The Endgame Is Settled, So Why Not Have Copper-Pot Hotpot in Qianmen?

The Snowbird held its phone, its feet treading through the thick snow.

The phone screen shook, revealing a white, sloping area on the screen.

Snowbird turned the front-facing camera around and pointed to a wisp of smoke rising from the leeward rock face downwind.

"Not only did we run into them, but they also helped us a lot."

At the base of the rock face, a windbreak was built with several black stones, and pine firewood was placed inside.

Logan sat on an ammunition box, wearing a tattered leather jacket.

Its right hand extended three sharp claws that pierced through two pieces of venison, hovering above the flames and spinning.

Silver Fox sat beside him, a Barrett lying across his lap, which he was wiping back and forth along the barrel.

Logan, a cigar dangling from his mouth, looked over and exclaimed, "Oh my god, isn't this Director Zhou from the Overseas Talent Recruitment Office of the 749 Bureau?"

"Why are you lying in bed wearing a bathrobe? Have you been doing too many bad things and weakened your kidneys?"

Sing Sing laughed and scolded the camera, "Get lost, Old Goldhead! You, Director Zhou, bled and were injured for the peace and stability of all mankind; this is a work injury!"

"But you, you and Sif are hiding in a snowdrift, eating all-natural, pollution-free barbecue. You're living a life more comfortable than the gods."

Chan Ka-kui couldn't help but interject loudly, "Yeah, Old Jin, how many pieces of scrap metal from mechs have you cut with those claws? Did you even clean them before stabbing them into flesh?"

"Stop stirring things up, you brat! This is the hind leg meat of a freshly hunted adult red deer."

"The meat is firm and has a good balance of fat. Giving you wounded soldiers who only eat porridge a whiff of it is already being lenient."

Silver Fox pushed the bolt back into place and nodded at Sing Sing:

"Stephen, we've received the report of your takedown of Yellowstone Headquarters through Alpha Flight's encrypted channel."

"There's a lot of commotion here in Calgary. Three hours ago, Alpha Flight notified us that there was an unusual evacuation signal at our base. Logan and I are stationed at the outermost canyon."

Sing Sing's playful expression vanished, and he sat up straight. "Did you catch the big fish?"

"Three armored vehicles were intercepted as the convoy attempted to cross the forest along the US-Canada border."

Logan flipped the venison skewered on the paw. "Those bastards had pretty high firepower; they fired two anti-tank armor-piercing rounds right at us."

"I jumped straight off a ten-meter-high snowdrift and ripped the car roof off with me."

Logan tore off a piece of venison and chewed it greedily. "There was a bald guy sitting in the car. When we pulled him out from under the seat, he was holding a safe and muttering something about a destruction agreement."

Sing Sing pressed further, "Does that person have any information on the Hellfire Club?"

The screen shook, Sasquatch's large face, covered in thick reddish-brown fur, squeezed in.

"That supervisor was a suicide bomber; when Logan pinned him down in the snow, he bit open a capsule filled with deadly poison."

"There are only four seconds between the onset of the poison and cardiac arrest; we simply don't have enough time."

Sing Sing sighed, "Silver Peak really invested a lot in training these managers. What about that titanium alloy box? Was it destroyed by the self-destruct system?"

Sasquatch extended a thick index finger and waved it:

"No. Snowbird directly used cryogenic freezing to freeze the electronic lock temperature control chip on the outside of the case, preventing the internal incendiary device from detonating and preserving the three solid-state drives inside intact."

"The base's master server initiated a physical meltdown, but in the final minutes, we managed to copy 40 percent of the escaped encrypted data stream."

"Captain James has signed the information-sharing agreement. Technicians are currently anonymizing the data and transcoding the underlying protocol. It will be packaged and sent to your 749 Bureau's intelligence center within two hours."

Sing Sing nodded. "Okay, as long as the data is preserved, these rats won't be able to hide their tails anymore."

"Old Goldhead, stop chewing your meat. Your son is doing a great job in the border defense force. Don't you, as his father, want to hear about it?"

Logan paused in his eating, his thick eyebrows twitching slightly.

"What's so great about that brat? As long as he didn't commit murder or arson, and wasn't sent to the execution ground to be eaten like peanuts, I'm already burning incense in gratitude."

Sing Sing looked at him with disdain:

"How can you be a father like this? Comrade Daken's ideological awareness is much higher than yours now."

"I heard that last month he single-handedly captured three armed men smuggling prohibited drugs across the border, and the branch's Party branch has officially accepted him as an active applicant for Party membership!"

Sing Sing deliberately raised his voice:

"Daken tells everyone he meets that working in the 749 Bureau as a field operative not only earns respect, but also provides two boxes of authentic Northeast China rice and twenty kilograms of soybean oil during holidays. It's a million times better than digging in the snow with an old scoundrel like you."

Logan snorted and turned his head to look at the snow-capped mountain, "That kid's got some guts..."

Silver Fox gently nudged Logan's arm, a smile on her face, "Ignore him, he's just being stubborn."

Sing Sing pulled his sunglasses down to his nose:

"Old Jin, when are you coming back? Stop wandering around in the forest all day. You're getting on in years; it's time to start thinking about retirement planning."

Logan swallowed the last piece of meat, pulled out a cloth and carefully wiped the three claws clean, then casually retracted them under the skin of his hand.

"I reckon it'll be around this time. Hey kid, remember to stock up on the liquor! Don't try to fool me with those cheap, watered-down, adulterated bottles."

"I want Red Star Erguotou, the old-fashioned kind with the 65-proof cap, at least ten cases."

Sing Sing patted his chest and guaranteed:

"Don't even mention ten boxes, there's plenty more!"

"Aunt Zhang at the cafeteria has some aged deer antler medicinal wine that's been soaked for years. She'll give you two big bowls of it, and I guarantee you'll feel warm all over after you finish it."

Snowbird reached out from the side to retrieve the phone and switched the camera back to her own face.

"Stephen, there are large amounts of biochemical reagents remaining underground in Calgary."

"The Alpha Flight has partnered with the Canada Royal Mounted Police to establish a 30-kilometer radius cordon. The subsequent cleanup and disposal of contaminants will take at least two months, so you no longer need to be distracted by the northern front."

Snowbird's voice softened. "The execution and spirit of sacrifice shown by the 749 Bureau of China in completely eradicating Silver Peak's neural network in this joint offensive is truly admirable."

"The intelligence you provided helped us avoid two deadly ambush traps."

"On behalf of Alpha Flight, I thank you for your cooperation."

Sing Sing composed himself, nodding solemnly, "No need for formalities, Little Snow."

"To combat such illegal transnational organizations that treat Mutants as mere resources, all forces of justice worldwide should work together."

"The cleanup work in Calgary is still very demanding. Your team should also pay close attention to safety. Chernobyl is a prime example; don't let your guard down."

After saying that, Sing Sing smiled again:

"Remember to visit Beijing sometime! I'll treat you to a famous old restaurant on Qianmen Street, it'll be my own money."

"Hand-cut fresh lamb with pure sesame sauce, a spoonful of fried chili oil and pickled garlic—I guarantee you'll never want to touch frozen meat from the Rocky Mountains again after that!"

The Snowbird nodded gently.

"Okay, it's a deal."

"Please give my regards to Director Wang and all my colleagues who are staying behind."

Wishing you all a speedy recovery, see you in Beijing.