In the dead of night, the moonlight over the suburbs was fragmented by dark clouds.
A few strands of pale light pierced through the window, casting a hazy and eerie glow over the steel-framed and concrete factory interior, adding a touch of ambiguity to the derelict space.
A dozen elite members, wearing infrared night vision goggles and carrying assault rifles, were closing in from all sides.
They moved slowly and methodically, with extraordinary caution, like ghosts gliding through the shadows.
The barrels of their guns shone with a cold, hard metallic luster, persistently probing ahead for any sign of their prey.
The noise from the walkie-talkie opening the public channel broke the brief silence, sounding particularly piercing in this sinister environment.
The team members communicated with each other through headsets using short, professional military terminologies:
"Team One, target not found, over."
"Team Two, target not found, over."
"Team Three received, advancing toward sector B’s rear, estimated time of arrival 10 seconds, over."
"Team Four received, moving toward B..."
The walkie-talkie transmitted the task updates from each team in sequence, only to come to an abrupt halt here.
As if cut off by an invisible hand all of a sudden.
At the same time, faint "pfft," "pfft" sounds could be heard, along with a series of noises that resembled dragging scuffles and muffled groans.
Two or three seconds passed, and the report from Team Four never resurfaced from the walkie-talkie, like a stone sinking into the sea.
The entire corridor area fell into a silence that bordered on deathly stillness.
The other team members couldn’t help but stand in place, exchanging looks, waiting for the next instruction.
Soon, the walkie-talkie crackled to life again, followed by the commander’s voice:
"All cameras in sector B have been compromised, all assault teams, regroup quickly, maintain formation, move from point E to sector C, and check all hidden spots around."
Shadow’s voice spread quickly through the radio waves, carrying a hint of annoyance but still resolute and commanding, energizing his subordinates.
Other team members instantly realized that the situation had taken a dangerous turn and, relying on their extensive combat experience, immediately made targeted adjustments.
After quickly regrouping, they tacitly distributed tactical tasks.
Team One, taking cautious steps to lead the way, with their assault rifle barrels slightly raised, ready to deal with any emergencies.
Team Five provided rear cover, with members back-to-back, eyes vigilantly sweeping over every inch of space behind them to ensure the rear of the team was clear of danger.
Team Three was responsible for searching the surrounding hiding spots, crouching down and spreading out in a fan shape.
With the dim light from the infrared night vision goggles, they combed through every corner, pipe and shadow of the equipment like alert hounds, not missing any crevice that might hide an enemy.
As the leading scout team cautiously reached point E and stepped into the workshop area that was a maze of pipes above and below,
A strong stench of blood rushed to their faces.
Their gazes were drawn to the two shocking corpses on the ground, their steps involuntarily pausing as a chill surged in their hearts.
One’s head was tilted at an extremely unnatural angle, his neck showing an unnatural bend.
Clearly, he had suffered an incredibly violent impact before death that snapped his cervical vertebrae instantly.
The other had a bullet wound in the throat, the injury site was a bloody mess, with blood spurting out uncontrollably, gushing forth.
The ground around them, the walls, and the pipes were splattered with dark red bloodstains.
The thick liquid twinkled ominously in the darkness, as if it were evidence left by some fierce beast after recently wreaking havoc.
"Two members of Team Four found dead at point E, leaving behind a large amount of blood, no trace of the other teammate."
The leading team members immediately relayed the situation on site through their headsets.
The other two teams responsible for the search followed one by one.
Suddenly, a rustling noise above their heads alerted everyone.
That noise came straight from the pipes installed above their heads.
With a "whoosh," a dark figure leaped from above, bringing with it a gust of wind and fiercely pouncing on the people on the ground.
The teammates reacted instantly, and years of combat instincts allowed them all to raise their guns and fire at the same time.
The dense gunfire instantly shattered the silence, echoing and roaring in the enclosed space, almost bursting eardrums.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder, mixed with successive groans and screams.
Then, with a "clang," a loud noise.
The dark figure crashed heavily onto the steel walkway, producing a dull impact sound.
The entire framework trembled.
Seeing this, the team members immediately ceased fire and, with practiced coordination, gestured to each other.
Their steps cautiously approached the target, eyes fixed intently on the dark figure on the ground.
Their firearms remained in a ready-to-fire position to deal with any unforeseen developments.
When they got close to the dark figure and took a closer look, their eyes widened in shock, and they gasped in horror.
The person shot was the previously missing teammate.
Now his body was riddled with bullet holes, like a hornet’s nest, blood oozing continuously from within.
His empty eyes were still wide open, but in an expression of unyielding death.
Just when everyone felt a chill run down their spines, an uncertain shout suddenly came from the walkie-talkie:
"No good, it seems like the three members from Team Five have also vanished!"
"Hello, hello, Team Five, please respond..."
The team leader’s urgent call wavered through the radio waves, immediately causing the hearts of the other teammates to clench with dread.
Clearly, the enemy had used a decoy to attract their fire and took advantage of the gunfire to launch a surprise attack from behind, swiftly eliminating the three team members responsible for rear guard.