Boom.
Because the third floor was close to the top of the mall, the people who were shopping and enjoying their vacation could clearly hear and feel the sound and vibrations of the explosion.
Boom! Boom!
Chris and his team detonated several more plastic explosives, causing the loud noises of the explosions to continuously reach everyone's ears.
At that moment, people finally realized that the mall was under a "terrorist attack."
"Run! Run!" Ada screamed in panic. Her expression did not seem like she was acting, and she pulled Leon toward the direction where Halsey was located.
"Oh my God!"
"Are the rebels this bold? Have they started attacking the city?"
"I don't know! I just don't want to die at the hands of either the UNSC or the rebels."
Travelers panicked immediately, while the local residents seemed calmer, as if they were used to such "terrorist attack" situations.
However, this did not stop everyone from running away.
The local residents near the escalator rushed to the first floor, preparing to head to the underground public shelter.
The tourists, on the other hand, were in a frenzy, not knowing where to go. They followed Ada, who had been the first to shout, and ran toward the escalator on the other side.
Halsey, who was in the lead, was momentarily stunned.
She was soon caught in the middle of the surging crowd, unable to move as she was forced in the opposite direction.
At this moment, people with serious expressions and agile movements, disguised as "passersby," began to emerge from the crowd. They tried to get close to the seemingly helpless Halsey.
If anyone was in their way, these "passersby" used brute force to push them aside. In more extreme cases, they even used elbow strikes or kicks to clear their path.
These "passersby" were ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) agents, elite operatives tasked with secretly monitoring and protecting Halsey.
ONI agents never exposed their identities unless absolutely necessary, and this was one of those "must" situations.
Meanwhile, Ada, who had reached Halsey's side, signaled subtly to Leon.
Leon nodded slightly, understanding her intention. He and Ada began to distance themselves from Halsey.
At that moment—
Buzz—
A buzzing sound filled the air, and the lights inside the mall suddenly went out.
Pop! Pop!
The lightbulbs shattered, and shards of broken glass fell from above.
"Ah!"
"No!"
This caused the already frightened people to panic even more.
The ONI agents became more serious.
They realized that the blackout was caused by some form of sonic or pulse attack, which had cut off power and communications in the area.
At the same time, the ONI agents quickly deduced that the attackers were targeting Halsey.
However, just as they were about to draw their weapons and disperse the crowd, Leon rushed toward the nearest ONI agent.
Crack! The sound of bones breaking was accompanied by a sharp cry of pain.
Leon had taken advantage of a blind spot, moved swiftly, and twisted the ONI agent's left arm. With a precise hand chop, he incapacitated the agent, rendering him unable to fight or move.
Thud!
The first ONI agent collapsed, unconscious.
"Enemy spotted!"
"Where?"
"Right here!"
Within moments, Leon had singlehandedly taken down the five-member ONI agent team, without them even getting a clear look at him.
Leon used a combination of elbow strikes and kicks to maximize efficiency while brutally breaking the agents' arms and legs.
Although both sides were highly trained combatants, with ONI agents having the advantage in numbers, Leon's physical abilities and combat experience far surpassed theirs.
Unless the numbers were overwhelmingly against him, Leon, as an Atlas operative, had an absolute advantage in one-on-three or even one-on-five situations.
After neutralizing all threats, Leon blended back into the crowd, chasing after Ada and Halsey, who had already gone ahead.
Outside the mall, the sunlight was still bright, but the streets were now empty.
The police officers who had detected the explosion had already begun evacuating pedestrians, setting up barricades to block off the area and prevent unaware residents or tourists from entering the scene.
Soon, three black armored riot trucks arrived at the mall's main entrance.
The rear doors opened.
A group of heavily armed SWAT officers exited the vehicles, moving in squads and preparing to enter the mall.
Bang!
The distinct sound of an anti-materiel sniper rifle shattered their plans.
"Sniper! Take cover!" the team leader ordered, and the SWAT officers quickly retreated to the left side of their vehicles and hurried into a nearby alley to avoid being blown apart by the sniper.
Bang! Bang!
The sniper hidden in an unknown location did not stop firing, promptly disabling the riot trucks and nearby police cars.
This behavior puzzled the SWAT team leader.
Was the sniper's accuracy off?
Or did the sniper have no intention of injuring or killing anyone?
This wasn't typical of the rebels.
But the team leader couldn't risk his and his team's lives to find out the sniper's true intentions.
Fortunately, because they had arrived in response to the explosion, their communication equipment was still functional.
After observing for a while, the SWAT team leader reported over his helmet comms, "Central, we're pinned down by an unknown sniper. Requesting aerial support from the UNSC."
"This is Central. Roger that. Lieutenant Hendry, I'm Lucas R. Junior from ONI. Ignore the sniper and lead your men into the mall. Assist in rescuing a civilian woman named Catherine Halsey. Her image is being transmitted to your visor now."
Hearing ONI's interruption of his comms and seeing Halsey's ID photo on his visor, the SWAT team leader was furious.
"Why is ONI giving orders to the Alexandria Police? And that sniper is using anti-materiel rounds. Why don't you come down here and see for yourself?!"
"Follow the orders. Don't make me repeat myself, Lieutenant. Think of your family and next month's paycheck."
ONI's officer used threats, invoking the SWAT leader's family and job to enforce compliance.
"Understood," the SWAT leader replied through gritted teeth. He then relayed to his team, "ONI wants us to push through. Luckily, it seems like the sniper isn't trying to kill us. All we can do is gamble. Everyone, prepare yourselves."
"Yes, sir," the officers responded, although they were clearly nervous. No one wanted to face a well-positioned sniper head-on, especially when they couldn't call in artillery support.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Just as the SWAT team was about to move, they were met with a barrage of bullets from AMWS modular weapon systems, pinning them down and preventing any movement.
Bang!
A ricochet struck the SWAT leader in the knee.
Despite his titanium knee guards, the impact caused him to stumble and fall.
The team leader shouted through the pain, "We've got wounded! Fall back! Enemy numbers are too high. We can't proceed!"
"Yes, sir!"
With orders to retreat, the SWAT officers pulled their wounded leader back into the alley with renewed urgency.
It wasn't that they were cowards, but the ONI orders were unreasonable.
The enemy was hidden, their numbers and weapons unknown. All they knew was that the enemy had military-grade equipment.
This situation was beyond what they could handle. They had no choice but to wait for more specialized units or the Marine Corps to take over.
At the same time.
In the city center of New Alexandria, inside the landmark Olympic Tower, the headquarters of the UNSC Navy Intelligence Agency.
In a north-facing office on one of the middle floors:
"Damn it! A bunch of useless fools!" shouted ONI officer Lucas R. Junior as he threw the ashtray from his desk.
Crash!
The ashtray shattered, scattering ashes everywhere.
"Anger won't help us in this situation. Please calm down, Colonel Junior," said a smart AI, its cold voice emanating from a slender, glowing yellow figure dressed in medieval-style clothing.
"Calm down?!" Junior turned to the AI, glaring at it.
"Melissa, how did the rebels learn about Halsey? Without her, how will we proceed with the Orion Phase II project? And why didn't you issue any warnings?!"
"The enemy is using advanced optical camouflage."
Melissa, the AI, waved her hand, bringing up a holographic screen showing footage of the attackers' positions and firing points.
The video revealed armed figures, barely visible, suppressing the SWAT team from multiple angles on the rooftops surrounding the mall.
If Melissa hadn't highlighted the figures, Junior would have thought the SWAT team was fighting "ghosts."
Seeing this, Junior immediately understood they were dealing with far more than ordinary rebels.
The UNSC had optical camouflage technology, but it was only available to special forces and ONI's black ops teams, and it was extremely expensive.
"Colonel Junior, the enemy is organized, disciplined, and technologically on par with our elite forces," Melissa continued, explaining:
"Additionally, I can confirm that none of the members involved in the Orion Phase II project have leaked any information. The enemy seems to have somehow learned, out of nowhere, that we plan to develop a new generation of super-soldiers on Reach, using Halsey as the key."
Melissa's expression seemed perplexed, as even the AI couldn't figure out how the Atlas forces had obtained such sensitive information.
Despite being a well-known civilian scientist, Halsey's involvement with ONI was a tightly held secret, and there should have been no way for anyone to know about her collaboration with them.
Yet Atlas had somehow hit the
"bullseye," targeting the most critical piece of the puzzle.
"Out of nowhere? Impossible," Junior dismissed the idea. "Contact the governor of Reach and coordinate with him to lock down all civilian ports. Notify the operations division and the UNSC to conduct a citywide search, including rural areas. We also need the Navy to monitor all slipspace jumps within Epsilon Eridani. We cannot lose Halsey. Without her, humanity will fall into endless civil war."
"Understood, Colonel," Melissa nodded in agreement.
The ONI leadership was heavily invested in the Orion Phase II (Spartan) program, having already allocated significant resources.
Though rebel movements were becoming more intense across the colonies, they were still legally part of the UEG (Unified Earth Government). Sending a fleet to hover over a colony would only escalate tensions.
After the UNSC deployed the products of the first Orion phase to assassinate rebel leader Gerald Marci Andes in 2502, standard decapitation operations had become less effective.
The military now desperately needed soldiers who could fight alone, hidden, powerful enough to extinguish any resistance to the UNSC and UEG from the shadows.
Losing Halsey to an unknown force was a blow ONI couldn't afford.
Meanwhile, in the dark, damp, and foul-smelling city sewer system:
Tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps echoed loudly as they walked.
"Hey, you guys aren't with the rebels, are you?" Halsey asked fearlessly.
Leon was in the lead, Ada following behind, while Halsey, her wrists bound with plastic ties, walked between them down the right side of the tunnel, heading out of the city.
Her question was met with silence.
Leon and Ada ignored all of Halsey's inquiries.
Soon, the three of them exited the old, decrepit sewer system and entered the dense forest on the northern outskirts of the city.
After walking for a short while, they boarded a pre-positioned Silver Gull II transport ship, activated its stealth mode, and flew toward a desert seven hundred kilometers away.
Before long, the Silver Gull II delivered them to a hidden base nestled deep within a canyon in the desert.
Once they exited the ship, Leon and Ada escorted Halsey to the second underground level of the base, finally arriving at a spacious hall.
"What is this place?" Halsey furrowed her brow, watching as Leon and Ada stepped back, leaving her standing in the center of the hall.
At that moment, a neutral, emotionless female voice echoed through the hall:
"Activating molecular locator. All personnel, please prepare for star system planetary coordinate lock. Measuring distance… Measurement confirmed. Preparing for Ark teleportation.
Countdown: ten,
nine…"
As the countdown began, a "water sphere" started to form in the center of the hall.
Halsey: ???
_________________________
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