Billionaire Reboot: Building A New World Order
Chapter 60: The Team 2

Chapter 60: The Team 2

The moon hung low in the sky, casting a pale light that gave the snow-blanketed estate a ghostly glow.

Frost crunched under Sergei as he inched forward, his rifle resting across his back.

A thin puff of breath slipped from his lips, vanishing into the night.

Through his high-magnification thermal scope, he watched the guards pacing along the fence, their movements painted in ghostly whites and oranges.

With a light touch, his finger pressed the earpiece.

[Two at the southeast corner. One is pausing for a smoke — there’s a blind spot behind the frozen ivy wall. You have six seconds.]

In the darkness below, Katya signaled Victor and Alexei with two quick finger taps.

Dropping into a low crouch, her breath came out in light clouds as she moved forward. Each step sank into the snow without making a sound.

She slipped through the ivy-covered break in the fence first, sliding her slim body sideways.

Her fingers brushed against frost-covered vines as she pushed forward, heart pounding in her throat.

Victor followed, a line across his brow, clutching his suppressed SMG to his chest as if it might vanish.

Alexei struggled to squeeze through, his tool pack snagging momentarily. Katya reached back, yanking him free just in time.

As for Terrence, he decided to go with the flow.

His plan was simple: stick to the original mission and lend a hand only if things went sideways.

Inside the grounds, the group pressed into the garden — a twisting maze of frost-streaked hedges and dead rose bushes.

Katya held up a fist. The group stopped, breath steaming in the dark.

A guard shuffled along the far hedge, humming softly, his flashlight bobbing.

[One patrolling right. Static checkpoint behind the cherub fountain. Wait,] Sergei murmured.

Katya crouched low, her eyes focused as she counted the guard’s footsteps.

Beside her, Victor was ready, his finger twitching on the trigger of his silenced SMG.

When the guard turned away, Katya gave the signal. They moved quickly, staying close to the hedge.

Alexei stumbled over a hidden root, colliding with Victor. The two wobbled precariously.

A sharp metallic sound echoed through the garden—the guard had halted and was shining his flashlight back toward the noise.

Katya’s heartbeat thundered in her ears.

Before she could react, a figure darted past her.

Terrence emerged from the hedge like a shadow in motion.

His hand shot out, grasping the guard’s face.

With a soft, wet crunch, he twisted the man’s head to the side, silencing him instantly.

The guard’s body slumped forward. Terrence caught it and dragged it out of sight.

Victor’s eyes went wide. Alexei’s face went pale, sweat running down his temple despite the cold.

They were all speechless. He moved with inhuman speed—so fast, she didn’t even hear footsteps. For a moment, she wondered if he had flown.

She was half right. His movement was called Phantom Step—a standard technique for all mana soldiers.

It let them erase their presence in case they needed to escape from monsters.

But right now, it was the perfect skill for moving quickly without making a sound.

"Just chill you’re with me." he chuckled.

Katya just smiled. The kind that soldier gives another on a battlefield: gratitude, and respect.

Terrence said nothing. He just slipped in behind her, following her lead.

They slid past a frozen cherub fountain, its cracked stone wings dusted with snow.

Ahead, another guard leaned against the marble railing, checking his comm tablet.

Victor raised his weapon.

Katya smacked his wrist sharply, shaking her head. She pointed up to the moonlit terrace above them, signaling: No shots.

The guard’s head turned suddenly, hearing the noise.

SWOOOOSH!

Terrence slipped behind him.

He looped his arm around the guard’s neck, hoisting him ever so slightly off his feet.

The guard’s legs fluttered like leaves in the wind before they stilled, hanging lifelessly.

Katya’s group could only watch.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t handle the guards themselves—he was just too fast.

One by one, they started to wonder if they were even needed at all.

Victor couldn’t help himself.

"Guess we’re just here for the show, huh?" he said, nudging one of the others with a grin.

Terrence paused for a second, then shook his head.

"I might be fast, but I can’t open the vault or loop the CCTV in my own,"

His humble gesture left the group with a better impression of him.

Moving forward, the group pressed onward, inching ever closer to the looming mansion.

Guards patrolled the grounds, their eyes scanning for any sign of intrusion, but the group moved with the precision of phantoms, gliding through the darkened CCTV blind spot.

Sergei’s meticulous look out, allowed them to advance steadily, each step laden with tension but met with barely a hint of opposition

A small maintenance shed was beyond the terrace — rusted walls, broken planters piled against its sides.

Katya pressed herself to the wall, listening.

"Two inside. Playing cards,"

She slipped in first, signaling for Victor and Alexei to slide along the wall.

Inside, two guards laughed over cards, oblivious.

Terrence waited at the threshold, coiled, in case they turned.

But Katya and the others passed through unseen, their shadows rippling across the doorway.

Outside, Terrence gently closed the door, the faintest creak disappearing under the distant wail of wind.

Opening one of the doors led them into some kind of basement.

The walls were lined with exposed heater pipes and bundles of wires, condensation dripping in slow, heavy ticks onto the concrete floor.

Katya signaled for them to stay put and pressed a small receiver against her ear.

"Daniel, we’re in position. Team Two ready to proceed."

There was a brief static crackle, then a calm, clipped voice answered.

"Copy that, Katya. Team One has secured uplink from the north service tower. I’m in the local grid now — piggybacking off estate maintenance frequencies. Welcome to the local net."

Victor exhaled in relief, checking his weapon’s suppressor. "About damn time."

Daniel chuckled lightly.

"You’ve got cameras offline on the north wing and partial loop in east . Maintenance tunnel grid is blind for five minutes. Moving corridor security updates to your HUD now."

Katya tapped the small screen on her wrist pad. Routes and guard pings flickered to life, shifting in real time.

"James, Victor, Alexei — we move on my mark."

They moved in tight formation down the utility hallway.

Overhead, steam lines groaned; valves hissed and rattled with each pulse of heated air.

[Next left. You’ll hit a low-pressure ductway — crawlspace bypasses two floor patrols,]

Daniel’s voice crackled softly in their earpieces. [After that, you’ll come to the inner service door. I’ll unlock it remotely.]

Katya pressed forward, signaling them to keep low.

Victor took up the rear, glancing over his shoulder every few steps.

They turned left into a wider cross-hall. But as they crossed, a cluster of voices rose around the corner — echoing boots, radios clicking.

Katya’s eyes snapped wide. She raised her hand to stop them, but it was too late.

Two guards emerged from the side passage.

Both groups froze in a single breathless moment — the world collapsing to the small hiss of leaking steam and the heavy thump of heartbeats.

The lead guard’s mouth twisted, lungs drawing to shout.

Victor’s hand twitched toward his SMG, but he was too slow.

Terrence moved first.

In a blur, he launched forward like a gale.

His fist shot forward, slamming into the first guard’s solar plexus.

The man’s eyes bulged, breath stolen in an instant. Before he could even collapse, Terrence twisted behind him, clamped a hand over his mouth, and snapped his neck.

The second guard turned, rifle lifting.

Terrence moved like a phantom — one hand seized the barrel, wrenching it down while his other arm wrapped around the guard’s head.

A quick, brutal twist. The crack echoed softly, muffled by Terrence’s grip. The guard slid to the floor, limp.

In less than three seconds, all two men died.

Silence swallowed the hallway once again. Only the faint hiss of steam and their own heartbeats remained.

"Thanks," Katya forced out, still unable to comprehend what happened.

Terrence simply nodded, wiping a small smear of blood from his glove.

Katya pressed a hand to her earpiece. "Daniel. Why the hell didn’t you warn us? You said this path was clear."

There was a pause, static crackling softly.

[Shit... sorry. There was a lag on my side. The north utility camera must’ve glitched — it’s been flickering for a while. I thought it was just a signal artifact.]

Katya clenched her jaw, forcing herself to keep moving forward.

"Fix it," she hissed. "We can’t afford surprises again."

[Understood. Rerouting now. ]

Katya nodded to the team. "Let’s move."

They stepped over the fallen guards.

After a few tight turns down the concrete corridor, Daniel’s voice returned in their ears, clearer and steadier now.

[All right. You’re clear to ascend. There’s a service stairwell up ahead on your left. It runs straight to the upper maintenance deck above the utility halls — connects to the big vehicle storage.]

Victor glanced at Katya, uncertainty in his eyes. "Garage? Isn’t that risky?"

Katya shook her head, breath steadying. "We need higher ground to bypass the main patrol net. Besides, it puts us closer to the secondary exit routes if we have to bail."

Victor grunted, unconvinced but still followed.

The concrete walls gradually gave way to smoother, polished surfaces — faint traces of oil and exhaust fumes thickened in the air.

Ahead, a thick steel door stood ajar, yellow paint peeling around the handle.

Katya peered through the crack, then slipped inside, motioning them to follow.

"Coast is clear,"