At the very top level of the Juliad Fortress core zone, centered on the main platform, was a gaping maw, a vertical shaft of such profound blackness its depth was utterly beyond sight. This was the core sector's ventilation outlet, from which a powerful current of air ceaselessly poured outward, without a single moment’s pause.

Yang Ying arrived to find the opening sealed by an extremely thick wire mesh. Twenty meters beyond it, two sentries paced back and forth, but judging by their expressions and the very set of their eyes, their guard was remarkably lax. It was clear they did not believe it possible for anyone to infiltrate this location silently.

Within the mere two seconds Yang Ying spent surveying the terrain, one sentry even yawned, stretched languidly as if sleep-deprived, and displayed a total lack of alertness.

Yang Ying paid them little mind. He went directly to the edge of the shaft and peered down. Beneath the mesh, hundreds of red laser beams, as fine as sewing thread, crisscrossed in every direction—horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. They were packed densely together, forming a complex, ruleless, three-dimensional lattice of overlapping layers.

In an instant, the lattice convulsed violently. These slender red laser threads began to move rapidly, slicing and dicing as if within a colossal grinder. This process completed in less than half a second, after which the entire laser net calmed, resolving into a completely new configuration.

This moment of stillness did not last long. Barely three seconds later, the laser net repeated the entire process, forming yet another structure, clearly generated randomly with no discernible pattern to follow.

Yang Ying inwardly praised the ventilation shaft’s defenses. No wonder only two guards were assigned to watch over something that could physically shred intruders.

Collecting his thoughts, Yang Ying looked further down and saw three massive fans rotating steadily beneath the laser network. They turned neither too fast nor too slow, allowing a clear view of their broad blades and the occasional glint of cold light along their edges—a clear indication of the grim fate awaiting anything struck by them.

Turning his gaze back to the uppermost wire mesh, he noted that this layer was a single, continuous grid, lacking any small gate or opening. Its edges were firmly welded to the shaft’s perimeter, leaving no way through short of outright, violent destruction.

Yang Ying scanned the surroundings and spotted several surveillance cameras. These probes swept the area periodically, ensuring that any attempt to tamper with the wire mesh would be immediately detected.

Yang Ying mused that subtly bypassing all these defenses would be exceptionally troublesome. However, he was no common infiltrator; he hadn't come to steal, but to kill.

Since he had already infiltrated this far, there was no longer any need for absolute stealth.

The shift change for the outer guards would be soon, and the sentries he had dispatched with his Water Blade Technique could be discovered at any moment.

Yang Ying stepped back a few paces, raised his hand, and with a flash of golden light, summoned an EMP missile, slamming it hard onto the wire mesh.

Suddenly, the missile detonated with a dull, heavy explosion. An invisible wave, seemingly warping space itself, began to spread rapidly in all directions, leaving no corner untouched.

The blast radius of the EMP missile was sufficient to saturate the entire Juliad Fortress with electromagnetic pulses!

In that precise moment, countless electronic devices throughout the fortress erupted in crackling electrical sparks. Circuits shorted, lines burned out, and everything instantly seized up.

The fortress garrison dissolved into immediate chaos, the clamor of shouts and confusion quickly erupting, spreading from the nearest points outward.

Since its construction, the Juliad Fortress had served as a critical stronghold for the Caesar Mercenary Group, guarded by formidable military strength. In over a hundred years, it had only faced a handful of attacks, and those enemies had always relied on small, elite teams sneaking in for sabotage. None had ever brought a weapon of mass destruction like an EMP missile.

Almost every communicator was destroyed, severing contact between the mercenary units, turning them instantly into headless flies, buzzing about in disarray.

Some tried to investigate the core sector, but the main alloy doors were controlled by the electronic access system. With the system down, even the outer guards could not gain entry.

Those familiar with the fortress layout knew that the door possessed a backup hydraulic system. However, switching the opening method from electronic to mechanical required access inside the core zone. In short, only someone already within could unlock the door.

The soldiers patrolling the corridors in their powered armor slumped where they stood. Without electronic assistance, their power suits were nothing more than heaps of scrap metal, forcing them to laboriously shed the cumbersome weight.

Although mechanical functions not reliant on circuitry remained unaffected, and many of the fortress’s basic systems could still operate, the loss of electronics instantly degraded the entire fortress’s responsiveness by several critical levels.

By this time, all surveillance cameras had been disabled. Yang Ying drew the Gauss pistol from his waist and fired two quick shots, felling the two sentries.

He then approached the wire mesh, produced a standard green lightsaber, and sliced a circular hole a meter in diameter through it. Using his telekinesis, he lifted the severed section of mesh and tossed it aside before leaping through the opening himself.

The laser net had vanished, and the three massive fans had stopped spinning. Yang Ying slipped through the gaps between the blades and reached the bottom of the air duct, where several tunnels branched off, leading in different directions. Yang Ying chose a branch route heading toward the main residential area and used the airflow to carry himself swiftly inside.

By this time, Gaius also sensed that something was terribly wrong. There was no need for a report.

The near-total shutdown of the power system had plunged the entire core sector into darkness, sparing only a few of the most heavily shielded critical areas. Repair teams had already been dispatched to fix circuits in a desperate bid to restore at least minimal operation to the core zone.

The first order Gaius issued was to engage the mechanical system to open the alloy doors and allow the external forces to enter and reinforce the position. He was certain that regardless of the intruder's objective, they would ultimately head for the core sector, as nearly everything of value in the fortress was housed there.

He also commanded the concentration of the few remaining communication stations to immediately contact the outside world, spreading word of the Juliad Fortress being under attack, while simultaneously applying pressure on military command to hasten their arrival.

As Gaius was issuing these directives, a vague, shadowy figure remained concealed within the darkness of the room, undetected by every person who had entered.

Once Gaius had finalized his arrangements, the shadow stepped out from the gloom and approached him directly, issuing a hoarse sound from its throat: "I have a dreadful premonition."

Gaius's expression instantly grew serious. He knew the depth of the powerful sensory abilities possessed by the figure before him.

"Master Tim, what have you sensed?"

Tim shook his head. He had the facial structure of a Middle Eastern man, with a darker complexion, a mess of streaked gray hair, and deep wrinkles etched around his brow and eyes. His frame was slightly gaunt, and he wore loose, white linen robes, making him look like a weathered elder. However, his small eyes betrayed this impression of experience, replacing it instead with a feeling of inherent malice and deceit.

"I haven't sensed anything specific, but this sense of dread simply won't dissipate."

Gaius paced back and forth twice, his own heart feeling as unsettled as fifteen buckets swinging in a well. Finally, he spun around sharply to Tim. "Master Tim, I must ask you to scout the premises. Should you encounter the enemy, please handle them."

Though Tim was only a Quasi-Master, he seemed content to be addressed as "Master," and a flicker of self-satisfaction crossed his face. He turned, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Hmph, a mere Quasi-Master, yet so insolent. If I could bribe a true Master-level expert to serve, why would I treat you with such deference?" Gaius did not speak these words aloud, fearing Tim might overhear and jeopardize the bond woven between them, a bond already tautly strung by mutual interest.

Meanwhile, Yang Ying was being borne along by the wind as he traversed the narrow ventilation ducts. Suddenly, he encountered a disabled security drone wedged silently in the passage.

Yang Ying frowned slightly, sending out a burst of telekinetic energy to push it forward a little, revealing a grating in the wall beside the duct. Peering through the grille, he saw a group of frantic mercenaries running down the corridor outside just moments before, though it was empty now.

Using his telekinesis to silently unlatch the grating, he dropped into the corridor and carefully reset the barrier.

He then checked his bearings left and right, confirmed his location, and proceeded toward the area where the core personnel of the Caesar family were likely to be, relying on his memory of the layout.

Most rooms along the corridors were secured by electronic locks requiring key cards for entry. After passing through several corridors, a group of mercenaries carrying glow-sticks rushed past him. These military-grade light sources contained two chemical substances that emitted light upon contact.

Passing through one more corridor, Yang Ying arrived in a brightly lit hall spanning several hundred square meters. This hall served as a convergence point for several surrounding corridors. On either side of the hall were staircases leading to the upper levels; this was also one of the main gathering points for the core sector mercenaries.

The hall was brightly illuminated. The mercenaries had managed to find a generator that was still functional and had restored power to this area.

Approximately fifty mercenaries were gathered in the hall. A mercenary officer, judging by his demeanor, stood on the balcony of the upper level, giving orders to the people below.

"Sol to Sector A, Cawk to Sector B. Once you reach those locations, gather all available intelligence and return here to report..."

Two mercenaries acknowledged the order and split up, running off.

Yang Ying glanced over and saw the two individuals named on the list huddled amongst the mercenaries, talking anxiously, seemingly drawing a measure of security from the crowd.

Yang Ying’s mission was to eliminate every person on the list within the Juliad Fortress and complete the Judgment Protocol. Seeing the targets before him, there was no reason to remain silent.

A flash of the brutal human experimentation crossed Yang Ying’s mind, along with the ceaseless malice emanating from the Caesar family over the past months, and the look of utter contempt for lesser beings—a common trait among Caesar kin—visible on the faces of the two targets. All of it distilled into one thought:

"You are guilty!"