章 78: Operation Skybreak, part 3/11

Under her, the soldiers landed like human missiles on the roof, and the sound of their armored boots hitting the surface echoed ominously, announcing their arrival with a series of thunderous booms. The reverberating impacts resembled a terrifying chorus that resonated in the quiet night air.

Immediately, a meticulously coordinated dance began as they fanned out, their glowing energy weapons sweeping every possible hiding place.

'Let's see who will win: the quantity of the Federation or the quality of the Empire.'

In the wake of this fierce entrance, Tia and the sniper followed, landing with a quiet grace that contradicted the violent approach of their companions.

With her gun drawn and her senses on high alert, Tia scanned the surroundings and prepared for a potential ambush.

For a heart-stopping moment, the group remained frozen in deadly silence and tension, weapons aimed in every direction, their purple-glowing optics scanning every angle of the potential attack. Their focused gazes eventually met the roof-access stairwell, locked behind a small booth with a green metal door.

Despite the aggressive postures and the deadly silence that enveloped them, she found herself whispering in relief, "Everything is clear."

Beep! Ding!

///\\\

A New Joint Mission: The Skybreak

Main Objective: Survive and participate in the imperial invasion!

Bonus: For each member of your squad that survives, your final reward will be increased by 25%

Bonus: For every 10 enemies killed by you or your squad, your final reward will be increased by 5%.

Sub objectives will be gradually distributed by the systems, each with its own rewards, one immediate and one to the final pool.

\\\///

'What are you doing systems? Why are you cooperating right now?' If even her two arguing systems decided to enter a truce, she knew the situation was likely bad and perilous.

This brief pause in their momentum shattered abruptly when a crimson flash bisected the sky, washing everything in an eerie red glow. The heart-wrenching groans and crashes followed as the collapsing buildings in the distant government district fell in slow motion, sending plumes of dust and debris high into the air.

'Impossible! Is that the government district?' A chill of fear coursed through her, the reality of their dwindling escape routes becoming horrifically clear as she knew the cause.

'It must have been her.'

The familiar red hue was unmistakably linked to the red-eyed imperial noblewoman.

As alarms began to wail, slicing through the eerie silence, urgency gripped her as she knew the military of the entire planet would be mobilized in a matter of minutes or hours at most.

Snapping into action, Tia found her voice sharp and commanding, piercing the air with authority. "We need to move!"

She dashed towards the green door. The symphony of heavy boots thundering behind her echoed her directive, following her with a unified rhythm.

She barked orders over her shoulder, "You, sniper blonde, and three others, stay and guard the roof!"

With a surge of kinetic energy, the green metal doors groaned, bent, and flew off their hinges before crashing down the dark staircase previously hidden behind them, the sounds echoing with metallic clangs that mirrored Tia's rising heartbeat.

Tia entered the stairwell, her steps laden with anxiety. She had finally returned to the building that she had spent so much time in as a child.

'I wonder if some of the old employees will still recognize me.'

Descending quickly, the tendrils of anxiety receded to give way to a surge of excitement. A whirlwind of vengeance fueled her pace, propelling her forward with the understanding that today might finally bring justice against the individuals who haunted her past.

Another set of doors blocked her path, but she didn't even stop, her eyes momentarily lighting up as the doors flew out of their frame, swinging backward to reveal the interior illuminated by daylight.

"Three of you, secure the bottom floor! Computer specialist and one other, with me!" The commands shot from her like bullets, echoing in the stairwell as she briskly moved through the empty doorframe.

She emerged into an expansive sea of electrochromic glass office cubicles that hosted a frenzy of chaos, with clerks in suits weaving paths of panic between them under the pulse of emergency red lights—sheets of paper strewn all over the floor.

Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger of her gun, and the blue discharge of brightly luminous plasma hit the ceiling, searing a black mark onto the white concrete.

This action brought everyone's attention towards her, their faces a canvas of fear and confusion.

Her voice echoed through the room, amplified by the fear in the office workers' eyes. "Do not move, and do not resist! This building is under imperial control." The two soldiers moved swiftly from behind her, their weapons glowing purple, and aimed at the workers, who stood frozen, gripped by fear.

She couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction and a dark enjoyment in taking control and wielding power. She felt good, maybe even too good. 'This feeling of power and authority...'

A smile appeared on her lips as she spotted her cousin, looking like her younger version, striding toward her. As her eyes fell on the two men who flanked her, the smile faded, and her face turned stoic with a flare of recognition and anger ignited in her eyes.

"You! I remember you!" It was him. One of the people from her past, the source of her deep-seated anger, was right in front of her.

Standing there was a tall, silver-haired man adorned in an expensive black suit; his age displayed prominently in his forties, with a perfectly smooth face constantly revitalized by plastic surgeries. His distinctive long, crooked nose and squinty, baggy eyes brought back her memories, reawakening her grudge.

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