Four thirty in the morning.
Inside the command center of the Rhode team, the air conditioner hummed, maintaining a comfortable temperature of around 23 degrees Celsius.
Rhode, covered in black fur, was sprawled on his bed, snoring like thunder.
Beside him lay two women of considerable attractiveness.
These two were among the twenty-two internet celebrities who had been voluntarily sent to them by the fat pigs of the 13 Noble Families more than a month ago; they were the most beautiful of the lot.
Only after Rhode took a liking to them were they considered to have barely escaped a life of hardship.
However, the scars all over their bodies indicated that these two women had also endured considerable suffering while accompanying Rhode.
*Bang.*
*Bang, bang!*
The sudden banging on the door jolted Rhode from his sleep.
He sat up abruptly, his eyes still closed, and barked, "Who is it? What's happening!"
A panicked voice from outside the door responded, "Mr. Rhode, something terrible has happened!"
Rhode shivered. Without asking further questions, he reached under his pillow, retrieved his pistol, and cocked it with a click.
The handgun was right there, under the pillow.
The two internet celebrities could easily have taken it, but none dared, nor did they even entertain such a thought.
They were masters at posing seductively for the camera and cooing "brother," but when it came to holding a gun and killing someone—
Rhode threw on his robe and kicked the internet celebrity closest to the door, sending her tumbling to the floor.
The woman, still half-asleep, yelped in pain as she fell but quickly stifled her cries.
Rhode leaped out of bed and strode to the door, opening it. "What's going on?"
"On the east line, all twelve of our brothers have been murdered!"
The guard, who had just received the news, was filled with terror. "Their bodies were hung beneath two warning signs!"
What!?
Rhode's heart plummeted.
Due to the unique terrain, the Black Water Forest was an easily defensible position.
As long as the east and west flanks were well-guarded, all enemies could be kept at bay.
Setting aside the west line for now.
The east line, stretching about three kilometers in width, had two team members concealed every eight hundred meters, supplemented by aerial drone defense.
During the day, there was no need for concealment; just a few drones could secure the entire defense zone.
At night, due to the cold weather, they operated on a three-shift system.
Each shift consisted of six men, rotating every four hours.
Once two in the morning arrived, the incoming shift would automatically take over from their comrades.
But long after they had left, their departing comrades did not return.
The person in charge of defense immediately sensed something was wrong and led a team on snowmobiles to check the concealed positions.
The result—
On the east line, beneath two warning signs (one at one and a half kilometers, a cross-shaped warning sign), they discovered those concealed team members.
They were all hanging upside down, swaying slowly in the wind.
Upon seeing this scene, the duty officer in charge of defense was utterly stunned. He didn't have time to untie the bodies to inspect them and hastily sped back.
Rhode staggered upon hearing this.
He exclaimed repeatedly, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
No one—
Could breach the outer defense perimeter without a sound, eliminate twelve elite subordinates, and then hang their bodies on crosses!!
But the officer who had personally seen the bodies nodded vigorously. "Rhode, you can see for yourself."
Rhode knew he had to see for himself.
Five in the morning.
Dozens of meters east of the east line warning sign, Jiao Yin, who had been dozing in her car, was suddenly awakened by the faint sound of engines.
Jiao Yin, who had been squatting behind the rear seat, immediately raised her hand and wiped the car window.
After clearing the frost from the glass, Jiao Yin looked outside.
She saw more than ten bright car headlights speeding towards them from the west.
"What are they doing?"
"Are they coming for me?"
"Or has a new enemy appeared?"
Jiao Yin pondered, then reached for a handgun, and opened the car door.
The cold air hit her face, making her shiver but also invigorating her.
Then she saw the bodies.
Under the glare of the headlights, amidst the falling snowflakes, five or six bodies had appeared on the cross, swaying back and forth in the wind.
"Whose bodies are these?"
"Who killed them?"
"And when were they hung here!?"
Jiao Yin was greatly shocked by the sight.
She didn't have time to think of anything else and jumped out of the car as soon as the door opened.
After all, she was currently a harmless, weak woman, and she wasn't venturing into forbidden zones. There was no need for her to worry that Rhode and his men would harm her.
*Boom!*
Rhode, leading a team of twenty men and four drones, along with three hounds, drove himself at the forefront. Before the car even came to a halt, he jumped out.
The headlights of over ten snowmobiles illuminated the area around the crosses as if it were daytime.
Jiao Yin, holding a gun in her right hand, cautiously approached with a curious expression.
There were a total of seven bodies on this cross.
The one in the center, mimicking the body of Jesus, was bound there by Rhode's men.
But the other six bodies—
Were the six members of the second shift, from ten o'clock to two in the morning, who were responsible for defending the outer perimeter of the east line!
Each of them was hanging upside down on a cross, their pants removed, their eyes wide open.
They were frozen stiff.
"Who killed them?"
Rhode, his heart filled with fear but his expression calm, examined the bodies, muttering to himself.
Because the bodies were frozen solid, a layer of ice had formed on their skin, making it temporarily impossible to discern the fatal wounds.
"Search!"
Rhode glanced at the solitary Jiao Yin across from him and then turned, shouting sternly, "Mobilize everyone you can! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find the enemy for me!"
A subordinate acknowledged and leaped onto a snowmobile, speeding off.
"Toss Tarf, take your men and check the outer defense area for footprints. Don't worry about how the enemy managed to evade the drone patrols and precisely locate our concealed brothers. As long as they appeared, they must have left footprints."
Toss Tarf acknowledged, waved his hand, and led several men to begin searching the ground for footprints along the perimeter.
After giving his orders, Rhode irritably lit a cigarette and looked at Jiao Yin again.
Jiao Yin was currently holding her phone, filming videos of the bodies.
As Rhode furiously issued his commands, a spark of inspiration flashed in Jiao Yin's mind.
She realized—
The current situation was a prime opportunity to win favor with the Li family!
The Li family (Dragon Ruins) was undoubtedly in deep sorrow due to the "mysterious disappearance" of Li Qianfan.
But while they were grieving intensely, Jiao Yin, from the "front lines," was about to deliver news that would surely please them.
They would surely form a good impression of Jiao Yin.
To ensure that people understood what was happening here, Jiao Yin acted as a commentator while filming.
Her voice clear and resonant—
"Dear viewers, I am Jiao Yin, Mr. Li Qianfan's girlfriend."
"The current local time is five ten in the morning."
"The weather is cloudy, with light snow, and the temperature is around minus thirty-five degrees Celsius."
"Following Mr. Li Qianfan's mysterious disappearance in the outer defense zone of the Black Water Forest thirty hours ago, another unbelievable incident has occurred."
"Around midnight, when I returned to the car to rest, there was only that one body on the warning sign. But now, there are seven!"
"Without a doubt, these six newly added bodies are the defense personnel of the Rhode team."
"But who killed them, and how did they manage to hang them here as a show of force?"
"As a weak woman, I naturally have no idea what's going on."
"Therefore, I will now interview the gentlemen of the Rhode team on site."
As Jiao Yin spoke, she turned the camera to glare fiercely at Rhode and walked quickly toward him.
Rhode stood beneath the warning sign.
He was no more than seven or eight meters away from Jiao Yin.
He could clearly see what this woman was doing and hear every word she said.
He was keenly aware of how twelve of their brothers had inexplicably met their demise, casting a pall of grief and fear over the entire Rhode team.
Yet this woman, with a look of schadenfreude on her face, was filming a video on the spot.
And she was even providing commentary!
Rhode felt an urge to shoot her dead on the spot!!
Several of his subordinates had already raised their guns, aiming at Jiao Yin.
But they could not act.
Because Jiao Yin was Li Qianfan's woman, and crucially, she was currently outside the defense zone.
If Rhode dared to harm her, the Dragon Ruins would immediately have a pretext to deploy troops into the Black Water Forest!
At that point, the entire Rhode team would face a brutal fate.
"Lower your guns."
Rhode gritted his teeth, then raised his hand and motioned downwards.
His subordinates reluctantly lowered their muzzles.
Jiao Yin approached Rhode, the distance between them no more than a meter and a half, separated only by a cross.
Jiao Yin asked loudly, "Excuse me, sir, may I interview you?"