Li Yan then contacted 5261941 to help hack into the network system of the Intercontinental Hotel in City H, find Julian's room, and send the entire hotel's blueprint and surveillance footage of Julian's room to his computer.

5261941 is a computer network expert, one of Guan Ziyi's people, but has always been tasked with helping 'their' organization. When they were looking for the Clover Organization in Borola, it was also he who helped with some data collection and follow-up work.

Li Yan himself wasn't idle either; he opened the briefcase that was delivered and checked each of the weapons inside. Sharpening one's knife at the last moment is not a good thing. Although he trusts the people below him and the logistics work has never had any slip-ups, he still checks carefully each time to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Better safe than sorry; it takes only one mishap out of a thousand times to be fatal!

Another important preparation was to repeatedly review the leaked documents Yue Yao obtained. Although there were brief details on over a hundred agents, one never knows who might arrive first or last, come or not come.

It's not so easy to distinguish between different ethnicities. Celestial Continent People see East Continent People looking similar, Yun Country, Beihai Country, and Li Country are difficult to differentiate. Yun Country People see Celestial Continent People and think the same. You might recognize Will Smith at a glance, but you can also see many slender Western Continent People in movies who look similar to Smith.

Li Yan hadn't had the documents for long, but he memorized them! It's not that he has a natural good memory, but he put in a lot of effort, including reviewing them on the train, carefully recalling them in his mind to deepen his impression. Being assassins, they can't allow any errors in their targets, as mistakes could mean not only losing the bounty but also the wrongful loss of an innocent life!

526 is very efficient; the hotel system may be secret, but it only guards against ordinary people. For real hackers, it's not very difficult. This is why Guan Ziyi would say that most tasks can be handled by 5261941. For someone who can easily infiltrate the SIA or the Si Country National Aeronautics and Space Administration, it's indeed an underutilization of talent.

Knowing Julian's floor and room, Li Yan focused on studying the hotel blueprints. While surveillance footage can be collected in detail and clearly, they are just individual points that can scatter focus. He needs to familiarize himself with all the floors and routes, so during need, he can move around like he knows the place well. Surveillance footage is only for keeping abreast of the latest situations.

...

The first day passed in preparation. Through Li Yan's observation, Julian was reclusive, entering and leaving cautiously, spending most of his time in his room. Whenever he went out, several bodyguards accompanied him.

Julian himself was a journalist from Iwakuni. When "Leak" began to gain fame, he was the only core member to make a public appearance as founder and spokesperson. Due to pressure from leaked multinational corporations and countries, he played a guerrilla game across various Celestial Continent countries.

What amused Li Yan was that he didn't know if Julian's bodyguards were also supporters and followers of the "Leak" network, as they were very mixed! There were Celestial Continent People, Western Continent People, some tall Ono Country People, and some relatively smaller Yun Country People.

From an assassin's perspective, such a bodyguard team does not necessarily imply a lack of professionalism but indicates possible polarization!

Different ethnicities certainly have language, customs, and habit barriers. Even with professional experts, this adds difficulty in cooperation, let alone achieving harmony. But different countries and ethnicities have unique characteristics, allowing them to handle various situations, even offering surprising strategic advantages.

It's like a team with excellent players from multiple countries might not always perform the best. But with a coach who can coordinate and manage well, it could harness each player's strengths and turn the team into an overachiever.

Like Zhang Yimou with a crew of big names who only creates the most beautiful scenic films, not allowing the best acting performances from Yun Country's award-winning actors, nor the best martial arts scenes from Yun Country's top action stars. He doesn't maximize the actors' strengths, only his own in photography. In contrast, Du Qifeng, ahead of his time, gathered a crew of then second and third-line actors to craft a classic action film that won Best Actor and Best Picture, with just a simple, rumored 17-day shoot.

Thus, in Li Yan's eyes, this group could be a chaotic band, or a well-rounded team with varied strengths. Ono Country People have the advantage of height, Western Continent People have speed, Yun Country People have agility... these work well together and have significant utility in bodyguard tasks.

However, it was only the first day, and his observation range was limited; he hadn't spotted any hidden bodyguards yet.

Feng Wuqing, Shi Jian'en, and Liu Xi had also arrived in City H. They did not all stay in the Intercontinental Hotel. Under Queen's arrangement, logistics personnel placed them in three separate locations near the Intercontinental Hotel: a guesthouse, a temporarily rented apartment, and a budget chain hotel, not for saving money but to monitor and control the environment around the Intercontinental Hotel from different angles.

If Si Country agents attack, they will surely contest the area around Julian's hotel, besides checking into the same hotel. After arrival, they reported simply to Li Yan, awaiting orders. Li Yan instructed them to check all the places suitable for sniper ambush nearby, as those would be dangerous yet potential jackpot spots!

Additionally, they must watch for other assassins carefully, for technically, they are partners sharing a common target, but essentially competitors, since every person you kill takes away an opportunity for the other party's commission. This time all S-Class assassins are present, and since the three are only A-Class, they must remain very vigilant to avoid bearing losses.

...

At noon on the second day, when Li Yan saw Julian and his group going out, he followed.

According to the leaked documents, Si Country agents should arrive tomorrow, making now potentially Julian's most pressured moment, possibly his last leisurely outing before he starts eating in his room in the afternoon.

The logistics team wasn't idle either. Besides booking hotels, they had also rented cars for them. It's inconvenient to tail anyone without transportation.

Li Yan guessed right; they really were going out to eat. However, to his surprise, Julian's group didn't drive but walked out like a group of ordinary tourists, seemingly heading to a restaurant not far across the street.

The higher the hotel rating, the higher the auxiliary restaurant's standards, but dishes are more about taste than standards. Apart from especially esteemed restaurants or ones as hotel features, most auxiliary restaurants can't match an ordinary restaurant's authentic taste.

Seeing them walking out, Li Yan shook his head. If Si Country assassination agents had already arrived, without needing to kidnap but only assassinate, a sniper could probably finish Julian now!

Not being part of the leak website, even knowing its great power, he didn't have full confidence in those documents. Professionally skeptical, he suggested various doubts while discussing with Yue Yao. What more when truly at battle? In Li Yan's eyes, the agents might arrive today, despite being scheduled for tomorrow.

Since they were walking, he, as a follower, could only walk too, possibly surrounded by many onlookers, staying low-key and keeping a relative distance, even pretending to pick up a call street-side after they crossed, to seem as if heading there incidentally, not deliberately trailing.

As he followed, Li Yan's eyes were on those bodyguards. He noticed Julian quite obedient, without big moves, staying entirely in the center. His accompanying bodyguards were tall, their heads, feet occasionally swaying, seemingly off-balanced but effectively shielding Julian with their bodies.

This reassured Li Yan, showing these bodyguards indeed possess high quality, anticipating potential sniper threats and using their bodies as shields.

No head-shot scenes occurred, and they soon reached a thriving-looking restaurant.

Watching them enter, Li Yan felt somewhat relieved and followed inside.

"Table for how many, sir?"

"One."

The hostess greeted him with a smile, surprised when hearing Li Yan mention he's alone. Yun Country People typically gather with family or friends for meals. Dining solo often means heading to a quiet restaurant for a quick, casual meal.

"Miss, am I not welcome as one?" Li Yan grinned at her.

"No, no, this way please!" The hostess quickly led him inside.

The restaurant was on the second floor. As they arrived, Li Yan quickly scanned the area; it was spacious. Even after peak lunch hour, the customer occupancy was still about thirty to forty percent, indicating good business.

Before Li Yan could spot where Julian's group was seated, he noticed a group ahead leaving while chatting and laughing, one of whom seemed familiar. (Please vote for the monthly pass. More updates soon to come!) (To be continued. To know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com, more chapters are available. Support the author and read the original!)

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