Chapter 472: Chapter 472 Alternative Solution

Liam and Charlotte finished dressing in silence, though the air between them still carried that lingering heat, the kind that doesn’t disappear just because clothes are back on. She adjusted her shirt casually like nothing had happened, smoothing it down over her body while stealing a quick glance at him. Liam didn’t meet her eyes at first, his focus on his injured hand as he flexed it slowly, testing the limits. The pain was still there, sharp and stubborn, but he pushed through it, his face giving nothing away.

Charlotte finally broke the silence. "I will take you to see him directly," she said, her tone back to that controlled, almost professional calm, but there was still a faint trace of something softer underneath. "But you have to follow my instructions or they won’t let you get close."

Liam nodded once. "Got it."

She watched him for a second longer, like she was trying to read something in his expression, then turned and headed toward the door. Liam followed without hesitation, rolling his shoulders slightly as if shaking off everything that had just happened. His mind was already back where it needed to be.

The mission.

They stepped out of the storage room and back into the club, the noise crashing into them instantly. The music hit first, loud enough to feel in his chest, then the lights, then the bodies moving everywhere like waves that never stopped. It was chaos again, but now Liam saw it differently. Now he wasn’t just passing through it, he was reading it.

Charlotte leaned closer to him as they walked, her voice just loud enough to cut through the noise. "What is it that you wanna see him for again?"

Liam didn’t even look at her. "I already told you. Personal business."

She held his gaze for a moment, searching, then nodded slowly. "Alright. I won’t press further."

That was the end of it. No more questions. No more probing.

They moved through the crowd together, Charlotte leading, Liam just behind her. People shifted slightly as she passed, subtle but noticeable, like they recognized her or at least knew better than to get in her way. Liam picked up on that quickly. She wasn’t just some bartender. Not here.

Not in this place.

They reached the back of the club after a few minutes, and that was when Liam noticed it. The shift. It wasn’t obvious at first, but once you stepped close enough, you could feel it. The energy changed. The chaos faded just a little, replaced by something tighter, more controlled.

This wasn’t for everyone.

This was where the real players stayed.

The lighting was dimmer, more focused. The music still played, but it wasn’t as wild. Conversations here were quieter, movements more deliberate. These weren’t people trying to impress anyone. These were people who didn’t need to.

Liam’s eyes sharpened.

Then a man stepped in front of him.

"This is a private area," the guard said, his voice firm, his posture stiff. The gun strapped across his chest wasn’t for show.

Liam didn’t react immediately. He just looked at him, calm, unreadable.

Before anything could escalate, Charlotte reached out and tapped the guard lightly on the arm. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"He’s with me."

That was all she said.

And just like that, the guard stepped back.

No hesitation. No argument. No second glance.

Liam caught that.

His eyebrow lifted slightly as he walked past, but he didn’t ask. Not now. Not when he was this close.

Charlotte turned toward him and gestured ahead. "Go on."

He nodded once.

But she didn’t move.

Instead, she stayed where she was, her lips curving into a small smile as she blew him a quick kiss. "Catch you later," she said lightly. "Gotta go back to my post."

Liam held her gaze for a second, then gave a small nod. No words. Just a silent thank you.

Then he turned and walked forward.

The moment he stepped fully into the inner section, he could feel the difference even more. The music was still there, the drinks still flowing, but everything felt... sharper. Controlled. Dangerous in a quieter way.

He didn’t rush.

Didn’t draw attention.

Instead, he scanned the area carefully, his eyes moving from one group to another, reading faces, posture, movement. Looking for that one person who didn’t fit with the rest.

Draco.

He found a dark corner with minimal lighting and moved toward it naturally, like he belonged there. No one stopped him. No one questioned him. That was good.

He sat down, relaxed into the chair, and picked up a drink from the table nearby like it had been his all along. He took a slow sip, not even tasting it, his focus elsewhere.

His eyes moved constantly.

Not fast. Not obvious.

Just enough.

He watched who people approached and who they avoided. He watched who spoke and who stayed quiet. He watched who held power without saying a word.

Every second mattered now.

Every detail.

He leaned back slightly, blending into the shadows, his injured hand resting low and out of sight while his other hand held the glass loosely. From where he sat, he could see most of the room without being directly in anyone’s line of sight.

Perfect.

Liam’s eyes kept moving across the room, calm on the outside but sharp underneath, reading everything, every movement, every reaction, every subtle shift in energy. Then it happened. His gaze paused, locked, and didn’t move again.

There.

A table far from him, placed just slightly elevated from the rest of the floor like it was designed that way on purpose, not obvious but enough to separate it from everyone else. Liam didn’t need anyone to point it out, didn’t need confirmation, didn’t need a name whispered in his ear.

He knew.

Draco.

The man sat like he owned the entire building, like the noise, the people, the lights, all of it existed just to entertain him. He leaned back in his chair with a relaxed posture that only someone with absolute control could afford. A dark shade covered his eyes even though the lighting didn’t demand it, and the black coat he wore wasn’t just expensive, it carried weight. Authority. Presence. The kind that made people think twice before even looking in his direction.

Two men stood behind him, one on each side, both built like walls. Thick shoulders, arms that looked like they could snap bone without effort, and faces that carried no expression at all. They weren’t just bodyguards. They were killers. The type that didn’t hesitate, didn’t question, didn’t miss.

Liam leaned back slightly in his chair, his fingers brushing his hair as if scratching casually, but his mind was already running through possibilities. He had found him, that part was done, but finding him was never the problem.

Getting to him was.

Getting him alone was worse.

He studied the distance, the layout, the number of people around that section. Too open to rush, too guarded to slip through easily, too visible to create a distraction without consequences. Even if he managed to get close, those two behind him wouldn’t give him more than a second before reacting.

And one second wasn’t enough.

Liam exhaled slowly through his nose, his eyes narrowing just slightly as he started thinking of ways to pull Draco away without turning the entire place into chaos. He could try creating a scene, but that would alert everyone. He could try luring him, but someone like Draco didn’t move without reason.

And dragging him to the toilet unnoticed?

That was almost impossible.

"Ding!"

The sound cut cleanly through his thoughts.

The blue interface appeared in front of his vision, faint enough that no one else could see it, but clear enough for him to read every detail.

Liam blinked once, then focused on it.

The system didn’t waste time.

[Alternative solution available]

His eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Go on," he muttered under his breath, his voice low enough to be swallowed by the music.

The screen flickered softly, then updated.

[Objective: Acquire target information]

[Recommended method: Access target device]

Liam’s eyes sharpened.

[Instruction: Obtain Draco’s phone]

[System capability: Full data extraction upon contact]

For a second, he just stared at the screen.

Then his eyes blinked rapidly as the realization hit him fully.

"So you’re telling me," he murmured quietly, his lips barely moving, "that if I get his phone..."

[Data extraction will be immediate]

[Includes: Communication logs, encrypted files, location data, operational plans]

[Probability of obtaining bomb locations: 97.3%]

Liam’s grip tightened slightly around his glass.

"That way you’d be able to extract everything we need," he said under his breath, almost to himself now. "Including the locations of all the bombs."

[Ding]

[Affirmative]

He slowly set the glass down on the table, careful not to make a sound, then smacked his palm lightly against the surface in a contained burst of excitement.

"Holy shit," he whispered, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips. "That’s peak."

For the first time since entering the club, the path ahead felt clear.

No interrogation.

No dragging.

No unnecessary noise.

Just one clean move.

Steal the phone.

But then his expression shifted slightly, the grin fading into something more suspicious as his eyes flicked back to the interface.

"Hold on," he muttered, his tone changing. "You piece of shit..."

The blue screen remained still.

"Since when do you know exactly what I’m thinking?"

A short pause.

Then the system responded.

[Ding]

[System synchronization active]

[Neural link established with host subconscious]

[Thought pattern analysis running continuously]

[Conclusion: System is aware of host intent before verbalization]

Liam stared at the screen for a second longer, then rolled his eyes slowly.

"No fucking privacy," he muttered.

The interface faded slightly, returning to standby.

Liam leaned back again, his focus returning to Draco, but now everything had changed. The objective was no longer to isolate him.

It was simpler.

Get close.

Get the phone.

Leave.

His gaze sharpened as he activated his enhanced vision again, letting the world shift slightly as layers peeled back in his sight. Details became clearer, movements more precise, objects more defined.

And then he saw it.

Inside Draco’s coat.

Left side.

A rectangular outline resting neatly in the inner pocket.

Phone.

His target.

But that wasn’t all.

His vision didn’t stop at the surface. It cut deeper, slicing through fabric, through layers, through anything in the way.

And then something else caught his attention.

Draco’s face.

More specifically, his eyes.

Even behind the dark shade, Liam could see through.

And Draco wasn’t looking around randomly.

He wasn’t distracted.

He was focused.

Locked onto something.

Liam followed that line of sight slowly, carefully, tracing it across the room until it landed.

On a woman.

She sat alone at the bar, a drink in her hand, her posture relaxed but her presence noticeable. She wasn’t loud. She wasn’t trying to draw attention.

But she didn’t need to.

There was something about her that made people look anyway.

And Draco had noticed her.

Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the scene unfold silently.

A slow thought formed in his mind.

An opportunity.

And for the first time since spotting Draco, Liam leaned forward just slightly, his focus locking in completely.

Because now, he wasn’t just watching.

He was planning.