Chapter 22: Crushing‑Style Engagement

12:15.

The Si Bin Sai family castle.

The castle sits on a high ridge of ravines between many mountains, with cliffs on three sides, dense forest all around, and a swift river flowing beneath the cliffs.

There is only one road leading to the outside, making it, a hundred years ago, an easy‑to‑defend but hard‑to‑attack fortress.

In front of the castle gate, numerous identical black SUVs are parked, and the helipad behind the gate holds four black Sikorsky S-76C helicopters.

Moreover, inside and outside the castle, on the walls and in the courtyard, over a hundred "black‑clad men" have gathered.

These people wear similar black suits, white tubular headphones, and patrol wielding various submachine guns or rifles.

The display and security are no less than a meeting of some countries' leaders.

In fact, aside from Sui Bian, the "pretend director," all members of Umbrella's board of directors have gathered inside the castle.

Those "black‑clad men" are personal bodyguards for each director, not part of Umbrella's armed forces, and they are fiercely loyal to the directors they serve.

In the western forest along the road to the castle.

"Chirp~ chirp~…" an unidentified bird calls.

"Cheep~ cheep~…" also includes the chirping of various insects.

"Ssh, ssh." Among them, the faint sound of humans stepping on soft soil is mixed in.

Just look at a fully armed "soldier" dressed in forest camouflage moving through the woods.

The "soldier" wears a matching camouflage Kevlar helmet, visor, and combat harness, and is equipped with a Mechanical exoskeleton and an MA5B rifle that transcend the current era.

Looking around, many similarly equipped "soldiers" advance through the forest; they are Omicron of the USS.

Han Ke leads Alpha through the forest on the east side of the road, about four hundred meters from Omicron, and the two USS units are ready to launch an attack on the castle from opposite directions.

As for Sui Bian, he is dressed like the USS and moves together with Omicron.

From June to August, Sui Bian not only learns from the Red Queen and White Queen how to run the company, but also spends three to four hours each day receiving training and guidance from the USS.

Sui Bian's physical fitness and reflexes are at the human limit, but he has never received proper military training, so he cannot be as proficient in various combat techniques as Captain America, or…

He handles the "disc (vibranium shield)" with slick skill.

After two months of formal training, Sui Bian now possesses absolute self‑protection ability.

There is nothing much to say about his shooting.

After just three days on the range, he found his shooting feel; combined with his reaction speed and eyesight, his accuracy surpasses that of most combat personnel,

Well prepared, following the route arranged by the Red Queen, he covertly traveled to Europe with four members of Alpha and personally experienced a "smuggling" operation.

He has tried land transport and sea transport; it was actually quite thrilling.

After all, this battle decides Umbrella's ownership, and Sui Bian cannot afford to take it lightly.

At this moment, he and Omicron arrive at the forest beside the road's edge, and from a distance can faintly see the castle's main gate, about four hundred meters away in a straight line.

Continuing forward, the forest where they are becomes gradually sparse, and the castle on the high ground grows clearer.

Around two hundred and seventy meters.

Sui Bian and the Omicron stop advancing, spread out, and begin inspecting their gear and firearms.

Han Ke and his men on the east side have also taken their positions.

———————

…

12:26.

On the plaza in front of the castle's main gate, the bodyguards do not loiter and chat like villains in movies; instead they patrol in pairs or stand guard from different angles.

The bodyguards stationed on the wall are equipped with rifles or small‑caliber sniper rifles fitted with optical scopes.

Suddenly…

"Pong——~!" A huge blast shattered the silence.

Before the blast could scare away the forest birds and animals, a bodyguard on the wall had already been blown in half at the waist.

Blood, organs and bone sprayed everywhere; the bodyguard's two halves still twitched, but his pupils were dilated and his expression frozen.

He is dead beyond death.

That bodyguard's fate was thanks to a. 50‑caliber Barrett M82A1, and that shot came from an Alpha sniper.

Alpha's and Omicron's snipers and spotters are deployed on the mid‑mountain slopes at six hundred and eight hundred meters from the castle, tasked with marking enemies and eliminating dangerous targets.

The main force readies to attack, and the two snipers receive orders from Sui Bian, naturally preparing to slaughter those bodyguards.

Thus…

"Pong——!"

The second shot follows immediately, and the bodyguard whose head is hit explodes like a watermelon hitting the ground, splattering red and white brain matter onto another bodyguard.

!!!

"Sniper! More than one!"

"Cover! Cover!"

The sudden two shots force the bodyguards to quickly seek cover.

At that moment, the main forces of Alpha and Omicron also begin their assault.

"Bang bang bang~!" The distinctive MA5B gunfire roars.

Those bodyguards still in the open, having not found cover, are instantly torn apart by a hail of AP-FMJ bullet.

In an instant, limbs are severed, and cries of agony echo throughout the castle.

The Alpha and Omicron units equipped with Mechanical exoskeletons charge the castle while still delivering precise fire.

Sui Bian simply watches the battle from the woods; his presence does not mean he will fight alongside the USS.

Two hundred meters is covered in an instant thanks to the Mechanical exoskeleton.

USS side suffered no losses whatsoever, after all MA5B's sixty rounds of sustained firepower, plus the Mechanical exoskeleton and electronic components' aimbot, and combined with the precise strikes of two snipers, the bodyguard side could not even lift their heads.

Soon, the USS forces approached the castle's main gate and began close-range firefights with the bodyguard side.

However, the USS had two teams of snipers and observers occupying high ground, able to discern enemy positions and eliminate high-threat targets for the main force.

In contrast, the bodyguards wearing only soft body armor, when facing AP-FMJ bullets with armor-piercing effect at close range, still ended up being shredded.

Of course, this battle went so smoothly for two reasons: first, they had the Mechanical exoskeleton and the MA5B; second, they had seized the initiative.

Before the bodyguard side could even react, more than half of them had already been wiped out.

12:35.

Within ten minutes, the low-intensity battle ended in a complete victory for the Mother Nest Force, with the USS forces having fully seized the castle's helipad, front courtyard, and main gate.

No fatalities occurred, but two A'erfa had bad luck: one was hit in the left armpit by a 9mm bullet, and the other had the left half of his buttocks struck by a stray bullet.

Neither was a fatal wound; after some rest they could return to duty, except that the A'erfa who got shot in the buttocks would undoubtedly become a frequent target of teasing.

(End of chapter)