The vehicle stopped outside, and the group carried their equipment into the secret base, beginning their pre‑operation briefing.
"We've got two tasks. First, disguise ourselves as wanderers and slip into Ravenwood Town to gather intelligence. Second, search the nearby area for isolated sentinels from the Sprout and force information about Dark Raven Valley Base out of them."
Wenna immediately said, "We'll deal with the sentinels. Your people go to Ravenwood."
Di Susu frowned slightly. Ravenwood Town was very likely hiding agents of the Sprout; infiltrating it meant a high risk of exposure, essentially stepping into the lion's den with little chance of gaining much. By contrast, hunting down a lone sentinel and extracting information was far easier and much safer.
The Haixia team was clearly eager to dump the dangerous and unrewarding job on Bureau 13. Their attitude irritated the Bureau 13 members, but someone had to do it — if not us, then them. No one objected aloud.
Qi Baijia said, "To get into Ravenwood Town, you'll first need to look the part — proper wandering drifters. Then find a chance to quietly gather information. Do not alert anyone…"
After the discussion, the group decided that some would stay at the base as backup. Four stayed behind: Lin Yao, Qi Baijia, Ma Qingyang, and Xiao Han.
The Haixia side also left a few people behind. Xiao Han only recognised Ye Fan among them.
It was late afternoon. The Haixia operatives decided to rest first and head out at midnight to hunt sentinels, when the enemy would be at their most relaxed. They were equipped with thermal imagers, so darkness would be in their favour — and, of course, they clearly intended for Bureau 13 to spring any traps first.
With the plan set, the Bureau 13 agents designated for infiltration formed a mixed team with Di Susu as captain. One by one, they changed into the dusty, worn-out guise of wandering drifters — hunched backs, weary steps, large packs on their shoulders — a convincing disguise. Then they set off on foot towards Ravenwood.
The secret base had numerous screens displaying live feeds from the agents' cameras and earpieces. Xiao Han, Lin Yao, and Qi Baijia took turns monitoring the operation.
Before long, Di Susu's team arrived at Ravenwood Town. The live feed showed a small settlement of clustered buildings. Though simple and squat, the town was bustling like a marketplace. It was fairly large, with all essential facilities, even an inn with its doors open.
"Find somewhere to stay first."
They were questioned by locals, but Di Susu answered smoothly, claiming their group was a band of migratory wanderers passing through and hoping to rest for a few days. After shaking off the questioning, they checked into the inn.
Once inside their room, their professional instincts kicked in. They immediately searched for surveillance devices or bugs. After confirming it was safe, they discussed their next move.
"What now?" Li Yalin asked, pouting, clearly not in the mood to humour Di Susu.
Di Susu wasn't in the mood for banter either. Resting her chin on her hand, she said seriously, "Our identities are uncertain; best to stay put for now."
Xiao Han's voice suddenly came through the earpieces: "You'd better act tonight."
"Reason?" Di Susu raised an eyebrow.
"You're a group of outsiders posing as wanderers. In your current identities, asking around about the town is normal behaviour. If you deliberately hide and keep quiet, you'll look suspicious — that makes you more likely to be exposed."
"That… does make sense." They exchanged glances.
"…We'll do as Xiao Han suggests."
The town had entertainment facilities — small gambling dens, shops selling stimulants, restaurants, and places to satisfy… physical needs. Once night fell, the group split into pairs, pretending to be ordinary customers while discreetly probing for information.
But nothing substantial turned up. Most residents were genuine wanderers; there were no obvious suspicious targets.
Qi Baijia's expression darkened. "They've hidden themselves far too well. I doubt we'll find anything."
"Not necessarily," Xiao Han said with a light chuckle. He knew Ravenwood Town had dedicated intelligence agents from the Sprout. In the game, players could gain favourability by doing tasks for them and eventually join the faction. If they caught this NPC, they would be able to extract plenty of information.
Xiao Han knew the general location of Dark Raven Valley Base but not the precise military layout — that level of detail blurred in his memory after more than ten years, and the current timeline might differ anyway. So gathering intelligence was still essential.
Head to the south side of the town. There's a casino there. Inside, you should find a bald man — he knows the intel on Dark Crow Valley Base."
The man Xiao Han mentioned was the Sprout's informant in Raven Forest. Players who spawned in Raven Forest could only join the Sprout through him.
Everyone froze for a moment. Di Susu frowned. "Where did you get that information?"
"I have my sources."
"What if your intel is wrong?" she pressed.
"Listen to him," Qi Baijia interjected. Before setting out, his superior had told him to place full trust in Xiao Han — clearly, the higher‑ups took Xiao Han very seriously.
Di Susu could only swallow her doubts and follow orders. She led her team to the small casino in the south, investigated covertly, and indeed found a bald man — the croupier.
"What do we do now? If we act rashly, we might alert his accomplices." Di Susu asked.
Xiao Han replied helplessly, "You've already found the target — why ask me? Can't you use your professional judgement for once?"
Di Susu felt a stab of frustration in her chest. She was so annoyed she couldn't speak, but she also realised she had asked a silly question. Snorting, she signalled her team to quietly surround the place.
Xiao Han checked the time, got up, and swapped shifts with Lin Yao. He didn't need to supervise the operation himself — if something that simple went wrong, the special agents might as well buy a block of tofu and smash their heads on it.
Meanwhile, Wenna set off with the Hai Xia agents. Before leaving, she glared fiercely at Xiao Han.
Xiao Han had no intention of resting at the outpost. He returned to the cargo bay of Big Black, thinking.
The two scouting missions were team tasks; unless something unexpected happened, they would be completed. His main focus should be on the personal mission. To assassinate sentries in the forest, he needed some small tools.
Xiao Han took out some parts and turned his attention to his interface.
[Fusion available: Basic Wide‑Area Perception + Basic Bionics + Basic Mechanical Engineering. This fusion will consume 15,000 experience.]
[Congratulations! You have developed: Small Arthropod Detector (Spider)!]
...
Wenna and her squad wore night‑vision goggles and environment‑sealing camouflage suits. They moved silently through the mountains like hunters in a dark forest, searching for prey.
Only by approaching Dark Crow Valley Base would they encounter sentries. One member of the group was a tracking expert who could deduce the state of the terrain from the subtlest traces.
This man was Magnus, a burly Sanu — built like a mountain. Few could imagine he was capable of delicate work. At the moment, he rubbed soil between his fingers, sniffed it, closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said:
"Seven hours ago. One person. Male. Roughly 180 pounds. Heading southwest."
Wenna never doubted Magnus' judgement. She led the squad forward cautiously, when suddenly she halted. Through the thermal imager, she spotted a life‑form crouched on a large tree three hundred metres ahead.
"Check the surroundings."
Calm and composed, she didn't attack immediately. Her teammates searched carefully for other sentries or surveillance devices. After twenty minutes, they confirmed the area was safe.
"Take him." Ye Fan ordered through comms.
Wenna burst into motion. A dark red aura flashed under her feet as she closed the distance with incredible speed, moving silently. Using trees as cover, she stayed constantly within the blind spots of the sentry's vision — like a master assassin. She leapt up a tree, her palm glowing with dark‑red light. Like an octopus' suction pads, it clung to the bark as she bounded from trunk to trunk, minimising wind noise as she closed in from above.
The Sprout sentry suddenly felt a gust of wind overhead. Looking up, a shadow expanded rapidly across his field of vision—