Sky-cracking Rider

It was quite a coincidence that Squad 04 had targeted a suspicious object that turned out to be the manufacturing district of Angela Pharmaceutical Company, but they hadn't anticipated that the opposition would have their sights on them first, or more precisely, on the Wind Series, Second Rank Magical Beast, the Blue Scaled Colt Mini, the mount partner of the Holy Knight.

In the communities of ordinary people, Magical Beasts were quite rare.

The local gangs of Yarsk City were bold indeed, daring to reach out to Squad 04, which consisted entirely of Ability Users.

But a mere gang, at best a band of bullies adept in extortion and black market dealings, didn't have nearly enough manpower to catch Adrian and Lulu'an off guard. However, among the attackers, besides the fully armed gang members who acted as front liners encouraged by a hefty reward, numerous Ability Users also took the opportunity to launch surprise attacks.

According to the confession of Aleksevsky, a key member of the "Butterfly Gang" who survived, some of these Ability Users were from Angela Pharmaceutical Company, while others were hired from elsewhere.

The security situation in Yarsk City, the capital of the Tunguska Region, was already deplorable, otherwise, various gangs wouldn't have the room to exist.

Especially after Akim Vasily Ulyanov, the head of the police headquarters, had revealed his identity as a member of the "Sacred Advent" organization and defected, the power struggle that ensued only worsened the security situation. Gang activity increased significantly as individuals who were already troublesome became even more restless, leading to frequent incidents with lower-level officers overwhelmed by the chaos.

Even when Adrian and Lulu'an were attacked and the Blue Scaled Colt Mini was stolen, the police merely came to take a look, registered a case, called the sanitation workers, skillfully cleaned up the scene, removed the bodies, and then nothing further happened. They didn't even ask if Squad 04 had any live captives.

The dead were those who deserved to die; no one cared whether any scum survived.

Liaison Officer Rossi quickly responded to Adrian and others who were already prepared for action. Habulav's Blue Star Global United Defense Committee headquarters and the relevant sovereignties confirmed the evidence submitted and, after consultations, agreed to authorize Squad 04 to initiate the attack, with personnel dispatched to assist.

If nothing unexpected happened, Wind Series, Second Rank Magical Beast, the Blue Scaled Colt Mini, the mount partner of the Holy Knight Walter Sam, should still be in the production district of Angela Pharmaceutical Company.

Xiao Jiu's continuous Light Healing Spells coupled with Lulu'an's secret herbal recipe nourishment and substantial nutritional intake significantly improved Adrian's injuries. In just one day, he was able to leave his wheelchair behind.

Though he had not fully recovered, general movements and spell casting for combat were no longer hindered.

Squad 04's leader, First Rank Fire System Mage Adrian Benjamin, did not hesitate at all. Upon receiving Rossi's response, he immediately decided to take action. Negotiations and discussions were tasks for the liaison officer and the Global United Defense Committee; the Bear Hunting Special Operations Division was only responsible for elimination.

Even if he could wait, the Holy Knight's mount partner might not be able to.

Although Walter Sam said nothing more and focused all his energy on gathering intelligence, everyone could feel his urgency.

For the greater good of Squad 04, the Holy Knight suppressed his emotions, preparing for the imminent operation.

So as not to startle the snake by hitting the grass, Squad 04 had clarified the situation of the "Butterfly Gang" but had never acted against them from the very beginning. Wrongdoers must be punished by the main culprits first; they would deal with Angela Pharmaceutical Company, which had ties to "Sacred Advent," before returning to eliminate those petty thugs.

Adrian and others had already obtained a complete list of "Butterfly Gang" members. You can escape the priest but not the church; even if they couldn't eliminate them on the spot, the sovereignty's warrants would leave these scum with nowhere to hide, neither in heaven nor on earth.

"Now finalizing one last time. We start the operation at 1 AM sharp. To confirm once more, first group, me, Bassan, and Mouri Misono advance upfront, Lulu'an and Ruan Tiankai will clear any remaining enemies. Second group, Knight Sam, Apu, and Kiterley advancing upfront, Susanna and Joshua clearing the remaining enemies, Chen Fei..."

In the pre-battle meeting on the Mobile Base Vehicle, after confirming the time, Adrian went over the battle assignments once more, finally looking towards Chen Fei.

"Little Chen, as reserve, control the Mobile Base Vehicle and provide fire support."

The interrogation of captives in the past two days had left a profound impression on Adrian.

Although he didn't know the nature of that Skill, its violent tendencies were strong. Once one loses their true nature, strength can easily break, potentially leading to accidents.

In a situation demanding a desperate fight, such combat power reserved as the Trump Card would be most suitable.

"Actually..."

Chen Fei wanted to say that "Eyes of Tyranny" wouldn't make him lose his reason, but before he could finish, Adrian waved his hand to interrupt him.

The hottest tofu is eaten patiently. The hardest nut was reserved especially for you, satisfied now?"

Although it was not the response Chen Fei wanted, he had no choice but to say resignedly, "Okay!"

The so-called fire support was essentially a polite euphemism.

With the blast radius of a 152mm demolition bomb, only a few were necessary to level the Angela Pharmaceutical Company's facility area—also risking collateral damage to their own.

"Don't act on your own!"

Adrian added another sentence.

Given Chen Fei's previous behavior, he tended to get carried away, and once he did, there was no pulling him back.

"I guarantee all actions will follow command."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fei could immediately understand that he was essentially marked in the others' eyes.

It was truly regrettable not to be able to participate on the front lines of battle.

Adrian addressed all members of Team 04, "We will now move into the designated positions and launch the attack in one hour."

Two kilometers away, the factory area was brightly lit. The automated production lines continuously fed and processed materials, yet there were not many workers.

Due to the lack of night shift staff, the production efficiency at night was only 20% of what it was during the day.

The operational target of Team 04 was not the workers but rather the biochemical research center deep within the factory area.

Under the guise of pharmaceutical research, the biochemical laboratory could legitimately purchase various compounds and equipment. Even if they conducted private research on mutants or illegal genetic editing projects, it would be hard for the outside world to notice.

Moreover, it isn't a case where one can expect a dollar in to produce a dollar out in a laboratory; most experimental projects are naturally bound to fail. The resulting losses are sufficient to cover many illegal studies.

The large Angela Pharmaceutical Company had been visited by the tax authorities of Yarsk City several times due to high research and development expenses leading to operational costs that were too high, affecting the tax amount which did not match its capital volume. Along with the existence of the biochemical laboratory, this had brought the company under the covert investigation of Team 04.

In further investigations, the proportion of ability users in the factory's security team was unusually high, which increased the suspicion towards Angela Pharmaceutical Company.

It was not until the Holy Knight installed several long-focus remote cameras at some inconspicuous angles that, after continuous observation for half a month, several suspicious images were captured, leading Adrian and his team to conclude that the company was likely involved in illegal research.

This time, Angela Pharmaceutical Company targeted Green Scale Colt Mini by leveraging local gangs and employing ability users to launch an attack, which further solidified Team 04's determination to act against them.

Even if they weren't associates of the "Sacred Advent" organization, that alone gave Team 04 enough reason to act.

If it was a false accusation, then it was a voluntary death.

If it wasn't a false accusation, then they deserved to die even more!

The mobile base vehicle surrounded the pharmaceutical company's factory area, dropping people along the way. Two squads split into two directions to enter the factory area, encircling the biochemical research center from front and back, clearing out the ability-user security personnel along the way and eliminating any active resistance from the opposition.

"Group One has reached the predetermined position at the south corner, all is normal."

Adrian's voice came through on Team 04's encrypted radio within the common communication channel.
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He had successfully infiltrated the factory area with his team and had found the planned hiding spot.

At this moment, the time had just passed 12 a.m.

"Group Two has reached the north corner, encounter unexpected situation, there are dogs, Afghan Hounds, figuring out how to get rid of them."

The second group's Holy Knight had just entered the factory area and ran into obstacles; the dogs could expose their movements.

"Killed it."

The cold voice of Kiterley, a Grade-A Metal Ability User, sounded, as he unexpectedly eliminated the target without hesitation.

"Hound has been cleared, Group Two continues moving."

The Holy Knight's voice was noticeably relieved.

Not just him, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

The operation plan was nearly compromised because of a dog.