In the darkness, Chen Fan sat on the sofa.
His sharp ears twitched slightly, and he could clearly hear faint footsteps approaching from outside the door.
Besides that, there was also movement from the direction of the swimming pool behind the villa.
But that was further away, and one had to pass through the recreation room to reach this side of the living room.
He slowly stood up and moved silently towards the hallway.
The footsteps stopped outside the door, replaced by the rustling sound of someone fiddling with the doorknob.
These sounds abruptly stopped, and the sound of the door opening followed.
It seemed the fellows outside had finally realized the door wasn't locked and could be entered directly.
The entrance was a foyer. Since it was a villa, the foyer was quite spacious, but it still took a few steps to reach the hallway.
Chen Fan was hiding behind the corner of the hallway.
The few who entered did not turn on the lights, clearly wearing night-vision goggles.
However, while night-vision goggles could see in the dark, they couldn't see behind walls.
With cautious footsteps, several people quickly moved towards the hallway.
The first person reached the hallway, suddenly flashed, and came face-to-face with Chen Fan.
This person's body stiffened abruptly and, without thinking, he reached to pull the trigger.
But Chen Fan was faster. One hand, like a ghost, grabbed the barrel of his rifle and pushed it away.
After a muffled thud, the rifle butt struck the man's face. His night-vision goggles shattered, and he fell backward, hitting his companion behind him.
The person behind him quickly dodged.
But Chen Fan's figure, like a phantom, bypassed the fallen man and closed in. With a terrifying aura, he grabbed the man's throat and squeezed.
This man was tall and burly, but without any strength to resist, his neck was crushed.
The two behind were still in the foyer, hastily turning their guns.
But their companions' bodies flew backward, crashing into them.
The two reacted quickly, drawing knives and preparing for close combat.
Their skills were quite impressive, but unfortunately, they were facing Chen Fan.
Chen Fan twisted his body, evading the blades in their hands, and with both hands, easily slammed their heads together.
The two men fell unconscious.
Silently, Chen Fan moved towards the swimming pool.
Soon, the sounds from that direction also fell silent.
Not a single light had been turned on, nor had there been any gunshots, as if nothing had happened.
...
Time ticked by.
In the darkness, many eyes watched the villa.
But unfortunately, no one knew what had happened.
The men from the Satan Mercenary Group had entered three minutes ago, but no sound had come out.
Not even gunshots!
This was unnerving. Had the Satan Mercenary Group members been drugged after entering?
Or had those few succeeded and were trying to create a diversion?
Inside the woods, Sand Knight and Snow Knight frowned.
The Storm Riders were somewhat well-known in the global underworld. While they weren't ranked in the top hundred on the underground dark list, they possessed the actual strength to be on it.
Their experience was also sufficiently rich.
The current situation was clearly abnormal.
"Did the Satan Mercenary Group fail?"
Sand Knight asked, his brow furrowed.
Snow Knight nodded in silence.
The uneasy premonition she had was becoming a reality.
While the strength of the Satan Mercenary Group members wouldn't impress them, there were quite a few of them, and yet they had all fallen so silently?
Was the person named Chen Fan indeed a master?
Or did that guy actually have help?
But from the previous surveillance, no outsiders had entered Villa No. 1.
Even if someone had infiltrated, it would only be one or two people. Why would they cause the Satan Mercenary Group to fail so completely?
"More people are moving!"
As they were speaking, they saw over a dozen figures, hunched over, moving stealthily towards the villa's entrance under the dim light of the streetlamps.
"It's the Yamaguchi-gumi from Sakura Country!"
Snow Knight said, "These guys are also here to pick up the scraps!"
"They are just a bunch of nobodies. It might be good for them to scout for us!"
Soon, after those dozen or so figures entered the villa, they too disappeared like stones into the sea, with no further sound.
"Damn it!"
Sand Knight's eyes widened. "Someone tell me, what in the world is happening inside?"
"Why is there no sound at all, not even a single gunshot?"
Snow Knight could not answer either.
She also couldn't explain it. In such a situation, unless one went in personally, who would know what had happened?
If there were sounds of struggle and gunshots inside, then everything would be considered normal.
But it was so silent, as if there was a ghost in Villa No. 1, leaving those who entered no room for resistance.
But how was that possible?
How strong would someone have to be to subdue over a dozen people without a single sound?
In their understanding, even a top ten ranked expert on the dark list couldn't achieve this.
For a moment, both were filled with extreme suspicion and wonder.
The others in the darkness had similar reactions.
But to give up their mission and leave seemed a little unwilling.
In the darkness and silence, time slowly passed.
Everyone felt the situation was incredibly bizarre and their hearts were in turmoil.
Just then, a figure, using the cover of bushes and ornamental trees, stealthily approached the door again.
This person appeared very cautious, cupping their ear to the outside of the door to listen.
"Who is this?"
Sand Knight asked in surprise.
Snow Knight shook her head. She didn't know the origin of this single person, but judging by their speed and agility, they were unexpectedly nimble.
Not long after, the person took out something, covered their mouth and nose, and entered Villa No. 1.
Still, there was no movement.
But about half a minute later, a flashlight beam lit up inside the villa, sweeping around, seemingly searching.
Sand Knight's eyes lit up. "It seems those who went in were indeed all affected and drugged!"
Only then could they explain why the Satan Mercenary Group and the Yamaguchi-gumi members who had entered earlier had all fallen silent.
It looked more like some kind of gas, which caused everyone who inhaled it to fall unconscious.
"We can't wait any longer, we have to go in and seize that item!"
Sand Knight said.
Snow Knight grabbed his arm and shook her head, signaling him not to rush.
She still felt a sense of unease.
The lights in Villa No. 1 flickered, appearing in various rooms, indicating that the black-clad figures who had entered earlier were still searching for something.
Suddenly, the lights appeared again on the balcony of the second floor.
Through the line of sight, they could vaguely discern the person on the second-floor balcony gasping for air, as if breathing in fresh air.
Sand Knight could no longer hold back.
Although he still didn't understand what was going on, or what kind of setup Villa No. 1 had that caused the Satan Mercenary Group and the Yamaguchi-gumi to be affected.
But the behavior of the person who had just entered now indicated that as long as one was prepared, they could remain unharmed.
"Let's wait a little longer!"
Snow Knight insisted.
In their sight, two figures, like ghosts, rushed towards the door.
Sand Knight and Snow Knight were both familiar with these two: Duke and Viper from the Crimson Wings.
They couldn't wait any longer and made their move.
The two entered the villa.
In the darkness, another seven or eight figures belonging to several different factions darted out from the shadows and charged towards the villa's entrance!