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

Demulan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the CEO's living room, looking in the direction where the rocket had disappeared, his finger hovering above the brain-computer interface, hesitant to drop it.

"Director." Orion's voice came from behind.

"No abnormalities were found; their goal appears to be simply to launch the rocket ahead of schedule."

"It's not that simple," Demulan's synthesized voice said confidently. "Investigate what happened to that rocket before launch; there must be a grain of sand mixed in with Skynet!"

Orion nodded and left, while Demulan looked at the three-person team in the surveillance footage and snorted coldly.

······

GTI headquarters, communications command center.

Zoya stood in front of the huge circular screen, watching the dense stream of data. The operator icons, which had been grayed out for days, were lighting up one by one.

"Deep Blue, signal restored. Vital signs normal."

"Dragon, signal restored. Uploading action report."

"Hacker, signal restored. Location restored."

"Butterfly, signal restored. Location restored."

Zoya's fingers flew across the control panel, confirming the return of each operator.

"The 'Minerva' program has successfully connected to Skynet," a technician's voice came from behind. "Communication systems are gradually being restored, and coverage of all war zones is expected within twelve hours."

Zoya let out a long breath and leaned back in her chair.

A male finger pressed on the communication button: "Luna, report your location."

"I have arrived in Asara and request instructions," the calm female voice replied.

"Go and see our 'Prophet'." The commander's voice clearly reached Jinluna's ears.

"receive."

······

Lina sat in the Assara Guard's jeep, a low-battery drone resting on her lap. Abdullah's body lay on the pickup truck behind, covered with a gray blanket brought from the aid station.

Saeed sat in the passenger seat, watching the night sky rush past the window, without saying a word.

"Communication restored, Lina." Chen Xiao's voice came through the GTI communication system: "Hello? Where are you guys?"

"We're almost at Dam Zero." Lina took a deep breath. "Chen Xiao, there's something I want to tell you."

"you say."

"I would like to apply to headquarters... to stay in Asara and work with you to oversee the cooperation with Mr. Said."

"What happened?" Chen Xiao keenly sensed something was off about Lina's tone.

"It's nothing..." Lina glanced subconsciously at the pickup truck carrying Abdullah's body.

"I just feel that the people of this land need help."

······

In the Special Operations Unit, Chen Xiao hung up the communication, rubbed his temples wearily, and then reconnected to the communication request sent by headquarters.

"Well done, 'Prophet'." Zoya praised generously. "Headquarters is very satisfied with you and has upgraded your clearance level. An operator will be reporting to you shortly to assist you with your work in the Asara region."

"Well, thank you anyway." Chen Xiao sneered, "Who is it?"

"You're also an Asian operator, Kim Luna."

"It's her?" Chen Xiao was taken aback. "Does she really have to send a lesbian?"

"Pfft! Cough cough cough!!" Zoya coughed uncontrollably from the other end of the communicator: "What the hell is that?!"

"You know so much about the operators' sexual orientation, Oracle?" The Commander's voice came from behind him. "Don't you know a little too much?"

"Uh, maybe it's because I happen to know someone else," Chen Xiao chuckled. "I'll hang up now if there's nothing else."

"Wait, why are you in such a hurry?" Zoya said, somewhat annoyed. "Said's contributions in this operation are undeniable, and headquarters is preparing to reassess its attitude towards cooperation with him."

"Oh? GTI does human things?" Chen Xiao was a little surprised.

"I don't know why you have such a strong opinion about headquarters, but we've always been fair in our rewards and punishments. You'll see soon enough," Zoya said meaningfully. "Not only that, two operators will be heading to the Asara region to meet with Said to discuss cooperation."

"Of course, to avoid any appearance of impropriety, it won't be these operators from Operation Ascended."

"I knew it wouldn't be anything good." Chen Xiao shrugged indifferently. "Let them come."

"Just letting you know in advance, one of them is very interested in you."

"Coincidentally, I'm interested in all the operators from GTI."

······

Outside the Special Operations Unit, a tall Asian woman with a high ponytail looked up at the inconspicuous gate, her sharp eyes staring directly at the hidden camera, her quiver full of arrows on her back.

"Officer Chen, someone has come to visit." Xiao Que stood in front of the display screen, her finger hovering over the screen.

"Let her in," Chen Xiao said nonchalantly, his eyes still fixed on the Special Operations Department's production list.

Luna walked in, her dark gray tactical uniform unmarked except for a small silver nameplate on her left breast pocket—the GTI eagle emblem with the letters "Luna" engraved below it.

Her features weren't particularly striking, but her eyes were exceptionally sharp, like those of a hawk.

"Hello, 'Prophet'." Jinluna saluted. "'Luna' reporting for duty."

"Have a seat." Chen Xiao casually gestured to the sofa. "Don't be shy. We both know your purpose, so we can skip the unnecessary small talk."

Kim Luna seemed surprised that the young man codenamed "Prophet" spoke so directly, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.

While she was in a daze, a system notification suddenly popped up on the console in Chen Xiao's hand:

[Operator 'Luna' detected stationed at the Special Operations Division; Equipment Department efficiency increased by 50%]

Please deploy more operators to improve production efficiency in different departments.

Chen Xiao's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, Luna, right?" Chen Xiao rubbed his face and forced a bright smile. "Our Special Operations Division is in dire need of rebuilding, we're missing everything, don't mind."

She then spoke to Xiao Que in a condescending manner: "Don't you know to pour a cup of hot water when a new colleague comes? You have no sense of propriety."

Little Sparrow rolled her eyes in a human-like manner, went out to get a glass of water, and placed it beside Luna with a smile.

Having prepared herself to be ignored, Kim Luna was caught off guard by Chen Xiao's sudden change of attitude from haughty to obsequious.

"Uh... thank you, Agent Chen." Jin Luna picked up her water glass, took a small sip, and quickly put it down.

"Have you eaten yet?" Chen Xiao's smile resembled that of a weasel that had stolen a chicken.

"...I ate some of the dry rations I brought on the way," Jin Luna said, sounding somewhat unwell.

"It's good that you ate, it's good that you ate." Chen smiled and looked her over. "Let me tell you, Xiao Na, our Special Operations Department is really short of talent right now, especially talent like you!"

"Your arrival is a godsend!"

Luna was going crazy; her proud eyes couldn't see through the young man's true intentions at all.

"Do we have any colleagues we're close to, like Red Wolf or Bit, who we could introduce to us? I'm really...eager for talent right now!" Chen Xiao said sincerely.