Chapter 76: Seizing the Warhead
"The warhead is hidden in General Hawk's former office, but it's a double-encrypted safe. The safe is welded to the wall and can't be opened by force." The Baroness's voice was urgent, accompanied by loud explosions. Clearly, things weren't peaceful on her end—she was probably in the midst of a fierce firefight.
"Wait for me, I should have a way." Mason removed the armor from Heavy Duty's body and dragged his corpse quickly toward General Hawk's office.
Several bodies lay scattered in the corridor, and Storm Shadow wielded his twin blades, moving through the combat like a ghost, each strike claiming a life.
Mason placed Heavy Duty's palm on the biometric panel. After a clear click, the verification succeeded, and then a retinal scanner emerged from the back of the panel.
"Hopefully, he registered his left eye." Heavy Duty's entire face was a gruesome sight, his right eye completely destroyed. If Heavy Duty had registered his right eye, then Mason would have to find another way to breach the wall and forcibly extract the safe.
Beep beep.
"Verification passed!" The safe opened, revealing a metal case inside.
The moment Mason picked up the metal case, a notification flashed through his interface. "Nanotech warheads obtained. Please deliver the items to McCullen within 48 hours."
"Got them, let's move!"
The Baroness, wielding a pulse rifle, took point. Mason followed behind, and Storm Shadow brought up the rear. The three moved swiftly, quickly arriving near the drilling vehicles.
The scene was chaotic. The two Neo-Vipers in the control room had been killed, the external hatch on the dome was slowly closing, and four of the six drilling vehicles they'd brought had been blown to pieces.
Scarlett was carrying a grenade launcher, preparing to destroy the remaining two drilling rigs.
Bang! Ana raised her weapon and fired at Scarlett. Hearing the shot, Scarlett dove aside and took cover behind a forklift.
"Storm Shadow, get the vehicle—we're leaving!"
Storm Shadow darted forward, but before he could reach the drilling rigs, a dark figure suddenly leaped down from the platform above—it was Snake Eyes, his armor gleaming.
CLANG!
The two swords clashed, sparks flying. Seemingly having shed his burdens, Storm Shadow appeared much more composed this time facing Snake Eyes.
He had once considered Snake Eyes a brother, but Snake Eyes saw him as an enemy. This twisted dynamic had kept Storm Shadow living in torment.
But since that night when Mason revealed the truth, Storm Shadow seemed to have found his true purpose.
"The sword in my hand is no longer driven by rage, no longer fights for others' lies. Only those who understand me are worthy of my blade!"
Swish, swish, swish!
Storm Shadow's blade flashed ferociously, without any hesitation. His movements became even more fluid, and with three consecutive strikes, he forced Snake Eyes to retreat several steps.
"Drop the nanotech warhead!"
Duke leaped from the control room, his rifle blazing as he sprayed bullets in Mason's direction. Ripcord followed closely behind, lobbing a grenade through the air.
Mason dodged the bullets and took cover behind a parked jeep. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ripcord's grenade arcing toward the two remaining drilling vehicles. He grabbed a toolbox from the ground and hurled it at the grenade.
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted. Mason raised his pulse rifle and fired in Duke and Ripcord's direction. A powerful energy wave swept everything away, flipping a vehicle off their cover position and sending both men flying through the air, spinning end over end.
Seeing the other sector gates opening and a steady stream of combat personnel pouring in from all directions, Mason knew he couldn't delay any longer.
He darted to Snake Eyes' position, found an opening, and delivered a devastating punch to his abdomen.
With a dull thud, Snake Eyes' outer armor dented, and he was hurled four or five meters like a cannonball, crashing into a vehicle behind him.
"Sorry to interrupt your rematch, but we need to leave!" Mason glanced at Storm Shadow, then sprinted toward Ana's location.
Ana's weapon lay on the ground. She was locked in hand-to-hand combat with Scarlett, who was wearing an active camouflage suit, making her nearly impossible to track.
However, Ana was clever. She used a roll to kick a bucket of engine oil into the air in front of her. Scarlett's vision was compromised by the liquid, and by the time she cleared her eyes, Ana had already delivered a knee strike to her stomach, followed by three punches that knocked her to the ground.
By the time Mason arrived, Ana was picking up a pulse rifle and pulling the trigger in Scarlett's direction.
Whoosh!
A pulse wave grazed Scarlett's cheek, striking a nearby electrical panel and sending flames shooting into the sky.
"Mason, what are you doing?!" Ana whirled around and glared at him.
"I can't let you kill her. She's too valuable to waste," Mason said quietly, looking at Scarlett lying on the ground.
"I'm going to kill her!"
Ana's face burned with fury. Thinking of the humiliation she'd suffered at this man's hands, her gaze toward Scarlett was filled with murderous intent.
"If you don't want to spend tonight suffering even more, I suggest you get to the drilling vehicle now!" Mason's expression turned cold as he glanced at Ana.
"Fine! Fine!" Ana holstered her weapon, glared at Mason, and quickly departed.
"Mason, did you really kill the General?" Scarlett asked, her voice hoarse.
Mason smiled, turning to fire several shots at a nearby gate, slowing the advancing soldiers.
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?" He emptied the rifle's energy cell, creating more chaos and explosions. "What a shame—I really wanted to be part of G.I. Joe. If it weren't for certain people, we'd be on the same side right now."
Since joining G.I. Joe, Scarlett had always been supportive of him. She was arguably the friendliest person to Mason among all of them. And sparing her here was part of a future contingency plan.
"I was planning to show you around Paris." Mason chuckled, quickly climbing into the drilling vehicle where Ana waited. The vehicle sealed off, the cockpit inverted, and it burrowed back in the direction they'd come from.
Behind them, a violent explosion shot into the sky, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.
Amidst the swirling dust and sand, two drilling vehicles burst from the ground and disappeared into the night, escorted by their aircraft.
"Everything went smoothly!" Holding the nanotech warhead case, Mason meticulously planned the next phase of the operation.
After a while, Storm Shadow approached Mason and whispered, "McCullen said he wants to see you, but since you joined G.I. Joe, he said you have to detonate a warhead to prove your loyalty!"
"Cunning bastard," Mason sneered.
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