A Contest in the Shadows (1)

"What did you say?!"

Say that again!

Long Huicheng roared, "How did you get this news!"

But Zhan Shi shrugged. "A legitimate civilian detector belonging to our Ou Country just transmitted this message to me. As for why you don't know... it's probably because your base was instantly destroyed and is located in the desert, resulting in no survivors. Cough, cough, no one had time to send a message out."

Long Huicheng's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could this be!"

Zhan Shi feigned regret, "That building, nicknamed ' Azure Sword,' what an imposing name! Now it's become a tomb. Elder Long, how could you be so careless?"

Long Huicheng slowly clutched his heart.

He stumbled to the side, found a chair to sit down, took out a crumpled pipe, lit it, and took a trembling puff.

"Azure Sword..."

"My Azure Sword..."

Long Huicheng suddenly looked up at Instructor Long, "Check carefully, which Azure Sword was destroyed?"

Zhan Shi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, "Which Azure Sword number? Do you have many Azure Sword?"

But then Instructor Long spoke up, "I received the information 10 minutes ago; the one that was destroyed was Azure Sword No. 14."

Zhan Shi's eyes widened, "Number 14???"

"Yes, it's the 14th."

But then, Long Huicheng suddenly relaxed and leaned back in his chair, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his expression completely calm.

"Two hours ago, a member of my China Reality Enhancement Squad was assassinated, so I activated the emergency plan and gathered all members."

"Then, within an hour, I created 76 ' Azure Sword ' at 1:1 scale in 77 locations within the experimental field."

"77 Azure Sword?"

Zhan Shi didn't understand at all, "Why build so many Azure Sword?!"

"The assassination of my Reality Enhancement Squad members indicates that their secret identities have been compromised."

"There's a mole within the China Scientific Research Center."

Long Huicheng's pipe emitted bluish-green smoke as he slowly said, "Therefore, I divided the 152 people who knew the true identities of the Reality Enhancement Squad into pairs. This is because whenever we activate the emergency plan, there's a routine of pairing up, which also minimizes the suspicion of any mole."

"And each group will receive a different confidential message personally assigned by me."

"Based on the information they received, I only built one ' Azure Sword ' at a 1:1 scale, and the remaining Reality Enhancement Squad members were all transferred there."

"Actually."

"Those 76 Azure Sword are inhabited entirely by robotic replicas; as you said, there isn't a single living person among them."

Han Ming said, "In the time to come, we just need to wait quietly for the murderer to appear. Once he goes to any of the Azure Sword to commit the crime, we will know that the two-person team corresponding to that Azure Sword has run into trouble."

"After all, they are two suspects."

"The interrogation will take some time."

Long Huicheng, puffing on his pipe, his eyes gleaming, said, "The mole will speak up sooner or later. Once he reveals his 'higher-ups,' that is, the country behind him..."

Han Ming, "Before coming here, we had already sent five teams to the temporary bases of several participating countries, including North Korea and Island Nation, for a friendly 'visit.' Their key personnel are all within our surveillance range."

Long Huicheng looked up, his eyes blazing with fury, and roared, "You dare kill someone from China?! Once I've identified the culprit, no matter if it's your Ou Country or any other nation, you won't be leaving here again. I don't care about international condemnation; you must pay for this in blood!"

"This..."

Zhan Shi looked somewhat shocked and slowly backed away, only to bump into Instructor Long's chest. He couldn't go anywhere until the investigation results came out!

As for the murderer...

Instructor Long's eyes burned with rage. "My Yanhuang Special Operations Team have surrounded him!"

Yellow sand desert.

The figure draped in a black cloak remained standing silently.

However, it was completely surrounded by China soldiers dressed in black combat uniforms.

At the same time.

Nearly a hundred beam machine guns aimed at it.

Its forehead and chest area also had a large number of red laser dots.

After a tremor.

The building fell silent. Xiao Ning slowly lowered her head again, crossed her hands, and placed them on her legs.

Xiao Ning, who is blind, knows very well that no one has reached 'the place they thought they were going to,' including the escorts.

But Xiao Ning didn't know what had happened in the north, or why she had felt such a clear tremor.

Jiu Zhengxuan also sensed a speck of dust falling from the roof beam, as if a small earthquake had occurred in the distance, but he knew that time was of the essence and he had to obtain information as soon as possible.

Heavenly Eye scratched his head. "A huge explosion occurred somewhere to the north, but it was beyond my line of sight."

Because the group was located at the 77th Azure Sword.

The one that was destroyed was No. 14, located 7,000 kilometers to the north.

Everyone is safe and sound.

Sitting on the flowerbed, Qin Yiguan slowly lowered his head, pondering, "To the north, there seems to be an exceptionally powerful energy fluctuation, stronger than any Reality Enhancement I've ever seen."

"Fire paralyzing beam!"

A dozen or so blue beams struck the black cloak, and in a flash of electricity, the upper part of the black cloak and its hood shattered into pieces.

But the figure hidden under the hood, seemingly unaffected, slowly raised its head.

Knowing that their opponent was no ordinary being, the Yanhuang Squad simultaneously activated the devices on their wrists. A golden force field spread out, connecting to form a solid circular wall that enveloped the figures within.

Above them, unmanned probes circled and flew, transmitting this scene to Instructor Long.

Meanwhile, Instructor Long, located at the temporary base in Ou Country, had already activated the virtual projection, presenting this scene to Long Huicheng.

Long Huicheng's forehead veins bulged as he exclaimed, "A robot!"

"Zhan Shi!"

Long Huicheng glared angrily, "I recognize the strange writing on its neck; it's the same as the robots you keep in your warehouse!"

No! No! That's not right!

Zhan Shi looked terrified. "I don't know what's going on. This robot has nothing to do with me!"

The robot in the picture.

It was made of a dark gray metal that didn't look high-end; instead, it resembled a rough alloy. It had no facial features, only a mouth that looked like a slit.

Its face, the top of its head, and the exposed metal collarbone on its neck were engraved with strange, insect-like characters that no one present could recognize or had ever seen before.

Zhan Shi ran up to Long Huicheng, getting as close as possible to the virtual screen, and stared at him, saying, "This isn't my machine! It's definitely not!"

But then, the robot in the picture slowly opened its mechanical mouth, and a blinding white light gathered inside.

The Yanhuang Squad had no choice but to fire. The beam bullets bounced and scattered on the robot's body, but the robot remained unmoved.

Suddenly, the robot looked up.

A burst of white light erupted from its mouth, shooting directly towards the unmanned probe in the sky!

A bizarre scene unfolded.

Nearly 10,000 kilometers away, Zhan Shi, standing in front of the virtual screen, suddenly screamed as half of his face was sliced off by a beam of white light shooting out from the screen and instantly vaporized!

Zhan Shi fell backward to the ground, screaming in agony as his body convulsed. Bright red blood seeped from between his hands, which were covering his face.

The virtual projection equipment in Instructor Long's hands was instantly burned, and the on-site footage was lost!