Infiltration

In the dark, silent night, in a rather large hotel room the lights were off.

If one looked carefully, they would be able to make out a silhouette moving in the shadows.

It was impossible to tell its gender, and although the silhouette seemed very busy, it didn't make a sound.

The window was slightly open, a light breeze landing on the silhouette, slightly waving its hair.

The hair was rather long, coming to the waist of the silhouette.

It was pure white, almost silver, although it seemed darker in the absence of light.

If one could see in the dark, it would be possible to make out the expression on the silhouette's face.

The silhouette was a woman. Although it was impossible to tell her age, it was clear she was far more mature and experienced than what the eye could see.

The woman's face lacked emotions. She seemed serious, preparing for something.

Her cold, piercing ocean eyes swept through the room, seemingly searching for something.

Her gaze landed on the bed. The bed was neatly made, not a wrinkle to be seen. Next to the bed was a small desk, and on the desk was a bag and coat.

The woman was dressed in black; she had a black shirt, black pants, black utility belt, and black boots.

She was also wearing white gloves, looking out of place with the rest of her clothes.

Her light blue eyes shut and opened, and she swiftly made her way across to the bed.

She stood in front of the desk, staring down at the coat, before picking it up and putting it on in one quick, graceful move.

The coat had many pockets, and although it was impossible for any normal human to see, one pocket had a small black box, and in that box were two small, circular white pills.

The woman didn't bother to cover her face, a look of determination and unwavering confidence in her cold blue eyes.

She swiftly made her way to the window, and opened it fully.

Any onlooker would have snorted at the image; she was far too big to fit in the small window.

Even a child would have trouble getting through safely.

The woman stepped back, and without hesitation leapt through, not sparing a backward glance to the room.

A second later, a breeze came into the room again, slightly stronger this time.

The window was open, and the night was dark, seemingly undisturbed.

If one were to turn on the lights, they would see the clock on the wall, silently moving its hands.

If one were to determine the time from the silent clock, they would see it was 3 a.m.

Another breeze swept through the room, and if one happened to pass by the door to the room, they would see a "do not disturb" sign on the door handle, swaying slightly.

However, no one was awake, and so the woman left without a trace.

***

I had just left my hotel room when I landed on a nearby roof.

My hotel was extremely popular, but through my family's connections, it was easy to book a room.

I woke up earlier than I normally would on a night when I slept, but I had determined it would be necessary to rise early today.

I leapt across buildings, trying to remember the route I memorized.

Father had told me where the drug factory was - under Haisha's casino.

Haisha's casino had a very... large "basement," created specifically for his drug factory.

He grew some of his drugs elsewhere, of course, but he developed all his drugs there.

I landed lightly atop the casino. Although it was around 3, it was open and bustling with noise, unlike most of the other parts of town.

I dropped down and slipped past the guards inside.

Security was supposed to be strict, since membership was needed to enter, but since it was so early - or late, depending on how one looks at it - the guards were letting down their guard.

I quickly went to a dark part of the casino and blended in with the shadows. No one was nearby, so I had a few minutes before I had to take action.

I observed the scene inside; women providing entertainment by dancing and singing on stage, men and women of all ages gambling... it wasn't anything unusual for a casino.

There was also a separate bar with a bartender and customers, with expensive drinks and food being sold.

I scanned the building, focusing on the walls, corners, and doors.

I doubted there would be a trapdoor that would lead down, since it had to be comfortable for workers to get down there.

In the corner of my eye, I spotted a door that had more guards and surveillance on it than anywhere else.

One guard was in the bar part of the casino, watching the door discreetly.

Another was gambling, glancing at the door slightly when waiting for other players.

There were another two chatting near the door, one with a clear view of the door and the other providing an excuse to watch so openly.

Having seen enough, I entered the restroom nearby.

My attire wasn't suitable for a casino, and if I stayed there too long, I would attract attention.

There were hidden cameras all over the room, and while a brief glance showed me over 15 cameras, I was sure there were more cameras than I immediately noticed.

I wouldn't be able to take all the guards and cameras out unnoticed, so it would be better to go into the door undercover- in disguise.

Unfortunately, I had no idea what kind of people had access to the drug factory, so I'd have to wait for someone to enter, hopefully a worker.

Sighing, I waited for a woman to enter the restroom before heading inside as well.

We were the only ones in there, and I locked the door - I doubted anyone would come in, since I'd been waiting for so long, but it was a necessary precaution.

The woman closed the stall door behind her, and lathered her hands in soap.

She hummed gently, washing the soap off her hands before splashing her face with water.

She seemed slightly more sober, and just as she was about to turn around to open the door, I knocked her out.

The woman whimpered softly as she felt my hand on her throat, and gently fell into my arms.

I dragged her into the big stall and started undressing her.

I had some spare clothes in my space pocket, but nothing that would fit into this type of place, unfortunately.

Because of this, I had to resort to stealing

clothes.

It was disgusting, but the fastest and most efficient way to blend in and watch comfortably.

I glanced up; there was an air vent.

It seemed big enough to fit the woman, so I hauled her up. I pried the vent off, shoved the woman in, and stuck the vent back in.

The woman moaned uncomfortably - clearly, she could barely fit.

I ignored it, and exited the stall.

I unlocked the door and left, heading for a table.

If anyone heard the woman moaning, they'd think she was shameless or something and wouldn't check.

The woman would be unconscious for several hours, and her strength alone wouldn't be enough to get herself out.

I had until she woke up to get my job done before security tightened.

The chemist would probably be working right now, either in the factory or in his room, most likely in the factory. I had to find him, discover his method of making pills, and steal some desirable drugs.

If any drugs were poisonous, I could make myself immune to them, and maybe even introduce them to my family.

They would appreciate it, if the poison was unfamiliar to the custom Zoldycks' poison immunity course.

Since people were making more modern forms of poison, the Zoldycks had to constantly update their range of immunity, which was annoying and troublesome.

In a few decades, I would most likely also have to update my immunity.

I sat down at the table and motioned for a waiter. I asked for a lot of food, and some drinks. I told him I'd pay in advance as soon as the first course came in. If I had to leave suddenly, I didn't want the kitchen chasing after me.

This area of the casino was the eating and drinking area, so I could observe the door freely without looking suspicious.

I took out a newspaper from my space pocket, pulling it out from my coat pocket to make it look natural.

I unfolded it and started reading, keeping the door in sight the entire time as I waited for my food.

***

I turned the page, slowly chewing on a fry. I scanned the headlines: "Antiques in the Auction in York New Proven to be Fake!"

I started to read the subtitle, and noticed a man head to the door unhesitatingly.

He seemed to have done the drill many times before, and passed by one of the men keeping watch over the door - the one chatting near the door.

The man walking to the door tapped the guard on the elbow discreetly, and no one seemed to have caught it except me.

The man opened the door - apparently it was unlocked - and headed inside after a quick glance behind.

The brief glimpse of what was behind the door didn't look very promising; it was just a white room.

But I had seen a slight bump in the wall, indicating a secret passageway might be there as another layer of protection against intruders.

It might be there just as a double defense, or it might be to fool curious onlookers that there was nothing special behind the "secret door."

The door shut quietly, and after listening hard, I heard faint footsteps.

Unlike normal doors, this one seemed soundproof.

Normally I would be able to hear what was going on with no problem, but I had to listen hard to hear the footsteps, meaning it was soundproof, or the footsteps were extremely quiet, which was unlikely since I could hear his footsteps clearly before he closed the door behind him.

The waiter came forward again, holding another several dishes.

He placed them on the table gracefully as I stood up. "I'll be gone shortly. Please postpone bringing the food until I'm back. Here's a tip."

I placed two hundred on the table before exiting the casino.

The man who had entered the door had been wearing a tuxedo, looking natural among the other gamblers, but I had noticed that his clothing was a little bulky.

He was probably wearing a lab coat or some uniform underneath his tuxedo, meaning after entering the factory, I would need to take off my dress depending on the security measures.

I had seen the outline of a uniform, and after slightly straining my eyes, I could see the color of the uniform was white.

The "uniform" was a simple pair of pants and shirt, not even a tie or anything.

I wasn't one to leave anything to chance at all on missions or during something serious, so I was going to have to find a uniform to wear underneath my dress.

Since I wouldn't be able to fit a lab coat under my dress without being obvious and suspicious, I would simply wear a white shirt and shirt shorts underneath, just in case.

If anyone asked, I could say I lost it or something happened to it last-minute and I wore something similar.

Worst-case scenario, I could just ask for a new one and pretend I was stupid.

I walked into an alleyway, and after ensuring no one was nearby, I started changing.

***

After I got my "fake uniform" on, I started putting the dress back on. The woman in the bathroom might wake up soon, so I should teleport her out into this alleyway.

I hadn't teleported her before because I hadn't found any hidden, unused alleyways before entering the casino because of how in a rush I was.

If I had randomly teleported her, I had no idea where she would end up, and I didn't want to be the cause of assault or have her be taken advantage of.

I wasn't sure if I would need to disguise myself as a man, but since I didn't have enough time to, I'd have to go as a professional woman.

There was a saying somewhere, "fake it 'till you make it."

The saying the Zoldycks use for situations like these, and the one that we were taught, was "if you believe you belong somewhere, you belong there."

Basically, if you're confident enough about something, you can fool anyone, even the ones with high authority.

I had witnessed how the man had breezed past as if he had done it a thousand times; that's all I had to do.

I teleported near the casino and walked in calmly and confidently.

I headed straight for the man who was the "password," and didn't falter my step at all as I tapped him on the elbow.

The man paused for a fraction of a second, then continued his conversation without looking back.

As I walked up to the door, making sure to make my footsteps audible (although it was hard, like breaking a habit) for the guards diligently gazing at me.

I opened the door without any hesitation and walked in before shutting the door.

I was slightly unnerved because I was able to hear my footsteps, so I started to walk around in circles to make sure my footsteps were silent before I got to work.

I looked around the room, analyzing every nook and cranny carefully.

I noted that there were several barely noticeable rises in the wall in a corner, so I walked that way, my footsteps inaudible.

The rises, although barely there, seemed to form a sort of circle around one middle rise.

I pressed on the middle rise (there weren't any traps for intruders, so it was safe to try any theories out) and the rises started shifting.

The rises slid into the wall, disappearing completely before a door emerged.

I pushed open the door slowly, cautious of what lies behind.