Chapter 69: Top-Tier Awareness

Pit Viper is dead?
This... how is this possible?
Could it be that there is someone else in this villa?
A total of four people?
No!
That's impossible!
They had clearly confirmed that besides the agents outside, the only people in this villa were that VIP and his female secretary.
Plus the young man who went in just now, there should only be three people.
Pit Viper said just now that the flash of cold light belonged to that young man, so that guy must still be in the villa.
The crucial point, however, was that the voice coming through the earpiece was a man's voice—it definitely couldn't be the female secretary...
The neural circuits of the three began to short-circuit. Unless the person holding the knife and hiding in the darkness right now was the female secretary?
No!
That's impossible too!
The intelligence they obtained clearly showed that this female secretary didn't know how to use a knife at all.
Yet those two flashes of cold light just now were clearly at the master level, something that could never be mastered in just a year or two.
So... who on earth... was the person holding the knife?
"Damn it!" Gambling Dog clenched his fists. "Could the intelligence have been wrong?"
Yellow Rose's expression shifted. "Prepare to retreat!"
"Retreat?" That voice came through the earpiece once again.
"Do you really think you can just retreat?"
After crushing all the bones in Pit Viper's body, Guan Sheng confirmed that he still had one breath left, lingering in a state between life and death. He then picked up the sniper rifle and aimed it at the villa's window.
With a "bang!"
A bullet spun at high speed as it flew through the air.
At the same time, as if reacting to something, Yellow Rose hurriedly pulled Gambling Dog and dodged to the side.
"Crash!" The glass window shattered.
Yellow Rose narrowly escaped, but Gambling Dog wasn't so lucky. His shoulder was completely pulverized by the bullet, and he collapsed straight to the ground.
"Damn it!"
"Ah, ah, ah..."
"My shoulder!"
"Bastard... bastard... hypocrite... didn't you say you hate snipers?" Gambling Dog clutched his shoulder, furious.
By sheer coincidence, the injured shoulder happened to be the one missing an arm.
It was equivalent to half his upper body losing all combat capability.
Guan Sheng grinned. "I hate snipers, but I never said I hate sniper rifles."
"You two, I now announce that you are surrounded!"
"Are you going to break your own arms and legs, or should I help you?"
Upon hearing this, Yellow Rose and Gambling Dog immediately crushed their earpieces.
On the other end, Old Ghost Dao, who was in charge of command, hurriedly aimed his binoculars at the building where Pit Viper had been.
Yet when he cast his gaze over there, the figures on that building were already gone.

"Where are people?"
Realizing this was a golden opportunity, he immediately barked into the comms for Yellow Rose and Gambling Dog: "That guy has left! Retreat immediately! Get out of the villa!"
"Hurry!"
"Move!"
He roared anxiously, only to find not a single sound coming through the earpiece.
"You... you guys..." Old Ghost Dao instantly realized they had voluntarily abandoned earpiece communication.
As an assassin, one would naturally never allow their own conversations to be intercepted by the enemy.
Therefore, upon confirming that the enemy had eliminated their own sniper and acquired a teammate's earpiece, the very first thing to do was to cut the signal to that earpiece to ensure operational information wouldn't be leaked.
This was basic competence, and the standard reaction of every assassin in battle.
Yet precisely because of this, the enemy had seized upon this exact point, forcing them to voluntarily abandon earpiece communication before immediately shifting tactics and rushing back to the villa!
Such terrifying impromptu responsiveness.
Such combat competence...
In a daze, fear took root in Old Ghost Dao's heart. He couldn't understand why that guy was so certain they would choose to "crush their earpieces" to cut off contact and save themselves.
Why?
How dared he launch a counterattack while surrounded and eliminate the sniper first?
Why...
How could he be so bold?
Shouldn't his primary mission be protecting that VIP and dealing with the two assassins who had already infiltrated the villa?
No!
It wasn't like that!
Old Ghost Dao seemed to understand something. "This was a setup..."
"It was all planned!"
"Launching an active counterattack wasn't just to kill the sniper; his purpose was to create a deterrent effect, forcing these two assassins to stay put and not dare to move blindly!"
"That way... yes... yes... that way they wouldn't dare to launch an attack to assassinate the VIP!"
"And even if they had external backup, because the earpiece communication was cut off, they wouldn't be able to receive information in time."
After figuring this out, Old Ghost Dao felt his intelligence had been thoroughly crushed.
This was simply taking his proudest tactical arrangement and rubbing it into the dirt.
The best offense is the best defense.
Yet he still couldn't understand how the opponent managed to come up with such a meticulously designed plan and execute it in less than a minute.
This style... why did it feel so familiar...
Could it be...
Old Ghost Dao's breathing grew rapid. He didn't dare to think deeply about it, because it was simply impossible!
Regardless, refocusing on the operation, Old Ghost Dao made his judgment!
"It failed!"
His face twisted hideously. The two assassins in the villa were now trapped turtles in a jar.
Not only he held this thought, but Elder Ji and Zhang Qingyu did as well.
Elder Ji chuckled and clapped, having not been this happy in a long time. "This kid, his thinking is truly novel, and his daring is simply immense."
"So taking out the sniper served two purposes with one stone!"
"Using the enemy's proudest long-range sniping method as a hostage chip to threaten them into not daring to move!"
"Is this the mindset of the God of Assassins?"
Zhang Qingyu was also struck with shock, as if a new world had been opened up to her.
She frowned. "But... but I still don't understand... how were those two flashes of cold light in the darkness pulled off?"
"Didn't Mr. Guan go to kill the sniper?"
Elder Ji offered a hint. "That is something you will have to ask him yourself."
Zhang Qingyu's brow twitched. "I..."
As if touched by something, she immediately changed the subject. "Then Elder Ji, will Mr. Guan come back to the villa to deal with the remaining two?"
Elder Ji pondered for a moment and shook his head. "My guess is, it won't be that simple!"
On the other side, Old Ghost Dao, realizing the mission had failed, didn't dare to linger and immediately packed up his gear.
Yet just as he shouldered a black backpack and turned around, a pitch-black gun barrel was already aimed directly at his head.
"Leaving so soon?"
"Aren't you going to play with your people?"
Swish!
In an instant, Old Ghost Dao's body grew cold. He froze, utterly dumbfounded and shocked to the core.
Staring at the muzzle, he swallowed hard, his whole body trembling. "Th-this is impossible!"
"How did you know I was here?"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
The sniper exposing his position could still be explained—after all, he fired so many shots!
Yet he himself had never exposed his position from start to finish.
"How on earth did you know I was here?"
Hearing this, Guan Sheng shrugged.
"Isn't this something you can figure out just by using your brain?"
"A top-tier assassination mission is generally composed of four operatives."
"A sniper, vanguard agents, and a commander."
"Before entering the villa, I had already observed the thirty-three agents hidden in the surrounding area and figured out their positions."
"But that was limited to mere observation."
"To take out all those agents in just over ten seconds in a single instant, besides the two vanguard assassins needing incredible speed, there must also be someone standing at a vantage point capable of observing all their positions comprehensively, accurately reporting their blind spots to the two assassins so they could complete such a wide-scale purge!"
"Simply put, it comes down to one prerequisite condition!"
"The fourth person—the commander—must be stationed in a location where he can observe all the blind spots of all thirty-three agents!"
"Based on that, there is only one such spot nearby!"
Guan Sheng pointed down at the building beneath their feet and said to Old Ghost Dao:
"The highest point diagonally behind the villa."
"So, old man, are you going to break all the bones in your body yourself, or—shall I help you?"