Ruthlessness and madness flashed in Mars's eyes.
"Good."
"Tell them to infiltrate the base at any cost."
"I want to know exactly what that so-called 'underground world' is!"
The intelligence director fell silent for a moment.
"Understood, sir."
"But I must remind you that Great Xia's Arctic Base has an extremely high defense rating."
"Our people... might not come back."
Mars sneered.
"Not come back?"
"Then have them send back the intelligence before they die."
He paused, his voice growing colder.
"Remember, Eagle Country cannot fall behind."
"Absolutely not."
The intelligence director took a deep breath.
"Yes, sir."
The call ended.
Mars stood before his desk, both hands braced against its surface.
He lowered his head and stared at the photograph of the enormous tree on the desk.
In the photograph, the enormous tree stood four hundred meters tall, its canopy like clouds, dotted with green light.
Like a silent taunt.
"Great Xia..."
"You think refusing me means you can keep that world all to yourselves?"
Madness flashed in Mars's eyes.
"Dream on!"
Over a pitch-black stretch of sea.
Three submarines moved silently underwater, their objective to land near Great Xia's Arctic military base.
Three squads would infiltrate from different directions or cover the other squads as they completed their missions, thereby increasing their chances of success.
Inside one of the submarines.
The special forces soldiers wore black combat uniforms and camouflage paint on their faces.
Every one of them had a calm gaze and crisp movements.
They were checking their equipment.
Night-vision goggles, cracking devices, miniature explosives, portable communications equipment...
They had everything.
Their leader was a middle-aged blond man.
His codename was "Falcon."
On the screen, they were rapidly approaching land.
"Distance to target, fifty kilometers."
The deputy reported.
Falcon nodded.
"Slow down. Maintain silence."
"Everyone, get