"Mmmh..." Still reading, Alexander tried to reenact scenes and techniques from it.

"It's a bit unprecise from these drawings..."

"A fireball, easy. Flaming sword, easy as well."

"Let me see, both are at the same cultivation level, but the blue water laser defeats the red flaming sword." Waving his wrist, a sword engulfed in raging flames appeared. It then swung slowly, a blue beam of colored water hitting it. The water split at first, but then it managed to snap the sword in half.

"I guess this goes here as well. Though it depends on a lot of stuff."

After a few more hours, he finished reading this xianxia story.

"Onto~... the next one!"

Reading and reading, he intended to spend a few years like this. But barely a few hours into it, he noticed a group of armed vehicles to be nearing his mansion from a few kilometers away.

"Are they here for me? I thought it was about something else. Were their bodycams live? Probably, didn't pay much attention, nor did I even bother interfering with it. Guess that's what happens next."

Dusting himself, he stayed laying. He kept browsing the comics and novels, reading patiently, grinning from time to time.

.

.

.

From afar, speeding through traffic, a group of light brown vehicles. Jeeps, tanks, even helicopters hovering above. Sirens were lit, alarms resounding. Then came a loud voice.

"All citizens! This is not a drill! This is an emergency! This is an evacuation order! I repeat, this is an evacuation order!" Along with it, a siren was soon heard.

People began to panic.

Similar messages just would not stop pouring down on the city.

Inside one of the hummers, a group of people sat. A man in desert colored clothing spoke, looking curiously at a man wearing a suit.

"Can't they make it sound more official?"

"We didn't have time. It has barely been a few hours since we lost contact with the third team. Can't believe we are going against something like this. I refuse to believe this is real. It has to be special effects."

'You have prerecorded ones though??'

"What about the bodycams then? Do you think they have been tampered with when live?! Bodycams?! I could understand if it was a regular stream, but those were worn on special forces while operators were busy trembling from the gore!"

"We have to face it. There is a large possibility of the supernatural existing. The best would be to negotiate, but we also can't afford to leave something like that alive. Not just that, we have to get such a specimen as well!"

.

.

.

Two hours later, the small army was ready. Tanks and helicopters, hummers, jeeps and much more. All of it surrounding the entire residential area.

Waiting, they saw no movement. And they would not see much since Alexander was still laying on the floor, reading.

"Send the fourth squad. Get the third on standby to the right, the second on the left. The first squad will go afterward."

"Are you serious? Do they even have enough space to maneuver?"

"It's just what? forty people? The goal is not to enter looking like a whale, it's to be a snake. Wriggling your way forward, avoiding traps and keeping the people behind safe. We can't afford a large operation right now, so we'll roll with it."

"Still..." The man in a suit expressing his doubts, he however kept his mouth shut. It was not his place to speak.

Noticing this, what seemed to be the leader comforted his opinion.

"But it's true that we are not in the optimal situation. If it was night... unfortunately we just don't have the time right now. Who knows what this creature will do!" Taking out a radio, the man calmed himself before turning his microphone on.

"Wait two minutes, then go in. The fourth squad will lead, the second and third squads go right after with a twenty seconds delay. Over."

'We must catch this thing by surprise.'

"Team leader one here, can we use lethal force? Over."

"What?" About to put down the radio, the lieutenant heard this last bit.

'Were they not briefed properly? I know it was a sudden thing... but like...'

"The use of lethal force is authorized and recommended. But be mindful of potential hostages. Over."

'This isn't going too well already...' The nervous show about to start, the man heard someone address him from behind.

"Lieutenant, the captain will arrive in thirty minutes tops, though he will most likely be here in less than five." Gazing around at these words, the lieutenant ignored the man with glasses, watching other lieutenants on each side nod.

"Will he come with reinforcements?"

'If not, what's the point?'

"Oh, actually, I'm not supposed to say it because it isn't my place, but it seems like its not just the captain."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

'There may be a wild load of bullshit going on in this god forsaken place, but would they bother believing it? They are all so stuck up sometimes.'

"Yes, apparently, the whole army was in shambles from the reports. They saw the bodycams and some even became excited. Though most were about to piss their pants haha! Oh! Don't tell them I said that."

Ignoring the friendly nudge to his arm, the lieutenant turned back. Indeed, there was not just a captain coming.

"Don't tell me..."

"So, instead, we got a colonel coming!"

"With the whole-"

"With his brigade!"

"..."

"Man. This is a fucking town! We don't even have enough space to accommodate so many damn people in the streets! Much less soldiers!"

"I really don't under-"

"Team leader seven speaking. Operation commencing. Over." The radio buzzing, the sound of gunshots was heard barely after.

'Alread-' Turning back around mid-thought to face the mansion, a well equipped soldier was seen flying out the window like a ragdoll.

"We are being annihilated! Retreat! Foot soldiers can't do thi-" The radio cut short, the mansion emanated a dark aura.

"Team leader three here! Do we still go in? Over."

"Team leader five asking. Do we proceed? Over."

The lieutenant noticing a strange gaze, he looked back near the entrance gates, at the eyes of fear from a man he knew very well. This same man slowly activating his radio.

"..."

"Team leader one. Do we have to do this..?"

"..." Exchanging thoughts from afar through their eyes, the lieutenant gulped, nodding slowly.

"....."

"I... understand."

"Over."

'I'm sorry! We can't stop now!'

Soon after, the order to resume was given. The two other squads then entered. Nothing back was heard post screams.

"..."

The small army was silent.

About to talk in the radio, just a few centimeters away from his mouth, it buzzed first.

"Team leader one. We are going in. Over."

Gnashing his teeth, the lieutenant felt horrible. He could not tell a soldier to stop such an important operation without a proper foundation. A soldier was very important. Each of them more precious than one would imagine.

But.

A soldier was still that. A pawn.

Trained not to be immune from the fear of death. But to be able to hide it. Trained to stop complaining. Trained to shut their mouth and follow orders.

Pawns from start to finish. Even if they had lives. Even if they had families. It did not matter. They had to go through no matter what. Especially so since 2036. If they dared not comply... they would be shot in the back.

Biting his nails, the lieutenant could not rest his foot. He was trembling all over. These men were his men. They were his people. His family in this world of chessboards.

Yet, he still had to give the order. Even more so as a colonel was coming.

Soldiers who feared death were numerous. Those who refused to comply because of this feeling of dread and anxiousness were often seen as brave. But the army did not need brave people. It needed brave chess pieces.

If they all fled from such situations, what would the army become? A nest of sheltered people only able to win already won battles?

"Team leader one. Entering in three..."

"...two..."

"...one."

"Entering. Over."

The front door was kicked and rammed open, soldiers on each side converging. Two teams of five keeping close to one another. The moment they entered, the usual sound of tragedy and terror was not heard.

"..." Time flowed. It felt like eons had passed, yet only a single moment had.

Taking his radio with trembling hands, the lieutenant was observed by others of his caliber.

"Lieutenant here. Are you still fine? Over."

"..."

"......"

'Are the-'

"Team leader one. We are fine. Over."

"Team leader two. Everything is smooth sailing for now. Over."

But what they did not dare tell the already nervous lieutenant was the state of the mansion. The first floor had a large living room and open kitchen to the edge. The wooden floor was everywhere. On the left, a set of stairs far away. On the right, an expensive, wall-mounted television facing a brown sofa.

It was a wide and somewhat empty first floor. But only if it lacked the scenes all around.

Just as they entered, there was a small plant in a pot to their right. Just next to the door. And this plant was now red. A fallen soldier was resting on this pot, his head hung low, motionless. Advancing a bit more, the soldiers behind could finally check safely. One of them took the soldier's pulse, but nothing other than a faint heat came forth.

Shaking his head, he saw his teammates frown. There was no point in wasting time and energy on a corpse. They wanted to drag it back, but they could not afford to do so.

However, what was going on? Different from before, nothing crazy happened to them. The bodycams worn by the previous squads showed nothing other than people dying out of nowhere. So what now? Did the previous squads die in vain, or...

Was the reason they were safe until now because the target was injured?

They all thought of the same thing. Blessing their brothers and sisters in heaven. A smile slowly etched onto their grieving faces. They had hope!

Making a few signs with his hand held out, the first team's leader took a sharp turn left. He intended to explore the staircase area. He and his team stepped over dead bodies one after the other. They littered the floor. Exactly thirty people had died in the last three minutes. They could be next. But they did not want to think about that.

The second team then went right. The front area was already safe, there was nothing but emptiness until the wall and window twenty meters ahead. It was lucky that a single squad could clear the entire floor so well.

They all advanced slowly, meticulously. A single mistake could cost the lives of multiple, if not downright all of them.

"Team leader." Hushing, the man farthest behind from the first team spoke. He was heard through the near silence of boots and clothes moving.

"What is it?" Halting, he wanted to wait for his teammate to talk first.

"Where is Damian?"

"?!"

Indeed. Why was this man the farthest behind, when it should have been another? And when counting... it was revealed that their team now consisted of four people. Not five.

'When did-' Slowly looking up, his eyes locked behind his team, the first team's leader opened his mouth. He was flabbergasted. And not in a good way.

He turned pale.

When his teammates turned around and looked up, they paled as well.

Hanging from the quite low ceiling, right behind them... The so called Damian was there. He was hanging. Indeed he was. From his neck. A thin black tube or rope of some kind was wrapped around his neck, each end stabbed into the ceiling above. The man named Damian had his tongue out, his eyes barely stopped from seeing his own brain.

This operation... was not so safe after all.