The gate was built into the wall.

Xiao Yan examined the surrounding and found the control panel of the building. It would be impossible for the Tides to reconstruct the whole circuit even if they wish to fortify the building, and to corroborate his theory, Xiao Yan took out his tools for test. As expected, the circuit is operating.

Xiao Yan severed one of the insulation of the wire and did a little trick and short-circuited the electric supply of the building. He never thought that he would have had a chance to do something that can only be seen in the movies two hundred years ago, not even in his dreams.

For a moment, Xiao Yan was glad that he is a retrophiliac.

The others was on their guard. Xiao Yan went back to the gate and said to Mark: "You can open it now, it shouldn't be a problem for your strength."

"Ha?" Mark looked at Heine, "That's it?"

Heine nodded in return. Originally, they were worried of the internal alarm going off if they open the gate by force, but if the alarm is dead, why bother?

And Mark did as he was told, he pushed the gate with all his might, face redden, and nearly had the gate torn down.

As the team's spearhead, Reeve was the first to enter, and Xiao Yan was concerned of her being ambushed.

The others were following close behind. Maya stopped by Xiao Yan's side, seemingly wanting to protect or frankly saying, hara.s.s him, but feeling the unknown pressure from Heine's glance, he trailed after the others unwillingly.

Heine s.h.i.+fted his eyes to Xiao Yan, and later was forced to enter the building as well.

Dust filled upon the building, not a trace of living can be seen.

Xiao Yan was at the verge of coughing before a respirator was pressed onto his face by Heine. The cold gaze warning him not to let out a sound or he will be dead.

All of their steps were brisk but implausibly silent.

They went deeper into the building, floor by floor, and finally, they came before its bas.e.m.e.nt. The scanning earlier had shown that the hostage is held up inside.

Xiao Yan gulped. This is a digital keypad door, only inserting the correct pa.s.sword can unlock it. Outmoded and troublesome.

Heine raised his chin at Xiao Yan slightly, meaning "open it".

Letting out a quiet sigh, Xiao Yan carefully connect his portable terminal into the door panel, calculated the pa.s.sword, entered it and the door gradually opened.

And at that instant, Heine grabbed onto the back of Xiao Yan's collar and dragged him behind himself.

Dozen of zombies swarmed out and the Special Task Force started their ma.s.sacre.

It seemed that the Tides knew they were coming, and left them an exclusive gift.

At the end of the bas.e.m.e.nt, sat a middle-aged man, tied up to a chair, confined within a metal cage. Countless zombies were crawling around the cage, attempting to force their way in. They stretched their arms into the cage, and the man's flesh was about to be skinned with every stretch.

Heine pressed his hands on Xiao Yan's shoulders and kicked off the zombies with a twirl. They splatted against the ceiling, leaving an icky trace.

Xiao Yan was tensed to the tip of his nerves. The bone-crus.h.i.+ng pain was still fresh in his mind, and he would not want to go through it again.

As he tried to move his shoulders and found them all well and moving, he saw Heine's heatless gaze s.h.i.+fted to him. Xiao Yan felt as though he had become one of the dissevered zombies.

The killing went on and whenever a zombie was about to reach Xiao Yan, it would be severed by Heine's blade, pus splattering. But strange enough, not a drip of the splattered pus fall on Xiao Yan. He was like an outsider, watching the 'masterpiece' of the Special Task Force.

Countless zombies approached Xiao Yan, and killed countless times by Heine's blade, like an irreversible loop.

He had the look of a person bathed in blood from h.e.l.l, emitting a strange and dangerous beauty in his every moment of cruelty.

Heine extended his hands towards Xiao Yan and scooped his head onto his chest, strong and forceful until Xiao Yan thought his skull would break. The sound of blade piercing through bones rang by his ears, only then Xiao Yan realised he was nearly enveloped by Heine! Every zombies that attempted to approach him drop dead under Heine's blade.

Just as Xiao Yan's respirator was at the verge of breaking, Heine let go off him.

Xiao Yan lowered his head and saw a sea of zombie carca.s.ses. He would have thrown up from the pungent smell of it wasn't for the respirator.

In just five minutes, hundreds of zombies were annihilated.

They came before the cage and the man tied to a chair let out a shaken groan.

Xiao Yan just recognise who he was then, "Professor Manson!"

Why is the infamous virologists that has the rank of a Major General here?

"We have to get him out from the cage right?" Mark said while looking at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan waved his hands franticly, "Hey…… That's not my specialty……"

Without a word, Heine stepped forward, took out his blade and slashed. With a long clang and some sparks flying, the cage was sliced neatly apart.

Xiao Yan gaped at the sight as Mark nodded, "Hmm… As expected from Boss, straightforward as ever…"

Because the cage that was made of ordinary steel meant nothing in front of a Special Force soldier's blade.

Hurriedly, Xiao Yan went forward to unbind Professor Manson. His face was pale and ragged.

"Are you alright, Professor?!"

With that said, Professor Manson hauled Xiao Yan over with his hand by Xiao Yan's throat.

Everything happened so fast that Xiao Yan hasn't even grasp what was happening. He saw Heine stretched his hands towards himself but his fingers only got a touch of Xiao Yan's arm.

An incredibly swift action that was totally unexpected, even for Heine. All of the soldiers went on guard.

Xiao Yan looked at Heine's eyes, as a speculation emerged in his head… Could it, Professor Manson…

His crept his fingers towards his waistline, but before he could reach his gun, his hand was twisted by Professor Manson as the gun fell to the ground..

"You've joined the Tides, Major General Manson."

Heine stated in a dangerously low voice. Mark's hand clenched his weapon tightly until a cracking sound of knuckle can be heard, whereas Maya pulled out the thin thread slowly from his wristband, a hint of coldness flashed before his eyes.

"d.a.m.nit! I've never had the taste of betrayal before in my life!"

Manson sneered while taking careful steps towards the entrance, tugging Xiao Yan along with him, "Colonel Burton, I know what you are capable of, stay where you are or I'll wring off his neck!"

"You scoundrel!"

Just as Mark took a step forward, a crack was heard. Gritting his teeth, Xiao Yan's face turned white, Manson had dislocated his arm.

Heine held Mark back immediately.

"Don't come any closer, for I'll be tearing off his whole arm next. X-virus can't regenerate severed limbs."

"Professor… Why… are you doing this…"

Never once had Xiao Yan thought, that a person who was well acclaimed by everyone would desert to the Tides!

"All of these was a trap set by Professor Manson, to lure the elite team from Special Task Force here, but why is he alone? How does he plan to deal with a whole team of Special Force soldiers? Especially with Heine Burton here!" Xiao Yan thought in puzzlement.

"You mean joining the Tides? Or leading all of you here? Is that important?"

Manson has exited the door while he was talking. He then patted Xiao Yan on his cheek and continued, "We are always in pursuit of something, that's what make our life worthwhile. But Charles, that place can no longer satisfy my aspiration!"

Leaving behind those words, Manson abruptly pushed Xiao Yan back into the room and closed the door. Some of them darted forward but it was too late. Xiao Yan hit hard on the ground, his left cheek grazed across the floor with a stinging pain, though for sure, the pain from his dislocated arm was worst.

Heine neared him and got him up to his feet. Xiao Yan still had his mind on the words left by Professor Manson as Heine lifted Xiao Yan's palm carefully, his fingers slipped between Xiao Yan's.

For a moment, Xiao Yan could feel the warmth and gentleness coming from Heine's fingers, brus.h.i.+ng across his own, that felt almost coddling even, but momentary like an illusion.

"What are you thinking?"

Xiao Yan lifted his head and before he could answer that, there was a loud 'crack', his arm was relocated.

Mouth wide opened, Xiao Yan did not even had the chance to scream in pain.

He stared at Heine, he felt his world immersed in the ice-blue eyes.

Never once has he thought that Heine would help him relocate his arm.

"Do you hurt anywhere else?"

Heine placed his hand on Xiao Yan's shoulder, his gaze pierced through Xiao Yan's mind.

At that moment, Xiao Yan found himself lost in Heine's gaze.

"N-No……"

Xiao Yan believes that he's having a serious problem with his sight. Otherwise he would not have felt Heine's finger brus.h.i.+ng across his blus.h.i.+ng cheek with a frown on his face. Just as Xiao Yan was attempting to discern his actions, Heine suddenly left his side.

Mark charged towards the door and pushed, "d.a.m.nit—— It's locked! Xiao Yan! Any way to unlock it!"

Xiao Yan shook his head, "Manson took all my equipment."

The others sighed.

Xiao Yan knows that if it wasn't for him, any of the soldiers here would have gotten rid of Manson easily even if he has strengthen himself with X-virus.

By the end of the day, he is still a burden to them.

"Manson wants to trap us here? For what? Suffocate us?" Mark ruffled his head in agitation.

Aside from the door Manson used to escape, there was no other exit in the room. It was a totally confined s.p.a.ce.

"Shh——" Reeve placed a finger to her lips, "I hear the sound of water!"

In the next second, water came gus.h.i.+ng out from all four corners of the room.

"d.a.m.nit! He wants us drown! That fiend!"

Mark punched his fist hard on the door.

"I have to say, this is indeed, quite creative of him," Maya caressed his hair, "Haiz… If only I had known that today's my last day, I should have thrown away the G.o.dd.a.m.n report and dragged Xiao Yan to my bed! In any case, he's gonna die having s.e.x with me or drow-"

No one saw how it happened, suddenly, Maya covered his nose with his hand as a red liquid seeped through his fingers, he looked awfully in pain, "Boss—— What are you doing! That's my nose!"

"You talk too much." Without looking back, Heine turned his face slightly and lifted his chin with a look of superior.

Xiao Yan s.h.i.+fted his gaze to Heine. The water has covered up their feet, and he thought Heine would disdain his incompetence, but clearly Heine had no concern for all of these.

Nothing could waver this man, not even death.

"Boss…… What do we do?" Reeve looked at Heine.

Heine put on his field gla.s.ses and scanned through the wall, "This bas.e.m.e.nt is made of high-density t.i.tanium, we can't cut our way through it."

"That rogue! He specially made this bas.e.m.e.nt to lure us in!" Mark said through gritted teeth.

"This is so-called even if one had wings one could hardly fly away! There's no possible escape!" Reeve looked around the room and said, "Xiao Yan, with this volume of water, how long will it take for it to fill up the room?"

"One hour."

"Just an hour?!" Maya's nose bridge finally recovered. And this time he was wise enough to stay at a safe distance from Heine, "Everyone, hurry! Crack your head and find a way to get out of here!"

None of them blamed Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan himself understand that if they had left him for dead, they could have seized Professor Manson and leave this place easily.

"Now's not the time for guilty conscience Xiao Yan, you're a technical soldier! A technical soldier who lost his tools has no difference from a Special Force soldier who lost his weapon during mission!" Xiao Yan said to himself.

Wait a minute……

Xiao Yan suddenly recalled, he has not lose all his equipment!

Note: Hi everyone! A cliff hanger again, I know… Hopefully I can get next chapter up by next week. And I’m not sure if any of you are bothered with my usage of words when insulting or cursing people in the story, I do refrain from using nasty crude words as, well, personally I don’t like them as well, and it’s not such a good thing to learn anyway, so I apologise if any of you find it less…. appealing? Anyway, I am trying to build a nice and healthy reading community for readers so lets work together to make this a place to enjoy! Oh, and one more thing, it seems that I have messed up a bit on the subscription system for one of my plugins, those who followed our blog via WordPress account (thebestnowblog and Siboney69), do you mind subscribing through the pop-up form or the form by the side bar (I would like to do it for you but I do not have your email)? So sorry for the trouble >.

Poor Maya… Why hasn’t him figure out it’s not about his hair…

Author's Note:

Mark: Maya, you nose's bleeding. Got a lesson from boss again?

Maya: ……

Reeve: He just can't live without making trouble!

Maya: All of you are just jealous of my hair!

Reeve & Mark: ……