Scoring a Huge Bargain!

Favre was certainly not muddled from lack of sleep. In truth, he had calculated his abacus quite sharply. The Burning Corps would never obediently comply and withdraw from positions they had fought so hard to seize, but that didn't stop him from demanding the moon right at the start of negotiations. And right beside him happened to be the perfect candidate. Since you, Pangolin, are so capable, you might as well go and spout this nonsense yourself. Simply put, he just wanted to watch the guy make a fool of himself; he hadn't the slightest expectation that this person could actually talk the Burning Corps into retreating. Once the Alliance was infuriated by this fellow and sought to settle all scores old and new, wouldn't it be wonderful for him to step in and mediate? The more Favre thought about it, the more he felt he was an absolute genius! However, what he didn't know as he indulged in these thoughts was that the fellows across from them were all "gaming buddies" of the man at his side. In fact, just a few hours ago, they had been shooting the breeze on the very same forum. As Favre looked smilingly at "Pangolin," the latter's expression gradually shifted from surprise to speechlessness. Battlefield Atmosphere Group could now confirm that this guy really wasn't joking. He genuinely had pulled an all-nighter until his brain went fuzzy! This guy actually believed that just by flapping his gums, he could talk the Alliance's most elite corps into backing down. Faced with pair after pair of eyes locked onto him, Battlefield Atmosphere Group felt ten thousand kinds of reluctant, but with a dark expression, he could only brace himself and nod. "I'll give it a shot." Tossing out those cool words, he stepped forward, leaving behind a tall, towering silhouette for the Wilante soldiers behind him. At the same time, atop the ruins across the way, Lao Bai and Fang Chang had been watching the Wilante soldiers' direction with great interest, waiting for their "Pangolin" to walk over. Seeing the helpless look on his face, Fang Chang teased with a laugh first. "You guys moved pretty fast." Who would have thought it was one of their own coming over? That made things easy! Hearing his good brother's poke, Battlefield Atmosphere Group sighed. "Couldn't help it... I stalled as hard as I could." Lao Bai glanced at the cluster of Wilante soldiers standing in the distance, then looked back at him curiously. "So, what does your officer want?" Glancing at the fellow standing in the distance with folded arms watching him, Battlefield Atmosphere Group curled his lip and lowered his voice. "That guy isn't my superior officer, more like a colleague. I was previously seconded to the front-line 37th Myriad, and my current commander is Myriarch Korwei of the 37th Myriad." Still remembering the name, Bai Gei Dai Ju, standing beside Lao Bai, said in surprise, "Holy crap, back under your old boss again?" "...Sort of." Battlefield Atmosphere Group's expression turned a bit nuanced. His secondment order only lasted until the end of this war; once the fighting was done, he would be transferred back to the embassy. While saying so might sound a bit pretentious, the truth was that thanks to his brothers hyping him up, he was currently quite sought-after among the Legion's factions. Both the Eastern Legion and the civil administration were full of interest in him. And the reason he chose to advance through the civil administration was partly that it offered a better shot at going to Triumph City, and partly due to advice from the Administrator. In any case, he wouldn't remain in the 37th Myriad for long. Lao Bai nodded knowingly and continued seriously, "So what's your mission?" Battlefield Atmosphere Group didn't hide anything and confessed bluntly, "While you guys were locked in fierce combat with the Torch, take actual control of this area under the guise of reinforcing you." Prop Master: "Damn, that's dirty as hell." "Exactly, I think so too—dirty as hell! Is that something a decent person does?" Battlefield Atmosphere Group vented indignantly as well, then shrugged and continued, "Then when we got here, we found the fight was already over. That guy behind me, Favre, couldn't make up his mind on the spot, so he sent me over to try my luck and see if I could talk you into leaving." Lao Bai stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Seems the Legion isn't prepared for direct conflict with us." Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "That's for sure. The supplies for hundreds of thousands of their men on the front line all depend on the Alliance's railway transit. Without our help, they couldn't even make it home, so what would they fight us with? If you reject my extortionate demands, they'll probably just find another way to bicker with you at most." Bai Gei Dai Ju curled his lip and said, "Bah, they don't dare fight anyway. I don't see any point in talking to them. Just tell them to piss off—" "Hmm, I actually think... since those Wilante want it so badly, why not just hand it over to them?" Fang Chang, who had been pondering in silence, suddenly raised his head and cut Bai Gei Dai Ju off mid-sentence. "Give it to them?" Hearing Fang Chang's words, the surrounding players looked at him in shock, wondering if their ears were playing tricks on them. However, their astonishment lasted only a fleeting moment. Everyone quickly caught on to what Brother Fang Chang meant. "Makes sense..." "Holy crap! Why didn't I think of that?" "Brilliant!" Watching these guys change expressions faster than flipping pages, Battlefield Atmosphere Group was left totally bewildered and hastily said, "Hey, you don't have to do this on my account. Whether I earn merit or not really doesn't matter to me." "It has nothing to do with looking out for you," Fang Chang smiled faintly and explained. "Though it really is an opportunity for you, and I suggest you seize it." Battlefield Atmosphere Group's expression turned serious as he looked at him intently. "...Do you really intend to concede this place to them?" Fang Chang replied as if it were obvious, "Why not? There's nothing here anyway except a pile of rotten rubble." "Nothing... at all?" Battlefield Atmosphere Group froze once again. How could that be? If there really were nothing, why would the Alliance's elite airborne troops fight here the entire night? Seeing his "Do you take me for an idiot?" look, Fang Chang explained patiently, "Our assault on this urban sector last night was primarily a feint, meant to cover another unit of ours as they entered the true entrance to Shelter 20... As for this place, it was actually just the lair of the Flame Cave Clan. "Right now, the captives held in the dungeon have all been rescued, and the valuable spoils of war have mostly been recovered. What's left are scraps and useless junk—and likely some unexploded mines or duds. Why not let our 'old friends' enjoy it?" "Holy shit!" Hearing this, Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't help his eyes widening into saucers. Damn! Nobody played dirtier than this guy! Unaware of what Battlefield Guy was thinking, Fang Chang looked at the deeply shaken expression on his face, smiled faintly, and continued. "...The Legion is already convinced there's treasure hidden in this area. They will definitely spare no effort to pressure us in the Slime Mold Consortium, or throw mud at us. When that time comes, explaining the situation here would just be a headache. "So rather than have them constantly obsessing over these ruins, we might as well toss it to them to figure out for themselves. "On the surface, we took a step back, but in reality, we hold the initiative to advance or retreat as we please. "If they try to blame us down the line, we can instead cite the excuse that 'a key strategic defensive facility of the Church of the Torch was handed over to the Legion's 37th Myriad,' and turn around to accuse them of secretly transferring key personnel, data, and equipment elsewhere behind our backs and refusing to disclose it." The entrance to Shelter 20 was separated from this abandoned urban sector by at least seven or eight kilometers. That distance sounded close, but on foot, it was still quite a way off. Ceding this abandoned urban sector was far from giving away the entrance to Shelter 20. "Anyway, that's how it is. We'll pack up our stuff and leave," Lao Bai grinned. He started to reach out to pat Battlefield Atmosphere Group on the shoulder, but remembering the guy's 'colleagues' weren't far off, he settled for a wink instead. "We'll leave licking the plate clean to you guys." "Absolute genius..." Battlefield Atmosphere Group remarked with deep feeling. These sneaky bastards were getting sneakier by the day... ... The negotiations ended very quickly, taking barely ten-odd minutes from start to finish. Favre, waiting in the rear for the outcome, saw Pangolin walking back. His expressionless face from a moment ago instantly surfaced with mocking amusement, ready to see a joke. No need to even think about it. Coming back so fast, the talks had definitely collapsed! Although he had already guessed the outcome, Favre still asked knowingly, "Well? Esteemed Millurion Pangolin, was the Alliance frightened into fleeing by your matchless prestige?" Facing that mocking gaze, Battlefield Atmosphere Group fought the urge to roll his eyes and replied concisely, "They agreed to withdraw and hand this position over to us." The air went dead silent in an instant, quiet enough that the drop of a pin could be clearly heard. Favre froze in place, unable to process it for a good while, thinking his ears were deceiving him. In fact, it wasn't just Favre. Including his adjutant, subordinate officers, and even the rank-and-file soldiers, astonishment was written across nearly every face. "Re... retreated?" Staring blankly at Pangolin, Favre subconsciously looked toward the front not far away. And at that very moment, he happened to see those soldiers wearing exoskeletons and power armor leaving their positions one after another, packing up their gear and withdrawing toward the south. At that moment, as he looked back at Pangolin, his gaze was like he was looking at some kind of monster... Able to guess the shock in the man's heart, Battlefield Atmosphere Group acted as if oblivious, merely nodding coolly with the demeanor of an unworldly master. "That's right. This fortress is ours. Whatever parts they didn't have time to explore, we'll continue exploring... As for what can be found, they aren't sure either. They only heard from intelligence that there was an entrance to a Torch research facility here." An entrance to a research facility! Hearing those words, the eyes of the officers under Favre instantly turned red with excitement. And those soldiers as well. What they cared about wasn't some research facility, but that they had taken a Torch stronghold without shedding a single drop of blood! Even if it was from friendly forces. Even if no one knew what was inside. The moment his voice fell, the soldiers behind Favre couldn't contain themselves and burst into cheers, whistling and giving him thumbs-up. "Brilliant work!" "Hero!" "Hahaha! Look at how pathetic the Alliance looks! Running into us is their sheer bad luck!" "Keep it down, they haven't gotten far yet..." "What's there to be afraid of? This area belongs to us now!" At this moment, nearly every gaze directed at Battlefield Atmosphere Group was as if beholding a true hero. The Wilante revered the truly strong. He had proved his might through actions and facts! Without stopping his men's cheers, Favre stared blankly at Pangolin. A moment later, he composed his stunned expression, his countenance gradually turning solemn. Seeing the man walk toward him, Battlefield Atmosphere Group felt a sliver of vigilance stir in his heart, though he didn't let it show on his face, merely watching calmly to see what stunt he was going to pull now. Yet to his surprise, this obnoxious fellow did nothing of the sort; instead, he removed his military cap, bowed his head, and bent in a respectful bow. Looking at the slightly surprised Pangolin, Favre put his cap back on and said earnestly, "I apologize to you for my previous rudeness and arrogance... You are a true hero, by no means someone of hollow fame." Seeing him apologize with such humility, Battlefield Atmosphere Group's impression of him couldn't help but soften slightly. This guy wasn't really that insufferable after all; he just placed a heavier emphasis on honor and tradition. Still, business was business. He was an Alliance man, and Alliance interests came first above all; when it came to digging pits for people, he wouldn't pull any punches. "I accept your apology, though I didn't take what happened earlier to heart anyway." A smile broke across Favre's face. "My thanks!" After that brief exchange, Favre ordered his subordinates forward to take over the abandoned positions from the already withdrawing Alliance forces. The dense bullet holes riddling the walls and the uncleared bloodstains and corpses strewn across the ground were enough to show how fierce the earlier battle had been. To take this position, the Alliance had clearly paid a considerable price. Now, all of it had been handed to the Legion on a silver platter. To score such a huge bargain right from the Alliance's hands made Favre ecstatic beyond words. Had he not been on the front line where he needed to keep a clear head at all times, he would have loved nothing more than to pull out a liquor bottle and take a couple of swigs to vent his excitement. However, just as he was patiently waiting for good news from the search teams ahead, a booming explosion suddenly rang out from deep within the ruins. The blast was like thunder cracking across flat ground, jarring the concrete rubble on the earth so hard it shook. Favre, still daydreaming, was jolted out of his wits by the sound, while the Wilante soldiers crowded around him raised their rifles as if facing a mortal enemy, aiming toward the direction of the blast. A dozen or so Wilante soldiers clad in protective suits scrambled out from the ruins alongside the billowing dust kicked up by the explosion. Grabbing a decurion who had fled out in disarray, Favre roared, "What just happened?!" "I-I don't know... I was clearing the battlefield, and the squad ahead of me was suddenly blown to bits," the decurion stammered, his face pale with lingering terror, his eyes full of dread as he looked back at the ruins. It happened so abruptly that there was no time to react at all! Battlefield Atmosphere Group naturally knew what happened, but he still put on a deep, contemplative front for a moment before speaking. "Probably an unexploded dud." Favre was completely dumbfounded. "...An unexploded dud?" "Well, it exploded now." Though it was utter nonsense, Battlefield Atmosphere Group delivered it in dead seriousness. The sudden explosion cast a gloomy shadow over the hearts of all the Wilante who had just been riding high on excitement. Sure enough, free things were the most expensive. It seemed matters were not as simple as they thought... ... While the Wilante were busy playing "Minesweeper," a Viper transport trailing a pale blue plume was slowly touching down on the flight deck of the Heart of Steel. Seeing Karen hop down from the transport, Heya rushed forward in excitement, startling the former before she could even find her footing and nearly sending her tumbling to the ground. "W-What are you doing..." "Mentor!!" Unable to restrain the longing in her heart any longer, an emotional Heya threw her arms around Karen, resting her chin on Karen's shoulder and sobbing, soon weeping tears like rain. Frightened by her reaction, Karen froze stiff on the spot, standing motionless and not daring to speak, having no idea what was wrong with this person. As for the surrounding soldiers, especially Lü Bei of the Guards Corps, they watched this woman vigilantly. Although she had distinguished herself in the previous battle, that still didn't change the fact that she had once been a researcher for the Torch. He had to be careful to handle any potential emergencies... Compared to the tense readiness of Lü Bei and his men, Chu Guang seemed quite casual, or at least didn't wear his vigilance on his face. Of course, that didn't mean he was completely at ease regarding this Karen. There were far too many suspicious points about her, including Shelter 20, which the Burning Corps was still searching and investigating, as well as the rows of brains stored inside the shelter... Perhaps he should head to the official website forum and seek the wisdom of the masses...