Chapter Two: Recognized

Midnight struck twelve. Liu An and I had swapped posts—I was stationed in the surveillance room while Liu An patrolled outside.

At this hour, the company suddenly became lively again.

The customer service staff from the group’s vibrant e-commerce company were still working their night shift, which lasted until midnight. Most of them lived on-site, with only a few residing elsewhere.

Through the monitors, I saw the seventh-floor corridor bustling with customer service representatives coming and going.

Almost all of them were young women.

It seemed Liu An was right—the company was decidedly female-dominated.

According to Liu An, this was mainly because Ling Xuan disliked men and preferred to fill positions with women whenever possible.

“Disliked men? Could it be that something from her past left a shadow on her? It’s been so many years; it shouldn’t still affect her,” I mused.

“But she is impressive—starting from nothing and building such a large company!”

I had initially thought Ling Xuan had relied on her family’s influence, but after a quick online search, I discovered that Ling Corporation had gone bankrupt in 2011 due to a broken capital chain. Ling Xuan had truly built this empire with her own hands.

Remarkable.

And from the moment I saw her enter in the afternoon until now, she hadn’t come out once—she was truly dedicated.

At one in the morning, Liu An came into the surveillance room.

“Chu Fan, my wife just called—her stomach pain is unbearable. She’s tossing and turning in bed. Since there’s nothing much going on tonight, I’m heading home for a bit. I’ll come back depending on the situation. You hold down the fort alone.”

“No problem, squad leader. Go quickly!” I smiled.

Liu An returned a faint smile, patted my shoulder, and left the room.

Watching the monitors at night was indeed dull. I took out my phone and sent a message: “Still training?”

No reply for a long time.

I had changed my number recently, and only a handful of contacts remained.

Bored, I was about to watch some random videos when suddenly everything went black.

Looking up, both the company office building and the adjacent dormitory were plunged into darkness, while a commotion arose from within the dormitory.

A power outage?

At that moment, I caught sight of two dark figures slipping around the corner to my right.

Not good!

I quickly reached into the drawer, pulling out a flashlight and the remote control for the motion sensor alarm.

The city night wasn’t completely dark; faint streetlights filtered in, making shapes vaguely visible.

I didn’t turn on the flashlight but quietly followed the two shadows.

They vanished behind the office building, where the back door stood ajar.

I rushed to the door and activated the motion sensor alarm with the remote. The remote’s range was limited by obstacles, so I had to be close.

Immediately, alarms blared on the ninth floor.

Hearing the alarms jolted me awake—Ling Xuan’s office was on the ninth floor.

Since the intruders had managed to cut the power unnoticed, they came prepared and surely knew about the alarm system. They would want to finish quickly.

Without hesitation, I dashed inside and took the stairs straight to the ninth floor, alarms ringing endlessly behind me.

At the stairwell entrance on the ninth floor, I peeked out. The corridor was a labyrinth of intersecting paths and offices.

The alarms had all been triggered, their indicator lights casting a dim red glow, making the interior faintly visible.

I hugged the wall and took a few steps, when suddenly a shadow flickered to my right.

Startled, I ducked behind the wall, but then realized the figure was slender and feminine.

Ling Xuan!

It had to be her.

I breathed a silent sigh of relief; it seemed the alarms had scared her into coming out first.

Quickly, I crept toward where she was hiding.

Not far off, I heard light footsteps. No one spoke; the intruders were swift and silent operators.

From around the corner, I could hear Ling Xuan’s quickened breaths—she was scared, no doubt, and had heard the footsteps too, frozen in place.

The footsteps moved slightly farther away.

Ling Xuan exhaled softly.

I moved swiftly and placed a hand over her mouth, whispering into her ear, “Ms. Ling, I’m a security guard.”

She struggled briefly, then stopped. Her eyes gleamed faintly in the dark, scanning my face.

A delicate fragrance wafted over me, and my hand felt soft and smooth. With her breathing, a warm, moist sensation brushed my palm, tickling.

I released her mouth.

She remained silent, studying me.

“I’ll take care of them. Stay here,” I whispered.

With that, I followed the footsteps’ direction along the wall.

The alarms blared chaotically, making it impossible to pinpoint the intruders’ exact position.

I stayed close, crouching at the corridor intersection, waiting.

Soon, footsteps approached from the left.

Only one person—it seemed they had split up.

I straightened up, hiding behind the wall.

He seemed unaware of any threat, walking confidently.

In a flash, I struck twice—one kick to the abdomen, another to the head. The two kicks landed within 0.2 seconds; unless a fighter was top-notch, he couldn’t react in time.

In underground martial arts, legs are deadly weapons. Past champions swept the scene with their kicks; a single strike could break bones or tear flesh. The power was unmatched.

But I didn’t use my full strength.

Two muffled thuds later, he passed out before he could scream. I grabbed his body and dragged it into my corridor.

A silenced pistol fell from his hand; caught off guard, I didn’t catch it.

I pocketed the gun and stayed put.

No need to move—I was skilled and bold, having narrowly escaped death countless times.

Footsteps approached swiftly from the right.

“Ah Wu?” the voice called tentatively.

No reply. The footsteps slowed and softened.

He was cautious, walking along the wall opposite me, about two meters away—out of my kicking range.

No matter.

I threw the flashlight.

Bang!

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