Chapter 160: Night Infiltration of the Orphanage
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After the evening rain, the night spread like smoke and mist. A chilly wind road freely, howling as it swept through the pitch-dark, run-down alleyways, tossing my long hair and brushing against my face.
The narrow alley was thick with a stench that defied description.
Splat... splat...
The ground underfoot was nothing but pooled mud and filth. Each step sank deeper than the last, the sensation squelching and uneven, oddly unsettling. The mud even had a faint suction to it, making every step a chore. I couldn't bring myself to look down, I really didn't want to know what I was stepping in.
Now wasn't the ti to worry about that anyway.
"Just ahead is Cataloma. There are 5 priority areas to sweep. Let run through them with you one more ti."
Lecter, standing at my side, pulled out a crumpled blueprint of the orphanage from inside his armor, tapping each marked location with his finger as he briefed us. "The warehouse, the prayer room, the cafeteria, the cellar, and finally the office on the 3rd floor of the main building. We split up, one location per person. Once you've confird everything, signal the rest. Any issues?"
"No issues." Everyone nodded.
Lecter continued, "At this hour... the ones still inside the orphanage, aside from the caretakers and the children, should be a few clergy mbers. They've probably already turned in for the night... but we still can't get careless. Once you're in, split up imdiately and move fast. Don't drag it out. Tonight's mission is reconnaissance only, find out what's really going on in there. Whether you find sothing or not, pull out right after. Take any key evidence with you, don't touch anything else, and the rally point is right here. Rember, absolutely no contact with anyone."
With that, he turned his gaze toward .
"Miss Sylvia, I'm leaving the most important spot to you, the office. Especially Sister Theresa's room... see if you can find anything like a registry or a record book. We need to confirm where the children have been sent. That's our top priority tonight. Don't miss anything."
"Understood."
"Any other questions?"
"None."
"Then..."
Lecter swung his arm forward.
Beneath the still night sky, in places untouched by moonlight, several shadows darted out of the alley like a pack of wolves closing in on prey, moving swiftly under the cover of darkness until they reached the outer wall of Cataloma.
The wall surrounding Cataloma was built from packed earth and stone, no taller than 3 ters by the look of it. Its surface was pocked and uneven, stones of all sizes jutting out at odd angles from haphazard stacking. The entire wall was riddled with bumps and grooves, there were more than enough handholds for even an ordinary person to scale it with ease.
I tilted my head back, watching Lecter climb to the top first. His movents were fluid and impossibly quick, not making a single sound the entire ti. He crouched on top of the wall, swept his gaze in every direction, confird there was no one on the other side, then signaled us with a gesture.
We were clear to go over.
Understanding what he ant, I let out a quiet breath.
I wasn't going to climb, obviously, scrambling up a wall would look ridiculous. I'd just jump over instead.
Lecter had already dropped down into Cataloma. The other 3 mbers of the Sword of Kanri were already silently making their way up the wall. I waited a mont, then suddenly pushed off the ground, my body launching upward, I shot over the top of the wall without a sound, then landed perfectly on the other side.
Thud!
A massive dull impact rang out.
...Damn it!
I forgot I had Captain Grey on my back.
My face flushed with heat, my heart gave a little anxious lurch. I looked over at Lecter with a hint of apology — and found him staring at with a deeply peculiar expression. I panicked imdiately.
"I'm not heavy at all, I swear..."
"Shh—"
He imdiately gestured for to be quiet, crouching low and scanning the surroundings alertly.
All was silent. Not even a dog stirred.
I already knew that, honestly. I also knew there probably wasn't a soul within roughly 50 ters, because if there were, I would've heard them.
The direction we'd snuck in from was roughly the side-rear of the main gate. The spot we'd landed in happened to be the training grounds I'd visited once before, a field dotted with scarecrows standing in scattered rows, which looked distinctly eerie and out of place in the quiet of night.
Thud, thud, thud.
3 soft sounds ca from behind . The hook-nosed man and the others had all touched down. They exchanged a quick glance with Lecter, pressed close to the wall, and slipped away one by one.
"Move."
"Don't get spotted."
"We won't."
I mimicked them, hugging the wall and moving quickly toward the main building. Lecter's destination was the warehouse, the exact opposite direction from mine. By the ti I'd gone a short distance and glanced back, he was already gone. I hadn't even noticed when he'd slipped away.
Terrifying...
The lighting inside the orphanage was terrible, lampposts were scarce to the point of being almost nonexistent. Once past the training grounds, the darkness was near-absolute, the kind where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Even if I'd wanted to be spotted, it would've been nearly impossible, unless I started shouting.
My small figure moved quickly through the quiet, weaving toward the main building of Cataloma.
The only sounds I could hear were my own breathing, and the faint rustling of insects hidden sowhere in the grass.
The main building of Cataloma was hard to miss.
The towering structure carved a clear silhouette against the darkness, more than half of its windows already dark. Fewer than a third still had lights burning, mostly concentrated on the 1st and 2nd floors... I rembered those were where the children and the caretakers were housed.
A cold wind swept past. I shivered.
It's so dark... I can't see a thing...
What if I run into sothing weird... I an, this is an orphanage. Orphanages in movies are always terrifying...
My mood turned uneasy all of a sudden. I couldn't help but speed up again... A chill crept down my spine, and I kept getting the feeling that sothing was behind , I had to fight the urge to keep looking back.
That feeling didn't ease up until I drew close to the main building and caught the faint sound of voices drifting through the air.
It was much brighter here, and precisely because of that, I had to be even more careful. I couldn't let anyone see .
I crouched low and slipped into the shadow cast by the building's walls, pressing my back against the rough, cold stone, and began carefully studying the structure, figuring out the best way to get up there.
The front entrance was definitely out, it would already be locked, and there were caretakers stationed there. The only option was to go up. But the main building of Cataloma... estimating roughly, it had to be at least 20 ters tall.
...What do I do, just jump straight up?
Worth a try.
Ice spikes and ice platforms were off the table, too much noise, guaranteed to get noticed. But if I wanted to use Moon Step to jump straight up, I needed sowhere to borrow a foothold mid-air, since one jump alone wouldn't get high enough... Where would that be... Got it!
Not far along the outer wall of the building, between the 3rd and 4th floors, I spotted a fan-shaped balcony jutting out from the structure. The balcony wasn't very large, which made it a tricky target. On top of that, it was loaded with potted plants and greenery, one wrong move and I'd knock sothing over, which would definitely make a racket.
But aside from that, there wasn't anything better.
I ntally mapped out the arc of the parabola, crouched down, took 2 running steps, then exploded off the ground.
Whoosh—
Wind tore at my eyes.
My body shot upward... paused... then ca down at full speed.
Tap.
I landed clean on the balcony.
I froze for 2 whole seconds.
Then imdiately shot both arms into the air, puffed out my chest, and struck the most dazzling gymnast pose I could manage — I was so proud of myself I nearly burst out laughing. I almost clapped for myself right then and there.
Perfect!
The thrill lingered for a long ti. I drew 2 deep breaths to steady myself, then looked around — and discovered with delight that this balcony had no door at all. It opened directly into the interior of the building, leading straight to a winding staircase that went upward.
I could just walk right in from here... actually, wait.
I thought back to what I'd seen from outside, almost all of the 3rd floor's candles had been snuffed out. There shouldn't be anyone here. The offices would certainly be locked... I'd still have to go in through a window.
Right... first I need to confirm the location of Sister Theresa's office... I think it's at the end of the 3rd floor hallway... Oh, it looks like it's not far from here... I can probably get there along those protruding stone ledges on the outside.
Careful now...
"Ahh~ I'm so sleepy..."
A voice suddenly rang out, and my heart leapt straight into my throat.
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