124: Feint to the east while attacking the west

The clamor of the auction's falling gavel had not yet fully dissipated.

Under the envious or greedy gazes of the entire audience, the four-armed clan artisan Agent who won the final lot, his face wearing a touch of perfectly timed, honest-looking excitement, took his transaction voucher and walked slowly toward the VIP Collection Area backstage.

There, the lights were bright and security was tight.

But in the unseen shadows, a silent net was rapidly tightening.

"Target is moving."

"Team A in position, disguised as waiters, blocking the left corridor."

"Team B in position, acting as guests, guarding the main exit."

"Team C, sniper has locked onto the collection area entrance, ready for non-lethal paralysis at any time."

The Agents of Shadow Chaser-J converged silently from all directions like drops of ink blending into water. They were waiters, Guards, and other disinterested guests, each playing their role perfectly to form a lethal encirclement... Meanwhile, in a dark alleyway behind a massive Energy Supply Station several kilometers away from the auction house.

Reno took a deep breath as he looked at the simple red signal on his wrist terminal sent by Chen Feng, representing 'Execute.'

"Begin." He nodded to the two Hanhai Trade elites who were already in position.

One of them immediately activated a palm-sized device.

Instantly, a violent argument erupted from the trash heap at the alley entrance!

"You son of a bitch! You dare swallow my goods!?"

"Bullshit! You're clearly the one double-crossing me!"

It was the voices of the leaders of two local gangs in Tartarus, thick with hostility. Immediately after, the grating buzzing of energy weapons charging began to sound, heightening the tension before a gang war to the extreme... Inside the Alliance's mobile command vehicle, the air was as still as water.

Shadow Chaser-J stared intently at the main screen. The light representing Agent A finally wobbled into the trap zone marked in deep red—the VIP Collection Area.

"The cage is closed." A satisfied curve formed at the corner of J's mouth as he calmly ordered into the communicator.

"All units, tighten the perimeter. The target is in the cage."

"Prepare for live capture."

Just as he finished speaking—

"BOOM!!!"

A massive explosion suddenly thundered from the rear side of the auction house!

In the back alley of the Energy Supply Station, Reno threw a specially made flashbang—non-lethal but with terrifying sound and light effects—into a pile of discarded metal junk.

The blast wave from the explosion threw countless metal parts into the sky, creating a roar loud enough to be clearly heard across half the Harbor District.

Then, another subordinate followed the plan and fired several brightly colored tracer rounds into the night sky, simulating the illusion of an intense gunfight.

A 'gang war' so realistic it couldn't be more real was fully underway.

"Gunshots! Those are gunshots!"

"A fight broke out! Run!"

Inside the auction house, the guests who had just been immersed in the luxurious atmosphere were instantly ignited with fear by the explosion and gunshots.

Screams erupted everywhere. The crowd, like a startled herd of beasts, surged frantically toward every exit.

Shadow Chaser-J's meticulously arranged capture formation, which operated like a precision instrument, was instantly shattered by the impact of the chaotic crowd.

"Commander! It's a fight between the Black Moon Society and the Iron Head Gang! Our people have been scattered!"

"Fucking hell!" J lost his composure for the first time. He slammed the table and reacted instantly. "It's a diversion! Dammit!"

"Everyone! At all costs, hold the perimeter around the collection area! The target is inside!" he roared into the communicator.

But it was already too late.

The chaotic crowd became the best cover.

Inside the VIP Collection Area, at the moment Agent A took the Metal Rubik's Cube that flickered between reality and illusion, he didn't head for any of the exits at all.

He turned to face a seemingly ordinary wall, pulled a skeleton key disguised as a decoration from his sleeve, and precisely inserted it into an inconspicuous groove.

Click.

A hidden door to a maintenance passage slid open silently.

Just a second before J's Agents pushed through the chaotic crowd, shouting 'Alliance business!' and charging into the collection area with guns drawn, Agent A's figure had already vanished behind the wall... Clatter—

In a remote back alley of the auction house, a trash chute smelling of a mix of rotting food and engine oil suddenly spat out a pile of debris.

Agent A rolled out of it in a disheveled state.

He didn't stop for a second, quickly stripping off his luxurious but cumbersome formal attire to reveal the worn, greasy overalls he was already wearing underneath.

He tossed the expensive top hat into the trash heap, pulled a dirty baseball cap from his pocket and slapped it on his head, then limped away, blending into the eternal shadows of Tartarus.

Inside the command vehicle, there was a deathly silence.

"Reporting... the collection area... is empty."

"Reporting! No target found at any of the exits!"

"Reporting! Surveillance... we've lost surveillance..."

As Shadow Chaser-J listened to the reports of failure coming through his earpiece, his face turned from red to blue, and finally to a slate gray.

He had been played.

Played from start to finish.

"Lockdown!"

A roar suppressed with extreme fury squeezed out of J's throat.

"Seal off the entire auction house area completely! Not even a fly is allowed to leave!"

"Authorize all units to conduct a carpet-style biometric scan on everyone in the area!"

"Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find that fox for me!"