Although Xia Liang also possessed this skill, and was likely even more powerful than her, he figured why bother with the trouble when someone else was already busy? He found a place to sit down and casually grabbed a bag of chips to snack on.

"Those pursuers, back when we first met—they were from the Sanctuary, right?"

Xiao Qianxi nodded slightly. "That's right. On paper, Old Master Lu was in charge of the Circulator M model. When they got word, they knew there was no way he could be bribed, so they resorted to poison and assassination. I went through hell to steal the serum, only to be ambushed on my way back into the country."

Xia Liang picked up the thread. "And then Old Master Lu retired, the new person in charge turned out to be a traitor, destroyed the prototype, and fled with the blueprints. The two assassins who tried to kill me that night were also from the Sanctuary."

Things were finally starting to make sense. Before, he had no idea who had been repeatedly trying to kill him. Now that the true mastermind was clear... he would just wait and see.

"Sister Qianqian, I've got the data!"

Xia Liang hadn't even finished his bag of chips when good news arrived from Sima Jing. This was a USB drive from a member of the Sanctuary; who knew how many times harder it was to crack than some shut-in's hard drive.

"The Sanctuary is incredibly cunning," Sima Jing reported. "They didn't store the item in a military base. Instead, it's in a research institution in the northern part of Gold Mountain. I'm trying to hack into the institution's central system now to see if I can pull the security layout and floor plans."

Xia Liang shook his head. "There's no time. Our identities have probably been exposed. The enemy could track us to this safe house any minute. We have to go to that research institution immediately."

Xiao Qianxi also understood that speed is of the essence. But attacking rashly without knowing the enemy's full capabilities could be a complete disaster.

"Sister Qianqian!" Explosive yelled, running out of the bathroom with a phone in his hand. "Mantis and Tanhua are in trouble! Their hideouts were exposed. Thankfully, they escaped quickly with only minor injuries, but they won't be able to provide support anytime soon."

Just as I expected, Xia Liang inwardly thought. There aren't many members in Luan Long to begin with, and probably only a few came here. Now, two of them have been exposed. At this rate, it won't be long before they find us. What an evil and powerful organization. Their efficiency and capabilities are definitely top-tier.

"Do you have a vehicle here?" Xia Liang asked.

Sima Jing nodded. "There's a large van, but it's equipped for intelligence gathering, not combat."

"This is no time to be picky! Let's go! Destroy anything non-essential," Xiao Qianxi commanded. She immediately unplugged the computer's power supply, then lifted the entire tower and headed for the door.

「On the highway to the research institution.」

A Ford Business van sped down the road.

Inside, Xiao Qianxi stared into Xia Liang's eyes. His gaze was somewhat distant as he chewed on a piece of gum Explosive had given him.

"Right now, I'm the only confirmed combatant," she said. "Explosive and Lianxin know some fighting techniques, but they aren't equipped to assault an enemy stronghold. Sending them in would be a suicide mission."

Xia Liang blew a bubble. "I know."

"So?"

"So, why don't we wait a bit longer? What if Tanhua and the others manage to get here?"

Xiao Qianxi pressed her hand over his mouth, stopping him from blowing another bubble. "So, I think you should go in with me."

"...Don't even start!" Xia Liang grabbed her wrist. "We had an agreement. I'm just the driver, here to make sure you all get away safely. Me helping you steal that USB drive was already providing extra services, alright?"

You have to be reasonable. It was your operation that went south in the first place, allowing the Sanctuary to get on our tail. It's not This Master's fault you're short-staffed now.

"Is that something a man should say?" she challenged.

"It's definitely something a man who drives for DiDi would say."

Xiao Qianxi took a deep breath. He's not wrong. This is an infiltration—or rather, a frontal assault—with almost no chance of success. We only asked him to come for his driving skills, not his combat prowess. But things have gone way beyond our expectations. Right now, he's the only way to increase our odds. Besides, he's absurdly strong, he just refuses to show it.

"You really won't agree?"

"I won't."

"I have information that you'll be very interested in. Information that is very important to you."

"I won't agree, no matter what information you have."

"It's about your celebrity girlfriend."

"Don't be ridiculous. I trust her. I won't believe any tabloids."

"Heh. After she arrived in the Imperial Capital, her family arranged a marriage for her. The inescapable kind. Still don't want to know?"

Xia Liang jolted alert. He immediately opened the large suitcase at his feet, revealing it was packed with gun parts.

"What are you looking at, Pigtails? I need that P99 pistol. No other parts, just that. Make it quick."

As he spoke, Xia Liang had already assembled an M27 automatic rifle, fitted only with a red dot and a side-mounted sight. He began shoving magazines wherever they would fit on his person.

Sima Jing stared, stunned, snapping out of it only when Xia Liang prompted her again.

"Oh, right, the P99! Let me find it... How many magazines do you need?"

"Six."

Without taking off his suit, Xia Liang threw a bulletproof vest on over it. "Any melee weapons?"

"You want a military dagger or a regular one?"

"Got anything longer?"

"There's a Dong Ying sword, but I just haggled for it on a street in Dong Ying. The quality is probably garbage."

"Doesn't matter. It'll be enough to cut down a few people. I prefer longer weapons."

In a few swift motions, Xia Liang was fully armed. After strapping the longsword to his back, he sat back down. "Alright, talk. Who's the dead man walking that's targeting Yuanyuan?"

Xiao Qianxi's feelings were complicated. I should be happy that he agreed, but getting him on board this way—by using Tian Yuanyuan as leverage—leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Feng Pojun, the designated heir of the Shangjing Feng Family."

"What makes that son of a bitch so special?"

"His elders were from the same generation as the nation's founder. What kind of backing do you think that gives him?"

"Whoa, quite the background," Xia Liang sneered. "You've always wanted me to go to Shangjing, right? Once this is over, This Master will go stir things up."

After learning the situation, Xia Liang said no more. He turned to Sima Jing, who was still assembling the P99. "Pigtails, how good are your hacking skills?"

Sima Jing gave a casual reply. "As high as the Oriental Pearl Tower."

"If you want your precious Sister Qianqian to survive the night, you have to do one thing for me."

"What is it?" Sima Jing's heart skipped a beat. She knew this mission was incredibly dangerous, but she still had faith in Sister Qianqian's abilities. After all, people who could last twenty moves against the Dragon King were exceedingly rare.

"I need you to take down the central power grid for all of Gold Mountain City for ten minutes. Can you do it?"

Sima Jing was so startled she dropped the pistol, her already huge eyes growing even wider. "What? Ten minutes? Mister, are you treating America's entire infrastructure like a joke? I'm a human, not a god! I can't do that!"

Xia Liang knew the request was outrageous. "Then how long can you manage?"

"Eight minutes. Anymore is impossible."

Volodya! What's the damn difference between ten minutes and eight? I was going to do it myself, but I guess that's out of the question now.

"Eight minutes it is," Xia Liang declared. "The moment Xiao Qianxi and I make our move, Gold Mountain City goes dark for eight minutes."

Sima Jing sat back down at the monitor, her small hands flying across the keyboard. She still hadn't had a chance to change out of her luxurious, elegant black evening gown. An HKP7 pistol was strapped to her thigh, exposed by the high slit of her dress, and her primary weapon was a UMP. She looked exactly like a cold, deadly femme fatale from a spy movie—sultry and alluring.

Xiao Qianxi leaned forward. "Xiao Jing, give me an exact time. Down to the second, how long can you give us?"

Sima Jing's fingers never stopped moving as rows of code scrolled rapidly down the screen. "Well, a while back when I was bored, I remotely took control of a lot of computers and planted a new virus I'd just developed. Originally, I just wanted to do some research to see what kind of educational materials otaku around the world prefer..."

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