Chapter 67: Final Preparations

"Take off your clothes," Golia said.

"Pants too," she added a moment later.

"This... isn't quite appropriate, is it?" Lin Nian, bare-chested and clutching his waistband, glanced around at the senior agents who were eyeing him like tigers eyeing their prey. After leaving the conference room, he had been brought into this empty chamber. At first glance, the layout somewhat resembled a low-budget adult film, and he was genuinely afraid someone might immediately ask for his measurements.

"No underwear?" Golia paused slightly, as if realizing something. "I can turn around."

"No, I don't have that kind of habit." Between his personal integrity and his reputation, Lin Nian decisively chose the latter, undoing his waistband and stripping down to a single pair of grey boxer briefs.

"Oh, you can keep your thermal leggings. The weather has been rather chilly lately," Golia nodded slightly.

"You should have said so earlier." Lin Nian pulled his thermal leggings back up.

The senior agents in the room couldn't help but chuckle. One of them walked over, carrying a stack of clothes, and handed them to Lin Nian. Golia, standing nearby, spoke up, "From now on, you are not allowed to change out of this outfit for twenty-four hours."

"A hospital gown?" Lin Nian picked up a thin, white cotton short-sleeved hospital gown and looked at Golia. "Am I supposed to play a sick patient and go undercover near the victim?"

"To avoid alerting the target, temporary agent, please refer to the victim as 'Marita' from now on." Golia watched as Lin Nian put on the full set of hospital attire, then stepped forward to clip a miniature wireless earpiece onto him. "Your operation codename is 'Beta'. Make sure to respond promptly whenever you hear a transmission through the earpiece."

"'Beta'? Can I be 'Shuke' instead?" Lin Nian made a cold joke with a very niche reference.

"No, the codename was set by Department Head Schneider. Your coordinating instructor's codename is 'Alpha', and the logistics team leader's codename is 'Gamma'. You must commit these necessary details to memory before the operation." Golia straightened the wrinkles on Lin Nian's clothes.

"Remember, the earpiece has no off switch, so we will be able to hear every single word you say during the operation. Mind your words and actions." Golia stepped back half a pace and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Has anyone ever made a fool of themselves before?" Lin Nian touched his right ear to make sure the earpiece wasn't sticking out.

"If you're referring to receiving a call from your girlfriend during a mission and having your sweet-talking conversation broadcasted to the entire Execution Department, then yes, I suppose that counts." Golia took the iPhone out of the windbreaker Lin Nian had taken off, placed it into a storage box, and handed him a brand-new Nokia phone instead.

"Will my name still be 'Lin Nian' during the operation? No changes needed?" Lin Nian glanced at the identification band tied around his wrist.

"To avoid giving yourself away—we've had agents in the past who weren't used to their aliases, and when someone called out the fake name, they'd react a beat too late and blow their cover." Golia turned and waved her hand, and a girl ran over to take away all of Lin Nian's original clothes and belongings from the storage box.

"What about weapons?" Lin Nian noticed his hands were still empty.

"Do you prefer a Glock or a Colt?"

"Either is fine."

"What about close-quarters weapons? A dagger or a short blade? I've reviewed your file; a Japanese katana is far too conspicuous and not suitable to be brought into a hospital."

"A short blade, then."

"Alright, your weapon will be delivered to your bedside table on schedule. The padlock combination is your birthday. Authorization to use it is granted only in emergency situations. If anyone asks what is locked inside your bedside table, you will answer that it contains ordinary personal belongings and electronic devices." Golia nodded. "Have you ever been sick?"

"Sick?"

"You are impersonating a patient, so you need to act like one. Your medical chart states that you are a diabetic—a disease of the affluent. Your typical symptoms are the 'three polys and one low': polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, and weight loss. Remember to put on a convincing act, and at the same time, you can use bathroom breaks to communicate with us." Golia stepped back half a pace after speaking and looked Lin Nian up and down. "You look quite slim in clothes; you really are a very good candidate for an undercover assignment, much better than that pectoral muscle freak."

"Pectoral muscle freak?" Lin Nian didn't catch on at first, but seeing Golia shake her head with a smile a moment later, he realized she was talking about Caesar.

"Remember your personal background: 18-year-old male, senior at Dalton High School, single-parent household with a 47-year-old mother working as a corporate department manager, making your family well-off enough to be considered middle class. You live in Brooklyn, New York. Excellent academic performance, gentle personality, good at socializing..." Golia flipped through a notebook and recited Lin Nian's 'character profile'.

"Do I need to build a good relationship with the victim... I mean, 'Marita'?" Lin Nian memorized every word Golia had said.

"There's no great necessity for that. The girl had surgery for bursitis in her knee, so she is temporarily unable to leave her bed. She might take the initiative to talk to you, so you just need to maintain basic, natural conversation," Golia said. "We've made contact with the other party under the guise of the FBI and successfully persuaded her parents to cooperate with this operation. Aside from parental visits, there will only be one nurse's aide in the hospital taking care of her daily life. That aide is also one of our people; you can ask him for help if necessary."

"Will the criminal really take the bait? The other party should know that 'Marita's' surroundings have long been heavily guarded. Would he still take the risk and strike?" Lin Nian took the notebook from Golia's hand and reread all the information.

"There is an extremely high probability that he will strike. The criminal does not understand the composition and history of the Secret Party. He assumes we are still the same FBI that has been tracking him for years. This is a discrepancy caused by an asymmetry of intelligence. FBI personnel are like children holding plastic handcuffs in front of an 'A'-grade hybrid. His first seven crimes have caused him to lose all sense of awe. He probably considers himself a superior life form now, using the power granted by his bloodline to look down upon all laws established by humanity. We've seen too many people like this—far too many. Their pride and self-esteem will not allow them to back down under the encirclement of mere 'humans'. What they want to do is commit another high-profile crime, make a dashing exit, and trample all ethical systems beneath the feet of their newly established supreme power and violence," Golia said calmly.

"That means we only have one real chance to strike."

"Once he shows himself, we close the net and kill him in one blow," Golia said.

Lin Nian silently recited all the intelligence in his mind and then asked, "Is there anything else I need to pay attention to?"

"More or less that's it. Remember to obey the 'Instructor's' commands at all times during the mission. Under no circumstances are you allowed to remove the earpiece. When encountering the enemy, choose stalling over combat. In a critical moment, if you can hold out for twenty seconds, you win," Golia instructed.

"What if he insists on harming that girl?" Lin Nian asked.

"That will be your business. Those twenty seconds are your 'test question'. We are only responsible for dealing with all the trouble after those twenty seconds," Golia said faintly.

"If this mission is completed, can I leave an impression on your department head?" Lin Nian asked.

Golia paused and looked at Lin Nian. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked, "Sixteen? Seventeen?"

"Sixteen," Lin Nian realized the other person was asking about his age.

"At that age, I was still terrified of my own uniqueness, trapped in the trouble and pain of being isolated by my classmates," Golia looked closely at Lin Nian's young and tender face, smiling faintly as she spoke. "Yet you are already standing here, with one foot stepping onto the battlefield of the Dragon race, preparing to face dangerous hybrids. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Why would that be enough?"

"'S'-grade, you seem to be craving more things," Golia said softly, stepping closer to adjust his cuffs. "You are still too green and young right now. It might take you much longer to realize that what you need to do isn't to prove yourself... but to truly understand yourself—to know what kind of person you are, how you should live, and why you live."

Lin Nian didn't know how to respond to her words, but vaguely, for some reason, he remembered Kamon Isshin having once said something very similar to him, spoken with that same earnestness.

Was it because he was simply too young? He didn't know.

"Don't be too nervous. You are an 'S'-grade. You have earned the recognition of the elite, which is why I believe you have sufficient capital to handle this mission. If you succeed this mission, I guarantee you will leave a deep impression on the entire Execution Department." Golia raised her head slightly and looked at Lin Nian earnestly. "But do not be overly eager for quick success. Do your own job well. Many people are rooting for you, and now, I am rooting for you too."

"Got it." Lin Nian said nothing more.

At that moment, the door of the room was pushed open. Instructor Ryder peeked in, glanced at Lin Nian in his hospital gown, and nodded slightly at Golia to signal that the other teams were ready.

"Stand by at all times." Golia stood behind Lin Nian and nodded.

"Then let's begin the operation." Ryder clapped his hands, and everyone in the room suddenly sprang into action, pouring out like a swarm. It was as if a massive machine had just been switched on, its countless gears turning and locking into place with seamless precision.