Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 392 - 385: Confirming the Target

Chapter 392: Chapter 385: Confirming the Target

Once everything was ready, the four of them split into two teams, leaning against the walls on either side of the door, awaiting Luo’er’s command to breach.

Tangmo was hiding behind Luo’er. Among the four, the main assaulting force was Luo’er and Wu Tairan. The other two were primarily responsible for perimeter vigilance.

"Moumou..." Luo’er said as he handed the AK rifle in his hand to Tangmo, then casually pulled out the suppressed pistol at his waist. The AK, with a silencer attached, was too long, unfit for breaching.

On the other side, Wu Tairan was holding a 74-short assault, which was of an acceptable length with the silencer attached, so there was no need to switch weapons.

Luo’er signaled to the two across from him. They nodded in understanding, then Xuzhong Qi drew a flashbang grenade from his waist, pulled out the pin, and held on to the safety lever. Wu Tairan was tasked with both holding a gun and initiating the rune, so the job of throwing the flashbang fell on Xuzhong Qi.

In fact, Xuzhong Qi was a very accomplished demolitions expert and could have been put in charge of the breach. However, since they were going to use silence magic, demolition might as well also incorporate magic, which would save them trouble.

"Prepare!" Luo’er ordered, one hand on his gun and the other hand on the Passive Glyph. On the other side, Wu Tairan responded with a nod and similarly placed his hand on the Passive Glyph.

"Moumou, count down!" Luo’er commanded without looking back.

"Roger!" Tangmo nodded, then extended one hand in the air so everyone could see.

She then started to straighten her fingers one by one, silently counting down in her mouth.

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Go!"

With Tangmo’s arm forcefully swung down, Luo’er and Wu Tairan immediately pressed the Passive Glyph. Then they pulled their hands back and ducked their heads, hugging their weapons.

The Passive Glyph was the first to activate, emitting a brief glow. After absorbing the magic power from the magic crystal embedded in it, the glyph’s magic flowed along the lines to the Delay Rune, each with different speeds.

The Silence Rune on the wall was the first to be triggered, and the magic power within the embedded Magic Crystal was instantly released. The entire set of Silence Rune symbols emitted a brief, bright light.

In an instant, an invisible barrier formed around them all - it was an indescribable feeling. It felt like their ears were infiltrated by high-pressure gas, losing all sense of hearing momentarily. Surrounded by such silence, they couldn’t even hear their own heartbeat.

Ever since Luo’er’s team first applied silent breaches in practice, this tactic had become an obligatory door-breaching tactic for the Otherworld squad. The Murong squad had also experienced this tactic in simulation, but their experiences there felt completely different from the Otherworld.

In the Otherworld, they felt as though they were instantly sealed off, an overwhelming and helpless sensation that caused them intense anxiety and panic.

The Advance Team experienced similar sentiments when they first applied this tactic in the Otherworld. However, after several applications, they essentially grew accustomed to it. Even though it had been over a year since they last used it, they didn’t panic from the sudden silence.

Not even two seconds into the silence, the Delay Rune on the door finally completed its lengthy route and surged into the Explosion Rune, abruptly triggering it.

Unlike the Silence Rune, the light from the Explosion Rune’s activation was much more blinding. Whether it was the lines where the magic flowed or the emptied Magic Crystal, they exploded with a dazzling light as if sunlight had penetrated through the door’s cracks, illuminating the corridor.

Under the influence of the Explosion Rune, the wooden door finally exploded silently. Even though they couldn’t hear the blast that took place just a stone’s throw away, they could still feel the oncoming shockwave.

It was a very peculiar and contradictory sensation as the plank burst into pieces without making any noise. They couldn’t hear any sounds, which created an illusion that time was passing slowly. It was as if they could see every piece of debris shattering, flying past them, and then slowly crashing against the opposite wall.

They finally understood what this sensation was - it was the feeling of being in outer space. When an explosion occurs in space, debris splatters everywhere, but because there’s no air, there’s no noise or shockwave. Debris may seem to be moving slowly towards them but could actually reach them in a blink of an eye.

Pulling himself out of his reverie, time once again returned to normal. The wooden door was instantly shattered in a violent explosion, even causing the floor to tremble slightly. If it wasn’t for the Silence Rune suppressing the sound, this explosion could have startled the entire Eastern District.

The moment the wooden door broke into pieces, Luo’er raised his head and forcefully gestured toward the opposite side. Xuzhong Qi, who had not been frightened, nodded and directly bypassed Wu Tairan to toss a flashbang into the room.

Before the silence ended, a dazzling light burst forth from the room. As if a searchlight had been switched on, a silver-white light shot out from inside the room, illuminating the corridor floor to a blinding white.

As the light vanished, Luo’er was the first to charge into the room. In the few seconds of the Silence Rune in effect, they executed the breach, flash, and charge steps. The opposing team, no matter how experienced, would struggle to react in these crucial seconds.

Wu Tairan was not completely disoriented by this sudden silencing. He shook his head slightly, then promptly raised his rifle and charged in behind Luo’er.

Entering the room, it was a quite ordinary guest room, with only one room. The room was spacious, with a grand bed positioned against the wall in the center. Two people, a man and a woman, were lying on the bed.

The woman was blinded by the flashbang and was covering her eyes in pain. The man, however, seemed unaffected. Seeing the two intruders enter, his first reaction was to throw the woman beside him at them.

As soon as he rushed into the room, Luo’er spotted the man, who was none other than Fu’en whom they had been desperately searching for. Wherever he got his strength from, he was able to pick up the woman and throw her at the two.

Luo’er tilted his head to evade the woman, leaving Wu Tairan behind him to catch her solidly. Seeing the state of the woman, the naive Wu Tairan immediately blushed from ear to ear.

Next, Fu’en turned around to reach for his magic wand at the head of the bed to retaliate, but Luo’er didn’t intend to give him the chance. He shot decisively at point-blank range, not missing his mark. The bullet pierced through Fu’en’s back and out from his collarbone, instantly staining the bed sheets with blood.

Fu’en grunted in pain and immediately began to scream. Luo’er’s intention with that shot was apparent, he didn’t want Fu’en to be able to use magic. As Luo’er knew all too well, a mage must refrain from magic use once injured.

After the successful shot, Luo’er quickly holstered his pistol, then rushed onto the bed, grabbed Fu’en’s arm and twisted it backward. The silence magic dissipated at this moment, and Fu’en’s sudden screams filled the room.

After only one shout, Fu’en’s face was forcefully pushed into the pillow by Luo’er. Then Luo’er turned around, pointed at the woman and loudly ordered, "Take care of her!"

"Understood!" Wu Tairan nodded, ignoring his embarrassment, quickly extended his arms around the woman’s neck and tightened his grip.

At first, the woman struggled to pry his arms off, her legs kicking aimlessly. But how could she possibly resist a strong man? Soon her movements grew weaker until finally, she stopped moving altogether, her hands hanging limply.

"Have sweet dreams..." Wu Tairan muttered quietly, laying her gently on the floor. Then, he took a scattered piece of clothing and covered her with it.

"Long time no see, Mr. Fu’en, I’ve missed you!" Luo’er brutally stepped on Fu’en’s head, pressing his face into the pillow while using zip ties to bind his hands behind his back.

Wu Tairan came over to help, holding down Fu’en’s upper body. After Luo’er had tied him up, he grabbed Fu’en by the neck and lifted him up. Fu’en instantly let out a painful whimper.

"Shut him up!" Luo’er ordered, his hand holding Fu’en’s face open. Then, Wu Tairan picked up a stocking off the floor, bunched it up and shoved it into Fu’en’s mouth.

"Tape!" Luo’er extended his hand.

"Here!" Wu Tairan nodded, then pulled out a roll of duct tape from his pocket and handed it to Luo’er.

Luo’er ripped off the tape and wrapped it around Fu’en’s mouth a few times, silencing Fu’en to mere whimpers. After that, he ripped off another piece of tape and quickly stuck it over Fu’en’s gunshot wound to stop the bleeding. He slapped it, causing blood to splatter everywhere and Fu’en to shudder in pain.

Holding control over him now, Luo’er then lifted him up and unceremoniously dumped him onto the hard floor. Luo’er had harbored plenty of resentment for Fu’en. Apart from the ambush that had caught the Advance Team off-guard, he’d been bested by Fu’en several times during the later investigations, which had left him fuming.

"Wu Tairan, put his pants on!" Luo’er hopped off the bed and stepped on Fu’en’s back, commanding Wu Tairan.

"Understood!" Wu Tairan nodded, looked around and casually picked up the woman’s underwear and slipped them onto Fu’en, followed by a pair of loose pants he found lying around.

Luo’er ignored his crude taste, and after inspecting Fu’en to confirm his identity, he said to Wu Tairan, "Target confirmed, prepare to retreat!"

"Understood!" Wu Tairan raised his rifle, scanned the room cautiously, and then was the first to leave the room.

Luo’er removed the cloak from his body and put it on Fu’en to make him less conspicuous. Then, with one hand gripping Fu’en’s neck and the other his pistol, he forced Fu’en out of the room.