Near the orphanage, in a nearby apartment
Inside a brightly lit room, Arkmon was coordinating a critical operation.
"Ugh, such a hassle. All this trouble just for a little gain."
"Why do they always ask for so much?"
The mission was simple on paper but difficult in practice: without alerting the local authorities, they had to abduct all eligible children from the orphanage including Xilin and Bella.
From prior intelligence analysis, it was clear that all the children would gather for a meal that day.
A bribe had been paid to one of the caretakers, who laced the food with a sedative.
Within ten minutes, all targets were supposed to be incapacitated and extracted. The plan went smoothly; no outsiders noticed as every child in the orphanage fell unconscious.
After taking the children, Arkmon ignited a fire, throwing in waste from the research facility to disguise the evidence as casualties.
A blazing inferno erupted, the flames lighting up the sky and overwhelming the fading twilight.
Everyone would assume that the orphanage fire was caused by careless fire safety. No one would ever know where the children had truly gone.
Report:
"Speak."
"Two targets are missing."
"They must be nearby. Fifth Squad "
"Received."
"Find and subdue them within ten minutes. If not, retreat immediately."
"Understood."
"Other squads, prepare to withdraw."
"Copy that."
After ending the call, Arkmon prepared to leave. The vehicle downstairs had already been arranged.
"Collect all materials. Leave no trace. These files will be useful for the next report."
All traces were meticulously erased, and the convoy drove out of town.
"Fifth Squad has located the targets and is executing the retrieval."
In a narrow alley, five individuals and a cat were on high alert
Two young girls, three adult men, and a white cat Yue Bo.
"Xilin, take Bella and run."
"What about you?"
"I'll stay. Once you get far enough, I'll return to the Stigmata Space."
Yue Bo leapt from Xilin's arms.
"Okay, I trust you."
Xilin immediately grabbed Bella and ran.
"Intercept, subdue, and extract," the masked man ordered. The three adults moved to pursue.
Suddenly, a row of crystallized corruption spikes shot from the ground, almost eliminating the trio.
The masked men reacted swiftly, stepping back to avoid the spikes. Only one unlucky member was pierced in the arm, leaving deep corrosive traces from the corruption energy, as if it had begun to disintegrate the flesh.
The team leader muttered, "What is this thing?"
He drew his weapon and severed the injured man's arm with a single swing.
"Evacuate the wounded. I'll complete the mission."
"Yes, sir."
Another teammate helped the wounded man up, and the group retreated. The Fifth Squad was down to a single member.
"Clever move. What's your name?"
"No name. Only a codename: 1967."
1967 glanced at the corruption crystal spears. The two girls and the cat had vanished, leaving only a hooded boy concealing himself.
"To protect them, you can only stop here."
"The mission must be completed."
1967 gripped his sword tightly and lunged forward.
In the narrow alley, both sides were on the brink of combat. He sidestepped spikes emerging from the walls and slashed through the crystal barriers.
"What a monster, able to control these corruption crystals."
"Thank you for the compliment. Without this ability, I wouldn't even have a chance to block you."
Yue Bo, retreating, generated stored corruption crystals as obstacles, but 1967's strength was overwhelming. The crystals blocking his path shattered easily.
"Why aren't you affected by high concentrations of corruption energy? And why aren't you eroded?"
1967 smashed the incoming crystals, leapt, and stood atop new spikes, moving in a posture impossible for a human body.
Yue Bo had no choice but to erect a barrier to block 1967's immense strike.
Seeing a slight opening when 1967 attacked, Yue Bo fixed 1967's feet with static corruption crystals.
"You won't escape this time!"
Countless corruption crystals erupted beneath 1967, pinning him in place.
"Finished. Hard to tell if this is Fate's work or Anti-Entropy. Time to check on Xilin."
"Neither."
Yue Bo, about to return to the Stigmata Space, was stunned.
"What do you mean? Your body should have been completely destroyed. You were about to die here!"
1967's mask fell, revealing mechanical structures beneath.
"Mission complete."
Yue Bo finally noticed something off. Even broken and shattered, not a single drop of blood appeared.
A mechanical humanoid? No, a Gray Serpent.
Ignoring whether Gray Serpent 1967 was truly incapacitated, Yue Bo immediately called through the Stigmata.
"Xilin! Xilin!"
No response.
"What did you do to Xilin!"
"Mission complete," repeated Gray Serpent 1967.
It seemed impossible to change anything. Xilin could not be allowed to fall into the Babylon Research Facility.
Resolute, Yue Bo attempted to project beside her again.
Seeing Yue Bo suddenly vanish, 1967's red eyes still displayed streams of data.
Within the Gray Serpent Network, units 1904 and 1967 were communicating:
1904: Can't believe it. The famous mercenary 1967 failed against a child.
1967: That child can manipulate corruption crystals as a weapon. If I hadn't handed you most of my ranged arsenal, I wouldn't be in such a mess.
1904: Did you gather enough info on the child?
1967: After the two girls and a white cat escaped, only a hooded boy remained. Scanned only part of the face and couldn't detect corruption energy waves.
1904: Complete the retrieval and erase traces. At least the kid had the decency to leave the corruption crystals behind.
1967: Activating backup body. I'll go collect my payment first.
Gray Serpents 1904 and 1967 exited the network.
On the Siberian snow plains, a convoy advanced deep into the wilderness
Inside, extremely important cargo was being transported, so sensitive even the Valkyries stationed outside the Babylon Research Facility were not cleared to know.
A specialized vehicle trailed behind, lowering its speed to rendezvous with the convoy.
Projected beside Xilin, Yue Bo sensed the vehicle had a unique corruption energy suppression device. His usual attacks would be ineffective.
"Clever planning, Gray Serpent. I'll remember this grudge. Don't think I'll let you escape next time."