You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

The hatch was ajar.

A sea breeze carrying the smell of salt and rust blew in, ruffling a few strands of Su Qingge's hair.

The helicopter hovered two meters above the cargo ship's helipad, the airflow stirred up by its rotor blades completely submerged by the torrential rain. The two or three crew members on night watch on the deck didn't even raise their heads in their direction.

Lin Chen stood at the hatch, his right hand gripping the finger-thick tactical rappelling rope, his left arm outstretched to the side.

"Come."

Su Qingge stepped forward without hesitation.

The next second, a hand gripped my waist.

The force wasn't strong, but it was surprisingly steady, like an unshakeable iron gate, fixing her to Lin Chen's left side.

The two bodies were pressed together.

She could feel the warmth of his arm seeping into her waist through the thin fabric of her clothes, but she didn't have time to think about anything else.

Lin Chen released his right hand, and the two silently slid out of the hatch.

The rappelling rope was pulled rapidly in my palm, and the wind whistled past my ears.

Less than two meters, in just two breaths.

The moment the sole of the boot touched the deck, it was as light as a leaf skimming the water.

No sound.

Not at all.

Lin Chen let go, pulled Su Qingge quickly into the shadow of the nearest row of shipping containers, and glanced up.

The "Cheerwing-7" has already taken off.

It didn't turn on any lights or make any extra noise; it simply disappeared into the churning thunderclouds, as clean as if it had never been there.

On the deck, two crew members wearing orange raincoats leaned against the railing with their backs to them, smoking with their heads down.

I didn't notice anything.

Using the dense, jungle-like containers on the deck as cover, Lin Chen and his companion crouched low and advanced along the left side of the ship toward the hull.

Where there were occasional streetlights, Lin Chen would avoid them in advance, passing through the gaps in the light and shadow without leaving any trace.

Su Qingge followed behind him, holding her breath.

She had spent seven years working in the serious crimes unit, had single-handedly apprehended armed criminals, and had also spent three days and three nights staking out the black market. She believed that she was quite familiar with infiltration tactics.

But following behind Lin Chen, she realized for the first time that her previous so-called "infiltrations" were at best "not being discovered".

Lin Chen's method of advancement was truly unpredictable.

At the end of the corridor was a rusty steel hatch, through which a faint orange light shone.

Lin Chen paused for a second in front of the door, then bent down and pressed his ear close to the crack in the door.

Three seconds later, he straightened up and pushed open the door.

Inside was a downward staircase with iron handrails, dim light bulbs, and thick rust on the walls, making it look like a dilapidated cargo ship.

The two went down three floors.

Then, Su Qingge stopped in her tracks.

She heard a sound.

It wasn't the roar of engines, nor the sound of waves crashing against the hull, but the sound of human voices.

The cacophony, the chaos, the voices of people speaking in multiple languages, the clatter of dice hitting the table, the clinking of chips, and an atmosphere that she couldn't quite describe—a mixture of oppression and frenzy.

There is a fourth staircase below.

Lin Chen didn't stop and continued.

The moment the two stood before the wide metal hatch at the very bottom and looked inside through the porthole, Su Qingge's pupils suddenly contracted.

That's not the cargo hold.

The entire belly of the cargo ship had been completely hollowed out.

The underground space, spanning tens of thousands of square meters, is constructed with steel structures and marble, creating a magnificent underground city.

The dense array of chandeliers overhead illuminated the entire area, the light reflecting off rows of roulette tables, leather high-backed chairs, and wall-to-wall wine cabinets.

Around the gambling table, men and women, dressed in elegant clothes and speaking various languages, held wine glasses and wore smiles.

On the other side of the betting table is an auction table separated by transparent bulletproof glass.

Su Qingge's gaze swept over and landed on the waterproof and sealed metal protective box in the center of the booth.

The military blueprints are right there.

The entire perimeter of the den of iniquity was guarded by armed mercenaries, with sentries every three or five steps.

They were equipped with top-of-the-line gear, expressionless, their eyes scanning every corner of the venue like scanners.

[God-level insight] suddenly opened up in Lin Chen's vision.

The entire field of vision was filled with dense red markings.

The sin values ​​above those mercenaries ranged from a mere two hundred to over five hundred; none of them were ordinary individuals.

Deeper inside is a semi-open elevated box, situated at the highest point of the entire underground space, offering a commanding view of the entire area.

There was a person sitting there.

With his back to Lin Chen, his face was obscured; all that could be seen was a well-tailored dark gray suit and a head of remarkably well-maintained silver hair.

The man held a glass of red wine, leaned back elegantly in his chair, his posture relaxed, yet his aura silently dominated the entire space.

Lin Chen's gaze lingered on that figure for a second.

shadow.

It's most likely him.

"Lin Chen".

Su Qingge leaned close to his ear, lowered her voice, and her breath gently brushed against his earlobe.

"At least thirty heavily armed mercenaries, charging in head-on would be suicide."

She paused for a moment.

"Look over there."

Lin Chen followed her gaze.

A scrolling display screen hangs next to the auction table, showing the auction schedule for tonight.

The blueprints were the final item up for auction.

There are forty minutes left before filming begins.

Forty minutes later, the blueprints would fall into the hands of a buyer, and the cargo ship, along with it, would disappear into some corner of the high seas, never to be seen again.

Lin Chen stared at the screen for two seconds.

He turned around, pulled Su Qingge back a dozen steps, and pushed open an unlocked storage compartment door in the corridor.

The storage compartment is very small.

So small that if two people stood inside, there would be almost no gap between their bodies.

Su Qingge stood with her back against a row of rusty iron frames, while Lin Chen stood directly opposite her, the two no more than twenty centimeters apart.

She didn't consciously try to perceive anything, but that crowded, almost suffocating sense of distance still uncontrollably seeped into her skin.

"We need to disguise ourselves and blend in."

Lin Chen's voice was very low, but every word was clear.

"Those mercenaries have seen it all; ordinary disguises won't fool them."

"Then what...?"

Su Qingge's words came to an abrupt end.

Because she saw Lin Chen raise his hands, his fingers pointing at her face.

Then those hands moved.

[God-level Disguise Technique], activated.

That's not makeup.

That was not something she had ever seen in the realm of human behavior.

Lin Chen's fingers pressed precisely on several key points of her facial bones, applying pressure at the exact same angle, as if she were operating a precision instrument she couldn't understand.

Then comes the sound.

The bones beneath the skin emitted a sharp, grating crackling sound.

Click.

Click click.

Click click click.

Su Qingge's back suddenly tensed up.

Her eyes widened, staring intently at the face before her, watching it transform at an incredible speed in the dimly lit storage compartment.