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Low, leaden-gray clouds rolled across the horizon.

A faint rumble of thunder came from deep within the clouds, foreshadowing a storm brewing.

The poplar trees lining the suburban highway swayed violently in the strong wind, making a rustling sound.

squeak--

A silver-gray old van slowly pulled over and turned off its headlights.

The car door was pushed open with a "whoosh," and a tall, burly figure emerged from the back seat first.

Fat Tiger squinted as the strong wind blew in his face, and muttered gruffly:
"A dark and windy night, perfect weather for murder and arson."

He then turned around and extended his arm towards a pale-faced young man inside the carriage:
"Brother, slow down, watch your step."

Li Fei, holding Pang Hu's hand, jumped out of the car.

When my feet landed, my body swayed slightly, but my steps were still relatively stable.

Immediately afterwards, a tall, slender figure wearing a black hooded sweatshirt bent down and got out of the car.

Fang Cheng casually pulled up his hood to cover most of his face, then turned around and carried the last little girl out of the carriage.

Douzi stood firmly on her feet, her little hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

She was also wearing a black hoodie, but the hood was so big it almost covered her eyebrows.

The driver's side window slowly rolled down.

Li Dingjian gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his face grave, and whispered his instructions:
"Acheng, be careful and stay safe. We'll be there to help you at any time."

In the passenger seat, Fei Ying didn't speak, but simply put a dagger back into its sheath and nodded solemnly to Fang Cheng.

"Don't worry, you can just wait here for news."

Fang Cheng patted the car door, signaling them to roll up the windows.

In fact, Fang Cheng had not originally planned to bring so many people.

The Illuminati is a newly established organization with only about twenty members, each with their own responsibilities.

Xu Kuan and Jiang Yun followed Lin Chuqiao and were busy with the base construction. Xiao Sa and Bai Ling also had their own tasks. They were all logistics personnel who were not good at direct combat.

Meanwhile, veterans like Da Chui and Lao Chen were stationed in Jiuchang Street and Wanghu Town, staying by Fang Cheng's family's side without leaving their side.

The Black Shark organization acts without any scruples, and no one knows whether they have actually investigated the Illuminati's background.

Fang Cheng would never mobilize the defensive forces of the main camp.

However, before leaving, Lin Chuqiao insisted on going with him, fearing that he might fall into an ambush.

Fang Cheng patiently explained the pros and cons to her, and after much persuasion, he managed to force her to stay at Yunyin Xiaozhu to take charge of the overall situation.

However, despite Lin Chuqiao's repeated nagging, Fang Cheng still chose to bring his uncle Li Dingjian and Feiying along as backup.

"Let's go."

Fang Cheng turned around and looked down at the dark fields below the highway.

According to the map, it is about two kilometers away from Heping Farm.

To avoid potential spies from the Black Shark organization, they had to abandon the existing roads and traverse the area on foot.

Ahead lay a vast expanse of rolling hills covered in wild grass, without even a path for people to walk on.

The wind blew through the waist-high weeds, making a sound like ghosts howling and wolves wailing.

With each step, the soil beneath varied in depth, and was full of vines and stones that could trip you up.

If his sole purpose was to kill, Fang Cheng could have simply walked down the road through the main entrance and rammed through the road.

But the primary objective tonight is to rescue Li Jie. We must conceal our whereabouts as much as possible before Ghost Fox notices, so as to prevent the other party from using the hostage's life as leverage.

Fang Cheng deliberately chose an extremely tricky route, sneaking forward along an irrigation ditch.

The branch canal is one meter deep, and its sides are piled with weeds that are half a person tall.

Walking on the dry ditch bottom, Fang Cheng's figure was conveniently hidden.

Simply bend down, and the earthen slopes and dense vegetation on both sides will provide natural cover, perfectly blocking distant line of sight and thermal imaging detection.

The bottom of the canal was littered with gravel and dead branches, which made a faint cracking sound when stepped on.

All four of them deliberately slowed their pace to avoid the thorny bushes.

Fat Tiger walked at the front of the group, using his broad body to forcefully push through the thorns and carve out a path.

As he waved his hand aside the thorny branches, he lowered his voice and said:

"President, if a fight really breaks out later, please don't rush to smash that ghost fox into a meat patty."

"At least leave two survivors so I can have some fun too. I've been spending all my time loitering around the base lately, and I'm practically bursting with pent-up energy..."

"We'll see how it goes."

Fang Cheng replied casually, then gave an unusually serious instruction:

"Your most important task is to protect Li Jie and Douzi. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you responsible."

The tone wasn't harsh, yet it clearly pierced through the wind and reached Fat Tiger's ears.

"Understood, Chairman."

Fat Tiger shrank his neck, muttered something under his breath, and obediently shut his mouth, also slowing his pace considerably.

Fang Cheng turned his head slightly and glanced at Li Fei, who was following closely behind him.

"How are you doing? Can you still hold on?"

"fine."

Li Fei took a breath and waved his hand, indicating that he could still hold on.

As an assassin who underwent rigorous training from a young age, he had a very solid physical foundation and was already used to enduring hardship.

With Fang Cheng using his true energy to heal his damaged body during the day, Li Fei's serious injuries had actually turned into minor injuries in just half a day.

The group walked several hundred meters along the rugged dry canal.

He was only a little pale, but his breathing remained steady, and he never fell behind.

Douzi stayed close to Fang Cheng, her eyes shining like black gems under the hood.

Her little hands tugged at Fang Cheng's clothes, her expression somewhat restrained, and she even seemed a little uncomfortable with the dark surroundings.

Fang Cheng noticed the pressure on his clothes, slowed down by half a step, and placed his large palm on Douzi's little head, gently stroking her long hair twice.

Feeling the warmth coming from above, Douzi looked up at Fang Cheng, and her tightly pursed lips relaxed slightly.

Twenty minutes later, the canal came to an end, and ahead was a raised earthen slope.

Fang Cheng made a gesture, and the four of them quickly squatted down, using the weeds on the earthen slope as cover, and slowly poked their heads out.

Looking into the distance, a few scattered buildings stand in the night sky, some near and some far.

"President, look, that's Peace Farm!"

Li Fei raised his arm and pointed to the southwest, about 500 meters away.

In the darkness, three bungalows formed a semicircle, with a two-story main building standing in the middle.

The windows on the second floor were tightly closed, with only a dim, yellowish light shining through from the first floor.

The entire farm was eerily quiet; there wasn't a sound like a dog barking, a typical rural symphony. "That's the main building; Ghost Fox has been staying there for the past couple of days."

Li Fei pointed to the two-story building in the very center, his voice low and filled with barely suppressed hatred:
“There should be other killers hiding in the surrounding bungalows. Yesterday, Ah Jie and I were surrounded by them in the wheat field. Those people came out of the houses.”

"We need to pay special attention to the three gold-medal assassins. They lead other silver and bronze-medal assassins, forming a crossfire unit. Once we step onto this flat land, there is absolutely no cover in the surrounding area; we are all sitting ducks."

Based on the situation on the ground, Li Fei tried his best to recount the enemy situation as he knew it in detail.

Fang Cheng stood behind the earthen slope, his eyes slightly narrowed, his gaze sweeping over every shadow and corner around the farm.

Since the Black Shark organization dared to use Li Jie as bait, they must have deployed an extremely dense network of sentries around the main building.

Before taking any action, thorough preparations must be made to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Lost in thought, Fang Cheng's gaze moved upwards from the main building and landed on a solitary hilltop a few hundred meters behind the farm.

The mountaintop there was pitch black, without a single light.

But in my keen intuition, there was a chilling aura lurking there, like a venomous snake.

"There should be another sniper on the mountaintop."

Fang Cheng spoke calmly.

"Yes, that guy's code name is Poison Bee, he's a one-eyed madman."

Li Fei was slightly taken aback, seemingly surprised that the president had actually discovered it.

Then, with a somewhat grim expression, he said:
"This guy is using a specially made heavy anti-materiel sniper rifle, which is said to be 100% accurate and extremely dangerous."

“Yesterday, when I was breaking through, a bullet he fired from a kilometer away grazed my shoulder and tore off a large chunk of flesh.”

Fat Tiger squatted to the side, rubbed his palms together, and asked in a deep voice:

"President, what do we do now? The other side's formation is clearly waiting for us to rush in and die. Should I just go over and smash the door, make a big fuss to attract their attention, and you go around to rescue them?"

There's no need to rush for now.

Fang Cheng shook his head and looked away:
"Our primary objective in this operation is to rescue people. Li Jie's limbs are broken, making him unable to move easily, and he is being used as bait. If the other side realizes something is wrong, they may kill him at any time."

"Therefore, we must first determine his exact location and condition, and ensure his safety before we can have some fun with them."

After saying that, Fang Cheng turned around, half-squatted on the ground, and looked at Douzi, who was huddled next to him, at eye level.

"beans."

Fang Cheng's voice was unusually gentle:

"It's up to you now. Help your brother find out what's going on in that building and which room Li Jie is being held in."

Upon hearing this, Douzi nodded obediently.

She took a deep breath, stepped down from the small mound, and sat cross-legged in the weeds.

The little girl slowly closed her eyes, her two small hands resting flat on her knees.

Then, she began to emit an extremely strange frequency from her throat.

That was not human language, nor even the roar of any known wild animal in the world.

Instead, it was a deep, mechanical "humming" sound with a strange resonance.

The sound, concealed by the strong wind, seeped deep into the surrounding soil and grass.

"Squeak."

The first to respond was the little white mouse in Bean's sleeve.

It darted out quickly and landed on Bean's palm, its two front paws constantly rubbing its whiskers, its little head shaking rhythmically in time with the low-frequency sounds.

A moment later, the white mouse climbed up Bean's arm to her shoulder, emitting a series of rapid and sharp low squeals.

The voice seemed to carry some kind of command, traveling far into the darkness.

Within minutes, strange noises suddenly came from the surrounding silent wasteland.

"Swish..."

The sound of grass blades rubbing together came from all directions.

To the astonishment of Fat Tiger and Li Fei, plump, glossy field mice began to emerge one after another from the mud burrows, the depths of the grass, and even the cracks in the field ridges.

One, two, ten...

In just a minute or two, no fewer than fifty wild rats had gathered densely on the open ground below the small mound.

These creatures, usually "timid as mice," were now as docile as well-trained soldiers.

They were neatly arranged in the grass, their round eyes reflecting a green glow in the darkness, without any biting or chaos.

The white mouse stood on the bean's shoulder, straightened its hind legs, and let out a shriek.

Like a commander inspecting an army, the rats on the ground suddenly stirred.

Instead of rushing forward blindly, they split into four directions and gradually dispersed.

Its small body was almost touching the ground. It skillfully used the shadows of the field ridges and the crops to silently sneak towards the farm and bungalows in the distance.

"call--"

Douzi opened its eyes and let out a long sigh.

Because he was communicating with dozens of mice at the same time, he was mentally exhausted, and a few small beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

She said in a very soft voice:
"President, they've already gone in... We'll know where Brother Li Jie is in a little while."

Fat Tiger, watching from the side, almost popped his eyes out and couldn't help but praise:
"Douzi, this isn't a superpower, it's like you've led a whole reconnaissance company! If anyone plays hide-and-seek with you in the future, you'll probably be able to find even their underwear no matter where they hide it."

Li Fei, sitting to the side, was completely dumbfounded.

As a professional assassin trained by the Black Shark organization, he was all too aware of the terrifying nature of such reconnaissance capabilities.

In modern warfare or underground assassinations, the most difficult part to cross is often the last few dozen meters of defense.

Bean's ability to control animals can penetrate directly into the enemy's heart, allowing him to obtain crucial intelligence without anyone noticing.

It's a hundred times better than any high-tech micro-drone.

Thinking of this, Li Fei glanced at Fang Cheng subtly, his understanding of the Illuminati organization being refreshed once again.

This seemingly unremarkable shelter turned out to be a place where hidden talents resided.

Hearing Pang Hu's praise, Douzi became a little shy and instinctively shrank her head down, trying to hide inside her oversized hoodie.

A warm, large hand suddenly reached out and gently grasped her slightly cool small hand.

Fang Cheng helped her to her feet, brushed the dust off her trousers, and smiled gently:

"Douzi, you did a great job. When we get back, I'll have Sister Jiang Yun make you braised pork."

Douzi raised her head, met Fang Cheng's encouraging gaze, and her tense body completely relaxed.

Although the farm ahead was teeming with assassins from the Black Shark organization, and the air was thick with the smell of impending bloodshed.

But holding that broad and strong hand, the little girl felt an unprecedented sense of peace and security.

Just then, the white mouse on Bean's shoulder suddenly twitched its whiskers violently and let out two short screams.

Douzi's eyes narrowed, and she immediately tugged at Fang Cheng's sleeve, whispering her report:
"President, there's news..." (End of Chapter)