Operation Begins

At 1:15 a.m.

The high-speed train slowly pulled into the station in central Jinghai City.

Su Han followed Chen Yixi and the others out of the train.

The city center was the city center, all right.

Even at this early hour, the platform was still brightly lit.

A massive holographic billboard flickered overhead, playing advertisements for all manner of luxury goods as crowds streamed ceaselessly past.

"Captain Chen," Su Han suddenly said.

Chen Yixi turned her head, her gaze icy. "Speak."

"Since we're in the city center, can I go look for my older sister first?" Su Han asked.

Benevolence Hospital was also in the city center, so it shouldn't be far away.

If possible, he wanted to see if he could find his sister first.

But Zhao Lei, who was walking beside them, immediately snorted when he heard this.

"Do you think you're here on vacation, free to go wherever you want?"

Chen Yixi looked at Su Han, her gaze cold, and refused outright.

"We'll talk after the mission."

Su Han fell silent.

But now was not the time to fall out with them, so he said no more.

Chen Yixi continued leading the way, walking briskly.

The group followed her through the crowd.

When they came out of the station, two black vans were already waiting by the roadside.

"Get in." Chen Yixi opened a door.

The menial disciples rode in one van, while Su Han and the other outer disciples rode with Chen Yixi in the other.

The van started and joined the traffic in the city center.

Su Han watched the nighttime scenery outside the window.

High-rises stood in rows, every one of them more than a hundred meters tall.

Traffic flowed endlessly through the streets, and neon lights flashed day and night.

This was the most prosperous part of Jinghai City.

After driving for more than twenty minutes, the van stopped in front of a luxury hotel.

"Peace Hotel, suite on the thirty-second floor."

Chen Yixi got out of the van.

The others followed her into the hotel.

The lobby was magnificent.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling more than ten meters overhead, lighting up every corner.

Two uniformed staff members stood at the front desk, while three security guards patrolled nearby.

The elevator took them straight to the thirty-second floor.

The suite was large, more than two hundred square meters.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows lay a nighttime view of the entire city center.

There were already people in the room.

Lots of them.

Su Han made a rough count and found more than twenty.

The crowd seemed to have its own little circles. A small number had a more formidable bearing and more arrogant expressions.

They were clearly outer disciples like Zhao Lei.

The others had a somewhat weaker bearing and were probably all menial disciples.

When Chen Yixi came in, a man in a black jacket walked over with a smile.

"Captain Chen, you're a little late."

"We were delayed on the way," Chen Yixi replied coolly.

The man in the jacket soon noticed Su Han standing among the Sixth Squad's outer disciples.

"And this is?"

Chen Yixi turned and gestured toward Su Han.

"This is a new member of our Sixth Squad, Su Han. He was just promoted to outer disciple."

Then she said to Su Han,

"This is the Seventh Squad's captain, Li Feng, and the Eighth Squad's captain, Liu Yu."

Su Han looked over.

Li Feng was a man of about thirty, very tall, with a sharp gaze.

Liu Yu was a woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She stood to one side, looking very capable.

Both of them looked Su Han over.

There was curiosity and scrutiny, but more than anything, there was contempt.

Just promoted?

Those few words exposed Su Han's identity outright.

He was native cannon fodder.

It was just that he seemed to have a bit of strength, completed a few missions, and been promoted to outer disciple.

But even so, a native ant like him still wasn't worthy of their notice.

The other two captains didn't say much, however. They simply turned back to Chen Yixi and got down to business.

"Everyone's here, so let's talk about the mission."

The three walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

They looked at the massive, magnificent, brightly lit building across the way.

That was their target for tonight's mission: the Giant Whale Sect.

Li Feng was the first to speak.

"The Giant Whale Sect is just a Secret Martial Arts sect. With our strength, wiping out the entire sect shouldn't be much of a problem."

"When do we begin?" Liu Yu asked.

"Senior Brother Kong told us to wait for word." Chen Yixi turned to the other two captains.

"He'll notify us when it's time to move."

The two nodded.

They then continued chatting about some of the mission's details.

A long wait followed.

The people in the room spread out.

Some rested on the sofas, some smoked by the windows, and some chatted in low voices.

Su Han didn't want to talk to anyone. He simply sat quietly in a corner, calming his mind and focusing.

During that time, however, he also noticed that the three captains, Chen Yixi, Li Feng, and Liu Yu, seemed to receive some kind of message.

Afterward, they took outer disciples like Zhao Lei into the small meeting room inside the suite.

They were all very secretive, and there was no telling what they discussed.

Only after about half an hour did they come out, acting as though nothing had happened.

As for what they had discussed, they didn't speak of it with the menial disciples or Su Han, the native who had been promoted to outer disciple.

They continued to wait.

Time passed, second by second.

Until 3 a.m.

"Ding-dong."

"Ding-dong."

"Ding-dong."

Three notification chimes sounded at once.

The three captains, Chen Yixi, Li Feng, and Liu Yu, took out their phones at the same time.

They all displayed the same message.

[Begin the operation now. Wipe out the entire Giant Whale Sect.]

"Move out." Li Feng put away his phone and looked at everyone present.

"Go!"

All the disciples in the room immediately got to their feet.

But just as they reached the suite's door, Chen Yixi suddenly stopped.

"Wait." Her brows furrowed slightly.

Li Feng sensed it too.

"Something's wrong."

Liu Yu had already pulled the door open.

There was no one in the hallway.

When they had come in earlier, a cleaner had been working in the hallway.

But now, there wasn't a soul.

It was eerily quiet.

"Downstairs," Chen Yixi said.

Everyone entered the elevator and headed down.

The number changed from 32 to 1.

"Ding-"

The elevator doors opened.

But the vast hotel lobby was also completely empty.

The front desk staff and security guards who had been there when they came in were all gone now.

It was deathly still.

"What's going on?" a disciple asked quietly.

No one answered.

Their expressions grave, the group cautiously walked out of the hotel.

But even the street outside was silent.

The streetlights were on, the billboards were flashing, and the Giant Whale Sect across the street was also brightly lit.

Though there was light everywhere, the group still felt an inexplicable chill.

It was so cold their hearts trembled.

The three captains exchanged glances but didn't act immediately.

Chen Yixi took out her phone and was about to contact Kong Fuxian.

"Ding-dong."

A new message arrived.

It was from Kong Fuxian again.

[Don't worry. Let the outer and menial disciples deal with the people of the Giant Whale Sect. You three captains intercept any other beings that may appear.]

When the three read the message, they all came to a realization.

Tonight's operation was probably not as simple as they had imagined.

The Giant Whale Sect might just be a smokescreen.

Even so, they weren't afraid.

Senior Brother Kong was participating in the operation, so he must have been completely confident of success.

"With Senior Brother Kong here, there's no need to worry."

"Let's go."

Chen Yixi spoke as coolly as ever.

The others said no more and continued the operation, heading for the Giant Whale Sect.