Unaware of Alpha Team's actions in the night, Yue Ling slept like a baby. Lu Tian held her tightly in his embrace, ever so lightly caressing the side of her arm.
He looked down at her, and with the help of the faint light coming in through the window, he could see her sleeping face.
She looked so peaceful. It was as if nothing in the world mattered to her.
He gazed at her and listened to her soft breathing while continuing to take in the sight of her. His head leans forward, and he gently kisses her head, ensuring he does not disturb her sleep simultaneously.
Once he pulled away from her, he carefully moved her from his arms. He places her head on the pillow and sits up.
After tucking her in, he quietly got up from bed.
He still needed to finish his work.
He leaves the room with light footsteps, returns to their shared study room, and sits behind his desk.
He wasted no time and hovered his fingers over the keyboard with eyes on the monitor screen.
The sound of his phone vibrating stopped him from typing any further. He quickly grabbed it as it was making too much sound in the quiet house.
He checks for the name of the caller, and when he sees who it is, his brows furrowed.
Curious about why the young man was calling him late into the night, he answers.
In the other line, Song Jing Li's usual tone filled with detest was replaced with pain and dryness. It was as if the young man was suffering from something.
Lu Tian's frown deepened, and a gut feeling told him something wasn't right.
["We… we were attacked. Kira and I are fine, but Jun… Jun isn't responsive."]
Lu Tian's lips parted to speak, but before he could get a word out, the sound of gunshots could be heard from the other line. Following came the frantic voices of Song Jing Li and Kira as the two yelled for the other to take cover.
His eyes darkened, and his expression turned dangerous. His hand on the phone clenches tightly, and he stands up.
"Stay where you are."
He ends the call and rushes out of the room while dialing for Xu Long.
The call ranged once, and the assistant's groggy voice resonated from the other line.
["Boss, it's two in the morning—"]
"Locate Song Jing Li's phone."
Lu Tian ordered the man and hung up. From the call he received, he can only conclude that Qin Jun, Song Jing Li, and Kira are in danger.
Just as he stepped out of the study, he stopped. He turns to look at the room his wife is sleeping in, and his lips unknowingly pressed together.
He hesitated for a second and strides towards the room. He doesn't turn on the lights but walks over to his wife and gently shakes her.
At the sound of his voice, Yue Ling tirelessly opened her eyes and slightly propped herself up.
"Tian, what's wrong?"
Lu Tian was in a rush to leave, but not wanting to worry her, he gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's nothing. I have to step out for a bit."
He leans down to kiss her on the forehead and pulls away.
"Go back to sleep. When you wake up, I'll be home already."
Yue Ling doesn't put too much thought into his words and nods. She lays back down and returns to sleep as Lu Tian leaves the room.
The sound of his hurried footsteps caused her to open her eyes.
She slowly turned to the door where he had left and stared silently.
It wasn't long before she heard the front door close.
She moved the blanket off of her and got up from bed. She walks over to the window facing the house's front and peers down.
In the dark of the night, she could see Lu Tian's silhouette making his way to his car. He could have seen her if he had looked up but was on the phone.
She watched as he entered his car and drove out of the gate.
Her brows slightly furrowed as she thought about what he said to her before leaving.
"Did something happen?"
She mutters the words with eyes searching the night sky.
He sounded normal when talking to her, but an unpleasant feeling grew inside her. It was a feeling that something terrible happened.
She looked in the direction Lu Tian had driven, and her thoughts remained hidden.
After a long minute, she turns away and returns to bed.
If it were something serious, Lu Tian would have told her. Since he didn't, she will not put too much thought into it.
Pulling the blanket over her body, she falls back asleep as if she had never gotten out of bed.
Far from the heart of Imperial, the sound of suppressed gunshots echoed into the night sky. The abandoned building that was once the hideout for Faith had been destroyed and up in flames.
A group of men searched the forest with guns in their hands.
Amongst the group was a tall, burly man. He wore a navy blue suit, and he appeared to be the leader of the group.
"Where did they go? They couldn't have gotten far."
One of the men growls in annoyance, and the burly man looks at him before looking back at the forest.
"Search every corner of this forest. We must find them."
At his order, another man howls with laughter. He raises his hand and licks the gun in his hand.
"Yeah, we definitely will find them. They must know the consequences of trying to find us."
Song Jing Li and Kira hid behind two large trees as the group continued searching.
The two men were in a disheveled state. Their breathing was heavy from exhaustion, but they made sure not to make a sound.
Song Jing Li gripped tightly around the gun in his hand. His ears never forgot to listen to the footsteps of the men after them.
He curses under his breath and then glances at the tree across from him. He could see Kira crouching in position and Qin Jun, who had lost consciousness.
His eyes grew darker as he stared at the two men.
They had just returned from finding intel on Choi Li Sun and were about to call it a night. However, they never expected the man they sought to send twenty of his men after them.
The men who came to attack them set fire to the place, and as he and the others were leaving, the roof collapsed. He should have been the one to take the hit, but instead, it was Qin Jun.
Recalling the incident, Song Jing Li's eyes grew murderous. He returns to his senses and checks how many bullets he has left in his gun.
He had two bullets left, and judging from how many times Kira fired his gun, the man should have three.
When they took cover, he saw a glimpse of the group from a distance. There were a total of 7 men still standing.
If he can take out two and Kira with three, they can easily take down the remaining two men.
Just as the plan came to place, the sound of a branch breaking caught his attention.
His ears perked, and he looked at Kira, who met his eyes.
The two comrades didn't need to verbalize their thoughts as they thought of the same plan.
They listened to the enemy's footsteps, never letting their guards down.
As the men near the trees they were taking cover, Song Jing Li closes his eyes. He inhales a deep but quiet breath.
He whispers the number, and his eyes shoot open. He leaps out from behind the tree and fires his gun as gunshots fire back at him.
He quickly takes down the first person, then the second person. Before the two men's bodies could touch the ground, he had already jumped for cover behind another tree.
His head turned to the left, and he saw Kira returning to the same tree as Qin Jun, who was still there.
The two men made another eye contact, confirming they had taken down their targets. It was now up to them whether they could make their next move.
Taking out the two remaining men.
On the enemy side, the burly man was shocked at how easily the men that came with him were shot. He stares at the dead bodies lying near him and laughs.
"You guys are only making this more difficult."
His eyes scan the wooded forest, and his words continue.
"Judging from your movements, I can confirm that you guys used up all your bullets."
He nudges with his head for the other remaining men to flank Song Jing Li and Kira.
"How about we make a deal? If you surrender, I'll make it a quick and easy death."
His words fell as he walked forward. Not once did he care about the sounds he was making.
The young man remains unmoving as the burly man approaches the tree where Song Jing Li is hiding. However, the snapping of a branch suddenly catches his attention, and he turns in the opposite direction of the burly man.