Chapter 242 Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain
Dense fog is the best camouflage.
The jet-black speedboat, without a single light, silently glided across the sea and finally docked at the foot of a cliff covered with jagged rocks on Nightingale Island. This was the only blind spot in Benjamin's intelligence network.
Lu Jingyan was the first to leap onto the slippery rocks. He turned around and made a gesture.
Behind them, six dark figures, including Qin Zheng, followed swiftly like agile cheetahs. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, without making a single unnecessary sound.
What would be an insurmountable chasm for ordinary people is, in their eyes, merely a stairway to the hunting grounds. Specially designed ropes and hooks are silently launched and firmly wedged into the crevices of the rock.
Lu Jingyan took the lead, his muscular arms exerting force, and he climbed upwards along the vertical rock face like a gecko.
The sea breeze howled, and beneath their feet, surging black waves crashed against the rocks with a deep, rumbling sound. This sound became their best cover.
At the top of the cliff was a flat grassy area, and beyond that was the first infrared defense line. Lu Jingyan lay prone on the ground, and through his tactical binoculars, he could clearly see two patrolling guards with guns at their sides, chatting idly.
"This awful weather, we can't see anything, and they still make us patrol? They must be out of their minds," one of the guards complained, rubbing his hands together.
"Stop talking nonsense, just do your job for the money. Besides, there's not a soul on this island except for birds, what's there to be afraid of?" another replied impatiently.
Unbeknownst to them, several pairs of eyes had already locked onto them from the bushes dozens of meters behind them.
Lu Jingyan drew two simple symbols in the air with his fingers.
Qin Zheng and another teammate moved. Like two shadows blending into the night, they moved with astonishing speed, flanking from the side without making a sound.
The two guards were still complaining about how bad the midnight snack was when, in the next second, two large, iron-like hands covered their mouths and noses from behind.
"Waaaaah!!"
A terrified sob had barely escaped their throats when a cold military dagger precisely sliced open their tracheas. Blood gushed out, but was tightly muffled by a hand covering their mouths, eliciting only a few muffled groans.
Two still-warm bodies were silently dragged into deeper darkness.
From start to finish, it took no more than three seconds.
Clean, efficient, and frighteningly so.
Lu Jingyan led the remaining people through the area quickly, moving swiftly through the shadows of the buildings according to the map provided by Benjamin.
Along the way, they used the same method to cleanly and efficiently eliminate three groups of patrol members, totaling six people.
Soon, a modern building made entirely of metal and glass appeared before them.
"Lunar Goddess's Box" Experimental Building.
The defense level here is significantly higher than that of the outer perimeter. Not only is there a rotating surveillance camera every ten meters, but the ground is also covered with pressure-sensitive strips that are barely visible to the naked eye.
Lu Jingyan gave another hand signal, and a team member immediately took out a palm-sized, somewhat bulky black metal box from his backpack. He turned a knob, and the indicator light on the top of the box flashed a few times.
At the same time, in the central monitoring room of the laboratory building, the screen responsible for this area suddenly filled with static and emitted a piercing "buzzing" sound.
"Hey! Why is there no signal in Zone C?!"
"Damn it, it's probably due to the heavy fog. I'll go check it out!"
It was just those few brief seconds.
Led by Lu Jingyan, the group moved like cats, their steps uncanny, precisely traversing the safe zones marked on the map and crossing the death zone with perfect accuracy.
Finally, they stopped in front of an inconspicuous ventilation duct entrance.
Lu Jingyan stepped forward personally, grabbed the metal grille with both hands, his arm muscles bulging, and with a skillful twist, he pried it open with a soft "click." Without the slightest hesitation, he was the first to crawl inside.
The cold, narrow pipes were filled with a strange smell of disinfectant mixed with metal.
...
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Huo Group headquarters, in the conference room.
Bai Shu leaned back comfortably in her chair, her slender fingers tapping absently on the now-cold Longjing teacup in front of her. A thick letter of intent lay before her, which she had been "studying" for two hours straight.
Behind her was a team of lawyers sent by the Tung family, known as the "Pizza Hut" of Hong Kong Island.
At the other end of the conference table, Huo Qishan's face was ashen, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. The chief lawyer beside him cleared his throat, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses revealing extreme impatience.
“Ms. Bai, we have explained the terms of this letter of intent word by word. If you are not sincere, why waste everyone's time?”
"That's sincere." Bai Shu raised her eyelids, her beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with a hint of innocence. "I'm just afraid of being deceived. After all, Mr. Huo has a history of unrequited love and malicious slander, so I have to be careful."
"You!" Huo Qishan slammed his hand on the table.
"Mr. Huo, calm down." Bai Shu chuckled and tapped the document with his finger.
"Take this clause for example, 'both parties share a technology patent pool.' But how exactly does this 'sharing' work? I provide the core code, and you provide a rice cooker heating technology. Is that what you call sharing? That's not fair, is it?"
The lead lawyer took a deep breath: "Ms. Bai, we can add more details..."
“Then let’s add them now,” Bai Shu said matter-of-factly. “One at a time, I’m not in a hurry, we have plenty of time today.”
She wasn't in a hurry, but Huo Qishan was going crazy with worry.
He felt like he had a nail in his seat, unable to sit still. His secretary, sweating profusely, rushed in for the third time, whispering in his ear.
"Boss, the stock price has already dropped by forty percent..."
"Boss, the bank's collection calls have already started coming to me..."
"Boss, several shipping companies we've been working with suddenly said they want to reassess the risks of our partnerships..."
Every word he uttered was like a knife, cutting into Huo Qishan's heart. He stared intently at the composed woman before him, wishing he could devour her whole with his gaze.
He finally understood completely.
Negotiations and capitulation were all a sham!
From the very beginning, this woman's goal was to keep him and all the capable people in the Huo family firmly locked up in this conference room!
A diversionary tactic!
Bai Shu's fingers gently traced the delicate diamond stud earring on her earlobe. From within it, a faint yet clear electrical hum could be heard—a signal that the operation was proceeding smoothly for the team.
Just then.
The conference room door was suddenly kicked open.
Huo Qishan's chief secretary stumbled in, clutching a note that had just been sent from the telegraph room. His face was ashen, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Huo Qishan's heart skipped a beat, and an extremely ominous premonition instantly gripped him. He snatched the note.
He felt as if all the blood in his body had been drained in an instant after just one glance.
There was only one sentence on the note.
Nightingale Island, signal lost, unable to contact.
Huo Qishan's hand holding the note trembled violently. He slowly, inch by inch, raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Bai Shu.
He let out a beast-like roar, his voice distorted and shrill.
"It's you!"
All sounds in the conference room fell silent at that moment.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden scene.
In the deathly silence, Bai Shu slowly put down his teacup, the bottom of the cup hitting the table with a crisp, light sound.
She raised her head, meeting Huo Qishan's fiery gaze, and a sweet yet icy smile bloomed on her beautiful face.
He said, slowly and deliberately, "Mr. Huo, the game has only just begun."
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