"General! There's been no word from Ma Xiu's team." An adjutant reported to an elderly Major General.
The Major General frowned and asked, "How long have they been out of contact?"
"As of now, they've been out of contact for sixteen hours and twenty-four minutes!" the adjutant answered precisely.
"Shit! They're grown men. How can they still be so unreliable? Don't they even have time to report in when they're supposed to?" The Major General spoke with a deep frown.
"General, it's not just Ma Xiu's three-man team that has lost contact. Mountain Cat's team has also gone missing," the adjutant said.
"What? Did Ma Xiu's team go looking for Mountain Cat's team?"
"Yes! Last night, when Mountain Cat returned after performing a mission, they discovered something unusual and sent the matter back to headquarters!" The adjutant handed several photographs to the Major General.
After taking them, the Major General noticed what was unusual about the photos. For a moment, he said nothing and merely contemplated them in silence.
The adjutant waited. When the Major General had mostly finished thinking and looked up at him, he replied, "It was because of the abnormalities in these photos that I arranged for Ma Xiu's team to conduct an on-site investigation! I suspected these wounds might involve Ability Users!"
"Good. Your judgment was correct. Only Ability Users could inflict wounds like these!" The Major General nodded in agreement as he examined the photographs. The photos had been taken comprehensively and professionally, making the situation immediately clear.
"Since Southeast Asia is one of our key surveillance regions, after something outside the records appeared, we notified the Special Operations Team. After receiving the news, they arranged for Ma Xiu's team to investigate, while we arranged for Mountain Cat to coordinate with them," the adjutant said.