Blagnac Airport, the sixth largest airport in France, is located next to the Airbus assembly plant. Less than a 20-minute drive from the city, it was also a few of the places monitored by Black Nest.

  Mr. Coffee got all the passengers’ names before the plane landed. Three names on the list aroused his interest. One was a news reporter, the other a documentary director, and the last a forum moderator. They were all famous individuals in their respective fields, and it was merely a ‘coincidence’ that the three of them got on the same plane. It was impossible that nobody would notice it.

  The Black Nest technician who discovered the list immediately sent it to Mr. Coffee, anticipating his praise, grinning from ear-to-ear. However, Mr. Coffee only held the list for a long time. “What do you think?” he asked Vincent, completely ignoring the technician in front of him.

  “It’s a trap,” Vincent said, “With the skills of the technical team on the enemy’s side, I believe they can hack into Zero. I don’t believe changing a few names in the airline’s boarding system without anyone knowing would be a problem for them.”


  The coffee man slapped his thigh, “Well, what do you know? It’s a damn obvious trap, isn’t it?! Are they looking down on us? Are there even such idiots who would fall for such a trap?”


  The person in charge of the technical team looked embarrassed, “Then…… shall we…… resummon the team tasked to watch the enemy?”


  “No,” Mr. Coffee smiled, “Did you get anything from the tracking team you applied from headquarters?”


  “Not yet. Those people did not attack Zero again, and we have strengthened our guard for now. If our opponent makes a move again, we will know.”


  This time, the head of the technical team was confident enough to make such a promise.

  “Besides, the drone has also arrived,” he went on, “It allows us to monitor places that the surveillance cameras can’t cover. We followed your orders and entered the information and faces of the potential suspects into the database in advance. The city’s surveillance cameras and drones can now scan every single person in the city. This time, we’ll definitely find them in the shortest time possible.”


  Mr. Coffee said nothing, turning to Vincent instead. “Mr. Vincent, I heard that you were a mercenary and participated in several wars. I want to ask you a question.”


  “Please, ask away.”


  “What would you do if you’re trapped in a dangerous situation, where you’re completely surrounded by your enemies?”


  “Sitting and waiting is the most dangerous approach. The best way to get out of a sticky situation like this is to move around as much as possible, disrupt the situation, and devise a way to escape. It’s the only way you can create an opportunity.”


  Mr. Coffee rubbed his chin.

  “It seems the enemies think the same thing as well. Rather than seeing this list as a botched trap, it is more like a war book,” he said.

  “War book?” Little Boy was puzzled.

  “Black Nest will take the bait,” said Zhang Heng.

  It was difficult for him to explain the rationale behind it to Little Boy. Edward wanted to meet the three people he had been communicating with for a long time to expose CTOS’s dirty secrets. This would seriously threaten Black Nest, and they would use everything at their disposal to stop it from happening. As long as Black Nest deployed its personnel at several transportation hubs, there was a high probability that they would lock on to their target.

  “There is nothing wrong with the airport’s power outage plan, but we have to draw Black Nest’s people away-especially the sniper, he’s just too dangerous.”


  “All we did was change the boarding information. Think it’ll fool Black Nest?”


  “Oh yeah, it will,” Zhang Heng said affirmatively.

  The main objective of this round was to either help Edward escape or assist Zero in capturing Edward. On the surface, it seemed that this would result in only two endings for these players. There was, however, another possibility. When the quest’s duration ran out, and if Edward neither escaped, nor did Black Nest kill him, players from all factions would lose the quest.

  No one wanted to see such results.

  Although an ending that benefitted nobody was very much dreaded, it was still possible. After all, only five days remained for the quest, and it was too risky for Zhang Heng to give up now. Be that as it may, he was confident that he could survive another five days.

  On the other hand, such a result was acceptable for Black Nest. As long as they managed to stop Edward from contacting the media, they could slowly play hide-and-seek with him in the city. But then again, it would surely be unacceptable for the players who chose Black Nest’s side.

  In the eyes of Vincent and Little Boy, the name list wasn’t even worth being called a trap, but in the eyes of players like Mr. Coffee and Zhang Heng, that list served a larger purpose.

  “Is this an invitation to start a duel in advance? This is unexpectedly refreshing. Oh, shit, the proposal is making me so excited,” Mr. Coffee scratched his head.

  Vincent rarely spoke since he handed over command to Mr. Coffee. It was usually Mr. Coffee asking the questions, and Vincent answering them accordingly. This time, though, he couldn’t hold himself back.

  “We have the advantage now, and as long as we don’t mess up, the enemy will not be able to defeat us,” he proclaimed.

  “You’re right, but if we can use the opportunity to cut off their source, it will extinguish the threat once and for all,” said Mr. Coffee.

  “But what if this is just a distraction?”


  “I can understand your worries. This is my plan. It’s three in the afternoon now. Whether I can kill the guy on the enemy’s team or not, I’ll bring our people back before dark. I’ll leave the place to you for the time being,” said Mr. Coffee adding a reassuring pat on Vincent’s shoulders.

  Vincent seemed a little helpless, “How many people do you want?”


  “I don’t need to too many. Just get me a small team. And oh, I need that guy as well. He’ll be useful in the upcoming battle,” said Mr. Coffee as he pointed at a man standing behind Vincent. He was Abu, and he was trying his hardest to pretend he did not exist.

  Since the night before yesterday, Abu stopped talking back or humiliating Mr. Coffee. Instead, there was a touch of fear in his eyes. It was Vincent’s first time seeing Abu behaving in such a manner, and it only served to fuel his curiosity on what happened between the both of them. But since Abu never spoke about it, he had decided not to ask about it.

  Abu’s face changed when he was named, but in the end, he had no choice and followed Mr. Coffee’s order.

  “Don’t cry. It might be an opportunity for you to see something hard to see in life. You should be happy.”


  Mr. Coffee then turned around to look at the technician on the other side. “Watch the three baits. See where they are headed.”


  “Yes, sir.” The leader of the technicians hurriedly left after receiving the order.

  Mr. Coffee clapped his hands.

  “The party has already started. Alright, pack up and get ready to move! Let’s not let our hosts wait too long!”