Chapter 150: Nighttime Infiltration of the Sky Hotel 01

Jiang Yan smiled, neither confirming nor denying. “You could say that.”

“Can this thing really support the weight of an adult? And the outer wall is all wet—won’t that affect how well it sticks?” Ye Qing’s concerns were clearly different from Sun Jingtao’s.

Jiang Yan picked up one of the claws and explained, “Believe it or not, even a single finger on this thing can hold up 100 kilograms.”

The three of them were visibly skeptical, not even bothering to hide it. “No way!”

“Do you know which creature in nature has the strongest adhesive power?” Since they could only act at night and had some time to kill, Jiang Yan threw out the question.

“Gecko,” Zhao Pengfei answered quickly.

Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing both nodded in agreement.

Jiang Yan shook her head. “No, actually, it’s Boston ivy.”

“A plant???” Their jaws practically hit the floor.

“A mature Boston ivy sucker can generate 112 times the adhesive force of a gecko’s foot. To put it another way, a mature Boston ivy can support up to 2.8 million times its own weight.

These two claws were designed based on the Boston ivy, as bionic hands. Their adhesive and load-bearing abilities are nothing to scoff at. Plus, there’s an extra power system on the back.”

As she spoke, Jiang Yan patted the turtle-shell-like device.

Despite how high-tech it sounded, Ye Qing was still worried. “Jiang Yan, climbing the wall is dangerous. Since this thing is so strong, why don’t I do it instead?”

With all the water outside, even if someone fell, they’d just get badly hurt. But if they were discovered, they might get riddled with bullets. Plus, sneaking in from above was clearly more dangerous than from below.

“No need.” Jiang Yan refused without a second thought.

“...” Ye Qing hadn’t expected such a blunt rejection and was momentarily stunned.

But he couldn’t insist further—any more and he’d just seem naggy.

Jiang Yan understood Ye Qing’s concerns. But she had her own advantages: her space, Hua Bao, weapons, and a map. She had nothing to fear.

“Alright, I trust Jiang Yan’s abilities. Let’s adjust the plan,” Sun Jingtao said.

“Yeah.” The others nodded.

The four of them quickly revised their plan. Instead of acting all at once, they decided Jiang Yan would start climbing first. Once she’d scouted things out upstairs, the others would move.

That way, the team below could keep watch for her. If she fell, they could rescue her immediately. Later, they could also help draw away some of the enemy’s attention and firepower.

As for the timing, they chose after 1 a.m.—when most people would be asleep or drowsy, and security would be at its weakest.

Unable to bear the others’ worry, Jiang Yan finally put on the climbing gear and demonstrated it for them. Seeing her hang steadily from the roof with just one hand, everyone finally relaxed a little.

*

Time passed unnoticed, and evening arrived.

They kept the lights off. After a simple meal, apart from occasionally checking the building opposite with binoculars, they spent the rest of the time running through possible scenarios in their minds.

It was cold inside, and everyone was at least a little damp, making it feel even colder. But they didn’t dare light a fire for warmth, afraid of drawing attention.

Later, Sun Jingtao pulled Ye Qing next door to practice military boxing and warm up.

That left Zhao Pengfei and Jiang Yan in the small room.

“Sigh, who knows how long this rain will last...” Zhao Pengfei glanced worriedly out the window, muttering to himself.

What he was really thinking was: I wonder how my son is doing. But he couldn’t say it out loud.

Jiang Yan, resting with her eyes closed, frowned slightly at his words. So many things in this life had already diverged from her previous one. She could only hope nothing stranger would happen from now on.

*

Soon, it was 1 a.m.

Ye Qing checked the building opposite with binoculars. It was pitch dark.

The group geared up, grabbed the inflatable boat, and slipped outside under cover of darkness.

“Jiang Yan, be careful. If anything seems off, come back immediately,” the others reminded her, still worried.

Jiang Yan nodded.

The pouring rain provided good cover. It was so dark outside, there wasn’t a hint of light.

But with the night-vision goggles Jiang Yan had given them, they could move without any trouble.

For safety, they paddled slowly. Occasionally, the inflatable boat bumped into something, making dull “thud” sounds.

Curious, Zhao Pengfei leaned over to look—and saw a rotting, pale face. The eyes were gone, the mouth gaping open in a grotesque, terrifying expression.

A chill ran down Zhao Pengfei’s spine—he was nearly scared out of his wits. But he managed to keep his mouth shut and didn’t scream.

“Why are there so many bodies around here?!” he whispered, still shaken.

He silently prayed none of them were his son.

The others saw it too and all gasped in shock.

The water was littered with naked corpses, in various stages of decay. Most were women and children, with a few men. Without exception, their eyes were missing, or their stomachs and chests had been cut open. Some had intestines and organs floating outside their bodies. On some corpses, you could even see black mutant leeches.

This area was a blind spot, right where two residential buildings connected. You couldn’t see it through binoculars during the day.

“Their organs must have been harvested,” Sun Jingtao said grimly. “Live specimens, missing organs... What on earth are these people doing?”

It did confirm they’d found the right place, but Ye Qing had a bad feeling.

“Jiang Yan, maybe you shouldn’t go up,” he said.

They were here to kill and rescue, not to die.

“I’ll be fine,” Jiang Yan said, already standing up.

By now, the boat had reached the 101 Sky Hotel building. They’d come around the outside, deliberately avoiding the entrance where the pleasure boat was docked.

The water level was up to about the 22nd or 23rd floor.

Jiang Yan raised her hand and, like a gecko with a turtle shell on her back, started climbing the wall.

The others stayed in the boat, keeping watch and anxiously looking up.

Hua Bao pulled up the hotel’s external surveillance and HVAC system diagrams, guiding her on the best route.

In less than three minutes, Jiang Yan had already reached the 30th floor."