Chapter 12: The Cycle of Planets

“Run!”
“The elevator’s on the 15th floor; it’ll take 20 seconds to get down!”
“We don’t have time. If they surround us, we’re dead!”

Skull Head grabbed Lin Xu’s arm and sprinted out of the office. Lin Xu tried to break free but found the grip like steel claws, impossibly strong.

Damn it.

Don’t drag me along when you run!

You’re afraid of getting shot by the counter-terrorism rapid response team; I’m not!

If I jump down the stairs, this round’s over!

Lin Xu struggled desperately, but Skull Head misread his movements as fear and a desire to flee, tightening his grip instead.

Helpless, Lin Xu had no choice but to keep pace. As they reached the elevator, the doors slid open just as Skull Head predicted.

Twenty seconds exactly, the elevator had descended to the first floor.

“Block them! Buy us thirty seconds!”
“We’re almost at the extraction point!”

Meanwhile, outside the campus, mercenaries under Skull Head’s command had already engaged the rapid response forces.

Skull Head quickened his pace again, with Lin Xu close behind.

Gunfire erupted, and for the first time in twenty years, Lin Xu felt what it was like to face a “regular army.”

What?

A firefight?!

Who said we’d engage in a firefight?

The moment the first shot rang out, an electromagnetic shield activated.

Far more advanced electronic warfare equipment than what the mercenaries possessed was already operational hundreds of meters away, jamming communications with powerful directional interference. The mercenaries quickly lost their radio signals.

The headset was filled with static. Skull Head cursed angrily,
“Damn it, no signal!”
“It’s okay, we’re almost there!”

They had left the exhibition hall and were scrambling madly toward the outer perimeter of the Sky Dome Technology Park.

Gunfire rained from above; Lin Xu looked up in shock to see two drones hovering high in the sky, rhythmically unleashing firepower on the ground below.

High-caliber bullets pierced through the mercenaries’ bulletproof vests, and the scent of blood filled the air.

Skull Head’s eyes were bloodshot with rage, but Lin Xu was dumbfounded.

What the hell?!

Is all this really necessary?

What kind of taboo have I broken for them to deploy a force like this to kill me?

He had never encountered such a scenario before, even during the dozens of previous missions. Even when he had taken the initiative to attack Sky Dome Technology, stealing rockets before they launched or before they were shot down by surface-to-air missiles, the highest level of armed force he’d ever seen was only the local armed police.

By comparison, this rapid response team was on a completely different level.

So what was going on?

Wait a minute.

Could it be that Jiang Xingye’s name was some kind of forbidden word?

Or perhaps she herself was the leader of a criminal organization?

But from what he’d seen, that didn’t seem likely!

A flood of questions filled Lin Xu’s mind as the rapid response team nearly encircled Skull Head’s mercenary squad.

“There’s no way out!”
“Damn it! Who the hell are you?!”

Skull Head pressed Lin Xu down behind a narrow barricade, his eyes blazing with fury.

“You’re not simple! Even the rapid response team wants to capture you!”
“No wonder you sought us out… you’re in trouble!”

“Not in trouble? Brother, don’t you think you’re the ones with the problem?”

Lin Xu pushed Skull Head away helplessly, his expression calm.

“You guys came here armed. Maybe you’re the ones who drew the rapid response team!”

“I’ll say it once more—we’re not mercenaries; we’re PMC! Legitimate PMC!”

Skull Head gritted his teeth.

“It’s too late for words. We’re surrendering.”
“Good luck with that!”

With that, he raised his hands and stepped out from cover. But in the next moment, a bullet shot down from above.

Bang!

Skull Head’s knee shattered, and he collapsed violently to the ground.

What the hell? They’re still shooting?!

Lin Xu’s eyes widened.

He’d already surrendered!

Could it be that this rapid response team’s orders were to kill on sight?

“Don’t resist! Don’t resist anymore!”

Skull Head struggled, shouting,
“We surrender! We surrender!”

Gradually, the gunfire ceased.

More and more drones hovered in the sky, taking control of every corner inside and outside Sky Dome Technology Park.

Soldiers clad in mechanical exoskeletons disembarked from armored personnel carriers, dispersing with standard tactical formations to secure the area.

Lin Xu hid behind cover, silent and tense. Glancing at his watch, he saw 36 minutes remaining.

What now?

Should he grab a gun and start over, or wait and observe?

Given the current situation, if he was caught, the worst that would happen was wasting the remaining half hour locked in an interrogation room.

Not much loss, right?

Maybe he should act more aggressively and see if there was any new development in the plot.

Try to escape?

As he pondered this, three rapid response soldiers approached in a triangular formation, taking turns providing cover.

He took a deep breath, rose from cover, and dashed forward, bracing for gunfire.

But to his surprise, they didn’t shoot.

“Drop down!”
“Hands behind your back!”
“Stop!”

The three shouted warnings but never fired a shot.

What the hell?

Do I get special treatment now?

Well, can’t blame me for that.

Nearby, beside a mercenary’s corpse, a grenade lay faintly visible on the ground. Lin Xu sprinted forward, just five meters from the grenade.

Throw the grenade, create chaos, try to escape.

The plan was clear.

But at that moment—

A tremendous force struck from behind.

Bang!

He was thrown into the air and slammed hard onto the ground.

Severe pain, dizziness, difficulty breathing...

He felt as if his heart had stopped.

Lin Xu struggled to rise but his body was locked tight.

Only then did he notice the net wrapped around him, tightening relentlessly.

Damn!

What the hell is this?

A counter-terrorism unit with nets?

Lin Xu had lost the ability to resist, but the good news was that at the moment he was ensnared, he instinctively reached forward.

His hand was only centimeters from the mercenary’s corpse.

Twist!

Squirm!

Lin Xu twisted desperately, ignoring the three soldiers running toward him.

Just 20 centimeters left!

Move faster, dead leg!

He locked eyes on the grenade, and just as his fingers brushed it—

Bang!

A boot kicked out fiercely, sending the corpse and grenade flying nearly two meters.

“Got it.”

The man seemed to exhale deeply.

Then, into his radio, he reported:

“This is Monsoon. I’ve arrived.”
“Mission complete. Target successfully apprehended.”
“Yes, there were complications.”
“We were originally just here to arrest, but were attacked by illegal PMC members.”
“We cleared them all. Will bring them back shortly.”
“Identity confirmed.”
“Lin Xu. Yes, Lin Xu.”
“Very strange.”
“No prior contact with the Planetary Reincarnation Organization. Don’t know why the alarm was triggered.”
“Let’s take him in first. He brought so many illegal mercenaries, definitely not a good guy…”

Lin Xu had been trying to break free, but when the man finished speaking, he no longer wanted to move.

Because he realized these rapid response soldiers seemed to possess information he did not.

The Planetary Reincarnation?

What the hell was that?

So Jiang Xingye was a member of this organization?

He’d been caught because of mentioning her, mistaken as being connected to this group?

No.

What was this Planetary Reincarnation? Some terrifying cult?