While the Spirit Fox sisters in Province N were having a good night, kicking down doors and receiving thrilling missions, they had no idea their sisters elsewhere were preparing for the historic moment of a foreign rescue operation.

Although Ling Qingyu and Tang Ziyi had led several detachments to wipe out scamming centers and their militia affiliates in the neighboring country, the operation couldn't truly be regarded as foreign since the distance was so close.

Under the stormy ocean waves to the west, thousands of nautical miles away, a lone titan submarine swept close to shore.

Inside, Spirit Fox sisters bustled around, organizing weapons and ammunition. Leaders gathered and discussed mission planning under Elena's leadership.

Despite their prior clashes, Elena and Athena cooperated seamlessly to obey their mother's orders. With personal satellites handling communications and ISR, all the latest intel reached the operators directly.

While Ling Qingyu's Airbus flight was still en route, Elena redirected the submarine's course for tonight's mission. Ling Qingyu feared death deeply and safeguarded her life—and the lives of her loved ones—a great deal.

So much so that even though her Airbus was equipped with the most robust defense systems, she still wouldn't feel at ease without Spirit Fox accompanying her. Nearly three dozen followed her on the aircraft; several more followed via submarine. Both parties experienced a first taste.

The submarine group felt deeper bonds and greater impact. Where in the world had they ever heard of a private party owning one, when even some nations couldn't afford it? They thought they had already witnessed everything after armored vehicles, advanced weapon systems, and helicopters.

Yet riding in a submarine was on another level. They were a little unaccustomed until they began enjoying the ample interior space. Although a few had ridden once during Ling Qingyu's sudden visit last time, they hadn't explored it this far.

Even as amateurs, they knew no other submarine had so much space, fulfilling every need. In fact, it wasn't wrong to call the submarine another home—just an underwater version.

The fun continued until Ling Qingyu posted the mission, and Spirit Fox operators scrambled.

Far to the east, time had passed midnight, but the night had just settled—perfect for rest for most people, and an opportune moment for the operation.

Leaders separated to brief their subordinates and explain the layouts. Immediately, operators in each team elaborated on their roles and input, perfecting the original skeleton.

Soon, they spread out and racked their firearms. The armory held all sorts of weapons and ammunition. With self-sustaining machines inside Elena to manufacture arms and produce food and water, the submarine could stomp an aircraft carrier group easily.

The girls picked up the old QBZ-95 advanced customized versions, equipped with Picatinny rails for optics and lasers. Fast helmets, Kevlar vests, and camouflage.

Enhanced night vision goggles integrated with thermal imaging. They weren't using their normal visors with AR systems, since they had to pretend to be soldiers from Country C.

Tonight's mission required a show of force to many observers, proving that Country C was capable of launching rescue operations on foreign soil, far from home.

This was why they armed themselves with the QBZ-95 even though the QBZ-191 had already begun spreading widely among military units.

Elena would serve as a support element, engaging overwhelming suppressive fire in an emergency, while Athena acted as an intelligence liaison. Never once had Spirit Fox required Elena's intervention; they still hoped for the same during this operation, even if a few intrusive thoughts wished for the opposite.

An hour later, the calm sea surged as ripples blasted outward slowly. Aquatic creatures flicked away fast. Little by little, from a small pole to a pillar, then to the humongous upper body of a submarine, the giant vessel rose and reflected the moonlight.

The upper layer slowly opened its large door outward, unveiling a massive column of space inside—large enough to fit five Chinooks with ease. From above, one could only observe dim red lighting.

Surely, the sheer size wouldn't go unnoticed by satellite surveillance, especially in regions where countries—powerful nations in the top ten—had heightened their vigilance.

However, Athena had hacked into their servers, and no live footage of Elena's submarine appeared. Only the serene waves rippled on-screen. Any detectors nearby recording underwater activity received the same treatment.

Several minutes later, one by one, aircraft lifted out of the column, their rotorwash blasting circular patterns across the sea surface. The machines skimmed above the water and headed toward the shore.

The huge doors gradually closed again, and the submarine submerged. Though no surveillance system would detect its presence, human eyes were harder to avoid.

After all, even Tier-One elite units had once been compromised by a group of simple fishermen during an infiltration, leading to massacres of innocents and the mission's complete abortion. Human factors were the easiest to calculate yet the hardest to control.

A pack of dragonflies buzzed across the vegetation, and soon only sand dunes kicked up dust.

The sound of multiple rotorcraft was so quiet it wasn't louder than a flock of birds chirping in the silent night.

A closer look revealed wedge formations of modern helicopters—designs never before seen by the world. Only a single main rotor sat above, with no tail rotor to counter torque—a marvel of no-tail-rotor technology pushed to its peak.

The aerodynamic shape retained stealth features to minimize radar signature. Heat signature, sound signature—every signature was suppressed to the extreme. The closest product the world had ever produced was the MH-X, known as the Silent Hawk from Country A.

The model, a prototype at that, became famous during Operation Neptune Spear, conducted by DEVGRU—aka SEAL Team Six—to kill or capture the leader of a terrorist organization.

Nonetheless, even the infamous Silent Hawk couldn't achieve what Athena's products could—not even slightly. The difference might appear minimal, but behind such success was an insurmountable technological gap.

Like an insect's squawk, the helicopter formation flew close to the ground, avoiding the nation's radar—a maneuver known as "map of the earth" or terrain masking.

A dozen machines didn't fly directly to their objectives but used the surrounding terrain. These were none other than the Virgin 1 transport models seen during the raid on the cyberscam network.

They carried dozens of operators inside to carry out the mission. Additionally, smaller versions escorted the multi-role gunship.

Virgin 2—lighter, smaller, and more compact—yet deadlier. The designation existed purely for attack purposes, supporting ground units. Inside the fuselage, dozens of warheads and missiles waited to unleash hell.

Naturally, since pilots weren't available, Athena manned the entire formation. And the hologram projections soothed the Spirit Fox sisters' fragile nerves about depending on AI, despite knowing full well they were in unmanned vehicles.

As for how Athena's products were transferred to Elena's submarine—they weren't. At least, most of them weren't. Elena already possessed automated factories inside, able to manufacture equipment and mine resources underwater.

In fact, the most abundant place for resources was the ocean bed, far vaster than anything land could offer. Otherwise, why would nations struggle—and keep struggling—to develop machines designed for the marine environment?

So, apart from a few flown secretly from Ling Qingyu's residence, Elena prepared the cavalry after successfully managing to scam away the blueprints from Athena by selling cuteness to her mother.