Chapter 9: Rescue Operation (Part 1)

"Yeah, yeah, even if I'm not a college student, I can sleep however long I want." Ansel chimed in.

Kagumo snorted. "Since we have a mission tonight, I won't say anything."

After that, they had lunch and spent the afternoon discussing the evening's operation.

"This sounds pretty simple." After hearing the detailed plan, Ansel nodded confidently.

"Isn't that obvious? You're not the one taking the risks." Kagumo rolled his eyes.

"But I'm contributing too!" Ansel argued.

Yvette turned to Mo Ying once again. "Mo Ying, you're not officially one of us yet, just a guest. Making a guest take on the most dangerous task isn't our style. You still have a chance to back out—this is your last opportunity."

"Yeah, Mo Ying, think it over again." Davis added.

"I don't push myself beyond my limits. If I say I can do it, I can." Mo Ying gave her firm response once more.

With that, the plan was finalized, and they waited for nightfall.

As darkness fell, the city's nightlife was just beginning. The streets remained vibrant with neon lights and bustling activity.

It wasn't until the clock on their phone screen displayed 23:00 that the city finally started to quiet down.

A black car cruised through the streets, moving smoothly and silently. After about forty-five minutes, it came to a stop in front of a bar. Five people stepped out of the vehicle.

Four of them entered the bar, while Mo Ying headed in a different direction, quickly vanishing into the night.

They each ordered a drink with low alcohol content and took a seat in a corner.

Ansel took a sip of his wine before saying, "Alright, I'll begin now."

Yvette, Davis, and Kagumo nodded and closed their eyes. Ansel's eyes turned silver, and a silvery glow flashed over the other three in succession. When they reopened their eyes, their irises had also turned silver.

It lasted only a few seconds before their eyes returned to normal. Then, another scene appeared before them—

A dilapidated house with a tightly shut door. This was the kidnappers' hideout.

"Do you see it?" Mo Ying lightly pressed her right earbud.

"Yeah, we see it." Yvette responded.

"Good. I'm going in." Mo Ying said.

Their plan was simple: Mo Ying would infiltrate first to assess the situation and locate the hostage. Then, the others would create a diversion, drawing the kidnappers' attention away while Mo Ying seized the opportunity to rescue the target.

At this moment, Mo Ying was leaning against the wall of the neighboring building, eyes fixed on the closed door. She glanced upward and to the left—there was a window on the second floor, half-open and seemingly unlocked.

Swiftly, Mo Ying moved to the front of the building and leaped up, grabbing the windowsill. With a light push from her right hand, she flipped herself over and landed inside.

The room was mostly empty except for some scattered junk. In front of her and to the right, there was a door. Just then, a man happened to be standing there. His eyes widened in shock, mouth opening to call out, but before he could make a sound, Mo Ying covered his mouth, pressing a gun against his head.

"Where are you keeping Chairman Kraf's son?" Mo Ying asked.

The man was just about to speak when Mo Ying added, "Don't even think about shouting for help. Believe me, my gun is faster than your partners."

Terror shut his mouth instantly. Trembling, he said, "I-It's... in the storage room."

"Be more specific." Mo Ying's voice was icy.

"You go through that door—it leads to the living room. Then... then go to the door on the right side of the living room, and it's inside." The man's eyes flicked toward Mo Ying's gun as he spoke.

Mo Ying stared into his eyes and then sneered. "Still trying to lie to me?"

The man met her violet gaze. A clicking sound rang out—the trigger being pulled.

Bang.

A searing pain shot through his body. His vision blurred, and he felt as if the world was spinning. He collapsed to the ground, his surroundings swallowed by darkness, his consciousness sinking into oblivion.

Then, from within the void, a hand seemed to reach out, pulling his awareness back.

He felt solid ground beneath his feet, his head intact, the wind whistling in his ears.

He was alive.

The sensation of dying had been far too real. His limbs felt frozen with fear, the lingering pain still tormenting his body. He looked up at the woman with black hair and violet eyes standing before him.

"I'll give you one more chance. If you don't want to die, tell me the truth." Her expression was cold.

"I... I'll talk." The man had no idea what had just happened, but he wasn't willing to go through that again. "It's not the door on the right, it's the one on the left. Behind it is a hallway. Go left again, and it's the second room down."

"Anyone guarding the door?" Mo Ying asked.

"Y-Yeah... two guys."

After getting the information she needed, Mo Ying knocked the man unconscious, dragged him to a hidden spot, tied his hands, and gagged him. The room was unlit, and she melted into the shadows, her silhouette barely visible. Unless someone looked carefully, they wouldn't notice the presence of a person.

"Nicely done." Yvette nodded.

As Mo Ying blended into the darkness, two men stepped out from the right-hand door, cigarettes between their lips.

The man in blue exhaled a puff of smoke. "No cops have come sniffing around so far. Looks like we'll get that ransom money tomorrow without a hitch."

"Shut up. Every time you say that, something bad happens." The man in red shot him a glare before stomping out his cigarette.

"Fine, fine. Whatever." The blue-clad man put his cigarette back in his mouth.

Seeing that they were only chatting, Mo Ying continued moving. She approached the door undetected. Just as she reached for the handle—

Click.

The doorknob turned from the other side.

Mo Ying's hand retracted instantly as if shocked by electricity.

A man and a woman stepped out.

The woman had long blonde hair, her face pale but strikingly beautiful. Her slightly downturned eyes gave her a delicate, sickly charm.

The man beside her, dressed in a button-up shirt, followed her respectfully.

"Boss!" The two cigarette-smoking men straightened up, hastily snuffing out their cigarettes.

The blonde woman coughed.

"I've told you—don't smoke in front of the boss!" The man in the button-up scolded.

"S-Sorry! We didn't know she'd come by." The two men apologized in a panic.

"Ugh, Billy, don't be so dramatic. It's not their fault. I just came to grab something." The blonde woman waved dismissively.

She walked toward a stack of boxes but suddenly halted. Turning her head, she scanned the room.

"What is it?" Billy asked.

"My sixth sense tells me... someone's here." The blonde woman's gaze swept across the space.

A ripple of gray energy spread out from her body.

The three men around her clutched their chests and collapsed. The two smokers writhed on the ground, groaning in agony, while Billy managed to stay composed but still gritted his teeth in pain.

Apart from their sounds, there was only silence. 

The blonde woman retracted her power.

"Guess it was just my imagination. Sorry." She helped Billy up.

"No need to apologize, ma'am." Billy said respectfully.

She found a book among the boxes and left. The two other men followed.

Hidden in the corner, Mo Ying let out a breath, wiping away cold sweat.

"Mo Ying, you okay?" Kagumo's concerned voice came through the earpiece.

"I'm fine. I now understand why the cops' corpses had that expression." Mo Ying's voice trembled slightly. "Pain sharing—that's her ability."

"That woman's health is poor. Her body might be enduring immense pain, and she can share that pain within a certain range."

"But it feels like there's more to it." Yvette recalled the agonized expressions of the men. "Maybe those affected by her ability suffer more than twice the pain she experiences."

"Hmm, based on what I felt, that assumption is probably true." By now, Mo Ying had returned to her usual composure.

She walked to the door and knocked once. After a few seconds, she knocked again.

Two heavy thuds sounded from behind the door before it was cautiously opened. A young woman peeked out.

"There's no one here." The young woman said.

"Must've been the wind." Another voice came from behind her.

With that, the young woman shut the door. But in the brief moment it had been open, Mo Ying had already slipped inside at lightning speed, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.

"I feel like something just flashed past?" The young woman asked, frowning in confusion after closing the door.

"You're imagining things."

The room was brightly lit with few shadows, but Mo Ying managed to conceal herself in a corner.

Just as the man had described, this was a living room. A large couch sat in the center facing a television, which was playing a drama at low volume. Three people lounged on the sofa, casually eating as they watched.

The thick curtains were drawn shut, completely blocking the windows and preventing even a sliver of light from escaping.

These guys are way too relaxed. No vigilance at all. Mo Ying thought.

However, she had no intention of dealing with them directly. Her gaze locked onto the door the man had mentioned. If she moved now, there was a high chance of alerting the three on the couch. Plus, there were still two guards outside, not to mention the whereabouts of that blonde woman were unknown.

"Is it our turn to take the stage?" Ansel's voice came through the earpiece, sounding lighthearted.