Murmansk city, "Oasis".

This is actually a small hill called "Oasis". On the hill stands a statue of a soldier armed with a rifle and wearing a World War I imperial military coat. The statue, titled "Defender of the North Pole," was erected to commemorate the soldiers of the Imperial Army who died here during World War I.

Murmansk can be regarded as a mountain town, and this hill is the commanding height of the city. Looking down here, the hillside is in full bloom with all kinds of mountain flowers and small wild fruits hanging from the branches, the European lingonberry. But now they're all sealed in snow and ice – the colorful petals are covered in an ice crust, and it seems as if the extreme cold had arrived overnight, causing them all to hibernate before they could wilt.

You can also see the port of Kola Bay in the city of Murmansk. But now it is difficult to tell the difference between the ocean and the land with the naked eye. The snow and ice were so thick that only the heavy cruisers frozen in the ice could make one realize that it was once a cold, deep ocean.

The southern shore of Kola Bay was once flooded with dense birch and larch forests, but now the trees there are now sculptures of snow and ice. Once the "green lung" of Murmansk, it's a different story, with bullets tearing through the jungle tearing tall trees to shreds, and farther through the streets with heavy clouds of fire and severed limbs falling like scattered flowers.

The raiding force has been assembled and has launched a fierce attack. Dai Bingcheng stood next to the statue at the top of the oasis hill and looked into the city with a high-powered telescope.

In modern warfare, a commander is in such a terrain and looking at it from afar, which is purely self-defeating. But the current special situation gives them peace of mind. Southern Luzon provided fifty years of equipment beyond current technology to make the offensive devastating—even if they were only dealing with an army of xenomorphs guarding the perimeter.

The opponent's high-tech weapons have been completely paralyzed, and ten minutes ago our snipers have cleared all possible hidden strike points within a 10-kilometer radius of the vicinity. Before the more powerful appeared on the battlefield, what was happening on the streets of the outskirts of the city was more of a carnage than a battle.

Xenomorphs' crowd tactics, which once made the Empire's regular armies helpless, now seem rather powerless. Because they are not facing ordinary human soldiers, but capable people armed with high technology - elites from the Special Affairs Office.

These people had to remain incognito for a long time, and today they can finally go on a killing spree. The anger that had been building up in their hearts for years had made them extremely bloodthirsty - they didn't have to think about any humanitarian pressure when facing xenos anyway.

The advantage of xenomorphs over ordinary people is their super physical fitness - almost everyone is a C-level physical enhancer. But that advantage was lost in front of the former executives, who were assisted by the individual exoskeleton system. The current situation is more like a fantasy novel where a formed mage army sweeps through the human hoplites, and the flames and frost that are activated by the ability or psychic energy are mixed with bullets and shells, and when they fall into the crowd, they explode in large fields of blood.

The executives, divided into a dozen or so squads of six, swept through the streets like small hurricanes, the rumbling sound of artillery fire and the sound of bullets echoing between the buildings. The enemy's lair is in the center of the city, but so far there hasn't been much movement - no one has tried to break through. No reinforcements were seen.

Dai Bingcheng put down the binoculars. He glanced south again.

The man he was waiting for hadn't come yet.

A female officer beside him whispered, "General, they are obviously delaying our time, and it is better to do it sooner rather than later." ”

Dai Bingcheng glanced at his "old subordinate". In the five years since the Secret Service Office was revoked, Hu Yanling has been by Ying Ran's side, and the years have not left many traces on her face. It's just because of the effect of that kind of strong force. This little girl, who was once designated as C-class, has now grown into a Class A powerhouse who can take charge of herself.

Accurate sniping at a distance of ten kilometers. Not even the highest achievements of human technology can achieve. However, it seems that it is not just her abilities that have changed. And her character. The girl who used to be so lively now shows an unusual composure, and Dai Bingcheng has hardly seen a smile on her face in the past few days.

He shook his head slightly, silent.

After a while. seemed to remember something, and suddenly asked, "Do you still have contact with Xiao Du?" ”

Hu Yanling obviously didn't expect General Dai to ask such a thing in this situation. She was stunned for a moment, and frowned slightly: "General, this kind of thing-"

Dai Bingcheng laughed, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were squeezed together: "Everyone else calls me Dean, why do you call me a general?" ”

Hu Yanling pursed her lips and looked away.

Dai Bing let out a sigh of relief, sat down on the grass covered with ice and snow, and said, "You relax, let's talk." ”

The guards not far away were about to run over to give Dai Bingcheng a folding chair, but Dai Bingcheng waved his hand and motioned for them to retreat.

In fact, Hu Yanling wanted to say, it's okay, I can just stand. But then she realized that the general would have to tilt his head and talk to herself—that would be even more rude. So she just sat on her knees on the snow like Dai Bingcheng, and wrapped herself tighter in her coat.

"Xiao Du is now in South Luzon, I know about this." Dai Bingcheng narrowed his eyes and said, "This time we are cooperating with that side, and the person in charge of contact is Du Qixi." He was going to see you, but it was really inconvenient at the time, so he didn't come. ”

Hu Yanling stroked the hair that hung down to her ears, raised her head and said, "General, I don't think this is the time to discuss this. The enemy is stalling for time - maybe they still have an underground passage. It would take us another half an hour to get to the city center, and by that time the building would probably be empty. ”

Dai Bingcheng smiled: "You are now putting all your thoughts on this kind of thing. Haven't you thought about your own problems again? ”

Hu Yanling pursed her lips, took a deep breath through her nose, turned her face and said, "I don't want to talk about these things now." ”

There was a slight flush on her face—it wasn't because of shyness. It's because of a slight agitation.

Dai Bingcheng looked at her and smiled on his face: "Why not?" ”

Hu Yanling opened her mouth and closed it again. She turned her head to stare at a blade of grass peeking out of the snow for a moment, then suddenly turned her head and said, "Because I don't want the same thing to hurt me twice." I didn't want a next time—someone suddenly disappeared from my eyes, but I didn't know anything. ”

Dai Bingcheng nodded: "Yes." I'm sorry for that. ”

"You don't have to say that. For the sake of work, I can understand. Hu Yanling said stiffly.

"You don't quite understand it yet." Dai Bingcheng sighed lightly, "Xiao Du has been going to South Luzon in the past few years, which is also what I mean." ”

Hu Yanling's eyes widened. Even through the heavy clothing, her chest could be seen to rise and fall sharply, and the ice and snow under her boots creaked under her feet. She clenched her hand. But I still feel my fingers trembling slightly—

The man next to him, who was nearly fifty years old, used to be his boss. Now it's his own boss. But suddenly from her chest there was an uncontrollable anger and resentment towards this man. She tried to suppress this emotion, but after some effort, she finally failed-

Hu Yanling turned her head sharply and stared at Dai Bingcheng, unable to maintain the solemn and calm tone she had before. Shout out loud: "What kind of enmity do you have with me?!" ”

She stood up. Snowflakes fell from her body one after another: "Where am I sorry for you?" Why are you doing this?! Could it be that Du Qixi is your slave? Can't you find a second person besides him?! Do you have to see me like this?! ”

The guards not far away did not know what was happening. But still reflexively raised the muzzle of the gun in his hand, intending to rush over. But Dai Bingcheng waved at them - the guard lowered the muzzle of his gun.

Dai Bingcheng waved his hand again. Several guards glanced at each other and slowly retreated further.

These words were shouted out. Hu Yanling felt that her chest had become hollow. The icy sun of the Arctic Circle shone on her, and even though it was noon, she couldn't feel a trace of warmth. She glared at Dai Bingcheng angrily, feeling that the two stars on the other party's shoulders were dazzling - how many people's lives and pain were exchanged for that?

But the other party was obviously not angry because of her words - maybe he deliberately let himself shout out. Hu Yanling didn't know why he wanted to talk to him about this at such a time, but the other party had obviously succeeded in achieving his goal.

Dai Bingcheng stood up and sighed: "I have been holding back these words for a long time. In fact, Xiao Du also said something similar to me - maybe knowing this will make you feel better. I mean he hasn't been in touch with you for the past few years, because at first it seemed to me that the Southern Luzon side was as dangerous a place as the original southern base—I couldn't let him risk being exposed and have a slight intersection with anyone other than me. ”

"But I've also come from when I was young – and I've been through both of you. I know what you think in your heart, but you shouldn't blame Du Qixi for this matter, you should indeed blame me. ”

Dai Bingcheng paced a few steps on the snow, looked up at Hu Yanling's eyes covered with moisture, and said sincerely: "After all these years, the matter over there in Southern Luzon has also come to an end - I plan to let Xiao Du come back." Whether it's as compensation or simply hoping that my two old subordinates will be happier, I still want to see you ......"

Hu Yanling stood in front of Dai Bingcheng and was stunned for a while. Then she lowered her head slightly and whispered, "He's coming back?" ”

Without waiting for Dai Bingcheng to answer, she raised her head again: "Or do you want him back?" ”

Dai Bingcheng smiled: "Isn't it the same thing?" ”

The moisture in Hu Yanling's eyes gradually dissipated, and he frowned slightly and looked at the lieutenant general opposite suspiciously. After a few seconds, she chuckled, "Then I see what you mean." ”

Dai Bingcheng smiled. Hu Yanling also smiled. The difference, however, was the subtle hint of sarcasm in her smile - an emotion that she hid so well that to others it looked more like a girl had been opened, or that she had become bright and cheerful because of some sudden good news.

She was silent for a moment and asked softly, "What is he doing in Southern Luzon now?" It won't be like when I was in the southern base, but it's still a small role, right? ”

Dai Bingcheng hesitated for a moment and said, "It's the intelligence chief." Gold shines everywhere. He's done pretty well over the years. ”

Hu Yanling stroked her hair and said again: "Then I am clear." Thank you. ”

Dai Bingcheng stared at her for a while, but didn't notice any other expression on the girl's face. So he nodded slightly and turned away.

In the few minutes he spoke, the commando team was already approaching the center of the city. The two of them were silent for a while, and Dai Bingcheng spoke first: "It's time for the main master to appear." ”

As if in order to ease the atmosphere just now, he turned to Hu Yanling and said in a general manner: "They can't run, or they never thought about running." ”

"You have done a great job all these years - you have eliminated seven of the twelve saints at the gate of truth, and now only three remain. As for their four horsemen. The only one who still has combat power is the white knight. Hehe...... Anrozo. ”

"But they still have elders. Once upon a time we knew that the first elder of the Tao was Beate Longinus. The other two are think-tank characters. With these people, their foundations have not yet been shaken. If I were them, I would be going to fight to the death. Because this time they escaped again, they really became lost dogs. ”

"What's more, they still have their hopes in the one over there." Dai Bingcheng looked in the direction of Li Zhen. "But since there's no movement yet. Presumably they are going to be disappointed this time. ”

Hu Yanling also looked over there. But all she could see was the snow line and the pale blue sky. She realized that she might not have seen that person in a long time.

"And our first goal is to find the bones of Harumi Kitagawa ." Dai Bingcheng said. "So you can't push them too hard."

Hu Yanling frowned slightly, and suddenly said, "Then he will thank you too." ”

She regretted it as soon as she said it—even she didn't know why she would say such a thing. The previous calmness seems to have disappeared because of that venting.

Dai Bingcheng only smiled: "It's he who wants to give us this opportunity." ”

Then he let out a soft breath and muttered, "Beate Longinus." ”

“…… O nameless king. ”

……

……

The scattered assault teams eventually converged in one place. What remained behind them was the blood-red streets.

The city's sewer system has long been covered with snow and ice. As a result, all the warm blood accumulated on the ground, and it was quickly frozen by the low temperature of tens of degrees below zero, becoming a dark red ice crust. The ice crust was also mixed with a large number of yellow, clear bullet shells that reflected the midday sun and made the streets gorgeous—a bloody and brutal magnificence.

The tall buildings have been crumbled by the powerful firepower, and the city now looks as if it has survived a catastrophe, and is a remnant of a prehistoric human civilization.

Su Zhaoxin's group fell behind the most. Because they had previously encountered a group of xenos with a fairly high IQ - the kind of guys who can also transform ordinary people into terrifying monsters.

This temporarily frustrated their fierce offensive, and after three minutes of fighting around the corner of a street, they had to pursue into a building on the adjacent street to clear it.

The process lasted twelve minutes. By the time the last of the aliens had been sliced open in the chest by Su Zhaoxin with a flaming knife, the friendly forces had already thrown them an entire block away.

He wiped the blood from his face that quickly turned cold and spat at the corpse, "Fucking monsters. ”

The room where the six of them were located may have been an office in the past. The room was large and lined with blue cubicles. The former inhabitants of this place did not have time to gather their belongings when they were alienated, and they could even see coffee and half-eaten food on the table.

Once again, however, the fierce fighting has changed the environment - there is not a single intact table or chair left in the room. Another executive officer behind him shouted and greeted, "Hurry up—there's no time to play if it's too late!" ”

Su Zhaoxin glanced out of the window unhurriedly and sighed, "What's the hurry." You see. ”

The street they hadn't cleared had turned bloody, and it was clear that the brothers had done it for them.

The man looked in the direction he was pointing, and sighed dejectedly, "What the hell is delaying—why did we encounter this thing?" ”

Su Zhaoxin lit a cigarette and exhaled a long breath, then glanced at the pale green screen on his arm.

The figure shown above is 66.3%. This means that the thin and tough individual exoskeleton system they wear can last for about an hour in a high-intensity combat environment.

In fact, this thing is very different from the "individual exoskeleton" in his perception - it doesn't look like a frame made of metal, but more like a retro armor. In the early years, this thing could only be seen in science fiction movies.

He lifted his foot slightly, and the amount of force transmitted from the exoskeleton sent him a big step.

The door was only three meters away from him, and he was out the door after taking one more step.

However, it was then that he heard something that should never have been there.

It was as if a porcelain cup had been rested on the table.

The muscles on his body tensed in an instant, and Su Zhaoxin turned his head suddenly. He was followed by five people, and when he turned his head to look over, he found that the five colleagues behind him had also focused their eyes on the same point.

They chased five aliens into the mansion and killed one at the door, one in the hall, and three in the room. So they didn't bother to do a thorough inspection of the room. So when he saw the scene in front of him, Su Zhaoxin, as the captain, realized that he seemed to be underestimating the enemy.

In the northwest corner of the room, where the sun was not shining, a hot mist was wafting from a mug above a mahogany table. There were two hands resting on the table, and the face of the person sitting behind the table was not clear because the lights were not on.

The next moment, the man leaned forward slightly and sighed: "This used to be the editorial office of a publishing house, and I like to come here to write something when I don't have anything to do." But today you are making such a fuss - what will I do in the future? ”

Su Zhaoxin saw the man's face.

It was a Caucasian man with a broad forehead and two sword eyebrows. The hair may be gray or chestnut, and it is meticulously groomed.

He had a pen in his hand and a lazy smile on his face. At the moment of eye contact with Su Zhaoxin, he grinned: "I'm Froude Sartan Diggs." The Gate of Truth, First Saints. ”

"Fortunately."

===========================

Earlier I said that I had assigned myself a role in the Gate of Truth, and some people said it was Vivien! How so? Apparently the First Saint! (To be continued......)