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

Time, in the cold, lifeless depths of the sea, seems to have lost its meaning.

Lin Chen remained motionless in the shadows above the airlock, patient as a top hunter waiting for his prey to take the bait.

He knew that a base of this size could not be completely isolated from the world.

There will inevitably be personnel who need to go out on patrol or to carry out equipment maintenance.

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Sure enough, not long after.

"Buzz—"

A low, mechanical hum rang out, and the tightly closed, several-meter-thick circular alloy airlock door slowly slid open inward.

With a burst of bubbles, two guards, their entire bodies encased in heavy, black, exoskeleton-like deep-sea diving suits, emerged from the base in single file, piloting two small underwater propulsion devices.

The searchlights on their helmets, like two sharp swords, scanned back and forth in the dark seawater, displaying their vigilance.

"Damn it, this weather is awful. Even the sea is turbulent. The undercurrent almost swept away the No. 3 probe."

One of the guards complained to his companion through a throat microphone.

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

"Lord Siren is in a bad mood today. All those useless guys on land have been wiped out. If you dare to slack off, he might throw you into his biology lab to feed the sharks."

The other guard's voice sounded even colder.

"Tch, a bunch of useless trash. So what if they're dead? But seriously, what treasures are on this island that warrant such a huge fuss from Lord Siren?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Just do your job, take your money and leave. That's the rule in our line of work."

Their conversation, through [God-level Hearing], was transmitted to Lin Chen's ears without missing a single word.

News of the complete annihilation of the ground forces has already reached here.

well.

A cold smile curled at the corners of Lin Chen's lips.

You guys are the ones.

Two guards, piloting thrusters, began their routine patrol around the base's perimeter, completely unaware that death was already hanging over their heads.

Just as they were driving the thrusters, passing directly below where Lin Chen was hiding.

Lin Chen made a move!

His figure was silent, yet as fast as lightning!

He didn't even use any weapons!

The guard below, who was complaining, suddenly felt a darkness above his head. Before he could react, an irresistible and terrifying force came from above!

Lin Chen's legs were like two giant iron clamps, tightly gripping his neck and helmet!

Immediately afterwards, he suddenly exerted force from his waist!

[Grandmaster-level Fighting Technique] - Deadly Scissor Kick!

"Snap!"

A sharp, teeth-grinding sound of bones shattering rang out!

The guard didn't even have time to groan. His cervical spine, along with the connection between his neck and the hard diving suit, was twisted into a pretzel by the terrifying strangulation force!

The searchlight inside the helmet flickered violently for a moment, then went out completely.

Instant death!

"Who?!"

The other guard reacted extremely quickly. Hearing the strange noise, he turned around abruptly and drew his specially made underwater high-voltage stun gun from his waist with lightning speed.

However, he was fast, but Lin Chen was even faster!

The instant he turned around, Lin Chen released the strangled corpse, his body twisting in the water in an incredible motion, the military knife in his hand already unsheathed!

A flash of cold light streaked across the dark sea!

"Pfft!"

The guard, who had just pulled out half of his stun gun, suddenly froze.

He looked down in disbelief at the sharp tip of a knife that had pierced through his chest from where his heart was, leaving behind a string of tiny bubbles and a trace of scarlet blood.

His eyes, hidden beneath his helmet, were wide open, filled with shock and bewilderment.

He died without ever understanding where this man had come from.

Lin Chen expressionlessly drew his military knife, letting the corpse sink helplessly and slowly into the deeper seabed crevice.

The entire process was clean and efficient, without making a single unnecessary sound.

He quickly dragged the body, whose neck he had severed, into the shadow of a nearby rock and hid it to avoid being detected by the base's internal surveillance.

After doing all this, Lin Chen slowly took out the high-tech item he had obtained from the Phantom Thieves from his system space.

Holographic camouflage patch!

It was a translucent patch, smaller than a fingernail and as thin as a cicada's wing.

Lin Chen gently placed it behind his ear.

The next second, a faint, cool bio-current emanated from the patch and quickly covered his entire body.

"Target identification in progress... Data modeling in progress..."

Lin Chen's mind began to race as he recalled the figure, height, and weight of the guard he had just stabbed to death with his military knife, as well as the unremarkable face he had glimpsed through the helmet visor.

[God-level Disguise Technique] Activated!

He wasn't just recalling; he was using god-like skills to perfectly replicate every detail of the other person, even including the other person's habit of slightly turning their right foot outward when walking.

"Buzz—"

A faint light, like ripples on water, swept over Lin Chen.

The light faded, and a miracle occurred.

Lin Chen, who was originally wearing a specially made diving suit, suddenly "transformed" into the appearance of the Dark Moon Guard from the previous moment!

Both the heavy black diving suit and the unfamiliar face under the helmet became exactly the same, without any flaws!

Even height and body shape have been visually perfectly corrected.

Lin Chen stretched his limbs, feeling the amazing camouflage effect, and nodded in satisfaction.

This thing is way more sophisticated than any disguise mask.

He picked up the underwater propulsion device belonging to the Dead Guardian from the ground and skillfully stepped onto it.

Then, it swaggered over to the open airlock and drove slowly towards it.

"Hey, number 33, what's going on? Where's number 27?"

A questioning voice came through the communication channel inside the airlock.

Lin Chen did not answer.

Because the holographic camouflage patch can only change appearance, it cannot imitate voice.

Once you open your mouth, you'll be exposed immediately.

He pretended that there was a problem with his communication equipment and impatiently tapped his helmet.

This action, in turn, dispelled the other party's doubts.

After all, it's perfectly normal for electronic devices to occasionally malfunction in the high-pressure environment of the deep sea.

Lin Chen piloted the thruster and slowly drove into the airlock.

"Beep—Authentication verified."

A cold, electronic notification sound rang out.

The scanner next to the airlock door lit up with a red light and began scanning Lin Chen's retina and palm prints.

This is the most crucial and also the most dangerous step in the infiltration process.

Lin Chen felt no emotion whatsoever.

He confidently raised his hand, placed his palm on the verification device, and simultaneously aligned his eyes with the retinal scanner.

Holographic camouflage patches can perfectly simulate the target's biometric information, including unique retinal and iris patterns.

The red light swept back and forth across his eyes twice.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

"Beep! Verification successful. Welcome back, Guard 33."

The cold, electronic voice rang out again.

"Click".

Another large door inside the airlock unlocked in response.

A victorious smile crept onto Lin Chen's lips, hidden beneath his helmet where no one could see it.

He retracted the thrusters, took a step, and walked through the decompression tunnel.