Astra exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders once. "Alright. We go in clean. No mistakes."
"Got it," Quan Kunjie added.
Yang Lingyun glanced at each of them briefly. Then he nodded once. "Move."
The faint light of dawn stretched further across the sky—
And the four of them advanced toward the perimeter.
Straight into enemy territory.
A thin current of cold air brushed past the perimeter fence, , carrying a faint buzzing sound from the electricity running through the wires. The Red Brigades' compound stood ahead, quiet and heavily guarded.
Yang Lingyun raised two fingers.
Stop.
The rest of them froze instantly.
A patrol passed along the inner fence—two men, rifles slung but ready, their boots crunching faintly against gravel. Their conversation was low, indistinct, fading as they moved past the northwest quadrant.
Xia Lihua's eyes tracked them precisely.
"Three… two… one," she whispered. "Now."
They moved fast on their feet like lightening, but their steps were silent.
