Chapter 80: Bold Move
Translator: chickenpau Editor: Millman97
Han Xiao’s brows furrowed.
“Do you have any evidence to support your claim?” Qi Bai Jia quickly provided a solution as he trusted Han Xiao. However, Hesla had a different position. Both parties were mutually untrusting toward each other.
Han Xiao paused and said, “I have two captives with me. You can test them with a lie detector to confirm that I am not lying.”
Colonel Carl squinted. “Well then, you can bring them over.”
Qi Bai Jia heaved a sigh of relief. Although he was skeptical of how Han Xiao had managed to infiltrate the base, he chose to believe that Han Xiao had his own ways.
Fortunately, he had captives to prove to them that what he said was true.
However, after the radio connection was cut off, Colonel Carl told his deputy, “Order the troops to move out. Our target will be the Dark Crow Valley.”
Qi Bai Jia was stunned—it was the complete opposite of what was previously promised.
Colonel Carl was reluctant to explain his rationale. It would take Han Xiao a few hours to bring the so-called captives in, and if Han Xiao was to play tricks and delay further, the enemies from the Dark Crow Valley base might seize the opportunity to evacuate completely before his troops could reach the target. As the commanding officer, he would not simply alter his decision based on certain unverified intel.
He was more inclined to trust Ye Fan’s intel; it had witnesses, evidence, and originated from reliable sources.
Colonel Carl believed that he would not risk any damage for moving out earlier even if Han Xiao was right. Han Xiao could still bring the captives to him. The only difference was that the base would be on high alert earlier, and that would cause danger to Han Xiao’s team.
But, he didn’t care about the lives of a bunch of Stardragon agents. Even if they were killed, the Hesla top-level officers would not look into it. Someone from Hesla would naturally block the protests from Division 13.
Furthermore, Han Xiao had already provided the information about the inner base. Colonel Carl did not give a hoot whether or not Han Xiao could prove his story. He could verify this information himself after he took down the base.
“My men are still stationed near the base. Your rash attack will put them in great danger!” Qi Bai Jia was clearly enraged.
“Such a great opportunity may pa.s.s at any moment. We cannot risk a delay because of one or two agents. Since they are agents themselves, I am sure they can understand the bigger picture,” Carl replied calmly.
“Objection!”
Qi Bai Jia’s face was filled with anger.
“It’s not your place to disagree.” Carl pressed on an electric bell to summon a section of troopers; they pointed their rifles at Qi Bai Jia. “Send our ‘friends’ from Stardragon to the vehicles. We will move out together later. I do not want them to communicate with anyone else as that may leak our plan, so remove all of their communication devices.”
Carl emphasized the word ‘friends’ to stress his point.
Qi Bai Jia was so furious that his body started shaking vigorously.
“Sigh. How did things come to this stage?” Ye Fan was bereft of words. Han Xiao had suggested a conservative method, while Carl was more radical. Neither was wrong, but Carl was the commanding officer, and Han Xiao was only a subordinate. Furthermore, they were not from Hesla.
Winna watched coldly from the side.
….
After the connection was cut off, Han Xiao’s face blackened.
He had a hunch; Carl was a radical commanding officer, so he would most likely attack in advance.
This guy is eager for a quick success. Han Xiao was clearly irked. It seemed like he had to complete the mission by himself since time was running out.
However, he only knew about the existence of inner base but not the enemy’s evacuation route and time. He needed to infiltrate again to gather more information.
This time, Han Xiao did not plan to accomplish it himself. To achieve his plan, infiltrating alone was not the optimal option.
The best option for a partner was actually Lin Yao, a hacker that could be planted inside the base. Like a computer virus, he could cut the enemy’s communication network at the critical junctures, rendering them blind and deaf.
Therefore, he had to make two facial masks based on the two captives. There were molds and make-up tools in the truck storage. Thus, he could craft the masks in an hour or so.
Han Xiao forced his mind to focus and used his remaining energy to drag the two captives toward their secret base. He reached it in the afternoon, and his teammates came out to welcome him.
“Are you alright?” Lin Yao quickly came forward to support the exhausted Han Xiao.
Han Xiao shook his head and said, “There is not much time left. We need to make two facial masks based on the captives. Lin Yao and Lambert will use their ident.i.ty cards to infiltrate the inner base. I will explain the details later.”
“Brother Xiao…Brother Xiao, I have no experience in spying. Can you give the job to another person? ” Lin Yao’s face turned pale due to the overwhelming fear.
“You are our only hacker, so it has got to be you.”
Lin Yao looked petrified.
“I will take the other slot.” Li Ya Lin volunteered herself.
Han Xiao peeked at her and shook his head without any hesitation.
“What are you trying imply? Are you looking down on me?” Li Ya Lin was infuriated.
“These things are too big, making them hard to conceal.” Han Xiao pointed at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
Li Ya Lin was speechless.
Lin Yao anxiously grabbed onto Han Xiao’s sleeve and said in a hopeful voice, “Brother Xiao, are you going in with me then?”
“Nah. I won’t. This mission is too dange… cough… too simple for me. It is not challenging enough for me!”
You definitely said something fishy there! Lin Yao and Li Ya Lin were screaming in their hearts.
“I shall do it then,” Zhang Wei said.
Han Xiao shook his head again. “No, you can’t. No one else can operate the armored suit. And, you are the team leader.”
” Oh , so you still know that I’m the team leader?” Zhang Wei gave a bitter smile. Ever since the appearance of Han Xiao, he had become a mere figurehead.
There was only one possible candidate left.
“It has been decided that it will be you!” Han Xiao pointed at Lambert.
“…” Lambert.
“Oh my G.o.d. I am definitely going to die.” Lin Yao was exasperated.
Lambert slapped the back of Lin Yao’s head with an expressionless look as he was unhappy with Lin Yao’s att.i.tude at the decision; he made it seem so much worse than choosing Han Xiao.
…
One of the team members drove the truck closer toward Dark Crow Valley so that they didn’t need to walk so far, while the rest were busy putting on make-up to disguise the two unlucky souls. They parked the truck right outside the alert zone.
After more than an hour, Lambert and Lin Yao’s disguises were completed. They looked exactly like the two captives. After putting on micro-earphones, they held the access cards and entered the Dark Crow Valley base from the side gate.
“Brother Xiao, how concrete is this plan?” Lin Yao asked Han Xiao softly.
“If you dream of its success with sincerity, you will make it.”
Lin Yao felt a clot of blood stuck in his throat as he was made speechless by that answer. He turned to Lambert for more a.s.surance.
“Are you not afraid?” Lin Yao asked Lambert in a quiet voice.
“To accomplish the mission, we must try even if there was only a slight possibility of success,” Lambert said calmly.
“Well said. You seem to be very dedicated to the mission.”
“…” Lambert.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the gate. Lin Yao was so nervous that his jaw was trembling.
“Will we get exposed?”
“The more nervous you appear, the easier it will be for you to be exposed.” Lambert patted Lin Yao’s shoulder and rea.s.sured him.
Lin Yao took out his access card after he had gathered his senses.
The security guards checked the access cards, and shortly after, they opened the gate for them.
They then walked to the storage room under Han Xiao’s instruction. They found the access card reader and successfully opened the secret door using the two captives’ access cards. A metal pathway appeared before them.
The pathway was long; it took them ten minutes to reach the inner base.
The defenses were much tighter in the inner base, and many computer screens were seen hung on the walls. The enemy personnel were busy moving supplies and data.
Lambert and Lin Yao looked each other in the eye.
Now, they were really deep inside the enemy’s base!
All of a sudden, a screeching alarm was heard in the base, and the lights turned red.
Lin Yao was scared to death as he thought that they had been discovered. Lambert frowned slightly and held onto Lin Yao.
“Calm down. The alarm was not triggered by us,” he said softly.
The personnel in the base were whispering to one another.
“What is happening?”
“Is the enemy invading us?”
Ji Jie walked out calmly and updated everyone, “Be quiet. Hesla’s border troops are advancing toward the base. The military personnel in the outer base have already set up the necessary defenses. They will be able to hold our enemy back long enough for us to get ready to evacuate.
Lin Yao’s expression changed, and he whispered anxiously over the radio, “You guys must leave now!”