The Thirteenth Bureau Headquarters, Intelligence Department.
Director Gu Hui and the Intelligence Department stared intently at the cell phones still connected on the table, while Feng Jun stood nervously to the side.
"Can you track its location?"
The technicians were sweating profusely. "We can't crack their anti-tracking program; they're top-tier hackers."
A vein bulged on Gu Hui's forehead. When did that guy become a hacker again? How come I didn't know?!
After a moment's thought, Gu Hui picked up the phone and said in a deep voice, "Han Xiao, your unauthorized departure from the Thirteenth Bureau violated the confidentiality rules, and the consequences are extremely serious!"
Han Xiao chuckled, directly seeing through Gu Hui's thoughts, "Are you trying to ask me when I'm going back?"
"You should know your place!" Gu Hui shouted.
I'm not going back.
"You want to defect?" Gu Hui's eyes narrowed, and his tone became extremely serious.
Han Xiao said slowly and deliberately, "You've misunderstood. I still want to continue cooperating with you, but the method needs to be changed."
Gu Hui frowned. "What do you mean?"
Several people pricked up their ears, waiting for what would follow.
With a click, Han Xiao hung up the phone.
The Intelligence Department remained expressionless, but the trembling corners of his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.
Gu Hui took a deep breath, silently repeating to himself, "I'm the bureau chief, I can't flip the table, I'm the bureau chief, I can't flip the table..."
Ding! My phone beeped with the sound of a message notification.
Gu Hui narrowed his eyes, opened the text message, and a flood of dense messages appeared. He was immediately startled by the content and his heart skipped a beat.
It contains comprehensive and detailed intelligence on the branch bases of the Germinal in the Southern Continent!
"Is this the cooperation method he was talking about?" Gu Hui was surprised and uncertain, and his dissatisfaction instantly vanished.
This was the intelligence they had been wanting, and Han Xiao handed it over so readily.
That's so sincere!
Gu Hui fell into deep thought. Han Xiao had shown unexpected sincerity. The problem now was how to deal with Han Xiao's identity. If he was a defector, his current actions satisfied Stardragon's interests. If he was returning, Han Xiao had personally said he wouldn't come back.
After thinking for a while, Gu Hui made a decision.
"Cease the search for Han Xiao, retain his official agent status, and move his file to the overseas agent archives."
Feng Jun was shocked. The director's decision meant that the Thirteenth Bureau had reconciled with Han Xiao and tacitly approved of Han Xiao's behavior of being alone abroad, and still treated him as one of their own.
The files of agents on missions outside the territory belong to the Thirteenth Bureau, but they can move freely. Only some meritorious agents and retired agents can receive this treatment.
Although he hadn't spent much time with Han Xiao, the two had a good relationship, which made Feng Jun somewhat happy, at least they wouldn't become enemies.
Having obtained the necessary intelligence, Gu Hui was in a good mood. He offered a few words of encouragement to the Intelligence Department and was about to leave when suddenly the bespectacled secretary of the Intelligence Department stumbled in, breathless, and hurriedly said, "Director, Minister, the intelligence agencies of the Hesla Military Intelligence Department Bureau, Red Maple Kaloma, Ordifenna, Terilous, and Raylen have all simultaneously sent us communication requests!"
Gu Hui's expression immediately turned extremely serious.
Intelligence agencies from different countries only contact each other in extremely urgent situations. It's been many years since the Six Nations intelligence agencies held a meeting; what major event has occurred?!
Gu Hui arrived at the conference room with a heavy heart. Five split screens appeared on the large screen, each showing a different person. They were all heads of intelligence agencies from five other countries, holding the same position as Gu Hui in their respective countries.
"What happened?" Gu Hui asked in a deep voice.
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that the heads of the intelligence agencies of the other five countries were looking at him with very strange eyes, which made him feel uneasy.
Ordifenna spoke first, "Ahem, Director Thirteenth Bureau, do you... know Zero wanted criminal of the Germinal Organization?"
Gu Hui's eyes widened suddenly, a bad premonition rising within him.
"Here's what happened. All five of us received intelligence from Zero, which included a map showing the distribution of the Germinal Organization's secret bases in the Southern Continent, Western Continent, and North Continent. We're always very cautious about intelligence from unknown sources, but he added a sentence at the end of the intelligence—'The Stardragon Thirteenth Bureau can vouch for my intelligence,' so we came to you to ask about it."
Damn it! You actually sent the intelligence to all the countries and wanted us, the Stardragon, to be witnesses! Han Xiao, you're still such a liar!
Gu Hui's vision went black, and he felt as if a thousand images of Han Xiao's smirking face were racing through his mind!
The Ghost Gauss Sniping Rifle), Electromagnetic Hover Boots, Simulation Mask, and the fully evolved Magnetically Controlled Extendable Armor —this set of equipment supports his stealth Sniping + kiting combat style, a tactic that is very popular in the early stages of the Mechanic Class. Moreover, the equipment he creates has attributes that exceed the average level for his level, so his combat power is self-evident.
With the added bonus from his equipment, his current combat and book-based fighting ability level has reached around 1100, which is considered above average on Planet Aquamarine. Moreover, Han Xiao also has the template specialty [Low-Level Tough Life], making him particularly durable.
When [Willpower Burning] is upgraded to LV5, the minimum multiplier increases to 138%. Although it's basically unlucky, when combined with the double quadruple critical hits of sneak attacks and vital points, even the minimum bonus can be greatly improved.
As long as he doesn't encounter a monster of Bennett's caliber, Han Xiao can handle most situations, and the Blood Pact Union's assassination missions are naturally a piece of cake.
Time passed as Han Xiao continuously claimed bounties, gaining massive amounts of experience and wealth, and leveling up and becoming stronger step by step. Mr. Black's name was feared by more and more underworld forces, and his ranking on the assassin list reached tenth, finally earning him a bit of Legend Points.
Meanwhile, the underworld gave Han Xiao a new nickname:
--Black Phantom!
There are only wrong code names, not wrong nicknames.
[Planet Legend Points (Planet Aquamarine): Black Phantom (Dark Web Assassin Ranking) -- "Legend has it he is a ghost from the night, seemingly with a thousand faces, coming and going without a trace. No one knows when he comes, no one knows when he leaves. When you see his departing the Sight of Father's Back, the kiss of death is already imprinted on your brow, leaving a bloody bullet hole. Pay with a bullet, and your life will be taken."]
"That sounds pretty cool..."
When Han Xiao first learned that he had been given this nickname, his feelings were quite complicated.
Black Phantom... why not call it White Demon?
Han Xiao was the most active figure in the underworld during this period. His relationship with the Blood Pact Union had reached the level of respect, and they regarded him as their new face. According to data from the Blood Pact Union's statistics department, since the rise of Black Phantom, business had finally stopped its downward trend and even increased by six percentage points, boosting the commissions of other assassins and making his transaction volume far ahead.
However, two months later, the world's attention was drawn to another major event!
As the last civilized nations on Planet Aquamarine, the actions of the Six Nations are closely watched by everyone in the world, including the underworld, wandering warlords, and various organizations. Six Nations actions, especially their military operations, are of utmost importance.
Having witnessed the wars of the old era, the Planet Aquamarine now exists in a state of both order and chaos, with open and covert wars constantly taking place. The Six Nations no longer need to whitewash the situation.
Two months later, the relatively stable world order suddenly changed dramatically. Six Nations simultaneously launched large-scale military campaigns, sweeping across three continents and wiping out Germinal secret bases. Their resolute fighting spirit shook the entire world.
War broke out without warning!
The world is in turmoil, and everyone is on edge, fearing that the nightmare of war from the old era will once again descend upon this planet. The wounds of war have not yet healed, and no one wants to be swallowed by disaster again.
Even within the Six Nations, large numbers of anti-war protesters emerged, but the Six Nations turned a deaf ear to it. In their eyes, the Germinal was the root of the disaster, a terrorist organization that always wanted to overthrow the regime. The conflict could be traced back to Old Era War. The Germinal gathered people from fallen kingdoms, and until now, the two sides have been in a stalemate. How could they miss such a good opportunity?
Many knowledgeable people were not shocked by the Six Nations Six Nations ' tough stance, but rather surprised by their intelligence sources: why would the Six Nations act simultaneously and precisely target the Germinal and hidden branch bases?
There's only one possibility—someone provided a large amount of intelligence!
It could be argued that the Mysterious Person who provided the intelligence was the mastermind behind the war!
After extensive inquiries, the name of this person was revealed within the Six Nations.
Zero!
A traitor in the Germinal!
The underground world was shocked.
Among the fallen heroes absorbed by the Germinal Organization, there were warriors who upheld their ideals and scoundrels who committed heinous crimes; it was a mixed bag. There had been traitors before, but they all hid like rats in the street, afraid of being Pursuit. Only Zero to launch a fierce counterattack against Germinal, causing such a huge commotion.
Why does Zero possess so much intelligence? Was he a high-ranking member of the Germinal before his defection?
Countless people are puzzled by this.
All of this remains a mystery, and there is no way to know for sure, but that doesn't stop all factions from adding the name "Zero" to their threat list.
"War is about to break out..."
Bennett looked worriedly at the gray sky, his mood as gloomy as the sky itself.
Wang Yuan, standing beside him, said in a low voice, "It seems the Sanctuary Plan needs to be brought forward."
"There are still many things we haven't prepared for..." Bennett shook his head, paused for a few seconds, and then continued, "Nothing can be completely prepared. Let's plan ahead, contact some allies, and while we're at it, recruit some lone strong individuals. We need to gather all our strength."