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There were ten minutes left before logging into Ghost Star. Yuan Zhu opened his phone. Since it was rare for him to be offline, he wanted to call his mother.
But it was too late at night, so in the end, he dialed Jiang Kai's number.
The phone rang a few times before Jiang Kai's angry voice came through, ["Are you out of your mind? Calling me at past two in the morning? Do you not want me to sleep?"]
Yuan Zhu chuckled, "I heard from Brother Lu Jun that you logged off."
["Yeah, why did you log off too?"]
Dawn Operation was classified, so Yuan Zhu couldn't reveal anything.
"I have a mission, need to log off."
["I'm so jealous of you guys having a green channel, it's so unfair!"], Jiang Kai complained, ["Oh, by the way, your mom moved to the military family district. I even helped her move that day."]
"Mm, I know," Yuan Zhu said.
["Why do you seem weird today…? What exactly did you call me for?"], Jiang Kai asked.
"Nothing much, just… just thought of you. I don't know why, but hearing your voice makes me feel at ease."
Before Jiang Kai could respond, Yuan Zhu said, "Alright, I won't disturb your sleep. Hanging up."
Then, he ended the call.
Not long after, Chen Yueling called out to Yuan Zhu from the side, "Zhuzi, time to go!"
"Got it!", Yuan Zhu stood up and caught up with the squad.
Naunnuan leaned close to Yuan Zhu, glanced at him, and whispered, "Did you just call Jiang Kai? This mission is top secret..."
Yuan Zhu nodded, "Just casual talk, nothing else."
He then looked at Su Naunnuan. She was the only doctor among the three squads, and in such brutal combat, she was also the most at risk.
"Naunnuan, don't worry, I'll protect you," Su Naunnuan looked at Yuan Zhu in surprise, as if it was strange for these words to come from his mouth.
But soon, she smiled and nodded firmly, "I believe you can!"
———
Jiang Kai put down the phone, looking dumbfounded.
Thinking about what Zhuzi had just said, he couldn't help but shudder, "Damn, since when did that guy become so mushy?"
Setting his phone aside, Jiang Kai was about to sleep, but he tossed and turned, unable to feel drowsy at all.
Zhuzi was a coward, sure, but they had grown up together, knowing each other inside out. If that guy roasted him a bit, he wouldn't think much of it. After all, that's what brothers did. But for Zhuzi to suddenly say something so sentimental...
'That guy is definitely acting strange today.'
Restless, Jiang Kai picked up his phone and glanced at it.
Aside from the recent call record, there was also an unread message.
He clicked on it.
It was a message from a strange number, containing just a single sentence:
[Go to Destiny Calling International Station at six o'clock to watch the video.]
The message was vague, as if it were some promotional spam from Destiny Calling International Station…
"What the hell…", Jiang Kai frowned, "Why is everything so weird in the middle of the night?"
"Wait…", Jiang Kai suddenly froze.
Yuan Zhu and Naunnuan's squad, the Fierce Tiger Squad, had performed exceptionally well in the selection matches, securing second place, he knew this.
And he also knew what tasks awaited the top three squads.
Combining that with Zhuzi's weird behavior just now, Jiang Kai thought of a possibility.
They were about to carry out a mission, and it might happen very soon.
———
'There is a foreign tech company that has developed a device capable of transmitting footage from Ghost Star, which can be carried in by specific professions like Couriers.'
'The device is still in the experimental stage, but previous test runs have already captured some videos, and the quality looked promising.'
'Could that message be a heads-up to watch a live feed?'
With that thought, Jiang Kai felt even more awake.
He immediately opened Destiny Calling International Station. At the moment, there was nothing particularly unusual on the site. In the global competition section, most of the posts were just players from resident countries mocking others.
Then, at exactly 6:01 AM, a video suddenly shot up to the homepage.
[Multiple countries, led by Huaxia, launch a total assault on the Public Zone! Real-time video included!]
Jiang Kai's eyes widened, and he clicked in immediately.
———
Tianheng Squad had just entered the connection gate when Chen Biao led the five members of the Fierce Tiger Squad to follow closely behind, stepping into the gate.
Yuan Zhu was still dizzy when the system notification rang in his ears.
[You have entered the Global Competition (Beginner) Zone. We will provide real-time translation. All spoken languages you hear will be converted into Huaxia.]
The next second, shouts erupted in his ears.
"ENEMIES INCOMING! ALL SQUADS, PREPARE TO ELIMINATE!"
Then came the voice of Tianheng's Captain Zhu Yuan, "Li Biao, tell your people to watch out for the Hunter's Beast Trap!"
Yuan Zhu immediately opened his eyes.
Large numbers of enemies were rushing toward them, while Tianheng Squad was already engaged with four or five opposing teams.
Li Biao gave a low shout, "Yueling!"
Chen Yueling quickly scanned the ground in front of them, then swiftly drew her longsword and lightly tapped the ground.
Suddenly, a massive bear trap sprung up from beneath the fallen leaves.
The trap was thick and sturdy, nearly two meters in diameter, and its spring force was astonishing. After being triggered by Chen Yueling, it leapt nearly half a meter into the air.
If someone got caught in this thing, their bones would probably snap instantly.
Fortunately, Huaxia had sent out numerous scouting teams beforehand, so Tianheng and Fierce Tiger were well-prepared.
"Quick, regroup with Tianheng!", Li Biao immediately ordered, leading his team to charge toward them.
Moments later, a third team arrived.
Hot Blood Squad's Captain Xu Jun didn't rush to merge with the others right away. Instead, his team took advantage of the chaos to scan their surroundings with their wristwatches.
"Captain, we're at Point A!", a squad member reported.
Confirming their spawn point was Hot Blood Squad's top priority—only by determining the exact location could they plan their escape route.
"Confirmed, Point A!", another teammate added.
Xu Jun immediately ordered, "Leave a marker!"
The five squad members quickly pulled out blue cards and scattered them around.
As soon as the blue cards touched the ground, they transformed into glowing blue stones.
"Their reinforcements are coming soon. Regroup with Tianheng and Fierce Tiger! MOVE!", Xu Jun took out his shield and led his team into the fray.
The battle intensified as Hot Blood Squad joined the fight.
A minute later, the A-point portal lit up again, and a Middle Eastern team emerged.
They spotted the glowing blue stones on the ground and the fierce battle ahead. Instantly, they grasped the situation.
"Wait for the next two teams, then break out southeast!"
At that moment, a huge wave of enemies surged in. At least a dozen squads.
They quickly surrounded the portal.
Among them, a towering, muscular Caucasian man, standing nearly two meters tall, flexed his biceps and laughed wildly, "Hahaha! I was getting bored these past few days. Finally, some fools have come to die!"
"And quite a few of them too! Looks like I, Clementine Hochman, can finally go on a killing spree again."
Beside him, an Asian man in ninja attire sneered as he drew a long katana, "How amusing. Huaxia dogs have come again, and this time they even brought little brothers?"
"If you want to enter the competition zone, ask my blade first—Onoda Juro's sword!"
Behind them, a woman stood silently, her silver chainmail accentuating her curves. She wore a black cloak, its hood obscuring her face, revealing only crimson lips.
"Huaxia players, huh? Haven't you been complaining about how Sorcerers stole the number five spot from Martial Artists? Today, I'll show you the power of a Sorcerer!"
Hochman raised his greatsword and roared, "Reinforcements are coming soon—KILL THEM ALL!"
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