Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Deadly Trial
“...Operation ‘Picture Frame’ is now officially entering the execution phase!”
As Xiao Ran’s cold and resolute voice rang out in the command center, a dance upon a tightrope, wagering everyone’s fate, began.
“All operatives, take your positions!”
...
[Operation Countdown: 00:15:00]
In the depths of night, the Pujiang International Art Center glittered with lights.
Scene One: Xiao Ran, clad in a wine-red evening gown, radiated elegance and intellect. Under the identity of “Rebecca Shaw,” she entered the hall and took a seat nearest the main stage—a vantage point from which she could oversee everything.
Scene Two: Several operatives, disguised as waiters and guests, silently blended into the sea of refined faces, vanishing into the crowd like drops of water merging into the ocean.
Scene Three: Atop the art center, in the dim and narrow ventilation duct, the core infiltration trio—responsible for the critical “switch”—had arrived directly above the A-1 Special VIP Room. The team consisted of “Gecko” and “Lynx,” two top infiltration experts drawn from across the system, and Wang Zhe, shackled by the “Heartbeat Handcuffs,” alongside the counterfeit painting.
[Operation Countdown: 00:10:00]
“Time.” Xiao Ran’s voice reminded everyone preparing to act.
Within the mobile command van, Lin Feng glanced at the atom clock in the lower right corner of the screen, precise to the millisecond.
“Copy that.” Lin Feng’s fingers hovered over his keyboard.
His gaze, in an instant, became as deep and fathomless as an ancient well.
“‘Legacy’ protocol, activate.”
“Transferring control of the target security system...”
He pressed Enter.
...
[Operation Countdown: 00:09:30]
Inside the VIP security monitoring center, several burly men from a top Israeli security firm manned their stations, bored, sipping coffee.
Suddenly, a flicker swept across the dozen surveillance screens before them—abrupt and unheralded.
The footage didn’t disappear. Instead, it seamlessly began looping the previous minute’s recording.
Everything appeared perfectly normal, flawless.
...
[Operation Countdown: 00:08:00]
“Firewall bypassed.”
“Surveillance system under control.”
“Infrared alarms deactivated.”
“Pressure sensors disabled.”
Lin Feng’s voice, calm as an oracle’s decree, sounded in the comm channel.
But just as he was about to declare the passage secure—
A blood-red alert icon, signifying an unknown threat, erupted in a frenzy on his screen.
“Wait!”
His voice suddenly grew grave.
“Something’s wrong! Anderson has upgraded the system! At best, I can only disable 90% of the alarms, but there’s... there’s one I’ve never encountered—a ‘biometric scanner.’ I can’t get past it!”
“If any unauthorized lifeform enters that room, we’re immediately exposed!”
The words struck everyone like a bucket of ice water.
The plan was teetering on the edge of failure at the very first step.
[Operation Countdown: 00:07:00]
The ventilation duct and the command van plunged into deathly silence.
What now?
As everyone fell into despair, and Xiao Ran was on the verge of aborting the mission—
A hoarse, trembling voice, laced with fear and a desperate need to prove himself, burst forth from the infiltration team’s comm channel.
It was Wang Zhe!
“I... I know! I know how to bypass it!”
Lin Feng’s eyes turned icy, his tone edged with warning.
“Don’t trust him!”
“It’s a trap!”
Wang Zhe, nearly incoherent with agitation, pleaded, “Please believe me! That ‘biometric scanner’—it’s... it’s the last low-level code I personally wrote for them before I left Sky Vault!”
“It has a backdoor! A developer’s backdoor that only I know about, for my own remote debugging!”
“Hurry!” His voice cracked, on the verge of tears. “The authentication code is... it’s...”
He summoned every ounce of strength to speak a date he thought he’d never utter again in his life.
“It’s the elder Lu’s... birthday!”
...
Boom!
The words struck Lin Feng’s heart like a bullet.
He froze.
The command van was engulfed in shock. Lin Feng, tormented and struggling, finally heard Xiao Ran’s voice, unyielding and decisive.
“Lin Feng.”
“...Trust him. This once.”
Lin Feng squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
Within those eyes, always burning with fire, now shone pain and resolve.
Slowly, in the password box on the authentication interface, he typed the numbers etched into his very bones, never to be forgotten.
[0815]
He pressed Confirm.
...
[Operation Countdown: 00:05:00]
On the screen.
The blood-red icon for the “biometric scanner,” representing mortal peril, flashed one last time—
Then instantly turned a gentle green, the color of safety.
The way was open!
...
Inside the ventilation duct.
Wang Zhe, staring at the “Heartbeat Handcuffs” still glowing blue on his wrist, collapsed onto the floor as if hauled from water.
He knew.
He had just walked through the valley of death.
In the command van.
Lin Feng stared at that glaring green indicator on the screen, falling into a long, unbroken silence.
For the first time, his view of Wang Zhe began to waver.
“Infiltration team, prepare to move.”
Xiao Ran’s voice shattered the silence.
“‘Gecko,’ ‘Lynx,’ cut open the vent. Wang Zhe, remain above and keep monitoring the scanner’s status. Be ready for any contingency.”
“Yes!”
...
[Operation Countdown: 00:04:00]
“Gecko” and “Lynx” used specialized, silent laser cutters to slice open the vent cover.
Below lay the heavily guarded special VIP room, home to “The Tempest at Sea.”
They now held the key to the “treasure vault.”
But they awaited the entry command.
Xiao Ran glanced at her watch.
She spoke into the comm, issuing the final order.
Her voice was cold and resolute, like the horn before a final assault.
“‘Gecko,’ ‘Lynx,’ report your status.”
In her earpiece came the two operatives’ voices—suppressed excitement, steady as hunting leopards.
“Team Leader, ‘Gecko’ in position, ready to enter at any time.”
“Team Leader, ‘Lynx’ in position, ready to enter at any time.”
“Excellent.”
Her gaze turned unshakably firm.
Into the comm, she commanded:
“Lin Feng.”
“Give me... the final three-minute safe window.”
Lin Feng replied, “Understood.”
Then, Xiao Ran pressed the assault command key.
Her voice resounded in the headset of every operative.
“...Now.”