79: Chapter 79 Capturing Lin Mo Alive?

Zhou Xiong tossed and turned tonight, unable to sleep.

He lay on the bed, eyes closed, but his ears were pricked up, listening.

Listening to the wind outside the tent.

Listening to the footsteps of the sentries in the distance.

Listening...

There was nothing.

It was too quiet.

Eerily quiet.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

He sat up, put on his clothes, and crawled out of the tent.

Outside, the moon was quite bright, illuminating the camp as if it were daytime.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and released the sensory ability unique to a Mimic.

This ability, generally possessed only by Mimics above tier four, could sense the presence of their own kind within a three-kilometer radius—or rather, "their own kind," which was actually just the monsters like them hiding among humans.

His consciousness slowly spread out, expanding outward like ripples in water.

One kilometer.

Two kilometers.

Three kilometers.

There was nothing.

Zhou Xiong's eyes widened instantly, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

The three Mimics he had sent out—one responsible for monitoring that kid Lin Mo, one lurking in the logistics team, and another disguised as a veteran of the Seventh Battalion!

But all three of them were gone.

Their presence had vanished completely.

Logically speaking, even if they had been killed, they should have made some sort of commotion!

But how long had it been? Not even a trace was left, as if they had evaporated into thin air.

"Damn it!"

Zhou Xiong cursed under his breath, turned around, crawled back into the tent, and sat down heavily.

He lit an oil lamp, stared at the flickering flame, his mind racing.

Three.

Three gone in one go.

And he himself hadn't even noticed a thing.

What was going on?

First, they had been transferred away by a higher-tier existence...

But this was obviously impossible; these three were personally trained by him. Even if they were transferred by someone higher up, they should have at least told him.

The second possibility...

Zhou Xiong's fingers trembled, and he picked up the tea mug on the table and took a large gulp—it was cold, chillingly cold.

Either someone could "see through" their disguise.

This person could accurately identify their group of Mimics and then kill them one by one.

What did that mean?

It meant that he, Zhou Xiong, might also be exposed.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Once exposed, it would be a dead end.

Years of deep cover were not for nothing. The more life-threatening the moment, the more he needed to keep his composure.

Zhou Xiong took several breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

He stood up, wandered to the corner of the tent, crouched down, fiddled with something, and pulled a pitch-black communicator out of a hidden compartment.

This thing never connected to the military network. Those losers in the military had terrible technology; they would find it the moment they checked.

This was his only channel for contacting "the other side." A matter of life and death.

He pressed the button and waited ten seconds.

The other side answered.

A hoarse voice came through: "What is it?"

Zhou Xiong lowered his voice and leaned down: "Something happened. Three of my people are dead."

The other side paused for a second, clearly stunned: "Who did it?"

"I don't know," Zhou Xiong said. "But I suspect that person can see through our disguise. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to be so precise, specifically targeting my people!"

"Are you exposed?"

"Not sure."

"Not sure?" The other side raised their voice.

"I... I don't think I've been discovered yet," Zhou Xiong said. "But since the other party can kill my people, they will find me sooner or later."

The other side was silent for a few seconds.

"What do you want to do?"

Zhou Xiong gritted his teeth.

"I need support."

"What level?"

"Peak tier four," Zhou Xiong said. "At least two."

The other side let out a cold snort.

"Are you crazy? Do you think peak tier four operatives are a dime a dozen?"

Zhou Xiong didn't speak. He knew this request was a bit excessive, but there was no other way. He had no one left under his command, only Shen Yi, but that woman was not his subordinate; he couldn't control her.

The other side was silent for a few seconds, then sighed.

"There is no support. But I can give you something."

"What?"

"An opportunity."

Zhou Xiong narrowed his eyes.

"What opportunity?"

"That late-stage tier two kid, able to kill a tier five lord at only tier two. Even if that Rock Beast was already severely injured, it was still a tier five lord. Don't you find that strange?"

Zhou Xiong was stunned.

"You mean..."

"He has secrets. Very big secrets. If we can capture him and study him properly..." "Or turn him into our companion..." The voice on the other side carried a hint of eerie excitement.

Zhou Xiong's breath hitched.

"You want me to capture him alive?"

"Yes," the other side said. "Capture him alive. Bring him to me."

Zhou Xiong was silent for a long time.

Then he spoke:

"What if I can't catch him?"

The other side was also silent.

After a long time, the hoarse voice sounded again:

"Then find Shen Yi."

"Just say I ordered it!"

Zhou Xiong turned off the communicator and sat back down at the table.

He watched the flickering flame, his eyes growing colder and colder.

Capture Lin Mo alive?

That kid has some skills; it would be impossible to capture him alive silently inside the camp!

He had to be lured out...

However, that kid had already been attacked once, so he would likely be very cautious and might not take the bait easily...

What if he used the people around him...

A slow smirk spread across Zhou Xiong's face.

Yi Xiaoyu, Lin Sisi, Ye Zhixia.

Those female students had been following Lin Mo the whole time.

If they fell into his hands...

Would Lin Mo come?

Zhou Xiong stood up, walked to the tent entrance, and looked at the pristine, clear night and silver moonlight outside...

But in his eyes, that moonlight was dark red.

"Lin Mo, let me see just how much you care about those people."

...

Early the next morning, Zhou Xiong, just like usual, got up, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and went to the command center for a meeting.

The camp was still the same camp, no different from yesterday.

When he met Li Chengxi on the way, he greeted him with a smile.

"Battalion Commander Li, morning."

Li Chengxi also smiled, but his smile was a bit unnatural: "Battalion Commander Zhou, morning."

The two passed each other.

Zhou Xiong didn't notice that Li Chengxi's shoulders were trembling slightly, like a leaf.

Li Chengxi also didn't notice that a trace of dark red flashed deep in Zhou Xiong's eyes.

...