Chapter 453
The driver grinned widely. “If Boss Montgomery reaches the summit within an hour, I get ten days of paid vacation!”
“You’re on,” Maxwell replied.
Even though he was fully aware of Isabella’s capabilities, the mountain was treacherous. Scaling it in under sixty minutes while dodging every single infrared sensor seemed nearly impossible.
But up on the ridge, Isabella didn’t follow the main trail.
She moved with purpose, scanning her surroundings with sharp eyes.
She headed straight for the area with the highest concentration of infrared beams.
Places with heavy security usually hid the most valuable secrets.
Just as she anticipated, after maneuvering through an intricate web of lasers, a narrow passage came into view.
It was carved directly into the cliff face, resembling an ancient mountain pathway.
Only one person could pass through at a time.
The entire corridor was lined with overlapping infrared grids.
Isabella’s brow furrowed.
What was Takashi Yamamoto hiding? Was he really just a professional gamer?
This level of security felt excessive.
She took a deep breath and began her approach.
She dropped into a low crouch, then sprang forward with explosive speed.
Her movements were a fluid dance—leaping, twisting, scaling the rock wall, sometimes crawling flat against the ground.
Every muscle in her body was perfectly toned.
Under the pale moonlight, her silhouette moved with an almost supernatural grace.
It was like watching a panther stalk its prey.
Roughly forty minutes later, she stood at the mountain’s peak.
Down below, the driver had been dozing against the steering wheel.
A soft chime from the monitor woke him.
His eyes snapped open.
The screen displayed a system notification: [Target has reached destination.]
The altitude sensor confirmed she was at the summit.
The driver turned to Maxwell with a triumphant smirk. “I win!”
Maxwell had been waiting in tense silence outside the vehicle.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Forty minutes.
Boss Montgomery conquered the peak in forty minutes.
He realized, once again, that he had underestimated her limits.
At the top stood a sprawling European-style mansion.
From a distance, Isabella could make out numerous guards patrolling the grounds.
She quickly assessed her surroundings.
The nearest guard was about three meters away—the most immediate threat.
She pulled out a custom-designed air pistol.
With a nearly silent release, it fired a small pellet.
Isabella immediately covered her mouth and nose.
The pellet was one of her uncles’ inventions.
It released a colorless, odorless gas that could knock out anyone within a ten-meter radius.
Within moments, every guard in the vicinity collapsed.
Even the sentries at the main entrance slumped to the ground unconscious.
Isabella sprinted toward the mansion.
She slipped through an open window with practiced ease.
Her intel indicated that Benjamin was being held in the basement.
She activated her infrared scanner and swept the interior.
Areas with unusual energy concentrations stood out immediately.
It didn’t take long to locate the basement entrance.
But she wasn’t in a rush.
She took a moment to scan the rest of the mansion.
Then she moved swiftly toward the control room.
Within seconds, she hacked into the security mainframe and disabled the entire defense grid.
Every infrared beam throughout the compound vanished instantly.
The system attempted to send an intrusion alert to Takashi Yamamoto.
Isabella terminated the signal before it could be transmitted.