Betrayal (Please keep reading! Please bookmark!)

20 seconds later.

On the control panel beside the Core Communications Room door, red text kept flashing: "Invalid command. Unable to execute!"

Judas's brow was deeply furrowed.

The situation had left him drenched in sweat, right after he had finally managed to deliver that cool-sounding "20 seconds!"

"Ahem. The security system here must have been upgraded separately."

"My cracking program was mainly developed for the base's standard security systems."

"But it's fine. Give me a little more time, and I'll definitely crack it!"

Judas raised his arm and tilted his head to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"Buddy, I don't think we have any time left."

Seeing that the door still hadn't opened, Amber stepped straight over and took the terminal from Judas.

"Let me take a look."

A command window was open on the terminal's screen.

After trying a few familiar basic commands and successfully executing them,

Amber grinned.

The hacking mechanics in Starry Sky were pretty hardcore.

The developers had built them around an actual programming language used in the real world.

So, apart from the handful of players interested in hacking, most rarely took the time to study the mechanics.

Usually, they just bought a few quick-hack devices on the market and kept them in their inventories. Whenever they needed one, they simply plugged it into the electronic device, and the hack was done.

But Amber was different.

He had been a programmer by profession, so he had quickly picked up the game's hacking mechanics.

In fact, back when he had only just started playing and was short on everything, he had gone out of his way to hack things for other players—for a fee.

So when he saw that the cracking program Judas used was almost identical to the one in the game,

Amber actually breathed a sigh of relief.

The security program used by the Core Control Room had also appeared in the game's early hacking content.

"Hmm, I remember this program."

"The last patch from the security center actually introduced another backdoor."

Amber typed rapidly on the virtual keyboard projected by the terminal. His speed and practiced movements left both people beside him staring in disbelief.

"Found it. This is the backdoor!"

"Huh? You wrote a virus while making this cracking program, too? Nice. That saves us a lot of trouble."

Amber smiled and patted Judas on the shoulder.

But Judas froze awkwardly in place.

He sneaked a glance at Margaret on the other side, only to find her staring at him.

He immediately read two words in her eyes.

That's it?

Fortunately, Amber once again put his knack for defusing awkward moments to work.

"Woohoo! All done. Door lock's disabled. We can go in whenever we like!"

Amber disconnected the terminal, then tossed it into Judas's arms.

At the same time, he took the last Flashbang off his belt.

Amber had a very high opinion of these souped-up Flashbangs.

The Empire's spy beside him might have been a little lacking when it came to cracking programs, but his weapon modifications were pretty good.

None of the three needed to discuss what came next.

Amber would lead the assault again, while the other two supported him.

Seeing Amber, ready to breach, nod at him and pull the Flashbang's safety pin,

Judas used the terminal to open the Core Communications Room door without hesitation.

The sliding door had barely opened a crack before Amber hurled the Flashbang precisely through the gap.

As the safety lever detached from the grenade, the firing pin struck the primer and ignited the fuse.

2.5 seconds later, the fuse burned through and ignited the magnesium inside.

The Flashbang Judas had souped up instantly produced a noise exceeding 180 decibels, along with a blinding flash.

The soldiers on duty inside the Core Communications Room had already sensed something was wrong when the Communications Center lost power.

When they discovered that they couldn't even contact the two guards outside, they began to panic.

In theory, they should have immediately sent out a warning and requested help.

But the soldiers at Yasin Base had been comfortable for far too long. Their reactions had slowed to a ridiculous degree.

Amber and the others' swift, decisive assault cut their response time even further.

When the door opened automatically, the soldiers on duty instinctively looked toward it.

Then they saw a little "cutie" fly in.

We're screwed.

That was the last thought to flash through the soldiers' minds before they lost consciousness.

If they had been wearing basic combat gear, with helmets and noise-reducing headsets,

things might have gone a little better.

The problem was, no one dressed like that inside a Communications Center's Core Communications Room during peacetime.

They already had to sit at their stations for hours on duty. Wearing a full set of combat gear on top of that would have been torture for their backs.

So the Flashbang's midair detonation knocked everyone out.

Amber met no resistance as he entered the Core Communications Room.

Looking at the soldiers, who hadn't even managed to draw their guns, Amber lowered his fully automatic shotgun with a touch of regret.

Ever since taking down those two suits of powered armor, Amber had noticed that he was in a constant state of excitement.

And he didn't know whether this body's past experiences had affected his mind.

He actually felt little resistance to the idea of shooting other people.

Oh, crap. Am I going to turn into a battle maniac who thinks about nothing but fighting?

After confirming that the soldiers on duty in the Core Communications Room were completely unconscious,

Amber still had Margaret and Judas use restraints to bind their hands behind their backs.

He locked the door, then walked over to a massive terminal in the center of the room.

"We just need to destroy this thing?"

Amber looked back at Margaret while working on something at the terminal.

"That's right. To make sure it never causes us trouble again, I'm going to blow it up."

Margaret finished tying up the last soldier, then stood and nodded.

"Judas, are the explosives ready?"

At his companion's question, Judas took the backpack off his shoulder and pulled high-energy explosives out of it.

Heaven only knew how this Technical Sergeant had managed to stockpile this stuff.

"I'll set them up. I modified them for a directional blast, but you two should still keep your distance, just to be safe."

Carrying the explosives, Judas walked around to the back of the terminal. A detonation here would directly destroy its core components.

If the Empire's fleet successfully wiped out the Defensive Fleet and secured Space Superiority,

the Federation Military on Robert IV wouldn't be able to contact the outside world anytime soon.

At one point as Judas moved behind the terminal, he happened to slip out of both Amber's and Margaret's sight.

Faced with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Judas, who had decided to faithfully carry out his superior's orders,

drew a pistol from the holster concealed beneath his arm and switched off the safety.