time.

The command was issued. Almost instantly, the status bar displayed "Received, decrypting... processing." Lin Feng had enough confidence in the combination of K and "Blood Spear." The power of money, combined with professional skills, and K's pervasive intelligence and logistical support, was enough to build a solid physical defense line in a short time. Locke and his team had just dealt with Xie Yunchuan cleanly and efficiently in Southeast Asia, and their morale, equipment, and loyalty were at their peak, making them perfectly suited for action.

Next, Lin Feng turned to another, older, but also more secretive, communication system. This was a device based on specific digital coding and shortwave frequency hopping, connecting him to his unfathomable ally across the ocean— Golden Sun. Unlike K's efficiency-first approach, communication with Golden Sun required more "etiquette" and "tacit understanding."

He carefully considered his wording and, using a pre-agreed encryption method, drafted a short but information-rich request:

"Morning Star" calls for "Big Dipper" (the Big Dipper).

Reason: Our important observer, ' Scholar ' (referring to Kong Xiang), was conducting academic research (referring to live-streaming the exposure of social problems) in your western star region (referring to the west coast of the United States). Recently, he has been under intense 'attention' from unknown forces, resulting in a deterioration of his academic environment and potential threats to his personal safety.

Request: Activate your 'Reef' (referring to infiltrated personnel) in this star system to assist in the following tasks:

1. Conduct continuous 'star surveillance' (intelligence monitoring) of the star system (Seattle area) where the ' Scholar ' is located, and identify and mark all suspicious 'celestial bodies' (watchers) that are unusually close to the ' Scholar '.

2. Assess the attribution and intent of 'celestial bodies' (origin investigation).

3. When necessary, provide the ' Scholar ' and our upcoming 'escort fleet' (referring to Blood Spear mercenaries) with 'star map correction' (intelligence support) and 'temporary berths' (safe houses or logistical support).

4. This matter is sensitive and must be handled with utmost secrecy to avoid direct confrontation (conflict).

Priority: High.

' Morning Star ' seal.

The message was sent. This system lacked an instant response function. The Golden Sun would respond in its own way and at its own pace, when it was absolutely safe. But Lin Feng knew that once the message was delivered, the other side would carefully consider it and provide maximum support. This was not only because of the current depth of cooperation between the two sides, but also because what Kong Xiang had done and the "truth" he had revealed, from a certain perspective, coincided with a certain "United States image" that the Golden Sun hoped the outside world would see. This was an invisible alliance.

Having completed issuing the dual commands, Lin Feng leaned back in his sturdy metal chair and slowly exhaled a long breath. The only sound in the room was the low hum of the equipment's cooling fans. Outside the window, in the latter half of the night in his city, all was quiet, the darkest hour before dawn.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the thick walls and the distant ocean, landing beneath the leaden clouds above Seattle. Kong Xiang should be hiding in that makeshift safe house, vigilantly listening for every sound in the darkness, awaiting the promised "reinforcements." Meanwhile, Locke and his "Blood Spear" team members might have already been awakened in different corners of the world, checking their equipment, studying new identities and routes, preparing to embark on a perilous journey to the eye of the storm. The "Golden Sun" that have slumbered on the West Coast for many years might also be quietly being activated, raising their heads from dusty files and lives of pretense, casting their gaze upon that humid and rainy city.

An invisible yet intricate net is quietly unfolding towards Seattle under his calm commands. This net is woven from the most professional violence (Blood Spear), the most cutting-edge technology and intelligence (K), and the most unfathomable deep-seated forces (Golden Sun). Its core purpose is singular: to provide a sufficiently sturdy umbrella for the young assassin who chose to "stay" and "save" before the real storm fully descends.

But how long can this umbrella last? What kind of storm can it withstand? Lin Feng was not blindly optimistic. The opponent could be the state apparatus, a dark force nurtured by capital, or a huge vested interest group whose fundamental interests have been touched. Any one of them has the power to crush "Blood Spear" or even challenge the Golden Sun's infiltrative network. The forces he dispatched were more for warning, delaying, maneuvering, and buying time.

The real deciding factor is not the offense or defense in Seattle.

It lies in the step he is about to take, and the response the system might give afterward.

He stood up and turned off all communication terminals. The room fell into darkness again, with only a few tiny indicator lights on the dashboard, like distant stars in the night sky, silently flashing.

They secretly crossed the Chencang pass; their troops were already in motion.

Next, it was his turn, as the "commander," to personally cross the river and head to that unknown and dangerous new battlefield.