Chapter Six: Assassin of the Dark Night—The "Pretender"

“All right, team members, this mission may be dangerous. But it’s also the time to decide who will be the team leader. Whoever kills the most enemies this time will be your captain!” Anthony encouraged the group as their plane approached its destination.

“For the title of captain!” all the men cheered, each eager to claim the position for themselves.

“However, you may need the infrared heat sensors during this mission. The activation switch is at your temple—understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

The entire team replied in perfect military unison. The plane began its descent, and everyone braced themselves for a fierce battle.

“Listen up, everyone. This time, it’s every man for himself. You’ll be acting alone. Try to rescue as many survivors as possible,” Captain Anthony instructed. “Start from the central building. Mark everywhere you’ve searched clearly, and keep your video calls active.”

“Yes, sir,” the team responded.

Mingchuan and the others exited the plane. He suggested to everyone, “All right, brothers, I have an idea. Since we have to search anyway, let’s each take a floor. Winchester, you start from the 99th, Thompson from the 98th, Colt from the 97th, George from the 96th, Wenxin to the 95th, and I’ll take the 94th. Winchester, after you finish, head straight to the 93rd floor. When we reach the first floor, we’ll split up and continue searching on our own. How does that sound?”

“That works for me. Let’s do it,” Colt agreed, and the others voiced their approval as well.

“All right, let’s begin,” Mingchuan ordered, and so the operation commenced, just as the captain had described him.

They searched meticulously, leaving no corner unchecked. On the eighty-eighth floor, Mingchuan found a female survivor. She asked him, “Are you here to rescue me?”

“Yes, ma’am. Please come with me,” Mingchuan replied. However, the woman had an injured foot and asked Mingchuan to support her as they walked. He complied.

But after a few steps, Mingchuan suddenly drew his combat knife and killed her on the spot. The other team members witnessed everything through the video feed.

“Mingchuan, what are you doing? Why did you kill a survivor?” the others shouted at him in anger.

“Because of her body temperature. That woman didn’t have any. I suspect this is exactly why the captain told us to use the infrared heat sensors!”

“That’s correct, everyone. This type of demon is called a ‘Mimic.’ They’re adept at disguising themselves as humans and turning invisible. When they imitate humans, their bodies don’t show obvious signs of decay, so it’s hard to tell with the naked eye, but the infrared sensors reveal them—just as Mingchuan said. As for their invisibility, you won’t see them with your eyes, but the sensors will outline their forms,” Anthony suddenly broke into the conversation. “Well done, Mingchuan. Your vigilance is impressive.” Praising him, Anthony then went silent over the radio.

“You heard that, everyone? This demon is a tricky one! Stay sharp!” Mingchuan said with a wry smile.

Only then did the others switch on their infrared sensors. At that moment, Wenxin had just activated hers and, glancing back, saw a humanoid figure rushing toward her. She spun and leapt aside just in time to dodge the Mimic’s attack.

She immediately fired her weapon, riddling the demon with bullets.

“Gunfire? Wenxin, what happened?” Mingchuan asked urgently over the video call, having heard the shots.

“It’s fine. I encountered a Mimic on the eighty-third floor—neutralized it,” Wenxin replied, catching her breath. “I don’t know why there are so many of these things here. I’ve never had a real confrontation with them before…”

—Author’s Note—

Since tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, TK wrote this chapter in advance. It’s possible that I won’t be able to write for War Machine Dynasty on the fourth and seventh day of the New Year.

Still, I’ve always been diligent and will find time to write whenever I can. I hope readers can understand. After all, I’m only a ninth grader, and my parents weren’t too supportive of my decision at first.