Chapter 90: "Prepare for Airdrop!"

The convoy passed through the bustling Victory Square. After continuing westward for six hundred meters, the lead vehicle turned left, guiding the remaining vehicles into a one-way street where the buildings on both sides were still intact.

However, the last military truck in the convoy did not follow the turn but stopped at the entrance, using its body to block the road. Over a dozen heavily armed extremists jumped out of the truck, with some wearing UDF mass-produced mechanical exoskeletons.

Bang! Bang bang!

The extremists began firing warning shots, forcibly dispersing the nearby crowd, clearly intending to seal off the area. The sound of gunfire caused the people to scatter like frightened birds, leaving the street deserted in an instant.

The woman who had previously identified herself as "Ice Claw" observed the scene and whispered into her comms, "Target is out of sight. Preparing to find a suitable location for ambush. Over."

With that, Ice Claw turned and headed into a nearby alley, pulling up the hood of her coat with her right hand. In the next moment, a faint blue light emitted from her knees and quickly spread upward. When the glow faded, most of Ice Claw's body had "disappeared," leaving only a faintly visible pair of lower legs and feet.

The coat she wore as a cloak, covering most of her body, was made of the same material as the combat suits of the Hunter squads and was incredibly expensive. However, since it only covered most of her body when walking, it left her legs and feet exposed, giving her an eerie appearance.

Meanwhile.

Inside the one-way street where the convoy had entered, more heavily armed extremists disembarked from the vehicles. Some patrolled the street, while others took up positions in abandoned apartments or shops on either side of the road.

A middle-aged man in a suit with a short ponytail lit a cigar as he walked towards a courtyard at the end of the street. Four elite armed guards, equipped with mechanical exoskeletons and carrying 7.62 caliber machine guns, served as his bodyguards, accompanying him to the courtyard overgrown with dry grass.

"Hahaha, my friends! Welcome! I've been waiting for you!" A loud voice, as explosive as a firecracker in the dead of night, echoed throughout the area.

A burly, bald man dressed in a mink coat and adorned with gold chains and a watch opened his arms in a friendly gesture. Behind the bald man stood four more bodyguards equipped with mechanical exoskeletons.

"There was some traffic on the way; I hope you understand and don't hold it against us," said the suited man as he opened his arms and gave the bald man a bear hug.

"Hold it against you? Impossible! You are the biggest client we've ever had at Tafsky Ltd., bar none!" The bald man released the hug, his smile widening even more. However, his voice lowered slightly as he asked, "The customer is always right, but I still need to confirm. Have you made up your minds? Once this deal is done, there's no return or refund."

The suited man took a puff of his cigar and smiled as he replied, "Ten thousand sets of UDF standard infantry gear, five hundred sets of special forces equipment, six main battle tanks, and twenty armored personnel carriers. I won't remind you of the rest. What, can't you deliver? Should I look elsewhere?"

"We can definitely deliver! In Brno, everyone knows we have the most comprehensive range of products and the largest stockpile!" The bald man waved his hand, signaling his bodyguards to bring over a laptop. "Yesterday, I thought you were joking, but then you dropped a deposit of one billion! That's serious cash. But now it's time to settle the balance. We promise to deliver the goods within three days. How does that sound?"

"Of course."

The suited man glanced at the detailed information on the screen, confirmed it was accurate, then placed his cigar in his mouth and used both hands to operate the laptop, ready to finalize the arms deal.

Suddenly.

"Clink, clink…"

A grenade seemed to materialize out of thin air, landing between the two men.

!

The suited man froze for a moment as the grenade rolled to his feet. Realizing what it was, he immediately turned to flee.

"Boom!!"

A deafening explosion and a blinding flash of light filled the courtyard instantly.

Buzz——!

At that moment, the suited man felt the world spinning, stumbled, and fell to the ground. Besides the ringing in his ears, he couldn't hear anything, and his eyes were in excruciating pain.

As the ringing in his ears gradually subsided.

Bang…! Bang…!

"Where are they? Where are they??"

"Third floor! Ten o'clock direction… Argh!"

The suited man heard the sounds of an intense battle erupting around him. After a while, his vision slowly cleared from the initial pain, allowing him to see the situation around him.

The first thing he saw was the bald man's corpse.

!

Seeing the man who had been laughing heartily just a moment ago now lying dead at his feet, the suited man struggled to sit up, trying to call for his bodyguards to get him out of there.

But his bodyguards were like headless chickens, utterly confused by the enemies who appeared and disappeared at will. Most of them were pinned down by machine-gun fire, and even those hiding behind cover couldn't avoid being shot, unless they ran into the buildings on either side.

Then, the suited man saw a black-clad brute seemingly "teleport" to a nearby spot, delivering a punch that shattered one of his bodyguards' jaws. The brute then quickly rushed toward him.

!

The brute grabbed the suited man by the collar with one hand, hoisting him off the ground. But instead of being bound and taken away, as the suited man expected, the brute pulled out a syringe filled with an unknown liquid and injected it into his neck.

This brute was none other than Chris Redfield.

Seeing the suited man go limp again, Chris knew the "truth serum," concocted by the Biological Department using Scopolamine and other chemicals, had taken effect. He crouched in front of the man and asked:

"Where is your organization's leader hiding? Speak."

"East of Burshtyn… ten kilometers from the city center… beneath the abandoned factory…" the suited man mumbled, adding, "It's no use… he can move and escape within fifteen minutes of my capture…"

"…"

Ignoring the suited man's second statement, Chris immediately uploaded the newly acquired intel.

"Ah!" Suddenly, a gunshot struck one of the investigators covering Chris, damaging his cloaking coat and forcing him to deactivate the cloaking mode.

However, the investigator merely clutched his abdomen with his left hand to steady himself and continued using his modular rifle to take out any visible enemies. He shouted:

"Sir! Gray Wolf is out of ammo, but their numbers keep increasing!"

"Retreat!"

After delivering a final headshot to the suited man, Chris quickly took over the cover position, helping the investigator withdraw from the courtyard.

——

...

At the Airdrop Bay of Ernio 003;

(Artist's concept of a warship-class airdrop bay, though Ernio is much smaller in size.)

Six large airdrop pods were ready for deployment.

Inside one of the pods, ten soldiers equipped with advanced mechanical exoskeletons and combat suits were securing themselves to the pod walls.

"Attention, everyone, this is Colonel Miles Quaritch." At that moment, a deep, commanding voice came through their helmet comms:

"The investigators have obtained critical intel and successfully pinpointed the target. We will execute the airdrop in two minutes. Everyone, prepare yourselves!"

"Yes, Colonel!"

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