The Badong Dam is divided into two areas, North and South, designated A and B respectively. Each side has three vessels, facilitating military checks on passing ships.
After nightfall, two searchlights illuminate each side. However, due to the vast width of the riverbanks, the searchlights on the opposite side struggle to reach this area.
Twenty minutes prior, Area A.
Tang Jingjing and Wang Bao stealthily approached the western lighthouse of Area A, awaiting the designated time to commence their operation.
"Wang Bao, when do they change shifts?"
"I overheard them. They change shifts every two hours. Two people operate the searchlights, and four stand guard. The entire squad consists of six. This shift just changed half an hour ago. Additionally, two squads of twenty men patrol the two lighthouses in rounds, but they just passed and won't be back for a while."
"Understood." Tang Jingjing gently brushed her face, and a purple eye mask covered her eyes. "Later, you'll draw the attention of those four guards. I'll handle the rest."
"Got it, Sister Tang." Wang Bao took out two smoke bombs from his waist pouch.
Soon, Tang Jingjing saw the three planned disguised vessels dock through her binoculars.
"How much longer?"
"Ten minutes. How's the situation?"
"Your brother has started conversing with that officer."
Ten minutes passed in a flash. Tang Jingjing gave Wang Bao a look, and he nodded before pulling the pins and throwing several smoke bombs towards the guards.
"What is that?"
"Grenades! Be careful!"
"Enemy..."
A small area of smoke enveloped the guards. Before they could make any further sounds, crossbow bolts, delivered with silent precision, pierced their necks.
A soldier operating a searchlight on the lighthouse heard the commotion below. Just as he was about to look down, his companion suddenly spoke, "Look, those ships seem a bit off."
"What's off?" The soldier quickly grabbed his binoculars, trying to get a clear view of what was happening.
"I know this model of ship... aren't its cargo doors on the side? Why are our men being led to the rear..."
"Whoosh—snap—"
Before the soldier could finish his sentence, two crossbow bolts, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, struck the back of their heads.
A few dozen seconds later, Wang Bao, like a nocturnal feline, scaled the lighthouse. Crouching, he peeked over the ladder to assess the situation on the platform. Seeing that the two men operating the searchlights were now corpses, he signaled to Tang Jingjing to provide cover from behind.
However, the response Wang Bao received was a blast of sword energy.
...
Seeing Wang Bao enter the lighthouse, Tang Jingjing emerged from the concealing bushes. Noticing no one around, she bent down to dispose of the four guards' bodies.
A tall, slender figure quietly appeared behind her. Tang Jingjing's intuition as a woman and her heightened combat awareness sent a chill down her spine. She quickly drew her Black Flow and fired backward.
A powerful arrow shot towards the figure, but it was easily deflected by a sword sheath.
The crisp clang of metal alerted Tang Jingjing. She quickly fired two more shots with her hand crossbow towards the figure, simultaneously activating her stealth.
A flash of blade sliced through the air, bisecting the crossbow bolts. The tall, slender figure slowly sheathed his sword, removed his eye mask, and spoke, "Little mouse~ Where have you been hiding? Uncle means no harm~"
The newcomer was Tang Shuntian.
He had been sleeping soundly on a recliner in the command center when his skill, [Steel Heart's Eye], alerted him.
Within a thousand meters, there was a presence he was familiar with.
Following his Heart's Eye, Tang Shuntian rushed to the scene and found Tang Jingjing, who was about to deal with the bodies.
Meanwhile, Tang Jingjing, who had swiftly hidden herself using stealth, opened her eyes in disbelief. Although Tang Shuntian hadn't recognized her, she had recognized her own father.
That voice, a blend of dejection, greasiness, and lewdness, could only belong to him! Tang Jingjing's most hated man, Tang Shuntian!
She hadn't expected to encounter him here. While she was unsure why Tang Shuntian, the patriarch of the Tang family, was present (Tang Jingjing had been in hiding for nearly four years to escape the family's constraints, remaining largely unaware of the family's changes), she knew for certain that she and Wang Bao were no match for Tang Shuntian, the former top swordsman of Bazhou.
Tang Jingjing gritted her teeth. She had to find a way to warn Wang Bao to hide, otherwise Tang Shuntian could kill Wang Bao, who was no different from an ordinary person, with a single sword strike.
Furthermore, Tang Jingjing couldn't notify anyone of the unexpected development on her own; she needed Wang Bao's help.
Thus, Tang Jingjing fired two arrows to draw Tang Shuntian's attention, using her stealth to quickly move towards the lighthouse.
"Little mouse~ Isn't your plan a bit too naive?"
Tang Jingjing, having finally approached the lighthouse, heard the voice from behind. With no time to react, she immediately ducked.
As expected, a military-issue long saber in its sheath swung over her head. However, the sword energy attached to it easily severed several strands of her hair.
Tang Jingjing rolled forward with the momentum and immediately knelt, raising her crossbow in a defensive posture. She then met Tang Shuntian's somewhat playful gaze.
He hadn't intended to fight seriously from the start! It was like… a cat toying with a mouse…
Tang Jingjing's teeth clenched. On one hand, she knew how formidable Tang Shuntian was; on the other, she had to escape him.
"Your demeanor... it feels vaguely familiar... Can you remove your mask? Uncle here wants to see if I've met you before..."
Due to her [Soul Blossom: Nightshade] skin, Tang Jingjing's appearance and demeanor had changed considerably. Coupled with her different hair color, the eye mask on her face, and Tang Shuntian's general lack of attention towards his children, he naturally hadn't recognized her.
"Speaking of which... you're trying to warn the other little mouse upstairs, aren't you?" Seeing Tang Jingjing remain silent, Tang Shuntian glanced at the broken glass on the lighthouse and then said, "Let me help you warn him."
With that, he unleashed two blasts of sword energy directly towards the lighthouse.
"Damn it!" Tang Jingjing reacted swiftly, attempting to block the sword energy, but at the critical moment, Tang Shuntian struck her Black Flow with his sheath. One arrow veered off and struck a nearby large tree.
Fortunately, Wang Bao turned around just in time to see the sword energy.
He executed a clumsy roll, dodging the sword energy. Just as he was trying to figure out what had happened, he realized it was time for the lights to be switched off.
"Damn it! I'm going for it!" Wang Bao couldn't reach the switch, so he shoved several smoke bombs into the lamp socket, pulled their pins, and leaped away, covering his head.
"BOOM!!"
The lamp socket of the searchlight, along with its internal wiring and fragile bulb, was blown to smithereens. Glass shards flew in all directions. The massive searchlight was reduced to a flickering conflagration, unable to illuminate the port area.