Chapter 106: A Secret Infiltration

2022-05-20

The moment Gu Chen slipped into the factory, he immediately crouched low, moving in a stealthy stance. He scanned his surroundings—empty, not a soul in sight—so he cautiously began to advance.

“Don’t act too fast,” Mary said through the radio. “Check out the layout and terrain. I need to construct a 3D map on my computer for real-time analysis. That way, we won’t get caught off guard.”

I stood by, watching Mary’s computer. On the left of her screen, a row of surveillance camera feeds played. On the right, a 3D model of the building spun continuously, looking identical to what Gu Chen was seeing inside. No wonder everyone called Mary a top-tier computer expert. Her analysis was lightning fast.

Gu Chen’s camera showed us that once inside the main entrance, a row of garages sat to the left, all completely empty. It was clear the factory had been abandoned a while ago. To the right, a rolling shutter blocked the workshop. The shutter was down, which meant we couldn’t see what was inside.

With his back to the wall, Gu Chen moved ahead with the agility of a cat and soon reached the shutter door. Unsure what lay inside, he didn’t dare open it recklessly. Instead, he pressed his ear to the door, listening for any sign of movement.

He waited by the door for a minute, then circled around the shutter. After turning the corner, he spotted several windows with iron bars ahead. Gu Chen didn’t peek inside. Instead, he pulled a rubber spy camera from his pocket and gently tossed it through an opening.

The camera rolled twice and came to a stop. As it tumbled, we saw no sign of anyone inside. But the angle was low, just a few dozen centimeters above the floor, so if anyone was there, we’d only see their calves at best.

Mary whispered, “Gu Chen, looks empty so far, but no idea how many floors this place has. Move carefully and check it out.”

After Mary’s words, Gu Chen flashed an OK sign in front of the camera, then peeked inside. Through the camera on his chest, we could finally get a proper look. The place was deserted. It was spacious, filled with old metal racks, broken desks, and busted crates.

From the indentations in the dusty floor, it used to be a workshop—probably full of lathes and other machinery before the owner sold it all off, leaving nothing but an empty shell. One side of the space had a staircase going up to the second floor.

The second floor was shaped like a square ring, open in the center.

There were a few doors upstairs. All were shut, and while there were windows, we couldn’t see what was inside from here.

The factory covered a decent stretch of land but was tucked away in a remote location. No wonder they built such a long row of garages—shipping must’ve been their main hassle.

After a lap around the courtyard, Gu Chen tossed a few more cameras and quickly concluded the abandoned shop floor was the most suspicious spot. Still, it was odd—not a single guard in this huge courtyard. That threw us off. Were they really so sure we’d never track this place down?

Gu Chen strategically placed several cameras, even tossing a few onto the roof so we could get a complete picture of the compound. On Mary’s end, her software rendered the factory’s exterior in real time, though the inner workings were still murky.

The shop floor was the most likely spot for holding Liu Yinyan and Liu Feier. If anyone was hiding, it had to be there.

Gu Chen pushed forward. A small cabin appeared in the middle of the courtyard. He stopped, studying it closely. After waiting a while with no one emerging, he crept over.

Suddenly, Gu Chen signaled with hand signs. Since his face wasn’t in frame, we had to guess what he’d found.

He eased closer and tossed another camera inside.

“No one’s in there!” Mary reported after seeing the feed.

Gu Chen finally relaxed and stepped inside. The camera feed told us this was a kitchen. An induction cooker and a big pot sat on a counter. The pot’s lid lay haphazardly nearby, and there were some leftovers—soup and the remains of a few fish—in the pot.

So they really did have braised fish for lunch, just as we speculated.

Next to the cooker sat a rice cooker. Gu Chen pinched the rice inside—it wasn’t fully hardened yet, meaning they’d eaten not long ago. This explained the lack of guards; everyone must’ve been eating. In one corner, a huge water vat stood half full, proof they’d been living here for some time.

Beside the vat was a water tap. Gu Chen twisted it. Nothing came out.

With the place abandoned, power and water had to be cut. Maybe someone had rigged up a line directly from a transformer. Dangerous, but possible. But there was no way they could’ve laid a new water pipe in just a month.

This proved the group included more than just thugs—someone with real technical skills was here too.

Not far from the kitchen was another small building. As Gu Chen neared it, he gestured “WC”—he must’ve caught a whiff of the latrine.

On the other side was another long brick house with two doors on either end and windows, although all the glass was shattered. Gu Chen crept up and tossed in a spy camera. The video revealed a big communal bed: an earthen bed built along the wall, big enough for ten people to sleep side by side. Discarded bedding lay scattered around. Clearly, they’d been living here for the past few months.

Just as Gu Chen was about to move on, a camera he’d left earlier showed one man coming out from the latrine and another approaching from the other side. We couldn’t see their faces, just pairs of feet moving around.

“Gu Chen!” Mary urged, “Two people are coming from different directions. Hide under the bed, now!”

Right as Gu Chen tensed to move, Team Leader Shao barked, “Get on the roof! Quick!”

Since Mary had grown up well off, she’d probably never seen an earthen bed before. Earthen beds are sealed on the bottom, so there’s no space to hide under. If Gu Chen chose to crawl in, he’d be spotted in no time.

Mary and Team Leader Shao spoke almost at the same time. Gu Chen didn’t hesitate. He stepped onto the window frame and vaulted up, hauling himself onto the roof, arms and waist working in one swift motion. He’d just gotten his second leg up when someone rounded the corner.

Gu Chen placed another spy camera on the edge of the roof, finally giving us a look at the owner of those feet.

It was none other than Old Zhang—the one who’d gotten away from us earlier.

Old Zhang was humming a little tune, mouth moving. Another man came into view: someone we hadn’t seen before. He wore his hair down, his face broad and fierce, with a long scar running from his left eye down to the corner of his mouth. The man also had a big mole near his lower lip.

Old Zhang nodded at the newcomer, then went inside.

As soon as he entered, Old Zhang flopped onto the earthen bed, clearly ready for a nap. That nearly made us jump. He flopped down squarely on top of the spy camera Gu Chen had planted earlier.

A moment later, Old Zhang jolted upright, rubbing his back. The camera couldn’t pick up sound, but we could all imagine the scene. He must’ve let out a shout after getting poked by the gadget. With a scowl, he pinched the camera in hand and suddenly the feed went black.

The next moment, the blackness gave way to a close-up of Old Zhang’s face as he examined the camera in detail.

Tension gripped us. Sweat beaded on our foreheads. The camera’s rubber shell was good camouflage, but if Old Zhang peeled it off, the circuitry inside would be obvious. If he got curious, we’d all be exposed. Worse, we still had no clue where the hostages were.

Suddenly, Old Zhang turned his head. Seemed like Scarface had just come in.

Old Zhang shrugged, then tossed the camera into the corner of the bed. Unfortunately, it landed lens-first against the wall; all we could see from the feed was a stained, yellowed patch of plaster.

We breathed a silent sigh of relief. Looked like Old Zhang didn’t suspect a thing.

Gu Chen stayed crouched on the roof, barely daring to move for fear of being discovered.

Five minutes ticked by.

“Gu Chen, climb down where there aren’t any windows. Be careful,” Team Leader Shao said quietly.

Gu Chen gave a quick OK sign, but a moment later he scrambled down. Two more people were headed over—one guy in a cap with a backpack, looking fresh-faced, maybe just a teenager.

The other wore a black mask painted like a human face, grinning wide with blood-red lips and a teardrop at the left eye.

After a few minutes with no more arrivals, Gu Chen swung down from the roof and made his way toward the kitchen.

He grabbed a cloth, soaked it in the water vat, then slipped around to the barred workshop window.

Judging by their numbers—four men in that house—there couldn’t be many people left inside the workshop.

And Liu Feier and Liu Yinyan had to be in there.

Gu Chen was about to sneak in and see for himself.