Steel steam and flame

Cassia thought about it many times, and with her own premise, the difference between Sisia and these monsters is only in basic physical strength such as strength and speed. Sensitive and completely reliable mental perception is used instead, and experience and on-the-spot adaptability are factors that do not need to be considered.

After the muscles became twisted, Cassia wanted to have the instantaneous burst of power and self-healing ability at the same time. However, with new goals in the short term, plan adjustments are inevitable. While thinking about the combination of surgical capabilities, several other team members who went out to explore came back one after another, and the team moved forward in the night again.

This is the third night since leaving the basement. The team did not stay in any hotels or hotels, but stayed in the wilderness or in ruins for repairs. Night is the best curtain, and all the action in these days takes place here.

There were already targeted photos, but as the intelligence collection work continued steadily, the scope of the activity and its current location gradually became clearer. It has been locked in a small town, and the team is currently heading there.

The speed is not very fast. The captain explained this, saying that the best situation is that seventeen teams can act at the same time within a time range that is not much different. Due to the progress of other teams, the slower travel speed is more suitable for the current team situation.

I don’t know what the other members of the team thought about this, but Sisia heard the analysis of the second personality and contacted Korkva twice. The former’s hesitation and the latter’s cautious attitude made her feel nervous. The second personality initially said there was no need to worry, but later she needed support. The transformation made her feel a slight fear of being shrouded in the unknown.

The team's increasingly relaxed atmosphere gave Sisia a sense of separation. Sometimes she would observe the captain, but it was the same as the second personality's judgment. The tight skin that seemed to cover the face was always stiff, and no emotional changes could be seen, including those eyes.

Recently, the second personality talks less and less, and Xicia feels surprisingly uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because the team was full of unfamiliar members, and she also thought that this was something the second personality did deliberately, something that she wanted her to try to get used to. So without thinking too much, Sisia was approaching a trot. From time to time, she corrected the ammunition box filled with heavy machine gun bullet belts mounted on her body. At the same time, she focused on the coordination of her feet and whole body, trying to achieve the second personality as much as possible. Said footsteps moved forward silently.

But the surrounding wind was so loud that the sound of footsteps was completely buried.

The team took a break every two hours. At about four in the morning, several dim lamps appeared in the darkness in the distance, making vague gestures. Following the line of sight around the lamp, a concrete road spreads out, now in a dim gray-white color, heading towards the main city in the Cressy area. The wide area surrounding the lamps is a small, quiet and peaceful building complex late at night.

On the way here, vineyards can be seen everywhere. Bare grapevines hang down on stretched wires, and the concrete pillars used for fixing are crooked and full of traces of wind and rain erosion. Sisia was somewhat doubtful whether the various types of wine produced in this place were of corresponding quality - the mushroom garden in her impression was much better than this almost decaying scene.

The captain gave the signal to stop, and No. 7 and others who were exploring the road ahead returned immediately. Then everything went according to the procedure established shortly after leaving the basement - the newcomers took off their windbreakers and used themselves as supports to set up a temporary tent to block the light so that they could refer to the map.

After relocating on the map, the light went out. The captain ordered a rest, but No. 2 and No. 7 took off their excess equipment and sneaked into the small town.

The target location this time is a children's teaching institution in a small town. Calculating the time, it is currently the winter vacation period. If there is no one there, it can be used as a temporary hiding spot.

Soon after No. 2 returned, the team was divided into two batches, passed quietly one by one, and finally met in the office building of this educational institution. The door locks in front of them were all decorative items. The twenty-two people were separated in several different offices. After setting up the corresponding heavy firearms, they began to rest.

During this period, the captain came over to inspect them one by one and reminded them to open some windows to prevent the heat and breath from condensing on them and exposing traces. At the same time, No. 2 and No. 7 left - they will re-enter this town as outsiders tomorrow to investigate details that are not on the map.

After finishing a series of basic work, when I really started to rest, the sky was already gray and black, and it was approaching early morning.

Sisia leaned against the corner, sitting on the cold ground, closing her eyes. This teaching institution is located outside the edge of the town, with few buildings and lots of green vegetation. But at this time, noises from the small town could be heard.

"The target group is in your current left-hand direction, and the straight-line distance is only 1,500 meters." The sudden voice made Sicia exhale softly, "The number of people is thirty-two, and no enemies exceeding the standard have been found yet. Also. That is to say, one of the thirteen people in the photo is not here.”

"Can you see the surrounding terrain and weapon configuration?" Sisia asked immediately.

"No, it just relies on perception and breath capture to determine the information. The number may be biased, but it is only one or two." Cassia retracted her distracted spirit, "In summary, if there were no mistakes in the intelligence collection work, , which led to an error in position judgment, and one of the targets in the photo left here early."

"Has the mission information been leaked?" Sisia wondered.

"Two possibilities, the first is that the mission information is exposed, the second is that he was summoned to a certain place for a meeting. But they know that the risk of getting together is extremely huge... Judging now, there are two possibilities The odds of sex are not that different.”

"How likely do you think the information is to be exposed?"

"Almost not. After all, it is a mission at the Thorny Bird Training Ground, and its confidentiality is absolutely in place. But this operation is divided into two parts, and it is by no means a smaller operation. Before the operation started, it had gone through a lot of preliminary investigation and Discussion... There is also a perceived risk. The boss behind the trafficking network is not an ordinary prey. Whether it is a sense of smell or its own intelligence organization, it may have been alert to this." Cassia replied, "This is also the case with the Liaison Department. One of the reasons why Erkova asked for support."

"I'm afraid that this is a trap..." Sicia continued Cassia's words, but stopped halfway.

"Second personality, have you thought of this a long time ago? Did you think of it just after the contact ended a few hours ago?" Xicia raised her voice in her head. She thought she had discovered something that could easily be ignored. point, "The boss of the trafficking network is at the border of the Saint Dorag Empire. Does he want to use this reason to create proof of his alibi?"

"Your thinking is both complicated and too simple." Cassia had the urge to laugh. "You have read too many detective books. There is no alibi in the world of Strangers, and the communicator can solve almost all problems. . No matter where you are, some factors will eventually find their way to you."

"This operation may be a trap, but whether it is a trap or not is not important to you or to all the teams in the mission. You should understand this? In other words, whether it is a trap or not, if you want to clear them out, the battle is Absolutely inevitable."

"You need to change the way you think and remember a very important theory - for many difficult-to-hunt prey, hunters often appear in the form of prey. These prey are very alert, and it is best to enter their hunting grounds. , the fastest way to get to them.”

"You just need to continue to act according to the captain's orders. Korkwa's support will take at least two days to arrive. Judging from the current situation, the coordinated actions of more than a dozen teams are not smooth. I think there will be some flaws in the process. Maybe. The plan was not perfect because of insufficient time, and we don’t know how long ago the action was taken.”

"However, when the support arrives, all you have left is to follow the team and find the opportunity to fire a few shots into the sky."

Soon after, when the sky was completely bright, it was nine o'clock in the morning. In various parts of the Cressy area, another sixteen teams were gradually approaching the target groups in their respective missions based on the existing intelligence. In terms of time, the gap between the teams is not obvious.

The teams that the captains said were responsible for handling the core members have also been dispersed into teams of two to three people, spread across the region, and exploring the clues mentioned in the mission.

,,,,,,

At the counter of an inconspicuous hotel somewhere in the central city of Cressy, two dressed-up women were booking a room for tonight. They were each dragging their luggage, as if they had come here on errands, with expressions of impatience with the weather and fatigue from long journeys on their faces.

It wasn't until they entered the room and the "bang" sound of the door closing reached their ears that the two of them removed their expressions and turned into serious but relaxed faces.

"Sister, I haven't gained anything in the past few days. Could it be that the intelligence is wrong?"

"Twenty million obtained clues, and it only said that there would be an operation against the trafficking network in the Cresci area. It did not involve the time of the operation or any intelligence. I don't think it was false news. The other party is a famous person in the dark world. We spent a lot of money just to get a way to connect with the intelligence merchant." The woman in question explained, "Since it is a large-scale operation, it is expected that the progress will be cautious and slow. .”

"It's just a trip. Although there is no place with good scenery here." The woman sat on the chair and looked up at the ceiling. "It's a woman's intuition. There is something we want to see here, so we can wait with peace of mind."

,,,,,,

The Sotor Kingdom is an ordinary country among the small countries close to the border of the Saint Dorag Empire. The internal war ended only more than ten years ago, and it did not take long for peace and stability. Among its many cities, Noah City and the surrounding radiation area can be regarded as a relatively prosperous area in the kingdom.

It was only after 8:30 in the evening, and the cold wind and cold air in winter left many pedestrians on the street. On both sides of one of the streets in Noah's City, except for the shops that still stood firm, the number of pedestrians that could be seen at a glance could be counted with fingers.

In the corner at the end of the street, there were not many pedestrians, and some shops had begun to pack up their facilities outside and were preparing to pack them back.

"Alas..." In front of a flower shop, a woman wearing a tan plaid apron sighed, but she turned around helplessly and took all kinds of trimmed bouquets placed outside into the shop one by one. If we continue to stay late into the night, no more customers will come.

In about ten minutes, after all the items were packed up, the woman entered the rest room inside the store. She took off her apron and hung it on the hook on the wall. She immediately turned around and grabbed the pruning scissors in the big pocket of the apron. Come. Then the woman cautiously leaned toward the door, listened quietly for several breaths, and then opened the door.

Behind the door, there was a man wearing a sweater and hat. His face had just been shaved, but it didn't make that face look good, nor did it make him look younger for a man in his forties. He was standing in the aisle filled with bouquets of flowers, admiring all kinds of flowers with the help of lights.

Seeing the woman, the man sighed and touched the back of his ear with his hand. This was a signal: "It's me, Deputy Captain Delya. For safety, I underwent another face transplant surgery. So now this is Looks good."

"Waters?" The woman exhaled, and her tense body relaxed, "There has been no contact for more than a year. I remember the last time we met, it was in the cave where the armor was made in the Tusinni area. Here, Hessler was there at that time."

"How have you been lately? Isn't the empire's border quiet?" Delya sighed with a smile on her face. She put the scissors on the counter aside, "Come in and drink a cup of hot coffee. When you live a quiet life, you find that tea and coffee are far better than wine."