Chapter 64: Rescue Operation

After a few moments, the Ghostwing lands, undoing its stealth at a makeshift outpost of the Wild Pack.

You, Bobbi, and Sage get out of the jet with Sable going down first.

Looking at Sable, you are surprised at how her whole demeanour changes when she approaches her group. You can see now the dangerous Silver Sable that people fear.

Her mercenary group looks well-equipped, and you can see that they respect Sable. After having a talk with them and giving some orders, she returns to your group.

"We are ready. We will move into the valley in 10 minutes and start attacking in around 20," Sable declares with a serious look.

"Have these," Bobbi offers, giving her an earpiece. "We can stay in contact through this." She demonstrates its use to Sable, who becomes very interested in such a sophisticated product. She even starts asking Bobbi for multiple units for her team.

You just shake your head at her dedication to her group and approach her, taking Sable's hand in yours.

She looks surprised at your gesture, and even Bobbi raises an eyebrow at you.

"This will protect you, but you will still have to be careful," you explain as you slide a bracelet onto her wrist.

You smile at her confusion and go to the side to check on Sage, who is messing with her tablet.

As you walk away, you hear Bobbi explaining that the bracelet is not just a piece of jewellery but a Personal Forcefield Generator. After understanding it, Sable looks at you gratefully and tries again to get more of them from Bobbi for her team.

Soon, the Wild Pack, with Sable leading them, starts moving into the valley. The best timing for the attack should be night, but for you, the attack is secondary. Toni's rescue is the main objective.

Even if it becomes harder for the Wild Pack, you don't mind, as you want to find Toni as quickly as possible. For that, you need the people inside the cave to come out so you can have an easier time locating Toni.

You, Bobbi, and Sage get ready with your gear. You are all wearing bulletproof vests, helmets, combat knives, guns with multiple magazines, assault rifles slung over your backs, and, of course, the bracelets. Bobbi also has her signature batons with her.

Having the Fantastic Four alongside would undoubtedly have been beneficial, but this time, your objective isn't about heroics. It's about a ruthless retaliation against the terrorists who abducted Toni and subjected her to unspeakable horrors over the past month!

Your blood boils at the mere thought of the torture she might have endured during this time. Engaging a mercenary group is the most pragmatic course of action here, for you.

You don't think you'll have any problem killing these people. Honestly, you are itching to make them pay! Bobbi's no stranger to taking lives on her missions, and you're not overly concerned about Sage either.

Having witnessed the annihilation of her entire village, she harbours a reservoir of pent-up rage. Her training video in the VR scenario was particularly striking. The precision with which she dispatches adversaries is almost unnerving, to the point where you could create an instructional video based on her techniques.

You watch through the video feed from your Bio-probe as the Wild Pack reaches their destination. The valley has only one entrance, a narrow pass heavily guarded by sentries and weaponry. Inside, the terrorists have set up a sprawling encampment of tents, cars, weapons, and people, creating a formidable and dangerous base of operations.

Silver Sable signals the attack. A barrage of explosions erupts at the entrance of the valley as their heavy artillery opens fire. The terrorists scramble, caught off guard by the sudden onslaught. Screams and the sounds of gunfire echo through the valley as Silver Sable charges in, engaging the enemy in fierce combat.

While the Wild Pack keeps the terrorists distracted, you and your two companions prepare for the real objective.

The Bio-probes, small and mostly undetectable, have helped you map a significant portion of the cave area. Utilizing the video feed and D.A.I.S.Y.'s capabilities, you and your team have gone through multiple runs in VR training using these mapped spaces. Although you couldn't let the probes go much deeper inside to avoid detection, you have a good understanding of the cave layout.

You switch your view on the tablet to the Bio-probe currently in the cave. It is located in a secluded branch of the cave, at an empty dead end where no one is present.

You look at both of your companions one last time, who nod at you. Taking a deep breath, you activate your power: Earth Portal Creation.

First, Bobbi goes through the portal, then Sage follows her, and finally, you step through. You open your eyes inside the dimly lit cave. Deactivating your portals, you look at both of them.

Bobbi appears stoic, her batons ready in her hands as she looks ahead at the entrance. Sage, on the other hand, has a blank expression, concentrating as she scans the surroundings.

'Let's first find someone to check if this is the correct place' You talk to them in their minds while activating Telepathy.

You are surprised to encounter some resistance when entering Sage's mind. This is the first time this has happened, but since you are just projecting your thoughts, it is still easily manageable.

Next, you use your power, Invisibility, on all three of you, making you all invisible. While you can perceive both of them as translucent figures, they cannot discern each other or you. However, you are telepathically connected with them, so it will be fine.

You all start moving through the dimly lit cave tunnels, the distant sound of gunfire echoing around you. Soon, you come across two terrorists rushing toward the outside with guns in their hands.

Before you can issue any instructions, Bobbi and Sage charge forward with remarkable synchronisation. It's akin to witnessing a mirrored dance. They deftly sidestep the men, strategically placing their feet to trip them.

As the assailants stumble, Bobbi and Sage swiftly disarm them with well-placed kicks. Subsequently, they both move in swiftly, covering the men's mouths to stifle any potential outcry, before incapacitating them with precise strikes – Bobbi with her baton and Sage with the base of her gun.

You're impressed by their performance. While Bobbi's efficiency is to be expected, Sage, who was just an ordinary girl a month ago, displays extraordinary skill. You can't help but wonder how formidable she'll become with further training.

Bobbi's target is knocked out, but the man Sage is restraining is still conscious, albeit held in a neck and knee lock by her. Before she can strike again, you stop her and approach the man.

Using your telepathy, you crudely probe his mind, causing him to spasm in pain, but he still cannot move under your iron grip on his forehead.

Reading through his mind, you are disgusted by this piece of trash who has lived a bandit lifestyle, taking whatever he wanted and killing whoever he pleased. You are also surprised to learn that this is indeed a branch of the Ten Rings, with the main boss of their little base being a member of the organisation.

You also find out where Toni is. A peculiar expression overtakes your face as you feel both annoyed and relieved by another piece of new information you acquired.

You don't have much time, so you quickly inform the girls telepathically that you know Toni's location. You knock the man unconscious and drag both bodies to a corner.

You place your palms over both of their hearts, whispering with determination, "No mercy!" Then, you activate your power, Metal Constructs.

Shing!

"Ugh" "Ughh"

They both die instantly.

Your mind wasn't focused on how you had just taken the life of another human being for the first time, and two at a time at that. Instead, your thoughts were more on how awesome your new weapons were.

Your new weapons were called Doom Blades.

They were small bracelets made from Doom metal that you wore around your wrists, and when you utilised your power, Metal Constructs, they could extend to become hidden knives like those from the Assassin's Creed games.

"Are you okay?" Bobbi asked softly from behind you.

'Yeah, I am fine,' you reply in their minds, retracting your blades and moving ahead.

The cave network was expansive, but now you knew exactly where you were going. Still, the dimly lit walls made it challenging, and you wished you had some night vision or thermal vision equipment.

Boom

Just as you were going deeper into the cave, you hear an explosion from inside. The cave walls rattle from the force.

"What was that?" Bobbi whispers, her eyes scanning the shadows.

'I don't know, but we should hurry,' you speak in their minds and hurry inside, not caring if your steps make any noise. You want to reach Toni swiftly, as she might be in the center of whatever that explosion was.

You soon encounter your first resistance near the entrance to a large chamber. A group of heavily armed terrorists stood there, their weapons raised, their attention drawn by the sound of your footsteps echoing through the chamber.

Before they could fire at your invisible selves, all three of you drew your guns and opened fire. At this distance, you killed all seven people instantly, easily landing headshots. Sage had taken down three of them herself.

Now that your element of surprise was gone, you undid your Invisibility. It was hard to maintain it while firing and creating forcefields simultaneously.

As you were about to cross the large chamber, four more people arrived, one of them firing instantly. But Sage and Bobbi were faster, blasting holes in their heads with ease.

You move ahead through a narrow passage, but before you could proceed

Rat-tat-tat-tat

Someone started unloading bullets at you. You hurriedly created a forcefield and took cover while Bobbi and Sage had already taken cover.

As soon as the firing stopped, Bobbi and Sage took out their assault rifles and started firing back.

The firefight was intense. Bullets ricocheted off the stone walls, and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air. Despite the dim environment, Bobbi and Sage were deadly shots, silencing the enemy gunfire.

You created a forcefield just to be safe, and all three of you moved ahead, finding three dead bodies at the corner.

As you pushed deeper into the cave, the resistance grew stronger. The terrorists employed deadly weapons, from high-powered rifles to grenades.

At one point, a man hiding behind a barricade threw a grenade. You swatted it back with a small forcefield bat, and it exploded on him, killing him.

As you approach the heart of the cave network, the sounds of fighting from outside diminished. Instead, you heard something else—screams and gunfire, not directed at you. It was coming from deeper within.

You press on, moving quickly towards the source of the commotion. The terrorists were running, fleeing from something—or someone. You gun them down as they point their guns at you.

Rounding a corner, you came face to face with a towering Iron Mech.

"Luke?" you hear a surprised, muffled voice from the mech.

You freeze, recognising the voice immediately. "Toni?"

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