The heavy steel-cast door, pushed with all his might by Leon, let out a long, piercing creak as it slowly swung inward.
Behind the door was not another passage leading deeper into the mansion as they had imagined.
A cold night wind, carrying the scents of scorched earth, gunpowder, and blood, rushed in, causing the clothes of the four to flutter wildly.
They found themselves back in the military ruins that had been completely flattened.
Night had fallen, draping the entire island like a vast swath of black velvet.
The distant flames were not as fierce as before, but they still painted half the sky a sickly dark red, like a massive, unhealed wound.
Underfoot were shattered concrete blocks and twisted steel rebar, producing a grating, teeth-chattering crunch with every step.
An indescribably complex odor permeated the air.
It was the smell of unburnt gunpowder after explosions, the rusty scent of metal scorched by high heat, the cloying stench of rotting corpses, all mixed with the damp, salty sea breeze unique to the island.
All of this blended together, forming an atmosphere that belonged solely to death and destruction.
In silence, they circled the massive outline of the Gothic mansion, returning to the corridor hung with faded tapestries.
Blocking their path was still that heavy, alloy-cast steel gate, its entire body a dark bluish-black.
Only this time, the situation was slightly different.
The electronic lock beside the gate, which originally flashed a red light indicating 'Locked,' was now glowing with a soft, green light for 'Access.'
"Wow."
Leon walked up to the door, looked at the green indicator light, and put on an exaggerated expression of surprise.
"This door is so obedient. Did it know we were coming and open up just for us?"
Claire's gaze shifted from the cold gate to Leon's face, which was practically screaming 'look how witty I am.'
A flicker of amusement passed through her beautiful blue eyes.
She turned her head and gently nudged Noah beside her with her elbow, lowering her voice to a whisper only the two of them could hear.
"I've noticed, do men all turn into chatterboxes in front of women they like?"
As she spoke, the corner of her eye subtly glanced towards the black-clad queen not far away, who stood with her arms crossed against the wall, still maintaining her 'keep away' demeanor.
Noah followed her gaze, glancing at Ada, who was watching their interaction with keen interest, and then at Leon, who had instantly become a bit awkward at Claire's words.
He shrugged, wearing an innocent expression that said, 'Why are you looking at me?'
"Do I look like a chatterbox to you?"
Seeing his deadpan expression, Claire couldn't help but let out a soft 'pfft' laugh.
She knew that whenever she teased him with these little feminine provocations, this man would always make that expression she found both cute and funny.
Ada's almond-shaped eyes swept back and forth between Leon and Noah.
A very subtle curve appeared at the corner of her darkly lipsticked mouth, but it quickly returned to her icy expression.
Noah's gaze finally settled on Leon.
He looked Leon up and down, then said in an extremely serious tone.
"I think after this is over, I should suggest to Trant that he send you to some secret base for a three-year, closed-door agent training program."
"What?" Leon was stunned.
"The main goal would be to completely cure you of this chatterbox habit," Noah continued with a straight face.
"Hey! Don't be like that, man!" Leon immediately protested dramatically.
"I'm just lightening the mood, you know? Boosting team morale! Otherwise, in this damn place, we'll all go crazy from the oppressive atmosphere sooner or later!"
As soon as his words fell.
Ada, who had been silent all along, suddenly rolled her eyes in his direction, a gesture full of charm.
The motion was smooth and natural, without a hint of affectation.
It was like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, instantly sending ripples of ambiguous and interesting tension through the air.
And at that very moment.
"Click."
The heavy steel gate emitted a soft mechanical unlocking sound, then silently began to rise.
Behind it was a brand new, previously untrodden corridor.
On both walls of the corridor hung large oil paintings, one after another, framed in ornate, gilded frames.
Without exception, the people in the paintings were the successive heads of the Ashford Family.
They wore luxurious attire from different eras, standing or sitting in various poses.
But they all shared some common features.
Skin pale to the point of being sickly, smooth golden hair like spun gold, and pairs of cold eyes hidden beneath an aristocratic elegance and reserve, filled with scrutiny and arrogance.
Dim light projected down from the dusty crystal sconces on the ceiling.
The light perfectly illuminated those oil paintings.
The icy gazes of the people in the paintings seemed to come alive.
They were like a group of lofty ghosts, silently watching these uninvited guests who had trespassed into their domain within the gloomy corridor.
The four walked silently through this seemingly endless portrait gallery.
Only their footsteps echoed softly in the empty corridor.
At the end of the corridor was a wall paved with a single slab of black marble.
Embedded in the center of the wall was a silver eagle crest of the Ashford Family.
The eagle was poised for flight, its posture full of power and aggression.
And below the crest were two very obvious, gun-shaped indentations.
Noah stepped forward.
He took out the two Gold Luger P08 Pistols he had 'exchanged' from Steve from his tactical vest.
He gauged the size of the heavy gold Lugers and carefully inserted them into the two indentations.
The fit was perfect, not a millimeter off.
"Creeeak——"
A heavy sound of mechanical gears slowly meshing together came dully from deep within the wall.
Immediately after.
That massive, black marble wall began to slide apart silently from the middle towards both sides.
Revealing a hidden room behind it.
A unique, serene fragrance, a mix of expensive cedarwood furniture and the leather of old books, wafted out from behind the door.
Unlike the decay and dilapidation elsewhere in the mansion.
This place was spotlessly clean.
Behind the door was an extremely spacious and staggeringly luxurious private study.
The floor was covered with a thick, deep purple Persian carpet woven with intricate patterns, absorbing almost all sound from their footsteps.
Three walls of the room were floor-to-ceiling, massive bookshelves.
The bookshelves were made of expensive mahogany, densely packed with various heavy, exquisitely bound volumes.
In the center of the room was a massive desk carved from a single piece of ebony.
On the desktop, besides a classically styled green banker's lamp, sat a desktop computer that, for its time, was considered quite high-end.
And behind the desk was a massive floor-to-ceiling window that took up almost the entire wall.
Outside, a fierce storm began, with howling winds and flashes of lightning.
Thick branches swayed wildly in the gale like dancing demons, casting their twisted, ferocious shadows onto the cold glass.
"Seems like a dead end."
Claire looked around, full of vigilance.
Ada and Leon, however, said nothing.
The two of them, like experienced leopards, immediately split up upon entering the study, carefully inspecting every corner of the room.
Leon gently tapped the massive bookshelves with his fingers, trying to find any possible hidden mechanisms or doors.
Ada walked over to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, her sharp gaze scanning the courtyard outside, shrouded in darkness and rain.
Noah ignored them.
He walked straight to the massive ebony desk and placed the black IBM ThinkPad laptop he carried on the desktop.
He deftly pulled a few data cables from his computer bag and connected his laptop to the old desktop on the desk.
He opened the laptop and pressed the power button.
The screen lit up, the familiar startup screen flashing by.
Immediately after, the screen began to rapidly flash streams of green code, incomprehensible to ordinary people.
The laptop's cooling fan began to emit a high-speed 'whirring' sound.
The old desktop on the table also started making 'beep-beep-beep' data reading sounds.
This was a silent war of information invasion between modern technology and a relic of a bygone era.
Trant's assistant was on the other end, using satellite signals to brute-force hack into this antique computer storing the Ashford Family's core secrets.
Time passed minute by minute.
The study fell into an eerie silence.
Only the 'pattering' rain outside and the 'whirring' of the laptop fan intertwined.
After about three minutes.
The rapidly scrolling code stream on the screen suddenly stopped.
The laptop's fan noise gradually subsided.
Immediately after.
"Ding—dong—ding—dong—"
A crisp, melodious, yet inexplicably melancholic and sorrowful Music Box melody suddenly rang out in the silent study without warning.
The source of the sound was the massive, person-tall grandfather clock in the corner of the room.
It was an extremely ornate, Victorian-style grandfather clock.
The clock's body was made of dark walnut wood, carved with intricate and exquisite scroll patterns and gargoyle reliefs.
As the music, tinged with a sickly sorrow, began to play.
The square window in the middle of the clock slowly opened to both sides.
Two exquisitely crafted ceramic figurine cards slowly rose from within.
Both were dressed in aristocratic school uniforms—a blond little boy and a blond little girl.
Their faces wore innocent smiles, but their eyes, made of blue glass beads, held a chilling emptiness and indifference.
Judging by their appearance, they were undoubtedly the childhood versions of the siblings Alfred and Alexia.
The two ceramic figurines began to rotate, jump, and move clumsily yet gracefully on the small stage to the melancholic melody.
They drew close, then separated.
Like a bizarre, pre-programmed pas de deux.
Finally.
As the music drew to a close.
The two figurines slowly walked to the center of the stage.
They stood facing each other, drawing closer and closer.
Finally, their heads gently touched.
The posture was less like a kiss and more like a strange, sickly ritual of mutual confirmation of existence.
An indescribably strange emotion spread among the group.
It was a complex feeling mixed with disgust, absurdity, and a creeping horror.
Fortunately, the music didn't last too long.
As the final note faded.
The two ceramic figurines slowly descended back into the clock face.
The entire study fell silent once more.
After witnessing this bizarre scene, Noah wordlessly closed his laptop... "Rumble—rumble—rumble—"
A heavy sound of gears turning came clearly from behind the wall.
The massive grandfather clock began to slowly slide to the side.
Revealing a dark, seemingly bottomless secret passage behind it.
Leon looked at the passage exuding a cold, damp aura, then recalled the creepy performance that had just given him goosebumps.
He opened his mouth as if wanting to comment, but ultimately said nothing.
Faced with the Ashford Family's perverse taste that pushed the limits of human imagination.
He found all his witty remarks seemed utterly pale and inadequate.
After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to say dryly.
"Well... let's... get going..."
As soon as his words fell.
"BOOM——!!!!"
A deafening roar suddenly erupted from behind him!
That massive floor-to-ceiling window, the thick bulletproof glass strong enough to withstand ordinary gunfire, was struck as if by an invisible giant hammer in that instant!
Spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered the entire glass surface!
Immediately after.
"CRASH——!!!!!"
Accompanied by an earth-shattering sound of shattering glass.
The entire floor-to-ceiling window exploded!
Countless shards of glass, gleaming coldly like deadly shrapnel, mixed with the violent wind and rain, shot wildly into the study!
Documents on the desk were swept into the air by the gale.
That classical banker's lamp was instantly smashed to pieces.
A huge, bloated, pitch-black shadow rushing ined in through the shattered window!
Its form was so massive.
That when it landed heavily on the soft Persian carpet.
The entire floor of the study shook violently!