Team A and Team B arrived at the gruesome scene on the second floor.

“Vice-commander Baltar has been killed‽”

“What exactly happened here?”

“Where’s the enemy?”

“Why is the surveillance room not responding‽”

“Inform Professor Lin Wei Xian immediately!”

“Team C has discovered Professor Lin Wei Xian’s body!”

“Oh my god…”

All the guards gasped in fear. Was all of this really done by Zero alone? All the commanders were either out or dead, and they realized that there was no one left to give them orders.

“Wasn’t he brainwashed already‽ Has he been planning this from the very start?”

The thought of it sent chills down their spines; Han Xiao could have taken their lives anytime he wanted!

“Don’t panic. There’s only one enemy. Proceed with a sweep of the facility. Fire at will. Team A will head to the armory, Team B, check out the surveillance room. Team C, go protect the laboratory. Team D, fortify the main gate. If Zero wants to escape he’ll have to go there. Now, go!”

The Team A leader rose up to the occasion to give the orders.

There were a total of sixty guards in the base grouped into four teams. Usually, they were scattered, but this was an emergency.

Unfortunately, Han Xiao was reading them like a book.

Bang!

A loud crash came from above, and the entire facility started to tremble.

“What’s going on‽” asked the panicked Team A leader through his intercom.

The sound of gunfire intermixed with panicked yelling could be heard from the other end.

“Team C has encountered the enemy in the lab. I repeat, Team C has encountered the enemy in the lab. Damn it! Zero set the lab on fire with a grenade!”

“Where did he get the grenade from‽”

The Team A leader was both enraged and horrified. His team had been standing guard outside the armory, but they had seen no one the entire time.

“Send reinforcements quickly! Which team is nearest?”

“Team B is also at basement 3. The surveillance room has been wiped. We’re coming over right now!”

…

In Basement 3, Han Xiao was hiding behind a corner near the laboratory while the fire raged within. He had used three hand grenades to set the lab on fire. Presently, there were a dozen guards from Team C that had suspected his presence and were advancing on him.

After his battle with Baltar, Han Xiao had not headed for the main gate immediately. Instead, he had gone back down to basement 3, predicting that the guards would conduct a sweep of the facility from the top.

Since it was no longer possible to sneak out as he had planned, Han Xiao had to change his tactics. Here in the laboratory at basement 3 was where all the Valkyrie data was stored, making it one of the key areas of the entire facility. He knew that setting it ablaze would cause the enemy to panic.

I still have 77 bullets and 5 custom grenades.

Han Xiao reevaluated his inventory before peeking out from the corner for just an instant. Bullets were fired almost instantly.

Twelve guards. Three N9 submachine guns, Nine 73-WASP handguns. I’m outclassed in firepower.

Han Xiao’s mind raced. It had been a minute since he set the laboratory on fire. Team B would arrive within three minutes, so he did not have much time left. Han Xiao knew all of this because he had been eavesdropping on a stolen intercom.

Everything had happened so suddenly that the guards did not stop to consider this possibility.

Han Xiao tossed out a grenade, causing the Team C guards to frantically jump for cover.

Bang!

Han Xiao used the smoke of the blast to sneak up onto the nearest guard. He gave him a mecha punch in the stomach, crippling him.

“Shoot! Quickly! Shoot!”

The other guards resumed shooting. Han Xiao yanked the poor guard up to use as a shield, and while this did not stop them from shooting, Han Xiao was able to close the distance, and he swiftly dispatched of another three guards.

The remaining Team C guards scattered further back to pull apart from him. Han Xiao rolled and ducked as he closed in on them. The mecha arm’s durability plummeted as bullets rained upon it. As Han Xiao evaded, he pulled out his handgun to return fire and scored three more kills.

Suddenly, Han Xiao grimaced.

_____________

You have been shot in your right arm by a 73-WASP! 17 damage taken!

You have been inflicted with a gun wound! You are now bleeding (light), and will lose 1 HP every second for 15 seconds. Quickly bandage your wound!

You have been shot in your left leg by an N9-SMG! 21 damage taken!

You have been inflicted with a gun wound! You are now bleeding (light), and will lose 1 HP every second for 15 seconds. Quickly bandage your wound!

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

If not for Baltar’s ‘training’, he would definitely not be able to endure the pain.

Han Xiao grit his teeth and threw out another grenade.

Bang!

The blast of the grenade caused Han Xiao’s ears to ring in pain. He growled it off and proceeded with his onslaught.

One minute later, Team C no longer existed. Han Xiao proceeded to bandage his wounds. He had lost 110 HP – more than a third of his max HP.

“A head-on assault is too costly. If only I had active skills…”

“Team C, Team C, please respond. What’s the situation?” asked a guard over the intercom.

Han Xiao pinched his throat and replied, “Cough, cough. Team C has suffered heavy losses. We have trapped the target inside the lab. The target has been shot. Please send reinforcements quickly!”

He then picked a submachine gun on the floor and casually sprayed it to create the illusion of a fierce battle.

“Roger that. Please hold on. Team B is on the way!”

The guard did not doubt him at all. As Han Xiao’s silent act was deeply ingrained in their minds, the idea that he could employ such tactics simply did not occur to them.

Han Xiao proceeded to tie his three remaining hand grenades together and hung them on the door of the laboratory. He then hid behind a desk and loaded three submachine guns before firing his handgun multiple times to create the illusion of a crossfire.

Footsteps approached and the door was kicked opened.

Kaboom!

As soon as the guards began to scream, Han Xiao rushed forward under the cover of the smoke and stuck two SMGs out of the door to open fire onto either side. Although vision was limited, Han Xiao could hear his shots landing, and when he had emptied his clip, the guards were no longer making any sound.

The standard tactic to attack a room was for one person to kick the door while the others hid on either side. As the guards in the base were not an elite squad, Han Xiao had known that they would employ this tactic. Although most of Team B had been lucky to survive the first round of grenades, they were unable to hide from the ensuing storm of bullets.

His interface lit up like crazy.

When the smoke cleared, Han Xiao saw that three guards remained. When they saw Han Xiao emerge from the room, their eyes grew wide with shock and fear.

Is this really that dim-witted Zero‽

Han Xiao fired three consecutive shots to finish them off.

“What was that explosion? What’s going on‽” Team A’s leader shouted through the intercom.

Han Xiao randomly picked up several scattered guns and fired them around casually.

“Team B is under ambush! We are engaged with the enemy in the experiment lab. Requesting assistance! Requesting assistance!”

“Team A is coming right now!” Something seemed off about the entire situation to him, but he could not figure out what.

It was only when they reached basement 3 did the Team A leader finally realize what was bothering him, and he hurriedly ordered, “All guards, listen up. Zero might have infiltrated our comms. From now on, only take orders from me!”

It suddenly became apparent that Zero could be baiting them. After all, they hadn’t heard of any other Team B member speaking since then.

An unbelievable notion occurred to the Team A leader; did Zero already wipe out both Team B and Team C?

The notion caused him to shiver.

If that was what had happened, it would mean that Zero had wiped out over half of the entire base’s guards alone! Although he was unwilling to believe the idea, everything pointed to the fact that it indeed what had happened!

Was Zero baiting them? Or was he trying to divide them while he made a run for the main gate?

“Team D, any abnormalities at the main gate?” he asked through the intercom.

“None yet.”

The Team A leader sighed a breath of relief. He couldn’t let Zero play them for a fool any longer. The situation at present was already extremely bad. He knew that hoping to kill Zero now was no longer realistic, and that he had to inform Hila ASAP.

“Team A, listen up. Return to the main gate right now!”

He decided it would be better to gather all the remaining people to fortify the main gate. There, they could simply wait for reinforcements. This was the plan that appeared safest and surest to him.

No matter what Zero’s aim was, his fate would be sealed as long as he had nowhere to run!