Chapter 487: Special Operations Team

Damn it!

The masked man, hearing Jiang Cheng's words, trembled with rage.

He knew reinforcements were on their way, but he still wanted to give it a try.

After Jiang Cheng saw him leave, he relaxed his guard, withdrew the pagoda; thus, he took advantage of the former's distraction while talking with his companions to launch a swift strike that would likely succeed.

Of course, since Yu Yang had already reported the situation here to headquarters, his plan to disguise the attack as an exotic beast assault fell through; fortunately, pretending to be an intruder posed no problem.

As long as he killed Jiang Cheng, this mission's objective could be met, and he could report back to his elder brother.

Besides, he could obtain a fifth-grade treasure and a sixth-grade treasure! As it turned out, Jiang Cheng was so cautious; at such a young age, he already possessed such scheming—what will happen when he gets older?

The masked man glanced at the time, realizing he could wait no longer; otherwise, when the Special Operations Team arrived, even if he possessed a sixth-grade defensive treasure, he would be no match.

"You Jiang, I'll remember you."

His eyes flashed with a vicious gleam as he sprinted off into the distance.

Jiang Cheng and the others, naturally unaware of this, were still discussing how perilous the earlier incident had been, when a slight sound came, and then two figures suddenly appeared before them.

"Are you the Seventh Squad?"

A short-haired man on the left spoke in a deep, muffled voice, holding an alloy battle knife nearly two meters long, looking extremely imposing.

Another long-haired man, holding nothing, was nonetheless floating in the air, his feet several centimeters above the ground.

Evidently, this one is a Force Master who cultivates energy, and his combat power is likely even more terrifying.

Seeing these two appear, everyone was delighted; moreover, Yu Yang and the others looked excited, like fans seeing their idol.

"Yes, we are the Seventh Squad; I am Yu Yang, captain of the Seventh Squad, and I was the one who sent the request for aid to headquarters." Yu Yang nodded his head like a chick pecking at grain.

The two men glanced at him, then turned their gazes to the three-layered pagoda surrounding the group.

"A sixth-grade elementary treasure, the Heaven-Stabilizing Tower—no wonder you've held out this long." the long-haired man said.

"Whose is this?" the short-haired man said in a rougher tone.

Having said that, his eyes scanned like a device, sweeping over everyone including Jiang Cheng, and quickly locked onto Jiang Cheng.

"It's mine."

Jiang Cheng replied.

The gazes of those around gathered, filled with envy.

"A first-level grandmaster actually able to produce this? Are you perhaps a junior from some clan in the city? I don't seem to have any impression of you." the short-haired man muttered to himself.

"Alright, turn it off; with us here, that intruder won't be able to harm you a bit."

Upon hearing this, Yu Yang and the others also nodded repeatedly at Jiang Cheng.

These two people before us are from the Special Operations Squad.

If passing the assessment to become a Rebel Soldier and joining a squad qualifies as elite, then being able to enter the Special Operations Team makes one elite among elites; the entire Hope City has only such a unit.

Members of the Special Operations Squad are selected only from other squads; to join, one must first have strength above a fifth-level master, in other words, reach the level of a sixth-level grandmaster to meet the threshold.

Furthermore, one must pass a series of assessments that test not only strength but also conduct and loyalty; failing any of these counts as assessment failure. Thus, just as ordinary people feel pride and admiration when they pass the assessment to become Rebel Soldiers, becoming a member of the Special Operations Team is, for Rebel Soldiers, an even more worthy source of pride.

Jiang Cheng nodded, and only then did he shut down the Heaven-Stabilizing Tower.

The long-haired man's eyes flashed with a hint of approval.

Such caution is warranted; "careful sailing ensures ten thousand years of safe passage."

"Alright, now tell us what exactly happened." the short-haired man said, his gaze sweeping over the front, where everything was in disarray, obviously the scene of a fierce battle.

At first glance, the intruder's strength appears to be around that of a fourth- or fifth-level grandmaster.

"That's how it was..." Yu Yang gave a complete account of what had happened.

"Oh?"

The short-haired man narrowed his eyes, "So you're saying the intruder was waiting for you?"

"Yes."

Yu Yang glanced at Jiang Cheng and the others, then said, "We discussed this earlier and reached the same conclusion: it seems he had been waiting here for us for a while, and upon seeing us, he attacked without a word."

In one look, no mistake version!

The two men exchanged a glance.

The short-haired man withdrew his gaze, looking at Yu Yang, "You just mentioned that his face was wearing a mask?"

"Yes, he wore a human-face mask, but without eyes, nose, or mouth."

"I see; your mission ends here for today. Leave the rest to us."

"Yes, thank you both." Yu Yang said hurriedly.

The short-haired man waved his hand, seeing off the group as they walked back the way they came; once they were out of sight, he turned to the long-haired man beside him and asked, "What do you make of this?"

"Hard to say." The long-haired man's face grew solemn. "Just from the surface, it's merely a sudden incident: an intruder entered the tunnel, came here, discovered the Seventh Squad, hid beforehand, and launched an attack."

"What if it's not just surface-level?" the short-haired man asked.

The long-haired man said nothing.

Because this matter contains doubts.

Sector 15-20 is already a remote area, full of dangerous spots; entering some tunnels blindly without information could get you killed without even knowing how.

If the other party truly is an outsider who managed to get here safely, is it luck, or did they obtain some information, or are they an insider? Given that they waited here wearing a mask, there are still several possibilities.

But he dared not say it.

Because saying that would be too terrifying; Hope City hasn't seen such things in a long time, and with the leader just breaking through to Supreme, having steadied morale, such an incident shouldn't occur now.

"Let's investigate first; if we can find clues and capture that intruder, we'll know everything."

"Hmm."

The short-haired man nodded, though his intuition told him it was unlikely.

(End of chapter)