The sleek private jets stood ready on the tarmac, their gleaming exteriors reflecting the harsh banks of floodlights surrounding the secluded airfield. A predatory hush hung over the scene, occasionally punctured by the murmured exchanges between the clusters of figures milling about.
Rows of tall, imposing men clad head-to-toe in crisp black suits and earpieces manned two of the jets, their movements disciplined and economical as they conducted final preparations. Nearby, a separate phalanx of similarly attired guards stood in rigid perimeter formation - silent monoliths of broad-shouldered vigilance.
At the center of this militant staging ground stood the elite members of the Li and Sun clans themselves. Li Chen, Li Xinjie, Sun Lixia, Li Yanyan, Tang Ziyi, and Xu Zhonhao waited beside the third and largest of the aircraft, an aura of urgent purpose seeming to crackle around them.
