SWNOVELS Chatper 5598
Late at night, Charlie parked his car in a roadside parking space and disappeared into the depths of the alley.
Cole Family Manor stood proudly at the bend of a U-shaped river, nestled within the inner curve of the U. This unique positioning
not only placed the manor at the end of the road but also encased it on three sides with the protection of the flowing waters.
Not too long ago, Charlie gave remote orders to Wesley. They employed advanced technology and close-range defense artillery
to eliminate Jarvis Delgado in Cyprus. Consequently, he was fully aware that his credibility would be in doubt tonight. Therefore,
he didn’t rush over to Cole’s house. Instead, he opted to approach it from the opposite side of the river, using the embankment.
In the cover of darkness, Charlie moved with the grace of a shadow, his presence carefully concealed. He meticulously scanned
his surroundings, extending his reiki in a continuous sweep. When he found himself less than a kilometer away from the Cole
house, he halted, releasing a surge of reiki to investigate the area within a few hundred meters of the estate.
It didn’t take long for him to discover several members of the Rothschild family lurking around the Cole family manor. Some hid
within cars, others along the riverbank, and a few even found refuge in the sheltering branches of trees. To make matters worse,
a speedboat was moored by the river, concealing additional individuals on board.
Charlie continued his exploration, quickly spotting a neighboring villa adjacent to the Cole family manor. From the outside, the
villa appeared dimly lit, but Charlie suspected that it held forty to fifty people within its walls, an unusually large number.
Without a doubt, this villa served as the Rothschild family’s stronghold in the area, housing their core members.
Charlie meticulously assessed the situation within the villa. On its rooftop, he spotted several snipers armed with high-caliber
anti-materiel sniper rifles. While lacking the formidable firepower of anti-aircraft guns, these rifles possessed enough single-shot
force to cause considerable damage.
Furthermore, the rooftop brimmed with a multitude of surveillance devices, not only monitoring the Cole family manor but also
maintaining a watchful eye on the entire villa.
Charlie understood the gravity of the situation. He couldn’t afford to be detected by these professional surveillance devices, as
exposure would spell disaster.
The most pressing challenge for Charlie lay in devising a plan to infiltrate the villa unnoticed, without raising any alarms.
Just as Charlie pondered his next move, a method of approach flashed through his mind.
***
Meanwhile, inside the villa adjacent to the Cole family manor, Steve Rothschild sat in a room shrouded in drawn curtains, his
eyes fixed on the screen displaying a live feed of the surroundings.
In the footage, the world appeared in shades of black and white. The black outlines delineated buildings, roads, and trees, while
the white shapes varied in size. Most resembled human figures, with a few resembling birds or other small creatures.
These white figures represented the hidden members of the Rothschild family scattered around the Cole family estate.
Each figure bore a green dot, a testament to Hank’s sophisticated enemy identification system.
The system employed thermal imaging cameras to detect individuals within its range. The location and identity of each person,
as transmitted by their own identification devices, were uploaded to a cloud
server. The server then matched the identities and locations to the thermal imaging picture, marking friend or foe with a green
dot.
If someone entered the monitoring range without a confirmed identity, the system flagged them with a red dot, issuing an alert to
all.
Steve studied the white figures on the screen, a sense of unease gnawing at him. He turned to his son, Royce, and voiced his
concerns. “Your grandfather tasked us with this surveillance, but something feels off.”
Curious, Royce inquired, “Father, what do you mean? What’s wrong?”
Steve’s expression grew troubled as he replied, “While everyone else is blocking all land, water, and air routes, we’re simply
waiting here. What if the target doesn’t come to us? Then all our efforts would be in vain.”
He continued, his voice tinged with worry, “This mission is no ordinary task. It holds the key to our family’s legacy. If someone
were to seize this opportunity before us, everything would be lost.”
Royce nodded, absorbing his father’s words. “Father, what do you suggest we do?”
After a moment of contemplation, Steve proposed, “Royce, I believe we should divide our efforts. I will remain here to safeguard
the Cole house, while you swiftly explore alternative avenues and assess the progress of the others. See if we can obtain the
Four Treasures of the Study before anyone else does.”
“Understood, father!” Royce affirmed, his voice filled with respect. “I’ll make preparations for the helicopter immediately.”
Steve interjected, “Leave the arrangements to me. I will also inform Hank.”
He reached for the phone and dialed Hank’s number.
In due time, a knock sounded at the door, and Hank, the trusted aide, entered the room. “Young Master, it’s Hank,” he
announced respectfully.
Steve motioned for him to come in. “Come in, Hank,” he said.
Hank stepped forward, his tone deferential as he inquired, “Young Master, how may I assist you?”
Steve conveyed his instructions. “Hank, inform the helicopter team to prepare for takeoff. We’ll be returning to New York in
twenty minutes.”
Without hesitation, Hank replied, “No problem, Young Master. Shall I inform them to prepare for your departure or Young Master
Royce’s?”
Steve gestured toward Royce. “I have urgent matters that require Royce’s attention. We cannot afford any delays.”
Hank nodded, then transmitted the message via the walkie-talkie. “Attention, helicopter crew. The Young Master will be departing
for New York in twenty minutes. Please make the necessary preparations.”
The main pilot’s voice crackled through the device. “Understood! We’ll be ready to take off in twenty minutes!”
Hank turned to Steve, seeking further instructions. “Young Master, is there anything else I can assist you with?”
Steve raised a question that had been nagging at him. “You mentioned earlier that our security system is foolproof. But is there
any possibility of failure? Can someone enter or exit without detection?”
Hank smiled confidently. “Young Master, all our professional equipment operates with multiple redundancies. We’ve taken every
precaution. Even if one device were to malfunction, it wouldn’t
compromise our monitoring and security. As long as these systems remain operational, no one can slip past us, whether it be
beneath our noses or onto the grounds of the Cole family undetected.”
Steve felt a measure of relief, ready to dismiss Hank when Royce interjected. “Hank, you mentioned the redundancy in our
equipment. I’d like to know, what if there’s a sudden power outage?”
Hank paused briefly, then offered a reassuring smile. “Our security system primarily relies on thermal imaging radar and various
monitoring devices. During a power outage, these devices would indeed become ineffective.”
He continued, “However, you need not worry, Young Master. This villa is equipped with two separate power supply lines, each
from a different provider. Unless the entire power grid collapses, even if one line were to fail, the other would seamlessly take
over.”
Royce pressed further. “But what if the opposition manages to sabotage both power lines?”
Hank hesitated momentarily before replying, “That... that shouldn’t happen. I personally inspected the power lines, and they are
buried underground, impervious to tampering. Moreover, we have stringent security measures in place...”
Before Hank could finish his sentence, darkness enveloped the room, plunging them into pitch blackness.
Instinctively, Hank questioned, “Power outage?”