You were told to search and attack, but you're supporting Asara?

"Did I hear that right, bro?" The two men, guns at their sides, smirked. "Old Sai's going to lead us to Longbow Valley?"

"Red...Red Owl hunting?" the general muttered uncertainly, following Said, who had a fire crossbow at his waist and a PKM on his shoulder, amidst the envious gazes of the Asara Guard members.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the moment players entered Longbow Valley, the 25% progress bar displayed in the real-world sky subtly changed to 50%.

······

Chen Xiao watched the large procession heading towards Longbow Valley, silently mourned for Reis for a moment, and then answered Zoya's communication request.

"..."

Zoya, listening to the silence on the other end of the phone, scratched her short, light blonde hair in annoyance: "'Prophet,' right? You're right."

"Nameless failed. Jacob saw through our intentions. This operation was like a rehearsal he had tailored for Nameless."

"The organization's communication problems are urgent. I heard from Deep Blue that you have a solution... We can discuss cooperating with Crimson Owl."

"I regret to inform you, Ms. Zoya, that I have already begun cooperating with Said in my personal capacity." Chen Xiao glanced once more at the noisy yet orderly queue and added, "And it's going quite smoothly."

Zoya was taken aback by Chen Xiao's words and lost interest in arguing further: "Just tell me, what are your conditions?"

"Very good." Chen Xiao snapped his fingers. "I like people who speak their minds."

"I'm in the Special Operations Unit in Asara, and we're currently facing a shortage of supplies," Chen Xiao tried to throw out a bait.

Zoya didn't buy it at all: "I remember you acquired one of Hafk's miniature reactors during Operation Fireworks."

"That only solved my energy problem," Chen Xiao scoffed. "I was talking about supplies."

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by Zoya's voice: "Temporary unlimited supply, until communication is restored—provided you are certain you can resolve this issue."

"Shouldn't we discuss this with the Commander?" Chen Xiao was skeptical of Zoya's authority.

"The Commander is right beside me."

"Please give my regards."

A familiar male voice came from the other end: "I received your greetings, Prophet. Let's get down to business."

"As you wish," Chen said with a smile. "But before that, I need to confirm the development progress of the 'Minerva' program."

A soft exhale came from the other end of the communicator: "The code name wasn't wrong, was it?"

"As you know, Minerva has been successfully developed, but how to 'plant' it into Skynet is another problem."

"And I happen to be familiar with how to solve this problem," Chen Xiao said calmly, a smile playing on his lips.

"I would like to hear the details."

"Skynet is composed of numerous Hafk satellites. If we can hack into a Hafk rocket, upload the program to the reentry capsule, and launch it before Hafk can react, merging it into Skynet, then Skynet can be opened for us," Chen Xiao said confidently.

"Whistle has numerous satellite launch sites across the country, but the easiest to infiltrate is the space base in Asara."

"All we need is one fighter jet to draw away the limited air defenses within the base, and then send a ground squad to assist the operators in guarding the launch site before the rocket launch to ensure a safe takeoff."

"Project Skynet was created by Security Director Ms. DeMullan, and there have long been dissenting voices within the organization, but Jacob has been suppressing them single-handedly. If this operation succeeds, it will put considerable pressure on the two of them and will also be a heavy blow to Hafk's internal affairs."

"I believe our Mr. Chi Xiao would be very willing to lend a hand in this matter."

······

Inside GTI headquarters, Zoya hung up the communication, recalling the intricately linked plan Chen Xiao had described. She exhaled a breath of stale air and looked at the silent commander beside her:

"I've seen his file. Given his level of access, he wouldn't possibly know so many secrets."

"He must have informants within headquarters, with purview no less than mine!"

"There's another possibility," the man leaning back in his chair said. "He has other sources of information."

"You mean... Hafk?!" Zoya's expression turned serious.

"Anyway, inform Ferrell and tell him his vacation is over."

"In addition, to keep this 'prophet' under cover of surveillance, I plan to assign an operator to 'assist' his operations in the Asara region."

"This operator needs to have a certain level of combat capability and counter-surveillance awareness."

The commander crossed his arms and pressed them against his philtrum, his gaze sweeping over the data of the GTI special operations operatives before settling on a dashing woman.

······

Inside the Hafk radar station.

The military officer and the two gunners looked at the scattered corpses of the Hafk soldiers and once again had a direct impression of the fighting power of this red figure who had been hunched over like a wild beast during the attack.

"Why does this feel even easier than killing minions in the game?" The two soldiers quietly nudged the general with their elbows.

"It's not that hard..." The military officer smirked. "Haven't you ever been killed by the combined spirit techniques of flamethrower soldiers and machine gunners?"

The two officers clicked their tongues as they held their guns: "I reckon only the warden could go toe-to-toe with him. The old lady and Raven are a bit lacking."

"I feel like the warden would be in serious trouble without a near-divine brain-computer interface."

"Lao Sai suffered because of his lack of education."

The two followed behind Said, looting the corpses of the soldiers while gossiping about the combat strength of the bosses.

Said frowned as he looked at the two little players behind him who seemed to be walking on their tongues.

"You said before that you escaped from Demulan's hands?" Said asked with some skepticism.

"Uh...I guess so." The general and the two soldiers holding spears exchanged glances and replied somewhat guiltily.

"How strong is that old hag Demulan?" Said asked.

"Director Demulan's abilities... it's hard to say," the two gunmen said somewhat ambiguously.

"Is it impressive?" Old Sai asked with a serious expression.

"It's not a matter of how skilled she is." The two gunmen tried to explain the old woman's mechanics: "The gun she's holding is... a very common M700 bolt-action sniper rifle."

"But that gun, the closer you get to it, the fewer zeros it has at the end..."

"Huh?" Old Sai didn't understand, but that didn't diminish his respect.

"To give you an example, let's say we're at the radar station right now, and she's in Amiya Town," the military officer chimed in. "She can snipe us in half a minute."

"But if we're both at the radar station, the rate of fire of her sniper rifle should be comparable to the PKM you have."

"Hafk's electronic sorcery?" Old Sai asked gravely.

"Uh..." The general was taken aback by the word "electronic sorcery," which was full of Asara's aura, and carefully said, "Director Demulan does wear a brain-computer interface, but what type it is is unknown."

"No matter what, you managed to escape from that old hag and beat Hassan; you're like warriors."

"Are you interested in working with me?"