Chapter 13

In the days that followed, Li She disguised himself as a tourist, a sanitation worker, a newspaper delivery person, and more, continuing his observations around the Liu family compound. Although the security was tight, it wasn't much of a problem for Li She. A month later, in his single apartment in the Fifth Ring, Li She organized the information he had gathered over this period.

On the wall was a floor plan of the Liu family compound, marked with various symbols.

Li She, holding a cigarette, carefully planned as he looked at the floor plan.

"Four gates, each guarded by twelve armed guards, all of them fully armed. They look like they're from special forces. What a waste! To have so many special forces protecting an old man? Add to that the 24/7 patrols inside the compound, and that's nearly three hundred people. An entire special forces battalion!" Li She muttered to himself.

He pointed to three circles in the main house and said, "These three areas are where the old men live. It seems these are the residences of the three internal martial arts experts. And the house behind the main house is the only gap in the guards? That doesn't make sense!"

The three internal martial arts experts hired by the Liu family lived in the rooms in front of, to the left, and to the right of the main house, forming a protective barrier on three sides. It was impossible for there to be a gap at the back. Could there be a hidden figure? This was hard to say, given the Liu family's close ties to the state, which could mobilize the highest-level forces. There must be a backup plan. This made Li She more cautious.

Since mastering the "Nine Yang Divine Skill," his five senses had been enhanced to an astonishing degree. Later, practicing the "Bone Washing Sutra" further improved his sixth sense. A vague feeling told him that there was definitely an expert living in the house behind the main house.

However, with the arrow on the string, he had no choice but to act. Li She put aside all distractions and meticulously planned each step. His master had always said that the more thorough the preparation, the higher the chance of success. The Liu family compound seemed impenetrable, but even the tightest defenses had vulnerabilities. Where was the vulnerability?

Each gate was guarded by twelve special forces soldiers. There were countless cameras, and it was impossible to glide in from the sky, as the 24/7 patrols were all from special forces. If he were in the air, he would become a live target.

Although the internal staff could enter and exit, the security checks at the gate were stricter than airport security. Not only were all personal items thoroughly searched, but they also had to go through X-ray scans and fingerprint recognition systems. Metal items like keys and communication devices like phones were strictly prohibited. During the eight-hour workday, they could only move within designated areas and were not allowed to leave.

While analyzing the information, the security of the Liu family compound seemed like an unsolvable equation. After thinking for a long time, Li She lit a cigarette to ease his tired mind. He had liked the feeling of smoking since he was ten, as it made him feel particularly relaxed.

As he casually glanced at the floor plan on the wall, his gaze locked onto a photo of one of the internal staff.

From his observations over the past thirty days, he knew that although the Liu family compound was heavily guarded, the internal staff could still move freely. With so many people, they had to eat, drink, and use the restroom, so chefs and other internal staff were essential. To ensure 24/7 readiness, the chefs and internal staff worked in three shifts of eight hours each. All of them had undergone strict political reviews.

All the internal staff were from the military, and the target Li She had in mind was a genuine Beijinger. Although he was from the military, he had married and lived at home, unlike the others who lived together.

Wang Qiang, thirty years old, a genuine Beijinger, lived in an old dormitory in the Fourth Ring. He was married, and his wife, a migrant worker from another city, worked as a manager in a hotel. They had a son in kindergarten. Wang Qiang was 183 cm tall and weighed 80 kg.

Over the past month, Li She had gathered information on most of the people in the Liu family compound and knew everyone by name.

Seeing Wang Qiang, Li She smiled. Without the "Nine Yang Divine Skill," the Liu family compound would have been an unsolvable equation. But with the "Nine Yang Divine Skill," he could not only change his appearance but also alter his physique using the "Bone Locking Technique."

A plan for infiltration and withdrawal emerged on paper. Li She reviewed it several times, found no flaws, and began to implement it.

Wang Qiang's wife worked at a hotel and often worked late. Wang Qiang, working in shifts, was rarely at home. Their child was in a full-time kindergarten and only came home in the evening.

Using two paper clips, Li She easily opened Wang Qiang's front door. He put on gloves and shoe covers and entered carefully. Since the Liu family compound had a fingerprint recognition system at the entrance, he needed to obtain one of the staff's fingerprints. Using a special blue light, Li She collected several complete fingerprints of Wang Qiang.

He took photos of Wang Qiang's shoes and clothes in the shoe cabinet and wardrobe, found a recent photo of Wang Qiang, and installed a few listening devices in the room before leaving.

One of the specialties of the Divine Thief Sect was the creation of human skin masks. After generations of improvement, the process had become simpler. Under the reform of his late master, the 98th generation leader of the Divine Thief Sect, they abandoned the use of pigskin and adopted a new technique using latex and silicone, making the masks almost 99% identical to the real person.

Back in his single apartment, Li She immediately got to work. After two days, he finally completed the human skin mask. Each hair on the mask was embedded with real hair, and even the stubble on the face was real.

Through the listening devices, Li She heard Wang Qiang's voice. To infiltrate the Liu family compound as an internal staff member, he needed to be able to converse. If he looked like Wang Qiang but spoke with a young voice, he would be exposed. Li She was skilled in voice mimicry, a basic skill of the Divine Thief Sect. After a few days of practice, he mastered Wang Qiang's mannerisms and tone, speaking almost identically to him.

As a precaution, Li She also prepared several poisons according to the recipes in the "Wang Nanggu Poison Classic." The "Power-Dispelling Soul-Confusing Incense," which had a faint peach scent and could render a person's internal energy useless, was not as colorless and odorless as the "Ten Fragrances Softening Tendon Powder," but it worked just by being inhaled, without the need to be ingested. He coated a special ivory dagger with the "Five Poisons Gut-Cutting Water," which, according to the "Wang Nanggu Poison Classic," could kill a martial arts expert with just one drop and dissolved upon contact with blood. The ivory dagger, only one finger wide and two fingers long, was as sharp as a steel blade and easy to conceal. Since it was made of ivory, it could bypass the metal detectors at the entrance. As for firearms, Li She didn't bring any, as they couldn't be brought in, and he was a second-tier expert. In the world of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," third-tier experts were common, and second-tier experts were like dogs, but in the modern world, where internal energy was rare, a second-tier expert was equivalent to a peak-level martial artist. A micro-force martial artist could withstand gunfire, let alone Li She.

After thorough preparation, Li She planned to act that night. He parked a van in an alley in the Fourth Ring, where he would ambush Wang Qiang on his way to work. At 12:10 AM, Wang Qiang left home on time, as his shift was from 1:00 AM to 8:00 AM. It took him half an hour to reach the Liu family compound by electric scooter.

As Wang Qiang rode his electric scooter out as usual, he suddenly felt a tap on his back and lost consciousness.

With his skills reduced to a second-tier expert, the "One Yang Finger" could not project true qi, but it could still break gold and jade. Li She pointed at Wang Qiang's sleep point, dragged him into the van, and injected him with a sedative. This dose would keep Wang Qiang asleep for two days.

Li She parked the van, put Wang Qiang in a large bamboo basket in the back, covered him with some clothes, and took his bag and work card. He changed into Wang Qiang's clothes, put on the human skin mask, and checked for any flaws. After verifying Wang Qiang's fingerprints, he rode Wang Qiang's electric scooter to the Liu family compound.

As usual, he parked the electric scooter and entered through the side gate, greeting a few colleagues before swiping his card to pass through the security check.

"Beep," after swiping his card, Li She entered the next security checkpoint. He stood in front of the metal detector, which scanned him and found no abnormalities. He then pressed his finger on the fingerprint scanner. The special forces soldiers standing nearby, seeing no issues, let him through.

Following the usual routine, Li She headed straight to his work area, the guard room to the right of the main house, where an internal martial arts expert lived next door. According to the information provided by the God of Wealth, the expert living next door was Iron Monk.