An Zhiyuan, clutching his pistol, silently made his way past piles of trash and gravel, through the dilapidated building.
They were on the top floor; thus, apart from the roof, his only way out was down.
He knew where the exit was but was still unsure of the villains’ whereabouts.
Where was the undercover agent being held in this building? He had no idea. He could only take the risk to try to contact his teammates, hoping to get him out. In one more hour, it would be dawn. He had to get his team to a safe location before daylight.
The evacuation vehicle would be waiting for them there.
He paused at the corner of the hallway, pressed his body against the wall, and peeked out to survey the situation.
An ominous figure appeared at the entrance of a room in the distance—a guard on duty.
Watching the cell with a sinister smile, agonized moans emanated from within, along with the incessant sound of whipping, accompanied by loud, unintelligible yelling and cursing.
An Zhiyuan whispered into his communicator, "Number One has completed the mission. There is one undercover agent. Our mission is to rescue him and evacuate quickly. Let’s begin to clean up this trash!"
"Number One, roger that!"
His subordinate responded.
Then, all that could be heard was a faint rustling and gurgling sound as the guard collapsed softly; An Zhiyuan quietly dragged the guard inside, then stepped over the body on the ground and shut the door firmly.
He moved silently down the hallway, cautiously inspecting the few rooms with open doors.
No risks could be left for him and his comrades.
His weapon, now fitted with a silencer, could take care of enemies without a sound, avoiding detection by these people.
The stairwell was like a monstrous mouth gaping open in hungry anticipation.
Darkness, on the contrary, brought relief. It not only indicated the absence of guards but also concealed others.
People still retain their primordial cave-dwelling instincts; they need the comfort of light when awake, so they can see their enemies approach. Darkness is a tool for interrogators to break their prisoners, intensifying the feeling of helplessness and shattering their nerves.
But he is a special operative; darkness is merely an environment he could utilize.
It’s his preferred protection.
Light was beginning to emerge above; he realized he was nearing the bottom of the staircase. He stopped in the shadows where he could protect himself, listening for any slight sound.
His teammates were surely moving in the dark as well.
No need to see; that intuition was always accurate.
He skirted the gravel, backing against the wall, and cautiously entered the stairway. Although reasonably sure of the staircase’s safety, since the kidnappers hadn’t used it yet, he couldn’t take chances. Those fools had cluttered the stairs with objects, blocking their own escape path.
From a distance, their cursing and explanatory chatter could be heard, but it was too far to discern clearly. It didn’t matter; he already knew their location, and now he had them.
That Wu Gang was certainly in this room.
Based on all his experience, there were many missions that could be perfectly executed; he could count all the ones that went according to plan on one hand.
But he had no way to prepare for mechanical failures, accidents, natural conditions, and the unpredictability of human factors, just like Wu Gang’s situation now. They wouldn’t stand by and do nothing regardless.
That was not what he should do, and this man was very likely one of his teammates, so giving up was even less of an option.
He noticed a ghostly figure emerging at the other end of the corridor—the reinforcements had arrived.