The moonlight was like water, quietly watching over the earth, cold stars flickered, silent and speechless, windless, and the earth was a gray haze. The city was also plunged into a dark silence, with only the occasional sight of swift cars on the streets. The pale headlights illuminated the surroundings but quickly disappeared into the winding alleys, leaving no trace.
This city had been without power for a while. Perhaps due to the lateness of the hour, people had simply gone to bed, not caring about the power outage. So rooms faintly glowed with the weak light of candles. In a high hotel building, in a top-floor guest room, Lan Xue stood by the window, motionless, like a statue. Her beautiful eyes held frost, staring intently toward the direction of the distant castle, where her beloved and brothers who shared life and death were.
The rescue had failed, and the team faced the enemy's frantic counterattack. Lan Xue could imagine as much. At Luo Zheng's request, she had cut off the signals, completely losing contact with everyone. Her heart was in her throat, filled with worry. If anyone had an accident, Lan Xue couldn't forgive herself.
This operation had so personal elents to it, and Lan Xue felt very grateful for the brothers risking their lives to save her father. Now there was trouble, and the brothers were facing endless pursuit. Lan Xue wished she could rush out and distract the enemy, but reason told her not to do so. It would be futile and would only get herself trapped. It was better to live and look for another opportunity. As long as she was alive, there was hope.
Suddenly, the lights in the room turned on, illuminating the space, sowhat dazzling. Lan Xue realized the power had returned and felt even more worried. When there was no electricity, everyone could escape under the cover of night. Now, with electricity, the difficulty of escaping increased. What to do? Lan Xue was burning with anxiety but felt helpless.
Standing beside Lan Xue were three people, each with a grave expression, their eyes full of worry. They were also worried about the safety of the brothers and how to escape. After a while, seeing that Lan Xue had not given any orders, they exchanged looks. One of them urgently asked, "Deputy Squad Leader, what should we do?"
"Wait," Lan Xue gently uttered a word, not wanting to explain too much.
If Luo Zheng were present, he would imdiately understand the underlying aning behind Lan Xue's word. Even Ghost Hand, Snow Leopard, and Mountain Eagle would be able to understand Lan Xue's intentions tacitly, but the three standing here could not. They had not ford such a tacit understanding. After exchanging another look, another person asked confusedly, "Deputy Squad Leader, wait for what?"
Lan Xue was taken aback and realized that Luo Zheng and others like Ghost Hand were not the ones beside her. Her eyes showed even more worry. Thinking for a mont, she softly explained, "If nothing unexpected happens, the enemy has surely long known that the bridge was blown up and will mobilize forces to block other routes. There are likely to be police cars surrounding this city. Going out would expose us. We are waiting here for an opportunity."
"Wait here?" The three were even more puzzled. One person pressed on, "The enemy will surely conduct a full-scale search. We definitely can't hide. Staying here is as good as waiting for death."
"No, everyone must trust ," Lan Xue said earnestly, her gaze scanning the room and landing on the ceiling. A glimr of insight flashed, and she said, "The ceiling of the bathroom should be a bit higher. You all hide up there imdiately. Without my order, no one is to co out. Hurry."
"What about you?" one person asked in shock.
"I have a Ministry of Foreign Affairs identity. This identity is real, not afraid of checks," Lan Xue explained.
The three imdiately understood, nodded, and turned towards the bathroom, climbing onto the ceiling via the dresser. They found the ventilation shaft to be quite spacious. Although it was a bit crowded, they could still hide. Lan Xue let out a sigh of relief, restored the ceiling to its original state, and quickly cleaned the bathroom to remove any traces.
After all traces were clean, Lan Xue checked the room again. After ensuring that no clues were left behind, she let out a breath, made herself a cup of tea, and sat quietly waiting. Lan Xue wasn't sure if she could bluff her way through. At worst, she would get caught. The enemy had already co to this place once and wouldn't check again, keeping her brothers safe.
Thinking of this, Lan Xue's mind conjured Luo Zheng's image. She didn't know if he had gotten away. He mustn't get into trouble, nor should the many brothers. Although everyone was familiar with operations behind enemy lines and knew retreat tactics, facing a well-prepared enemy might make escaping uncertain.
Lan Xue grew more anxious the more she thought about it. Before long, she suddenly heard a commotion outside, followed by banging on doors and curses. Lan Xue's face grew solemn. She perked up her ears to listen carefully. People were checking rooms outside, but Lan Xue relaxed sowhat. The enemy's aimless checks weren't a bad thing, indicating she had not been exposed.
Soon, the door was banged upon. Lan Xue turned on the television, pretending to watch it, then peered through the peephole. She saw hotel staff and police. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down, opened the door, and let the security latch keep it slightly ajar. Lan Xue pretended to be clueless and asked, "What's going on? Are people not allowed to sleep?"
"Sorry, ma'am. I'm the hotel manager. The police are conducting a routine check. Please cooperate, and I apologize for any inconvenience caused," a man said apologetically.
Lan Xue pretended to reluctantly open the door. A large number of police rushed in, searching all rooms and leaving no corner unchecked. A leading officer looked at Lan Xue and asked, "Please show your identification."
"In the middle of the night, what's this all about?" Lan Xue feigned annoyance as she handed over her ID.
The officer scrutinized the ID and saw that it was soone from the embassy. His expression changed imdiately, and he carefully compared the photo. Lan Xue thought she'd been exposed, and her whole body tensed, preparing for a confrontation. No matter what, she couldn't be captured.
"Anything found?" the leading officer ignored Lan Xue and called out to the surrounding police.
"Nothing," the police replied.
"Don't move, wait a mont," the leading officer hurriedly said. He contacted headquarters through his shoulder radio to verify Lan Xue's identity. Learning that such a person indeed existed, his attitude changed dramatically. Apologetically, he returned the ID to Lan Xue and said courteously, "It's my duty, please understand, sorry to have disturbed you."
"What are you investigating?" Lan Xue casually asked as she took back her ID, pretending not to know anything.
"Nothing, we won't disturb your rest any further," the leading officer said tightly. He politely added a word and signaled the team to withdraw. Had it been an ordinary person, the police would definitely have searched thoroughly, but Lan Xue showed her Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee ID. With diplomatic matters being no small issue, the leading officer didn't want to bring unnecessary trouble upon himself and left with his team.
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