Moonlight hid behind thick clouds,
and a cold wind funneled through the narrow alley,
stirring the scent of danger in the air.

Jiang Zhilin stood beside the operations van,
head lowered as he checked his firearm.
His peripheral vision swept across his watch—

[Date: April 13, 21:35]

The final window before deployment.
Time to move.

Behind him, the team members adjusted their gear in silence—
the usual pre-operation tension—
until one team member seemed to notice something,
frowning as he glanced over.

“Captain Jiang… why are you walking a little weird?
Did you hurt your leg?”

Another teammate turned toward him at once,
concern sharpening in their eyes.

“Yeah, Captain, you okay?
Did you overdo it in training again?
Still not healed?”

“…Mm. Overtrained.”

Jiang Zhilin replied calmly,
eyes still on the weapon in his hands,
not a single ripple betraying the truth.

“Damn it, you’re always like this!”

One of the team clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Captain Jiang, seriously—take it easy for once, will you?
It’s been years and you’ve never lost a single training match.
What’s the point if you end up injuring yourself?”

“Yeah. You’ve got to rest when you’re hurt.
Going into a mission before you’re healed—if anything goes wrong tonight, we’re screwed.”

Their voices carried nothing but earnest concern as they tried to talk sense into him.

“I’m fine. Move out.”

Jiang Zhilin slammed the magazine into place, neatly cutting the conversation short as his cool gaze swept across the team.

The men exchanged a look; seeing their captain’s stance was firm, they dropped the subject and moved into position.

Tension snapped back into place.

Jiang let out a slow, silent breath, his eyes settling on the target building ahead.

That bastard Shen Yanxing…

There was no universe in which he would take leave over something like this.

Looks like he’d just have to tough it out.

The target tonight was a human-trafficking drop point.

According to intel, a shipment was scheduled to move through,
and the team had surrounded the building exactly as planned,
waiting for the signal to breach.

Inside, the lights were dim.
No movement.
No voices.
Only a strange, heavy stillness clinging to the air.

Jiang Zhilin swept a look around the perimeter,
a slight furrow forming between his brows.

Too quiet.

The place was old, yes—
but a real trade site was never this silent.

No early buyers lurking.
No crates being moved.
Not even the usual patrol pacing the halls.

“…Tch. Captain, something’s off.”

“This silence—feels like they’re waiting for us.”

The low voice crackled through his earpiece,
and every nerve in Jiang Zhilin’s body tightened at once.

Too strange.

The perfect time for a raid was always mid-transaction—
when goods were exposed and vigilance had slipped.

But this—

This felt like nothing but
an empty stage.

A baited trap already set,
waiting for them to step inside.

“Fall back—”

The words had barely left his mouth—

CRASH—!

Glass exploded above them.

A dark figure sliced through the air
just as gunfire erupted.

BANG—!

A razor-sharp shockwave skimmed past his ear,
the impact blowing open the concrete wall behind him,
dust scattering in a violent burst.

Jiang Zhilin’s pupils contracted.
His body moved before thought—rolling hard to the side.

The spot where he’d been standing
was now a jagged crater,
the smell of gunpowder thick in the swirling debris.

“Ambush!”

Almost instantly, a barrage of bullets poured from both sides of the building—
hidden firing points bursting to life,
pinning the police team inside the narrow alley like a killbox.

This wasn’t a mishap.
It was a planned counter-assault.

Jiang Zhilin pivoted behind cover,
returning fire in sharp, controlled bursts—
but the moment he leaned out even halfway,
rounds sliced past him,
each shot precisely cutting off his escape route.

Their aim was too accurate.
Too familiar.

As if they already knew
exactly how the police would move.

And in that instant, it hit him—

Their operation had been leaked.

This was a trap.

“Captain! We’re surrounded!”

“Their gear—this isn’t what intel said at all!”

Voices in his earpiece were laced with ragged breathing.
Their retreat route had already been cut off.
The suppressive fire only grew heavier,
pinning the unit in place,
making advancement impossible.

Jiang Zhilin pressed his back hard against the cover,
mind racing through possibilities at a brutal speed.

Damn it—

This wasn’t a simple transaction site.
Something was wrong.

Why were they pushing so aggressively?

Why attack instead of holding territory?

The killing intent was too sharp—
nothing like ordinary crossfire.

No—
they had a target.

Shit. They’re trying to wipe us out.

“Captain! They’re trying to split us up!”

“Several hostiles are flanking through the right alley!”

Shouts cracked through the comms—
retreat blocked,
firepower unrelenting,
the battlefield collapsing in the span of seconds.

Jiang Zhilin’s gaze swept the terrain, calculating every angle,
searching desperately for a breach—

There was only one option left.

They had to carve their way out.

He rolled into cover,
weapon snapping up in the same motion—
three rapid shots fired to suppress the advancing line.
While the enemy hesitated,
his gaze swept the battlefield, calculating positions, routes, danger—

But before he could finish confirming his team’s layout,
a sharp warning exploded through the earpiece—

“Captain Jiang! Behind you—!”

His spine tightened instantly—

shhk—!

A flash of cold steel.

A blade thrust straight toward him.

“—!”

Instinct jerked his body sideways.
The edge skimmed his clothing,
slicing through fabric and skin,
pain flaring hot across his flank—

And then—

something sharp pressed up against his abdomen,
so close he could feel the threat pulsing against his skin.

The pressure at his ear sent a chill snapping down his spine.

“Not so lucky this time… Captain Jiang.”

A low voice—rough, mocking—unfurled behind him.

He jerked his head up, eyes locking onto the figure looming above—

The man’s face was swallowed by shadow, features impossible to make out.

Then—
a subtle shift of the wrist,
the knife’s edge turned,
and the pressure at his abdomen vanished.

That movement…

A memory flickered—sharp, distant—before he could grasp it—

—ngh…!

A cold sting burst across his chest—
not a cut, but something spreading inside him.
His blood surged; muscles seized violently.

Damn it—

This wasn’t a normal stab wound.

His vision wavered.
Breath shortened.
A piercing chill crawled up his spine.
Strength drained from his fingertips, slipping away like water—

Paralysis…?

What the hell…?

This technique…
Where… have I seen it…?

…Who…?

Vision twisted out of focus. All sound collapsed into a single muffled hum—

a vacuum swallowing the world whole.

Awareness plunged as though shoved underwater,
strength bleeding rapidly from every limb.

Jiang Zhilin forced himself to endure the burning ache,
fingers clawing into the ground as he tried to push himself upright.

But an indescribable sensation surged through him—
spreading fast, crawling outward from the wound.

A creeping numbness raced along his veins,
a coldness hooking into his nerves and climbing upward.

Breath hitched.
Heartbeat stumbled.
He tried to lift his gun—
but his strength felt scooped out of him.

The muzzle rose only a few centimeters
before his arm failed entirely.

Damn it… what is this?

He fought to focus, forcing his fading gaze onto the figure before him—

The enemy stood in the shadows, face swallowed by darkness,
only the faintest outline visible.

And just before his consciousness fully fractured,
the last thing he saw was—

that weapon lifted in a gesture he knew far too well.

—Damn…

A shard of memory flashed past,
as if his subconscious were desperately tugging at something crucial.

Where… had he seen that…?

But before he could grasp it,
his balance disappeared—
gravity yanking him backward.

Body collapsed without resistance,
vision tilting,
the world flipping over itself.

“Captain Jiang—!!”

The shout burst beside his ear,
his teammates’ voices stretching, fading.

He tried to speak.

But no sound would come out.

The head felt submerged underwater—
consciousness flickering in and out,
every sound distant and warped.

Jiang Zhilin tried to open his eyes, but his lids were unbearably heavy,
as if weighted with lead.
All he could register was his body being rushed somewhere,
surrounded by frantic voices—

“Deep laceration—blood pressure dropping, prep for transfusion!”

“Did you push the hemostatic injection?!”

“Hurry! Massive blood loss—blood bank reserves aren’t enough—”

Bzzzz—

The ringing in his ears wouldn’t stop,
a low, droning hum swallowing every word around him.

…Cold.

Like every trace of warmth had been drained from his body.

The thud of his heartbeat echoed faint and dull in his chest.

Someone was calling him.

…He wanted to lift a hand.

But not even a fingertip would respond.

Short, uneven breaths fogged the inside of the oxygen mask,
thick with the sharp scent of disinfectant.

As his awareness finally gave way,
consciousness collapsed like a breached dam—
and he sank completely into the dark.