Far away, inside a maximum-security intelligence hub, the low hum of servers filled the air.
Rows of monitors flickered like restless eyes.
Lin Ke's fingers danced across the keyboard, typing faster than most people could think. Code streamed past the screens in an organized chaos. Encrypted transmissions, heat maps, real-time satellite imagery and he parsed it all with the effortless focus of a man born for this.
"Negative," he muttered into his comms. "Zones 2, 4, and 7 are dead ends. Moving to Zone 8."
His eyes flicked from one monitor to another, processing ten feeds at once. "Rhino, any visual on the ground?"
"Negative," came Rhino's low reply, nearly drowned out by the ambient noise of a market. He blended perfectly into the crowd, his calm voice belying the weight of the heavy gear hidden beneath his clothes.
"Viper, cover me. I see something," crackled a third voice. "Affirmative, Falcon."
Please let it be a lead prayed Lin Ke. We need to find him.
It had all begun two months earlier. A coded message from central command had summoned them to an S-class mission briefing. Usually, their unit, Team Zero, didn't touch assignments above Class A+.
Only their Captain Aegis had clearance for S++ Class missions, which he frequently did solo. When a Directive came for a team mission, Aegis flat out refused to go without them.
I put my life only in the hands of people I trust, and those who trust me he had immovably stated in a meeting. And the higher-ups listened.
Within hours, Team Zero's clearance was expanded, their team given a new mission: The Black Lotus Directive.
Officially, The Black Lotus did not exist.
Unofficially, it was the shadow behind a dozen governments, a syndicate older than the republic itself — a hive that thrived on corruption, espionage, and weaponized science.
They operated through cells that regenerated when cut, their leaders hidden behind layers of digital ghosts and mercenary fronts.
Two decades back, in a legendary operation, their Grand Commander General lead his team to wipe out their entire operation. The mission was declared a success and the file was closed. The world moved on.
But rot always grows back. Cut one stem and three will bloom was their motto. And today, they are back stronger than ever before.
Aegis, they learnt, had hunted their phantom network for years in his S+ class solo missions. Aside from the Grand Commander General himself, no one understood The Black Lotus better - or hated them more.
When intelligence suggested that The Black Lotus potentially held a hostage - a research scientist. Their order was clear - Recon only. No interference.
That changed last week with Aegis' intelligence comms crackled to life with "Hostage affirmative - linked to Project Helix".
The words had set off a storm. Encrypted lines jammed, high-level generals convened behind closed doors, and within an hour, their orders changed:
"Retrieve the hostage. Eliminate the cell"
And they had been so close to success. Just as they were moving the scientist to safety, they were ambushed.
At least a dozen Black Lotus assassins descended on them and, in the chaos, Aegis and the Scientist both went missing.
Since then, Aegis' team had been tirelessly searching for him with no luck. Now, it looked like Falcon had finally found a clue.
Li Jian moved quietly through the bright chatter of the café. He was tall, composed, with the kind of face people forgot the moment they looked away. Ordinary in every possible sense—and that suited him perfectly.
The less attention he drew, the more he could see.
"Nothing in the front. Heading out back" he murmured into his comms.
"I have no visibility in the back" called out viper.
"Copy that. I am going in. Rhino, circle out back and be on stand by for support. Viper hold position." ordered Li Jian without missing a beat.
"Standing by for code red" confirmed Viper.
"I say, couldn't you be a bit more cheerful Viper" complained Lin Ke. "We may not need a code red.." Only a dismissive grunt answered him.
"No signs yet" Li Jian continued as he moved to the courtyard at the back.
Suddenly a shrill scream pierced the air "Pervert! Hooligan! Someone help!" A group of women had circled a half-naked man and was beating him down with their handbags.
"This sure is a special hobby", remarked the listening Lin Ke. "People do anything these days".
Li Jian ignored him. The distraction was exactly what he needed. As the crowd surged toward the noise, he used the opening to slip deeper into the corridor behind the café.
Apart from a potted plant that someone seemed to have been adjusted for privacy, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Refusing to give up, Li Jian continued further to the corridor at the back.
"Stop. We are not serving in this area" a cleaning lady called out to him. "I have just cleaned up a really big mess and it's still wet" she told him.
"I lost my ring" Li Jian replied evenly. "I just need a quick check. Please my wife will kill me if she knows I have lost it".
"Hmph, like sister-in-law would do anything other than pamper you" grumbled Lin Ke. "You should come up with believable lies Falcon".
"I just cleaned and saw nothing there" insisted the cleaning lady. "But you are welcome to search. If you slip and fall, don't you dare to complain about me" she threatened and swished away with her bucket.
"Yes ma'am" murmured Li Jian and walked a bit quickly. If it was just cleaned, the clues would've been washed away too.
As he just turned the corner, he spotted it - not on the floor but on the wall. A tiny speck of blood.
Li Jian's eyes sharpened. He moved closer, studying the splatter. It wasn't fresh. But it looked like it had been flung with some force.
"Ghostwire, pull up surveillance in this cafe" he said sharply. "I need everything since this morning".
Before Lin Ke could respond, Rhino's voice came in, taut and urgent.
"Falcon, we have a situation. The "pervert" the women were attacking? He's actually a truck driver. Someone knocked him out this morning when he finished his delivery and stole his truck. It sounds like he had been out cold for at least 5 hours".
The team froze. That kind of precise, ruthless knockout, only one man they knew could do that.
"Aegis" Li Jian breathed.
"Rhino, get more details on what the truck looks like. Ghostwire, cross check safe houses with truck routes that Rhino describes and give us the list. Viper, move out and set up your extraction package. Boss is likely hurt." commanded Li Jian smoothly, turning to leave the cafe.
The team hummed their response and co-ordinated with each other like a well oiled machine. Within minutes, they had a location - Safehouse 3, Old Town.
With a tacit understanding, all of them moved out. Hang in there Boss. We're coming.
"This is why I prefer being the tech support" Lin Ke grumbled, shoving singed hair off his face. The last window had looked harmless, but when he entered, he had triggered a hidden arc mechanism that almost burned his face off. Thankfully, his years of training and quick instincts saved him.
"Or, it was because the last time you were in the field, you wanted to camp out at a minefield" reminded Chen Yuze mercilessly.
"That happened just one time... could you let that go?!" lashed back Lin Ke furiously.
They were outside SafeHouse 3, trying to dismantle the codes and get in. Initially, it seemed easy, everything looked undisturbed. But, as they ventured further, SafeHouse 3 had more booby traps layered in. Every entrance was well protected and the team, despite their experience, had a hard time getting in.
"I don't think it was the Boss" said Chen Yuze quietly. "These traps are clever, but on the defensive. Boss's traps work on the offensive ". And are more ruthless his unsaid words hung in the air. As Rhino, their field expert who has been on missions with Aegis the most, he knew best.
"That's not a good thing" murmured Li Jian as they finally moved in. Someone with access meant exposure. They cannot risk that now.
They breached the door in formation, Viper taking point with his med kit.
And then—they froze.
There was Aegis, sitting up on the couch calmly eating congee.
"Took you long enough. I was beginning to think my team were a bunch of amateurs."