Chapter 87: The Vein of the Ungodly (2)

Chapter 87: The Vein of the Ungodly (2)

A pack of dogs barked loudly in the mountain outskirts late at night. The scrawny beasts fled from humans. They were starved enough to be vicious, but circuits had opened to detect the magical field, so they didnt dare attack me and my men.

In short, they were abandoned dogs who had awakened as primitive magic casters.

The first reason owners discarded such animals was fear their empowered pets could no longer be as affectionate.

But even more often, those still attached to their pets abandoned them or more precisely, set them free. Flee. Flee the governments reach. Awakened animals held value as experimental subjects, and the Chinese government was in the midst of seizing empowered pets without any compensation, under the pretext of public safety.

With rumors spreading that the seized animals suffered cruel experiments or became the high officials exotic pets, not many readily surrendered their beloved companions. Thus, countless dogs, cats, and other pets gained unwanted freedom from their loving masters.

Mount Baiyun in Guangzhou, famed as the citys number one scenic beauty, was the ideal habitat for such abandoned creatures to take refuge in. It was a 5A National Park where hunting was restricted.

Thanks to that, tonights surveillance was slightly easier. The security dogs barked so frequently that the guards found it hard to discern whether a dog was reacting to human scent or the scent of feral outcasts. So I could survey the mansion I needed to raid without minding the wind carrying my scent.

This mansion was the target Gao Shusen had relayed yesterday afternoon.

Lying prone and sketching out floor plans of the mansion despite the near-pitch darkness, Kyung-tae in winter camo spoke in frozen breaths beside me.

This is practically a stones throw from the famous Pinyunzuo, isnt it? Whod expect the municipal party secretary to build an underground vault around here?

There are always blind spots right under the lamp.

I guess, but still, weird he wasnt spooked considering his predecessor got decapitated nearby. Fengshui matters a lot to the Chinese, especially for real estate.

Just because the former secretary was corrupt and beheaded doesnt mean this was his private land. Pinyunzuo bears no guilt.

Right, that makes sense.

Kyung-tae nodded along.

As Kyung-tae mentioned, Mount Baiyun was home to Pinyunzuo, an ultra-luxury social club. Completely cut off from public access paths, the club practically operated as a facility for high-ranking Communist Party officials.

This Pinyunzuo was where Guangzhous former municipal secretary Wan Qingliang had been arrested for embezzlement and corruption.

But in truth, he was a relatively clean official. His illicit assets totaled a mere 100 million yuan (approx. 1.7 billion won). Laughable by other nations standards, but considered borderline pristine in Chinas corruption capital.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

Thus, Wan Qingliangs downfall was simply defeat in a factional power struggle. The fact that he amassed only that much wealth and received a life sentence made that abundantly clear.

Snorting, Kyung-tae watched me work and asked.

How much money and gold do you reckon is inside?

Not curious about the number of people?

Ah, well, youll be overseeing everything personally and commanding us anyway. Im more curious about the haul. Massive jackpot?

No, just decent. Even if we took everything, it wouldnt fill more than five trucks.

Five trucks isreally just that? Did they split up the caches?

While five trucks of valuables was objectively an astronomical fortune, it fell slightly short of expectations for a high Communist Party official. In this country where corruption was the status quo, just one exposed embezzler typically had military trucks cart off at minimum ten loads worth of ill-gotten gains.

On the underground floor plan, I separately marked the locations of riches and treasures. Despite being called an underground vault, the mansions extensive basement contained various hidden passages and gaps where assorted precious metals, cash, and more were secreted in a distributed fashion.

Next, I annotated the details on the security personnel deployed throughout the floors, exterior included headcount and gear, patrol routes, shift changes, and timed check-ins.

He said hunters were hired for security.

Hunter meant someone who hunted. As in the United States, the field with the greatest demand for civilians with abilities on this continent remained hunting and capturing awakened wildlife. With no clear criteria yet to incorporate excellent casters into public service during this transitional period, many mainstream nations encouraged civilian hunting to make the people with abilities voluntarily surface on their own.

Okay.

I silently move out of the camouflage and take up a sniping position.

Once it starts, Ill destroy the external relay stations and communication terminals first

From what I observed, the rotation of the external security team at the mansion was conducted every 15 minutes. Personnel stationed at each checkpoint would patrol and move to the next location every 15 minutes, providing a timely report upon reaching a new checkpoint.

Right after the report was transmitted was the most suitable time to infiltrate.

The mansion of the City Secretary was nestled against the rugged folds of the mountains, with mountains at the back and water in front. While it might be favorable in terms of feng shui, it was a challenging location for Jeonpa to reach. Therefore, the mansion was equipped with a separate means of communication relay.

The sniper team led by me would destroy them first. Once the external relay stations were demolished, the phones of those outside would become useless. Following that, knocking down communication terminals one by one would disrupt the internet and the various femtocells (communication relay devices via the internet) scattered throughout the mansion. This would leave them with only satellite phones for external communication, which wouldnt pose a threat as they would need relay stations to use them indoors.

Holding a gun and quietly observing the enemy, I decided to attack when I saw those occupying the situation room blatantly lying down.

We will commence the attack at 02:00. Everyone to your designated positions.

After giving the command, Kyung-tae, wearing a flipped balaclava, synchronized his watch with the team leaders. Following that, he swiftly issued the signal to the entire infiltration team and descended with the team leaders. Though the mansions dogs were barking louder than before, the guards standing watch were simply annoyed. Apparently, there were no snipers among the guards with abilities; their limitations were evident.

Infiltration team, wait at your current positions for a moment.

Having sent the message through the radio, I waited for the rooftop guards to finish their shift. At 2:02 AM, as the newcomers ascended to the rooftop, there were four of them. Four targets for killing; it only took a moment to distribute the targets since I had more barrels than targets. I aimed the sniper rifle at the relay station from the start.

Engage three of them. Three, two, one.

Bang! Tatang! Some of the gunfire from the subordinates was drowned out by the thunderous roar of the anti-material sniper rifle I fired. This weapon was designed to penetrate the armor plates of military vehicles. At intervals of 0.5 seconds, the heads of four individuals and one communication relay station exploded or were torn apart.

Next, the 2 oclock direction guard post. Three, two, one.

Bang, bang, bang! Guiding the sniper team, I systematically silenced the remaining guard posts one by one. By the time I exhausted five rounds and three magazines, there was nothing left to shoot outside the building.

Even after all the shots, there was no echo bouncing back from the valley. The efficiency of the sound-absorbing barrier continued to improve steadily, both in terms of circuit occupancy and technique effectiveness.

Now, I aimed at the guards patrolling the outer corridor of the building. This required me to handle the shooting beyond the wall alone, but even so, the targets were only in pairs, easily manageable even if one or two shots were missed.

Bullet holes pierced the walls wherever I aimed. Human bodies exploded in unison along the same straight line. Stomachs were torn apart, necks and spines severed, eyeballs popped out. The distant corridors were painted with a colorful flow of blood. The large-caliber armor-piercing rounds provided a satisfying visual impact. I generously consumed the prepared rounds, sometimes putting additional shots into already exploded bodies or wasting several rounds in inappropriate places.

There were two reasons for this.

First, even if the sniper of the Black Childrens Party was exceptionally skilled, it seemed strange. Second, the sniper rifle of Al-Qassim was excessively precise, which also didnt make sense.

Some of the enemies in places my bullets didnt reach started to notice something was amiss. While the gunshots were contained by the sound-absorbing barrier, the noise of armor-piercing rounds piercing through the walls echoed clearly.

However, they realized it too late.

Infiltration team, go in.

I released the leashes of the hunting dogs that had been waiting for this moment.

Author's Thoughts

Disclaimer:

This novel is a work of fiction! While it may incorporate elements inspired by our "real" historical world, including historical events, settings, and cultures, it is important to note that the story and characters are entirely products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental. This work should be enjoyed and interpreted as a work of fiction and not as a representation of historical facts or reality.

Also, if you find some error in translation please do let me know by tagging me (@_dawn24) in our Discord server. Since this series is kinda hard to translate. But I'll try my best to make it at least readable :)

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