Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The night was as dark as a black rag soaked with water.

There were no streetlights. Only a few completely black, unlicensed vans glided along the walls of the old street like ghosts.

The tire rolled over the manhole cover, making a dull "clang" sound.

The convoy stalled in a dark alley just two blocks from the city police headquarters.

The rear door of the carriage was pushed open from the inside.

The dry, cold night wind of early winter swirled in, dispersing some of the strong ozone smell emanating from the alien guns inside the car.

Black Wolf, wearing a heavy bulletproof vest and carrying a dark blue energy-cutting gun, jumped out of the car.

My military boots splashed a few drops of dirty water as I stepped into the muddy ground. The muddy water clung to my trouser legs, feeling a bit cold.

He raised his tactical gloved hand and pressed a switch on the side of his helmet.

The night vision goggles on the mask emitted a faint, high-frequency beep. A green grid instantly filled the field of vision, illuminating the surrounding broken bricks and rubble with crystal clarity.

"Boss. The area is clean. There are no hidden sentries."

Black Wolf lowered his voice and reported into the communicator. The white breath he exhaled quickly dissipated in the cold wind.

Qiu Kun's bulky mechanical exoskeleton stepped onto the floor of the carriage.

The heavy, metallic squeaking sound was particularly noticeable in the alley. High-temperature coolant flowed through the hydraulic pipes, emitting a burnt, oily smell.

He looked through his mask at the flashing red lights atop the city police building in the distance. Heavy breathing escaped his nostrils.

"Follow Route A as planned. Infiltrate through the logistics passage."

His knuckles were white from gripping the plasma blade.

"Keep your eyes peeled. If we don't succeed today, we'll all die together."

at the same time.

The city bureau's underground three floors house the special investigation team's command and control room.

The thirty-six ultra-high-definition screens on the wall were dimly lit.

The cold white light shone on Lu Jingyan's profile, making his jawline appear sharp and distinct.

He wore a light gray shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms. His hands were crossed and rested on the edge of a solid wood table. His fingers were long and slender, and he made no unnecessary movements.

Su Xiaoxiao sat cross-legged in the swivel chair.

She was picking at the crumbs of a cookie that had fallen into the keyboard yesterday with her fingers, her eyes fixed on the small screen with a red frame flashing in the lower left corner.

"That old fox has been hiding his true colors well."

Su Xiaoxiao pursed her lips. She picked up the half-empty bottle of cola next to her and took a swig. The icy bubbles burst in her throat, and she let out a small burp.

"Boss. I was wondering why our headquarters' firewall kept blocking abnormal activity."

She tapped her fingers rapidly across the screen, pulling out a long data link.

"That encrypted frequency band sent to the black market was actually wrapped in the code shell of the logistics procurement report. If I hadn't reverse-engineered the serial number of that invisibility cloak last week, he would have really fooled us."

Lu Jingyan didn't respond.

He extended his index finger and tapped it twice on the table. The fingernail struck the wooden board with a dull sound.

He had already detected the abnormal trend in the internal network data.

That hidden data stream flowing from the inside to the outside, like a poisoned black thread, was clearly coiled within his tight network of criminal investigation logic.

But he didn't rush to arrest anyone.

They simply replaced the headquarters' defense map with another "carefully modified" version and sent it out unchanged.

"How are the preparations going on Tiezhu's side?" Lu Jingyan stared at the red heat sources on the screen that were moving closer to the wall.

Su Xiaoxiao pressed down on the earpiece.

"Brother Tiezhu, the boss is asking if you're done yet. They're almost at the door."

On the second basement level, in the blind spot of the ventilation ducts surrounding the Evidence Section.

Zhao Tiezhu was squatting on the ground.

His massive body was huddled up, the thick soles of his military boots pressing against the tiles. He looked rather cramped.

He had a small flashlight between his teeth. The faint beam of light shone on the baseboard in the corner of the wall.

A pair of calloused hands were carefully inserting a black metal piece, no bigger than a coin, into a crack in the wall.

"It'll be here soon."

Zhao Tiezhu mumbled incoherently. He took the flashlight down and wiped the saliva off his uniform.

The two SWAT officers beside him moved swiftly.

They tore open the black electrical insulating tape. The tearing sound was somewhat jarring in the quiet corridor, carrying a sense of tension.

The red and blue indicator lights flashing on the miniature electromagnetic interference device were completely sealed off with duct tape.

A thin, almost invisible transparent infrared tripwire ran horizontally across the entire corridor, following the gaps in the floor tiles. Both ends were connected to trigger-activated stun grenades hidden in the ceiling panels.

"These bastards are just showing off because they have a few pieces of alien junk."

Zhao Tiezhu wiped the sweat that had broken out on his forehead with his sleeve.

He tucked the last half-meter of wire into the gap in the drywall. He pressed it firmly with his thumb, making his fingertip ache.

"If they dare to step into this corridor with those chip-equipped gadgets, I'll teach them a lesson in the power of physics."

The setup is complete.

Like black geckos, the special police officers silently retreated into the equipment rooms and storage rooms on both sides.

The door closed gently, without even a click from the latch.

The corridor fell silent again. Only the emergency exit signs overhead glowed with a bleak green light.

Black Wolf, accompanied by his mercenaries, crept forward along the wall of the logistics corridor.

Through the night vision goggles, everything appeared a blinding fluorescent green. The texture of the walls was clearly visible.

"strangeness."

Black Wolf stopped in his tracks. He tapped the wall behind him with the butt of his gun, producing a soft thud.

"Boss, this place doesn't even have an infrared patrol network."

His Adam's apple bobbed, a strange feeling welled up inside him, and he rubbed the tip of his nose with the back of his hand.

"The power supply to the access control system is also cut off. Isn't this a bit too smooth?"

Qiu Kun's heavy mecha stopped beside him.

A faint hissing sound came from the hydraulic lines. The heat emanating from the mecha made the surrounding air feel somewhat hot.

"Smooth?" Qiu Kun sneered. His voice came through the microphone on his helmet, carrying the metallic buzzing quality of a voice changer.

"Without that strange superpower, Lu Jingyan's defenses have to rely entirely on these mortal bodies."

He raised the robotic arm and pointed to the security door in front of him.

"This is a blind spot during the night shift handover. They simply don't have enough manpower. It's a case of man proposes, God disposes."

Greed and the thrill of revenge grew wildly in Qiu Kun's mind like poisonous weeds.

It completely overwhelmed the last shred of counter-surveillance rationality.

He felt that the Sirius mainship core, worth 3 billion, was already firmly in his pocket.

"Cut the door open for me," Qiu Kun ordered impatiently.

In the monitoring room.

The surveillance camera footage was completely black, as night vision wasn't enabled. However, on the thermal imaging screen, a row of blurry red figures were gathered around the iron gate surrounding the evidence department.

Su Xiaoxiao was so nervous that she squeezed the Coke can in her hand until it deformed. The plastic bottle made a cracking sound.

She gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands, leaning forward.

"Boss, they've fallen into a trap," she whispered, her voice a little hoarse.

Lu Jingyan leaned back. The leather seat made a slight squeaking sound.

He picked up the old stainless steel thermos with its chipped edges from the corner of the table.

Long, slender fingers gripped the cup lid.

With a flick of the wrist, it slowly twisted to the left. The metal threads rubbed together, producing a faint but real hissing sound.

Steam rose from the rim of the cup, blurring a corner of his glasses.

He didn't wipe it. He lowered his head and gently blew on a few red goji berries floating on the water.

Lu Jingyan picked up his old thermos, took a sip of water, and looked at the mercenaries sneaking into the headquarters through the surveillance footage: "The door is already open, let's see if they dare to come in."