Chapter 1264 - 1204: Infiltrating the Imperial Palace

The study.

Ward Penney’s study is a place no one is allowed to enter; not even his three Wife and children are permitted.

The fact that Ward Penney is willing to invite Adrian Desmond into his study is enough to show how much he trusts Adrian.

"You sure got here fast." Ward Penney walked in.

"If your Wife went missing, you’d be just as fast as I am."

"I’m not like you, I have three Wife."

Among their group, Adrian is the only one who married just one Wife; the others have at least two Wife.

With their status and position, having too few Wife would be a loss of face in public—except for someone like Adrian, who’s mentally tough enough not to care.

Adrian looks much better than that day when he was dead drunk, his beard is shaved, and he seems a lot more clear-headed.

"Any news?"

"Sienna Johnson is indeed inside the Abyanabad Imperial Palace." Ward Penney said vaguely.

Adrian couldn’t hide his excitement. "The intel is solid?"

"One hundred percent solid!" Ward Penney pretended to drink tea, lowered his head, and didn’t dare meet Adrian’s eyes.

Putting himself in Adrian’s shoes—if his own Wife had been slept with by another man, Ward Penney would be furious enough to drop dead.

"Exact location?"

"You’re not seriously planning to sneak in there yourself and get your Wife out, are you?" Ward Penney lifted his head, looking at Adrian, trying to gauge him.

"Yes!" Adrian doesn’t want to wait another second; if he keeps waiting, he’ll go insane.

Ward Penney had no idea how to talk him down. "I think we should still plan this carefully. If you barge in just like that, it’s way too dangerous."

"Where exactly?"

"Adrian, can’t you wait a little longer? We have to make absolutely sure there are no mistakes. The way you’re going about this is too reckless..."

Adrian was stubborn to the extreme. "Exact location."

Ward Penney let out a heavy sigh and told Adrian the precise location he’d found for Sienna Johnson.

"Thanks." Adrian stood up and left; even though Ward Penney called after him, he couldn’t stop him.

"Adrian, wait."

Ward Penney chased him all the way to the door but still couldn’t block him; he only saw Adrian’s car roar away.

...

a.m.

Clad in black from head to toe, Adrian was wiping down the sharp dagger in his hand. Compared to guns, Adrian preferred using knives.

At close range, a dagger is deadlier than a gun—as long as you slice through someone’s throat with a blade, death is certain.

Alyssa watched Adrian and said worriedly, "Sixth Master, this is too dangerous. We really need a proper deployment. Besides, we still don’t know how reliable Ward Penney’s information is."

Marion also tried to persuade him, but instead of talking Adrian out of going, he offered to go in Adrian’s place.

"Sixth Master, let me take a few guys and go." Marion said.

Adrian glanced at the ten men in front of him. These ten were handpicked by him. Adrian asked, "Everyone ready?"

"Ready!" the ten men answered in unison.

"Move out!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Sixth Master?" Alyssa called.

Adrian led the ten men and disappeared into the night in no time. Staring into the vast darkness outside, Alyssa’s eyes turned red.

"How can Sixth Master be so reckless? This is way too dangerous." Alyssa said anxiously.

Marion was just as worried. His martial arts were quite good; he couldn’t understand why Adrian hadn’t brought him along this time.

...

At the Northeast corner outside the Abyanabad Imperial Palace, Aaron Faber was also dressed in black, waiting there. Seeing Adrian arrive, Aaron closed the tablet in his hand.

Seeing Adrian, Aaron said, "You guys sure took your time!"

"All set?" Adrian asked.

Adrian looked up at the three-meter-high wall. Infrared beams were installed along the top; if anyone touched them, the alarms would go off.

"All set!"

Before coming, they had already studied the route in detail. Minnie had provided them with a complete layout of the Imperial Palace. Only after they’d familiarized themselves with the terrain could they rescue her as fast as possible.

"Action."

"Yes, sir!"

As the tech specialist, Aaron went in with them. Seeing Aaron climb that three-meter wall solo left Adrian stunned.

"When did your martial arts get this good?" Adrian asked.

"I’ve realized having brains isn’t enough—you need skills too, or you can’t even protect the woman you love."

Aaron easily jumped down from the three-meter wall. Adrian followed, dropped down as well, scanned the layout, and the group began moving quickly.

Their pace was swift. When they spotted patrolling soldiers ahead, Adrian’s team quickly used the thick foliage for cover and hid themselves. Adrian’s nose was sharp; he caught a familiar whiff of lotus leaves.

His gaze slowly swept over the lake’s surface. Under the streetlights, Adrian saw the newly sprouted lotus leaves.

Abyanabad doesn’t traditionally grow lotus flowers. Back then Adrian had gone through a lot of trouble just to track down lotus seeds.

When Adrian had come to the Imperial Palace before, this lake had been completely bare.

Now Adrian was one hundred percent sure Sienna Johnson was inside the Imperial Palace, and these lotus flowers were planted by Night Owl to please Sienna.

Adrian: How unoriginal—he actually stole my idea of planting lotus flowers to win Sienna over.

"Sixth Master, the patrol just passed."

"Mm."

The Abyanabad Imperial Palace was huge, and with all the patrols they had to avoid, it took them a long time to finally locate the sleeping quarters marked on the map.

Just looking at the Guard at the door was enough to tell that someone very important had to be inside.

Adrian checked his wristwatch and started a silent countdown in his heart. Then, with a deafening boom, the building closest to Night Owl’s residence exploded, flames shooting into the sky as shrill alarms blared.

Adrian watched about ten people stream out and rush toward the burning building.

Sui asked, "What happened?"

"We don’t know either—it just suddenly blew up."

"Where’s the master?"

"Still upstairs."

Sui only kept a very small group behind and sent everyone else to fight the fire...

Adrian had just picked the nearest building to blow up to divert their attention; he hadn’t expected Night Owl to actually be in there.

"Sixth Master, we didn’t use enough explosives. If we’d known Night Owl was inside, we should’ve packed more." Aaron Faber said.

"Cut the crap and get her out—our window is short."

They moved fast, slipping in without even alerting the Guard at the door.

Adrian’s sharp dagger sliced through three men’s throats, and at last he saw the woman in her pajamas.

"Sienna?" Adrian couldn’t suppress his excitement; he grabbed her in a tight hug. Her body stiffened for a moment, then she quickly wrapped her arms around him in return.

"Adrian, you finally came to save me."

This wasn’t the place to talk. Adrian scooped her up and said, "It’s too dangerous here. I’m taking you out right now."

"Okay."

Josie looped her arms around Adrian’s neck, staring at his handsome profile, her heart skittering like a little deer.

This man is ridiculously good-looking, and he’s utterly devoted to Sienna Johnson. If only she could replace Sienna Johnson—that would be perfect.

Josie leaned against his shoulder, placing her whole trust and weight on Adrian.