Chapter 571: Close-quarters combat!

Late night in Hangcheng, all sounds were still.

Inside the safe house, Lin Yuan and Yin Yirou each slept in their own rooms.

Their even breaths intertwined in the silent house.

Yin Yirou curled up under the blanket, her brow slightly furrowed, as if having an uneasy dream;

In the second bedroom, Lin Yuan remained highly alert even in his sleep.

Lin Yuan's right hand rested beside the pillow, fingertips slightly curled, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

……

Just then, outside the safe house.

In the shadows of the residential area, several black silhouettes slowly emerged like ghosts.

They… were exactly the black-clad masked group that had set out from the abandoned warehouse.

Their movements were as light as a cat's, their footsteps making almost no sound as they crept toward the safe house.

This group obviously all possessed lightness skill!

While moving swiftly, they produced no footstep sounds.

This group were masters of top-tier lightness skill.

The leader raised a hand to signal, and two black-clad men immediately stepped away from the group.

The black-clad men each crept toward the surveillance equipment at various corners of the residential area.

They held specially made tools and, in a few moves, cut the surveillance cameras' wiring.

The 'eyes' around the safe house were completely destroyed.

After dealing with the surveillance, several other black-clad men crept toward the plainclothes sentries inside the residential area.

Around the safe house, four police officers were secretly stationed.

At this moment, the four stationed police, although they remained vigilant,

but… against these swift, ambush-skilled ancient martial artists, the four police had no chance to react.

Only a black shadow flashed, and the backs of several plainclothes police necks were struck heavily.

The four plainclothes police saw darkness before their eyes, instantly lost consciousness, and fell limply into the bushes.

In just a few minutes, all the sentries around the safe house were knocked out, and the defense line was completely breached.

After clearing all obstacles, the black-clad men regrouped.

They secretly approached the safe house.

They arrived outside the safe house door.

The black-clad men took out the tools they had prepared beforehand and lightly pried at the invisible protective barrier surrounding the safe house.

The sturdy barrier was silently breached, creating several gaps.

Next, someone took out a specially made jammer, aimed it at the safe house's alarm system, and at the moment they pressed the switch,

Inside… the alarm device linked to the municipal bureau command center completely failed, becoming mere decoration.

Everything was ready.

The leader of the black-clad men waved his hand behind him.

Two black-clad men holding breaching tools immediately stepped forward.

They skillfully wedged the tools into the lock core of the safe house's reinforced anti-theft door, exerted slight force, and only heard a few soft 'click' sounds of metal friction.

The heavy anti-theft door was slowly pried open, revealing a narrow gap.

As soon as the gap appeared, a black-clad man immediately produced a special incense stick from his pocket.

The black-clad man lit the incense stick.

Instantly, white thick smoke, like a poisonous snake, continuously poured into the safe house through the gap, …

Soon, the smoke filled the interior, carrying a pungent odor that gradually corroded the air.

Meanwhile, the black-clad men outside all wore special masks to prevent inhaling this special fragrance.

……

Late at night, Lin Yuan lay on the bed in the second bedroom, appearing to be asleep.

Suddenly, the sleeping Lin Yuan… his eyes snapped open.

His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, instantly dispelling drowsiness.

Lin Yuan's ears twitched slightly, catching the extremely faint sound coming from outside…

It was the light sound of footsteps on the ground, plus the faint noise of metal rubbing.

What made Lin Yuan's heart tighten was that he sensed… dozens of faint breaths seemingly floating in the air.

That breath was steady and carried killing intent; obviously… they were ancient martial arts masters.

Only ancient martial arts masters can control their breathing rate.

Next, a faint, special pungent odor drifted in through the gap, silently permeating the air.

Lin Yuan smelled the special fragrance drifting in through the gap?

At the instant it entered his nose, Lin Yuan felt his whole head go dizzy?

This is… confusing smoke?

Lin Yuan instantly realized, silently thinking 'not good'.

Lin Yuan hesitated not at all, immediately raising his hand to cover his own nose and mouth.

At the same time, Lin Yuan held his breath, carefully lifted the blanket, barefoot, and silently stepped off the bed.

His steps were as light as a cat's, making no sound at all, as he gently pushed open the bedroom door.

At this moment, the living room outside was pitch black.

Lin Yuan silently walked toward the master bedroom next door.

In the living room, that pungent smell was growing stronger.

Lin Yuan quickly walked to the bedside of the master bedroom and saw Yin Yirou still asleep, already beginning to frown slightly...

Lin Yuan reached out and covered her nose and mouth in one swift motion.

"Mmm..." Yin Yirou was jolted awake, her beautiful eyes snapping open.

Panic filled Yin Yirou's beautiful eyes, and she instinctively tried to struggle.

Lin Yuan immediately raised his finger, making a "shush" gesture at her.

Lin Yuan's eyes were stern as he signaled her to stay quiet and make no sound.

Only when Yin Yirou recognized Lin Yuan did she finally calm down.

Yin Yirou looked at Lin Yuan with suspicion?

Her beautiful eyes held a question.

She wanted to know, what had happened??

Lin Yuan leaned in close, whispering by her ear:

"Someone has broken in outside—don't make a sound, hold your breath! Don't exhale under any circumstances; the air is filled with incapacitating smoke, inhaling it will cause unconsciousness!"

Swish~! Upon hearing this, Yin Yirou's pretty face instantly turned panicked and fearful.

She instinctively held her breath, her eyes full of panic.

Lin Yuan said no more, turned and hurried toward the bathroom.

His steps remained light, making no sound.

Soon, he took a towel from the bathroom, quickly wetted it under the faucet, and wrung it out so no water dripped.

He returned to the bedside of the master bedroom with the damp towel and carefully placed it over Yin Yirou's nose and mouth.

"Keep the damp towel over your nose and mouth; it will filter some of the smoke. Never remove it, and don't speak—follow my orders."

Yin Yirou nodded firmly, gripping the towel tightly with both hands, pressing it even tighter over her mouth and nose.

At that moment, the sound of the door being forced could be faintly heard from outside.

"Click-clack" of metal scraping was especially piercing in the silent night, danger drawing nearer step by step.

Outside the living room, the main door was finally pried open completely by the bandits.

Immediately, several black-clad figures slipped silently into the living room like ghosts.

The bandits' steps were so light they made no sound at all.

Their eyes were icy, they held glinting cold weapons, and they slowly advanced toward the master bedroom...

Obviously, they had already familiarized themselves with the room's layout.

The leader of the bandits raised his hand to signal, and the two behind him immediately split to flank left and right.

One guarded the living room doorway, another watched the secondary bedroom.

The rest followed the leader straight to the master bedroom.

The leader reached out, gently grasped the master bedroom door handle, and turned it slowly, making no sound.

In his view, the two people inside were likely already dazed from the smoke.

All that remained was to break in and capture the female forensic examiner Yin Yirou and Lin Yuan alive.

"Creak~" The master bedroom door was pushed open a crack.

"Just as the bandit leader was about to rush in with his men—suddenly! A sudden change occurred!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!"

"Dozens of silver needles, as fine as cow hair, suddenly shot out from inside the door with a piercing whistling sound, flying like a rainstorm toward the bandits at the doorway!"

"Ah!"

"Ugh!"

"Shrill cries rang out one after another!"

"The bandits at the doorway had no time to react before being precisely struck by the silver needles!"

"Most of the silver needles hit vital spots such as their glabella, throat, and chest!"

"Those hit by the needles stiffened, instantly losing strength, collapsing to the ground while howling in agony, twitching a few times before falling still."

"Behind them, the few bandits not hit trembled all over, instinctively recoiling and dodging."

"The bandits' eyes were filled with shock and horror!"

"They never expected that the people inside wouldn't be knocked out by the smoke, but had set such an ambush."

"Go!" Inside the bedroom, Lin Yuan seized the fleeting opportunity, grabbed Yin Yirou's wrist, and barked in a low voice.

Lin Yuan, leading Yin Yirou... suddenly charged out of the master bedroom.

Yin Yirou closely followed Lin Yuan's steps, her hands clenched tightly around the wet towel, daring not to pause at all...

At that moment, Yin Yirou's heart pounded wildly in her chest.

Lin Yuan pulled Yin Yirou straight toward the living room doorway, just wanting to escape this dangerous place as quickly as possible.

But as he just reached the doorway, Lin Yuan's steps suddenly halted, his face instantly sinking.

Outside the Safe House door, a large crowd of black-clad masked bandits stood—over twenty of them—blocking the exit completely.

The Safe House's location had indeed been exposed!

This group of masked bandits had come prepared!

Lin Yuan's face was extremely grim!

These bandits held ancient long swords glowing with a faint light, clearly all masters of ancient martial arts.

"You think you can leave? Too late!" Outside, a tall bandit sneered, drew his sword first, and the blade sliced the air with a piercing "swish"!

This slash came fiercely at Lin Yuan.

The blade bore strong force, straight toward Lin Yuan's neck!

These bandits struck fast and ruthless, giving no chance to dodge.

"Be careful!" Yin Yirou shouted in alarm.

Lin Yuan's eyes narrowed; he pulled Yin Yirou behind him with a backhand, simultaneously jerking his body sideways, barely avoiding that deadly slash.

With a loud "clang," the long sword struck the nearby wall, sending shards flying, and instantly a deep slash mark appeared on the wall.

"Up! Capture Lin Yuan and the female forensic doctor alive!" the tall bandit barked low.

The surrounding bandits surged forward, long swords slashing from all directions at Lin Yuan and Yin Yirou!

Blade lights and sword shadows wove into a deadly net, completely enveloping the two.

Lin Yuan dared not be careless in the slightest, shielding Yin Yirou behind him.

In his hands, silver needles shot out continuously!

He forced the charging bandits to retreat!

But although the silver needles pierced the bandits' bodies, they quickly pulled them out.

Moreover, the bandits waved their sabers, knocking Lin Yuan's flying silver needles aside.

These bandits came prepared!

They all wore bulletproof vests, and had reinforced protection in vital areas beforehand.

Lin Yuan's silver needle attacks could hardly wound them!

Seeing that the silver needle assault was futile, Lin Yuan simply charged straight into the sea of bandits!

Close-quarters melee!

Lin Yuan's agile form weaved through the blade shadows, his fists wildly pounding!