’They’re making a move! Some faction is on the move! It’s huge. Sounds like... a frontal assault?’

In the sewers, King Arthur couldn’t see what was happening on the surface, but he could piece it together from the sounds.

’A frontal assault on the Twin Towers?’

’How much firepower would that take?’

’Ten full-body A-Class Implantors would have a tough time of it.’

’At least twenty... or maybe...’

’An S-Class is involved?’

King Arthur remained hidden. If it were just a fight between A-Class Implantors and Tier Three Extraordinaries, he might have been able to participate.

But an S-Class? There was no point in even thinking about getting involved.

King Arthur himself had one S-Class Prosthetic Body, so he knew all too well how terrifying a full-body S-Class Implanter was.

A single one of them could take on at least twenty ordinary A-Class Implantors.

King Arthur figured he could take on two or three at most.

He composed a message and sent it via his wristband.

"The fighting is intense. It’s most likely an S-Class leading a frontal assault. The Si and Liu Clans’ Implantors won’t just take it lying down, and the other factions lurking in the shadows won’t be idle spectators."

"I’d say there are at least three other factions on the surface right now as powerful as the Holy Relic Legion!"

...

King Arthur’s feeling was spot on. There were indeed several other factions just as formidable.

The two S-Class Implantors from the Holy Relic Legion hadn’t been at it for long. They had just blasted their way through the first floor of Tower B when the unexpected occurred.

From the shadows, a single dark-red thread streaked through the air.

A thin, long gash appeared on the bodies of Lion and Fatty, the two S-Class Prosthetic Implantors.

Their S-Class protective fields activated, enveloping them in an invisible repellent shield.

The two men froze, halting their advance to the second floor.

"Assassin Alliance, a Tier Four Blood Robe? Someone from the Eastern Alliance?"

"Is the Eastern Alliance stepping in? Your spokesperson hasn’t announced anything..."

A metal curtain of countless bullets hadn’t fazed Lion and Fatty, but this single, unseen red thread stopped the two S-Class Implantors in their tracks.

A single Tier Four Extraordinary had blocked the path of two S-Class Prosthetic Implantors.

The oppressive power of a High-tier Extraordinary Profession was far beyond anyone’s imagination.

One of the men’s eyes turned scarlet; the other’s turned emerald green.

This was the sign of their Prosthetic Bodies running a full-power scan.

But even so, neither of them could pinpoint the Tier Four Extraordinary’s location.

After a long moment, the two tried to advance again.

Their S-Class protective fields immediately began to fluctuate violently.

A gentle female voice echoed through the space. "S-Class Implantors and Tier Four Extraordinaries are not permitted to engage."

A single sentence set the ground rules for the chaos in Greenfield City.

All conflict was to be kept at the level of A-Class and Tier Three Extraordinaries, or below.

"Is that the will of the Assassin Alliance? Or the Eastern Alliance?"

Lion didn’t speak. It was Fatty.

The female voice did not return, but their violently fluctuating protective fields said it all.

Whether the Eastern Alliance was involved or not, the Tier Four Extraordinary hiding in the shadows was clearly standing guard here today.

Fatty seemed pissed, but in a real fight, a pure S-Class Prosthetic Implanter was no match for a Tier Four Extraordinary.

They had no choice but to temporarily withdraw. The pair cut a rather pathetic figure as they exited Twin Towers B Tower.

"Didn’t Legion intelligence say an Assassin Alliance Tier Four Extraordinary killed one of the Si Clan’s suspected heirs? So why is this old broad standing guard like a damn bodyguard?"

"The hell if I know! Who can figure out those Underworld freaks from the Assassin Alliance? Let’s pack it up and get out of here. No sense in embarrassing ourselves any further. We failed the mission."

Less than five minutes after entering the Twin Towers, the two S-Class Implantors, who had arrived full of bluster, left with their tails between their legs.

The Mercenary Corps watching from the sidelines had no idea what had just happened inside the Twin Towers.

All they knew was that the intel was, in all likelihood, real this time.

If even a T0-level Mercenary Corps could fail so spectacularly, could Si Ying really be a fake heir?

But with a T0-level Mercenary Corps giving up on the mission, who else could possibly succeed?

Nobody knew, but nobody left either.

Someone else would make a move. They had to.

The mercenaries continued to watch, waiting for other major factions to act and muddy the waters.

Suddenly, a noise came from the sky.

...

The Formula Vehicle Dogfight Racetrack. At the very top of the oval-shaped building.

Lin Qi had climbed up here at some point, a giant antenna-like object strapped to his back.

All the vehicles had been modified and the code implanted. Now, he just needed to use this transmitter to set up a local network and take control of them.

’Guang Ling could have done all this with a single command,’ Lin Qi still felt, but for some reason, Guang Ling insisted it couldn’t and that Lin Qi had to do it himself.

To ensure Si Ying’s "smooth passing," Lin Qi completed his preparations with extreme efficiency.

He had just finished setting up the local network when he took out his wristband to check the message from King Arthur.

Suddenly, he heard the roaring of an old-fashioned engine.

If he wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like the drone of a turbofan engine.

In the Cyber World, an antique like that belonged in a museum.

He looked up. The source of the sound didn’t seem far away.

’Fuck! Don’t tell me our plans are clashing?’

Reflected in countless neon lights, an old-fashioned airplane was gliding through the sky under the Iron Curtain.

The plane’s fuselage even bore the logo of the "Greenfield City Aviation Museum."

Two bright beams of light tailed the fuselage—clearly, Greenfield City’s internal air defense system was responding.

But in response, more than a dozen bright lights flared at both wingtips.

These were small missiles housed within Prosthetic Bodies.

There were people on the wingtips!

’Which Mercenary Corps is this? Causing such a huge commotion?’

’The plane in the sky is drawing attention for me. This is a good opportunity.’

The thought had barely crossed Lin Qi’s mind when a new email from Guang Ling arrived.

[Tower B architectural schematics sent. Based on network intrusion results, Si Ying is currently located between floors 80 and 85.]

[As per your plan, if you manage to assassinate Si Ying in the process, you will complete the first objective, receive mission completion status from the Black Market, and be able to pin the blame on the "Round Table Conference"—the operators of the plane you’re currently watching. They are an armed force affiliated with the European Political Zone Big Business Alliance.]

Lin Qi received the new modeling files, and his opinion of Guang Ling solidified even further.

’Guang Ling definitely has the ability to do all of this remotely. The Highest-Level Mercenary Corps is just a cover, a scapegoat for Guang Ling.’

’This scheme to pin the blame on someone else... it’s too damn smooth!’

’Time to make my move?’

’Duh!’

Lin Qi was worried that the antique plane in the sky wouldn’t have what it takes to bring down the Twin Towers.

The impact from a single one of his fully-armed Formula Dogfight vehicles would be far greater than that piece-of-junk plane.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he took control of the local network.

All the Formula Dogfight vehicles that Lin Qi had modified swarmed out.

...

Inside the Formula Vehicle Dogfight Racetrack, the race was still on, and the announcer was still roaring.

"From Si Pharmaceutical, the Medicine King is currently in sixth place! Can its driver, Storm Iron Bull, break into the top three, secure his points, and clinch a ticket to the Asian Region championship? We shall wait and see—"

"Wait! Something unusual is happening on the track! All the vehicle bay doors are opening, and new Formula vehicles are emerging! Is there going to be a second, even more intense competition tonight? Running at the same time as the first?"

"I love it! This is chaos! I love this violent aesthetic, this explosion of motor oil."

"Wait! Why are they charging out of the arena? No! I see... there are no drivers in these Formula vehicles! We’ve been hacked by a cyber hacker!"