Наёмная принцесса

Глава 42

This is a security checkpoint of the same level as the airport waiting entrance. Four men in black stand guard by the security gate, steadfastly upholding their duties. No matter who wants to pass through this gate, they are not allowed to bring any dangerous items.

All these security measures are to ensure the safety of the owner of the house at the end of the corridor. This person is Deng Hua, the founder of Longyu Group, who is known as "Mayor Deng" in the provincial capital.

Such tight security now seems somewhat ridiculous, reminiscent of the Maginot Line, because it offered absolutely no flexibility. When Deng Hua left the Longyu Building, he ultimately succumbed to Eumenides's ingenious design.

What if he had remained hidden within this defensive line? Would Eumenides still have been able to deliver the "death sentence" on schedule? This is indeed an intriguing hypothetical.

Unfortunately, the world operates according to rules that do not accept assumptions. And Deng Hua, this arrogant and ruthless leader, could not possibly remain a coward hiding in his office forever. Thus, the master of this defensive line finally suffered a fatal blow from the assassin outside its walls.

But since Deng Hua is dead, why is this defense line on high alert tonight? Perhaps the answer can be found in the monitoring center on the first floor of the building.

Just like the private room in the "Black Magic Bar," the most striking feature of this room is also the rows of surveillance screens. Due to the different scale of the building, the screen wall here appears even more impressive. The screens monitor all the building's entrances and exits, all elevators, corridors, rooms, and even the surrounding area. In short, as long as you're sitting in this room, if you want to know the dynamics of any corner inside or outside the Longyu Building, you can find a clear view on one of the surveillance screens.

Four men dressed in black stood in a row in the monitoring room, facing the wall of screens. Each of them had their eyes wide open, staring intently at the monitor in front of them. In front of them were two chairs, where two men in plain clothes sat.

In such settings, wearing casual clothes often signifies a higher status than others, and the seating arrangement confirms this. The man on the left, of the two seated men, appears to be around thirty years old, with a rectangular face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes; judging from his build, he is at least 1.8 meters tall. The other man appears slightly older, with a more robust physique, almost at the level of a professional combat athlete. Both are focused on a monitor screen positioned at the very bottom center. Of all the screens, this one is the largest, and the images displayed on it are undoubtedly the most important in the entire building.

That was the scene inside the office at the far end of the 18th floor of the building. This heavily guarded room was originally Deng Hua's daily office, but judging from what was displayed on the screen, it appeared to have become a bedroom.

Because the office is very large, two cameras are needed to see the entire interior. The monitor is therefore divided into two parts: the left half shows the eastern half of the office, and the right half shows the western half. When the two screens are combined, they present the complete view of the office.

The room was brightly lit, and besides the original desks and chairs, there were two small beds against the walls on the east and west sides. Two men were lying on the two beds, seemingly fast asleep. Due to the limited angle and the low resolution of the camera, their faces were not clearly visible on the screen, but their figures—one fat and one thin—were easily distinguishable.

The burly man in front of the monitor screen had just finished a cigarette and was stubbing it out in the ashtray in front of him. The ashtray was already piled up like a small mountain, indicating that the person inside had been waiting in the monitoring room for quite some time.

Even smoking repeatedly couldn't relieve the fatigue from staying up all night. The burly man, with red eyes, opened his mouth wide and let out a long yawn.

"Brother Long, are you tired?" The man sitting on the left asked casually, while his eyes remained fixed on the monitor screen, not daring to relax for a moment.

"It's alright." The big guy known as "Brother Long" spread his hands and rubbed his face a few times, his eyes widening even more than before.

"Actually, Brother Long doesn't need to work so hard. I can keep watch here; it doesn't make a difference whether two people are watching or one person is."

"That's true, but it's our duty, and we can't afford to be careless. President Deng is already dead; if Uncle Lin were to suffer any further mishap, the Longyu Group would truly be in ruins."

At this point, Brother Long's gaze fell on the fat man on the screen. It turned out that the man was Lin Henggan, the vice president of Longyu Group. Judging from the tone Brother Long used when addressing him as "Uncle Lin," the two of them clearly had an unusually close relationship.

The man on the left chuckled and said, "Brother Long, you don't quite trust me with your work, do you?"

Brother Long paused for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Ahua, why are you speaking to me like that? Many brothers were present when Boss Deng was murdered; it really wasn't your fault..."

The man on the left sighed softly and stopped talking. It turned out that he was Ahua, the manager of Longyu Building, and also Deng Hua's most trusted bodyguard and confidant.

"I'll stick with you through this. It's not that I think you can't handle this job on your own. It's just that I need to familiarize myself with the security system in this building so I can help you with some of the work later, right?" Brother Long patted Ahua on the shoulder, as if he was deliberately trying to get closer to him.

Ahua gently pushed his hand away: "Stop talking. Focus."

Brother Long pouted, looking somewhat aggrieved. However, this was merely an act; in his heart, he coldly snorted, "A new emperor, a new court. Even if you're unwilling, you'll have to give up what you're owed!"

Ahua's eyes remained fixed on the monitor. He glanced at the time displayed in the upper left corner and muttered to himself, "Less than half an hour..."

"I told you, that guy had no chance!" Brother Long leaned back in his chair, seemingly ready to celebrate in advance. "With security like this, how could he possibly get in? Unless he really has Sun Wukong's ever-changing transformations!"

Ahua shook his head slightly: "We can't be careless. The closer we get to the end, the more vigilant we need to be. He might just try to strike when we're finally relaxed..."

"I'm afraid he won't come!" Brother Long spat fiercely. "If he dares to come, I'll skin him alive and use him as a sacrifice for General Deng!"

Ahua remained silent, his eyes fixed on the monitor. The two men in the office were still asleep, and apart from the constantly changing time numbers on the screen, everything was still and appeared perfectly normal.

But Ahua slowly frowned, seemingly sensing an ominous atmosphere. Influenced by him, Brother Long also became wary. He leaned closer to the monitor, stared intently for a moment, then licked his lips with a relieved expression: "Nothing's wrong, is there? Why are you so nervous?"

As if to mock Brother Long's attitude, the screen in front of him suddenly went black the moment he finished speaking. His surprised voice followed immediately: "Hey, what happened?!"

"The power's out!" Ahua answered anxiously from the side. Only then did Brother Long realize that not only was the monitor black, but all the lights in the monitoring room were also off, and the surroundings had become pitch black.

"Something's wrong!" Brother Long jumped up from his chair, but then, unsure where to go, asked blankly, "What do we do?"

Ahua groped his way to the wall facing the street and pulled back the curtains in the window. The lights from outside the building shone in, giving the people inside a faint glimpse of the light.

But Ahua's face grew even darker as the light shone through. He said in a low voice, "There's electricity outside!"

Brother Long's heart sank. The presence of power outside meant the power outage was due to an internal emergency. And at such a sensitive and critical moment, the implications of this "accident" were self-evident!

"I'll take my men up right away!" Brother Long hurriedly turned and walked out. Two of the four men in black followed closely behind him, while the other two stood still and watched Ah Hua, waiting for his instructions.

"Don't move!" Ahua roared, like a thunderclap. Brother Long was startled by the shout and obediently stopped in his tracks. Then he stared blankly at Ahua, his mind momentarily frozen.

Ahua's expression was extremely serious, but his emotions remained calm. Seeing that he had the situation in the monitoring room under control, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and began calling his subordinates on guard on the eighteenth floor: "Ah Jie?"

A reply came quickly from the walkie-talkie: "Brother Hua, this is A-Jie."

How's the situation where you are?

"The power suddenly went out."

"I know," Ahua emphasized. "What I'm asking is: besides the power outage, are there any other issues?"

"Not at the moment."

Hearing this answer, everyone in the monitoring room breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Do you have any lighting there right now?" Ahua continued to ask.

"Two of our brothers have already retrieved flashlights from the fire extinguisher cabinet; that should be enough for a while."

"Very good!" Ahua praised seriously, "No matter what happens, you must guard the office door. No one is allowed to enter, understand?"

The young man named A-Jie answered very readily, "Understood!"

"Contact me immediately if anything changes!" After giving this final instruction, Ahua put the walkie-talkie aside. Then, looking at the two young men in black who were still standing there, he asked, "Do you know the location of the backup generator in the building?"

The two people answered almost simultaneously, "We know!"

Ahua decisively waved his hand: "Go together, both of you! You have three minutes!"

Without a word, the two young men in black strode off towards the outside of the monitoring room. Even as they passed by Brother Long and his men, they didn't stop, as if the men didn't exist.

Brother Long stood frozen in place, his face alternating between red and white, looking quite unwell.

Ah Hua seemed to only then remember that he had been leaving Brother Long hanging. He turned to look at the other man and then took a few steps forward.

Brother Long stared intently at Ahua, his facial muscles twitching slightly. Although he was tall and older than his opponent, his imposing presence was completely overshadowed, making him feel almost unable to lift his head. However, remembering his two henchmen beside him, he couldn't be too submissive, so he forced a confident tone and said, "The situation has changed. What's the point of staying in the monitoring room? We need to go up and provide reinforcements!"

Ahua stopped in front of Brother Long and asked casually, "Without electricity, how long would it take you to get to the eighteenth floor?"

"Well..." Brother Long looked embarrassed, hesitated for a moment, and then vaguely replied, "It might take three to five minutes..."

"Three to five minutes... Even if you could run up there, you'd be exhausted, like donkeys, right? And it'd be pitch black the whole way. If you were ambushed, you wouldn't even have the strength to fight back! What's the point of running up there? There are dozens of brothers guarding it. The office has two layers of iron doors, and we each have a key. If we don't move, who can get in? Panic, panic, panic, what's there to panic about? Don't you know that the enemy wants us to panic? When we panic and become chaotic, that's when they have a chance!"

Brother Long was rendered speechless by Ahua's barrage of lecturing, and at the same time, he felt a cold sweat break out on his back, a sense of lingering fear washing over him. Indeed, although the power was out, as long as the brothers on the eighteenth floor guarded the office door, the enemy would have no chance to succeed. If Ahua had also rashly run upstairs with him and been ambushed on the way, it would have truly been like handing the keys to the enemy!

"So what should we do now?" Brother Long swallowed hard, his tone completely that of a lackey awaiting instructions from his boss. Whether he understood at that moment or not, it was a matter of fact: a new emperor brings a new court, but whether emperor or subject, power ultimately prevails!

"We'll remain steadfast in the face of any change," Ahua said firmly. "The backup generator will be operational soon, and in the meantime, our task is to each hold our positions and prevent any external interference with the established defense plan."

After saying this, Ahua took the lead and walked back to the monitoring station, sitting down in his seat. Brother Long followed obediently, still sitting next to Ahua, but the arrogant boss demeanor he had shown earlier was completely gone.

Ahua picked up the walkie-talkie again and contacted Ajie upstairs once more. The feedback indicated that, after receiving Ahua's instructions, the men upstairs remained in their positions, maintaining an impenetrable defense of the office. Under these circumstances, the enemy had not revealed themselves. Ahua listened to his subordinates' report while glancing at Brother Long. Brother Long nodded in approval: Indeed, as long as our defenses remain calm and composed, it's difficult for the enemy to find any loopholes.

The group waited in the darkness, and although it was only a few minutes, it felt like hours because everyone was on edge. Suddenly, the darkness disappeared, and the lights in the building came back on.

Ahua and the others simultaneously let out a low cheer, knowing that their men, sent to the basement to activate the backup power supply, had completed their mission. Then they focused their attention on the nearby surveillance screen, to confirm that the person they were protecting was still safe.

The monitor was much slower to respond than the light bulb. Even after the power was turned on, it took some time to gradually return to normal operation. As the image captured on the screen became clearer and clearer, the two people's eyes widened as if they couldn't take it all in.

Brother Long first let out a gasp of surprise, a mixture of astonishment, fear, and an incredulous shock. He even wondered if he was seeing things because he couldn't adapt to the sudden light. With this hopeful thought, he turned to look at Ahua, but the other's reaction made his heart sink completely.

Ahua stared at the screen in horror, his eyes wide open, almost bursting at the corners. He felt as if he were seeing the most incomprehensible scene in the world, an effect that even seeing a ghost in broad daylight couldn't compare to.

"This... how is this possible?!" he muttered, stunned as if he had been struck on the head with a club.

Yes. Brother Long also thinks that the scene on the screen is impossible!

But this scene just happened right before their eyes!

On the screen, the office door remained closed, the lights still on—everything was exactly the same as before the power outage. On the beds against the east and west walls, a fat man and a thin man were fast asleep, their sleeping positions unchanged!

This house was supposed to be like this. Except for the power being cut off and then restored, nothing should have changed. Dozens of brothers guarded the two tightly closed iron doors; not even a fly could get inside!

But now there was another person in the room. That person was walking towards the single bed against the west wall, and as if to show off, he gently stretched out his right hand and waved it in the direction of the light. A sharp light immediately flashed on the screen.

Ahua and Brother Long were both men who lived on the edge of a knife; they knew all too well what that white light represented. It was the reflection of a blade, sharp and menacing, its edge seemingly piercing through the screen and deeply etched into their hearts.

"Ahua, what...what should we do?" In his shock, Brother Long was already somewhat incoherent.

Before Ahua could answer, the lights and monitors suddenly went out again. The Longyu Building was plunged into darkness once more.

This time, however, it is a more complete darkness, enough to plunge everyone's heart into an endless abyss of suffocation!

November 3rd, 00:45.

A sharp siren pierced the night sky. A large number of police officers from the city's criminal investigation team and special police team were converging on the Longyu Building in the city center. The police officers who arrived first set up a long cordon, surrounding the entire building. Outside the cordon, more and more police cars gathered, their red and blue lights flashing, standing out starkly against the dark backdrop of the building.

The police officers who emerged from the police cars were all fully armed. They quickly dispersed along the cordon, forming an impenetrable defensive line. The connection between the inside and outside of the Longyu Building had been completely severed by this line of defense.

At the heart of the cordon, Luo Fei was leading his direct subordinates into the building. The group split into two teams in the lobby. The SWAT team's technicians, carrying repair equipment, headed to the building's underground electrical room; their mission was to restore the building's power supply as quickly as possible. Luo Fei, on the other hand, led the criminal investigation team straight to the eighteenth floor.

Although he was abruptly awakened from his sleep, Luo Fei's body suddenly unleashed a powerful burst of energy. He strode quickly to the front of the group, in no way inferior to the young men in their twenties and thirties around him. This was partly due to his years of relentless physical training, and partly due to his intense fighting spirit.

That desire stemmed from the stimulation of a powerful opponent, from that name that was etched into Luo Fei's memory, a name imbued with a bloody aura: Eumenides!

Five minutes later, the group reached the eighteenth floor of the Longyu Building.

This wasn't Luo Fei's first time here. He vividly remembered his last meeting with Deng Hua. He knew this was the heart of a massive corporation, brimming with power and influence unimaginable to ordinary people. But now, revisiting this place, he felt completely different.

Under the beam of the police flashlights, Luo Fei saw two rows of men in black standing before him. Each of them was burly and strong, but the spirit that once shone on them was completely gone, replaced by undisguised fear and panic. They stood in the long, dark corridor, their faces filled with despair, as if they were standing at the entrance to hell.

Luo Fei and the others walked down the corridor deeper into the building. A dozen pairs of leather shoes clattered on the floor, making a synchronized sound, like the sounding of a solemn battle horn. This sound startled a group of people gathered at the end of the corridor. After a slight commotion, the group parted, and two leaders emerged to greet them.

"Officer Luo, hello." The young man in the lead greeted him, his attitude neither warm nor cold. Luo Fei remembered his name was Ahua, one of Deng Hua's most trusted confidants. Luo Fei hadn't seen the man behind Ahua before, but he seemed dazed and disoriented, so he figured he wasn't anyone important.

"You're the one who reported it, right?" Luo Fei asked, taking a few more steps forward. Deng Hua's office was just ahead. Luo Fei frowned, staring at the dark doorway—out of a certain professional instinct, he could clearly smell the scent of death.

"Yes." Ahua nodded. "The person had already stopped breathing completely. So I didn't call 120, I called the police directly." His eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if he was still somewhat shocked. However, his demeanor was quite calm and composed, and he was able to keep the situation under control.

"How do you know it was Eumenides who committed the crime?" Luo Fei went straight to the point.

Ahua didn't answer directly; instead, he handed Luo Fei a piece of white paper he was holding.

Luo Fei took the paper, and Yin Jian stepped forward from behind, shining a flashlight on him. Perhaps due to the sudden stimulation of the bright light, Luo Fei's pupils contracted abruptly.

He was so familiar with the style of the paper and the black ink on it; he could never forget it since he first saw it eighteen years ago!

It said on it:

Death sentence notice

Inmates: Lin Henggan, Meng Fangliang