FT DR Chapter 106: Guides in Action

Chapter 106: Guides in Action

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Seven days later, on the night of the operation.

The multi-party dialogue system quietly ran as Jin Xuan, Wu Chenghe, Chang Gong, Qian Hua, Yin Bo, and Kazumi Koyama, the three pairs of CPs, met inside the system for their final communication.

“It’s currently 10 PM standard time. Two hours later, at midnight, we’ll change shifts. We’ll begin our operation at 12:30,” Jin Xuan said softly, opening the holographic sand table. It displayed an intricately detailed topographic map, the layout of the X-X area cross-verified by Kazumi Koyama, Wu Chenghe, and eight electronic insects. “The map shows five control units here. We won’t consider the logistics center for now; we only need to break through the other four. The research institute is our first target. After the operation starts, under Mr. Kazumi’s lead, we’ll infiltrate the office of the research institute and take their storage chips. The advisor will be responsible for erasing the memories of the guards and duty researchers.”

Wu Chenghe nodded. Jin Xuan continued, “Next is the second target—the command center. That’s where the mainframe of Tartaros is located, the highlight of our operation. The main evidence of the Second Army’s betrayal against the Federation should be stored there. Two guides will be responsible for the mental attack to clear the path for us. Yin Bo and I will sneak into the mainframe room to take their chips. Once we have them, we’ll upload the virus into the mainframe, completely paralyzing the internal defense of the X-X area.”

“Understood,” Yin Bo responded, his tone serious at the crucial moment. It was the first time Kazumi Koyama directly participated in the conversation, offering no opinion, only sitting quietly next to Yin Bo, listening attentively.

“The third target is the weapons research institute,” Jin Xuan continued, “It’s closest to the command center, only a two to three-minute walk away, with only one outpost in between. After the internal defense system is paralyzed, they won’t be able to restore the system within twenty minutes. Yin Bo and I will take this opportunity to rush in and take their weapon designs. According to the intelligence provided by Mr. Kazumi, they have a large number of weapons forbidden by the Federation for research. Some prototypes might already exist. If they are transferred out, it could spell disaster for humanity.”

Yin Bo responded again, “Understood.”

Jin Xuan then addressed the peripheral support team, “After I upload the virus, Chang Gong and Qian Hua will begin their operation, breaking through the outer defense line of the X-X area and entering the traffic control center from the west gate. There are hovercars, shuttles, and possibly rotorcraft or near-ground starships there. Just grab whatever is convenient. The only requirement is to get the stolen vehicles to the command center within ten minutes and pick up the two guides.”

“Are we not going to the weapons research institute with you?” Kazumi Koyama interjected.

“After the internal defense is paralyzed, we won’t need your mental attack anymore. Yin Bo and I can handle it,” Jin Xuan said. “As soon as the virus is uploaded, they’ll discover our actions, but they won’t be able to remove the virus I designed within thirty minutes. It takes time to manually mobilize the defense. During this gap, Yin Bo and I can definitely complete the mission.”

“I’ll provide remote escort for you from the sky,” Chang Gong said. “Qian Hua will handle the piloting throughout.”

“Good.” Jin Xuan repeated the operation process succinctly. Everyone checked some details again. The clock struck half past eleven, and the shift change was about to begin.

“That’s it. We’ll depart on time in an hour. Strictly adhere to the plan schedule, without any delay,” Jin Xuan said softly but seriously. “Chang Gong is responsible for contacting Yan Shi, preparing large-scale weapons and mechas to pick us up in space. Before the NTU main force arrives, he’s our only bottom line. There must be no mistakes.”

“Understood,” everyone responded in unison, closing the communication and erasing the traces.

An hour later, the operation officially began. Jin Xuan bypassed the access control, taking Wu Chenghe out of the dormitory. Wu Chenghe extended his consciousness to sweep the surroundings, communicating through mental senses: [There are no guards underground, and there are two guards in the main hall. We can bypass them from the west side.]

Jin Xuan nodded, leading him to the safe passage on the west side, ascending the stairs, successfully bypassing the outpost, and meeting Yin Bo and Kazumi Koyama waiting there. It was their first meeting in reality, but in such a tense situation, there was no time for pleasantries. They exchanged a glance and continued towards the office. Kazumi Koyama was familiar with the route, leading them through the labyrinthine corridors, ascending three floors along the safe passage, and leaping out of the west window, climbing the fire escape to the rooftop. From there, they entered the office’s air circulation system through the ventilation duct.

Looking through the vent, the office was brightly lit, with the massive mainframe running silently, emitting a faint buzzing sound. Two researchers in white coats were on duty, one filling out shift records, and the other dozing off with a coffee cup in hand.

Jin Xuan gestured to Wu Chenghe, who silently lifted the vent cover and slipped in, landing with a soft thud.

“Who goes there?” The person filling out the records turned around first, speaking in a low tone. 

Wu Chenghe quickly met his eyes, sending a mental suggestion over coldly, “It’s me. Have you finished filling out the handover records? I need to review the data from the previous shift.”

The person’s pupils contracted and relaxed, showing a bewildered expression. Struggling against the mental suggestion, he fell completely into hypnosis. “Dr. Haynes, you’re here so late. Let me show you the data,” he said, closing the handover record panel and opening the historical data.

The person yawning while holding the coffee cup witnessed this astonishing scene. His hand loosened, and the cup began to fall to the ground. Jin Xuan swiftly emerged from the ventilation duct, making a light leap to catch the cup as it fell. With his right hand, he grabbed the cup, while his left hand covered the man’s mouth before he could scream. 

Wu Chenghe took the opportunity to lock eyes with him. “What’s wrong? Are you clumsy? Can’t even hold a cup properly!”

The man’s gaze shifted back and forth, finally falling into Wu Chenghe’s hypnosis. Jumping up, he brushed off the coffee droplets on his lab coat and said, “Oh, I’m sorry, Doctor. I… I didn’t mean to.” He completely ignored Jin Xuan behind him, as if he didn’t exist.

Wu Chenghe gestured through the ventilation duct, signaling Yin Bo and Kazumi Koyama to come down. The two of them jumped down successively, and Yin Bo gave Wu Chenghe a thumbs-up. “Impressive!”

“No time for compliments. Let’s get to work,” Jin Xuan whispered, opening his personal terminal, connecting to the mainframe to crack the password, disabling the firewall, and then dismantling the mainframe to retrieve the chip. Yin Bo stuck out his tongue, using his personal terminal to run an alternative program to keep the system running, preventing triggering the building’s alarm.

The two white-coated researchers were completely immersed in a mental illusion, paying no attention to anyone but Wu Chenghe. They continued to work diligently beside the mainframe, fetching data for “Dr. Haynes.” 

Kazumi Koyama looked at Wu Chenghe thoughtfully, hesitating for a moment before whispering, “I’ve seen you before. Your consciousness cloud… you are…”

Wu Chenghe made a gesture for him to keep silent and blinked, indicating that he guessed correctly, then pointed to Yin Bo and Jin Xuan and shook his head.

Kazumi Koyama showed a surprised expression but quickly calmed down. He asked, “It’s really you. Did he send you?”

Wu Chenghe knew that by “he,” Kazumi Koyama meant Mu. He shook his head. “No, I was commissioned by the NTU, but he knows about this.”

Kazumi Koyama had long known that the “advisor” was providing technical support to the NTU from the St. Martin Research Center, but he didn’t expect Mu to send his own closed-door disciple. He nodded without asking further questions and stood quietly aside. 

Yin Bo heard their conversation and looked at Kazumi Koyama, who communicated through mental senses, saying, “I’ve seen him in St. Martin.”

It wasn’t surprising that Kazumi Koyama was a visiting scientist at St. Martin. Yin Bo didn’t inquire further. At this point, Jin Xuan had successfully removed the chip, found a replacement chip from the storage cabinet, and installed it. “Done. Let’s go.”

The next step was to go to the command center. To save time, they had to leave from the other exit of the research institute and couldn’t return the same way, inevitably encountering guards. Wu Chenghe used his consciousness to probe the surrounding “light spots” and said, “There are only three checkpoints along this route. I can handle it. Let’s go.”

Jin Xuan nodded, and Yin Bo and he ambushed on both sides of the door, disabling the access control. Wu Chenghe took a deep breath and opened the door.

Outside the door stood two sentinel guards. Hearing the door open, they both showed alert expressions and turned to look. Wu Chenghe took the opportunity to lock eyes with both of them, simultaneously implanting suggestions, “It’s me, Dr. Haynes. There have been some fluctuations in the data tonight. I’m here to take a look. You two focus on patrolling.”

The guards had stronger mental defenses than the researchers, so it took Wu Chenghe some time to penetrate their consciousness clouds. After a moment of stupefaction, they saluted respectfully to Wu Chenghe. “Good evening, Doctor.”

“Thank you for your hard work,” Wu Chenghe replied in the same tone and expression as Haynes, nodding solemnly before walking confidently to the other end of the corridor. Jin Xuan and the others followed, and the guards seemed to completely ignore them, watching Wu Chenghe leave and then closing the office door for them.

The four of them headed west, encountering two more checkpoints along the way. Wu Chenghe repeated the process, smoothly passing through as Haynes without any surprises. Jin Xuan, who had long known about his exceptional ability in suggestion, was still quite shocked to see him wield it so dominantly. After leaving the research institute, he worriedly grasped Wu Chenghe’s hand and asked through mental senses, “Are you okay? Are you tired?”

Wu Chenghe had never used suggestion in such a high-intensity manner before, and the consecutive transmissions did tire him out a bit. His eyes maintained an irregular elliptical shape and couldn’t immediately return to normal. “I’m okay. We’re about to enter the command center. There are many more guards inside than at the research institute. Can you cover me a bit?”

【Yes.】 Jin Xuan also knew that they couldn’t rely solely on Wu Chenghe. He said to Yin Bo, “We’re getting ready to enter the central control room. There are many guards inside. If any of them slip through the suggestions…” and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Yin Bo’s expression became solemn as he nodded. Kazumi Koyama whispered quietly, “I’ll do my best to suppress them.”

“Let’s go.”

The four of them swiftly moved along the shadows of the building, approaching the central control room. It was a pentagonal building, somewhat similar to the Pentagon from a thousand years ago, with prominent guard towers at each of the five corners. Shadows of people could be seen moving inside, indicating tight security.

“Let’s go in from the side,” Jin Xuan whispered, leading the charge. He leaped and grabbed onto the protrusion beneath the guard tower. Wu Chenghe jumped up and caught his hand, allowing Jin Xuan to toss him into the guard tower.

Wu Chenghe passed through the narrow window, rolling as he landed and facing a guard controlling the weapons. He implanted the suggestion that the guard had suffered a stroke, causing him to immediately slump to the ground. Another guard tried to rush in, but Yin Bo, who had followed closely behind, promptly restrained him by gripping his neck and blocking his airway. Wu Chenghe climbed to his feet and penetrated the guard’s consciousness cloud, sternly asking, “Guard, what’s wrong with your companion?”

The guard’s pupils dilated as he accepted Wu Chenghe’s suggestion, completely ignoring Yin Bo’s restraint. He saluted Wu Chenghe. “Good evening, General Yuri! It seems like my companion has had a stroke!”

“It’s too dangerous. A stroke patient can’t move. You stay here, and I’ll have a medic come to take him away.” Wu Chenghe’s expression was serious, mimicking General Yuri’s tone. “Your uniform is dirty, soldier. Please, pay attention to your appearance and take off the dirty clothes.”

The guard saluted again. “Yes, sir!” Without hesitation, he began to remove his clothes.

Jin Xuan had already tossed Kazumi Koyama into the guard tower and jumped in himself. “Quick! Change clothes. Time is tight!” He peeled the clothes off the “stroke” guard and put them on himself.

After a minute of changing, Jin Xuan and Yin Bo had both transformed into “guards of General Yuri.” Wu Chenghe led the way, opening the door of the guard tower and leading the other three along the planned route towards the control room. Along the way, they encountered seven or eight teams of guards, all of whom were hoodwinked into believing they were suffering from various ailments like snake spirit possession, strokes, or paralysis. In less than ten minutes, the eastern side of the pentagon central control was completely defenseless.

“I can’t suggest anymore,” Wu Chenghe’s face grew paler, and his pupils narrowed to almost a straight line. He had exhausted too much of his mental energy, and his vision was becoming blurry. Approaching the control room, he said to Jin Xuan, “My mental energy is limited. If I continue, it will affect our retreat due to physical exhaustion. The suggestions just now were very shallow and won’t last long. They’ll soon wake up.”

“It’s alright. We have enough time,” Jin Xuan said as he cracked the access control of the control room, pushing open the half-meter thick metal door. “Come in. The protection here is strong. Even if they find us, they won’t be able to break in for a while.”

The four of them dashed into the control room. Unlike the research institute, there were no live guards here, only AI defense systems. Yin Bo’s expertise lay in dealing with AI systems. Without waiting for Jin Xuan’s instructions, he opened his personal terminal and began to crack the programs, shutting down all the mechanisms around them.

“Remove the chip, quickly!” Jin Xuan found a toolbox and began cutting open the mainframe’s outer casing, dismantling various components inside. Yin Bo helped him, and the two worked together seamlessly, quickly opening a thirty-centimeter-square gap in the mainframe.

The mainframe was enormous, utilizing alien scorpion neuron chips. Through the gap, dim green lights could be seen flashing inside. A cylindrical chip the size of an arm was embedded on the base, with two cross-sections floating with hair-like filaments, connected to other devices inside the chassis.

“You handle the filaments; I’ll upload the virus.” Jin Xuan said to Yin Bo. 

Yin Bo nodded, carefully kneeling down and taking a deep breath. He inserted his hands into the gap, gripping wire cutters in his right hand. He gestured to Jin Xuan, “Ready?”

“Ready,” Jin Xuan replied. He inserted his left hand into the gap, opened his personal terminal, and whenever Yin Bo cut a filament, Jin Xuan connected the cut end and uploaded a segment of the virus program.

The two of them cooperated seamlessly, having clearly practiced countless times before. Wu Chenghe couldn’t help much, so he sat and rested, recovering his mental energy. Kazumi Koyama stood by the door, keeping an eye on the outside.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes passed. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door. Kazumi Koyama’s expression changed. “Someone’s coming… There are more than ten people, guards!”

“The suggestions have worn off,” Wu Chenghe stood up, extending his consciousness along the metal wall, “seeing” more than ten lights rapidly approaching. He whispered anxiously, “Are you almost done? They’ve found us.”

Yin Bo remained silent, steadily cutting the remaining filaments. Jin Xuan, working in perfect harmony with him, said, “Kazumi Koyama, hold them off for a while. We need another ten minutes!”

“Understood.” Kazumi Koyama listened quietly for a moment, waiting for the approaching individuals. Suddenly, he extended dozens of mental tendrils, accurately piercing into the consciousness clouds of all the sentinel guards.

Outside, there were roars of sentinels, one after another, in a fierce battle. Kazumi Koyama was a strong offensive guide, much older than Wu Chenghe. He effortlessly dealt with more than ten people, showing no signs of fatigue. Soon, he had completely neutralized them.

“There will be more coming. We need to hurry,” Kazumi Koyama retracted his tendrils, his face calm but his pupils elongated, indicating the exertion from the recent attack.

“Done.” Jin Xuan connected the last tendril, uploading the virus, and withdrew his personal terminal. “The defense will be paralyzed within ten seconds. We have thirty minutes. Prepare to retreat!”

Yin Bo wiped his cold sweat, now able to focus on Kazumi Koyama. “How are you holding up?”

“I can hold out for another round,” Kazumi Koyama replied, wiping his sweat with his hand. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. “They’re coming fast! They’re already here!”

At the same time, Wu Chenghe sensed over a hundred bright “lights” rapidly approaching the control room. It was a group of sentinel soldiers, nearly a company, and they were armed with heavy weapons!

“They have heavy weaponry and have surrounded this place!” Wu Chenghe exclaimed. “What do we do? Do we rush out?”

Checking the time, Jin Xuan realized the virus had been activated. Chang Gong and Qian Hua should be in the traffic center fighting for the aircraft. They had to break through the blockade and escape within ten minutes, or they wouldn’t be able to rendezvous smoothly.

“We’re surrounded on all sides. It’ll be too difficult to force our way out. Even if we take down this group, the next one will be on us immediately. We’ll be overwhelmed,” Jin Xuan surveyed the surroundings. “Yin Bo, dismantle the AI weapons. We’ll cut through the dome and go from above.”

At this critical moment, the captain’s orders brooked no argument. Yin Bo immediately severed the power to the AI mechanisms and began dismantling them. By this time, the guards outside had arrived and started attacking Jin Xuan’s set door codes. However, as the most skilled lock expert in the Federation, Jin Xuan’s ability to set locks was beyond extraordinary. Despite their efforts, they couldn’t unlock the door. Instead, they triggered the shock system, electrocuting two guards attempting to unlock it.

Finally understanding Jin Xuan’s demeanor from over two years ago when he asked Jin Xuan, “Can you design a lock that no one can open?” Wu Chenghe realized what that proud expression meant – “Tremble, you foolish mortals!”

“Done!” Yin Bo swiftly removed two AI weapons and tossed one to Jin Xuan. “Shall we cut now?”

“Cut!” Jin Xuan jumped onto the mainframe, transforming the AI weapons into light blades. He asked Wu Chenghe, “Where’s the weakest point?”

Wu Chenghe used his mental energy to survey the roof and pointed to a general area. “Here, about a meter in diameter, with lower density filling.”

Without hesitation, Jin Xuan lifted the light blade and began cutting. Yin Bo followed his cuts, deepening the fissure. The two of them were completely focused on opening the top of the control room. Meanwhile, the guards outside gave up trying to open the door and brought in cutting machines to slice through the metal walls.

These people were much more professional with their tools than they were. In no time, they had cut a five-centimeter-wide gap in the wall. Kazumi Koyama dared not use a large-scale mental attack again. Instead, he intermittently harassed the guards outside with his tendrils, occasionally seizing control of the personnel responsible for cutting, causing them to attack their comrades or even crash into the wall, causing a messy scene of bloodshed.

His attacks effectively slowed down the enemy’s efforts to breach the wall. The tug-of-war continued for a good seven or eight minutes until Jin Xuan and Yin Bo finally managed to cut open a one-meter diameter hole in the roof. Jin Xuan shouted, “Everyone, come over! Let’s go!”

Yin Bo took the lead, jumping out of the hole on Jin Xuan’s shoulders, carrying the AI weapon now in shooting mode. He established a defensive line on the roof. Just as they were cutting through the roof, the guards outside discovered their intention and sent a small group to attack them on the roof. However, Wu Chenghe noticed them in time and informed Jin Xuan.

“Get up here!” Yin Bo knocked down two assailants and yelled below. Kazumi Koyama climbed onto the mainframe, and Jin Xuan grabbed his legs, lifting him up and pushing him toward the hole. Kazumi Koyama clung to the edge of the hole with all his might, using his arms to pull himself onto the roof. Wu Chenghe was smaller than Kazumi Koyama, so Jin Xuan didn’t hesitate to lift him up, tossing him through the hole, landing right next to Yin Bo.

The second wave of attackers arrived, splitting into several directions across the roof. Despite Jin Xuan and Yin Bo suppressing them with firepower, they were outnumbered, and the enemy’s encirclement was closing in.

As time passed, the close-quarters combat with the enemy felt agonizingly long. Wu Chenghe lay between Jin Xuan and Yin Bo, unable to lift his head under the suppressive fire, anxiously counting down the time, hoping for Chang Gong and Qian Hua’s swift arrival.

Ten, nine, eight… Just as the countdown reached three, a powerful rush of air sounded overhead. Wu Chenghe looked up to see a massive silhouette descending from the sky – a quadcopter fighter slowly approached the roof, its cargo bay open, revealing Chang Gong standing at the doorway! He wore an exosuit, with six high-powered energy cannons mounted on his shoulders, arms, and legs. With one foot on the landing gear below, he unleashed a barrage of fire at their attackers, shouting, “Get on board!”

True to the ten-minute mark, just as promised!

With Chang Gong’s firepower suppressing the enemy, they couldn’t attack the four on the roof. Jin Xuan climbed to his feet, stuffing the backpack containing two chips into Wu Chenghe’s arms. With a roar like a lion, he threw Wu Chenghe into the air, launching him more than ten meters, landing precisely into the cargo bay of the quadcopter fighter!

Dazed, Wu Chenghe stumbled inside the bay, only to be followed by Kazumi Koyama, tossed in by Yin Bo in a similar manner.

“Get to the back compartment! Strap in, we’re taking off!” Qian Hua shouted from the cockpit, her voice echoing through the cabin via the intercom. Wu Chenghe helped Kazumi Koyama to his feet and stumbled into the back compartment, quickly strapping himself into a seat, clutching the chips Jin Xuan handed him.

“Let’s go!” Chang Gong shouted sternly, retracting his weapons and returning to the cockpit. He closed the bay door and said to Qian Hua, “Drop them off in the research facility area. Let Yan Shi deploy the mechas ‘Rifle’ and ‘Yin Bo’!”

In the distant space, a large black destroyer was approaching the outer perimeter of Tartaros, suddenly, the tail hatch of the starship opened, and two giant mechas shot out like bullets, breaking through the sound barrier and flying into the atmosphere.

The red mecha was called “Rifle,” and the light blue one was “Yin Bo.” These were the heavy combat mechas for the agents, tailor-made by the NTU super technicians, named after their code names. After months of undercover missions, the real battle was about to begin, testing them like never before.

Tens of thousands of kilometers away, a small task force was quietly approaching Tartaros, with the flagship bearing the emblem of the Voyager Army’s First Army Group, beneath the majestic flying wing lion, was the emblem of the “Quadrant” Fleet.

One light-year away, the NTU Special Forces Fleet No.1 was performing the final warp propulsion, their target, also Tartaros planet.

The first clash between the Federation and the Voyager Army officially began at the end of Ephemeris 855.

 

 

 

 

 

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