Berry and V waited in the grass, watching the movements in the distance with anxiety.
A dry, slightly chilly wind was blowing, and the factory area opposite them seemed as if nothing had happened.
The searchlight continued its slow patrol, and the muffled chatter of armed patrols drifted over.
Just in this tense, quiet atmosphere, Berry and V finally saw a dark figure slip out of the security booth.
Scorpion had returned.
He returned in silence, his breathing showing no obvious fluctuation.
However, when he crawled back into the grass, he brought a metallic, rusty smell with him.
Berry was familiar with this smell.
It was the smell of blood.
"Done."
Scorpion took the blood-stained dagger out of his mouth, glanced at the two of them, and said nonchalantly.
"We have at least half an hour before the Wraiths realize something is wrong during their shift change."
"We go in through there."
Nodding, V pointed to a section of collapsed wall.
While they were waiting, V had taken the time to observe the situation and found a collapsed point in the wall near a corner.
Perhaps due to years of disrepair, the concrete wall had collapsed there, leaving a gap that the people inside had only patched up with some barbed wire.
But this obstacle was no problem for the three of them.
Besides, after watching for a while, there wasn't anyone there, so going in through that way would save a lot of trouble.
Scorpion grunted, indicating he had no objections.
The three of them began to move, creeping one after another to the base of the wall, and then carefully lifted the barbed wire one by one to slip inside.
This was their official entry into the factory grounds.
The environment inside the factory compound was just as they had observed from the outside.
Discarded, rusty shipping containers were everywhere, and they now served as the best cover for the three of them.
Carefully avoiding the patrolling Wraiths, the trio quietly snuck toward the main building.
...
"You two, look at that vehicle."
The air was silent before the storm; the slight breeze from earlier had died down.
Crouched behind a discarded shipping container, Scorpion pointed to an armed truck not far away.
"That's the vehicle that kidnapped Saul. It seems they've hidden Saul inside the building."
The abandoned building stood tall in the twilight, like a silent giant.
Seeing this, the three of them couldn't help but feel troubled.
With such tight security around the building, how were they supposed to sneak in?
They were currently at the flank of the building.
Although they had avoided the main entrance where the enemy presence was heaviest, there were still quite a few enemies at the roll-up door on the side of the building, not to mention the surveillance cameras.
"Look there, perhaps we can find a way in from the roof."
Berry saw the building, and she also saw the iron ladder attached to it, leading all the way to an external iron walkway on the third floor.
And as far as they could see, there was no one there.
It was better than storming the main gate directly.
The three of them didn't say much and began to move.
Thanks to the fading twilight, the thickening darkness concealed their figures.
Coupled with the fact that these gang members had no formal anti-infiltration training, the three of them used the cover of the shipping containers to dodge the patrolling gunmen and snuck onto the iron ladder outside the building.
Four I-beam steel frames were anchored into the ground, and a "Z"-shaped ladder zigzagged up to the upper floors. This must have been a staircase for workers to move goods before the building was abandoned, but now, it was a convenient path for the three of them.
The building had only four floors in total.
Climbing to the third floor was much easier.
They didn't intend to go straight to the other side of the corridor, as it faced the front of the building where a dozen people were stationed below. Unless they were all blind, the three of them would be discovered the moment they turned the corner.
They planned to go straight to the roof.
Scorpion walked to the wall and cupped his hands. V stepped onto them, jumped up with a muffled grunt, grabbed the eaves, and vaulted up. Berry followed suit, and finally, the two of them grabbed Scorpion's hands and pulled him up.
The roof was empty, with only a few tin sheds and vents, which was good news.
Even better news was that the roof had two rows of arched windows. Below them was the fourth-floor corridor, and they could even see the layout inside the building.
The interior of the building was designed in a square shape with an empty center. The open space on the ground floor was piled with crates, and there were several armed Wraith members talking there.
From the second floor up to the fourth, there were connecting stairs, and each floor's corridor was lined with rooms.
Most notable was a room at the end of the corridor connecting both sides of the building. Through the transparent glass, one could see layers of monitors and mechanical equipment.
The only thing to be wary of was that there were two Wraiths in the room staring at those screens; entering rashly would definitely lead to discovery.
Lying by the window and quietly observing the situation below for a while, the three felt a bit more confident.
"Do you see that room? That must be the surveillance room. We need to get inside. We don't know exactly where Saul is being held, but perhaps we can find out from the surveillance."
Crouched by the window sill, Scorpion voiced his thoughts.
"But the problem is that our position is very bad. If we go down, those two guys in the surveillance room will spot us immediately."
"Which one of you has a Hacker chip installed? If not, we'll have to think of another way."
"V."
Since it had come to this, Berry couldn't help but call out to V.
Among the three of them, only V had installed that piece of gear.
"Hmm."
V nodded, moved forward half a step, and adjusted her vision to be clearer.
Her eyes glowed slightly blue as V tried her best to hack into the local network.
...
"Hmm? What's that sound?"
In the surveillance room, two Wraith members were staring at the split surveillance screens.
But just then, a buzzing sound came from behind them.
Turning around, they saw the radio on the table making noise, its display flickering on and off as if it were malfunctioning.
"Damn it, I told you this piece of junk should be thrown away."
The Wraith walked over and patted the radio, finding it useless, and couldn't help but complain.
"You watch for a bit, I'm going to throw this thing in the trash."
The Wraith finished speaking, but didn't get a response from his partner.
Just as he turned his head in confusion, before he could even rotate his neck, he felt his throat tighten. The words he was about to say were strangled, and he couldn't even spit out half a syllable.
"Mm-nng... ngh..."
The Wraith's eyes widened. Before he could struggle, the hand tightening around his neck gave a forceful twist. Accompanied by a crisp crack, he could no longer speak.
Berry carefully placed the limp corpse on the ground, while behind her, V had already dragged the other Wraith, who had also had his neck snapped, to a nearby utility cabinet and closed it.
"Scorpion, find out where Saul is!"
"Already looking!"
Scorpion lay in front of the computer, switching between surveillance screens, his eyes darting around as he searched frantically.
"Found him."
Finally, Scorpion stopped on one screen and enlarged it to full screen.
In the image, the lighting was dim. A burly man was tied to a chair, looking dejected. Looking at his sturdy frame and his flashy, seaweed-curly hair, who else could it be but the Aldecaldos leader, Saul?
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