North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 263 Simple Mode

"puff"

Luo Xia suddenly surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of salty seawater, and complained irritably into his headset: "The waterproof suit and helmet are leaking. Your quality control department should really check the equipment quality."

Harold's intermittent, gloating voice came through the earpiece: "Who told you not to check it yourself before you went? Okay, stop complaining. Get the miniature camera installed first."

"Heh, in the end, I trusted you too much." Luo Xia joked as he clipped a peanut-sized camera to his collar and hid behind the rock wall.

He quickly changed out of his diving suit, stuffed it into a waterproof bag, and stored it in the Tyrant's Space.

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings, where he saw bunkers, sentry posts, and radar stations densely distributed across the strait on the steep sea cliffs.

In addition to armed ships patrolling the sea, there are drones patrolling the air 24 hours a day.

Rorschach narrowed his eyes, his mind racing as he planned out possible infiltration routes.

Just as he was about to take action, Harold suddenly reminded him: "Wait! According to the intelligence Scarlett obtained from the Department of Homeland Security, there are tens of thousands of M18A1 landmines buried in this strait, ready to be triggered at any moment."

Luo Xia crouched down, observing the rocks eroded by the sea breeze, their edges sharp and jagged. The ground was uneven, its sharp edges formed by years of erosion.

"Mamma Fuck Landmine"

He cursed under his breath.

Even with the "Judgment Eye" warning, facing tens of thousands of landmines would be overwhelming.

A few warnings occasionally are fine, but if there are hundreds or thousands, his brain simply can't process them.

"Is there a way?" Luo Xia asked in a low voice.

"etc."

Harold's phone rang with rapid keyboard clicks: "Crawling into the Pentagon database to find the coordinates of the mines, but the signal is too weak underwater. It will take time."

"Dude, your preparations are so unprofessional."

Rorschach couldn't help but complain: "We're a regular army now, the world's largest private organization. We can't keep going like before, with all sorts of problems arising when it comes to operations."

Harold remained silent, but couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

In the end, isn't it because you pushed too hard?

Having just finished integrating the resources of [Cobra], and barely having warmed their seats at the Arctic base, they rushed to California to invade the [Machine] mainframe, without even giving themselves a moment to breathe.

Several minutes passed, and the signal in the earpiece was still intermittent. Luo Xia was getting impatient and was about to bite the bullet and bravely venture into the minefield based on the danger warning.

Just then, the doctor's voice suddenly rang out without warning: "BOSS, there's really no need for all this trouble. Among the weapons you took with you when you set off, there were some specifically designed for mine clearance."

He explained, "Among those nanobots, one can accurately detect metal objects within a range of 100 meters underground. Once released, it can automatically mark the location of minefields."

Luo Xia raised an eyebrow.

When he was clearing out the Cobra base, he did indeed stuff all the high-tech weapons in the armory into the Tyrant Space. He didn't even know how to use most of them; he just kept them as a precaution.

I never thought it would actually come in handy now.

Following the doctor's instructions, Rorschach retrieved a palm-sized silver metal sphere from his spatial storage.

After the switch is turned on, the metal ball rapidly disintegrates and unfolds like a Rubik's Cube.

Countless nanobots, almost invisible to the naked eye, coalesced into a slender silver snake, which slithered and disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

After waiting a few minutes, Rorschach put on his specially made sunglasses.

Suddenly, an astonishing scene unfolded before their eyes—the ground was covered with countless silver dots gleaming coldly, each representing a metallic object detected by the nanobots.

At the bottom of this strait, there could be no other metal objects besides landmines.

"Shet."

Looking at the clear map of landmine distribution in front of him, Luo Xia couldn't help but laugh and exclaim, "I absolutely love this high-tech stuff!"

Taking a deep breath, he leaped out like a cheetah, rushing towards the most conspicuous bunker deep in the strait.

Meanwhile, in the sky, Jack, who was on his way to the assembly point by helicopter, suddenly felt a strange palpitation.

He turned to look at the strait, which resembled an iron fortress in the sea, his brows furrowed and his expression grave.

"Finn, how's the base?" he suddenly asked his men stationed at the strait, picking up the walkie-talkie.

The subordinate checked the surveillance and drone footage with a puzzled look, then replied, "Everything's normal, sir. Is there a problem?"

"Stay on high alert, don't let your guard down," Jack said in a deep voice. "Spectre stole the Staff to hack into the Machine's mainframe. The Staff has been missing for a week now, and I bet Rorschach will show up within three days."

"But...does he really know that the main unit of the machine is here?" the subordinate asked hesitantly.

Jack paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "It's hard to say."

The photograph of Harold taken in Toronto kept haunting him.

He remembered meeting Nathan, the founder of the Counterterrorism Bureau, when it was still in its early days and the "machine" was still under development. Harold gave him a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen Nathan before when they were talking.

If his guess is correct, Harold is not only a top hacker by Rorschach's side, but also very likely one of the creators of the [machine].

If that's the case, the other party must know the location of the host computer, and it's only a matter of time before they find it here.

Jack sighed softly and hung up the call.

He had intended to return to the Straits to personally oversee the operation, but Underwood, having just shown goodwill, not only gave Ginny a key position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but also relinquished the credit for eliminating the Cobra stronghold.

If I were to refuse at this point, it would be incredibly ungrateful.

"Damn it! I refuse to believe this nonsense!"

Jack slammed his fist on the chair, then turned and ordered the troops on the shore to immediately assemble and prepare for a full-scale annihilation of the Cobra stronghold!

At this moment, Rorschach, who was sneaking through the canyon, was naturally unaware of all this. He wasn't even sure if his "future father-in-law" was in the bunker.

The main reason for handing over McCallum and intelligence about the outpost to Underwood was, besides using him as a tool to kill and helping him rise to power, to divert the Counterterrorism Bureau's forces.

It wasn't that he was afraid of them, but he didn't want to completely fall out with Jack, lest he hurt too many of his men.

To avoid Ginny complaining in bed that she was too harsh on her father, I always try to get him to be nicer to his father-in-law when things are going well. That girl has no idea when to mention whom, it's such a downer.

Without further ado, Rorschach sped through the canyon for a moment and arrived at the heavily guarded core area.

In addition to the central bunker, the area was surrounded by sentry posts, all equipped with heavy machine guns and anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of helicopters patrolled the airspace.

Anyone else would have a hard time even getting close, let alone infiltrating. Rorschach calmly surveyed the heavily fortified surroundings, his face showing no sign of tension or hesitation.

The next second, two specially made silenced pistols appeared in his hands. Just as he was about to launch a surprise attack, the doctor suddenly stopped him in his earpiece.

"Boss, they're just ordinary guards and electronic surveillance. With your status, why would you need to do it yourself?"

As he spoke, this guy, who looked like an evil villain who had failed in human experimentation but spoke like a lackey, began to explain to Rorschach how to use several weapons.

Luo Xia, who had originally planned to just kill his way through as usual, paused in his steps and his expression became strange.

Inside the sentry post.

Two counterterrorism soldiers were chatting to pass the time.

They didn't know what secrets were hidden in the strait, but over the years, the counter-terrorism bureau had consistently sent personnel to guard the area day and night.

Over the years, I haven't seen an intruder, or even a seagull that has wandered in by mistake.

"No, no, no, what I mean is that Jordan is great, he's been to the Finals six times and has six championship rings. But he's not like LeBron James, who faced immense pressure as soon as he entered the league. You know, the NBA's ratings need LeBron James to save them."

"Wow, I'd like to ask you, who exactly put James under this bullshit pressure? Wasn't it this guy himself? He hadn't even entered the league yet and he already got a 'Chosen One' tattoo on his head, and every time he starts a game he pretends to be an emperor, wearing a crown and sprinkling magnesium powder."

"He deserves it, buddy. He's that great. Just wait and see. With Wade and Bosh's help, James will win more than six championships."

"Fuck you, he's going to Miami to be number two, OK?"

The two argued heatedly, their faces flushed and spittle flying.

As Luo Xia listened to their argument, he even suspected that they would start fighting over who was greater, Jordan or James, without him having to intervene.

Yes, that's right. He can now not only hear the two arguing, but he can even see their hairs clearly.

It wasn't because Rorschach had already infiltrated the guard post, but rather—

"Zizzi"

A slight electric current suddenly ran through the back of their necks.

Countless nanobots had flown onto their bodies without them even realizing it. After releasing a paralyzing electric current, they acted collectively, tearing through their skin and flesh and burrowing directly into the subcutaneous tissue!
The two people, who were arguing and whose faces were flushed, suddenly trembled, and their eyes became lifeless.

This scene wasn't limited to this one guard post; around the bunker, soldiers in dozens of outposts had all been unknowingly controlled by nanobots!
The electronic signals released from the current interfere with its brain, turning it into a puppet for a short period of time, only able to obey the instructions built into the nanites.

After successfully eliminating these outer perimeter guards, Luo Xia took out a black jammer that looked like an iron pot from his spatial storage.

Following the doctor's instructions, I turned on the switch, and a few seconds later the indicator light came on, and the equipment started operating.

Although the drones patrolling in the air were still circling, their transmission signals had been hacked by this "iron pot," which was looping through the surveillance footage from the past three hours.

In this way, without firing a single bullet, all the outer perimeter security around the bunker, both on the ground and in the air, was completely paralyzed!

"Tsk tsk."

Luo Xia shook his head with a sigh.

Indeed, technology is the primary fighting force!

Looking around at the heavily guarded but practically non-existent defense system, Rorschach did not rush in directly.

He took out another onesie robe from his spatial storage and put it on. After activating the switch, the robe began to change color, and the optical camouflage continuously adjusted. Soon, Rorschach, who was standing in place, had blended into the background and completely disappeared into the air.

Stealth optical camouflage!

Its superior performance far surpasses the Homeland Security Agency's stealth equipment; it's simply perfect!

Rorschach swaggered toward the bunker ahead, as if it were empty.

The guards patrolling the gate acted as if they hadn't seen him at all, ignoring him and making no attempt to stop him.

Of course, even if they wanted to stop it, they couldn't. The nanobots had already invaded their bodies, modified their brains' sensory systems, and blocked visual signals.

In this way, Rorschach easily infiltrated the heavily guarded bunker.

The bunker was brightly lit, and at first glance it did indeed resemble the wartime command post that Rorschach had seen on the anti-terrorism battlefield, with a command console surrounding it and monitoring screens flashing.

But the space here is much more spacious, and you can even see administrative staff in shirts and trousers moving around. However, there are more tech geeks with thick glasses and messy hair, either frantically typing on their keyboards or staring at a screen full of code and muttering to themselves, just like a real-life version of The Matrix.

Taking advantage of the perfect disguise of his camouflage suit, Rorschach swaggered through the busy crowd and stopped in front of an elevator.

Getting into the elevator is easy, but going to a specific floor requires both fingerprint and password verification.

In the past, Rorschach might have taken a staff member hostage and forced them to reveal the password.

But now
Taking advantage of the moment when the elevator was empty and the surveillance cameras were blocked, he deftly removed the button panel and inserted a chip the size of a playing card into the circuit board interface.

In the blink of an eye, the elevator control system was easily breached by the [Divine Staff], turning it into a puppet to be manipulated at will.

Surprisingly, this seemingly ordinary bunker has an elevator that leads directly to the seabed, with the lowest level being over a hundred stories deep!
After pressing the button for floor B108, Luo Xia waited for the elevator to descend.

When the elevator doors opened again, a gigantic server room, chillingly cold and seemingly hidden deep in the ocean, was revealed before our eyes!

Rows and rows of server racks, data processing units filled with flashing optical fibers, are neatly arranged in this underwater steel fortress, which is even larger than a large arsenal.

The frigid air was filled with the hum of electronic devices, and the breath he exhaled condensed in the low temperature. Rorschach felt as if he had arrived in the snowy mountains of Toronto in the dead of winter.

Moreover, countless blue indicator lights flashed in the darkness on each rack. Without exception, these hosts emitted a faint heat, which was quickly swallowed up by the low temperature of the seabed, forming a strange balance.

“Harold, I’ve arrived,” Rorschach said into the headset.

At this moment, the counter-terrorism elites on duty in the hangar discovered that the elevator doors were open but there was no one there, and they all looked at each other warily.

Just as they were stunned, the voices of strangers suddenly came from the air.

Before they could react, a pistol appeared out of nowhere, its bullets, loaded with tranquilizer, hitting their targets precisely and instantly taking down the nearest guards.

"Tear--"

As the invisibility robe was removed, Rorschach's figure gradually became visible.

Just as he was about to ask Harold how to use the [Staff] to hack into the system, a huge display screen on the wall suddenly lit up, flashing blue light.

Then, a mechanical voice appeared on the holographic projection along with text:

Good morning, Mr. Butcher.

(End of this chapter)