The aftermath of Maksim's shooting was immense, shaking all of Moscow. Everyone found it unbelievable—the leader of the Evil Wolf Gang, Evil Wolf, had fallen just like that?
But the problem was, the Evil Wolf Gang's reaction was surprisingly muted, with almost no overly aggressive actions, which many found abnormal.
Even with a change of power, it shouldn't have been like this.
It was too calm, so calm that Zhang Jie felt it was somewhat unnatural.
And while the Evil Wolf Gang showed little activity, other gangs were extremely active, even brazenly encroaching on the Evil Wolf Gang's territory.
"Stupid..."
This was Zhang Jie's assessment of the other gangs' actions; it was, to him, utterly foolish.
Had they not noticed the Evil Wolf Gang's extreme patience and dormancy?
"I don't think Maksim is dead," Zhang Jie told Anna.
As a gang that cooperated with official forces, and the largest gang in Moscow, even subtly becoming the underground king, how could he so carelessly expose himself at a party and be so casually killed?
More crucially, after they raided the hotel and took down that guy, Anna's safe house was swept by KGB agents, and their spoils were confiscated. Everything about it reeked of strangeness.
So Zhang Jie came to a conclusion: that guy must have faked his death to see who was constantly opposing him, and then settle accounts all at once.
Anna agreed with Zhang Jie's judgment.
Even she herself felt that the operation that night had gone too smoothly, so smoothly that it felt somewhat unreal.
Thus, she reached the same conclusion as Zhang Jie: Maksim had used her to stage a fake death.
This made the briefcase even more important, and the intelligence she had received indicated that it contained something extraordinary.
This was also one of the reasons her boss behind the scenes kept demanding she bring the briefcase back.
Her exposure was also closely related to this briefcase; it was by tracking its whereabouts that her identity was leaked, leading her into the predicament of being hunted by KGB agents.
She and Maksim had formed an irreconcilable enmity, one of the kind that would only end in death, after all, her capable assistant had already died at the hands of KGB agents.
Even though she was the one who personally detonated the bomb.
However, the immediate priority now was to retrieve the briefcase; everything else could wait.
The Moscow River flowed silently, like a ribbon of mercury, encircling the city, the true center of the empire: the Kremlin.
Viewed from Red Square, the jagged, dark red brick walls rose high and majestic, like a crouching behemoth, with spaced towers along the battlements like vigilant sentinels, their sharp golden spires gleaming under Moscow's sometimes gray, sometimes clear sky, a declaration of divinity and a crown of power.
Every brick was steeped in the weight of history and stitched with the modern Iron Curtain.
Passing through the ancient archway of the Trinity Tower, tourists merged into a narrow stream of people, as if a brook entering its designated channel.
The air suddenly changed, filled with a heavy solemnity.
Cathedral Square was one of the core souls of the entire complex.
The five massive golden "onion dome" cupolas of the Assumption Cathedral pointed directly to the sky, sunlight dancing and flowing upon them, reflecting an almost miraculous glow.
Pushing open the heavy oak doors, cool light enveloped them, and beneath the towering arches, an overwhelming array of icon frescoes silently gazed at every intruder.
Tsars were crowned here, and the air seemed to still carry a lingering scent of incense and power.
The Archangel Cathedral opposite whispered of endings, stone sarcophagi quietly displayed in the gloom, where generations of Tsars rested, the feast of power ultimately returning to cold stone coffins.
Tourists bustled about, a mix of Asian, Caucasian, and African people, constantly moving through the visitor display areas.
This was the mystery left over from the Soviet era, drawing every visitor who came, eager to uncover its secrets.
And Zhang Jie was among them.
At this moment, after makeup and disguise, he looked like a Russian man, wearing a gray trench coat.
He wore silver rimless glasses, with a thick false mustache glued to his upper lip and chin, paired with somewhat graying fake hair.
From a distance, he looked like some rough man, a standard KGB agent, indistinguishable without a closer look..
Zhang Jie walked to the other side of the Kremlin, where entering would lead to strict, layered identity verification.
However, he now held an identification card, which was provided by the hidden agent Anna had mentioned.
(Please play Mission Impossible - Main Theme)
Anna had also told him that with this identification card, he could go all the way to the Kremlin's archives to get the box, but he had to leave immediately after getting it and absolutely not linger.
In fact, Zhang Jie did just that; using this identification card, he didn't exactly have an unobstructed path, but he did manage to bypass several waves of guards.
He finally made it to the Kremlin's archives.
Opening the door to the archives, Zhang Jie found a vast amount of items inside, all sorts of things, which made him a little dizzy, but his goal was to quickly get the box, so he didn't pay much attention to the rest.
He immediately began his search.
After quite a while, he spotted the familiar silver briefcase on a shelf; upon closer inspection, it was indeed what he was looking for, so without another word, he picked up the case and headed for the door.
"I've got the item, I'm coming out now." Although Anna hadn't followed, they maintained instant communication.
After saying this, Zhang Jie quickly walked forward.
Fortunately, he didn't encounter any KGB agents along the way, probably because yesterday's Evil Wolf Gang mission had caused such a stir that they had all gone out to work, leaving the KGB's defenses very lax.
Thus, Zhang Jie carried the box unimpeded through the corridor. As he rounded a corner, he saw a bearded man in a military officer's uniform.
Zhang Jie immediately nodded at him without speaking, and the other man also nodded back; just like that, they passed each other.
Then, at the next intersection, pushing open that door would lead to the emergency exit. Zhang Jie pushed the door open and entered; this was his retreat point.
From here, he would go straight down.
He then successfully reached the ground floor, pushed open the door he had already opened, and walked straight out.
He quickly merged into the crowd, intending to leave with them, but the next second, a huge sound made Zhang Jie turn back in confusion.
He saw that the historic red fortress had suffered a violent explosion, and five floors instantly became two.
"What the f*ck?"
Zhang Jie was utterly shocked. "Holy crap, good thing I left early, otherwise I would've been blown to smithereens!"
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