Surrounded

"Commander, if we charge straight in like this, the Interceptor drones in the sky will attack us immediately, and more reinforcements will arrive soon!" Ed said, watching the residential building in the distance on the vehicle's display.

Although he wasn't an Electronic Warfare Specialist, a simple scanning device was all it took to see that the building ahead was receiving special attention from the Interceptor drones overhead.

If they launched a forced assault, the residence would sound an alarm, and a large number of Interceptor drones would arrive.

Breaking into the residence and finding David would take time. The last time they entered his home, they hadn't found him.

They assumed David had some special way of hiding. With Exoskeleton Armor, they could tear apart the inside of the residence and flush him out.

But that would take time. Once the alarm went off, they would have less than a minute—perhaps no time at all.

"Don't worry. I have a way to disable the Security System!" Commander Froman said gravely.

At his words, the other three mercenaries turned to look at him.

"The person who provided the information gave it to me. He's probably David's enemy, or someone who wants him dead. Either way, as long as it benefits us, who cares?" Commander Froman said with a cold laugh.

David was practicing the Storm Hammer Technique in the Underground Gym when his Identity Bracelet suddenly began to vibrate.

"Uncle Gallen, we're in trouble. Someone's going to attack the residence!" David said, glancing at the prompt on his Identity Bracelet asking whether to shut down the Security System. He realized that the hidden-permission program uploaded by Jixin, the manager at Lixin Security Company, had been triggered.

Gallen looked at David's Identity Bracelet. When he saw the prompt asking whether to shut down the Security System, he couldn't help looking at David curiously.

He could guess that someone had tampered with the Security System in David's residence. The question was, David had noticed the problem and reset the system.

That showed David had studied this sort of thing, and was quite skilled at it.

"David, I'll contact my father. Reinforcements will be here soon!" Myron said, quickly operating his Identity Bracelet.

David let Myron notify Mayor Bernard. He knew Gallen was formidable, but he trusted Mayor Bernard to be more reliable when it came to mobilizing people.

"David, this residence means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Gallen suddenly asked.

"Uncle Gallen, my mother left it to me!" David had inherited his predecessor's memories, and his mother from those memories had become one with his own mother from his previous life. That was why he treasured the residence, which held so much meaning for him.

"Myron, stay here. David, come with me!" Gallen grabbed David and lifted him as if he weighed nothing, then spoke to Myron.

Without waiting for Myron to reply, he accelerated toward the corridor.

Myron wanted to follow, but seeing how fast Gallen was moving—and remembering Gallen's order—he stayed behind.

David felt the wind howl past his ears. He had never imagined a person could move that fast.

This wasn't a clear racetrack where someone could sprint without obstacles. Maintaining that speed inside a building while perfectly avoiding everything in his path wasn't something ordinary speed could achieve.

Outside, inside the cargo hovercar, Commander Froman tapped at his Identity Bracelet and sent a string of code to the nearby residence.

Then he waited for a response. But, strangely, the residence didn't respond, let alone shut down its Security System.

Had Anonymous deceived him?

As Commander Froman wondered, he considered what they should do next.

Just then, five figures clad in silver-white Exoskeleton Armor dropped out of thin air and surrounded the hovercar.

"Damn it, how can they have an aircraft with a stealth system? These Armored Warriors have been protecting David all along!" Commander Froman cried out.

An aircraft with stealth capabilities wasn't something an ordinary person could own. Though this kind of stealth wasn't true invisibility but optical camouflage, an aircraft that remained still was very difficult to spot.

Stealth capabilities were usually an additional way to protect important figures. Armored Warriors could be stationed inside and deployed at any moment.

But David was merely the child of a National Scholar—and the title of National Scholar was only honorary. Even the National Scholar himself wouldn't normally warrant this level of security.

What's more, the five Armored Warriors wore Liuguang Exoskeleton Armor. It was designed for speed, increasing its wearer's speed by ten percent.

Liuguang Exoskeleton Armor wasn't available on the open market. Only the Federal Government and people with special connections could buy it.

Their speed exceeded that of Black Diamond Exoskeleton Armor, and they had more armor made from Level 1 materials. All of this gave the Armored Warriors a major advantage before the battle had even begun.

"Fight!" Commander Froman shouted. He knew there was no point in saying anything now. Fighting was their only chance of survival.

He was a Peak Armored Warrior. He drew two Longswords from his back, their blades glowing a deep blue, and swung them together, slicing through the cargo hovercar's outer shell. Then he leaped out.

Behind him, Crock connected three sections of a round rod to form a Spear. Ed took a Great Shield from his back and held it in one hand, while Fisher held a double-bladed great axe.

The four of them formed a combat unit, but they had no ranged weapons. That was why they had been worried about the Interceptor drones.

But surrounded by five Armored Warriors, they had no choice but to fight.

As mercenaries, they were used to combat. Being surrounded only stirred their fighting spirit.

"Careful. Don't damage the residence!" Gallen appeared outside with David in his grip. As he set David down, he reminded the five Armored Warriors.

"Yes, sir!" they replied, drawing weapons from the equipment slots on their backs.

Their weapons were all the same: War Hammers. Their color, however, differed from the ones David had seen before. It matched the glow of the Longswords in Commander Froman's hands.

Commander Froman and the other three mercenaries all turned pale.

David didn't know what it meant, but the four mercenaries did.

Crock's Spear, Ed's shield, and Fisher's great axe all bore a faint, shimmering glow. That was the color of Level 1 materials.

But the deep blue glow of the Longswords in Commander Froman's hands was the color of Level 2 materials.

Commander Froman had paid dearly to get those Longswords. Level 2 materials were made by combining the teeth and claw tips of Level 2 Zerg with other precious materials.

Even a single Level 2 Zerg yielded too little from its teeth and claw tips to make a weapon. It took several of them to get enough material.

The Longswords in Commander Froman's hands were considered light weapons, so they required very little Level 2 material. Even so, he had needed a lot of connections and Credit Points to get them.

He was skilled with swords, a Peak Armored Warrior, and most of his missions involved fighting non-Zerg. That was why he had chosen Longswords made from Level 2 materials.

But the five Armored Warriors before him wore Liuguang Exoskeleton Armor and carried heavy War Hammers made from Level 2 materials. Their equipment gave them an overwhelming advantage over the four mercenaries.

"Who are you? Let us go, and I'll compensate you!" Commander Froman held his Longswords across his body and gestured to his companions behind him as he questioned Gallen.

Before Gallen could answer, David hurriedly asked, "How were you able to control the Security System's shutdown?"

He was deeply confused. He had assumed these mercenaries had attacked him by chance.

After all, no one could have known in advance that the T3 Sniper Auxiliary Device would fall into his hands. And these mercenaries had killed Amos, who had been watching him.

He had always thought the person who had planted a backdoor in the Security System through Lixin Security Company was the mastermind. Yet it was these mercenaries who had triggered it.

"There's nothing to hide. We got an anonymous tip. It told us our Safe House had been discovered and directed us to capture you. It also gave us a way to disable the Security System. It all came from one of your enemies. I don't know who they are." Hoping to escape, Commander Froman told him everything about Anonymous.

He wasn't about to keep quiet for someone who had led them into a trap. If revealing this earned him even a little goodwill from the other side, it was well worth it.