“Xiao Ge, we need to catch up with them!” Lin Yao said anxiously.
Han Xiao’s had one hand on the steering wheel while the other one was out of the window and enjoying the wind. “Why do we need to catch up? No matter how fast they drive now, they will have to wait for us later.”
“Well… you are right when you put it that way.”
Suddenly, Di Su Su’s laughter came from the radio. “Little Lin Lin, how come you guys are so slow. Hurry and catch up with us. Unless Han Xiao’s skills are not up to par?”
“I do not want to waste my petrol,” Han Xiao replied briefly.
Di Su Su was instantly stunned. This was the first time she heard such a unique excuse. Agents like us need to worry about paying for petrol?
Ma Qing Yang chimed in on the radio. “Zhang Wei, this is Hesla’s agents showing off. We must not lose to them.”
Zhang Wei pondered for a few seconds, and he patted on Han Xiao’s shoulder. “Let’s catch up with them.”
Li Ya Lin’s face immediately turned pale. She grabbed Zhang Wei’s sleeve hurriedly and urged, “Please don’t. This speed is great!”
“What exactly do you fear?” Zhang Wei was really puzzled.
“Captain, is it not good to be alive?” Li Ya Lin said in a trembling and sobbing tone.
Zhang Wei was extremely baffled.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. “You really want to pursue them?”
“Yes.” Zhang Wei nodded his head.
Han Xiao sighed and changed the gear with ease. “Okay then. You guys had better hold on tight.”
Li Ya Lin was deeply fearful. She held onto the car door as tightly as she could and clenched her jaw.
“You… you guys will definitely regret this.”
…
In the afternoon, everyone arrived at the destination.
As soon as they alighted their vehicles, they all looked at the big black truck with shock, horror, and disbelief. Cold chills ran down their spine whenever they thought of the scene from before.
Even though they were experienced agents who had seen many things, such as “S” and “Z” shape movements, this was the first time they had seen an “&” shape movement! And it was faster than anyone else!
This could not even be counted as drifting… more like flying!
The truck driver must have been heavily under the influence!
Zhang Wei, Lin Yao, and Li Ya Lin fumbled out of the vehicle, held onto a tree at the side, and started vomiting everything they had inside them. At that moment, they felt like they’d be better off dead.
“Blargh—”
“Oh my god… I feel like I’m dying. Blargh—”
“Told you that you would regret this. Blargh—”
Han Xiao strolled down from the car and clamped a cigarette comfortably in his mouth. He smirked and said, “Well, you guys told me to chase.”
“You… Do you specialize in driving bumper cars‽”
Han Xiao curled his lips. Bumper cars? Don’t look down on me. I used to drive Mechas!
Lambert got out of the car with sturdy steps, as if nothing had happened to him. Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed. “See? There is someone normal enough to enjoy my driving.”
Just as Lambert opened his mouth to speak, vomit came out like waterfall. Only after everything was vomited out did Lambert commented with a poker face, “If you ever touch the steering wheel again, I will just jump out of the car.”
Chapter 74 - Separate Operations
Translator: chickenpau Editor: Millman97
The cars were parked outside. After everyone moved their equipment into the secret base, they began their pre-mission briefing.
“We have two operations. Firstly, disguise as wanderers and blend into Dark Crow Forest Town to gather intel; secondly, search for sentry guards from the Germinal Organization that are left alone and force information about their base out of them.
“We will handle the sentries, your people can go to the Dark Crow Forest Town,” Winna immediately stated.
Di Su Su frowned. There would mostly likely be spies hidden in the town. If they attempted to blend in, they might be exposed and be put in dire danger. If so, they would not achieve anything. Searching for sentries would be much safer and easier to accomplish.
Hesla just could not wait to throw all the dangerous and tough jobs to Division 13. This attitude annoyed them greatly, but someone had to do the missions after all. If it was not going to be Hesla then it had to be Division 13. As such, no one voiced any objection.
“To infiltrate the town, we must first disguise ourselves as wanderers and then find an opportunity to gather intel covertly. We must not act rashly and alert the enemy,” said Qi Bai Jia.
After some discussion, it was decided that some people would stay at the base as backup. Four people stayed behind: Lin Yao, Qi Bai Jia, Ma Qing Yang, and Han Xiao.
Hesla also left some personnel to guard the base. Han Xiao only knew Ye Fan from their group.
It was only the afternoon. The Hesla agents decided to take a rest first. They would wait till dawn, when enemy’s alertness would be at its lowest, to move off to find enemy sentry guards. They had brought infrared imaging devices, so the darkness actually provided them with an advantage. Also, they secretly wanted Division 13 to be the guinea pig to sweep away some danger first.
Once the mission plan was finalized, those Division 13 agents who were going in mixed together to form a team with Di Su Su as the leader. They were disguised in wanderer’s clothes and looked travel-worn and weary. They hunched their backs to look as if they were being weighed down by stress. They carried giant backpacks and looked exactly like those real wanderers. They then headed toward the Dark Crow Forest Town on foot.
The secret base was equipped with many computer screens that were connected to agents’ camera and earphones. Han Xiao, Lin Yao, and Qi Bai Jia would rotate to monitor the situation.
Di Su Su’s team soon arrived at the crowded town, which was displayed on the screens. There were many different types of buildings, and despite the housing being simple and crude, there were many people there, making it look like a marketplace. Although the town was small in area, it had everything, even hotels for guests.
“Let’s look for a place to stay first.”
Di Su Su and the gang were questioned by the locals, but she answered perfectly. They were just ‘wanderers that were migrating’ and ‘wanted to rest here for a while before moving off.’ Afterwards, they successfully checked in at one of the hotels in the town.
As soon as they entered the room, they immediately swept for monitoring cameras and bugs professionally. They started discussing their next steps after they made sure the room was safe.
“How should we proceed now?” Li Ya Lin curled her lips and gave Di Su Su a cold look.
Di Su Su was not in the mood to banter with Li Ya Lin. Her brows knitted together as she said in a serious tone, “People in the town are still suspicious of our identity. I think we should stay put.”
Han Xiao suddenly chimed in through the earpieces. “You guys had better act today.”
“Give me a good reason.” Di Su Su was slightly provoked.
“You guys are now foreign wanderers, so you should act your part. It is only normal to gather information about this place. It will actually look strange if you purposefully conceal yourselves, making others feel that you have an ulterior motive.”
Everyone looked at one another. “That seems like a good point.”
“…Let’s do what Han Xiao suggested.”
The town had many amenities, including entertainment facilities, casinos, a pharmacy, restaurants, and even places for one to release. As night fell, the team moved out in different groups and pretended to spend money, probe for intel, and gather information. However, they did not achieve any substantial success. The locals there were mostly ordinary wanderers, and they did not spot any people of interest.
“Our enemies must be hiding deeply. We pro
bably won’t get anything through this method.” Qi Bai Jia’s expression was grave.
“Actually, I know a way.” Han Xiao smiled. He knew the specific spy that was station at this town. After ‘real’ players earned enough reputation from missions, they could choose to join the Germinal Organization through this NPC. By catching this NPC, they could get quite a lot of intel.
Han Xiao knew the exact coordinates of the Dark Crow Valley Base, but he was unsure of the specific military strength and defenses of the base. After ten long years, he only remembered a little information about the place. Furthermore, they were at the different point in time, so the changes would be different. It was essential for them to gather intel from the NPC.
“You guys should go to the southern part of town, where you will see a casino. There should be a bald-headed dude who knows the intel about the base.” Han Xiao was describing the spy from the Germinal Organization stationed at the town. Those ‘real’ players who were born at Dark Crow Forest Town could only join the Germinal Organization through this guy.
Everyone was shocked. Di Su Su frowned. “Where did you get this information from?”
“I have my ways.”
“What if the information is incorrect?” Di Su Su was adamant.
“Listen to him.” Qi Bai Jia spoke up for Han Xiao. Before the mission, higher ups had told him to trust his intel. This showed that the higher ups valued Han Xiao highly.
Di Su Su had to repress her suspicion and follow to the order. She took some agents to the small casino and looked for the person quietly. Without fail, they found the bald-headed guy, who was the banker of the casino.
“What should we do now? If we act rashly, we could alarm our enemies. He might have companions from the organization around him,” asked Di Su Su.
Han Xiao was speechless. “We’ve already found our target. Can’t you just be professional and do what you usually do?”
Di Su Su felt her chest tighten, enraged by his comment. But at the same time, she realized that she had asked a dumb question. She gathered her teammates to secretly surround the guy.
Han Xiao looked at the time. He got up and let Lin Yao take over his duty. He did not feel that he needed to supervise the actual execution. If they could not even catch the guy, those agents should just knock themselves out with a piece of tofu.
At the same time, Winna and her team of Hesla agents left for their objective after she gave Han Xiao a fierce glare.
Han Xiao did not plan to rest at the secret base. He went into the trunk of Big Black and started assessing the situation. Both operations are team-based. They will most likely complete them without any hiccups. I should be more concerned with my personal mission. I will need some handy tools in order to assassinate the sentry guards in the forest.
Han Xiao took out some spare parts and began working on his interface.
_____________________
Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?
(Basic Spatial Sensing + Basic Bio-engineering + Basic Mechanical Engineering)
This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP.
_____________________
Fusion Success!
Congratulations, you have invented [Miniature Biological Sensor (Spider)]!
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
…
Winna’s team sneaked among the trees silently as if they were hunters searching for prey in the dark forest. They were wearing camouflage suits and night-vision goggles.
The sentry guards were stationed right outside the base. One of the team members was a master in investigating trails. He could deduce the number of people that had walked past a location a day before based on the minimal evidence left behind.
He was called Magarnu, a tall Sharnuk. He was built like a small mountain, which made it hard to believe that he was extremely meticulous. He rubbed the soil between his fingertips, smelt it, and pondered for a few moments. “There was a man, weighing around 180 pounds, who walked past here in a northwestern direction seven hours ago.”
Winna did not doubt Magarnu’s deduction. She and her team walked carefully in that direction. Suddenly, they came to a halt. Night vision goggles showed a living entity on tree three hundred meters out.
“Search the surroundings!”
Winna kept a cool head and did not act prematurely. She instructed her team to search for any other sentry guards or surveillance devices in the surroundings. After about twenty minutes, they confirmed that they were safe.
Ye Fan gave the order through the radio. “Take him down!”
Winna activated her power, and immediately, a maroon energy trail flashed under her feet. She moved swiftly and quietly within a hundred-meter radius from the enemy. She always stayed in the blind spots of the enemy by using the trees to hide her body like a master-level assassin. She hopped onto a tree in a cat-like manner before summoning her maroon-colored energy. The energy allowed her to stick onto the tree branches, and she jumped constantly from tree to tree, quickly approaching the enemy.
The Germinal sentry guard felt a sudden gust of wind over his head. He looked up and saw a dark shadow accelerating toward him.
Chapter 75 - Hacker
Translator: Chocolion Editor: Millman97
Ten minutes later…
Snap!
Magarnu twisted the neck of the sentry guard.
They had already secured the information they wanted.
Winna’s voice blared out from the communication device. “From our preliminary reconnaissance activity, we discovered that the base has been divided into 6 high-alert regions. The level of defense gradually increases from the innermost to the outermost sectors. We are currently at the outermost region.
“Every high-alert region will have a sentry post manned by an officer and his troops. Based on our previous interrogation, officers have access to the intranet of the military base. Therefore, as long as we can arrive at the sentry post, we will be able to access the intranet and gather intelligence using the officer’s computer.
“This sentry guard revealed the exact position of the post. Let’s move out immediately!”
Ye Fan knew that even the slightest delay would change the outcome of the operation. There was a series of protocols to follow for the shift-changing of the sentry guards in the next few hours; by then, other soldiers would discover the disappearance of the sentry guard who had been killed. However, their first priority was still to gather sufficient intelligence even if that risked revealing their positions, since ultimately, the enemy would realize the impending invasion by the Hesla military. They needed to find out the military strength and defenses at the Dark Crow Valley base.
If Winna managed to succeed, the agents of Division 13 hiding in Dark Crow Forest Town would fall into the precarious situation of revealing their positions to the enemy. The agents might even be caught before they made their moves.
Ye Fan analyzed the situation rationally and made the decision.
“Operation approved! Immediately head out to the enemy base.”
Winna nodded and disposed of the sentry guard’s body. She then led her teammates into the enemy base.
Ye Fan heaved a sigh of relief, and his eyes moved away from the screen. He glanced at the operations’ office of Division 13 and shook his head slightly. He did not know what his decision would bring, but he wanted the best for the mission. He would inform the department afterwards.
There were times when one had to take a leap of faith.
…
Before twilight, Winna and her team found the sentry post.
It was a shed camouflaged deep in the vegetation used by the hunters.
Quietly, the team moved closer to their target. Magarnu grabbed the sound-wave detector from his haversack and scanned the interior of the shed from outside. The results returned revealed three human targets: one lying on the sofa and two who seemed to be consuming their supper at the table.
&
nbsp; Winna raised her hand and started the count.
Three, two, one! Winna leapt forward into the shed through the window. Her teammates followed behind.
The three enemy soldiers were shocked by the unexpected attack, and before they could retaliate, they were shot with the tranquilizers by the Hesla agents and collapsed onto the ground.
The Hesla agents then searched the shed and the clothing of the unconscious soldiers. They uncovered a hidden compartment behind the wall. The agents discovered that out of the three soldiers, one of them was an officer based on the identity card he carried.
“This is our target.” Winna grinned to herself. This officer by the name of Roman seemed to be the one in charge of the sentry post.
The agents tied Roman up and gave him an injection to wake him up. Magarnu then slapped Roman repeatedly to speed up the process. “Tell us the password to the safe if you want to live!”
Roman was scared to death by the troop of heavily armed agents and immediately confessed the password without any sign of hesitance.
After entering the password, the safe successfully opened, and a laptop could be seen. After turning on the laptop, a sign-in page appeared on the screen, and both the identity card and a verbal password were required to access the portal.
Roman was very cooperative, and the agents managed to access the portal with his account. Following the jingle, the words ‘Dang Dang Dang the Germinal assistant is at your service.’ flashed on the screen.
Startled, Ye Fan choked on his coffee.
All the agents had confused looks on their faces. No one could have imagined that the portal’s interface would look like that.
Ye Fan didn’t know what to say. “What a cute portal…”
A couple of menus appeared on the server, and due to the low rank of Roman, he could only access a few of them. Winnie found the page that displayed the daily activity log for the military base, and the team became really excited.
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