bChapter /bb821 /b

    In another part of the restricted zone, a fully armed team was quietly moving forward.

    Julius, the man leading the group, raised his hand to signal a stop, then turned to address Flynt, who was being protected in the middle. “Are you sure the gic reconfiguration technology is in the State Security Bureau?”

    Flynt nodded. “I’m positive.”

    Julius’s gaze shifted to the disheveled Ned, his tone dripping with skepticism. “Can he really help us get the technology?”

    Flynt replied, “He’s been inside the State Security Bureau long enough; he knows plenty.”

    Ned hung his head, aware that by drawing the map and leading these men into the restricted area, he hadpletely betrayed the State Security Bureau. But he had no choice–had it not been for Flynt’s intervention, he would have been killed by Vanessa.

    “Move out.” Julius signaled, and the group of over a hundred split into ten small teams, each taking a map and dispersing in different directions. “Mr. Hartley, you and Ned are with me.”

    Flynt adjusted his clothing. “Of course.”

    As rms red, the State Security Bureau quickly initiated Level One defense protocols.

    Tessa made a decisive call. “Since these kids aren’t focused on thepetition, let’s send them deeper in. Capturing one intruder will count for one point; killing ione /iwill be worth half a point.”

    Fillip nodded in agreement. “Sounds good.”

    Soon, the broadcast echoed in the camp: “Emergency notice: unidentified armed individuals have breached the restricted zone. Thepetition rules are now adjusted: capturing an intruder earns 1 point; killing one earns 0.5 points. Repeating…”

    Everyone looked up from their meal simultaneously.

    “What’s going on? Someone actually entered the restricted zone?”

    Someone scratched their head. “There are specialized personnel to handle this stuff. Why involve us? We’re supposed to bepeting.”

    Another person stood up. “Do we look like we’repeting? The higher–ups must be tired of seeing us cking off and want to give us something to do.”

    Clifford grinned, “Well, let’s do it then.”

    Gerald immediately gathered the technicians. “Do you all haveptops?”

    The technicians nodded. “We do.”

    Gerald instructed, “Assist me in gaining control of the drones.”

    In less than five minutes, Gerald cracked the surveince system. Tessa’s voice quickly came through themunication link. “Hijacking the drone controls is one thing, but why are you blocking us from seeing the feed? Are you nning to go solo?”

    “Apologies. I forgot it,” Gerald said as he opened up partial ess.

    Cathymented, “Moving in one big group makes us too much of a target. Let’s split into four teams. Keep allms open and stay in touch. bThe /benemy has guns, so don’t engage recklessly.”

    Gerald nodded. “Understood.”

    The enemy soon noticed the drones and took down several of them, but the State Security Bureau had already bdispatched /bba /b

    bnumber /bbof /bbdrones /bbinto /b

    b13:53 /bbTue/b, b19 /bbAug /b

    the restricted zone.

    “We’ve spotted no fewer than ten separate teams–everyone needs to stay vignt.” Cathy’s team spent half the day trekking before they finally breached /b

    their target area.

    As they approached, Allison spoke up while walking, “Fabian’s team ranks high for marksmanship. If they get hold of weapons, they’ll stand a good

    chance.”

    Cathy smiled. “We’ve got Aria on our side, which tips the odds even further in our favor. Though to be honest, winning the championship doesn’t really

    matter.”

    She turned to Emily and added, “Keep an eye out for steel needle traps; collect whatever you find for Aria.”

    After taking a short rest, they prepared to move out again but were intercepted by personnel from the operations division.

    “Cathy!” One of them waved enthusiastically. “Want to team up? We’ll help you win the championship.”

    Cathyughed lightly. “Why would you want to help us?”

    The man grinned. “We just like seeing your team take the championship.”

    Cathy shook her head. “It’s better to move separately; we won’t join forces right now.”

    iト /i