London in winter is cold and damp, with months of continuous rain making the whole city, along with all its inhabitants, almost grow green moss.

  Dark clouds hung over the top, and the twin-rotor helicopter carrying Gu Xuan dust crashed through the cloud layer to an altitude of just over 300 meters above the ground. The London that appeared before his eyes was as hazy as all the descriptions, with everything shrouded in a gloomy gray mist. More than fifty towering silver crosses far and near, as well as the incessant tolling of bells, told all outsiders - this is a city ruled by religious forces.

  Under the command of Gu Xiechen, the helicopter flew extremely low over the low-rise London city and finally landed in a neat artificial forest in the southern suburbs of London.

  A neatly arranged white birch forest was desolate in the cold wind and rain, with countless big eyes staring at Gu Xiechen who jumped down from a helicopter. The elite warriors of the Hell's Angel Mercenary Corps behind him couldn't help but shiver. Pieces of fog no more than one meter high swirled on the ground, and Gu Xiechen cursed: "This is indeed a great place to shoot a horror movie."

  A hand suddenly grabbed Gu Xiechen's sleeve, and Gu Xiechen almost instinctively punched the person behind him flying.

  The person holding onto Gu Xiadun was a blond middle-aged man named Jack, who was short and frail. Jack was the most experienced appraiser in the Hell's Angel Mercenary Group, proficient in identifying and valuing various jewels and artworks. Due to the special nature of this mission, the captain of the group specifically asked Jack to come along with Gu Xiadun to London. At this time, Jack, who had been beaten until he was drenched, tightly grasped onto Gu Xiadun, shivering as he muttered in a low voice: "Dear Captain, this place is too eerie!"

  "Hmm!" Gu Xiadun squeezed Jack's shoulder with force, pulled out a pistol from his waist and stuffed it into Jack's hand. "This place is really eerie, so protect yourself well."

  Jack looked at the gun in his hand with a despairing expression, several mercenaries patted him on the shoulder and followed Gu Xiechen's back, whispering strange laughter.

  Inside the birch forest, there was a winding path with fallen leaves. Walking south along the path for about half a mile, a dozen or so British hunting foxhounds suddenly rushed out of the thicket in front. These pure-blooded fine hunting dogs bared their teeth and growled at Gu Xianchen. Gu Xianchen let out a cold hum, glared fiercely at these fierce dogs with his eyes, and immediately the dozen hunting foxhounds tucked their tails and whined as they fled in all directions.

  A man in a clean and tidy tailcoat, stiff and formal as the bald head of London under the rain, walked out along the path, looked at the scattered hunting dogs with a hint of surprise, and slightly bowed to the dust. "You've arrived? The master is waiting for you all in the study."

  Gu Xie didn't make a sound, he just turned his head and gestured for Jack and the others to follow him.

  An old man with a shaved head led a line of people along the winding path, circling twice before suddenly opening up to a clearing. In the midst of a dense white birch forest was a crescent-shaped lake, directly opposite which lay a grassland covering tens of hectares. On this grassland stood an ancient three-story castle built from granite, its left side lined with stables. The sound of neighing horses echoed continuously from within, as over twenty gleaming purebred horses restlessly pawed the ground inside their stalls.

  "Oh, so many treasures!" Jack muttered under his breath: "Captain, at current market prices, a top-notch pure-blood horse is worth at least 50 million! Our client is getting fat from the profits!"

  Gu Xie dust was also shocked, his eyes widened and he turned to Jack, squeezing his eyes: "Brothers be careful, someone who can afford to raise so many pure-blood horses has no problem with funds, our job this time won't be easy! Damn that old man Hu, is he intentionally trying to screw me?"

  Apart from Jack, the professional who followed Gu Xuan to London, there were also thirty elite warriors from the Hell's Angel Mercenary Corps. These warriors were not thugs from the Federal Prison, but special forces retired from the regular army of the Federation. They were the cream of the crop, the best of the best, and they too had analyzed that this mission would not be so simple!

  Satisfied with the originally relaxed team members becoming serious, Gu Xiechen looked up and down at the ancient castle in front of him, and followed the bald old man over.

  A dozen middle-aged men and women wearing the most traditional servant uniforms stood in front of the ancient castle to welcome Gu Xianchen's party. The bald old man led Gu Xianchen and Jack through a spacious hall on the first floor and up the stairs, while the other thirty warriors were left in the living room on the first floor, where hot milk tea and snacks were waiting for them.

  Circling up the red wooden staircase to the second floor, they walked through a long corridor over 100 meters long with thick woolen carpets. The bald old man led Gu Xuan to a wooden door. On both sides of this short corridor, about 100 meters away, there were no less than twenty extremely famous paintings hanging on the walls. Without Jack's professional appraisal, Gu Xuan could confirm that these paintings were genuine. It was hard to imagine that a family that was about to secretly auction off their family treasures still managed to keep so many purebred horses, top-notch hunting dogs, and so many ancient paintings.

  The old man was about to knock on the door, but Gu Xiechen directly pushed the door and walked in. The bald old man was stunned, and helplessly took a step forward to stand in front of Gu Xiechen.

  This is a spacious study of about 200 square meters, with bookshelves on all four walls, lined with countless books covered in red leather. In one corner of the study, there is a comfortable sofa, and in the center of the room, there is a large jade globe, which is slowly rotating under the drive of a motor, with a diameter of two meters.

  There were three specially made metal boxes on the floor of the study room. Several well-dressed men stood beside them, discussing something in a low voice.

  The door of the study was violently pushed open by Gu Xie, and the people in the study simultaneously looked up in surprise. The bald old man spoke first: "Master, I'm extremely sorry."

  He pulled the old man with a shaved head behind him, his hands hanging from his waistband, and glanced at several men in the study room. He nodded casually: "I'm very sorry, I came a bit abruptly. However, I think this is irrelevant, let's hurry up and talk about the main topic."

  An old man with a shiny bald head but sporting a very majestic beard stood up from the sofa, he stretched out his hand to Gu Xuan: "Mr. Xie Long? I've reviewed the materials sent over by your team leader, you look much more majestic in person than in the photos. Hmm, I'm Lawrence Li, also the client who commissioned you this time."

  He took a deep look at Lawrence Lee, and Gu Xiandu walked over to the sofa in front of him without being polite. He raised his legs and said to Lawrence with his right hand stretched out, "So, let's talk openly and honestly, I'm very curious, Mr. Lawrence, with your family background, I don't think you need to take out the family heirloom this time to turn around. Hmm, I saw those horses in your stable, and the enthusiastic welcome of that group of hunting dogs, it can be seen that your life has always been very luxurious."

  A young man standing beside the three metal boxes took a few angry steps forward, pointing at Gu Xie and scolding: "You're so rude..."

  "Shut up!" Lawrence Lee shouted loudly: "Mr. Evil Dragon's suspicion is reasonable!"

  The study was quiet for a moment, and the old butler looked at Lawrence with interest. Lawrence's face changed color uncertainly, and he sat down with a bitter smile. He made a gesture to the bald-headed old man standing by the door: "Old Peter, tea and snacks, have you forgotten how to entertain guests?"

  Bald-headed old Peter bowed obsequiously to Lawrence and backed out of the study with stiff, precise steps.

  Lawrence looked at Gu Xiechen, and Gu Xiechen was also staring straight at him. The two locked eyes for a while, but in the end, Lawrence couldn't withstand Gu Xiechen's aggressive gaze and lost the stare-down. He smiled wryly and shook his head at Gu Xiechen: "Your gaze is really intimidating, of course, your profession has determined that. Hmm, are all mercenaries as cautious as you?"

  "Others aren't, but I am, afraid of death!" Gu Xiachen's candor left Lawrence speechless for a moment.

  Another middle-aged man in the study room pointed angrily at the door of the study: "If you're afraid of death, leave here! The responsibility of a mercenary is only to satisfy the client's needs, you are just..."

  Kojima cut him off, saying bluntly: "Mercenaries are just tools, but I have to take responsibility for my people! Mr. Lawrence, I think you're in a lot of trouble now, and that's the reason behind your secret auction of the family heirloom. I hope you'll be honest about it, or else I'll suggest our commander reject this mission."

  Having a sacred unicorn staring at him from the side was enough to be dangerous, but when Gu Xiechen discovered that this mission seemed to have something else, he not only considered following the mercenaries who came here with him, but also started thinking about his own life.

  "We're just mercenaries, we only consider the risks that we should take on. If it exceeds a certain degree, we won't continue with this mission," Gu Xiachen said frankly.

  Lawrence forced a smile and shook his head: "Actually, Mr. Evil Dragon, things are not quite as you think they are. Even if there is risk involved, it doesn't concern any of you."

  Before the words had fallen, a dull engine sound came from outside the ancient castle. Gu Xiechen jumped up with an arrow step, pushed open the floor-to-ceiling window of the study, and rushed to the balcony of the study.

  A medium-sized transport aircraft was spewing out pale blue plasma flames as it slowly descended from high altitude, with the plane still dozens of meters away from the ground. The high-temperature plasma flames had already scorched and ignited the withered and damp grassland, sending wisps of black smoke rising from the ground, and large swaths of turf were destroyed in an instant.