Chapter 172 The Xi Family in the Capital

Qin Li got out of the car and opened the trunk, which contained several metal boxes. Shen Yan stepped forward to help open the boxes, revealing ore samples and exploration equipment.

The guard gave it a cursory search, then waved his hand: "Go in. Remember, private duels are strictly prohibited outside the outer city; you need an additional pass to enter the inner city. Who is your guarantor?"

“I’ve already contacted Shenglong Trading Company; they will act as guarantors,” Qin Li replied.

The guard recorded the information on the terminal and handed back the identification and a temporary pass: "Shenglong Trading Company... Okay, I understand. Go in, but don't cause any trouble."

The vehicle slowly drove into the outer city.

The streets are much more orderly than those in Liberty City, but they are also crowded and noisy.

On both sides are densely packed tenement buildings and temporary prefabricated houses, with crowds of people and vendors hawking their wares incessantly.

As planned, they first went to their designated lodgings—an inconspicuous old hotel in the western district of the outer city. The owner was a distant relative of Qin Li's old comrade-in-arms, so he was relatively reliable.

The hotel room was cramped but clean. Zhou Min and Lin Yan's group also arrived safely and met up with them.

Shen Yan immediately checked the room and found listening devices in several hidden corners. He calmly used his metal powers to melt the internal circuitry of the devices.

"Standard configuration. It seems the capital city has strict monitoring of accommodations," Shen Yan said in a low voice. "But they're all old models, easy to deal with."

Qin Li unfolded a detailed map of the capital base: "We are in the western district, and the Xi family is in the eastern district of the inner city. The straight-line distance is eight kilometers, but there are three checkpoints in between."

Ruan Ning stood by the window, her mental energy extending outwards like invisible tentacles, sensing her surroundings. A large amount of chaotic emotions and energy fluctuations flooded into her mind, requiring her to concentrate and filter them.

“The density of ability users in the outer city is higher than in the northwest, with quite a few at the third rank and a few at the fourth rank. Patrols pass by every half hour. To the east…” she frowned slightly, “there is a very strong energy shielding area, which should be the inner city.”

"What is the exact location of the Xi family's residence?" Lin Yan asked.

Qin Li pointed to a red-marked area in the eastern part of the inner city: "The Xi family manor is quite large, with its own independent security and energy barrier. Xi Yue usually lives in the military compound, but it is said that the carrier 01 has always been kept in the manor's underground vault."

"Xi Yuan frequently operates within and outside the city. He is the actual commander of the 'Shadow Guards' and a well-known strongman among the younger generation in the capital."

Shen Yan pulled up the electronic file: "Xi Yuan, 28 years old, superpower unknown, but generally recognized as peak fourth rank. He has an outstanding record, having led teams to wipe out large mutated beast hordes three times and suppressed an inner city riot once. His personality is said to be unruly, but his methods are ruthless. He is not easy to deal with."

"Don't rush, let's prepare before we act." Ruan Ning withdrew her mental energy.

Ruan Ning went out alone after nightfall.

Instead of approaching the inner city checkpoint, she went around to a relatively tall abandoned water tower in the western district. From there, she could see the outline of the eastern inner city.

The spiritual energy condensed into a beam and carefully extended towards the Xi family manor.

The distance is too far, and perception is blurred.

However, one can vaguely sense that there is a powerful, multi-layered composite energy barrier there, which contains both the regular fluctuations of technological equipment and the protection set up by supernatural abilities.

The barrier is very strong; it would require at least a fifth-tier power to forcefully break through it, and it would definitely trigger an alarm.

She tried to stimulate a faint resonance between the jade pendant and the bone bead (02), directing them toward the manor.

wait.

A few seconds later, an extremely faint but incredibly clear sense of shared origin emanated from the depths of the manor!

Like a distant spark in the darkness, though far away, it is undeniably present.

Carrier 01 is indeed there.

Moreover, it seems to react to the approach of its own kind, although this reaction is greatly weakened by the barrier.

Ruan Ning immediately suppressed her resonance, not wanting to alert the enemy.

She noted down the approximate intensity and direction of the sensation and returned to the hotel.

"Confirmed. 01 is at the Xi family manor. The resonance exists, but it is isolated by a barrier," Ruan Ning shared the information with everyone.

Late at night, thick clouds obscured the moon.

The Xi family mansion is located within a heavily guarded high wall area, covering a vast area, with several ancient-style buildings visible among the green trees.

The high walls are equipped with electric fences and sensors, there are guard posts at the entrance, and patrol teams inside.

On the rooftop of an abandoned commercial building 500 meters from the mansion, Ruan Ning's team was all present.

Shen Yan observed through a high-powered telescope and thermal imager: "The main house has a three-story structure, with at least two underground floors."

The regular patrol team consists of twelve people and completes one lap every half hour.

There are at least six hidden sentry posts, all in fixed locations. Electronic surveillance covers all exterior walls and main passageways. The situation inside the residence is unknown, but energy detectors show a continuous and stable high-energy reaction on the second basement level, likely from carrier 01.

Qin Li compared the rough layout map provided by an informant within the Xi family: "Carrier 01 is stored in the family vault on the second basement level. Entry requires either Xi Yue himself or his son Xi Yuan's biometric identification. The vault has an independent power supply and alarm system, directly connected to the Capital Defense Command."

Lin Yan inspected the climbing and silent operation equipment: "Forced entry is impossible."

Ruan Ning stood on the edge of the rooftop, her mental energy like the most sophisticated radar, silently covering the Xi family mansion.

The sixth-order mental power's perception penetrated the walls and the ground, clearly "seeing" the location of each guard;

The rotation frequency and blind spots of the surveillance camera were captured;

The target, carrier 01, was locked on the second basement level and protected by multiple alloys and energy fields, radiating a unique resonance. It was a jade ring with natural cloud patterns on its surface.

She also "saw" the fifth-tier ability user in the top-floor study, seemingly processing documents. The energy he exuded was scorching and sharp, like a combination of metal and fire elements.

"Xi Yuan is on the third floor of the main house. There are fourteen superhumans: one fourth-level (Xi Yuan), five third-level (on the first floor of the main house and in the side courtyard), and eight third-level (in the patrol team).

The underground vault has three doors: the first is an electronic password door, the second is an iris and palm print door, and the third is an energy barrier that requires a specific frequency energy key to activate. Ruan Ning's calm voice resonated in everyone's minds; this was a mental link.

“My shield can cover the entire surface of the mansion and the second basement level, but the alarm system of the shield energy barrier requires more precise operation, which may alert Xi Yuan, because his supernatural ability is sensitive to energy fluctuations.”

Shen Yan quickly calculated: "How long can you maintain a complete house-wide blackout?"

"Maintain this at full strength for twenty minutes. After that, it will start to weaken," Ruan Ning said.

"That's enough." Qin Li pointed to the layout diagram.

“We’ll go through the underground pipe network. The old Xi family house has abandoned early heating pipes, with the entrance under the abandoned greenhouse in the backyard, leading to the foundation of the main house.”

From there, they could bypass most of the ground guards and surveillance, and dig directly to the outer wall of the second basement level. Shen Yan cracked the first electronic door. "The second is biometric authentication. Ruan Ning, can you use your mental power to simulate the biometric characteristics of Xi Yue or Xi Yuan?"

Ruan Ning sensed Xi Yuan's bio-fluids in the top-floor study: "I can simulate Xi Yuan's iris and palm print fluctuations, but it can only be maintained for a very short time, and my shield will weaken during the simulation."

"What about the third energy barrier?" Zhou Min asked.