"Report! Target presumed to be in the main building armory, door locked from inside. Awaiting instructions." A soldier stood before Guo Mingqing.
"Very good. Assemble all soldiers to surround the main building. Keep a tight watch!" Guo Mingqing's heart eased. Because, just as the Commander had said, he was still in the base.
Picking up the ringing phone on the desk, Adam knew there was news about 13.
"In the armory?" Adam paused for only a moment, then chuckled. "Pay attention, as long as the target doesn't fight back, I want him alive."
"Yes, sir!" Guo Mingqing acknowledged the order.
"Alright. You know everything you need to know now. You can go. Adam won't dare make things difficult for you." Nie Yun patted 13's shoulder with interest, each pat heavy.
13 looked straight at Nie Yun. The ground beneath trembled with increasing intensity.
"You and I both understand that it's impossible for both of us to escape." Nie Yun once again gently stroked 13's head. Tears fell unconsciously. Reluctance. They were about to part, perhaps no chance to meet again in the future, perhaps he himself would die. But 13 couldn't. He would continue his life, living the way he liked. For his ideals, 13 became his sacrifice. For the country, this child had also "died" once. Enough was enough. He no longer owed anyone anything.
"Why are you crying?" 13 asked, gently wiping away Nie Yun's tears.
"Sorry..." Nie Yun hugged 13, holding him very, very tightly, as if embracing his own flesh and blood.
13's hand struggled to lift. He couldn't articulate his feelings for Nie Yun. First, immense hatred, then resistance, then understanding, learning detachment, learning gratitude. When he saw Yuntian's feelings for Xiao Wu, 13 suddenly felt he had truly just been a child all along, unable to comprehend Nie Yun's love for him... In his memories, the one who accompanied him longest was this old man now. His scolding, his punishment, were also accompanied by his affection, his care. It was just that the scolding and punishment were too unforgettable, overshadowing the old man's affection and care.
Initially, 13 didn't understand either, why risk coming to save this person who made him miserable? But upon hearing he was betrayed by the country he loved most, his heart filled with hatred.
"Can I call you 'Dad' once?" 13 asked softly.
"Anytime, child!" Nie Yun's body trembled.
"Dad." 13's voice was even softer.
"Yes." Nie Yun nodded affirmatively. Nie Yun reflected on his past twenty years; perhaps what he had waited for was this single call.
"Trust me! No one can stop me from taking you out!" 13 gripped Nie Yun's shoulders.
"I've always believed!" Nie Yun wiped his old tears, forcing a smile.
"I can do it!" 13 walked to the door, drew a combat knife, holding it in his right hand.
"What are you trying to do?" Nie Yun had a bad feeling.
"I want to take you away!" With that, he slashed his left arm, cutting through skin and muscle.
"Are you trying to remove SEED? You can't! Without tools and anesthesia..." Nie Yun watched 13 in panic.
"No time!" 13 closed his eyes, trying to access the structure of "Wing". He had already reached the Titan skeleton; SEED lay dormant quietly in the bone marrow.
"Ah—!" A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the room, shocking the soldiers waiting outside, as if the sound came from hell.
"Ah—!" 13 knelt on the ground, left hand raised high, veins and muscles bulging. Sweat beads covered 13's entire body, trembling uncontrollably, shaking sweat drops onto the floor.
"Don't! SEED is embedded in the bone marrow. To get it out, you must find the opening on the bone. And besides the skeleton being Titan metal, the rest of 'Wing' is like a normal human's, just with enhanced muscles and tendons. Because of this, the pain of forcefully extracting it is several times that of an ordinary person!" Nie Yun tried to stop him in agony.
"Is this the opening?" 13 plunged his right hand into the cut on his left arm.
"Mmph!" 13 bit his lip, not wanting to scream like a woman again.
His fingers finally touched the opening Nie Yun mentioned. He inserted his little finger, prying the bullet (should be SEED) out bit by bit. With every movement of his finger, 13 endured pain that nearly made him faint.
"I..." Three millimeters.
"am..." Two millimeters.
"Zhang..." One millimeter.
"Jie!" 13 held the bloody SEED in his hand.
"This is... my new name. Don't forget it." He turned back to look at Nie Yun, a child-like smile on his pale face.
Nie Yun was truly moved by him. Everything 13 was doing now was for him. If he wanted to leave, Adam wouldn't stop him at all.
"People at the door, listen up! I'm coming out!" 13 roared towards the closed door.
Five minutes later, the heavy steel door slowly opened. Soldiers quickly chambered rounds, taking aim.
"Hold on!" The sniper-class soldiers suddenly shouted. "Don't shoot! There are ion fluctuations!" Red lights flashed all over their holographic screens. The ion detector reading was precisely fixed at 7.
Heavy footsteps echoed, pounding on everyone's heart like a drumbeat.
A figure clad entirely in black armor emerged, dragging a COOL-FIRE with a glowing muzzle. Carried on his back was Nie Yun.
The figure standing at the doorway scanned the surroundings, blue "eyes" cutting through the condensed air.
"I'm leaving. Move aside." The voice from the black armor was precisely 13's!
Adam's phone rang again.
"Has he come out?" Adam was about to smile, but Guo Mingqing's next words wiped the smile clean off his face.
"Co... Commander! In his hand... he's holding SEED!" Guo Mingqing's voice trembled so much it was barely audible.
"Don't anger him! Meet his demands!" Adam's emotions fluctuated for the first time, because he knew how close he was to death.
"I don't like the feeling of being surrounded. Withdraw," 13 said calmly. But none of the soldiers present moved. Not because they didn't want to, but because their feet felt filled with lead. They too had imagined, if they obtained SEED, they would definitely launch the "seed" back at America or Japan themselves. Even if they died, they would be satisfied. Now they faced the very thing they dreamed of, but the feeling of desire was gone, replaced only by fear! Endless fear flooded their fragile hearts.
"Stop spacing out! Move!" A cover-class soldier shouted, waking his hypnotized-like comrades. 13 took note of this person who could break free from SEED's mental dread; he was the same Wu Gang Adam had also noticed.
"We will do as you say, but please don't be impulsive," Wu Gang raised his hands.
"Relax, I never joke with my own life," 13 said.
"I hope you know what you're doing. This is Beijing, the capital of China. If you launch it here... China ends. Can you face the country?" Wu Gang's tone carried unconscious anger, because 13 threatened not just himself, but the entire nation.
"Country?" 13 chuckled. "Does it need me? Right now, I just want to leave. If you want to save the country you love, then let me leave."
Wu Gang was speechless and could only comply with 13's demand, withdrawing from the building.
"It doesn't matter if we die, but absolutely do not launch it here... the country..." Nie Yun whispered softly near 13's ear.
"You rest, don't move. I know what I'm doing." 13 took the first step to leave, heading towards the main gate.
He was prepared for what awaited him outside the gate, but he was still somewhat shaken.
Just as he stepped out of the main building, various searchlights illuminated the entrance, like a superstar under the spotlight.
"Looks like Adam quite likes us," 13 said sideways to Nie Yun. But Nie Yun didn't reply; he was already stunned.
The scene before him was something he had never imagined in his entire life: seas of soldiers holding guns, dozens of armed helicopters hovering in the sky, and behind the crowd, neat rows of heavy tanks with their cannons also aimed at the gate.
Counting casually, the surrounding force numbered no less than thirty thousand.
"Alright, let's go." 13 hoisted Nie Yun higher on his back. Walking down the steps, the crowd stirred.
"Halt!" Guo Mingqing stepped forward, trying hard to steady the army's morale.
"Who are you?" 13 surveyed the speaker through the blue "eyes."
"I am Guo Mingqing, Commander of the Third Sniper Division, Special Operations National Defense Force."
"What do you want?" 13 asked.
"I..." He wanted to say something like asking 13 to lay down his weapon and surrender, but felt the words lacked any convincing power. Facing 13 holding SEED, they were the truly weak ones.
"Alright, we'll chat next time if there's a chance. Tell Adam to wait for me; maybe I'll kill him next time." 13 smiled and walked towards the crowd.
It could only be described as magic; the dense encirclement parted like it was cut by a sharp blade. People in front of 13 unconsciously made way to the sides. No one thought of obstructing, nor dared to obstruct.
Adam, on the top floor of the command post, watched 13's retreating back through the sturdy floor-to-ceiling window. His fists clenched, knuckles cracking.
"Don't get too cocky. After I'm done using you, the first one I'll kill is you! False god – Sniper King!"
Perhaps due to some connection in their bloodline, 13 turned his head and looked towards the top floor. The excellent performance of "Night" magnified Adam's face with extreme clarity. This counted as their first meeting.
13 raised his right index finger, aimed accurately at Adam, and made a shooting gesture.
As if their fates were long decided, there could only be one "God" in the world!
Easily passing through the encirclement, the base of China's ace unit – the Special Operations National Defense Force – felt like a joke.
"Is this power? To be composed even when facing thousands of troops. SEED is truly terrifying, and in the hands of the common-sense-lacking 13, even more dreadful," Guo Mingqing lamented internally.
Adam picked up the phone on his desk: "Pursue! Everyone pursue! Don't let 13 out of sight!"