Chapter 193: Joining the Nighthawks' Operation
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In the carriage, Hobert, rubbing his stomach, asked, "Is food provided?"
"Our salary doesn't include a meal allowance," Loretta said. "We can buy two simple meals at the restaurant ahead to make do."
"Alright," Hobert said. "I need to go back and grab a few things for final preparations."
"No problem."
Back at the rented house, Xio and Fors hadn't returned yet. Hobert left them a note, then went back to his bedroom and, in his own way, brought the 'Teleportation Statue,' 'Spirit Necklace,' and 'Psychological Spoon' into the real world.
Then, he checked his 'Order Wood' and 'Uncontrollable Stone,' especially the 'Uncontrollable Stone,' which should be particularly effective against the Aurora Order.
After putting on the 'Spirit Necklace,' Hobert immediately felt like he had a small heater in his pocket—Jessica's keychain!
Hobert held the keychain in his hand, feeling it was warmer than usual. It seemed he couldn't carry it with the 'Spirit Necklace' at the same time.
Putting the keychain in the drawer, Hobert did a final check of his belongings before heading to the operation site with Loretta in the carriage.
Only then did Loretta say, "After tracking Hyman, we found a total of six Aurora Order members, including Hillman, who you mentioned before."
Hobert was stunned. The Nighthawks had done a lot of work recently...
Wait, this isn't quite normal. Hobert felt like the results were too good. "Are those people really Aurora Order members?"
"I know what you're questioning," Loretta smiled. "The Aurora Order has existed for so long; their members aren't fools, of course."
"But according to our observations, Hyman is deliberately letting us discover these Aurora Order members."
Hobert immediately understood, "He wants to escape the Aurora Order's control?"
He remembered that Lanevus had done something similar.
"That's right, that's what we think too," Loretta said. "If we continue to monitor, we might find more Aurora Order members, but based on our judgment, continuing to monitor could alert them, so we decided to take action and capture all six Aurora Order members now."
Hobert nodded. This was the wisest choice. If the Aurora Order noticed the Nighthawks' surveillance, they might not even be able to catch six people.
Loretta added, "Our team has three people: you, me, and Borgia. Borgia has already arrived at the scene and has been monitoring the target.
"The target is a Sequence 7 'Shadow Ascetic.' You have experience fighting that sequence, so I don't need to explain their abilities.
"It's precisely because you have experience fighting that sequence that our team will be led by you, with me and Borgia assisting you. The captain's requirement is not to harm innocent people and to subdue the opponent, dead or alive."
She smiled, "I believe the three of us Sequence 8s should be able to handle the opponent relatively easily."
"You're wrong," Hobert said. "It's one Sequence 7 and two Sequence 8s."
"Oh, then you should quickly write an application so you can get at least 6 pounds more salary next week," Loretta said with emotion. "12 pounds a week, that's a relatively high income even among the middle class."
Hobert smiled helplessly, "Your focus is really... hard to describe."
While speaking, the carriage stopped in front of a restaurant. Hobert and Loretta went to buy a simple meal, and Loretta didn't forget to bring one for Borgia.
Then, the carriage headed to Gaspin Street 107 in the Southern Bridge District, the location of the capture operation.
The carriage stopped just after entering Gaspin Street. Hobert and Loretta got out of the car and walked for a few minutes to the surveillance point.
The surveillance point was a utility room opposite 107. As soon as he entered, Hobert smelled the dampness.
The three of them kept an eye on the opposite side while eating their simple meals. 107 was an apartment building with three floors and only one door. The target lived on the second floor. Although they couldn't directly see the target from here, they could observe them whether they went out through the door or the window.
It was currently the end of the workday, and many residents were dragging their tired bodies home after finishing a day's work.
Hobert and the others had to carefully examine everyone who came out of the apartment to prevent the target from escaping in disguise.
Borgia, upon hearing that Hobert was now Sequence 7, finally gave a more normal reaction: "Our team's combat power is excessive. We can go support other teams after completing the capture mission."
From Borgia, Hobert learned more detailed plans. The Backlund Nighthawks team had almost come out in full force for this capture operation, divided into six teams to simultaneously capture the targets at midnight.
There were a total of six targets, including one Sequence 6, Hillman, who Hobert had mentioned before, led by Thomas himself. One Sequence 7, which was the target of Hobert's team.
There were also two Sequence 8s, including Hyman. Two Sequence 9s, including Kate, who Hobert had discovered.
At first, Thomas wanted to find an opportunity for these six Aurora Order members to gather together, or for two or three of them to gather together.
But these cultists already had a set of methods to counter official Beyonders. They didn't gather at all, only communicated through single lines, and the meetings were very short, so there was no opportunity to capture them all at once.
So, they could only split into teams and capture them together.
After finishing their meals, Hobert and his team first confirmed their plan of action.
Thomas was very confident in this team. He didn't give Loretta and Borgia any instructions regarding the capture plan, so the two of them looked at Hobert.
"Since I'm the main force in this operation, please follow my command for now," Hobert said without hesitation:
"The plan doesn't need to be too complicated. You two lie in ambush on the street, and I'll attack from the direction of the door. If my attack goes smoothly, I'll drive him out, and you immediately open fire, trying to turn him into a sieve.
"If my attack doesn't go smoothly, you rush in from the windows and attack from both sides."
Hobert had used this trick when he participated in Xio's operation to capture cultists, and the effect was very good.
Borgia agreed: "The simpler the plan, the greater the chance of success."
Loretta also nodded, expressing her agreement with Hobert's plan, so they took turns monitoring, preparing to act.
Around seven or eight o'clock in the evening, the smell of food from the surrounding residents' homes permeated the entire street. Around nine o'clock, the gas lamps were gradually extinguished. By ten o'clock, there was almost no one on the street.
Hobert and the others made their final preparations, and around eleven fifty in the evening, Hobert took the lead.
He pried open the anti-theft window on the stairwell window, climbed to the second floor, holding the 'Teleportation Statue' in one hand and a gun in the other, and kicked the door open.
Hobert sighed. After Sequence 7, his strength had increased a lot.
"Hee hee hee hee hee~"
A sinister laughter came from the dark room, as if some ghostly figures were flashing.
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