[[Reconnaissance 1] completed. You gained 3000 experience.]
Xiao Han was jolted awake by the notification on his panel. He looked out of the truck window—dawn was just breaking, the sky faintly bright, a blend of blue and grey, caught between darkness and light.
He had stayed up all night building new machinery and only slept two hours. He poured water from his canteen over his face; the cool shock instantly cleared his mind. He got down from the cargo bed and entered the base.
Lin Yao had worked through the night and looked half-dead. The next shift belonged to Qi Baijia, who was lying on the nearby sofa for a short rest and was now awake as well.
"How did it go last night?" Xiao Han asked.
Lin Yao replied weakly, "That bald brute gave up the rest of his teammates hiding in Crow Forest Town. We captured a batch of criminals overnight and forced out the exact location of Dark Raven Valley Base. But they're all peripheral members—they don't know anything sensitive. That's all we got."
Xiao Han nodded. He had expected as much—otherwise [Reconnaissance 2] would have completed already.
"They're still in position?" he asked.
"Mm. Lying low in Crow Forest Town."
"There's no point staying there anymore. Pull them back," Xiao Han said.
Qi Baijia, who was chewing on a military ration for breakfast, rolled his eyes. "Did you forget I'm the commander here?"
Xiao Han looked surprised. "Aren't you only here to take the blame when things go wrong?"
Qi Baijia choked on his dry ration, coughing repeatedly, speechless. Just as he was about to retort, Ye Fan walked over.
"Everyone from Bureau 13, our people have obtained the full intelligence on Dark Raven Valley Base. Mission accomplished."
Qi Baijia's eyebrows shot up. Not even a full day had passed, and Hai Xia's agents had already succeeded? Their efficiency was unbelievable.
"You really got all the intelligence on Dark Raven Valley Base?" he asked.
Ye Fan nodded. "Wenna and the others even captured a witness. Our mission is complete. Recall your people—we'll sort and filter the intel together, then pass it to the military."
But Xiao Han frowned. His panel hadn't shown [Reconnaissance 2] complete, so he asked, "Are you sure the intel is genuine? Can you walk me through the operation details?"
"Of course." Ye Fan briefly described what Wenna's team had done.
Xiao Han pondered for a moment. "Don't you think it went too smoothly?"
"It did. But nothing suspicious happened. It just proves the enemy was careless. Don't forget we performed a sudden raid—they weren't prepared."
"I don't buy it," Xiao Han said.
"Being cautious is fine, but suspicion without evidence is just overthinking." Ye Fan frowned, then said firmly, "We're withdrawing at dawn tomorrow. Move with us."
As Ye Fan walked away, Xiao Han's expression darkened. He was absolutely certain that the intel Ye Fan obtained was problematic.
But reviewing Ye Fan's description… Wenna's team had been aggressive, yes, but made no major mistakes. That left only one possibility:
Dark Raven Valley Base itself hid a secret.
Xiao Han had no evidence. Even if he voiced his suspicion, the others would dismiss it—just like Ye Fan had.
Speculation convinces no one.
"Looks like I'll have to check it myself."
—
By late morning, Di Susu and Wenna's teams both returned with prisoners. Roman was an officer-level member—far more valuable than the bunch of small fry Di Susu had caught.
Wenna wore a triumphant smile. To her, this mission had been a competition between Hai Xia and Bureau 13—and Hai Xia's victory was overwhelming.
The Bureau 13 agents were furious at Hai Xia's smugness. Li Yalin muttered indignantly, "Swap missions with us and you'd have been the ones losing."
Wenna sneered. "A win is a win. A loss is a loss."
Xiao Han walked over and said, "Your intel may be fake."
Whether they believed him or not, he felt obliged to warn them.
Wenna's face froze. "What evidence do you have?"
"Instinct."
A flawless excuse—everyone's faces twisted as if they had just eaten a pound of filth.
Wenna let out an angry laugh. "Then keep your mouth shut. What weight does your baseless guess have?"
Xiao Han wasn't angry. He asked calmly, "And you have evidence?"
Wenna patted Roman, who was trembling like a quail. "This is my evidence."
Xiao Han crouched down and examined Roman closely. After a moment, he nodded, stood up, and walked away.
Wenna thought he had backed down and felt a rush of satisfaction.
…
"It seems someone dangerous is hidden inside Dark Raven Valley Base."
Xiao Han's expression grew serious. Roman's terror and desperation didn't look faked—meaning he wasn't a death soldier planted to give false intel. There was only one logical explanation:
Dark Raven Valley Base never told low-level officers the real intelligence. The sentries patrolling outside weren't only guards—they were bait.
The information Ye Fan had "secured" was very likely fabricated.
To uncover the truth, he had to infiltrate Dark Raven Valley Base himself.
A plan formed in his mind—but he would have to wait until nightfall.
The others were still interrogating prisoners and organising intel. They would only withdraw at dawn. He had one full night.
…
Night fell, the moon bright but with few stars.
"I'm going to the truck for a bit," Xiao Han told his colleagues.
No one responded. Hai Xia's agents couldn't be bothered; the Bureau 13 members didn't care to answer. Only Zhang Wei sighed helplessly, "If you want to go, go—no one's stopping you."
Xiao Han nodded, left the base, climbed onto the truck, slung Lambert's heavy sniper rifle over his shoulder, and gathered his mechanical gear. Then he locked the cargo door from inside, checked the surroundings—no one was outside—then slipped quietly into the forest. His figure melted into the darkness.
He didn't intend to inform his team. Qi Baijia would never approve; it would only complicate things.
After trekking for half the night, Xiao Han finally reached his target.
He equipped a thermal-imaging night‑vision device and an environment‑shielding suit. After making sure no enemies were nearby, he quietly dug a pit just large enough to hold a person.
When he finished, he took four mechanical spiders—each half the size of a palm—from his toolkit, placed them on the ground, and flipped the switches. The spiders stood up neatly before him, like a row of small scouts awaiting orders.
[Miniature Arthropod Detector (Spider): A small insect‑mimicking reconnaissance device.]
This was a newly fused blueprint—a highly practical tool. It served as eyes and ears, tiny and concealable, remotely controllable, and equipped with heat‑sensing mechanisms. When not actively directed, they automatically avoided heat sources and living beings—essentially walking surveillance devices. With the spider detectors, he didn't need to approach the sentries himself, greatly lowering the risk of detection.
Xiao Han used a tablet to control them. By cross‑analysing the feeds from the four spiders, he soon identified several hidden sentries, most positioned beside trees. A mental map of their locations formed in his mind, allowing him to plan the optimal assassination route.
In the dark forest, Xiao Han crawled forward with the heavy sniper rifle, inching until the targets fell into range.
Lambert's heavy sniper rifle had been fitted with a suppressor. Despite its immense kinetic force, its sound was only as loud as a fingertip tapping wood. In a quiet forest, an elite operative could pick up such a sound within a hundred metres. But Lambert's effective range was eight hundred metres—that was exactly why Xiao Han had borrowed it. Compared to eliminating each sentry up close, long‑range sniping was far safer and more efficient—especially now that he had unlocked the Sniper branch.
He held his breath, aiming through the scope. Hundreds of metres felt like nothing; the weapon responded to him like an extension of his body.
Crosshair: head.
Wind direction: eight o'clock.
Wind speed: 1.3—deviation 43mm.
Raise angle. Lead angle. Adjust the scale.
Xiao Han squeezed the trigger. The recoil drove into his shoulder, making his body tremble ever so slightly, but his hands held the rifle steady with immense control.
Through thermal imaging, the human-shaped figure hundreds of metres away instantly lost its head. A spray of hot blood flared in bright orange‑red.