"You guys are pretty realistic." [Reward: Compensation (variable)] The task information popped up in front of John’s eyes. As he walked out of the mall’s main entrance, the Eisenberg RCH happened to idle by the roadside, setting down its kickstand. [Head to the signal emission site. (Not achieved)] John imported the coordinates Gino gave him into the map system. The glass touchscreen on the motorcycle’s front fairing popped up, synchronizing the information to his cybernetic eye, projecting onto his iris. The streets of Eden City flickered for a moment under the night sky, each building veiled by a grid of dashed lines, then repainted in a neon kaleidoscope. A yellow line stretched down the center of the street. John accelerated continuously, speeding forward along the path simulated by the tracking plugin. He gradually left behind the bustling downtown area. The ring road rose along the city’s edge, and after passing through a kilometers-long dam tunnel, led to highland near the very outskirts of the city. [Eden City - City Weather Station (Abandoned)] "A perfect spot for a clean assassination." John killed the motorcycle’s engine from a distance. He advanced on foot along the road, soon noticing several cars with the Plato logo parked beside the abandoned building. A man in a suit then walked out. John was a bit surprised. This guy was a corporate executive who had dealings with Eden, also the head of a project group at Plato. The impact of that exploded warehouse was still lingering. John’s cybernetic eye emitted a faint mechanical sound, zooming in with night vision capabilities. He canceled the scan the moment he recognized him. Because the last time they met, that guy was highly alert, seemingly equipped with some advanced counter-surveillance implant. Bismarck looked extremely disgruntled. He seemed to be on a call, but without hesitation, he entered the hovercar and left, accompanied by the distinctive hum of electromagnetic equipment. [Enter the building, find the baseball bat. (Not achieved)] [Avoid alerting security personnel. (Optional)] Soldiers clad in Plato armor guarded several exits. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵 The scan indicated a sniper was also observing from the observation deck high above the building. "I thought I heard an engine just now." "A hovercar, probably." "Not quite, seemed more like a bike, but not like those from the Owl Town street racing gang..." "Did you ask the lookout? Any vehicles on the road?" "Maybe it’s just a couple out for a wild adventure. I’ve caught Bauer goofing around while on watch before, stumbled onto a couple’s spot by mistake, totally awkward!" Unrestrained laughter echoed in the night. Hidden in the shadows, John felt a sense of resonance, recalling similar foolishness at Tiebang Logistics, spread during night shifts’ idle chatter. The guards were just there to escort Bismarck. Two cars parked outside matched the formation of two eight-man combat units, showing no signs of withdrawal, indicating a high-value target was definitely inside the building. Two men at the door finished their conversation. The remaining guy walked to the metal door, pulling out a vape to take a few puffs before the dew and humidity set in. A pair of hands reached out from the shadows. John’s arms, reinforced with alloy skeletons, utilized a newly learned strangulation technique from behind, swiftly choking the neck, accompanied by the crackling of bones. The burly man lost any capacity to resist. The metal vape fell onto his knee, kicked up a second before hitting the ground. John caught it smoothly. He stuffed it into the man’s bulletproof vest, patted twice, then dragged the body aside to hide it. The building was sparsely lit. The entire hallway was oppressively dim. John decided to first clear the perimeter, circling halfway around before the sound of water led him to a bulky guy peeing over a cliff edge. He approached swiftly, cradling the stubbled face as it turned, applying increased pressure to twist it further. The burly man fell with a thud. Residual liquid splatted everywhere. John disdainfully dragged the person away, wiping the toe of his shoe on the other’s body before leaving. Footsteps echoed from the corner. "Isn’t your thing broken?" The patrolling brute had just exposed half his gun barrel when he was completely yanked over. John pulled out the butterfly knife and slashed the man’s throat. Based on experience, he deduced that since there were already three unlucky fools, there must be someone on each side of the building, and they simultaneously moved according to a fixed shift schedule. John continued waiting at the corner. He listened to the approaching footsteps, then drew his knife, predicting the timing as he thrust sideways. The original plan was to go straight for a headshot. But the guy was a bit tall, so the knife went directly through the black knitted scarf and Adam’s apple, then sharply pulled to the side, not immediately causing a lethal effect... John pounced to finish him off, ensuring complete silence before the guy could make more noise. He groped around the opponent’s tactical vest, finding a slot for a combat system. High-end stuff used to be exclusive to combat squad members. People like John, drivers of transport teams, could only rely on vehicle-mounted loudspeakers and self-established voice chats. Their level of crude banter was not on the same scale. He pulled out a data cable, connected it, and took over the system through Black Light. Soon, he heard some brief conversations. Through the combat system’s friendly forces function, John inversely deduced and locked in the coordinates of the remaining enemies. His vision flickered briefly, revealing human silhouettes formed by streams of red data, chaotically shifting. From afar to near, in various sizes, wandering inside the building. John looped back around and entered through the main door. His cybernetic eye, a high-end product from Messiah, had built-in single-soldier night vision, clearly revealing complex hallways and stacked debris, while his earphones played patrol plans from the other side. Outer perimeter soldiers rotated shifts by themselves. These few had already been wiped out, and no one alerted through the earpiece. The building’s interior was slightly complex. John had to make full use of his line of sight, approaching constantly, and snapping their necks one by one from behind. Throughout his advance, he needed to constantly observe and listen. If there were two soldiers particularly close, chatting and boasting while working, they’d be dealt with later; preferable targets were loners who liked to sneak out and smoke on the side. Halfway through his advance, John noticed several people gathered in a room deep inside. They had disabled internal voice communication. John observed their movements: This group seemed to be standing in front of a metal table, judging by their body language it was likely a surgical table or something similar. John didn’t want to have to carry bodies out. He had to abandon the other soldiers, rushing to the outside of the room - the dim emergency light from inside spilled into the corridor, on the abandoned table lay a child, surrounded by several company soldiers who had removed their helmets and heavy armor. "Are we really going to use this thing?" "I mean, it’s not the first time we’ve interrogated, but using drugs on a kid is a bit..." "Don’t do this kind of thing, you didn’t even blink killing women, now you’re soft-hearted?" "Don’t tell me you’re into the little ones!" "F*ck your mother, Bismarck’s the real pervert; honestly, if we took action, it would be better, get something out of him first then end it quickly. If he fell into the lab guys’ hands, that’s a fate worse than death!" "Hurry up, if he comes back and finds the kid still intact, we’re in trouble." A metallic rolling sound came from outside the hallway. The few inside the room grew alert, raising their guns, while their internal comms started calling out numbers. The wide silence of signal sources seemed like an invisible pressure. Two soldiers ventured forward together. They exited at the same time, each searching in one direction, adjusting their sights constantly, and moving further away. The rest inside the room also grabbed their gear. The child lying on the table let out a painful moan. He wore an exaggeratedly metallic leather jacket, had a buzz cut, and had data slot interfaces on both sides of his neck. There was a bruise on his forehead, his clothes were stained with blood, and his face bore signs of being beaten. "No time to deal with you now, stay put!" A company soldier stepped forward, raising the gun butt to smash it down. His head exploded in response. Blood splattered across half the wall.