Chapter 250: Eye of the Storm
The battlefield only covered the land of Andrea, which was significantly far away from the other three continents. Each and every piece of news about the war was like a wide spread disease that instilled fear and anxiety into people’s minds. This warfare caused inevitable repercussions to all the nations around the world. The world was in chaos. The rate of theft and murder increased at an exponential rate, extremist of religions that preached the end of the world rose, and small groups of wanderers decided to join the Six Nations to seek protection.
During war time, the Six Nations had strict policies, and they performed rigorous investigations and surveillance on the wanderers. Thus, the wanderers did not dare say anything that would offend the Six Nations. During time of peace and prosperity, these wanderers could not really sense the benefit of having neighboring countries. But for those who betrayed the country, they realized the importance of having a nation one could rely on. Discrimination and unequal treatment were around every corner for these people. The wanderers without citizenship were probably in a lower status compared to stray dogs, and they could only remain quiet and beg for mercy.
Therefore, some wanderers would rather remain homeless, robbed by bandits and attacked by wild creatures, than join the Six Nations. For them, the only other option left was to seek shelter under the Dark Net. Without any reinforced policies and restrictions, the wanderers eagerly joined the Dark Net, and all the money and resources Bennett had poured in finally came into use. He felt like he was Buddha, alleviating all the suffering around the world.
“Ah, the futility of war.”
On the top floor of Sanctuary One, Bennett stood next to the window as his sharp pupils reflected the entire field of Sanctuary One.
The mist of war surrounded the tower, and everyone on the Planet Aquamarine worried about their future. Even though the Sanctuary was a step toward the bright future, Bennett was still troubled by the Han Xiao’s baffling action to join the war. It had already been a few days, and Bennett had not heard from Han Xiao.
Bennett had a rather complicated perception on Han Xiao. On one hand, Han Xiao was the most important assistant with an honorable record in the battlefield and uncountable achievements. And now, the size of Sanctuary Three was already larger than that of Sanctuary One and Two. From time to time, Bennett considered changing the name of Sanctuary One to Black Phantom Sanctuary.
On the other hand, the movement of Black Phantom was unpredictable, and Bennett often had to bear the responsibility of those actions. Even though the mistakes were only small compared to the achievements of Black Phantom, Bennett believe that sooner or later, he would have to take the blame for the actions that offended the world.
“We received information from the frontline. There are unusual movement in the battlefield. Please take a look at this.” The assistant rushed into the room and handed over the laptop.
As the largest intelligence network on Planet Aquamarine, the Dark Net had kept up to date with the situation on the battlefield. Bennett meticulously read the latest information.
“Two days ago, the southern front of Andrea experienced a drastic change. The Germinal Organization, which who was on the defensive side, employed a large-scale search around the headquarters. At the same time, the Six Nations applied pressure to the Germinal Organization from south and east sides. Moreover, they sent out multiple troops to infiltrate the Germinal Organization’s territory. From the movement of both sides, it seems that they are all going after the same target.
“It is reported that the target is the most wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization, Zero, who infiltrated the mainframe and obtained a large amount of classified information. Both the Germinal Organization and the Six Nation are fighting to obtain this information. From our undercover operatives in the Six Nations, the information will determine the outcome of this war.”
Bennett stopped reading and sighed. ” Zero… I know this man. The reason that the Germinal Organization has fallen to the point today is mostly because of this man. A traitor who made the Germinal Organization walk toward the path of destruction. Now he has obtained the key intelligence on this war, and he is the eye of the storm. He is an impressive man. Even if he lived in the old era, he could have been the legend to shape the world.”
Bennett then flipped on to the next page.
“In addition, Zero called himself Han Xiao, and he had a mask that can change his appearance in an instant. Black Phantom is one of his identities.”
Bennett could not say a word.
Bang!
Three seconds later, the window in the office shattered as Bennett threw the laptop through it with all his strength. The laptop arced through the sky and smashed onto the ground. The laptop was utterly destroyed with parts rolling on the ground. The people on the ground were surprised and looked up at the Sanctuary.
“Han Xiao! You b*stard!”
Bennett more than furious. He scratched his head out of frustrated, and the clean, styled hair quickly turned into a mess. He then walked back and forth in the room.
The origin of Black Phantom had always been a mystery, as if his existence was created out of thin air. Bennett did try to ask Han Xiao about his history. At that time, Han Xiao’s tone had been reflective and dense.
“Every man has a past that they do not want to face, just like hands you bathe in blood. And that’s true for me. I have made a lot of mistakes. I used to wear a mask, and I never knew who I truly was. It’s only recently that I’ve finally seen my true identity. Of course, you do not know me.”
Bennett had believed him at that time. He had tried to remember if there’s any faceless legends in different organizations, and he had vaguely recalled a powerful man who disappeared in the flow of history. From his own experience, he had suddenly reached the conclusion that Han Xiao was a man with strong internal struggles, a man who sought self-redemption. Bennett had thought that he suddenly had a common topic that they could talk about.
Well, right now, Bennett was disappointed at how brainless he was.
How dare you trick me‽
Bennett took a few deep breaths and straightened his chest. He looked at this reflection on the broken glass and fixed his hair style. After he calmed down, he turned to look at the frightened assistant and said, “Has the information spread to the public?”
The assistant nodded dumbfoundedly.
Bennett sat down and sank into deep thought as he tapped his finger on the table like he was playing the piano.
…
On the southern front of the land of Andrea, a convoy that was intercepted by the Stardragon drove into the fourth section. Dozens of vehicles were in the area with a few carrying the missiles with cold warheads on top.
Division 13 of Stardragon began their infiltration mission. They took over a military base in the inner parts of the Germinal Organization’s territory, and they got a few batches of warheads.
The secret intelligence agencies of all the countries were working on the same operation. They slowly chipped away at the power of Germinal Organization with the intel given by Han Xiao before the war started. They had made their plans after knowing the strategy of the Germinal Organization, and their scale of operation had become smaller and smaller as time went on. Therefore, the Six Nations were desperate for the intel that Han Xiao had on his hands.
Small teams of agents got out of the vehicles, and Di Su Su and Zhang Wei’s teams were among them.
Di Su Su was going to wave at Li Yalin, but she saw Li Yalin and her team hurriedly left the area.
Li Yalin and her team charged into the commander’s room.
“Sir, it seems that Han Xiao had the intel!” Lin Yao said anxiously.
The commander nodded, and he handed over a document. “The situation is complicated. The upper officials wanted me to give you this intel.”
Li Yalin grabbed the document, and everyone squeezed around her to read it. On the very first line, the document already stated that the true identity of Black Phantom was Han Xiao.
“Haha. He really was Black Phantom. I was right after all!” Li Yalin laughed out loud, and her laugh was similar to a ringing bell. She slapped Lin Yao on the back, and he almost fell over.
In the battle of Tedramira River, Li Yalin did recognize Han Xiao. At that time, everyone in the team had guessed about the identity of Han Xiao. Zhang Wei had reported this to the higher officials, yet the officials did not give any response except to tell them not to further inquire on this topic, as if they were trying to hide something. Lin Yao had also stolen some of the records, but he realized that the higher officials had disregarded the report and never followed up with the case.
Now this proves that they had been right all along, and this truth slapped the higher officials right in the face.
Li Yalin suddenly let out a long sigh and cleared her mind.
“Wait…” Zhang Wei’s face darkened. “He still has another identity.”
The crowd quickly read the paper, and everyone was shocked.
Zero was actually Han Xiao‽
So, his true identity was the wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization!
Recalling about the weird behavior of Han Xiao when he first joined Stardragon, everyone was suddenly enlightened and connected all the dots together.
That is why the higher officials wanted to hide his identity. He was wanted by the Germinal Organization.
Now we know why no one can catch Zero. He can actually change his appearance.
Now we know…
All the mysterious events that had happened all seemed to have an explanation. The people were dumbfounded by this realization.
Lin Yao swallowed the saliva and said, “His history is unbelievable.”
Everyone nodded with agreement. No one had ever thought that one of their teammates was a legend.
On the side, Hou Yue face froze. He had heard a lot about this old team member, but to think he was actually such a great figure.
Du Su Su had also followed them into the office and read the document on the table. The commander did not stop her, as this intel would be spread anyway.
After reading the document, Di Su Su’s face was full of disbelief.
“No wonder when I saw Black Phantom near Seagull City, I felt that he was familiar. It turns out that Black Phantom was Han Xiao… Wait, then what Golden Fox said was…”
As she mentioned the incident, everyone in the room had a chill and stopped her from continuing the topic.
Li Yalin suddenly was aware of the danger that Han Xiao was in. She asked about the situation. The commander replied, “Other than the military operation, the officials have also formed an escort team to enter the battlefield and extract Han Xiao from the Germinal Organization’s territory.”
Zhang Wei walked up and asked, “Can we join the escort team?”
Commander shook his head. “You are nowhere near standard of the team.”
