In the eerie dark shadows beside cold steel walls, four figures lurked silently. Before Shin, Kento, Seijuro, and Roxy loomed a fortified tower piercing straight into the dark clouds of the Neo-Human Central Sector—the most heavily guarded headquarters of the Federation. Below at the main entrance, several patrolling guards tightly gripped their energy weapons, their eyes constantly scanning the perimeter.
Roxy tightened her grip on her gun's handle, leaning close to Shin's ear to whisper:
— "What do we do next?"
Shin curled his lips into a strange smile, replying nonchalantly:
— "Surrender, of course!"
Seijuro narrowed his eyes, his finger tapping lightly on his katana's hilt, his voice filled with surprise:
— "Why surrender?"
— "The fastest way to penetrate deep inside is to get caught!" Shin smiled to reassure the three.
Saying so, without a moment's hesitation, he boldly stepped out of the shadows. Kento immediately strode alongside him:
— "I'm with you!"
Roxy and Seijuro exchanged glances, sighed, nodded, and leisurely walked straight toward the squad of gate guards.
— "Hello, fellas! See me? I'm here to give up!"
Shin's voice rang out mockingly through the quiet air.
The guards startled violently, instantly raising their glowing energy rifle barrels toward Shin's group. Blood drained completely from their pale faces as their legs trembled uncontrollably.
Shin raised both hands into the air, laughing off their reaction:
— "Don't look so terrified, okay? I really came to confess my crimes—I'm not here to fight anyone!"
The guards exchanged bewildered looks for a moment. One of them hastily pressed his shoulder radio, his voice trembling as he reported:
— "R-Report! We've encountered Yanagisawa Shin and his Zero Horizon accomplices... He... he came here on his own to surrender!"
Upon receiving urgent orders from above, the officer reclaimed a shred of courage and stepped forward.
CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!
Energy-dampening Sophion-reinforced chains quickly bound Group A's hands behind their backs. All four were escorted inside with maximum caution. Without expending a shred of combat effort, Shin's group had officially breached the heart of the headquarters.
Glancing down the endless corridors packed with dense security systems, Kento lowered his voice:
— "Brother Shin! This place seems pretty vast... Are we really just going to let ourselves stay captured like this?"
Shin shook his head gently, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes:
— "It's not time to act yet! We must wait for Group B and Group C to get into position. I bet... in just a few minutes, when they see my face, this whole Federation is going to descend into utter chaos!"
In the luxurious top-floor office, Lu Quanlin sat leisurely at a high-end wooden desk, casually reviewing stacks of paperwork.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Rapid knocking shattered the silence.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
— "Enter!" Lu Quanlin didn't look up, his voice deep and heavy.
The door burst open, and a trusted bodyguard rushed in, out of breath but full of shock:
— "Lord Lu! Yanagisawa Shin... he appeared right at our headquarters! And... and he came to surrender!"
Lu Quanlin froze. He slowly raised his head, eyes wide with astonishment, before slamming his hand down onto the desk!
BAM!!!!!
— "Hahaha! Hahahahaha!" Lu Quanlin threw his head back, laughing hysterically and triumphantly, his arrogant laughter echoing across the room. "Finally, the day has come where those filthy half-breeds have to crawl here and beg for my mercy! Messing with Lu Quanlin leads to only one outcome!"
His voice rasped, murder flashing in his eyes:
— "Quick... Take me down to see him right now!"
Down in the main hall, the air was suffocatingly tense. Arthur Pendleton stood above with crossed arms, his razor-sharp eyes inspecting the four who had just been brought in.
— "What kind of plot are these pests trying to hatch now?" Arthur muttered to himself.
Damon and Siren Sinclair had also arrived. Right beside them was Kim Tae-hyun—the Galactic Alliance Commander—observing with his hands clasped behind his back.
Tae-hyun scanned his eyes over Shin's group, coming to a halt at Roxy. Curling his lips behind his Noh mask, he turned and whispered playfully to Siren:
— "That dog-hybrid bitch looks pretty tasty... Who is she?"
Siren Sinclair glanced at Roxy, pouting playfully as she nudged her elbow into Tae-hyun's side:
— "That's Roxy Vance! Is my darling looking to switch flavors today? Tired of me already?"
Tae-hyun chuckled slyly, stepping closer to embrace Siren from behind, burying his face in her hair to inhale her alluring fragrance:
— "Of course not, my love! I just thought that girl looked a bit cute, that's all. Don't misunderstand me!"
Siren turned her face away, pouting snobbishly:
— "Hmph, if you're bored of me, just say it straight!"
— "How could I ever get bored of someone as gorgeous as you, darling?" Tae-hyun whispered, bringing his lips close to plant a kiss on Siren's fair neck (Smooch!).
Witnessing the shameless flirtation between the two ruthless monsters right in the middle of the hall, Damon furrowed his brows in disgust, quietly stepping back a few meters to spare his eyes.
Right then, Qin Wuhuang stepped out from the shadows, his eyes deep as he gazed at Shin's surrounded group. Right behind him, Lu Quanlin strode forward with the arrogant swagger of a supreme ruler.
— "Oh... Look who we have here. You must be Yanagisawa Shin?" Lu Quanlin curled his lips in disdain.
Shin raised his head, his expression strangely serene:
— "Hello. You must be Lu Quanlin?"
— "Did you come here to surrender?" Lu Quanlin stepped closer, crossing his arms and looking down on him. "Aren't you planning to keep playing with me a bit longer?"
Shin let out a heavy sigh, adopting a bitter tone:
— "I can't beat you in this game. At this point, all I can do is come confess my crimes... The four of us are the closest; I only ask that you show mercy and spare the rest of the group!"
Lu Quanlin smirked contemptuously, his eyes filled with immense satisfaction:
— "You're sensible, kid. Everyone who ever dared to oppose me met a horrific end, but since you know your place, I might go a little easier on you!"
Lu Quanlin leaned in close, putting his face right up to Shin's, his voice dropping into a hate-filled hiss:
— "You killed Orlov—the man I backed to manage the entire underground black market! You killed a good dog who did dirty work so I wouldn't have to get my hands filthy! Do you have any idea how important he was to me? When he died, I immediately launched an investigation into who did it... And that's how I found out about you!"
Lu Quanlin laughed triumphantly:
— "The Mikami brothers were sent as spies... My Federation has more than enough tricks to make your cheap Zero Horizon group take notice and recruit them! They're probably dead by now, but their mission was completed flawlessly, and I've reclaimed the classified chip!"
While Lu Quanlin was absorbed in his boasting in the main hall, down in an underground corridor below, Group B—consisting of Stolas, Ling Mo, and Kwon Tae-Joon—had successfully infiltrated the premises.
Thanks to the detailed architectural blueprint provided by Russo, they crept through the subterranean ventilation duct system.
CREAK…
Ling Mo gently pushed open the hatch cover. The three stepped into a vast kitchen area. It was completely deserted, as all personnel had been ordered to gather in the main hall.
Stolas swept his gaze around, lightly adjusting his collar:
— "I suspect Kiriko is likely being held in a separate high-security isolation sector."
— "Then let's search quickly!" Tae-Joon clenched his fists. "Ling Mo, do you see any particularly suspicious spots on the map?"
Ling Mo carefully shone his flashlight onto the detention sector map, his finger stopping at an isolated laboratory marked with a red cross:
— "Could she... be here?"
Tae-Joon nodded decisively:
— "Alright! Heading there now!"
Stolas gave a faint smile:
— "Group C has also taken their own route to breach the Federation's central server. We don't have much time."
The three quickly hugged the walls, vanishing into the darkness of the secluded corridor.
Meanwhile, over at the Federation's central server room…
The corridor was splattered with fresh blood. Dozens of guards lay knocked unconscious alongside technical staff strewn across the floor.
A technician clung frantically to a chair leg, his face covered in blood, raising his hands to plead desperately:
— "Pl-Please... spare me... I'm just an... employee...!"
GRAB!
A massive, tattoo-covered hand hoisted the technician into the air. Ryuzaki Renji glared with brutal intensity:
— "Speak! What's the passcode to open this steel door?!"
The technician trembled violently, gasping in utter panic:
— "Y-Yes... it's... Y29... 3716... 3... ack...!"
Having forced out his final word, he passed out from sheer terror.
THUD!
Renji dropped the technician to the ground. Immediately, Xie Xingchen stepped up to the security keypad, quickly typing in the encryption sequence:
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! CLICK!
The multi-ton bulletproof steel door slowly slid open to both sides, revealing the Federation-wide broadcast network control room.
Renji turned to Xie Xingchen and Loona:
— "You two go inside and 'have fun'! Russo and I will keep watch out here!"
Russo nodded, leisurely relighting his cigar, joining Renji in dragging the collapsed bodies into hidden corners to delay discovery as long as possible. Group C had gained complete control of the broadcast room!
Back in the main hall.
Lu Quanlin folded his arms, looking down at Shin with an air of absolute superiority:
— "If you'd done this earlier, wouldn't I have saved so much trouble?"
Shin raised his head, the corners of his lips curling into a ruthless, mocking smirk:
— "I think... you're about to need to spend a whole lot more money!"
Lu Quanlin narrowed his eyes in confusion:
— "Huh? What do you mean?!"
CRACK!!!!! SHATTER!!!!!
A terrifying shockwave of atmospheric pressure erupted from Shin's body! The Sophion-reinforced lock chains—supposedly unbreakable—instantly shattered into a hundred metallic fragments, spraying in all directions!
The entire hall was stunned into silence! Arthur, Siren, Damon, and Qin Wuhuang all paled in unison!
Shin lowered his arms, his blood-red eyes flashing with violent, monstrous killing intent. He enunciated every word, his voice echoing like thunder tearing through space:
— "Because... as of right now... YOU ARE ALREADY A DEAD MAN!"
(To be continued)