Before the Darkness

Everyone looked over in surprise upon hearing Suika's words.

Although Misha and her brother haven't been with Rhodes Island for long, their presence has garnered significant attention because it involves Kal'tsit's experiences before Babel.

The nearly twenty years of hardship endured by the two siblings are truly heartbreaking.

When Suika mentioned the name Sergei, several operators felt it sounded familiar, but they didn't think of it that way, since Sergei isn't an obscure name in Ursus.

But Suika's absolute certainty that this was Misha and Alex's father surprised everyone.

"That can't be right. According to what we know, weren't all the people in Dr. Kal'tsit's lab in Chernobog dead?" someone asked in surprise.

"Of course, but those who died didn't include traitors."

Suika's words immediately sharpened everyone's gaze.

So that's how it is. This guy is the one who betrayed Dr. Kal'tsit.

However, they should probably thank this guy. If it weren't for his betrayal, Kal'tsit might not have gone to Ursus and later joined forces with Theresa to establish the Babel.

Many people shook their heads at this thought.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Just as Scout was about to drag Sergei away, Suika continued...

"When they arrested him, there was another person next to him... named Boris."

Based on their conversation, I guessed the other person was probably the mayor of Chernobog.

"Where is he?" Amiya asked.

"I slapped her to death." Hearing this, no one was surprised anymore. After all, the huge gift and news that Suika brought back was enough to shock them to the point of numbness.

"That guy, as mayor, must be the mastermind behind this incident."

As mayor, he has failed the expectations of the city's residents and plunged the city into crisis, which can be considered disloyal.

As Ursus, to devise such a treacherous plan for his own benefit is utterly inhumane.

"Such a disloyal and heartless person, I felt there was no need to spare his life, so when I captured Sergei, I casually killed him."

Suika finished speaking, Amiya nodded in agreement.

"Suika is right, that Boris deserved to die."

"Although they deserved to die, will it affect our operations?" asked the ACE leader.

"There will definitely be an impact, but I think it should be positive," Raidian said.

For Rhodes Island to successfully enter the Core City of Chernobog and rescue the Doctor, they must throw the Ursus into chaos.

But this time, without the Reunion Movement to help draw the Ursus Military's attention, they had to find other opportunities.

Suika's actions created this opportunity.

As the lord of Chernobog, Boris undoubtedly played a crucial role in this plan.

His sudden death on the eve of the plan will inevitably cast a shadow over the Ursus Old Nobility.

So if we take action again and find a way to keep the Ursus Military busy, then with their leader gone and everyone fighting their own battles, wouldn't that give Rhodes Island a chance to rescue the Doctor?

After discussion among the Elite Operator, everyone agreed that this was highly feasible.

They quickly devised a method to divert the military's attention in Chernobog.

This includes two routes. One is to spread the Chernobog is about to be hit by Catastrophe, but the higher-ups turn a blind eye.

No Terra person is unafraid of Catastrophe, so once this news spreads, it will cause panic and unease among the people of Chernobog.

They will naturally cause trouble for the relevant agencies and units.

If Boris were still alive at that time, as a leader of Chernobog, he would have enough prestige to suppress the matter.

But Boris is dead, and even if someone else could take his place, they wouldn't be able to take over his authority in the city.

Ursus is known for its fierce and warlike people, and given this kind of news, the likelihood of the people clashing with the authorities in order to protect themselves is extremely high.

In order to suppress these people, the military had no choice but to take action.

This would tie down a large number of officials.

Of course, this isn't entirely foolproof, so there's a second plan.

This plan involves the core of Chernobog.

Someone needs to go to the core with the Secret Key and use Secret Key to turn or stop Chernobog.

However, this matter is quite dangerous, because no matter what is done, it will inevitably provoke strong resistance from the masterminds behind this incident.

Moreover, neither the person behind this nor the Ursus government will sit idly by.

It could be said that this was a path with no chance of survival.

Just as the Elite Operator were discussing who should do this, Suika stepped forward.

"Leave the task of going to the core area to me."

Suika raised her hand and spoke.

"Won't it be too dangerous for you to be alone?" Amiya asked with some concern.

"Wrong, it's actually safest for me to be alone." Suika smiled confidently.

"I'm sure everyone knows I have the ability to turn into mist. If I were alone, I could use this spell to slip into places like ventilation ducts, and even if the Ursus people were incredibly resourceful, they would have a hard time finding me."

But if I bring other people with me, I can't do it so easily.

With this spell, I am also the best person to execute this plan.

After all, the chances of me coming back are 100%.

And you..."

Before she finished speaking, everyone understood that Suika was right. Unless one possessed an ability similar to her magic, it would be difficult to draw the attention of the Chernobog army within the core area and then escape unscathed.

After Suika took on the most difficult task, the three non-combat operators, Raidian, Mantra, and Whitesmith, and her squad took on the task of spreading news of the Catastrophe.

When the task assignments were finished, Scout came out of the house, covered in blood, but looking quite relaxed.

"We've obtained the Secret Key, so what do we say?"

Amiya told him about the plan they had come up with.

"It takes time for news of Catastrophe to spread. Suika, can you estimate when Catastrophe will occur...?"

Chapter 410 Before Darkness

Suika nodded

"It will likely be around the 24th, with an error margin of within two days."

Amiya breathed a sigh of relief after Suika finished speaking.

Since it is currently December 9th, there are still half a month until the Catastrophe that Suika predicted will occur.

This is enough time for the Rhodes Island mission to fully unfold.

Everyone else also wore relaxed expressions.

While the extended duration might raise concerns about potential exposure, it's important to remember that this is Chernobog, a massive city.

Rhodes Island are known for their low-key lifestyle; even after half a month, perhaps the next-door neighbor wouldn't know the details of who lives there.

"Since we have plenty of time, let's start making plans."

Amiya clapped her hands, and everyone quickly stood up and got ready.

Suika pointed to Sergei inside the house.

"What are you going to do with this guy?"

"Didn't you say you'd leave it to Misha..."

"No, let Alex have it!" Suika thought for a moment, realizing that Alex's life was undoubtedly worse and more miserable than Misha's.

His hatred for Sergei was the deepest.

"So, you never intended for him to live at all?" ACE retorted from the side.

"Isn't a guy who betrayed us twice and abandoned all humanity for profit just wasting food by living?"

Suika looked completely entitled.

"Hehe... you're so naughty, I like it so much..." Scout, who was passing by, said with a chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I only like girls who smell sweet and soft, like Amiya."

You're an older man, I'm not considering you...

As soon as Suika finished speaking, Big Feline, looking wary, picked up the little rabbit next to him and stood in front of Suika to assert his dominance.

"Huang... you're pulling it too tight," Amiya said, blushing.

"Actually, it's not that you can't..." Suika looked at her "good brother" with ill intent.

Feeling Suika's gaze, Huang felt goosebumps all over her body. She wanted to run away but couldn't bear to Amiya, so she stood there awkwardly, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Seeing Huang turn into panic, everyone laughed heartily.

For the next few days, Suika stayed in the safe house with everyone, except for occasionally going out for a stroll at night. She spent all her time waiting for things to develop.

After Suika killed Boris and took Sergei away, Chernobog predictably declared martial law.

The intensity of the past two days was so high that even Scout felt cold sweating outside.

Fortunately, they couldn't find anyone after two days. To avoid alerting the city's residents, the soldiers had no choice but to slink away.

Only after they left did the people of Rhodes Island begin to spread news of the Catastrophe.

Because they had plenty of time, everyone was very careful when passing on messages and did not reveal their identities.

Therefore, even though the Chernobog authorities, upon receiving the information, attempted to arrest the person who spread it, they were unable to apprehend anyone from Rhodes Island.

As time went by and the news spread wider, it was discussed not only in the civilian areas but also in the city center, until the authorities had to come out and deny it.

The message indicates that the Catastrophe Messenger has surveyed the waterways around Chernobog and found no signs of Catastrophe occurring along the route. All claims related to Catastrophe are merely rumors spread by malicious individuals.

To this, the Rhodes Island team can only say that the official channels are much more adept at playing word games.

After all, there were no traces of Catastrophe on the original shipping route of Chernobog, but the key point is that Chernobog is not currently on that route.

What's the point of checking the conditions on the waterway?

However, due to the winter, Chernobog closed its ports, so no one could leave the city and no one realized that they were not actually traveling on the original shipping route.

Suika had a solution: she turned the methods for predicting Catastrophe into songs and spread them out.

The children's unintentional singing drew the attention of those who were paying attention, prompting them to look towards the eastern sky.

That thing looked exactly like the one in the folk song, which made everyone lose their composure again.

Many people gathered in front of the city hall, demanding that Boris come forward and explain the situation.

The Old Nobility, having lost Boris, were now sweating profusely with anxiety.

Boris's seven-day mourning period has already passed; you want them to find a Boris from there?

Seeing that Boris was not coming out for a long time, many people realized that something was wrong, and many began to rush to buy things at department stores and supermarkets.

As the Catastrophe Cloud drew ever closer, everyone felt a sense of unease, but the authorities remained unusually silent.

December 22

News came from Scout that the troops stationed in the Core City were successfully affected by the increasingly serious rumors.

In order to maintain the stability of the city, a large portion of the garrison was deployed to various areas of the city.

This created a loophole in the originally heavily guarded core area. Amiya made a quick decision and told everyone to prepare for the operation to begin.

"Suika, your mission is very dangerous. Remember to be extremely careful. If you notice anything amiss, evacuate immediately. Safety is the most important thing."

As Suika prepared to head to the other side of the core area to use the key to enter the control power center and distract the army on this side of the core area, Amiya nervously took her hand and said...

Suika reached out and patted Amiya's head.

"Don't worry, Amiya. There are so many places in Terra that I haven't been to, so many delicious foods and wines that I haven't tasted. I won't just disappear like that."

You all need to remember to bring your lucky charms.