In the command center of Blackwatch, screens displayed the ongoing operation. One showed a first-person view of the joint task forces as they battled Lin Feng and his associates. Another displayed a live feed from inside the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, revealing President William and his staff.

President William looked bewildered by the intense battle playing out before him. He had always thought such scenes belonged in movies or fiction, not in reality.

"So that is Lin Feng huh?" Barry said.

"Yes, Mr. President, that’s him in the flesh and blood. But our men won’t last there for long. This mission was supposed to confirm whether Lin Feng is alive or not, but based on what we’re seeing, we have our confirmation. Our men have a high chance of not making it out of there alive."

As Richard spoke, a somber atmosphere settled in the command center. The reality of the situation weighed heavily on everyone present.

"Then we should extract our men out there," President Barry suggested.

"That would be difficult as they have to get to the extraction point first, but to do so, they’ll have to fight their way out. It’s going to be easy for the Blackwatch forces as they can simply fly away but for your men...I don’t think they’ll have an easy way out."

"Why didn’t you allow them to wear the suit the Blackwatch is wearing? We could have prevented this from happening in the first place," President Barry complained.

"Look, if you have advanced technology, would you let someone else have it too? Especially to a country?"

"Yes! If it’s for the sake of humanity, I would let you get into a secret that only America knows. That’s willing I am," Barry countered. "Why do you worry about the technology falling into our hands? It’s not like there will be use of it if Lin Feng emerges victorious against humanity, am I right?"

Richard was silent for a moment and then spoke. "That may be true but if Lin Feng is gone, it’s back to the self-interest of a nation and keeping advanced technology to ourselves. We can’t simply assume that humanity will always act in the best interests of others. There are risks, Mr. President, and decisions like these aren’t made lightly."

President Barry shook his head, clearly frustrated by the situation. "Maybe you are doing this because you are planning something post-war, Mr. Gonzales. I just realized why you asked me that question, about governing the entire world...is that your plan? Conquering the world under one government once Lin Feng is dealt with?" Barry asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

Richard didn’t answer his question, instead shifted to another topic. "One of my men just died from Lin Feng, I’m ordering a retreat to our Blackwatch forces. Don’t worry, we are not going to leave your men behind, the Blackwatch forces are going to fly them away."

"Why are you dodging my question, Mr. Gonzales?" Barry inquired.

"We shouldn’t be talking about that in the middle of the operation, Mr. President," Richard responded firmly. "Our focus right now is ensuring the safety of our personnel and dealing with the immediate threat. There will be time for discussions and explanations later."

"Uhm...Mr. Gonzales, I’m a bit confused. Now that we have confirmed Lin Feng is alive, what should we do?"

"Do you really have to ask me that? Of course, we are going to invade China," Richard revealed.

That’s the plan Richard came up with, invading China. He knew at one point, there’d be a war between Lin Feng and Blackwatch. There’s no time to waste, it’s time for them to go on an offensive, do not let Lin Feng get stronger every day, he has to be dealt with.

Of course, by invading China, it just meant they were going to invade Lin Feng since Lin Feng’s base of operation is in China.

President Barry looked taken aback by Richard’s declaration. "Invade China? Are you serious, Mr. Gonzales? That’s a drastic measure."

Richard nodded solemnly. "Yes, I am serious, Mr. President. We’ve seen what Lin Feng and his associates are capable of. Waiting for them to come to us is not an option. If we let them consolidate their power and resources, we might not stand a chance."

Barry seemed conflicted but leaned forward, his expression more determined. "Alright, let’s say we go with your plan. How do you propose we invade China without causing an alarm if the Chinese government is still active?"

"The Chinese government is still active, then it would have blown our aircraft to bits the moment we entered their airspace. Look what happened to the plane that transported our joint task force, nothing right?"

"Yeah...nothing," Barry concurred.

"So there you have it," Richard said. "I’m going to contact Graves now.

***

In Beijing, Graves panted, his eyes seeing red after witnessing the death of his comrade. He knew that he needed to push forward, to avenge his death and stop Lin Feng.

Suddenly, there was a chime on his communication device. He quickly accessed it, hoping for some guidance from Blackwatch. Richard’s voice came through.

"Specter-1, this is Eagle Actual. We have now confirmed that the target is alive, now all you need to do is to get away from it."

"You mean to say? Are we going to run again?" Graves asked, his tone a bit frustrated.

"Yeah...you are to retreat along with the Navy Seals."

"Sir, with all due respect, whenever we face Lin Feng, we always retreat. Why are we even fighting in the first place?"

"I’m planning to invade China by January the 1st," Richard revealed to him his plan. "And end this war between Lin Feng and Blackwatch once and for all. This is the last time we are going to retreat, next week will be all about the offensive. So do as I told you."

Graves hesitated for a moment. "Understood, Eagle Actual. We’ll retreat and prepare for the offensive."

With that, Graves signaled to his remaining team members.

"Oh? Where are you going?" Lin Feng asked, seeing that Graves was not looking confrontational like earlier.

"I’m going to retreat with our forces right now, it was an order from above," Graves simply said.

"And do you think I’ll let you get away?"

"Well we are ordered to get away so we are going to do whatever it takes to escape from this place," Graves said. "But don’t worry, this is a tactical retreat. We are going to meet each other again next week, and I assure you, that will be our last encounter."