Prelude to Patricide (3k)

"Landing in the Core City now could result in higher casualties than expected," Ace said, arms crossed, offering a fair assessment.

"The maximum expected casualties have already taken this situation into account," Oute explained.

It can't be higher than expected.

"Furthermore, we don't need to capture the Core City in this raid."

Oute waved, and PRTS projected a blueprint onto the large screen in the operations room.

"This..." Scout was somewhat surprised. He said, "This is the structural diagram of the Core City!"

The agents all turned to look at the somewhat unfamiliar Pegasus in the conference room.

His hair and beard were all white, showing typical signs of old age, while his face was somewhat smooth. Clearly, he was a divine being whose physiological lifespan could be described as "long".

"This is Mr. Hellagur," Kal'tsit introduced. "Regarding the... incident in Chernobog, after which the Azazel Clinic chose to cooperate with us."

The Pegasus said, "We simply share a common demand."

Cooperation is not an option at this time.

Oute offered no comment; he simply nodded and pointed to a spot on the blueprint.

"The optimal solution is still under discussion. To prevent a situation from becoming unmanageable if the solution fails, we need to slow down the Core City's speed."

This way, Oute has enough backup plans to come in handy – in case he messes up.

"The operation is simple: destroy part of the Core City's hubs, forcing it to waste two to three hours re-aligning with its target."

W, holding his head in his hands, commented critically, "In other words, it's about exploding?"

"In practice, that is indeed the case."

The blueprint on the screen gradually transformed into a model, while a wheel hub was thoughtfully marked in red by PRTS.

"Why not just blow up the entire Core City?" W was somewhat eager to try.

"Time is running out." Oute waved his hand, and PRTS zoomed out on the model on the screen, while marking all the wheel hubs of the Core City.

A vast and mighty expanse.

"Furthermore, what truly wastes 'Talulah's' time is not the slight decrease in speed due to a broken wheel, but rather the relocking of the Lungmen."

"If that's all, is it really necessary to call someone in the middle of the night? Knowing your bad temper, if everything was going according to plan, you would definitely have told us to come over in advance!" W pouted, looked around, and swallowed the rest of her sentence: I was ready to close my eyes and go to Hamlet!

Oute nodded and said, "Some low-probability emergencies have occurred in Lungmen, and I have activated some backup plans."

A low-probability, unexpected situation, right?

Earthspirit pushed open the door, Oute in the office of the branch office, Dobermann and Nearl were already waiting.

Through the voice of the Earthspirit, Oute said to Dobermann and the others, "This 'curfew' will inevitably bring about a new round of reshuffling in Lungmen, and a large number of physical industries will change hands. However, based on strategic considerations, I will not focus all my energy on acquiring industries."

"At this juncture, we have limited funds at our disposal. General predictions of the international situation will lead to inflated values for certain industries, and we also face significant raw material shortages in our future work."

"Therefore, I've left some preliminary acquisition recommendations..."

Good grief, are you blowing up the wheel rims to give the foundation for your company a chance to be undermined?!

Chapter 165 Prelude to Patricide (3k)

Below the elevator, a low-altitude aircraft is waiting.

"Rhodes Island's uniforms are so unbearable!" W grumbled as he strapped on his last defensive dagger.

Looking around, a ribbon ran through the lower edge of the hill, neatly arranging the detonator "staff" and a large number of Originium explosives on her delicate body.

Aren't you having a lot of fun using it?

Oute, with a chocolate bar in his mouth, replenished his blood sugar. With one hand in his pocket, he operated his terminal to access the logs and rudely commented, "PRTS's logs show this is your old gear. Feeling uncomfortable is a good thing—it means you're developing."

W was taken aback at first, then flew into a rage and shouted, "You stinking otter!"

She initially intended to throw something, but hesitated for a moment before finally pulling out a potato from her waist pouch—a hidden backup energy source—and throwing it forcefully.

This micro-expression...

Are you considering my safety?

Or are they considering the consequences of dropping a bomb on me?

Logically speaking, the latter is more likely... but W has always been awkward.

Oute was somewhat surprised and was about to catch the potato when a pale, heartbreakingly delicate hand stopped it.

An almost uncontrollable killing intent overflowed from the nun's scarlet eyes.

"How dare you harm my lord!"

Oute immediately interrupted Specter's dangerous statement using both mental and verbal means.

He slipped his hand inside the headscarf and stroked the nun's smooth, long hair, saying, "Thank you."

It's Specter.

Oute concluded.

Laurentina's body is still under the influence of the liquid Originium in her spinal cord, and her personality is unstable. For the most part of the day, the dominant personality is "Specter" rather than "Shark".

"My Lord..." The Abyssal Hunters's pale face softened a little, and her wine-red eyes were almost dripping with tears.

In the stable environment, W's stubborn, childlike nature took over for a moment, and she almost immediately blurted out in a fit of pique, "Yes! I'm going to kill him!"

It's almost ready to be exported.

W's expression shifted, as if he had heard something.

Finally, she turned her head away, her face elsewhere, and said to Specter insincerely, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to play around with Doctor. Oute, I didn't mean to hurt him. If I made you feel uncomfortable, it's entirely my fault."

After saying that, she gave Oute a cute glare, with a hint of inexplicable guilt in her eyes.

Who is this?!

What about W!?

Oute was also surprised that his words actually worked—he immediately revised his "use plan" for W in his mind, broadening her application scenarios.

Specter responded to W's "apology" in her characteristically ethereal voice. "My Lord commands me to forgive you."

The nun is God's bride = Oute is the Specter's husband = Oute is himself.

W's "attack" on Oute was undoubtedly tantamount to an attack on himself!

The nun seemed to be following a bizarre logic, positioning herself as a victim of this scene.

The Sarkaz girl's nose twitched, and her brows were almost furrowed.

Hmph! I won't stoop to the level of a lunatic!

She turned around and climbed onto the aircraft.

Meanwhile, Oute silently thought to herself, "Strictly speaking, Specter's current condition constitutes a mental illness."

Even though Oute couldn't see his own face at all, W still winked and mentally replied, "Who asked you!?"

As the bickering resumed, W stopped wanting to delve into and analyze her current state of mind.

As the other operators took their positions, the elevator slowly lifted the aircraft onto the deck. After several hours of flight, the aircraft would airdrop W and her team to the designated location to launch the surprise attack.

Through W's eyes, Oute looked out at the wilderness beyond the aircraft.

The moonlight, as clear as water, bathed the earth.

The same moonlight shone upon the Lungmen.

After a brief standoff, the Swire Family's "private security" surrendered to the little tiger in front of them. "Miss, the master has ordered us to open the door."

"..." Swire's feelings were complicated. "Just do it."

Admittedly, it was her decision to volunteer to come here, Swire actually had some guesses about what was happening now.

But when it all actually happened before his eyes, Swire himself felt a sense of powerlessness. This powerlessness stemmed from one person, a person who was almost always right...

Adams Swire.

Beatrix Swire's grandfather, the current ICU commander and fountain strategist of the Swire Family.

With his extraordinary wisdom and strategic vision, Adams moved the Swire Family's businesses to Lungmen when the Victorian Empire was still at its zenith forty years ago.

And this very person, when Wei Yenwu began using extremely violent methods to clear obstacles for Ch'en's "succession"... slid to his knees.

Considering he rarely speaks more than a few words a year, his decisiveness now raises suspicions that he may have had a pre-planned strategy.

Swire, dressed in the Lungmen Guard Department uniform, worked with a large number of the Lungmen Guard Department agents who had been assigned due to "procedural issues" and Lungmen soldiers to seal off the hospital.

Layer upon layer of private soldiers guarded a door tightly without authorization, all keeping their heads down and not allowing themselves to point their aggressive eyes at this "traitor".

Swire opened the door himself.

The smell of disinfectant filled the tiger cub's nostrils, and the childhood fear subtly stirred Swire's nerves again, causing her to unconsciously twitch her tail.

But she quickly regained her composure.

The person lying in the hospital bed managed to squeeze out a few words.

"I didn't expect you to actually have the guts to come see me now."

"I misjudged him."

He displayed a composure inconsistent with his illness in front of his "rebellious" heir.

Swire noncommittal, saying, "Your head of the Lungmen Guard Department, he was the first to be taken down."

"Of course."

Due to Lungmen's unique characteristics, the Swire Family wielded immense influence in the area. In some respects, this influence predated Wei Yenwu's arrival.

No matter how hard he tried to appear healthy, Adams's illness and exhaustion were repeatedly revealed in his words and actions.

"Victoria has always told the story of the Lion King," Swire said. "Especially the part where he was killed by his own son—I'm actually quite curious how the story would have turned out if it had been his grandson."