Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock.


    Many seemed not to notice how fast time was going.


    They busily strutted about the city, some happy, some sad, some excited, and some bored.


    The sun that stayed high in the sky was going down little by little.


    And soon, a thick nket of darkness engulfed thend.


    The bustling vehicle noises could still be heard across the many streets.


    In, out, fast, slow.


    The city was quite rowdy.


    And a few hourster, the bustling street became more and more deste.


    asionally, there would be some noise, but not disturbing.


    And with a busy day ahead of many, they decided to turn in for the night.


    .


    1:15 A.M.


    --Within the Private Residential Community--


    Though street lights were strategically ced within the secluded residential unity, many blind spots still existed.


    And even the moon''s faint bluish hue wasn''t enough to fully illuminate them.


    Under the trees and across several public fixtures and gardens, several shadows leaped forth in the shadows.


    All 20 of them worked in unison, keeping a close lookout for the patrolling security vehicles and the cameras in ce too.


    1, 2... Roll!


    Snake dived and rolled, quickly erecting himself against a dark pir.


    If one were passing by at this moment, they wouldn''t notice, no matter how hard they looked.


    His ck attire blended too well with the darkness.


    ~Vrmmmmm~!


    A vehicle was approaching in the opposite direction, shing its yellow eyes at the pir and everything else.


    Snake''s eyes shed.


    Residential patrol!


    ''Timing is everything.'' He thought.


    Strategically looking at the pir''s shadow caused by the iing lights, Snake moved slowly around the pir.


    Hands and body pressed against the pir like glue, stomach subconsciously sucked in, he moved his legs in a criss-cross manner around the decorative post.


    The pir''s only purpose was aesthetics.


    It had beautiful vines and flowers wrapped around it, and at the topmost part of the pir, one could see a golden cupid statue mounted in it.


    The pir wasn''t overly tall but just right to make one feel the beauty of the ce.


    On both sides of the roads, these pirs could be strategically ced several meters away.


    Vrmmm~


    The vehicle approached and passed by without noticing a thing.


    1, 2, 3...


    Many fully cloaked heads popped out of their many hiding ces for just a brief moment.


    Alright.


    So far, so good.


    .


    Snake moved in a slithery manner, like water flowing through rock crevices.


    Leap, will, nt, jump, twirl, run, hide.


    Snake had done it all while also keeping a good look at their leader.


    Yup.


    Their leader was here!


    Tonight''s operation was one they were willing to go all out in.


    And parked outside the residentialmunity were their escape vehicles hiding away from the public eye.


    Tonight, the whole gang was here to y.


    Squinting his eyes, Snake hastily leaped from ascending the hilly slope where the Tian estate was located.


    Vi 17... Vi 19... Vi 21... Vi 23!


    Their target of infiltration was Vi 23!


    And soon, they found themselves on the sidewalks along the Vi''s property.


    But were they going in through the front gates?


    No!


    It''s possible that more night lights would be turned on around the main entrance.


    Thus, they decided to force their way in through the walls.


    Look left, look right... No patrolling vehicles heading this way from any direction.


    However, they knew it wouldn''t take long for the patrolling vehicles to head this way again.


    Luckily, they chose an infiltration point close to several public benches, gardens, and another set of pirs a little further away.


    If the worstes to the worst, they''ll hide themselves the moment they hear the sounds of any iing vehicles.


    .


    "JawBreaker! Give us visuals!" Snake requested while speaking into his earpiece and looking up to the sky.


    They had a high-tech ck drone in the sky in the shape of a bird.


    [Report! All clear! No heat readings piled up! The space ispletely clear of any guards!]


    Hmm!


    Many subconsciously nodded, being it just right.


    The Tian boy had limited guards. So how could it be possible that he would have people guarding every corner of this vast estate?


    Maybe a few of them should be walking about the ce as night patrol. But the time it would take to do a full 360 around the vast estate was enough time for them to infiltrate the ce.


    As soon they knew it was all clear, the boss began signaling his orders.


    [First group, engage!]


    Roger that!


    The men took out small ck guns and pointed them at the towering Tian walls.


    Poosh!~~


    A w shot, firmlytching itself on the mighty walls.


    And with a click of a button, snake and the others in the first team were hauled up


    Drrr~


    Up they went.


    It was like a scene straight out of a spy movie.


    And for people of their caliber, no matter how many times they went through such matters, there were almost moments of extreme vignce and heart-pounding caution.


    The air was heavy, and the men felt a nonexistent cold pierce through their skin.


    Look forward, left, look right...


    Staying high out, they still chose to scout the region out of reflex.


    They knew it was silly since the drones had confirmed that no one was in sight. But as part of their practice, they still did so, not forgetting to look at theirnding spots below.


    They did all this in no more than 3 seconds.


    Once again, all clear!


    Tap!


    Snake lightlynded on the low-cut grass within the estate.


    .


    4 minutes, and they were all in.


    That''s all it took for each group to jump in.


    But of course, their world was far from over.


    Roll, leap and hide!


    They hastily turned towards one of the lesser important mansions within the estate.


    It should be noted that they came in through the back of the estate.


    Here... There was a sizable walk-through garden with seats and booths stationed across the scene.


    And in another 4 or 5-minute walk away, one could see a wide mansion that was 2 stories tall.


    Again, what the mansioncked in height, it made up with in length.


    "Leader, ording to my sources, the Tian couple used to use this estate as staff quarters. But after theira, the many guards deserted them. And your spy from the inside has also confirmed that apart from the main mansion and another one up ahead, all the other buildings have been left unused."


    Looking at the building again, Snake couldn''t help but wonder...


    Beforeing in, he and the others didn''t pay too much attention to these ces.


    But seeing them for the first time, he couldn''t help but wonder if they were overlooking something.


    What if... What if what they were looking for was hidden somewhere within these unused buildings?


    That is, have they been looking in the wrong ces?


    Everyone paused, feeling that Snake might be up to something.


    However, they also knew it was toote to start changing ns.


    If they start searching each unused building one by one, it might take them a couple of days to do so.


    Wipe! Do you know how big these mansions were? What one saw from the outside didn''t necessarily represent its vast insides.


    For one, these mansions have basement floors.


    "Stick to the n," the leadermanded.


    And everyone was quick to throw their thoughts about the matter.


    What else could they say?


    .


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Like ninjas dressed in all ces with nothing but their eyes showing, the men shed through the scene.


    And just as they predicted, they did soot 2 guards patrolling the scene veryzily.


    The guards were very far away from them, with one of the guards even heading towards the ce they came in from.


    Tsk!


    Snake sneered.


    Too weak!


    Like so, they moved in the dead of night.


    And before they knew it, they were in the backside of the main mansion.


    Snake smirked.


    The girl, Alice, did as he instructed.


    One of the back windows on ground level was halfway open.


    "Snake, you''re up." The leader coldly said.


    Though it was unlikely that it was a trap, it was better to be safe than sorry.


    Very quickly, Snake crawled and danced his way towards the window.


    And with a small mirror, he was able to see well into the space.


    Dark, empty, with no cameras anywhere.


    Good.


    With his eyes, he blinked, giving them the signal.


    [All clear!]


    Thup.~


    Their feet touched the hallway floors.


    Infiltrationpleted.


    Now, it was time for phase 2!... Find the Tian Boy!


    If he were obedient, then they would give him a quick death. If not...


    Heh.


    They smiled cruelly underneath their masks, not knowing that the person they were targeting was far closer than they thought.


    The moment they left the hallway, a figure emerged from the walls.


    And in another second, it vanished again.


    … Some people didn''t know it yet, but tonight was bound to be a restless one… especially when the hunter bes the prey.