"Report! The electronic traps have failed."
"Report! Bunker A has been breached! Bunker B has been breached! We've lost contact with the bunker at the entrance."
"Report... They're here!"
The Blood Worship Cult came in force.
The long passage the Special Management Department had built for itself, stretching from the surface underground, was a supposedly impregnable fortress...
Yet in the blink of an eye, the Blood Worship Cult had conquered it.
—But not through a frontal assault.
No one knew what mysterious means the Blood Worship Cult had employed, but the moment they revealed themselves, they were already close to the end of the passage.
It was only when they were almost at the entrance to the base that they triggered the alarm.
A dense, seemingly endless mass of masked Black Robe figures appeared like heavenly soldiers descending to earth, charging forward with assault rifles and machine guns.
Before they even met the enemy, they threw two grenades as a greeting.
The Commissioners guarding the main gate immediately opened fire and sounded the alarm that swept through the entire base.
Gunfire fell like rain. The burly troops and invading Black Robe figures exchanged fire from behind cover, and every minute saw entire rows of people fall.
A squad in black combat uniforms swiftly dashed out.
Their faces were cold, and they were armed to the teeth. Every movement was precise, without a trace of wasted motion. Even their firearms were different from everyone else's, engraved with several mysterious patterns.
Although they were few in number, most of the Black Robe invaders were knocked down on the spot the moment they appeared.
Their clothing was extremely special. It completely ignored the bullets fired by the Black Robe figures opposite them, turning them into the most efficient Killing Machine and clearing out patches of empty space in a short time.
—This was the Sword Bearers tactical squad.
They were the signature force specially trained by the Special Management Department, an official organization, to intimidate the petty villains.
The gunfire was deafening, and explosions rang out without end.
It was hard to imagine that in this era, beneath the peaceful city of Tinghai City,
there could be such a fierce and extraordinary battlefield.
...However, they would not be the ones deciding tonight's outcome.
This was not the true battlefield either.
Three invaders in scarlet robes, each with extremely distinctive features...
had infiltrated deep into the base at some unknown point and were now facing off against the officers led by the Major.
"As expected, you already knew we were going to invade and prepared an ambush in advance."
A thin Red Robe Elder hunched over. His hoarse voice sounded like a viper flicking its tongue, hissing and making everyone's skin crawl.
"But how do you know we won't turn the tables and use your own scheme against you?"
The Major remained silent for a moment.
Behind him stood five officers. Including him, there were six people.
Opposite them were three.
Six against three. On the surface, he had the advantage.
However...
"Three Red Robe Elders."
The Major lifted the sunglasses resting before his eyes. His neatly combed hair glimmered faintly beneath the overhead light.
"You're willing to spend quite a fortune. You brought this lineup to deal with my lowest-ranked branch?"
"Because we didn't come here to deal with you in the first place!"
A Middle-aged Woman beside the old man in red took over.
Her barrel-shaped waist nearly split the red robe. At that moment, she coldly sized up the officers in the distance, her gaze resembling someone selecting pork at a market.
"Back then, we took part in the destruction of Branch Nine."
"This time, while flattening Branch 36, we also plan to swallow the headquarters reinforcements that come over in one bite!"
"You got one thing wrong..."
Her voice paused there.
"It isn't three Elders."
"Outside the base, another Elder is lying in wait with his people, waiting for those outside to come."
"We just want to see whether we can land a big catch tonight!"
At those words, the officers' expressions changed drastically. They exchanged bewildered looks.
Surround a point to strike at reinforcements!
Facing a base guarded by only five Level 3 Extraordinary officers,
they had deployed a full four Red Robe Elders, each equivalent to a Level 5 Extraordinary...
The Blood Worship Cult was fishing!
Tonight, they really seemed to be in danger.
"But..."
At that moment, the Red Robe Elder in the middle, a fat man with a face full of folds who looked like a butcher, spoke in a muffled voice.
The moment he spoke, the two Red Robe Elders beside him immediately fell silent.
"Brat, you're too greedy!"
He glared viciously at the Major.
"That young master's temper will get people killed."
"You thought that because you received the intelligence in advance, you could set an ambush ahead of time and take all the credit for yourself?"
"You didn't even report it or request reinforcements?"
"—Idiot! You're a complete idiot!"
He clenched his fists, spittle flying everywhere.
"Remember, brat, it was your stupidity that made us come all this way for nothing!"
"And it was your stupidity that killed everyone in your base!"
"...Mm. Are you finished?"
Fat Butcher froze. "What?"
"If you're finished, then it's my turn to speak."
At last, the Major spoke calmly.
Even now, he remained courteous and graceful.
"You're right."
"I did want to take all the credit for myself."
"Although I truly didn't expect four Red Robe Elders to come."
"But that only proves..."
A light flared in his eyes behind the sunglasses.
The Major's voice gradually rose, carrying a hint of excitement.
"The credit I can claim—"
"Is even greater!"
At that, the Middle-aged Woman frowned. "What do you mean?"
But the Major merely shook his head.
"Everyone has their own value."
"And my mission in this world is to let everyone fully display their abilities and realize their greatest possible value!"
"...But unfortunately, the dead have no value in having their questions answered."
The Major's voice was exceptionally calm.
So calm that it allowed no doubt, as if he were objectively describing an objective truth of the world.
"The greatest value you'll achieve in this life is becoming one of my achievements and an important stepping stone on the path toward realizing my ideals!"
"It's your honor."
"—Understood?"
At the end, the Major still remembered to ask, as though he were teaching a child a lesson.
Exceptionally...
Superior!
As if even killing them were an act of charity.
The three Red Robe Elders were naturally furious. The Middle-aged Woman's barrel-like waist swayed, and she was about to attack on the spot.
But in the next instant—
"Who's there!"
The Red Robe Fat Butcher, who looked like a butcher, reacted first. He turned his fierce gaze toward the distance.
A horrifying, inexplicable sensation crawled up his back.
The person had not yet appeared.
"Tap..."
But indistinct footsteps echoed over.
Then someone's head came rolling across the floor.
It was...
"Old Li?!"
The Middle-aged Woman's eyes widened.
The flesh on all three of their faces trembled.
None of them had expected the Red Robe Elder guarding the outside to appear here in such a manner.
"Perhaps you understand the Special Management Department."
"But your opponent isn't the Special Management Department. It's me."
The Major slowly retreated two steps, allowing several officers to surround and protect him.
Only then did he shake his head slightly and calmly comment:
"You know nothing about me—or the power of the financial conglomerates..."
"Absolutely nothing."
The frontline battlefield raged fiercely, locked in a tense stalemate.
But in the rear, Deputy Han carried two large Dolls and brought several burly men in suits to the quiet Resting Mausoleum.
One was a cute and mischievous Hello Kitty, while the other was Mickey Mouse, grinning broadly.
After carefully setting down the two heavy Dolls,
Deputy Han bowed toward the rows of tombstones, then clasped his hands together devoutly—
and bowed three times in earnest.
"Heroes who sacrificed yourselves for the base..."
"Please bless us as we walk toward victory once again this time!"
After finishing his prayer,
Deputy Han straightened and turned toward Baldy and his subordinates, his face turning cold again.
His soft voice drifted over calmly:
"Begin."
...Having gained experience from last time, Baldy was much more practiced now.
The new transaction was completed quickly.
"This time, I just happened to pick up a bargain in advance."
Before leaving, Deputy Han gave further instructions.
"After tonight, the real work will begin."
"Come at this time the day after tomorrow, and bring more people. Understood?"
"—Consider yourself lucky. You happened to catch this opportunity."
"Once this is over, you'll probably get promoted just like your predecessor!"
After seeing off the delighted Baldy and his subordinates, Deputy Han took a notebook from his breast pocket and began recording the accounts.
Once he finished, he would also leave this place and head to the front line to look for the Major.
"Tap, tap..."
Suddenly, a strange knocking sound reached his ears.
"What was that sound?"
Deputy Han looked up in confusion and turned toward the subordinates beside him.
The tall, burly subordinates looked at one another and shook their heads.
"Tap, tap..."
Another series of clear knocks sounded.
This time, everyone heard it clearly.
It was...
coming from Section Chief Liu's grave?
"Crack, crack—bang!"
Then, under everyone's gaze as if they had seen a ghost,
the concrete slab covering Section Chief Liu's "Ash Urn" trembled incessantly before Section Chief Liu's silver-white tombstone.
Finally, the concrete slab simply shifted aside on its own!
A hand reached out from inside!
Next, a familiar figure everyone knew performed a sit-up and poked his head out.
A black suit, a thermos in one hand, a briefcase in the other...
The man stood up from the grave pit!
"Ah! Section Chief Liu!"
Everyone was startled.
One burly man even began to chatter his teeth, his legs trembling.
—Section Chief Liu had risen from the dead?!
Had he come... come to seek revenge on us?!
"Wait! You're not Old Liu!"
Deputy Han's shrill cry brought everyone back to their senses.
They looked carefully and realized that this person truly wasn't Section Chief Liu.
By comparison, he was far too thin and far too young.
His delicate face looked familiar, while his excessively clear eyes were unmistakable.
Even the briefcase was merely a briefcase, not a "Mechanical Briefcase."
"Bai Zhou! What are you doing here?!"
Deputy Han demanded sharply in a shrill voice.
"And you're even wearing..."
Deputy Han's voice faltered, and he said nothing more.
You're even wearing Section Chief Liu's clothes?
But actually, everyone in the Special Management Department dressed like this.
Suits. Briefcases.
It was just that Section Chief Liu usually carried an extra thermos.
Because Bai Zhou was holding a thermos and had suddenly crawled out of Section Chief Liu's grave at this eerie hour dressed like this...
everyone had been scared out of their wits.
But...
The more disheveled and humiliated they had been moments ago,
the more hostile their gazes became when they realized what had caused it.
"Sorry, sorry..."
Bai Zhou smiled apologetically at them,
while raising a hand and vigorously patting the dust off himself with loud smacks.
His clothes couldn't be dirty right now.
They were still useful.
Clouds of dust billowed through the air.
Bai Zhou lowered his head, his voice coming through amid the steady smacking sounds.
"Actually, I deliberately dressed like this to come here..."
"It wasn't without reason."
As Bai Zhou gradually cleaned himself off, he slowly raised his head and straightened his back, thermos in hand.
His slender figure stood tall and straight.
The neat, well-fitting pure-black suit looked almost like formalwear.
This was only the second time in his life he had dressed up like this, as though he were attending some important event.
And the last time had been...
The expression gradually faded from Bai Zhou's face. He simply looked intently at Deputy Han...
Then, seriously and word by word, he softly explained why he had come:
"I came dressed in formal attire—"
"To attend your funeral."
Before you continue