Inside the Night Owl organization's highest command center, the atmosphere was as oppressive as the deathly silence before a storm.
The tactical display screens flashing on the wall reflected the solemn faces of every general.
The imposter, Lin Yi, was currently playing the role of "Blood Fox," a cunning and resourceful member of the Night Owls. A faint, cold smile played on his lips, and his eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
He had just finished a highly inflammatory speech, cleverly sowing the seeds of "understanding the virus" in the hearts of these unruly generals.
"Gentlemen, while the commander's strategy is indeed grand, is the intelligence source for the Alliance's so-called 'secret base' too singular? If we deploy two-thirds of our main force and come up empty-handed, or fall into a trap, the consequences will be unimaginable!" The fake Lin Yi's voice was not loud, but it was like a precise carving knife, dissecting the most subtle doubts in everyone's hearts.
"Blood Fox" holds a special position within Night Owl. Although not a direct subordinate, his wisdom has repeatedly rendered outstanding service to the organization, thus his words carry considerable weight.
Sure enough, no sooner had he finished speaking than a hot-tempered wolf general slammed his fist on the table: "Blood Fox is right! Commander, shouldn't we reassess the risks? Those Alliance guys are incredibly cunning!"
“That’s right, I also think this operation was too hasty, and the details of the intelligence seem to be questionable.” Another hawkish general echoed, his brow furrowed.
The "cognitive virus" has begun to ferment quietly.
Once doubt takes root, it grows wildly like weeds.
These generals usually had some complaints about the decisions of the supreme commander, but dared not speak out openly because of his authority.
At this moment, under the clever guidance of "Blood Fox", these dissatisfactions and doubts found an outlet and gradually gathered into an undercurrent of questioning.
The supreme commander, a middle-aged man with a sinister face, codenamed "Pluto," was now ashen-faced.
His sharp gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on the fake Lin Yi: "Blood Fox, are you saying that my decision was wrong?"
The imposter Lin Yi bowed slightly, his tone respectful yet subtly sharp: "Commander, I am not questioning your authority, but rather concerned for the organization's future. Warfare is based on deception. The Alliance's sudden exposure of such a crucial 'secret base' is itself highly suspicious. Perhaps we should consider splitting our forces to probe, or..."
"Enough!" Hades abruptly interrupted him, his voice as cold as iron. "My decision is not open to questioning! The intelligence has been triple-confirmed. The main force of the alliance has fled, and the secret base is poorly defended. This is the best time for us to annihilate them and seize their research results! Any doubts are signs of cowardice!"
The meeting ended amidst a tense atmosphere of arguing and Pluto's forceful commands.
Although many generals still harbored doubts, the orders were ultimately carried out under the thunderous might of Hades.
The Night Owl's massive war machine began to rumble into action.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the alliance command center was equally tense.
Fine beads of sweat glistened on Su Qing's fair forehead as she handed a deciphered encrypted command to Lin Yi: "Reporting to the commander, the Night Owl's main force has been confirmed to be mobilized, amounting to two-thirds of its total strength, with its target being our pre-designated A-7 area, which they believe to be the 'secret base'!"
Lin Yi's eyes were calm and still, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
He lightly tapped the tactical map with his fingertip, pointing to a treacherous canyon area that the Night Owl's main force was expected to pass through.
"Very good, everything is going according to plan. Order all defensive units to immediately enter a state of high alert, tighten the encirclement, but do not expose yourselves."
"Yes, sir!" The communications officer immediately relayed the order.
Lin Yi turned his gaze to another screen, which displayed the movement trajectories of Aizen and the shadowy figure.
A slight smile played on his lips: "How are the preparations going with Aizen and the Shadow?"
“Reporting to the Commander,” an intelligence analyst responded quickly, “Lord Aizen has completed the deployment of high-density spiritual pressure traps at the designated location, while Lord Kurokawa has coordinated the activation of multiple spatial distortion arrays. According to simulations, once the Night Owl’s main force enters the area, their organization will be instantly disrupted, and their spatial perception will be severely interfered with. At least for the short term, they will be like headless flies.”
Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction.
The Night Owls thought they were hunting the Alliance's secrets, but little did they know, they themselves were the real prey.
That so-called "secret base" was nothing more than a huge bait carefully laid out by the Alliance.
The night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind howled.
The main force of Night Owl, like a surging black torrent of steel, advanced at high speed along the predetermined route under the cover of night.
They were well-equipped and menacing, with a bloodthirsty desire burning in the eyes of every soldier, fantasizing about flattening the Alliance base and gaining unparalleled glory.
The leader of the team was the hot-tempered wolf general. Although he was still a little uneasy, he suppressed his doubts under the unquestionable command of Hades and his desire for merit.
At the forefront of the army, elite reconnaissance squads moved stealthily like ghosts, constantly reporting that "everything is normal."
"Speed up! Reach the target area before dawn and teach those scum of the Alliance a lesson they'll never forget!" Wolf issued the order urging the army forward via the communication channel.
The massive force began to accelerate, its tracks grinding through the sand and gravel with a deep, rumbling sound that carried far into the silent night.
Unbeknownst to them, the seemingly peaceful canyon ahead of their inevitable path had transformed into a gaping maw that devoured life.
Aizen stood on a secluded high ground on one side of the canyon, sensing the subtle fluctuations in spiritual pressure in the air below, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "Fish, it's about time to get in the net."
The shadowy figure blended into the darkness like a real shadow, with only occasional ripples in space proving its presence.
Several hours later, the vanguard of Night Owl finally cautiously entered the canyon entrance.
The canyon was deep and silent, with only the howling wind as if countless wronged souls were whispering.
Everything looked just like any other canyon.
Wolf carefully observed the situation in the canyon through the real-time footage transmitted back by the scouts, but found nothing unusual.
His last shred of vigilance vanished.
"Order the troops to proceed at full speed!"
At his command, the main force of Night Owls surged into this shortcut to destruction like a floodgate being opened.
Meanwhile, in the distant Alliance Command Center, Lin Yi watched as the dots representing the Night Owl forces disappeared one by one into the red markers representing trap zones on the tactical screen, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.
He slowly raised his hand and gave a brief, cold command into the communicator: "The time has come."
Beside him, a man who had been silent all along, his aura as steady as a mountain, suddenly flashed a terrifying light in his eyes and nodded silently.
The owl's feast has only just begun.
The real hunter, however, is already in the most vulnerable position, waiting for the moment to pull the trigger.
The wind seemed to grow colder.
The night was as dark as ink, and a murderous intent was brewing beneath the surface.
Even before the Night Owl Commander's roar had completely faded from the communication channel, Long Wu and his "Dragon Fang" commando team had already stealthily infiltrated every deadly corner of the pre-arranged battlefield like ghosts.
They are hunters in the darkness, holding their breath, waiting for their prey to completely step into the trap.
"Target enters area one, repeat, target enters area one!" The scout's low voice rang out in Long Wu's earpiece, tinged with barely perceptible excitement.
Long Wu's lips curled into a cold smile. Through the night vision goggles, he could clearly see that the Night Owls' once-proud tactical formation now appeared bloated and sluggish.
That damned "cognitive virus" truly lived up to its name. These warriors, who were usually as fierce as wolves, were now like bears that hadn't woken up yet, their movements were more than a beat slower.
"Attention all units," Long Wu's voice was as steady as a mountain, "When they penetrate another 300 meters, on my order, open fire at will! Remember, a swift and decisive victory is essential; do not give them any chance to regroup!"
Three hundred meters is just a blink of an eye for elite troops.
Urged on by their commander, the Night Owls advanced mechanically, completely unaware that the scythe of death was already hanging over their heads.
Their minds were a complete blank, as if they were being pulled by invisible threads, and their perception of their surroundings had plummeted to freezing point.
Some even felt that the scenery in front of them was distorted, and the shouts of their teammates became distant and indistinct.
"Now! Fire!"
Long Wu's command was like lighting the fuse of a powder keg!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In an instant, dozens of tongues of fire erupted from all directions, tearing apart the silent night sky!
Pre-planted directional explosives and electromagnetic pulse traps detonated simultaneously, and the intense light and deafening roar instantly engulfed the Night Owls' vanguard.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Where am I? Who is attacking us?!"
"Ah! My leg!"
The piercing screams, the clanging of weapons, and the roar of explosions mingled together, creating a symphony of apocalypse.
Under the influence of the cognitive virus, the reaction time of the Night Owl soldiers was infinitely prolonged. Many of them were riddled with bullets by concentrated firepower before they even understood what was happening.
Some looked around blankly, some fired randomly, and some even pointed their guns at their companions!
Meanwhile, in a secret base thousands of miles away, Chu Yao's slender fingers flew across the virtual keyboard as she, like an elegant conductor, controlled the energy nodes inside the nest.
"Region 1, points A and C, energy overload, cut off!"
"Second area, point B, communication interference, activate backup... Heh, my backup line!"
With each of her commands, the battlefield information system upon which the Night Owls relied for survival began to be paralyzed on a large scale.
The lights flickered, the tactical map turned into a snowflake, and the enemy/friend identification system kept reporting errors.
"Switch to the emergency backup system! Now!" Commander Night Owl roared hoarsely, his combat uniform soaked with cold sweat.
However, he was unaware that the core operating logic of these so-called "emergency backup systems" had already been carefully altered by Chu Yao.
Instead of providing support, they act like the most precise traitors, pushing them step by step into the abyss.
Sure enough, the moment the emergency system was activated, some of the Night Owl unit's automatic defense turrets suddenly turned their guns around and started firing wildly at their own men!
The communication channels were filled with incorrect instructions and false enemy information, causing them to wander aimlessly in Long Wu's inescapable trap like headless flies.
On the edge of the battlefield, behind an inconspicuous mound, Lin Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his deep gaze discerning every subtle change on the battlefield.
The night breeze ruffled his hair, and the smell of gunpowder in the air did nothing to move him.
He listened to the desperate and furious roar of the Night Owl Commander in the distance, a cold smile playing on his lips, and muttered to himself, "Now, it's time for them to taste what it's like to be betrayed by someone they trust... or rather, by the 'system' they trust."
This once invincible Night Owl unit is now experiencing the ultimate chaos and fear.
They were outmaneuvered by an unseen enemy, betrayed by the technology they once relied on, and wounded by their own comrades; their morale had long since collapsed.
Long Wu's assault team was like a highly efficient harvesting machine, cleaning up the mess precisely and ruthlessly.
The scales of victory were firmly in Lin Yi's hands from the very beginning.
When the last gunshot faded into silence, the battlefield returned to deathly stillness, leaving only lingering smoke and the remains of the Night Owls.
Long Wu, covered in blood, walked up to Lin Yi and said in a deep voice, "Leader, we annihilated the enemy forces with zero casualties!"
Lin Yi nodded slightly, but his gaze was directed towards the more distant depths of darkness, where the Night Owl organization's true lair was located, and the source of an even larger shadow.
“Very good,” Lin Yi’s voice was calm and even, as if the fierce battle just now was nothing more than an insignificant prelude. “Clean up the battlefield and retrieve all usable data. This ‘appetizer’ is over, the real battle is yet to come.”
He paused, and a bolder, more dangerous plan was rapidly taking shape in his mind.
He knew that external attacks alone were far from enough to completely dismantle that deeply entrenched organization.
“It’s time…” Lin Yi murmured, his eyes deep. “Some of the hidden pawns should be awakened. Su Qing should be almost ready as well.”
He took a deep breath, and the night breeze seemed to carry the scent of his distant companions.
A plan involving deeper infiltration, aimed at tearing the enemy apart from within, had already begun to take shape in his mind—a code name quietly emerged.
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