Yao Xue, the Strategist

In the continent of Demi-humans, a bombshell news story quickly spread throughout all the armed families.

The newly established security department of the Unreal Alliance, with the help of elites from the Powerful Gang, the Deep Web Weavers, and the Steel Claw Gang, and with the assistance of elites from other companies, broke through the top five families of the Demi-human Continent overnight.

The top executives of the four families—Kobayashi, Miyamoto, Black Hawk, and Xiao—have all fallen into the hands of the corporation.

And this was on the eve of the family meeting.

Clearly, the purpose of this attack was extremely clear: the new corporate giant was using this method to force the subjugated subjugated continent to submit.

The effect was obvious. Within a day, the armed families were thrown into chaos. It should be noted that the four families that were captured alone held nearly half of the shares in the Demi-human United Foundation.

Kobayashi, Miyamoto, Black Hawk, and Xiao family are all famous mercenary families. Many of their members work for world-class military contractors. In other words, each family has a second-tier elite of level 30 or above. Under such circumstances, the family leaders must have strengthened their security forces.

Even so, they were still easily defeated.

The impact of such a blow is unimaginable.

Even more frightening is that Unreal Engine has publicly announced that it has developed a second-stage neural editor technology.

This also means that level 30 neural network experts are already ready for mass production.

The strength of a faction is not measured by the number of its experts, but by the professional level they can provide.

The ability to provide second-tier professions is the first step for a faction to break through the regional limits.

The reason why it is so easy to carry out "decapitation operations" is largely because a large number of neural network experts have invaded the vision, brains, and even the internal networks of family members, and developed a large number of inside agents.

While Cyber Hacker are the experts in this field, the collective action of neuromodification experts, backed by corporate will, is still difficult for ordinary forces to handle.

"Clearly, Unreal Engine's technological breakthrough is the biggest reason for the success of this operation. With the support of the ethical chip, a large amount of computing power was consumed by corporate will and the algorithm was improved, which is why a large number of neural network experts were born."

"So, we are indeed facing a pretty big problem."

In Ajinshu, in a very secluded Japanese garden.

There is almost no modern technology equipment here.

This is the safe house of the Yao family, the last remaining large family in the Asian continent.

Compared to other clan leaders, the Yao clan leader was an exceptionally young woman named Yao Xue, a very elegant woman who wore a close-fitting soft exoskeleton and had a small mole on her chin.

Seeing the worried expressions on the faces of the dozen or so clan leaders before her, Yao Xue smiled and said, "Have you all been implanted with moral chips, or perhaps your brains have been modified by neural network experts? Otherwise, why are you all so silent?"

The head of a small family sighed.

"With hundreds or thousands of neural network experts attacking together, even if our Electronic Barrier are top-notch, we probably won't be able to hold out for long."

"Yes, by then, our personalities will have been altered, and we'll have to surrender directly. The century-old foundation of the Asian continent will probably be destroyed in our hands."

"Given their methods, it wouldn't take them long to find our current location. We can withstand the first attack, but can we withstand the second?"

Yao Xue smiled gently, and the young female head of the family closed the folding fan in her hand.

"Have you all thought about this? If it's so easy to deal with us, why doesn't the other side do it?"

After a moment of silence, the head of the Daisy family finally spoke.

"I think it's because the power of our Demi-human continent lies outside, not inside."

Yao Xue nodded and said, "You're right. Whether it's the five major families or other families, the most powerful and promising young people all work as mercenaries around the world, serving various military contractors. If we are killed, they will definitely seek revenge. Even the Phantom Alliance doesn't want to see that happen."

"Therefore, when a powerful army is pressing in, it will inevitably lead to a war to force peace. As long as we are willing to give up some independence like the three major gangs, then the other side will not go after us completely."

"As expected, the negotiators from the Virtual Alliance will arrive soon. At that time, we will know what to do next."

Judging from the female clan leader's words, it seemed that she really intended to give up the independent status of the Demi-human Continent. Many members of the smaller clans hesitated to speak, and it was clear that they were unwilling, but dared not object.

Soon, these people left.

However, the wise woman who had just displayed her wisdom sighed slightly, a trace of sorrow appearing on her fair face.

"Go and invite our benefactors over."

Soon, Daisy and Tamil appeared. They showed little respect for the head of the armed family, and their expressions were even somewhat hostile.

In the continent of subhumans, it is very common for small families to be dependent on large families.

Daisy and Keiko Matsushima's families were both vassal families of the Yao family.

The reason why Yao Xue was not caught in the "capture the leader first" tactic was largely because the two clan leaders took the two of them to pay their respects to Yao Xue.

Faced with an ambush of numerous law enforcement officers, Daisyra had no choice but to activate her hidden forces. Nearly 30 level 25 elite hunters went all out and fought their way out with Yao Xue.

However, under the overwhelming firepower, both biological hunters and mechanical hunters suffered heavy losses, with nearly half of their personnel killed.

When have either of them ever suffered such a loss!

More importantly, the two originally planned to run away alone, but this woman saw through their plan. Faced with the choice between mutual destruction and joining forces, they had no choice but to choose the second option.

Yao Xue didn't act like a patriarch of a large family. She personally got up, led the two to their seats, poured tea, and started talking.

"Both of you have seen the mechanical claws of the Steel Claw Gang. What do you think of them?"

The two men's expressions turned grim when they thought of those bizarre melee mechanical modders.

Melee combat, high mobility, and localized transformation—if only the opponent's transformation was limited to humanoid creatures, wouldn't this be a clone of the Mech Hunter?

"With the support of the Phantom Alliance, it seems that the Steel Claw Gang has also achieved a technological breakthrough, possessing Tier 2 units. It is likely that they are also developing Tier 2 experts. This is probably not good news for your side."

If we disregard the enhancements from advanced cybernetic implants, the improvement in combat power for most factions looks like this—

First, level 30 regular units appear, then level 30 elite units, and finally level 30 boss templates.

Mass production of regular troops, small-scale production of elite troops, and focused training of a few top-tier specialists for each faction are standard operating procedures for any faction.

In fact, that's what the mechanical hunters did too. The two of them were level 30 elites, and the number of level 30 ordinary hunters was also increasing rapidly. When they had accumulated enough technical skills, she or Tamil would most likely undergo a higher level of modification.

The sudden emergence of a camp with similar technological approaches, especially one on the same continent, is definitely not a good thing.

Whether it's the Mechanical Hunters or the Steel Claws, there can only be one winner on the road to becoming a world-class military contractor.

"As the art of war says, the first to strike gains the upper hand, while the last to strike suffers the consequences. This principle has been true throughout history."

Yao Xue's eyes gleamed.

"Therefore, I would like to ask for your assistance."

"What does Chief Yao want to do?"

"Was that super hacker who suddenly appeared last night one of your people who helped us escape capture?" Yao Xue asked.

Daisy hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"It would be unreasonable not to retaliate. All the second-tier experts of my Yao family are under your command. Since the other side has launched a special armed operation, we should naturally retaliate."

Daisy thought for a moment and said:

"Does Chief Yao mean we should go and rescue them?"

Yao Xue revealed a very cruel smile.

"No, what I mean is to make them lose more than they gain. Since they have captured the high-ranking members of the four major families, if all the members of the four major families die at the hands of the Phantom Alliance, the negotiations will inevitably break down, and the Demi-human Continent will once again be united."

What a cruel woman!

Daisy was startled, and even Tamil, who had been silent all along, looked at the murderous female head of the family in astonishment, as if she were seeing an ancient female general.

"May I ask, what is the purpose of this desperate act?" Tamil suddenly asked.

Yao Xue smiled faintly, but her words were full of domineering power:

"In this world, if you don't advance, you fall behind. If the company that Virtual Union targets us first, then our Yao family will definitely be the sharpest weapon in this emerging group's hands."

"But unfortunately, they chose the three major gangs in Santo Domingo. With their power, they can only support a cross-regional military contractor. If we are late, we will be late. If we join them, we will only become their cannon fodder. Rather than that, we should fight for a chance to survive for our Demi-human Continent, even if it means dying a glorious death."

Yao Xue bowed deeply, her head almost touching the ground.

"For the sake of our Demi-human Continent, for the sake of your family, I beg you!"

Daisy remained silent for a long while before speaking:

"We'll have to think about it."

"Of course, please give my regards to your leader."

Daisy bowed slightly, displaying impeccable manners.

The two returned to their lodgings, a wooden cabin overlooking an artificial lake.

"What do you think?" Tamil asked first.

Daisy let out a long breath, then suddenly said coldly:

"She talks a good game, constantly mentioning the Demi-human Continent. I think this woman clearly wants to use this opportunity to unify all the armed families."

"Once it's done, the other party will find some excuse to betray us to the Virtual Alliance. That's something we can expect."

Tamil looked visibly surprised, clearly not expecting this turn of events.

"It's no secret that large families acquire smaller families and obtain their exclusive technologies. It's only in recent years that they've started to do it more discreetly. But do you think someone who could rise from the talented Yao family to become the head of the family's woman must be some ordinary person?"

"So that's how it is!!"

"However, the information revealed by the other party doesn't seem to be false. It's common practice for large corporations to cultivate military contractors who are close to them."

"While corporate warfare isn't won by force, without force, defeat is inevitable."

"I was wondering before how Santo Domingo could surrender so easily. You know, the three big bosses who survived countless gang wars are even more arrogant than us armed families. How could they be so easily annexed?"

"Looking back now, I was wrong. The other party didn't actually merge the three major gangs. Instead, they split off the security department and used equity to force the three gangs to merge, creating a cross-regional military contractor."

"No wonder this woman is in a hurry. Once a large-scale military contractor is established on the mainland, these armed families of the subhuman continent will inevitably be swallowed up."

"Small families are a little better off, since they are cannon fodder, but the higher-ups of large families will most likely be purged immediately."

"But you just said that Yao Xue would betray us and cooperate with the Unreal Alliance," Tamil couldn't help but say.

Daisy's fingers glided in the air, and strands of spider silk shot out, forming knots.

"Nonsense. If all the members of the four major families were to die, the nature of the situation would change again. The Yao family, as the object of appeasement, could still secure a high-level position if they were to work things out properly. Moreover, a high-level position wouldn't impact the existing power structure."

Tamil did the calculations carefully and exclaimed in surprise, "So, no matter what we do, the other side is guaranteed to profit?"

Daisy nodded and sneered, "Among the five great families, the Kobayashi, Miyamoto, Black Hawk, and Xiao families all produce elite warriors, but the Yao family is known for producing strategists."

"Modern military staff officers were called military advisors in ancient times. Their job was to devise strategies and outmaneuver the enemy."

"What should I do?" Tamil felt his IQ was a bit insufficient.

"The problem is that we can't just sit idly by. Competitors have emerged, and we must take them down before they can establish a firm foothold. While Mr. Du is busy traveling around, we have to defend our stronghold in the Guanzhong Plain."

Daisy let out a long breath and silently recited a name in her heart. When she recited it for the tenth time, flames covered the wooden ceiling, and the Bird of Paradise slowly appeared in the flames.

"You were looking for me?" Bird of Paradise asked bluntly.

Last night's battle was truly unavoidable if it weren't for the sudden appearance of this person who blocked the neural network experts who were empowered by corporate will.

Everyone must respect a hacker who is listed on the leaderboard in the mother city, especially since that hacker saved the lives of a group of people.

Daisy blurted out all her speculations.

The bird of paradise pondered for a moment.

"So, you mean I should notify your boss and let him make the decision?"

"Yes."

"That probably won't work. He's not in the city, and I can't contact him either. When we fought last night, I could sense a trace of the mechanical mainframe's aura above the corporate will. You should know what that means."

As long as the agent is willing to take action, communication will be impossible anywhere in the city.

Clearly, the other side has isolated the entire continent of demi-humans.

Daisy immediately looked disappointed.

"Besides, it's not a big deal," the Bird of Paradise said nonchalantly. What Daisy considered a matter of life and death was a different matter in the eyes of a level 60 virtual life form.

"Don't worry, your boss is very cunning. He won't really just leave you to your own devices."

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Demi-human continent, accompanied by the sounds of "Heave-ho!", a girl crawled out of the sulfuric acid river, carrying a mechanical giant sword disproportionate to her size on her back.

"Boss, where are we going now?" Xiao Yu looked around.

On the petite mechanical body, rows of energy nozzles lit up, and it flew directly in one direction.