331: Chapter 331 The Storm Is Brewing

Japan,

The General Manager's office of Third-Party Technology.

Stefan opened the files he needed to process today, but he seemed somewhat distracted. His right eyelid had been twitching all morning, and he felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Stefan picked up his cold coffee and took a sip, trying to suppress that restlessness.

It's fine, nothing will go wrong...

Stefan comforted himself; that night, he had only mentioned it in passing. Besides, Asakawa Miyabi was one of them.

*Knock, knock—* A knock sounded at the door, and a woman with an exquisitely curved figure walked in.

"Manager, is something on your mind?" The woman walked to Stefan's side, her breath sweet as orchids. As she spoke, she leaned her entire body into his arms.

"What are you doing?"

Stefan's body stiffened. He instinctively wanted to push the woman away, but her soft body and the wafting fragrance made him a beat slow to react.

"Manager, I... the perfume I'm wearing today is my favorite. Do you like it...?"

Asakawa Miyabi teased his chest with her hand and whispered, "And... the color I'm wearing underneath today was chosen specifically for you."

Asakawa Miyabi unbuttoned her shirt with her hand, revealing a large expanse of snowy white skin.

This made Stefan unable to restrain himself any longer, eager to have his way with this charming vixen, even right here.

Just as he was about to make his move, several faint cries of surprise came from outside. Then, the office door was kicked open.

The debris from the heavy solid wood door almost hit the two inside.

Stefan was startled by the sudden loud noise, his body jerking as he snapped mostly back to his senses. Filled with shock and anger, he looked up, about to harshly berate whoever was so blind as to dare barge into the General Manager's office,

...only to have all his anger and reprimands catch in his throat the moment he saw who had arrived, turning into a chill and uncontrollable panic.

These were several expressionless men in uniform. Others might not recognize them, but as General Manager, Stefan naturally knew who they were. These were people from the Comprehensive Department, the most mysterious department in the company—one that even he had no authority to command.

"Gentlemen, what... what is going on?"

Stefan's voice dropped several octaves as he spoke uneasily, hurriedly pushing the woman out of his lap.

Asakawa Miyabi also saw the newcomers. Her eyes dimmed, and she hid behind him, remaining silent.

The leader of the Comprehensive Department men spoke with a voice that remained cold and devoid of emotion. "Stefan Roche, you have violated company regulations. Your position has been terminated. Please follow us back to headquarters for a debriefing."

"What? Terminated!" Stefan was horrified. "No, I don't accept this! You have no right! I didn't violate any regulations, I just..."

But the group did not listen to his excuses. Two of them immediately stepped forward, grabbing the struggling Stefan from both sides and hauling him out of the office.

The entire company was silent as a tomb. Many watched as their General Manager was dragged out wailing, like a pig about to be slaughtered.

At this moment, three members of the Comprehensive Department remained. They turned their gaze toward Asakawa Miyabi, who looked innocent and wore a face of grievance.

Asakawa Miyabi hunched her shoulders, her hands tightly clutching her shirt where it had just been pulled open. She looked like a startled fawn, with none of the soul-stirring, enchanting allure she had shown in Stefan's arms earlier.

"I just came to deliver documents to the manager. He said he had work to discuss with me. I didn't expect..." Asakawa Miyabi sniffled, her voice tearful, her eyes full of fear and helplessness.

"I resisted, but I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't push him away at all... When you burst in just now, I was scared witless. Thankfully you came, otherwise I..."

Faced with this weak and pitiful appearance, the three from the Comprehensive Department remained unmoved.

"Inoue Misaki..."

Hearing that name, Asakawa Miyabi's expression changed drastically. At the same time, her right hand brushed behind her hair, and a sleeve pistol instantly appeared in her hand.

In an instant, the woman seemed to transform into a different person—a top-tier agent who had undergone secret training since the age of six, specializing in intelligence, infiltration, assassination, and disguise.

Despite being a woman, Inoue Misaki was confident she could kill these three in the office and escape unscathed. A murderous aura radiated from her.

"How did you find out...?"

*Bang—*

The gunshot rang out. Before Inoue Misaki could finish her sentence, a bullet had already entered her forehead. Her entire brain burst apart like an exploding balloon.

A Clone Soldier retracted his gun without expression, as if he hadn't just shot a living person in the head, but had merely destroyed a useless object.

The headless corpse was thrown from the 45th floor of the high-rise, slamming heavily onto the roof of a passing car with a dull thud.

Passersby who were originally in a hurry first stopped in their tracks. Upon seeing the mangled corpse on the car roof, screams erupted one after another.

"Ah—!"

"There's a dead person!!"

"Run!!" "Call the police!"

Some collapsed to the ground in fear, while others took out their phones to film frantically. The scene was completely out of control.

Inside the Third-Party Technology building, employees who were at a loss because their General Manager had been taken away all received an emergency notice on their work computers, appearing to come from their headquarters.

The content of the notice was unsettling. Headquarters had actually announced the abandonment of Third-Party Technology's deployment in Japan; all employees were to follow transfer orders or be dismissed on the spot.

A storm is coming. That was everyone's first intuition...

—

While the upheaval was occurring at the Japan branch, a cargo ship disguised as a large fishing boat was crossing the strait. The successful completion of their goal left the people inside ecstatic.

Next, as long as they returned to their own country, the mission would be complete.

"Sato-san, are you sure we haven't been discovered by the Central Continent authorities?" a middle-aged man asked in the wheelhouse. He was well-disguised and currently looked like a truly weather-beaten captain.

In reality, he was a high-ranking intelligence official responsible for coordinating this operation and ensuring the safe return of personnel.

Beside the middle-aged man, an ordinary-looking youth replied with a hint of confidence in his eyes, "Sir, I am certain I've cleaned up well enough. No one will find out that we have already left Central Continent territory. They must still be searching for us in J City and the surrounding provinces."

He was the primary person in charge of this operation, code-named Night Owl.

"Sato-san, well done," the middle-aged official stood up and patted his shoulder. "The Empire will not forget your contribution."

"It is my honor."