week had passed since Max grasped Electric Current Propulsion...
It was now 1:00 AM, a time when the night was deep and quiet...
It was sleeping time, at least for most people.
But at this moment, outside Wayne Manor, three black vans slowly drove up. They stopped with practiced coordination in a dark area untouched by the streetlights; only their still-lit headlights were overly conspicuous.
After the headlights were switched off, the three black vans immediately blended perfectly into the night.
Inside the three vans, it was a mesh of wires and monitors, along with various pieces of equipment that looked quite impressive. A total of twelve people were seated inside, four in each van, currently communicating via headsets.
They were the renowned team of master thieves in the mercenary world—the "Magicians," who loved using all sorts of technological gadgets for their mercenary missions!
They were best at "performing magic," which meant stealing the target item, or the target's life, without the target ever noticing them.
The payment for the job they had accepted this time was, frankly, absurdly high!
How many years would they have to steal to earn so much money? Moreover, the mission requirements were simple, at least in their eyes, very simple!
In the first van were: Falcon, Sports Car, Rabbit, and Hamster.
Falcon, male, was a battlefield veteran, a middle-aged man who became a mercenary after retiring from the military.
Sports Car, male, a young fellow, was formerly a professional race car driver. Finding it not exciting enough, he became a mercenary, skilled in driving various vehicles and high-speed chases.
Rabbit, female, was a hacker, specializing in designing escape routes; the routes she chose were the shortest and fastest for escape.
Hamster, male, specialized in directional demolition. His bag always contained a few homemade bombs.
In the second van were: Hacker, Architect, Rocco, and Bia.
Hacker, male, beneath his unremarkable appearance, was a top-tier computer hacker and very proud of it. Hmm, bald. (Hacker: "Your grandpa!")
Architect, male, a fitness-loving middle-aged man, had once worked in construction surveying in China. After his boss absconded with the money, he fled abroad due to debt and lack of funds, becoming a mercenary. He was skilled in planning based on the target's residence.
Rocco, male, a professional con man who lived by his eloquence, was also the leader of the "Magicians" mercenary group, skilled at making grand promises and winning people over.
Bia, male, a professional special effects artist and amateur magician, was skilled in using special effects to fake death scenes, allowing the team to escape by feigning death multiple times. He frequently set up crime scenes to mislead the police.
In the third van were: Ricard, Lucas, Wendy, and Delia.
Ricard, male, was also a combat mercenary, his hand-to-hand combat skills at the top of the team, more skilled in fighting than Falcon.
Lucas, male, an electronic and mechanical genius, skilled at tinkering with remote-controlled machinery, and proficient in providing long-range fire support. (Self-destruct remote-controlled cars, self-destruct remote-controlled planes, homemade tranquilizer guns...)
Wendy, Lucas's sister, was also skilled in mechanics, serving as Lucas's assistant.
Delia, a social butterfly, skilled at extracting information. Both men and women would be tricked by her into revealing intelligence. In special circumstances, her combat skills were by no means lacking.
——————
At this moment, the twelve-person team was on their communication channel, customizing their theft plan!
[Inside the voice channel:
Rocco: "Hey hey, folks, any good plans? Although the mission is simple, it's still better to have a plan!"
Hacker: "Ha, you guys absolutely wouldn't guess, the network security of this place is terrifyingly strong! Even the Metropolis city official website doesn't have such strict defenses. Holy crap! I almost got discovered just now!"
Though Hacker spoke of its strength, the smirk on his lips showed he was excited! A mere manor having this level of encryption; who knew what secrets it held.
Architect brought the topic back: "Wayne Manor, covers an area of 32,683 square feet."
"Due to the large area, our time for searching and evacuating will be extended. But we only have four hours until dawn. There's no need to conflict with Bruce Wayne. After getting in, we need to hurry and find the target."
"The outer walls of this manor are built with large stones, stone bricks, and other sturdy materials. If we try to blast a hole to enter, it will be very difficult! I don't think it's necessary!"
"And I checked yesterday morning; the entrance uses an electronic lock. With Lucas around, it should be easy to open."
"The garden from the entrance to the villa is very large, and there isn't much cover, making it easy to be monitored. Hmm, I think... the surveillance, Hacker can handle it, right?"
"Relax, I'll be able to hack in right away!" Hacker responded confidently.
Rocco: "Very good, go for it, Hacker! After this job, you can go get a hair transplant!"
"Fuck you, Rocco! After this job, I'm quitting being a mercenary! I'm going to live the wonderful life of the rich!"
"Hahaha..." Rabbit suddenly burst out laughing and explained, "Hacker just tried to hack into the manor's surveillance backend, and then he was discovered by the other party and is currently being counter-traced."
Hacker's fingers flew across the keyboard as he cursed, "Fuck, Rabbit, don't laugh, quick, help! The opponent is a pro!"
"I see it. His skills are very high. I estimate he set up all the data encryption here."
Rabbit's typing speed also shot up, joining Hacker in intercepting the opponent online. After a period of contention, the opponent suddenly stopped moving!
"Hahaha, the opponent chickened out, he's not chasing anymore! I hacked in, just like I said! Surveillance, handled!" Hacker boasted triumphantly in the channel.
"OK, everyone get your gear ready!" Rocco began to assign tasks:
"Falcon, Hamster, Ricard, Lucas, Wendy, Delia, plus me, we'll go find that glowing stick!"
"Bia, Sports Car, you two are responsible for subsequent support. Rabbit, Architect, Hacker, the online matters and escape route are up to you. Is everyone clear?"
"Roger!" ×2
"Understood!" ×6
"No problem!" ×3
The voice call ended...]
The "Magicians" team began their operation...
——————
A certain scheming Batman, who had previously hacked into their voice channel, smirked. The fish had taken the bait.
Inside a room in a high-class Gotham hotel, the legendary mercenary Slade Wilson, having just finished listening to the "Magicians" team's operational plan, began to organize his equipment, a similar smirk playing on his lips.
...
One was preparing to go easy, to let the "Shennong Ruler" be "given" away.
The other intended to test Batman, using the "Magicians" to draw aggro so he could sneak in and hit the jackpot!
...
Of course, tonight's excitement wasn't limited to just this...
Inside Wayne Manor, Alfred had already taken the secret passage to the Batcave, joining Master Bruce to watch tonight's program.
As it was nighttime, the main villa of the manor had no lights on. The paths leading to the manor were lit by streetlights, but they could only illuminate a small portion of the area; most of the grounds remained in darkness.
And the "Magicians" team were all dressed in black night suits. They deliberately avoided the streetlights, moving forward in the darkness. Therefore, to see them, the manor's surveillance cameras were all switched to infrared mode, allowing them to see the red human figures in the dark.
Lucas, being more sensitive to technological products, turned his head and shone his flashlight, looking at a camera hidden in a corner emitting a red glow. Then he cursed into his headset: "Fuck you, Hacker, turn off all the surveillance cameras! Being stared at by them, I feel very insecure!"
"Fuck you too, Lucas. These things all have physical switches. Their network backend only has a switch for the infrared, no power-off button. I can't turn them off from the computer!"
"The switch should be behind the camera, but there's no need. I'll wipe the surveillance data before we leave."
"Hmm? Oh shit, there are fucking hundreds of cameras around you, and none of them are tracking types. The shooting angles have a lot of overlap, which means there are no surveillance blind spots!"
"Fucking rich people! No wonder the reward is so expensive this time. If it weren't for my high skills, your video would have been leaked!"
"Alright, stop arguing!" Rocco stepped in to play peacemaker. "Let's complete the mission first. If you want to argue, you can argue however you want after the mission is done!"
The group continued to advance and had already reached the manor's villa.
Alfred had explicitly not locked the door; the villa's main entrance could be opened directly. But they insisted on cutting a circle in a floor-to-ceiling glass window and then slipping inside.
As soon as the seven of them entered the villa, they began a carpet search...
Forgive them for not having seen much of the world; they didn't know where the collection area in a villa would be. They could only search room by room.
Max, who had been sound asleep, suddenly sensed unfamiliar electrical signals. There were quite a few, and they were gradually approaching him. He awoke from his dream, his entire being on alert.
"Thieves?! Isn't Batman out catching thieves?"
Max got out of bed. The moment his feet touched the floor, electric arcs began to spark all over his body, and he emitted a faint golden glow – the effect of the arcs constantly dancing on him. His hair, originally like a bird's nest, now stood on end.
Electric Current Propulsion had begun.
His senses were amplified again by the current. He walked out of his room, following his intuitive "heart-network sense" towards the signal sources that had disturbed his sleep.
Before he had taken more than a few steps, Max realized they were heading towards him, and it seemed they had also spotted him.
"These days, are thieves so brazenly self-righteous? This is too arrogant!"
Muttering about those thieves shining their flashlights at him, Max felt his fists clench. Current slowly gathered towards his fists.
His mind suddenly recalled what Alfred had said today: "Master said some guests will be coming tonight. You two, please be mindful and don't cause any trouble for the guests!"
"Oh!" Max suddenly understood why Alfred had said there would be guests tonight when clearly there were none expected!
"So, the guests he was talking about are these thieves today! Then... 'don't cause any trouble for the guests,' what does that mean?"
"It means, don't beat them into permanent disability, otherwise they'll spend the rest of their lives in trouble."
Jason emerged from another room at this moment.
"Hooo~ Oh~, in that case, I won't make a move. Jason, you can handle them, right?"
Jason didn't answer, merely silently activating his Electric Current Propulsion.
The seven intruders were still thinking about how to deal with these two unruly kids.
Architect: "Just drug them unconscious. We're only here for money, not to kill anyone."
"Idiot, tie them up first, then ask them where that thing is before we talk!" Falcon was sometimes quite helpless; teammates who were too stupid were hard to lead!
"Right, Falcon has a point!" Rocco chimed in, then stared with ill intent at these two brats who were still awake in the dead of night!
"Yes, let's ask them first!" Lucas pulled out his homemade tranquilizer gun, intending to knock them out after questioning them!
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