"They've really gone to Weeping Valley! What do we do? Do we still go after them?"
Mars's breathing was heavy and ragged. The stars shone down on and lit up Weeping Valley's structure. If they walked any further in front, they would exit Machinery Holy Cult's zone of influence.
Within Machinery Holy Cult's territory, they had nothing to be afraid of. They could call for reinforcements from Machinery City anytime they wanted.
However, they were very far from Goria Grand Canal now and were at the periphery of Machinery Holy Cult's zone of influence. Even if they called for reinforcements from Machinery City, they wouldn't receive any.
"Go after them! Are we going to return without accomplishing anything when we've already pursued them all the way here?"
"I don't believe that they don't need any rest when they've already walked for a whole night."
"They don't know that someone is following behind them yet, so they'll definitely rest a little when they reach Weeping Valley. Our chance will come at that time."
"I also agree that we should continue to pursue them. A chance like this comes only once in 1,000 years. It's now or never."
The few of them engaged in a lively discussion, and they all expressed their opinions of continuing with the pursuit.
After gritting their teeth and walking for a good half-night in the chilly winds and the bleak Gobi, wouldn't they be fools if they decided to turn back after pursuing them all the way here?!
Mars and the commando unit members were the first to reach Weeping Valley. They didn't act rashly and alert the enemy. They waited outside the valley for their other three teammates instead.
"I was right. Instead of directly crossing the valley, they went into the valley's abandoned castle to set up camp and rest."
"Wait a moment! We still need a minute to get into position. We'll surround the castle together after we reach!"
Smiles appeared on the five men's faces in unison. As long as this operation succeeded, they would be able to bid farewell to the gloomy and desolate Gobi and enter the holy land that they dreamed and longed for—Machinery City.
In no time, the five men assembled and headed as one toward the abandoned castle on top of Weeping Valley.
"Look, there's light in the castle! We've locked onto their position!"
The five men arrived at the bottom of the castle. Through the broken windows and gaps, they saw the light emitted by the blazing red campfire.
"Fantastic, we've even saved the time needed to look for them now."
Mars went a full circle around the castle before returning to the castle's main entrance. He said, "Scouting complete. Including the front, back, and side doors, this castle has a total of three entrances."
The captain mused silently for a moment. Then, he said, "Assaulter and medic are to enter through the front door. The scout and I will outflank them at the back door. The logistics officer doesn't need to go too deep into the castle. Just guard the side door and prevent the enemy from escaping. Now, activate your goggles. Operation officially begins now!"
The five men put on their transparent goggles in unison. At once, the protective goggles emitted a weak, icy-blue glow and displayed various complex numerical data and assistive functions.
Assaulter, medic, scout, artillery, and logistics—five different basic microchip modules had combined to carry out real-time analysis. The operation had officially begun!
After the captain assigned them their tasks, everyone moved out at once.
After years of erosion, the wooden door at the castle's back entrance had already thoroughly decayed. One could only faintly make out how glorious the castle used to be from the door's rust-spotted metal frame.
Mars and the captain carefully circumvented the door and passed through a garden—which had already been reduced to sand, becoming desolate—at the back of the castle. Through the cracks in the castle walls, they could vaguely see the light of fire coming from a higher floor.
"Ha, they've even hidden themselves on a higher floor." Mars couldn't help but scoff softly. Then, he asked, "Captain, why is there a castle and manor at a precipitous valley like this?"
"That, you've asked the right person. I really do know the history behind this castle."
They conversed at extremely low volumes. In fact, they didn't even need to open their mouths that wide when they spoke. Their protective goggles absorbed their voices via bone conduction and transmitted them into the earphones of the teammate beside them. This almost-silent communication method could minimize sound transmission range the greatest and was convenient when carrying out special missions.
"Tell me about it, Boss." To Mars, the Wastelands Gang agents hiding inside the castle were already in the bag. They had no way of escaping. Thus, he couldn't help but relax his attitude, and he requested the captain to fill him in on the castle's history as he followed him about.
After all, a Machinery Holy Cult fanatic like them didn't have many chances of coming to a sensitive zone like Weeping Valley.
"In the beginning, this castle was…"
The same thing was also taking place inside the castle.
A dancing campfire burned and blazed in the center of the castle's main hall, firewood crackling loudly in the blazing flames.
It was said that fire could cleanse and purify all, but at this moment, only less than half of the grand hall was lit. The dark devoured all the remaining areas.
Darkness reflected on the wall shapes and sizes that could suffocate a person. At first glance, one would even think that there was some kind of description-defying ancient behemoth in the castle. However, when the scene shifted to the area beside the campfire, what the orange-red flames lit up was… a somewhat cute and silly kid instead.
Forbes swayed and trembled as he sat in front of the campfire, the fire reflecting a red light on his tanned face.
"Boss, this castle looks like it has been around for a very long time…"
As Lin Ke refilled the ammo clip with bullets, he replied, "This castle has roughly over 100 years of history. It used to be a certain desert prince's temporary imperial residence in the past. When the Day of Reckoning descended 42 years ago, the prince was abandoned after he fled from the castle. After that, an intense war broke out between Freedom Federation and Machinery Holy Cult near Weeping Valley. This castle was used as a temporary headquarters and suffered bombardment in the war. When the war ended, both parties established a great rapport and treated Weeping Valley as a buffer zone. Since then, this place has been left to waste."
Forbes's jaw dropped, and he examined the barren walls around them closely. He couldn't help but sigh. "I never thought that I, Forbes, would also have the opportunity to stay in a prince's temporary imperial residence one day…"
When Lin Ke was done refilling the ammo clip, Treasure Hunter Rat came over to him and started squeaking. The enemy has already entered the castle.
Snap!
Lin Ke loaded the magazine into the gun smoothly. Then, he got up and said, "Forbes, no matter what you hear later, behave and stay here. Don't go anywhere. Do you hear me?"
Forbes was just about to reply when he suddenly heard the sharp, distorted scraping sounds that rusty metal produced when they moved in the wind. The sound passed through the empty spaces in the abandoned castle and traveled all the way up, frightening him so much that he got up from where he was at once.
Forbes was so scared that he visibly broke out into a cold sweat. The beads of perspiration glittered like red rubies in the light produced by the fire. "Boss, actually, I can also help…"
Lin Ke raised his hand and stopped him resolutely. "You will already be helping me out by staying here!" When he saw that Forbes was about to speak again, Lin Ke hurriedly supplemented his previous words and said, "I mean it. You're acting as bait when you stay here. If we can off the fanatics this time, all credit goes to you."
Forbes's eyes widened to their limit at once when he heard that he was supposed to act as bait, and his eyes almost fell out of their sockets in shock.
"Don't worry. Those fanatics can't possibly reach you alive. You can just rest assured, sit here, and rest. Alright, Little Treasure, let's go!" After Lin Ke spoke, he turned around in a clean and sharp motion and vanished into the darkness with Treasure Hunter Rat.
Forbes wanted to go after him, but the castle was very big, and the layout went around in circles. Everywhere that the light in the main hall couldn't reach was shrouded in pitch-black darkness. Forbes didn't know where he could go, even if he wanted to leave!
He was so frightened that he started pacing about while gripping his kitchen knife.
Lin Ke held the Glock in his hand. Despite not having any light, he walked about in the dark without any problems whatsoever and came and went like the wind.
If the green-walled maze in the city ruins was Lin Ke's first attempt at luring monsters and running a dungeon solo, then Weeping Valley's Howling Ancient Castle was the place that propelled him to fame.
As he had mentioned in the castle history that he had narrated to Forbes, this place had once been the Freedom Federation's headquarters. It had been where they issued commands from when they were fighting the Machinery Holy Cult. However, clashes and conflicts would gradually arise between the Freedom Federation and Machinery Holy Cult in half a year's time, and this place would become the frontline of war again.
Just like in the green-walled maze, Lin Ke was so familiar with the abandoned castle that he could go a full circle around it with his eyes closed. Mere darkness of the night naturally couldn't stand in his way.
However, if one thought that that was the extent of Lin Ke's abilities, then they would be underestimating the meaning of the words 'propelled him to fame.'
Currently, the five Machinery Holy Cult fanatics had already entered the castle.
In the past, Lin Ke would have needed to listen out for them in order to determine their positions or make an appearance to lure them somewhere. However, with Treasure Hunter Rat's ability to pinpoint their locations now, he didn't need to go to so much trouble anymore.
He only needed to appear without anyone noticing, ambush them while their guard was down, and retreat right after he was done attacking.
Appear quietly and refrain from
Based on the information provided by Treasure Hunter Rat, Lin Ke now knew what the five men were planning.
"If the five of them come at me together, they might still be able to give me some pressure. However, by choosing to split up and outflank me, they are practically sending themselves to death's door."
His very first target was the back door.
Out of the two men sneaking in from the back door, one was an artilleryman armed with heavy firepower while the other, if all went well, was likely a scout.
The heavy-firepower artilleryman was covered in exoskeleton armor and also carried heavy artillery weapons. Thus, he had the highest number of metal components on him.
At the front door were the assaulter and medic, while the logistics officer was in charge of guarding the side door. Therefore, there could only be one last possibility for the person following the artilleryman—the scout.
Once he understood the logic behind basic microchip battle tactics, coupled with the information from Treasure Hunter Rat, it was as if Lin Ke had personally seen the five men entering the castle with his own eyes and were totally clear about their identities.
Among the five-man team, the artilleryman armed with heavy artillery and the scout with the scouting module posed the biggest threat to Lin Ke.
Therefore, Lin Ke decided to take out those two first.
Once he had taken out the artilleryman that possessed the strongest firepower and the scout, the remaining members would become headless chickens that he could take out anytime he wanted.
With 51 rounds of 9mm bullets, taking out two Level 10 Machinery Holy Cult fanatics… These were more than enough!
Lin Ke had deliberately set up the fire on the castle's fourth-floor main hall. Its exact purpose was to lure the five men into heading upstairs and conducting a thorough search.
"Alright, time to wait for the fishes to bite!" When Lin Ke reached an area that they would definitely pass by on the second floor, a sly smile appeared at the corners of his lips…
Although the fanatics' captain and Mars were already very careful, it was still very easy for them to accidentally step on broken debris, unwittingly creating various rustling noises. This greatly troubled the two of them.
Mars couldn't help but complain, "If we continue to make noises like this upstairs, we'll probably be discovered before we get right underneath their noses."
They passed through the junk-filled first floor and came to the stairwell.
In the past, both the staircase and the wooden flooring had been meticulously maintained every year. However, everyone was gone after the Day of Reckoning, and the building was abandoned. The place had already fallen into thorough disrepair after a whole 42 years had passed.
But the wooden flooring didn't weather and decay; it could still bear a human's weight. One could only sigh in admiration at how extravagant the prince had been back then. The flooring used only the most superior grade of wood and was still hardy even after being abandoned for close to half a century.
Of course, if there wasn't the annoying creaking from their walking, it would be even more wonderful.
Fortunately, the decibel count that the protective goggles displayed wasn't very high, so they didn't worry about alerting the enemy.
The two of them tiptoed up the spiral staircase and came to the second floor.
When the searchlight on Mars's shoulder shone upon the castle's long and narrow corridor, both he and the captain shivered in shock, gasping sharply as their nerves wound up tightly!