[07:44pm]

It was already nighttime in Neo Solace.

Hidden within the gaps of the city in the inner ring, closely stalking Joe Curry like a serial killer, Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq lost sight of the Earl immediately after he left the Big Joe building with his entourage.

This was despite all the preparations that he already put in place to make sure that he could track the Earl when he moved.

Umar raised his eyebrows but he was not surprised.

Joe ended up being even more careful and secretive than expected tonight and as a result of that, Umar couldn’t track him.

But it didn’t matter, this was because Umar knew exactly why the Earl decided to go all out and be even more secretive with his movements tonight.

From on top the tower where he hid in camouflage attire, observing Big Joe Plaza with a telescope, he could see them- clearly well-trained mercenaries in black that were stalking the plaza.

From the way they moved, Umar could tell that they were all at least F Rank Ascended, and there were 8 of them in total stalking the plaza.

He already saw them minutes earlier and wary of them, he already sent their details to Talia and Tyla who went to work.

The 2 NetRunners already hacked their comms and through their communication, Umar now knew exactly who sent them.

It also explained why the Earl went all out to make his movement as secretive as possible, going as far as even hiring a substitute to replace him within the underground basement of the plaza to deceive the mercenaries stalking him.

Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq picked up his encrypted smartphone and typed.

{"The Earl has moved."}

{"Operation Killing Joe is on."}

{"But there’s a changed variable. After their confrontation earlier in the day, despite being scared of him, she’s still obsessed about her husband and because of this, Mrs. Joe hired an elite team of mercenaries to stalk him."}

{"My guess is she wants to know if her husband is seeing a new mistress outside, but she’s still underestimating her husband. Just like me, Joe seems to have noticed ahead of time."}

{"Because of this, he’s taken extreme measures to deceive his obsessive wife. And because of this, I’ve lost track of him but it doesn’t matter because we know his destination if things go according to plan. Hopefully."}

{"Also and most importantly, because of this, instead of the initial guard force of 10 E Rank Ascended that the Earl planned to leave with, to avoid raising his wife’s suspicion, he ended up leaving with only 4 E Rank Ascended."}

{"This will work in our favor."}

{"Everyone else, standby and wait for our updates."}

{"Leon, it’s up to you."}

Beep!

{MESSAGE SENT!}

Like a ghost, Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq snuck out of the tower where he hid before, expertly evading the Omnicore Eye.

By the time it saw him, he was already in his familiar disguise.

He entered his superbike and confidently under the gaze of the Omnicore Eye, he drove out of the inner ring of the Federation Megacity.

...

About 20 minutes later.

[08:02pm]

Outer Ring, Egghead District, Bourdillon Hotel.

Dressed in tattered clothes and a hood, a seemingly homeless straggler wandered towards the direction of the popular hotel.

In this street, this was not a rare sight. As this was one of the most popular hotels in the entire outer ring, homeless stragglers were fond of coming here at night to scavenge for leftover food.

Sometimes, they get, and sometimes the hotel prefer to give leftover food to their pet dogs.

So the sight of another straggler strolling towards the direction of Bourdillon Hotel was not surprising. But after the thug attack a few days ago, the hotel was extra careful about people that they let approach.

As the straggler got close, the tiny window of the security window creaked open and the muzzle of an Assault Rifle poked out!

Seeing it, the straggler froze.

And then the head of an aging Geneform poked out. He looked the straggler up and down, then he said. "Go away. There’s no leftover food".

The straggler hesitated slightly, fear clearly showing in his eyes, then he steeled his resolve and said. "Please sir... I’ve not eaten since yesterday, and I have 2 kids that are also starving".

"F*cking Geneforms!" The old man cursed under his breath. "Always f*cking and giving birth like fools even when they can’t take care of them!"

"That’s why I love Synths, only capable Synths are cleared to reproduce".

He glared at the straggler, not bothering to hide his disapproval, then he muttered. "This is for your poor kids," he finally turned and shouted at the guards inside, asking for leftover food.

About 2 minutes later, a guard approached the gate with 2 plates of leftover food. He looked at the straggler and pushed the plates under the gate.

The straggler immediately rushed towards the plates of food and as he hunched over to pick them, with his back now hiding him from direct sight of the Omnicore Eye, something that escaped the attention of the guard happened.

Bzzz!

Grayish white ADE flared.

It was extremely subtle, and the guard didn’t detect it.

Drone Control Matrix!

Immediately, Leon who was disguised as a straggler and who in this act already deployed 20 invisible C-5 drones in total around the hotel finally gained access to their live footage.

The whole entirety of the hotel was now under his surveillance! From sky to land, to every nook and cranny leading to the hotel.

And then, with the plate of food, he left but the deed was already done.

Now, he waited.

He didn’t have to wait long because just a few minutes later, through the eyes of multiple of the invisible C-5 drones, Leon noticed 2 luxurious cars approach the hotel and focusing inside them, he finally got a match for a certain face.

BEEP!

["Match gotten: Earl Joe Curry!"]

The Earl didn’t bother to hide, that was how confident he was that he already shook off his wife and any other person who was stalking him.

Leon’s eyes narrowed, but he stayed calm.

Under his watch, the 2 luxurious cars were escorted into the hotel premises as they were allowed to drive into the VIP underground garage.

Unknown to them, 3 different invisible C-5 drones followed them into the garage. Over time, Leon already perfected the art of evading the Omnicore Eye and having been spying on the hotel’s interior for days, he knew how to evade their CCTV cameras perfectly.

The Earl wasted no time, he and his entourage were led straight underground. Every one of the 4 E Rank Ascended escorting him were armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry.

Underground, they were welcomed by the CEO of Bourdillon Hotel, Mr. Hwang Luo who greeted the Earl with extreme enthusiasm.

Standing beside the CEO as he greeted and welcomed the Earl was one of his most trusted guard and subordinate, Daren!

The CEO went as far as introducing Daren to the Earl, introducing him as the guard who made headlines a few days ago for his heroic acts in the hotel.

Earl Joe congratulated Daren for his bravery, telling him that Neo Solace needed more brave soldiers like him.

And then, CEO Hwang Luo instructed Daren to join the Earl’s guard force and help keep watch on him for the night. According to him, the Earl was a VVIP customer that absolutely nothing should happen to.

And as a VVIP customer, the room that the Earl would be occupying tonight was customized. All the CCTV cameras were deactivated, including the Omnicore Eye as with his influence, CEO Hwang Luo asked for an exception for just tonight.

All this was to protect the privacy of his VVIP customer and to give him the best hospitality that Bourdillon Hotel can provide.

All these were new variables, but this time they were in the team’s favor.

Daren gladly accepted his new role.

Finally, the Earl made his way into the room in a feverish, clearly excited and infatuated manner, forgetting about his surroundings completely.

Inside Bourdillon Hotel, he knew that he was safe so he let his guard down.

And then he entered his woman’s arms.

Outside, stone-faced and serious like they were fighting a battle, alongside Daren the Earl’s subordinates stood, alert and ready to detect any danger as they watched their surroundings like Hawks.

Unknown to them, an invisible drone invaded the Earl’s privacy.

Originally, considering how the VIP rooms underground were wired, Leon would not have dared to do this but with the exception that was given to the Earl tonight, he finally had the guts to do this.

This would make the operation even more seamless and easy.

...

Outside, through the footage of the invisible C-5 drone, Leon and a certain Lt. Colonel watched it play out with stone-cold expressions on their face.

Tick... Tock...

The time was already ticking.

...

[Special Appreciation to Yametekudastop, ImperialJadeDragon, MachaMarvelous, and Darks4int for the Golden Tickets! Thanks for the support!]