Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 107 Briefing

At the moment he pulled the trigger, Xiong Er did not look at the bloody scene four kilometers away.

There's no need to look at it.

For a top sniper, the outcome is already decided the moment the bullet leaves the barrel.

He put the Gauss sniper rifle into a gun holster and secured it to his back with Velcro.

He then took a small glass bottle from his tactical bag and poured the corrosive agent onto the ground.

"Zi-"

The acid touched the ground, sending up wisps of white smoke that erased all traces of him.

Without pausing for a moment, Xiong Er turned around, ran to the other edge of the rooftop, and jumped.

"call--"

The wind whistled in my ears as I plummeted at an extremely fast speed.

At that moment, the gliders on both sides of his stealth suit unfolded with a "whoosh," smoothing out his descent and allowing him to traverse at high speed between buildings.

Xiong Er adjusted the angle of its wing membrane to dodge the beams of light sweeping towards it, and quickly flew towards a hidden alleyway.

Just before landing, he abruptly adjusted the angle of the wing to increase wind resistance and abruptly slow down the descent.

"boom."

His tactical boots landed firmly on the ground without making a sound.

Almost simultaneously, dozens of combat drones roared overhead and quickly locked onto the rooftop he had just been sniping.

If he hesitated even a moment longer, he would have been caught in this net and would have had no chance of escape.

Xiong Er put away his hang glider and said, panting, "Group B, Xiong Er has rejoined the team."

From the depths of the alley, a figure quietly darted out, patted Xiong Er on the shoulder, and said, "Well done."

Jetta personally came to pick him up and informed Zhuang Fan at the same time.

[Bear Two has returned; Group B is about to withdraw.]

[Meeting point, silent signal]

【receive】

There were one minute and twenty seconds left until the final deadline, but the numbers had already lost their meaning.

From the moment Xiong Er fired the shot, the entire building and several nearby blocks were placed under close surveillance.

Countless nuclear soldiers and security guards poured in from every corner of the city, and sirens blared through the long night.

Xiong Er followed Jetta and jumped into the sewer.

Jetta's squad has five ratmen. Besides Jetta and Santana, the other three are elite rat guards.

The underground world is the familiar home ground of the ratmen.

The pipeline was damp and smelly, pitch black, with only the fog lights barely functioning.

The rat-man climbs and jumps through the pipes without using any lighting equipment, relying solely on memory and subtle senses.

Behind them, the pursuers from the Nuclear Group were catching up, and the clicking sound of the mechanical dog was getting closer and closer.

"Santana, it's our turn to cause some trouble," Jetta's voice rang out in the darkness.

"receive."

Santana, looking focused, took out a simple remote control.

"boom--!"

The first explosion rang out behind them, and a flash of fire disappeared within the narrow pipe.

Immediately following this was a series of explosions.

The long-neglected pipelines broke in a series of bursts, blocking the pursuers' path.

But simply blocking is far from enough.

In order to completely disrupt the enemy's judgment, they launched a "fireworks show" according to their pre-planned strategy.

Jetta used a simple remote detonator to press the red buttons in sequence.

"Boom——!"

In the western part of the city, an arms depot belonging to a small gang was detonated, turning the entire neighborhood orange-red.

In the eastern part of the city, several huge fuel tanks at a fuel plant were detonated, sending fireballs soaring into the air and causing nearby buildings to tremble.

Fires triggered by a chain of explosions spread across many streets in the city.

The Jetta team carefully selected and focused on bombing nuclear-related industries.

Panic, screams, cries...

Five rats wreaked havoc by the sea, turning the world upside down.

……

Inside the safe house, Mao Shanwang was restless.

He checked the underground passage three times to make sure it was well hidden and wouldn't be easily discovered before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He went up to the second floor and looked through the cracks in the window. He could see flames shooting into the sky in the distance, and nuclear airships shuttling back and forth.

The chaos in the distance was nothing short of "grand." He waved his new palm-leaf fan rapidly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his cat-like head.

"This commotion is way too big..."

He couldn't help but mutter, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Survival is the priority. We'll deal with anything else in the next life."

He said that, but his cat ears remained perked up, not missing a single slight movement outside the window.

Cole, along with several members of the Fireline, had already donned power armor and were stationed throughout the room.

Seeing Mao Shanwang's posture, almost breaking the palm-leaf fan, Cole spoke in a deep voice:
"Boss Cat, don't worry, I trust the boss."

"Ok?"

"The boss's plans are very meticulous. He often prepares two or three alternative plans, and each plan has different contingency plans. In the end, he can always turn danger into safety."

Another member of the Spark organization chimed in, "Yeah, the boss's plan is like a net. We only see one thread, but every thread will eventually lead to the result the boss wants."

Upon hearing this, Mao Shanwang slowed his fanning motion: "So impressive... That's good, saves me the trouble of thinking. But your leader will have to work hard."

The members of the Spark Foundation nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid your boss will overwork himself again. I'll try to persuade him to get a 'smart brain' installed sometime."

"AI?"

Cole seemed intrigued. "How much?"

"The market price is two million gold notes, but I can get them for one million six hundred thousand."

Cole's expression changed, but he didn't ask any further questions. Even if he sold himself, he wouldn't be able to raise the money for that price.

Half an hour later, the underground passage of the safe house beeped, indicating an application to enter.

After confirming his identity, Mao Shanwang unlocked the safety lock.

Jetta, Xiong Er, and the others filed in, still smelling damp and bloody.

Xiong Er carefully put down the gun holster, then slumped against the wall as if his bones had been removed.

The hair on the sides of his face was short, thick, and grayish-brown, and it was completely soaked with sweat.

Mao Shanwang took a bottle of Magic Bull from the refrigerator and threw it over.

"Thanks," Xiong Er said wearily.

"Don't be so polite."

Mao Shanwang waved his hand, "You'll have to ask your boss for the money."

Twenty minutes later, Zhuang Fan appeared at the entrance of the passage.

His stealth suit was soaked with sweat, and his forehead was covered in beads of perspiration.

He glanced around the room, making sure everyone was safe and sound, before his tense shoulders slowly relaxed.

"Boss!" Cole and the others went to greet them.

Mao Shanwang then took out a bottle of Magic Bull, but Zhuang Fan waved his hand and refused, saying, "This stuff doesn't quench my thirst."

He walked to the table, unscrewed the bottle cap, and drank three bottles of water in one go before feeling like he had come back to life.

"Have the other ratmen evacuated?"

"Boss, we're all out of the city now, it's safe."

At this moment, Xiong Er got up from the corner and walked up to Zhuang Fan. "Boss, I hit the target in the chest."

"Bear Two, you did a great job."

Mao Shanwang also came over, "Xiong Er, is it certain that Crow is dead?"

Xiong Er succinctly stated, "I'm sure I hit the target."

Zhuang Fan shook his head: "It's hard to say. There's too much advanced technology in the wasteland. We'll have to see it with our own eyes to confirm."

So, Zhuang Fan and the other two went into a secret room deep inside the room.

The walls of the sealed chamber were made of thick lead plates, which could block all signal detection.

"Is the springboard ready?" Zhuang Fan asked Xiong Er.

He remained vigilant, knowing he couldn't afford to be careless at such a crucial moment.

"It's all done."

Xiong Er's voice was steady as he sat in front of a terminal, his fingers tapping on the keyboard.

“I used an anonymous terminal to access a citizen’s brain-computer interface who was in light sleep, using it as my first stepping stone.”

On the screen, lines of code scrolled by.

“Starting from this point, I subsequently hacked into the brain-computer interfaces of eight more citizens from different social strata, erasing the traces left by the previous layer…”

Zhuang Fan had great confidence in his skills.

Xiong Er was originally a top-level information soldier, but later became a sniper.

If he hadn't been deformed into a raccoon-man, he wouldn't have ended up in King Mao's caravan.

Xiong Er paused, concluding, "At least on a physical level, they absolutely cannot track this place."

"Thank you for your hard work. Leave the rest to me."

Zhuang Fan sat down in front of the terminal, put on the helmet, and his consciousness sank into the vast network world.

The backdoor with the highest level of access left by Xu Renyi is not the logic of a conventional silicon-based chip firewall.

The essence of Zhuang Fan's entry into the internal network was not to pick the lock, but to return home openly.

Aside from top-secret information that is physically isolated, such as board meetings and core databases, all other access is unrestricted.

He found detailed logs at the supervisor level, which were updated in real time by recorders to ensure timeliness.

Zhuang Fan quickly flipped to the operation documents for tonight and extracted the core information.

[Document 1: Emergency Briefing]

Unauthorized communication signals were detected, and the source of the signals was identified as the voiceprint model of "Zhang Dafan".
The signal contained both a provocation and an invitation to cooperate with the Crow Supervisor, which was judged to be a trap or a tactic to lure the enemy away from their stronghold.
It is recommended that rapid reaction forces be mobilized immediately to completely blockade the target area.

[Document Two: Military Operations Directive]

The first, third, and seventh armored squadrons, along with the "swarm" drone squadron, immediately launched a saturation encirclement of the headquarters of the Sharp Edge Mercenary Group (coordinates A-7).

……

Zhuang Fan searched through the documents and finally found the latest encrypted report, which contained details about the crow.

[Document Six: Assassination Report (Encrypted)]

Document Number: LH-27100616-006A
Document Title: Preliminary Situation Report Regarding the Attack on Chief Raven in Coastal City

报告时间：2710/6/16 23:47
Event Level: Orange+
[Event Overview]

Time: 23:30
Location: Linhai City, rooftop of Building 3, headquarters of the Fengmang Mercenary Group.

Incident: During the operation to capture Zhang Dafan, Chief Crow was sniped on the rooftop by a long-range kinetic weapon, and his main body was completely destroyed.

Technical Analysis

Weapon type: Preliminary identification indicates it is a military-grade Gauss weapon, with the firing point located approximately 4 kilometers away in an abandoned high-rise building.

Damage assessment: The attack caused a devastating kinetic impact, completely vaporizing the target's torso. No major organ remains were found.

Anomaly: The target's lower limb remains were recovered at the scene, and the internal life support system is still operational. Preliminary confirmation by the medical team indicates that the target's core consciousness unit (brain) was preemptively transferred to the life support container in the legs.

...Holy crap, they're still alive?
When Zhuang Fan saw this, he found it somewhat absurd; the wasteland's black technology was both advanced and backward.

He carefully read the medical imaging section of the document.

In the holographic image, the crow's leg bone is hollowed out and a cylindrical life support container is implanted inside, with the outline of its brain clearly visible and containing many bundles of nerve fibers.

"This guy……"

Zhuang Fan was at a loss for words and could only utter a few words: "He's a genius."

To split one's head in two and stuff it into one's calves—that takes a tremendous amount of survival instinct and imagination.
Mao Shanwang also came over, looked at the documents on the screen, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Holy crap, that's some real talent. See, he came in handy tonight and saved us from disaster."

Zhuang Fan's gaze never left the screen: "But in the short term, he can forget about making a scene. Just the upcoming surgery, the cloning transplant, and the rejection reaction alone will be enough to give him a hard time."

"It was my fault," Xiong Er said in a low voice, clenching his fists.

"No, you did very well."

Zhuang Fan gently comforted him, "Even if you had lowered the gun by ten centimeters, it wouldn't have hit his calf. No one would have thought he could stick his head there."

"Hey, what's the big deal?"

Mao Shanwang waved his hand, recalling something even more interesting, "I have a big client, and that's really outrageous. He stuffs his head into a flowerpot and imagines himself as a delicate sunflower every day."

"When he goes out, the servants have to hold the flowerpot carefully in their hands, afraid that it will bump or knock it. Then guess what? An old dog actually carried the flowerpot away! Hahahaha! I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes!"

You're rubbing salt into the wound.

Zhuang Fan smiled and shook his head, continuing to search through the documents.

He carefully reviewed all of Crow's past surgical records and was certain that there was no record of transplanting a brain to a calf.

Only one report mentions that the crow underwent routine brain surgery after being shot.

Mao Shanwang stroked his chin and analyzed, "Perhaps the last time he was shot in the head made him feel that his head was too dangerous, so he made up his mind to get a transplant?"

"possible."

Zhuang Fan continued, "However, most people would choose to have the transplanted into their abdominal cavity, but he did it differently, stuffing it directly into his calf."

Mao Shanwang couldn't understand, "To cram the brain into such a narrow life support container, we would have to reduce its size and cut off some irrelevant parts, which would come at too high a price."

"Yes, so this kind of major remodeling surgery at the supervisor level definitely needs to be reported to the group."

Zhuang Fan's thoughts became clearer and clearer. "But he didn't. He was afraid that the group would find out about his weaknesses, which would affect the efficiency of the mission and might even lead to his removal from his supervisory position. So he chose to keep it a secret."

"This guy is really cunning," Mao Shanwang clicked his tongue.

Zhuang Fan's expression gradually turned serious:
"If a boss finds out that his trusted subordinate has secretly undergone such a major surgery without his knowledge, what would he think? Probably... just suspicion."

Mao Shanwang loved to scheme against others behind their backs. "It seems we can make a fuss about this."

Zhuang Fan pulled himself back to reality and finished reading the rest of the content.

[On-site Conclusion]

The attackers possessed military-grade weaponry and top-notch long-range sniping capabilities; their actions were decisive and their plans meticulous.

Major point of contention: The timing of this attack coincides closely with Zhang Dafan's provocation, raising the possibility of a direct link between the two, and suggesting that the Fengmang Mercenary Group is highly suspected of collusion with internal and external forces.

[Processing Status]

Crow Supervisor: The injuries are critical. The highest level of medical procedures have been initiated, and the patient has been transferred to the desolate valley for surgery.

On-site: The headquarters of Fengmang has been completely sealed off, and all relevant personnel have been listed as prime suspects and are awaiting investigation.

Follow-up actions: Request the intelligence department to intervene and launch a full investigation into the Sharp Edge Mercenary Group.

……

After reading the mission briefing, Mao Shanwang shook his head:
“These documents only contain summary statements and do not list out the review lists, so you still can’t be sure whether Grey Goose is at the Sharp Edge headquarters.”

“I checked Crow’s file. He was arrogant and stubborn.”

Zhuang Fan retrieved the personal file of the Crow supervisor.

"A person like him would not tolerate an externally hired S-class hunter interfering in the operation, much less share the credit."

"After all, a flawed person with an incomplete mind cannot tolerate a perfectly functioning genius by their side."

"So what?" King Mao still didn't understand.

Instead of answering directly, Zhuang Fan pulled up several more documents related to Grey Goose, spanning a period of two years.

The first one is from last year:
External Collaboration Personnel "Grey Goose" Special Evaluation Report (2709)

Overall comments:

The target possesses individual combat and intelligence gathering capabilities, and its performance, especially in asymmetric combat environments (such as foggy areas and tracking through ruins), far surpasses that of hunters of the same level.

A stable mindset and decisive actions make them a highly valuable asset for external collaborations.

Overall ability assessment: Excellent.

At the end of the document was a note from a higher-level intelligence officer, Edward himself.

[Edward's Note]:
The officer's tracking logic and unconventional intelligence infiltration capabilities fully meet the intelligence department's A+ level special operations personnel standards.

However, this individual does not show obvious ambition, and conventional recruitment methods are expected to be ineffective. It is recommended to switch to long-term observation and look for non-material breakthroughs that can be utilized (such as personal feelings, team bonds, etc.).

……

Zhuang Fan opened the last document about Grey Goose, which was signed on May 24.

Request for Emergency Deployment of "Sharp Edge" S-Rank Hunter "Grey Goose" to Assist in the Operation

At the very bottom of the application order was a special instruction personally signed by Edward, with stern wording.

"In the Linhai City area, Grey Goose is the only external expert capable of tracking 'Zhang Dafan' in complex environments."

"To ensure the success of this arrest operation, this mobilization is mandatory, and the Linhai City action team must cooperate unconditionally."

Zhuang Fan shifted his gaze from the light screen and looked at Mao Shanwang.

"Edward is the Raven's boss. He values ​​the Grey Goose highly and believes that only she can capture Zhang Dafan."

Mao Shanwang paused in his fanning motion, finally realizing: "But the crow is jealous and wary, so it terminated the cooperation ahead of time."

"Yes."

Zhuang Fan nodded. "Now that Zhang Dafan has appeared at the headquarters of Fengmang, and Crow is down to his last two legs, who do you think will be the first person Minister Edward, who is in a complete mess, thinks of to help him?"

“That must be a greylag goose,” Mao Shanwang replied.

"He then discovered that the greylag geese had disappeared."

Zhuang Fan continued to unravel the mystery, "Now it depends on whether Edward will order the search for Grey Goose, and we can also determine whether Grey Goose is still at the Edge Headquarters."

Mao Shanwang, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, still felt uneasy:
"But Grey Goose is ultimately a high-profile individual, not an asset of the Nuclear Corporation. Would any minister really bother to issue a special mission for her?"

"Therefore, the crow is going to get shot."

Mao Shanwang was taken aback: "The crow was shot, and then what? He didn't die."

Whether he is dead or not will not affect the fact that Nuclear Corporation will do everything in its power to find the sniper.

Mao Shanwang suddenly realized something, and his palm-leaf fan stopped in mid-air.

"You're trying to fabricate evidence... to make Grey Goose the sniper? And then use Nucleus to rescue her from the shadows?"

"This is the last resort, a risky move. I won't use it unless absolutely necessary."

Zhuang Fan's gaze returned to the terminal screen. "Edward has already headed from the wasteland to Linhai City. Let's wait and see how the nucleus is characterized."

"Goodness, you're trying to use someone else's strength against them."

Mao Shanwang asked one last question: "Then what exactly was that self-inflicted injury ruse you told the crow about?"

"Oh, that... I just made it up to lure him in."

……

The assassination of the Raven executive triggered an earthquake within the nuclear group.

This was seen as a blatant provocation against nuclear authority, and Chairman Xu Tiansheng personally ordered a thorough investigation.

Intelligence Minister Edward rushed over from the Wilderness headquarters overnight to personally lead the investigation into the Edge Headquarters.

The crow's two remaining legs have been placed in a liquid nitrogen tank and urgently transported back to the barren valley by a medical team.

Linhai City was relatively underdeveloped and had been ravaged by scorched earth, making it unsuitable for surgical procedures.

The intelligence chief's temporary office was set up in a conference room at the headquarters of the Sharp Edge.

The indoor lighting was a stark white.

On the table in front of him sat the Wasteland Traveler.

Several hours have passed, and the decaying fog continues to erode the outer shell, which is now extremely fragile. Even a light touch with a finger can leave a dent, leaving no possibility of repair.

Edward was still pondering that communication.

The content is too short and lacks sufficient useful information.

Could Zhang Dafan and Crow have reached some kind of secret agreement through other means?

Now that the crow is severely injured and only has its head left, the self-inflicted injury ploy has clearly worked.

Could he have deliberately injured himself to get what he wanted?

Edward habitually assumes the worst-case scenario.

If Crow really cooperated with Zhang Dafan, then even though he is seriously injured now, he can temporarily keep his position.

According to the group's regulations, senior executives who are seriously injured in the line of duty will not only be exempt from "punitive dismissal," but will also receive substantial compensation.

The crow got what it wanted.

What then is Zhang Dafan's "need"?
Why would he risk getting himself involved and exposing his whereabouts?
Edward rubbed his temples, still puzzled.

According to intelligence, Zhang Dafan is suspected of inheriting Xu Renyi's memories, which is not a secret among the group's senior management.

However, Xu Renyi's faction had already been wiped out, and all their hidden shelters and assets had been seized.

Logically speaking, Zhang Dafan no longer has any capital to cause trouble.

For him, the best choice was to completely disappear, change his identity, and hide in another city, rather than stay in Linhai City and plot some conspiracy.

Edward's gaze returned to the wreckage of the machine on the table, his conviction growing stronger.

This thing is evidence that Zhang Dafan is destroying his "cooperation" with the crow.

The crow is likely a prime suspect.

"Dong dong."

There was a knock on the door.

The crow's lieutenant came in.

He had been busy all night, but he still mustered his strength and reported the truth to the minister.

"Minister, after a thorough six-hour search, no trace of Zhang Dafan was found at the Fengmang headquarters, and no abnormalities were found in the biometrics of any personnel."

Edward was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Go and invite Grey Goose over."

The adjutant paused for a moment, then lowered his voice even further:

"Minister, I was just about to explain this situation to you. More than 600 personnel who were on missions in the field have all returned to cooperate with the investigation."

"But two people are missing: one is Grey Goose, and the other is her teammate Pipi."

He added, "According to the monitoring and analysis by the technicians, the two men have been completely missing since they returned to the headquarters of Fengmang the previous night."

Edward frowned.

The Grey Goose had just been terminated from its cooperation with the crow and disappeared after returning to headquarters.

What a coincidence.

Just then, another officer knocked on the door and came in.

"Minister, a captain in the Sharp Edge Mercenary Group named Qiu Shan just confessed that he... guessed who the sniper was."

"Who?"

"Grey Goose."

Edward frowned even more as he took a complete statement from the officer.

The officer repeated it in a low voice beside him.

"Qiu Shan said that Grey Goose was unhappy that the Crow supervisor had terminated her cooperation, and at the same time, she was not cooperating with the internal investigation team of Feng Mang, and old grudges had accumulated."

"So she conspired with Zhang Dafan to lure Crow to the headquarters of Fengmang, so that they could kill Crow and frame Fengmang for the crime."

(End of this chapter)