After finishing the interview with reporters, Gray returned to the temporary command tent set up not far from the exhibition hall.
The tent was small but packed with surveillance equipment.
Five computers served as the monitoring hub, each showing different angles of the hall, and under every camera feed, at least two guards stood watch, never interfering with each other.
Three days of setup. Time to enjoy the harvest.
Gray sat in front of one of the computers, imagining the moment he would finally arrest Grey Hat.
He pictured himself personally ending the legend. His company's fame and profits would skyrocket, far surpassing the value of a single gemstone.
While daydreaming, he hummed to himself, threw his legs onto the table, and grabbed a pastry to snack on.
But his smile slowly froze.
His stomach growled at the worst moment, followed by a sharp, twisting pain.
Damn it. Who prepared this pastry Pain is killing me.
Grumbling, Gray grabbed some tissues and headed out, reminding the others to keep an eye on the screens.
A few steps outside the tent stood a public restroom. Once he sat down on the toilet, that sense of relief was heavenly.
Was my stomach always this fragile
It had to be that new pretty secretary. She must have given him filthy pastries.
She was fired the moment he got back.
As he stared at the floor, a shadow suddenly draped over him. Gray looked up in confusion.
A man's head peeked in through the stall door, grinning at him. Someone from the next stall.
What are you looking at Never seen a man taking a dump
That smile made Gray uneasy.
The man said nothing and slowly pulled his head back.
Psycho. Gray muttered.
Something dropped onto his head. A thumb sized capsule popped open and sprayed strange gas into the stall.
The instant he inhaled it, his eyes rolled back and his thoughts blurred.
No.
Gray lunged toward the radio, but the gas overpowered him. He collapsed with no strength to fight back.
The stall door opened. Jace entered, pinching his nose.
The sedative might have been a bit much.
Gray could never have imagined that Grey Hat would target him directly.
Jace changed into Gray's clothes and began altering his face in the mirror.
Every class holder trained one core breathing technique as well as a set of combat skills.
Combat skills were not isolated moves but complete systems, forming the core of a class holder's power.
Jace practiced the Heaven Ripper Saga he had exchanged from the grey hat. It contained twelve forms.
The power was immense and the difficulty even higher. He had only mastered the first eight so far.
The second form Night Fade Mantle granted disguise and aura suppression.
The old man had said it was the most absurd concealment art he had ever seen, and disguise was its weakest feature.
With his current mastery, even level eighty or ninety experts would not see through the transformation at point blank range. His aura perfectly matched the impersonated target.
The hall's defenses can be divided into three parts.
Outer patrol helicopters.
Internal surveillance.
Internal guards and Stormveil swordsmen.
Time to handle them one by one.
Confirming that his voice and face had no flaws, Jace strutted into the command tent.
He did not rush. Instead, he circled the room and stared sharply at anyone not focused on their monitor.
Terrified, the workers immediately corrected their posture.
Good. Eyes on your job.
He waited for the right moment and slipped a small flash drive into the main console.
Moments later, a subtle frame delay appeared across all surveillance feeds.
First barrier broken.
Jace grabbed a few tissues and pretended to head back to the restroom, but instead slipped toward the small wooded area behind the hall.
Helicopters buzzed above. Patrol squads of five moved across intersecting paths.
Jace had memorized their patterns and timing.
Three squads crossing. Every minute there is a four to five second blind corridor.
I am fifty meters from the hall. The helicopter spotlight sweeps the wall every seven seconds.
The blind zone was narrow, less than four meters in diameter. He had to cross fifty meters within four seconds without generating air disturbance.
The vent was the only entrance, sealed with four screws that would take at least ten seconds to remove quietly.
Challenging, but doable.
Jace controlled his breathing, lowering his heart rate.
Then he launched himself from the ground like a fully drawn bowstring snapping free.
His speed left afterimages on the ground, yet he produced no wind, no footsteps. Like a ghost passing behind the patrol teams.
Heaven Ripper Saga seventh form. Void Flash Steps.
Like the lightning footwork of wuxia legends, silent and swift. Fifty meters vanished in an instant.
He touched down on the grass just as the helicopter's previous sweep ended.
He flicked his hand. Several screws appeared between his fingers.
Three meters away, the vent cover instantly lost its fastenings.
Heaven Ripper Saga third form. Ghostreach Grasp.
A technique to steal any object within ten meters without touching it.
Jace removed the cover, slipped into the vent, and the spotlight swept by moments later.
Three seconds to spare.
He adjusted his breathing again and crawled deeper into the duct.
Only one barrier left.
The protection team on duty came from one of the top security companies in the country. This time they had deployed their elite among elites.
Captain Marc, a level forty two martial artist, veteran of the Abyss Fourth Fleet, survivor of battles against void beasts.
His subordinates were all battle hardened and level thirty or above.
Lloyd, the vice captain, a level thirty nine mechanist, guarded the escalator between the two floors beside two rail mounted electromagnetic cannons.
Any intruder attempting to pass would be stunned on the spot.
Unit one normal.
Unit two normal.
Unit three...
Marc relaxed after another report came in.
Above, Lloyd laughed.
Marc, you think Grey Hat chickened out
Marc grinned.
I hope he comes. Otherwise all this preparation would be a waste.
He had not enjoyed a real fight since leaving the abyss.
The squad was already annoyed at being assigned to catch a thief. If the thief did not even show up because they were too strict, Marc would be disappointed.
Marc muttered, If you dare come, I will at least respect you as a man. Thieves with this much bravado are rare.
But if you make this much noise and never show... you are no different from the cowardly glory chasers I used to know.
In the auxiliary exhibition room next to the main hall, Jace finally reached the vent above two guards.