Chapter 228: The Alliance Decides to Abandon Vera Town, Launches Destructive Bombing

Chapter 228: The Alliance Decides to Abandon Vera Town and Launch a Devastating Bombing

The healer, terrified, knocked his head on the ground three times and warned the group,

"The Pope is letting you in, but please don’t pull any more stunts like last time once inside."

Following the healer, the group talked over comms.

"Wu Chong: @Charles, did you know about this underground church before?"

"Charles: ...No. The West is full of cults anyway."

"Wu Chong: Do you think the Pope might actually be Long Xi?"

"Wu Yue: Not necessarily. The Pope could just be Long Xi's puppet."

Passing through a dark, eerie corridor, the tunnel widened into a huge space.

It was a vast underground plaza, dimly lit, with many people sitting at its center, muttering some kind of chant.

The healer explained, "Just the usual worship service."

"Please rise."

The healer stood respectfully, his eyes full of devotion. "We thank the Pope for granting us healthy bodies, keeping us safe from the virus."

Wu Yue and Shen Que exchanged glances. It was clear—

This Pope had built himself a cult by "curing" the townspeople of Vera Town from the virus.

Wu Yue whipped out the new DX001 sensor Zhou Qianfeng had given her. Instantly, the screen lit up like a Christmas tree.

These people thought they were safe, but they were already infected and turned into the virus's puppets.

Wu Yue showed the sensor to Shen Que.

"Wu Yue: Healer claims the Pope’s the only one who can cure the virus here.

Everyone here is infected. The source is the Pope—Long Xi is likely hiding here."

"Charles: So what’s the play?"

"Wu Yue: These underground infected are Long Xi's cannon fodder, while the uninfected townspeople aboveground are his hostages.

I checked the town’s layout—it’s a fortress—hard to crack. The surrounding magnetic field is unstable; any ship shows up, they’ll spot it.

We have two options:

1. Wait for firepower support and carpet-bomb the place. If we lock it down, he’s trapped.

Wipe out the town, and he’ll have to come out.

2. Go deeper into the church, figure out who the Pope really is, and locate Long Xi."

"Charles: Vera Town is a town of almost a thousand people."

Bomb it, and that’s a thousand dead.

"Wu Chong: Charles, since when do you care, killer?"

"Alliance Notification:

It has been confirmed that Long Xi is currently located within the town of Villa in the northern region of the world. Given Long Xi's extreme level of danger,

the Alliance has initiated a 2-hour countdown for all hunters. After 2 hours,

the Alliance's kill switch will activate, launching a devastating carpet bombing strike on Villa Town and its surrounding area within a 1,000-meter radius.

Countdown begins: 1:59:59."

"Wu Yue: The Alliance has made the first move. We need to switch tactics.

1. Eliminate Long Xi within the final two hours.

2. Retreat."

Everyone looked at Charles, who glared back, "Why are you all staring at me?"

"Rex: Villa Town is arguably the best-run frontier town outside of World City at the moment."

"Huo Jieming: Over a thousand lives lost at once—haven’t seen such a bloodbath since the apocalypse."

"Wu Chong: We’re just here on orders. It’s not like it’s our Blaze’s town anyway."

"Wu Yue: Make sure to get footage of the bombing when it happens."

"Shen Que: The mission rewards will still be there. Prepare to retreat and ensure you’re within the green zone before the bombing countdown ends."

Charles gaped at the Blaze members, "You... you... shouldn’t we be trying to save people?!"

Wu Yue turned and lowered her voice, "Charles, you already knew about the cult hideout in Villa Town, didn’t you?

Otherwise, why would you immediately open the air corridor? Instead of cashing in, you let all the hunters pass through smoothly.

You didn’t expect Long Xi to react faster than you, hijacking the armory and occupying Villa Town right away.

The reason Villa Town was built so well is that it’s home to the families and relatives of your goddamn Falcon team members.

It’s not that you didn’t want to know what Long Xi was up to—it’s that you realized his actions had already gone off the rails.

The news about Long Xi appearing in the north after the World Boss battle was probably your leak to World City deliberately.

Exaggerating your injuries was also a ploy to lure hunters with enough manpower for an overkill manhunt, aiming to smoke him for good."

Charles went pale, "You... how did you know...?"

Wu Yue smiled, "It’s no rocket science. If I could figure it out, so could someone in the Alliance.

Otherwise, why would the Alliance issue the glassing order so quickly?

And why, since daybreak, have no other squad’s shuttles entered this airspace?

Logically, with such tempting mission rewards, how could the direct-line corpo clans of those bigwigs, including the highborns, not send people to get their cut?

The only possibility is that they’ve already secretly learned about the Alliance’s bombing plans.

They know coming here would be a wild goose chase.

Charles, all the corpo clans, noble houses, and squads are now waiting outside the firewall, ready to scavenge the leftovers."

The Alliance Parliament and the nobles are being so generous with the rewards this time only because they are certain,

in the end, everything will fall into the hands of their own people,

plain and simple.

Not only that,

but they can also eliminate Long Xi in one fell swoop, seize the fruits of victory in the second phase of the DX001 battle, and turn the tide.

Three birds with one stone.

Wu Yue’s comms buzzed at the same time,

"Zhou Qianfeng: Yue Yue, I can't intervene in battles outside World City. Take Blaze and evacuate Villa Town immediately.

After hashing it out, the Alliance has decided to completely abandon this town, which has been thoroughly infiltrated by Long Xi.

The Alliance's demand to eliminate Long Xi within two hours is a straight-up suicide mission!"

Blaze got up to bail, and Charles lowered his voice,

"Hawk’s got your back, no strings attached—

Hawk will take none of the spoils! Just save Villa Town!"

Blaze didn’t even blink. Charles snarled,

"Hawk is willing to sign a permanent peace treaty with Blaze! As long as I, Charles, am alive,

as long as the flame of my Camorra society burns, Hawk rides with Blaze till the wheels fall off!"

Blaze froze mid-step. Shen Que turned and confirmed the agreement Charles had signed before boarding Blaze's shuttle,

"The agreement is now officially in effect."

Charles stared at Shen Que in disbelief, "You... you set this up from the jump?"

Wu Chong tutted, "No, no, not us. It was Yue Yue. Yue Yue called it from miles away."

Shen Que, "Did you really think we were just twiddling our thumbs?

The situation was unclear, couldn’t tell players from pawns. They dangled a fat stack to lure ‘em out.

If Long Xi took it, they’d be like a mantis snatching a cicada, blind to the hawk circling above. If not, they’d carpet-bomb the place as insurance. Either way, those people wouldn’t lose."

Wu Chong flashed a shark’s grin, "That’s also what Yue Yue said."

Charles looked at Wu Yue in horror. She calmly turned her head, her eyes blacker than a starless night.

Wu Yue, "Quit gawking. Why not have Hawk get moving on evacuating Villa Town’s civilians?"

Charles barked orders into his comm, then glanced at Wu Yue.

She gave him a razor-thin smile,

"Chill, Chuck.

We’re still waiting on the Pope’s holy Hail Mary."

The alliance has issued the final deadline; no one else will join—it's time for them to act.

Everyone turned their gaze to the healer standing aside.

The underground square saw only momentary panic. Even the impending bombardment in two hours couldn’t interrupt their worship.

They gazed fervently at the Pope enshrined above them, all firmly believing,

The Pope would lead them away from suffering and to bliss.

In the dim underground, even the air twisted and swirled with an atmosphere of obsessive devotion.