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The bat spread its wings, slicing through the night sky as it silently swept over the military base, gliding toward the center of the compound.
Since this place was deep in the mountains, it was common for bats to come out and hunt on hot summer nights, so when the bat flew across the military base, the stationed Chinese soldiers paid it no mind. Thanks to this natural cover, the bat wandered and flew freely through the base.
With a click, the young man carefully opened the unique metal crate, and inside was a katana gleaming with a cold, deadly light—a classic Japanese Sengoku-era sword. He grinned in satisfaction, grabbed the blade, and gave it a casual swing; under the corridor lights, the steel flashed, radiating a chilling, lethal aura.
"Whoa—what a killer vibe! Shawn, this must be the Murasame Blade you seized, right?" A middle-aged officer in a lieutenant general's uniform asked in awe.
"Yep, that's the one! Heh—bet that Japanese ninja never expected us to stash his precious sword with the Celestial Peace Kingdom's treasure! If he goes hunting in the Three Great Houses, he'll walk right into our trap. He'll never get out alive, ha!" The casually dressed young man was Shawn Young, gleefully waving the Murasame Blade as he spoke.
"Haha—exactly! The Three Great Houses and our military have rigged a net just waiting for those ninjas to walk in and get themselves killed!" The lieutenant general laughed.
By now, the military trucks had all rolled into the warehouse. A young officer in camouflage uniform stepped down from one truck, walked up to the lieutenant general, saluted, and said, "Reporting to Commander Lin: The first batch of goods has arrived. Awaiting your orders!"
"Good, let's see what kind of treasures the legendary Celestial Peace Kingdom left us! I'm really curious!" the lieutenant general said to Shawn Young.
"Me too! Can't wait to see!" Shawn Young replied with a mischievous grin.
The lieutenant general turned to the officer and said, "Colonel Han, pick any crate and open it up. We're all on the same side—let's see what kind of loot we've got!"
"Yes, sir!" The young officer was Han Feng. He deftly hauled a metal crate off the truck, ripped off the seal, and flipped the lid open—a burst of dazzling jewels and gold spilled out, sparkling under the warehouse lights.
"Wow—these are real Heavenly Kingdom treasures! Just look at the quality!" Shawn Young was the first to react, using the Murasame Blade to hook up a milky pearl necklace, twirling it in his hand with sparkling eyes, tapping the blade playfully against the pile of loot.
Meanwhile, up on the hill, the ninja controlling the bat was shaking with rage, cursing, "Damn it!"
His focus slipped for a second, and the bat clinging to the corridor ceiling trembled, nearly falling. The ninja snapped back, concentrated, and sent the bat darting out of the corridor, through the warehouse doors, and back to his hand in under two minutes—with a soft pop, it turned back into a gray-black paper bird.
"Lucky Mai Kanda tipped me off, or I would've walked right into those sneaky Chinese bastards' trap! Damn you pigs, I'll make you pay! Especially that bastard Shawn Young—how dare he defile my Murasame Blade! He'll be the first to die!" The ninja tucked the paper bird into his shirt, seething in Japanese.
Scorpio and Weasel just stared at him ranting to himself. They couldn't understand a word, but his fury was obvious. The two exchanged helpless glances, not daring to say a thing.
"Alright, recon's done. Let's head back and plan our attack! Next time, we'll wipe out every last enemy in this base!" The ninja finished his rant, cooled off, and switched to English, ignoring Scorpio and Weasel as he vanished into the night.
"Damn, that Japanese ninja's got some real skills—shows up outta nowhere, flies around like a ghost, makes the whole place creepy as hell!" Weasel grumbled, watching the ninja disappear.
"Yeah, that's just how Japanese ninjas roll. You get used to it! We're just here for backup anyway. Let's go—been stuck here all night, time for a shower and a wild night with some chicks!" Scorpio said, packing up his gear.
"Haha—Scorpio, you know why I always team up with you? Because after every job, we hit the town for some wild action with the ladies! You're my kind of guy!" Weasel's eyes lit up at the mention of women.
"Heh—since I retired, my only dream's been making money as a mercenary. Now I've got a new one!" Scorpio snickered.
"Oh? What's your new dream?" Weasel asked, curious.
"To fight my way across all five continents—and sleep with beauties from every one! If I die in battle, at least I lived! Mercs like us almost never live to retire, you know. Ha!" Scorpio's tone was lewd but had a touch of melancholy.
"Ha—your new dream's damn good. Count me in!" Weasel cackled.
"Let's go—tonight we're sampling Asian women! I hear Japanese girls are super wild. Gonna find one tonight!" Scorpio strapped on his backpack, excited.
"But we're in China—why not go for Chinese girls? Japanese chicks aren't so easy to find here," Weasel wondered aloud.
"True, but some of those ninjas are hot female ninjas! I hear Japanese kunoichi get seduction training. I'd love for them to seduce me—ha!" Scorpio grinned wickedly.
"Bro, from what I know—seduction's just a trick for the lower-ranked kunoichi. The top-tier girls don't need it!" Weasel said, clearly the expert.
"Fine—let those low-level kunoichi seduce me! Just thinking about their wild looks gets me excited—let's go!" Scorpio said, itching to leave, and started down the hill.
"Haha—Scorpio, you don't usually act so horny! Been too long since you got laid?" Weasel followed after him, laughing.
"Yeah—damn, I spent half a year in Iraq last time and didn't touch a woman! This time I'm gonna go wild!" Scorpio hurried down the hill toward the woods, where a black Jeep was hidden.
Scorpio and Weasel hopped into the Jeep, fired up the engine, and quietly drove off along the rugged mountain road, leaving the remote Dongyao Mountains behind. Little did they know, someone had secretly planted a tiny tracker under the Jeep's chassis.
“To fight my way across all five continents—and sleep with beauties from every one! If I die in battle, at least I’ll have lived! Mercs like us almost never live to retire, you know. Ha!” Scorpio’s voice was lewd but had a touch of melancholy.
“Ha—your new dream’s damn good. Count me in!” Weasel cackled.
“Let’s go—tonight we’re sampling Asian women! I hear Japanese chicks are super wild. Gonna find one tonight!” Scorpio strapped on his backpack, excited.
“But we’re in China—why not go for Chinese girls? Japanese chicks aren’t so easy to find here,” Weasel wondered aloud.
“True, but some of those ninjas are hot female ninjas! I hear Japanese kunoichi get seduction training. I’d love for them to seduce me—ha!” Scorpio grinned wickedly.
“Bro, from what I know—seduction’s just a trick for the lower-ranked kunoichi. The top-tier girls don’t need it!” Weasel said, clearly the expert.
“Fine—let those low-level kunoichi seduce me! Just thinking about their wild looks gets me excited—let’s go!” Scorpio said, unable to wait, heading down the hill.
“Haha—Scorpio, you don’t usually act so horny! Been too long since you got laid?” Weasel followed right after him, laughing.
“Yeah—damn, I spent half a year in Iraq last time and didn’t touch a woman! This time I’m going all out!” Scorpio hurried down the hill toward the woods, where a black Jeep was hidden.
Scorpio and Weasel hopped into the Jeep, fired up the engine, and quietly drove off along the rugged mountain road, leaving the remote Dongyao Mountains behind. Little did they know, someone had secretly planted a tiny tracker under the Jeep’s chassis.