At 11 PM, they had finally reached their rendezvous point with Ran after passing through the cold and dark city streets. The air was humid and heavy.

  When they reached the building where they had previously observed the factory and climbed up the stairs, they noticed the Shadow Brotherhood members waiting silently among the shadows. Their silhouettes, barely discernible in the darkness, seemed to blend and melt into the night. When they reached the top floor of the building, they saw all members of the Shadow Brotherhood waiting for them fully equipped and ready for the mission under the light of the purple planet.

  Rex was wearing armor made of dark brown leather. The chest piece had thin metal plates installed, and the part hanging below his waist was designed to allow freedom of movement. On his left hip, his long and sharp sword in its scabbard swayed slightly with each step. His hooded garment flowed down to his shoulders, while a black piece of cloth concealed the lower part of his face up to just below his eyes.

  Cipher had comfortably settled at an old table with his laptop. He was repeatedly tossing and catching a small, USB-like metallic device in his hand, with a slightly bored expression on his face. He was still wearing the same clothes from when they first met.

  Luna was standing with her hands on her hips, wearing a white dress with lace details. The dress was completely covered in dust and mud. The upper part was torn from her shoulders down to her bra, as if she had been in a violent fight. The savagely torn sections in the lower part partially revealed her hips and legs. The dress gave the impression of having been deliberately torn apart. She was ready to "create a distraction."

  Avis was busy with a strange-looking mechanical goggle over her eyes. She was constantly playing with its settings, tightening small screws with occasionally disturbing metallic sounds. The goggle definitely didn't look cutting-edge; it looked more like a crudely assembled prototype made with parts collected from a junkyard. The metal frame around the lenses sat crookedly, with various cables and circuits exposed. It looked as if someone had made it with limited materials at hand.

  Shade had put on an intensely black hood over her completely black fur, standing out even in the darkness of night. Her pointed ears protruded through carefully cut oval holes on top of her covered head, occasionally twitching slightly as they scanned the surrounding sounds. She had comfortably settled on the edge of the building's wide window, with one leg dangling outside, scanning the dark street and factory below with her sharp eyes.

  "Welcome, boss," said Rex, lowering his hood and the cloth on his face. "We've done all the research we could and we're ready to execute the plan."

  "It's good to see you all ready. Well then, let's hear your plan."

  Rex took a deep breath before starting to speak and looked at all his friends. "The plan will begin with Luna's signal. She'll create a commotion at the front of the factory, buying time for everyone else."

  "Ask for the details." said Geminga.

  "I need to know all the details. Tell me everything, don't skip anything."

  "She'll run to the front of the factory crying for help. She'll try to gain as much sympathy as possible from the guards and patrols. She's quite talented at this..."

  "Very funny, Rex! I asked Cipher to help tear my dress but... He has no control. He tore the leg part too much. You're the one who didn't want to buy a new one!"

  "I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't know the dress would tear so easily. Sorry, I've never worn a dress before!" Cipher replied.

  "If we had bought a new dress..." before she could finish her sentence, Rex interrupted.

  "Do you know how expensive even a cheap dress is? I won't spend a single astralis on a dress we're going to tear up!"

  Luna turned her sad gaze toward Rex. Her large, round eyes sparkled like a pair of pearls, and her lips were slightly pursed. Her facial expression perfectly reflected innocence and sadness. She blinked her eyes at him, as if trying to soften Rex's heart.

  "That won't work on me, don't bother trying."

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  "Whatever! I'll approach the guards and ask for help. I'll cry and say 'I was kidnapped by the Mist Thieves, I managed to escape, and now they're after me.' I'll keep the conversation going as long as possible, don't worry. They'll probably be confused since they know they didn't do such a thing. They'll either go looking for them - I don't think they'll like someone impersonating them - or they'll go report to their boss. Either way, it buys you time." said Luna.

  "What if neither works? What if they try to harm you?" asked the man. He couldn't predict how the Mist Thieves would react.

  "If I think I can, I'll run. If I can't escape..." she opened the untorn side of her dress to reveal her leg. There was a dagger-holding strap attached to her leg. "I'll use this. I've used it before, I'm skilled at it, don't worry."

  "I know what Luna is capable of, boss. Don't worry about her, trust her completely." said Rex. Luna nodded slightly, saying "Thank you."

  "Continue with the plan."

  "Twenty seconds after Luna starts screaming, we'll make our move. Me, Cipher, Shade and..." Rex didn't finish his sentence. "Excuse me, but what was your name?" Rex asked, looking at Ran and the man.

  "I'm Ran, pleased to meet you!" said Ran. You could hear the excitement in her voice.

  "Let's stick with boss for now."

  "Alright. Me, Cipher, Shade, Ran, and boss will enter through the back door. Cipher and I will head to the Security Operations Center on the upper floor. According to Shade, the main security terminal and network management computer are there. With the Security Breaker that Cipher has, we'll get in and disable all security measures. We don't know if we can disable the machines, so for now I can only speak about the security measures."

  "Did you encounter any traps?"

  "We watched the building all night. We didn't see any obvious traps, but we're not sure what's waiting for us inside," said Shade while continuing to look out the window.

  "Shade is right. Also, we want to rescue the people inside the machines. Since we don't think the machines have an 'Off' button, we'll need to control the security terminal. Plus, there might be automatic or manual security measures we haven't noticed that activate under certain conditions. We can't risk anything. Shade said there are several people in the room. That's why I brought tear gas."

  "Ran, you'll go with Rex and Cipher."

  "Sir, could I come with you?" Ran's voice was tense.

  "Downstairs is very dangerous." He touched Ran's shoulder and whispered in her ear: "Watch how they work. Make sure they don't do anything wrong." Then he turned to Rex. "What will Avis do?"

  "Avis will be our eye in the sky and sabotage the inside before Cipher. This will buy us more time."

  "I'll make holes in the gas pipes, shut off and break the water valve, and pour water on the electrical panel. If we're lucky, it'll cause a fire, short circuit, or somehow shut down the machines. If we're unlucky, I'll at least have sabotaged their operations. Someone will have to come check it out. There'll be less danger inside for you. Also..." Avis continued. "You mentioned there's a water tank and pump system inside..."

  She pulled out a palm-sized, homemade device from her backpack, carefully wrapped in insulating tape, made of complex-looking electronic circuit parts. The cables protruding from various parts of the device and the electronic components on it gave the impression of being amateur but functionally assembled.

  "Look what I've got - it's just palm-sized but packs a punch. I combined several high-capacity capacitors, copper wire coil, and a trigger circuit. Made it with parts I salvaged from an old radio and stuff I found in the junkyard. Wrapped the outside in insulating tape to prevent short circuits. Put high-voltage batteries inside as a power source. Might look simple, but believe me, it's enough to create a small electromagnetic pulse. Powerful enough to disable the water pumps and electronic systems temporarily. Five seconds after pressing the trigger button, the capacitors will discharge and send a strong current through the wire coil. This will create an electromagnetic pulse around it. It'll fry the circuits of nearby electronic devices, rendering them inoperable. Hopefully..."

  "Hmm... interesting device. You didn't need to explain it in such detail, but I hope it'll work," said the man while examining the device and putting it in his coat pocket.

  "The plan has too many 'ifs.' But it's well thought out for just one day of preparation."

  "So what are we going to do?" said Shade, turning her face toward the man.

  "You said you got inside. Can you tell me in detail, did you see an old man or a black-haired, beautiful woman with bangs? Did you notice either of them?"

  "Yes, I saw an old man. But I didn't see any woman matching that description anywhere."

  "Well, can you tell me exactly where this old man was and what he was doing?"

  "There's a private office at the end of the large laboratory room with the human-containing tubes. The man was sitting there at his desk. He was holding a small mirror. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to examine the surroundings in more detail, I couldn't risk getting caught."

  "Maybe he's a narcissist." said Cipher.

  "Here's what we'll do: I'll get to that room, and you'll help me. When I'm in the room, don't let anyone in. There are many things we can use as distractions inside. That's why you should keep Avis's device." he said, extending the device.

  "Everyone needs to wear the earpieces I gave you to communicate." said Rex. Then he handed out earpieces to everyone.

  The man put on the earpiece. "After your mission is complete, put a safe distance between yourselves and the factory. But don't leave the earpiece range. The heist will be over when I come out with the crown." After a slight pause, he added: "Be careful, Shadow Brotherhood."