The combined formation of Virgin 1 and 2 whizzed past sand, curving around hills and taking a longer route.

Athena avoided a direct path to prevent alerting the local population and creating headlines that might trigger diplomatic backlash.

In fact, creating headlines was secondary; the primary concern was leaving evidence for others to investigate and ultimately revealing secrets that nobody in Spirit Fox desired exposed.

So, their journey wasn't a straight line but a winding path, flying low to avoid radar and further mask the rotor noise. Although the helicopters were stealth versions, achieving complete silence was harder than ascending to heaven.

Five minutes from their destination, all operators conducted weapons checks, safety checks, and listened to and watched Athena's briefings through AR technology.

A small electronic spectacle system was embedded inside the helmet, functioning as eye protection.

Twice, Athena rehearsed the plan, showcasing photos of the mission objectives: rescue three hostages and capture a Mossad agent and an international mercenary. The latter was emphasized more, as she worried Spirit Fox might get hotheaded and go in guns blazing.

The terrorists' hideout was an excellently chosen spot, surrounded by mountainous terrain as well as a tunnel network system and a large village—perfect for defense and easy exfiltration through the tunnels.

Since the country had been ravaged by civil war rising against the oppressive regime—worsened under Country R's support—multiple factions controlled territories, including terrorists exploiting the population's hatred toward the regime.

A country surrounded by interested neighbors and rich in resources inevitably attracted covert interference. The unity of democratic nations against authoritarianism manifested nowhere.

Each faction had its own godfather, and the geopolitical atmosphere was a complete mess. No expert or analyst could estimate the future. According to game theory, if the democratic side didn't intend to change, it would lose its race with dictators, just like Sparta burning Athens.

Clearly, the group of dictators was more united than ever in safeguarding their interests and survival, especially since they held weaker standing in the international community.

Although surprise and initiative leaned toward Spirit Fox, nobody underestimated the possibility of failure. The unknown tunnel system always posed the risk of successful escape.

Well, technically the outcome would be frightening if judged by conventional standards; but what the Spirit Fox operators didn't realize was the extent of Athena's capabilities.

Athena without satellites and Athena with satellites were worlds apart. And the satellites gifted by Miss System to Ling Qingyu were entirely otherworldly—neutrino and muon emitters, exotic ground-penetrating radar, ultra-high-resolution telescopes, and thermal imaging.

Combined with an AI-enhanced multispectral imaging system and Athena's supercomputing power, she could easily flip through a complete layout of the tunnel network. She knew several exits and entries. Given Spirit Fox's aggression and speed, she didn't even bother letting hostages and wanted personnel slip past her sight.

Although energy-consuming and restrictive in daily use—so Athena couldn't always rely on them—the God-tier satellites' other features were far from decorative. Most of the time, Athena relied heavily on available data to simulate possibilities, as the computational cost was far lower than using the satellites' divine functions.

In fact, if not for such restrictions, Athena's "cheats" would certainly bring her enemies to their knees, crying injustice. As of now, since she could scan subterranean structures, all building interiors were vividly displayed. Even the number of people inside and their exact identities weren't difficult to discern. With prior data added, Athena could operate like a game editor, overseeing even minute details.

Naturally, identifying human signatures was easier said than done due to noise cluttering the feedback. Should Athena spend more energy on computation… unimaginable. Life had become more unrealistic than science fiction.

Virgin 2's helicopters broke off from the formation ahead and sped up. Their role was to secure a landing zone and crush any enemy resistance, setting grounds for the assault phases.

"One minute," Athena's final reminder crackled through the comms.

Ahead, the Virgin 2s spread out and hovered in a line. Since the formation was completely autonomous and controlled by Athena, everything unfolded like thunder and lightning.

By now, the rotors' noise had yet to be fully picked up, but the slight increase in buzzing was more than enough to draw attention.

In front, a small hill stood as an obstacle—obviously a makeshift sentry tower to scout for intruders. After all, the surroundings consisted of desert plains with sparse vegetation and scattered hills.

The lead helicopter opened fire. Two missiles flared out and blew off the top of the hill. The line shifted into a crescent as the Virgin 2s hovered, weapons free. Passing over the hill, buildings appeared like a local town—but make no mistake, these belonged to the terrorists.

Now, the explosions and the rotor wash alerted everyone; terrorists with weapons sprang out of their resting spots. Of course, what greeted them were several Gatling muzzles beneath the helicopters' noses.

No questions, no back-and-forth coordination on what to hit. Hostile targets were engaged upon detection. Each helicopter had already designated its area of responsibility and respective targets.

Tracers burned across the land and lit up the night.

BruRR! Brurr!

Shoo! Shoo!

Rockets destroyed any vehicles in sight. Two Virgin 2s increased their altitude and circled around. A small group of men ran out and raised their AKs but were quickly gunned down, given not even the slightest chance to resist.

A few sparks lit up from the windows, and Athena couldn't resort to destroying the entire buildings. Innocent civilians lived here—even if their identities were uncertain, gray, black, or white.

Nonetheless, the Virgin 2s fired a few rounds succinctly at the entrenched terrorists.

And daring RPG gunners were helpless against Athena's lightning reactions. Regardless of their positions or stealthy hideout plans, nothing was invisible in the face of Athena's omniscience.

So long as the person wasn't a hostage or one of her mother's targets, the high-caliber bullets ended their lives.

Athena wasn't satisfied and released hundreds of mini drones stored inside the helicopters. Each was no larger than four fingers. Embedded within was a small explosive, detonating upon impact. They were essentially flying autonomous bullets.

The swarm swept into buildings through any available openings and struck the enemies. They hit foreheads and center mass. Suppressed by the helicopters' noise, the popping sounds went unnoticed, but to those who witnessed the horror of their comrades' skin blown into blood mist by seemingly weak and small objects, it was nothing short of a nightmare.

Some were hit by multiple drones because their life signatures still registered even as they weakened. The controlled explosions resembled shotgun blasts but more compact.

Virgin 2s then deployed larger drones to patrol the area and fully controlled ISR. Terrorists no longer dared to show themselves. Those brave souls had already been killed.

The mission of Virgin 2s was complete: softening the targets and dominating the battlefield. Within one minute, all dangerous threats to Virgin 1s had been eliminated.

Only the eerie silence prevailed amidst the hot battlefield after the swarm joined in. No more brurr. No boom. Just pure vibration of rotary wash.

Although the gunship wasn't powerless, who wouldn't prefer to execute a tactically sound maneuver? All went as planned.

Virgin 1s closed in and quickly landed on X, each targeting nearby buildings for their dismounted passengers to breach immediately. The operators jumped out and sprinted directly toward their specific objectives. At one building, the lead operator kicked down the door and snapped her rifle up, slicing the pie quickly after receiving a squeeze from behind.

Extending her QBZ-95, she curled her lips in amazement at the sight through her NODs. Sensing a slight touch of her partner's arm as the latter wrangled her weapon around, she entered and lowered her rifle at the bodies on the floor. Puff! Puff! Dead-checking the warm bodies—probably killed during the initial attack. Her sisters were still unaccustomed to the earliest taste of advanced warfare—drones and technology.

Mini-drones had exterminated their opponents before their eyes ever encountered them. Until now, they hadn't engaged the terrorists directly, only bodies on the ground. In fact, they didn't realize how terrified their enemies were of Athena's hands. No one could fathom the despair unless they faced the scenes themselves.

The operators skipped over the bodies and conducted a deliberate clearance, with control and speed. Of course, they never forgot to put another round into the corpses. Then, they saw a flashing figure hopping across rooms. The girls shouted: "Hands! Hands!"

The operators spotted a female figure hugging a child and understood that what they had just seen might have been a child running to the mother. There were other small figures. Leaving behind a pair to watch over them, the rest continued their clearance and found more women—some still grieving over the bodies of their husbands. One shoved them away while another operator snapped a shot to the head to confirm the kill. A few Spirit Fox Sisters felt unbearable guilt and wanted to speak. After all, it seemed excessive to rub salt in the wounds—shooting an already dead man in front of his relatives. These scenes repeated in other buildings too.

The experienced ones instantly noticed the atmosphere and remembered Athena's and Elena's warnings, as well as Tang Ziyi's stories of her own experience. This was when the role of leadership became of utmost importance—morale, morals, code of conduct, and awareness.

"All stations, be advised, don't let your kindness flow. We are on mission," the platoon leader channeled over the radio. "It's us or them. We're saving our hostages and we abide by the conventions written in the Law of War. Also, think on the bright side—how many pieces of trash we are cleaning. No one living here except for children is truly innocent." "Roger." "Understood, platoon leader." "Netcall, be advised, stay vigilant of civilians, women, and children. Terrorists use deception and kindness. Beware of suicide bombers."

No sooner had the warning been issued than an operator on a higher floor, covering the window, saw a man pop out of nowhere, shouting a battle cry as he ran in her direction. She didn't understand the words but had watched too many related movies. "Allahu Akbar!"

The aggressiveness, madness, and killing intent in his eyes forced the Spirit Fox operator to pour rounds mercilessly. Puff! Puff! The man flopped and mopped the sand dunes. BOOM! Then, he exploded into pieces.

The operator's instinct saved her from the blast. Her sixth sense rang danger even after she had shot him dead, and her body reacted instinctively. Owing to her altered superhuman physique and inhuman reaction speed, she sought cover as soon as she noticed the man turning into smithereens. She had no time to be disgusted by tissue and blood. Showered by shrapnel and who knows what cellular structures, she tried not to think in a biological direction and cursed. "Fk…Fk…"

Her ears still shrieked even with protection. Shaking her head, she lamented—Spirit Fox always seemed to like being exploded close. "Delta 3, sitrep!" "Wait one, Delta 3 trying to figure it out." "7-9, status! What happened?"

Amidst the sudden tension, comms flared up. Sisters worried about one another. They did not panic, thanks to training and their trust in the equipment. "That lunatic used a dead man's switch!"

Her answer silenced everyone. The leaders recollected their composure and communicated, warning their subordinates to pay attention to the women and children.

They dared not bet on such variables not occurring because of their ruthless tempo during the mission. They were fast but that didn't stop fervent fanatics.