After replacing the oxygen canister in his mask, Hide entered the last room. The room turned out to be quite large. In one corner there was an equipment cage full of weapons, radios, extra magazines, ammunition cartons, and other individual equipment. Next to it, lay a pile of empty big sports bags.

On the sofa by the window, four guards armed with M4CQBs lay unconscious. While at the long table in the middle of the room, two guards were asleep in front of laptops that were still on, and another one was asleep in front of the Command Radio CRC-778.

With a single glance, it was easy to conclude that the room was a command post.

However, the thing that made Hide smile broadly were the two unconscious people at a luxury desk, located far from the window and the door. One was an old man wearing pajamas with a purple orchid motif, while the other was a middle-aged man in a black office suit.

'Jackpots! I found you."

Wasting no time, Hide walked over to the long table in the middle of the room and absorbed every info he needed. The distribution pattern of claymores and motion sensors, details of the guards, codenames, security protocols, and most importantly the number of the remaining guards.

'There are still 11 guards that need to be eliminated,' muttered Hide as he grabbed the CRC-778 receiver and pressed the PTT button. "Central-check, to all checks, attention, please regroup in the living room, first floor, immediately."

[. . .]

"I say again, regroup in the living room on the first floor, immediately."

[Who is this?]

[Where is Chief Koji?]

"All check, attention, an assassin from Aizen killed one of our Group Leaders a few minutes ago. We will launch a response. Chief Koji is talking to Elder and will give a briefing in a few minutes. So, move your ass fast."

[Check-six, received and understood.]

[Check-four, received and understood.]

[Check-sixteen, received and understood.]

[Check-twenty, received and understood.]

. . .

. . .

"Also, don't disturb guys in the lounge, they are still discussing their mission, and don't forget to close the door or the integrated room temperature controller can't work optimally, Central-check over and out."

After taking a deep breath, Hide then started the execution using nerve poison. One by one he finished off the guards, but he was surprised to find the middle-aged man in black office suit still conscious. His head was lying on the table, and although he couldn't move his body, his eyes were still wide open and his gaze was clear.

"Are you Chief Koji?"

"Yes," replied Chief Koji weakly as a question mark appeared on his forehead. "How did you get past the claymore fields and motion sensors?"

"It's easy. I know the exact position of the claymores and motion sensors around the villa."

"Impossible!" A surprise was evident in Chief Koji's gaze as he continued, "I moved the meeting place here at the last minute, arrived just minutes after the Group Leaders and went straight to work."

Chief Koji managed to catch his breath before continuing, "So, even if you have an insider among the group leaders, it's impossible to send a spotter to collect intel before our preparations are complete."

Hide calmly replied, "Actually, what we are monitoring are the group leaders, as soon as they gather at a place, my colleagues will immediately record the activity in that place using Google Earth online."

"Fuck shit..." Chief Koji cursed weakly.

"Well, your men are well disciplined, well equipped, and you have decent knowledge in small unit's tactics, but unfortunately my luck is better."

"Yeah." Chief Koji sighed deeply before pleading, "Please... Don't kill Elder Moruyama."

"Why? I bet you know he is a piece of shit."

"I know, but he took me from the street when I was a toddler, and raised me like his own child."

"I see. Even a piece of shit also has a good side."

"Please..." asked Chief Koji while tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

"Sorry, I can't do that."

Calmly, Hide then stabbed the iron spike that had been covered with nerve poison into Chief Koji's neck. As for Elder Moruyama, he only covered his mouth with duct tape, then tied his wrists and legs to the chair.

Then, as he checked his watch, Hide muttered, 'Replace the oxygen canister on Anya's gas mask, finish off the remaining guards, pump the anesthetic gas out, then stage two can begin.'

---

From her position, Shizuka could clearly observe the villa. In the first hour, she was happy because she didn't hear a loud bang or see a gun flash. But in the second hour, anxiety slowly gripped her heart. Especially, after she realized the advantage the guards had.

Almost all the lights in the main building were on, but for the courtyard, only a few garden lights on the outer side were lit. Even the lights on the front door were also not turned on. These conditions allow the guards to maneuver through the darkness with ease, especially if they knew the villa layout well.

The villa also did not have an outer wall, therefore intruders would not have a cover when approaching it. Meanwhile, the guards could see outside freely. The moment she realized the superiority the guard had, an assumption immediately formed in Shizuka's mind.

'What if Hide was caught or killed with a knife before he could send a message?'

Without delay, Shizuka pressed the PTT button, "Pear to Orange, do you read me?"

[Loud and clear, what's up?]

"Do you see any movement in the villa?"

[No, it's too dark. The front door opened several times, but I can't see where the guards come from or where they go.]

"You didn't see Apple get caught?"

[No... Wait, look at the villa.]

Shizuka immediately turned her gaze to the villa, and found the windows on the 2nd floor opened one by one, followed by the windows on the 1st floor. Then, all the lights in the courtyard turned on as Hide's voice was heard on the radio.

[Two morons, why did you break the radio discipline without a valid reason? You could be distracting me at a critical and dangerous moment.]

"I thought something happened to you."

[In that case, the guards will take my radio, hear your conversation, then track your location. I've confirmed they have the device to do the job.]

"Sorry," Shizuka replied timidly.

Although Hide's voice sounded calm, Shizuka could feel the anger that he was holding back. Therefore, she really didn't know what to say other than apologizing.

[Just this one, next time I will kick you out of the club directly.]

"Understood."

[Good, now come here. Take a detour, keep a distance of 100 meters from the villa until you reach the road, then enter through the front gate. I haven't cleaned the claymore around the villa, so don't take any shortcuts.]

"Roger, Pear is Oscar Mike, over and out."

Without wasting time, Shizuka got up and started jogging. At the same time, the conversation on the radio continued.

[Orange to Apple, have you managed to secure the villa?]

[I have.]

[What about the guards?]

[I killed them all.]

In an instant, total silence wrapped the communication line. At the same time, Shizuka quickened her pace as she renewed her assessment of Hide.

'He is not a human.'

---

At the front door of the main building, Shizuka met Hide. She was surprised when she saw Hide wearing clothes, weapons, and equipment like a member of a counter-terrorist unit, as commonly seen in the movies. However, she didn't ask where Hide got the outfit from, although deep down she was very curious.

But one thing that really impressed Shizuka was, the outfit matched the way Hide carried himself. It was as if the outfit was part of his body and soul. If she didn't know Hide, she would have thought Hide was a real member of a counter-terrorist unit.

"What do I need to do?" Shizuka asked firmly.

"Follow me, there's a lot of loot to collect."

"Roger."

Wasting no time, Shizuka followed Hide and entered the main building. Once she was inside, her gaze was greeted by eleven people with the same outfit as Hide, motionless, lying on the floor, or sitting on the sofa. While in one corner, through the wide-open door, she saw several other bodies.

"Hide, they look like professional soldiers. How did you kill them all?"

Hide casually replied, "Professional soldiers are predictable, but the world is full of dangerous amateurs."

"I see," replied Shizuka even though she didn't fully understand Hide's answer. "What about the little girl?"

"She is fine and sleeps peacefully. Her name is Anya and her room is at the end of the corridor, turn left after the stairs. I marked her room with a chemstick."

"What are your plans for her?"

"Listen," Hide continued in a serious and firm tone, "Right now, we have a lot of work to do. So don't ask me too many questions. I need to focus on my job, and you need to focus on the job that I'll give to you."

"Roger."

Shizuka then followed Hide to the command post, in silence.

*****