Playing Games (Part 2)

"What are that cheating couple doing?"

Captain Jimmy folded his arms across his chest, one foot tapping unconsciously. The frantic rhythm reflected his foul mood.

At a time like this, he should have been preparing for tonight's operation. But an unexpected incident had ruined all their preparations. The surveillance resources that had been fully activated had been reduced to something akin to catching adulterers.

For the moment, no one could answer him. From his deputy Mende to the surrounding operation team members, and even the SCA officials who had just rushed over to work through the night only to find it was a waste of time, everyone deliberately or unconsciously averted their gaze, avoiding that particular sore point.

Two minutes earlier, a video from an intercontinental passenger airship had begun spreading online. A suspected terrorist attack in the airship's first-class cabin had been recorded from different angles by multiple witnesses and posted through different social media accounts. Coupled with big-data amplification, it rapidly began accumulating views and influence.

Even now, there was still no definite explanation for the incident itself—though even if a nuclear bomb had gone off aboard the airship, Captain Jimmy would not have cared. The crucial issue was that Bai Xinyan, the final link in the parallel approval process, had been in the area where it happened and had yet to be heard from.

The operation approval process had stalled again.

Captain Jimmy felt as though he had stumbled over something. It could not hurt him, but it was stifling all the same.

The mission targeting the remnants of the Soul Order had not really been difficult, nor was it particularly urgent or challenging. The main reason Captain Jimmy had remained so fixated on it was his rivalry with Bai Xinyan—something he himself did not deny.

He