Cooking in the Monster Sanctuary - Chapter 4

A club is an autonomous group organized by operators where members participate and enjoy corresponding services freely. 

It tends to be a society or interest-based organization, but adding the prefix “underground” makes its meaning much more ambiguous.

It becomes associated with secretive hobbies that can only be enjoyed in the shadows, sparking various imaginative thoughts.

“Two months ago, someone called the hotline claiming to have discovered a male ‘angel’ with snow-white wings on the peak of a distant mountain. When the security team arrived at the scene, they were told that he had been forcibly taken away by others,” Chen Beici’s tone carried a hint of mockery. 

“Three days ago, news came that the owner of the Flower House or the Flower Pavilion Club secretly announced among its members that he had captured an angel and would exhibit it tomorrow night at nine o’clock.”

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. “Stealing something from a shelter and shamelessly displaying it publicly… Should I say he’s daring or foolish?”

As she spoke, she opened an email and roughly understood the course of events from the attachments.

Upon receiving the information, the External Relations Department attempted negotiations with the club owner, who played dumb and claimed ignorance. The security team then used a search warrant to search the underground club and his private residence, yielding no results.

Later, through technical analysis, it was discovered that there was a vacant area above the underground basement—a hidden chamber on the third floor of the abandoned building above the club’s location. The security team had mistaken the search location from the beginning.

“Those impulsive numbskulls wasted the search warrant, and we have no concrete evidence of an angel’s existence in the club. Reinvestigating there would be like trespassing. Originally, given the difficulty of this task, there was no need for the Special Task Force to intervene. But the leadership was so infuriated by the security team that they decided to have us directly extract him from the hidden chamber.” Chen Beici chuckled. 

“With this approach, even if the owner suspects that the shelter took him, he won’t come to question us. After all, the angel never existed to begin with. Who can steal something that doesn’t exist?”

A really cunning strategy.

Those middle-aged uncles and aunties in the leadership are indeed not to be trifled with.

Lin Yu leisurely sipped the rich and sweet soup, with a faint fragrance of wolfberries lingering on her tongue. “So, you want me to silently infiltrate without a trace?”

“Try not to be noticed. After the job is done, Jiang Qian will pick you up downstairs.” He paused and half-jokingly asked, “Captain, with your skills, infiltrating shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Don’t underestimate me. I once spent some time in an assassin organization. Do you know their creed?”

The young man on the other end of the line fell silent, and she continued with interest, “We want what we want, there are no rules. If discovered, eliminate everyone—dead people never talk. As long as you kill all witnesses, even if you’ve successfully infiltrated, it’s all good.”

For a while, Chen Beici was left without words.

Chen Beici: “Captain, you’re a government employee now. Could you maybe align a bit more with the core socialist values? By the way, I don’t recall your resume mentioning anything about working in an assassin organization?”

“That was many years ago,” Lin Yu’s tone sounded weary, and she let out a soft sigh. “I traveled with the Brotherhood through Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Rome. My former employer was Ubisoft, and the organization was called ‘Assassin’s —.’ “

Feeling played, Chen Beici angrily hung up the phone.

*

At the Suburb of the city, Flower Pavilion Club.

The club itself was established on the underground floor, while the above-ground residential building had long been abandoned. Dust-covered glass windows were tightly shut, cobwebs adorned the corners and window sills, gently swaying in the breeze.

No one could have anticipated that this dilapidated building would be a secretive gathering place for many wealthy merchants and magnates where they reveled night after night.

It wasn’t yet time for the club meeting, and few people ventured to this outskirts area which left it quiet and still in the evening breeze.

Everything appeared quite ordinary, yet upon closer inspection, and anomalies could easily be discerned.

In the deserted hall on the third floor stood two young men, tall and robust, their muscular arms protruding from their sleeves like small mountains.

Suddenly, a petite figure jumped in through the window, silently maneuvering behind one of the men.

Her movements were incredibly swift and soundless, like a ghostly presence. In an instant, her right hand shot up, delivering a palm strike to his carotid artery.

He grunted, swiftly losing consciousness.

The other young man heard the commotion but before he could turn around to investigate, a sharp and swift wind resembling a blade passed by his side. Lin Yu side-kicked him squarely in the neck, causing him to wince and collapse. As he struggled to rise, a white cloth soaked in hypnotic agents was pressed over his mouth and nose.

All of this took no more than five seconds, if not less, so brief that even Lin Yu herself hadn’t realized the fight had already ended.

“Is that it?” She paused, then asked Chen Beici through the video call, “Is fighting powerless human males their usual task in the security team?”

Chen Beici glanced at the two fallen behemoths.

“Come on, are you kidding me? With just a bit of green makeup, these two could directly cosplay as the Hulk after transforming! They’re clearly two massive chunks of meat, come on!”

“Please, don’t insult the saying ‘powerless as a chicken’ like this! What did it do wrong to be twisted like this? Don’t idioms have dignity?”

Lin Yu hadn’t been in her position for long, and this was her second mission. Even though he had long known that this seemingly delicate girl was remarkably capable, witnessing this one-sided beatdown through the camera.

Chen Beici seriously tried to recall if he had hung up on her impolitely before?

“Seriously, choosing such a concealed meeting location, anyone with common sense would know that their activities aren’t pure. To hide in plain sight, they don’t even understand that principle.”

Lin Yu casually quipped, wrinkling her brows due to the dust lingering in the air.

Based on the intercepted intelligence, the Flower House’s owner would have dinner with a Christian believer at six o’clock sharp, likely to discuss matters related to the angel.

There were only two bodyguards guarding this floor. After all, he wouldn’t have thought that the shelter would shamelessly come to snatch someone away.

The residential building still retained some old furniture. Passing through the lobby, Lin Yu walked towards the rooms, passing by the bathroom, bedroom, and study.

Chen Beici’s voice came through her earpiece, “Captain, do you see the bookshelf against the wall? Move it away.”

This floor was noticeably smaller than the others. According to the data provided by the Technical Department, the hidden chamber was most likely located in the study on the right.

Following the instructions, Lin Yu pushed aside the empty bookshelf and, as expected, revealed a wall with an anti-theft door.

“Captain, take your time, I’ve prepared a versatile tool for you in your toolkit…”

Chen Beici’s words were cut short when he saw her take out a piece of aluminum foil from her pocket. She manipulated it for a moment and then inserted it into the keyhole.

With a light twist of her fingertip, a clicking sound followed, and the lock opened.

“Aluminum foil lock picking” was one of the commonly used methods by thieves to break into places. The flexibility of the aluminum foil allowed it to deform along with the teeth of the lock inside the keyhole, gripping onto the teeth and quickly opening the lock.

—The above was information that a dumbfounded Chen Beici found on a search engine.

Her movements were fluid, as if she had received specialized training. However, from her records, Lin Yu came from a very well-off family, so she wouldn’t need to learn these burglary skills.

Something was definitely off.

A slight jolt ran through Chen Beici’s mind, and he quietly sipped his coffee, his fingertip resting heavily on the mouse as he once again pulled up her personal profile.

An orphan, Lin Yu had lived in a welfare home in Yunchuan Town after her birth. At the age of ten, she was adopted by the renowned fashion designer Lin Qingyan and moved to Qichuan. She excelled in her all-girls school, smoothly getting admitted to Capital University, but for some unknown reason, she dropped out midway and took up the job of the Special Task Force’s captain.

What was most puzzling was that he had been curious about Lin Yu since their first meeting, yet after searching the entire internet, he couldn’t find any issues. Her life trajectory was no different from that of any ordinary girl. Her exceptional skills, sudden shifts in life path, and skills that didn’t match her background—none of it had an explanation.

For Lin Yu, there were no secrets, which in itself was the biggest secret.

The bitterness of the coffee stimulated his taste buds, dispelling his fatigue. Chen Beici half-closed his eyes, shifting his attention to the camera lens on the screen.

The hidden chamber had no windows, only the air conditioning tirelessly circulated air. The chilly and heavy air pressed down like invisible palms from above.

The dim light of dusk streamed in from the doorway, thinner than a wisp of cooking smoke, as delicate as threads, gently falling on the huddled figure in the corner.

The setting sun outlined his vague figure. Lin Yu couldn’t make out his appearance clearly, only catching glimpses of two pure white hues that pierced the darkness like light sabers.

As if hearing the sound of the door opening, the person slightly lifted his head.

His voice was like clear and tranquil pond water, carrying a hint of timidity and probing, rippling gently in the listener’s heart.

“… Master?”