"Report! The electronic traps have failed!"
"Report! Bunker A has fallen! Bunker B has fallen! We've lost contact with the bunker at the entrance!"
"Report... they're here!"
The Blood Worship Cult came in overwhelming force.
The long passage that the Special Control Bureau had built leading from the surface to the underground—that supposedly impregnable bulwark...
Was breached by the Blood Worship Cult in the blink of an eye.
—Yet it was by no means a frontal breakthrough.
No one knew what occult methods the Blood Worship Cult had employed, but the moment they showed themselves, they were already near the end of the passage.
Only when they drew near the entrance to the base's main gate did they finally trip the alarms.
An endless sea of masked, black-robed figures appeared as if dropping from the heavens, charging in with assault rifles and machine guns blazing.
Before even meeting face-to-face, they tossed two hand grenades by way of greeting.
The operatives guarding the gate opened fire immediately, triggering an alarm that swept across the entire base.
Gunfire poured like rain. The burly garrison troops and the invading black robes engaged in a fierce firefight from behind cover, with men collapsing in rows every minute.
A squad clad in black combat fatigues flashed out at high speed.
They wore cold expressions and were armed to the teeth. Every movement was devoid of wasted effort; even their firearms differed from the others, inscribed with delicate, mysterious runes.
Though their numbers were few, most black-robed invaders were brought down the moment they showed their heads.
Their combat suits were remarkably unusual, completely ignoring the bullets sprayed by the black robes. Resembling peak-efficiency killing machines, they cleared out vacuum zones in mere moments.
—This was the Swordbearer tactical squad.
They were the signature force specially trained by the Special Control Bureau as an official agency to deter petty troublemakers and outlaws.
Deafening gunshots rang out, accompanied by an endless barrage of explosions.
It was hard to imagine that in this era, beneath a peaceful Tinghai City, such an exceptionally brutal battlefield could exist.
...Yet those on the front line would not be the ones determining tonight's outcome.
Nor was this the true battlefield.
Three invaders cloaked in crimson robes, each bearing distinctive features...
Had somehow infiltrated deep into the base, confronting a group of officers led by the Major.
"As expected, you received intel on our invasion beforehand and laid an ambush."
A hunched, gaunt old man in red robes spoke, his raspy voice hissing like a serpent's flicking tongue, sending chills down the spine.
"However, how could you be sure we wouldn't turn your trap against you?"
The Major fell silent for a moment.
Behind him stood five officers; including him, there were six of them.
Facing them were three people.
Six against three—on paper, the advantage was his.
And yet...
"Three Red-Robed Elders."
The Major nudged up his sunglasses, his neatly slicked-back hair gleaming subtly under the overhead lights.
"You're certainly willing to pay a steep price—deploying such a lineup against my branch, which ranks dead last?"
"Because we never came for you in the first place!"
Beside the gaunt elder, a middle-aged woman took over the conversation.
Her barrel-shaped waist strained against her crimson robes as she sneered, sizing up the nearby officers with eyes that seemed to appraise cuts of pork at a market.
"When Branch 9 was wiped out, several of us took part."
"This time, while flattening Branch 36, we also intend to devour the headquarters reinforcements in one gulp!"
"You got one thing wrong, though..."
Her voice paused.
"It isn't just three elders."
"Outside the base, another elder is waiting in ambush with his men, watching for anyone arriving from the outside."
"We just want to see whether we can hook a big fish tonight!"
Hearing this, the officers' faces changed drastically, and they exchanged alarmed glances.
Besieging a point to strike reinforcements!
Against a base defended by only five Rank 3 Extraordinary officers,
they had mobilized no fewer than four Red-Robed Elders, each equivalent to a Rank 5 Extraordinary...
The Blood Worship Cult was fishing!
Tonight, they were truly in grave peril.
"However..."
At that moment, the portly red-robed man in the middle, his face full of fierce muscle like a butcher, spoke up in a gruff voice.
The moment he spoke, the two Red-Robed Elders beside him fell silent, not daring to utter a sound.
"Kid, you're too greedy!"
He glared viciously at the Major.
"A young master's temper always ruins things."
"You thought having advance intel meant you could set an ambush and hog all the credit for yourself?"
"You didn't even report it upward or request reinforcements?"
"—Stupid! Utterly stupid!"
He clenched his fists, spit flying:
"Remember, brat, your stupidity made us come all this way for nothing!"
"And your stupidity is what got everyone in your base killed!"
"...Mm, are you finished?"
The fat butcher was taken aback. "What?"
"If you're done, then it's my turn to speak."
At last, the Major spoke indifferently.
Even now, he remained polite and poised.
"You're right."
"I did intend to claim all the credit for myself."
"And indeed, I didn't anticipate that four Red-Robed Elders would come."
"But that only proves..."
A glint flashed behind the sunglasses.
The Major's voice gradually rose with a hint of excitement.
"The merit I can claim—"
"Is even greater!"
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman frowned. "What do you mean?"
Yet the Major merely shook his head.
"Everyone has their value."
"And my mission in this world is to make everyone realize their potential and maximize their value to the fullest!"
"...Unfortunately, dead men do not have the value to have their questions answered."
The Major's voice was remarkably calm.
So calm that it brooked no dispute, as if he were objectively stating a universal truth:
"The greatest value in your lives is to become part of my merits, serving as crucial stepping stones on my path to fulfilling my ideals!"
"It is your honor."
"—Do you understand?"
In the end, the Major didn't even forget to add that question, as though lecturing small children.
Unbearably...
Haughty!
As if even killing them was an act of benevolence.
Naturally, the three red robes flew into a rage. The middle-aged woman's barrel-like waist shifted, and she prepared to strike on the spot.
Yet in the next instant—
"Who's there?!"
The portly red-robed butcher was the first to react, snapping his ferocious gaze toward a nearby spot.
Someone was watching them.
A creepy, uncanny sensation crept up his spine.
No one was in sight.
*Tap...*
Yet faint footsteps drifted over.
Then, a severed head tumbled and rolled across the ground.
It was...
"Lao Li?!"
The middle-aged woman's eyes went wide.
The flesh on all three of their faces twitched.
None of them had expected that the Red-Robed Elder stationed outside would appear here in such a manner.
"Perhaps you understand the Special Control Bureau."
"But your opponent isn't the bureau. It's me."
The Major stepped back two paces at a leisurely pace, closely shielded by several officers.
Then, he lightly shook his head and offered a detached remark:
"Of me, of the power of the chaebol..."
"You know nothing."
...
The frontline battlefield was locked in a fierce, grueling stalemate.
Yet in the rear, Adjutant Han was holding two large plush dolls and leading several burly men in suits as he arrived at the quiet Resting Cemetery.
One was a cute, cheeky Hello Kitty, and the other was a wide-mouthed, beaming Mickey Mouse.
Setting down the two heavy plush dolls with care,
Adjutant Han bowed toward the forest of tombstones, piously pressing his hands together—
And bowed deeply three times.
"Heroes who once sacrificed yourselves for the base..."
"This time, bless us to achieve victory once again!"
His prayer finished.
Adjutant Han drew himself up to his full height, turned to look at the bald man and his subordinates, and resumed his cold demeanor.
His soft, feminine voice carried an airy tone:
"Begin."
...With their past experience, the bald man was far more practiced this time.
The new transaction was concluded quickly.
"This time, I was just picking up a few leftovers early,"
Adjutant Han instructed once more before leaving.
"After tonight, that's when things will truly get busy."
"The day after tomorrow, at this exact time, bring more manpower over. Got it?"
"—Consider yourself lucky to have caught this opportunity."
"Once we're through with this batch, you'll probably get promoted just like your predecessor!"
Having sent off the joyful bald man and his men, Adjutant Han produced a notebook from his breast pocket to keep accounts.
Once the ledger was updated, he would leave this place and head to the front line to find the Major.
*Tap, tap...*
Suddenly, an uncanny knocking sound reached his ears.
"What's that sound?"
Adjutant Han looked up in confusion, turning to his subordinates beside him.
The tall, muscular men exchanged puzzled glances and shook their heads.
*Tap, tap...*
Another crisp knocking sound echoed.
This time, everyone heard it clearly.
It was...
At Section Chief Liu's grave?
*Crack, crack—clatter!*
Then, before everyone's horrified, ghost-seeing gazes,
in front of Section Chief Liu's silvery-white tombstone, the concrete slab covering his "urn" began to shudder violently.
Finally, the slab shoved itself aside entirely!
A hand reached out from within!
Next, a familiar silhouette sat up like someone doing a sit-up, popping his head out from inside.
A black suit, a thermos gripped in one hand, a briefcase clutched in the other...
That man stood up from the grave pit!
"Ah! Section Chief Liu!"
Everyone jumped in terror.
One burly man's teeth chattered violently, his legs trembling.
—Section Chief Liu came back from the dead?!
Did he come... did he come to seek revenge on us?!
"No! You're not Old Liu!"
Adjutant Han shrieked, snapping everyone back to reality.
Examining him closely, they realized this person truly wasn't Section Chief Liu.
By comparison, he was far too lean and far too young.
His delicate, handsome face looked familiar, and those overly limpid eyes were one of a kind.
Even the briefcase was merely an ordinary briefcase, not a "mechanical briefcase."
"Bai Zhou! What are you doing here?!"
Adjutant Han demanded shrilly.
"And you're even wearing..."
His voice trailed off, and Adjutant Han fell silent.
Even wearing Section Chief Liu's clothes?
Yet within the Special Control Bureau, virtually everyone dressed like this.
A suit and a briefcase.
Section Chief Liu just happened to carry a thermos as well.
It was only because Bai Zhou held a thermos and climbed out of Section Chief Liu's grave at such an ungodly hour looking like this...
That he scared the living daylights out of everyone.
Yet...
However humiliated and unsightly they had looked a moment ago,
the moment they recovered their wits and looked at the culprit, their glares turned equally hostile.
"Sorry, my apologies..."
Bai Zhou smiled sheepishly at the men,
while raising his hands to briskly pat away the dust on his clothes with loud thuds.
Right now, his outfit couldn't be soiled.
It still had a purpose.
Dust billowed into a cloud in the air.
With his head lowered, Bai Zhou's voice drifted through the rhythmic patting:
"Actually, coming here dressed like this..."
"Was not without reason."
Gradually brushed clean, Bai Zhou slowly looked up, holding his thermos as he straightened his spine.
His slender silhouette stood tall and straight.
Dressed in the neat, well-tailored jet-black suit, he looked as if he were wearing formal attire.
This was only the second time in his life he had dressed this way, as though preparing to attend a major event.
And the last time was...
The expression faded from Bai Zhou's face, leaving only a solemn look as he stared into Adjutant Han's eyes...
Solemnly, pausing deliberately after each word, he quietly stated his purpose:
"I have come in full dress—"
"To attend your funeral."
Chapter 36