Chapter Forty-Four: Splitting Into Two Groups—A Harmonious Conversation

"Up ahead, that's the surveillance room!" Led by Andrew, the infiltration team arrived at the door of the monitoring chamber. Though deep within enemy territory, not a single Satan appeared to bar their way.

As they stepped inside, the screens, which had been displaying normal feeds, abruptly switched to the portrait of a person.

"Heh, I never expected you to reach this place so easily. You’ve truly opened my eyes!" A woman cackled on the screen, her voice laced with malice. "I've received that brat’s signal as well. But I’m genuinely curious—he actually has a map of this place? A surviving insider? A spy? A traitor? Hahaha..." Suddenly, a spray of red-green liquid burst from her mouth.

"Oh, I got too excited! Well then, let’s play a little game!" At that moment, a cacophony erupted outside the door—clattering, collisions, and the whirring of machines.

"Hey, you, go out and see what’s happening."

"Oh, oh, no need to be afraid. It’s just the fire shutters coming down. After all, a little mouse has slipped in from above!" The woman’s image shifted to the lower right corner of the display, replaced by a feed showing Mingchuan.

"Mingchuan!" Wenxin called out his name, but Mingchuan, who appeared on the screen, abruptly blocked the surveillance and vanished from view.

"Oh, that mouse is rather impressive! He’s managed to jam the signal as well—sorry, now even I don’t know where he is. But never mind, my target is you. Since you wish to reach the source of the Hellhound, I’ll give you only one path. Go ahead, meet my latest creation. I’m sure you’ll like it!" With that, the display returned to normal, and the location of the source was clearly marked.

"What do we do, Captain? This is obviously her trap!"

"But what choice do we have? She’s blocked every other route. That means we either walk straight into her snare, or wait for the captain of the Thunder Squad to help us..."

"No, we can't just sit and wait for rescue. With only one path available, it’s better to carve our way through than to wait in vain!" Wenxin stepped forward, her shout igniting their fighting spirit.

"Right! If even a woman refuses to lose heart, how can we, as the main force, ever give up?" Andrew’s words snapped everyone back to their senses.

"Forward!"

Meanwhile, after Mingchuan severed contact, he discovered that the shutters had restricted his route. Familiar with the layout, he resigned himself and followed the path to its end.

"So you’ve finally arrived, pesky little mouse. Too bad those above won’t let me kill you outright; I suppose I’ll just have to play with you," the woman sneered.

"Those above? So you're just a pawn after all," Mingchuan retorted.

"You could say that. I’m not offended." The woman brought a cup of tea to her lips. "Rest assured, I was instructed only to speak with you for a bit. First, are you connected to 'Angel'?"

"'Angel'? What do you mean by 'Angel'?"

"Not answering? Or you really don’t know? Never mind, next question—are you Cole?"

"Cole? That’s... you could say there’s a connection, but whether I am or not depends on your interpretation," Mingchuan replied, a sly smile on his lips.

"Oh, then this conversation is still to my advantage. As a courtesy, you may ask me two questions or make two requests—so long as I can accept them!"

"Very well. First, open the shutters. Second, tell me the attributes of your latest creation. If possible, I’d like to confirm—your name..."

———Author’s Note———
The New Year is nearly upon us; as you read this, it’s probably New Year’s Eve. So, the Knight wishes all dear friends a happy New Year, good fortune, and only progress, never retreat (you know what that means!). I hope in the coming year you’ll continue to follow my novels, 'Mecha Dynasty' and 'Prey: The Alien Continent.' See you all next year!