Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 202 - 198: Mystery of the Spy

Chapter 202: Chapter 198: Mystery of the Spy

"I don’t understand your meaning," said Luo’er.

Wang Xu walked to the window, looked out at the scenery, and said, "In Ronisca, the kingdom of the High-peak people, there are two factions. One faction, led by crown prince Mu Lansi, advocates against establishing an unequal partnership with headquarters and threatens to cut off the partnership. The other, led by Commander of the Air Force Mooer, insists on cooperation and advocates for deeper collaboration with headquarters to acquire more advanced technology from them."

"Wait, Commander of the Air Force Mooer, that name..." Luo’er furrowed his brows and thought.

"You know him too, huh? The mother and daughter you saved are his wife and daughter," Wang Xu turned to look at him and said.

"Currently, within Ronisca, the faction led by Mu Lansi is dominant. The arming concealment and the exporting of artillery to Masya are all their doing. Mooer is quite sharp. Even though he had the power to stop all this, he acted as if he knew nothing. If it weren’t for you guys making a big fuss this time, how could he possible come all the way to Yazhi City to explain himself in person!" Wang Xu continued.

"So it means..." Luo’er lightly furrowed his brows.

"Your mission this time can’t be counted as a success, but it isn’t a failure either. It’s just that your retreat was too disorganized. It was totally embarrassing," Wang Xu looked at him and revealed a smile.

Hearing his words, Luo’er shrugged his shoulders and lowered his head, not knowing what to say.

"Alright, as long as you’re fine, I was really worried," Wang Xu spoke, taking a rifle out from a cabinet next to him and throwing it on the table.

"Eh, this is my rifle," Luo’er paused for a moment, recognizing it as the weapon he had lost in the lake.

"The High-peak people helped retrieve it from the lake," Wang Xu explained.

"Did they... say anything?" Luo’er asked hesitantly.

"Don’t worry about it, I’ve taken care of everything," Wang Xu waved a hand, "That Commander Mooer likely knows your identities."

"We almost got killed by him," Luo’er said with a lingering fear.

"If my guess is right, he probably only wanted to capture you and take you back to Yazhi City. The one who really wanted to put you in mortal danger is that guy named Mu Lansi," Wang Xu said coldly, his face turning icy at the mention of Mu Lansi, "If that bastard really had you killed, I wouldn’t let it go. Worse comes to worst, we just cut off the partnership with Ronisca!"

"You ARE the highest commanding officer of the front-line command, try to be a little more rational," even though it sounded pleasant, Luo’er couldn’t help but retort.

"Mu Lansi wants to use your corpses as his letter of introduction to the Americans, hmmph, how could we let him get away with it," Wang Xu spoke, his tone increasingly icy.

"So, what happened to him now?" Luo’er couldn’t help asking.

"Oh, don’t worry about him. His dear brother, Commander Mooer, has already taken care of him," Wang Xu shrugged.

"Taken care of?"

"Don’t forget, Mooer holds the entire military force of Ronisca. If he wants to do something, would the king dare to disagree?" said Wang Xu.

"So our mission this time..." Luo’er asked hesitantly.

"In short, your merits and demerits cancel each other out," Wang Xu shrugged and said, "But dealing with those above is not that easy, so if you have any information, spill it quickly to avoid the chief from causing havoc."

"Yes," Luo’er nodded, then pointed out an issue he had been pondering over, "The Americans appeared in Helros, I’ve confirmed that they really are Americans!"

"I know, you’ve mentioned before," Wang Xu nodded in response.

"Are they Earthlings too? If so, why can they linger in Helros?" Luo’er asked.

Hearing his words, Wang Xu thought for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the window and said, "According to the intelligence fed back from Earth, these people are Earthlings, but at the same time, they are not Earthlings!"

"What do you mean?" Luo’er asked.

"You should know that the army launched the Origin Project more than twenty years ago, establishing Haiya Academy to breed and nurture sub-humans," Wang Xu explained.

"Of course I know, so what?" Luo’er didn’t understand what he meant.

"In the thirty years since the Otherworld War ended, the Americans haven’t been idle. According to the information from our intelligence personnel, about fifteen years ago, the CIA, in cooperation with NASA, initiated a top-secret project to transport Earthlings to Otherworld through the Sage Array," Wang Xu stated earnestly.

"Through the magic array?" Luo’er looked at him blankly.

"I’m not exactly sure myself, but it’s said that they allied with the people of the Otherworld. They then activated a teleportation array on Earth and a summoning array in the Otherworld. By connecting the two arrays using coordinates, a passage was formed between Earth and the Otherworld. The people you came across should be special forces who traveled through the teleportation passage to the Otherworld, providing intelligence from the Otherworld for the CIA," Wang Xu explained.

"But wouldn’t Earthlings die in the Otherworld due to the erosion of magic power?" Luo’er couldn’t help but ask.

"That’s exactly what I meant when I said those people are both Earthlings and not Earthlings," Wang Xu shrugged, "The way the teleportation passage works is similar to molecular disintegration transport. It disintegrates a person into a molecular state and reassembles them in the Otherworld. The reassembled person then morphs into an Otherworlder capable of adapting to the environment of the Otherworld."

"So that means they..." Luo’er stared at him wide-eyed.

"Yes, even though they were originally Earth’s special forces, the molecular reassembly altered their physical state and turned them into Otherworlders," Wang Xu explained.

"No wonder they ended up in Helros," Luo’er said, suddenly understanding.

"You don’t have to worry about them. They’ve all perished in the battle against the city guards of Helros," Wang Xu assured him with a smile.

"They all died?" Luo’er was taken aback.

"Yes," Wang Xu replied, "Back then, Mooer returned the captured soldiers safely back to Earth, which initiated a 30-year working relationship with the headquarters. I assume Mu Lansi wanted to pull off something similar, but his calculation seemed to be off."

After listening to Wang Xu’s explanation, and reflecting on their sufferings these past days, Luo’er couldn’t help but shake his head and say: "So all our life-threatening adventures were just a misunderstanding."

"Sorry for your troubles, I’ll grant you some time off. Go back to that estate and have a good rest," Wang Xu suggested with a smile.

"Are we really out of it?" Luo’er still couldn’t help but worriedly ask.

"Absolutely, I’ve already warned Mooer. If he doesn’t take action soon, the headquarters will start acting against Ronisca. Plus, I’ll explain things for you at headquarters. Don’t worry!" Wang Xu waved his hand and assured him.

"Oh, I almost forgot, here’s the thing you were asking for!" Wang Xu retrieved a packet of paper from his drawer and handed it to Luo’er.

"What’s this?" Luo’er couldn’t help but ask, looking at the thick packet.

"Isn’t this what you’ve been asking for? It’s something Dr. Anatoli left for Baiyue!" Wang Xu explained.

"So this is..." Luo’er held the packet, feeling the weight of this item from his father.

"In the end, I still didn’t have the heart to scold you," Wang Xu sighed as he watched Luo’er leave the office. Suddenly, he smiled, shook his head and said to himself, "But as long as I’m here, how could I have the heart to scold you?"

Luo’er walked out of the office holding the packet, when the sound of sobbing echoed in the hallway. He looked towards the sound, only to see Tangmo standing by the hallway, wiping away tears incessantly.

He sighed lightly, walked up to Tangmo, and seeing her crying with her head bowed, asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Tangmo sobbed, "I’m mad at myself. It’s all my fault, yet you are the one who’s paying the price."

"I didn’t get punished, what are you crying for." Luo’er shook his head.

"I don’t want you to be punished for me, it’s all my fault, but you are always the one who gets hurt. I like you so much, I wish I could take responsibility for you!" Tangmo lifted her head, her large eyes red, trailed with tears, her tear-streaked face glistening.

Luo’er reached out and gently wiped away the tears on her face, then said seriously: "I’ve indeed been bearing many consequences for your mistakes, but this time, it’s not that you made a mistake, but I nearly did."

As he spoke, he walked past Tangmo and with his back to her, continued, "When we first became part of the Advance Team, I kept thinking, what kind of people have we become? Should we kill? Why do we kill? Do those people really deserve to die? After thinking about it for a long time, I realized we did a lot of things wrong, killed many innocents, all just to accomplish our mission. Whenever we were carrying out a mission, all I thought about was how to accomplish the mission, how to protect our team from harm. But I’ve never thought about how to complete the mission with minimal violence, how to arrange the mission properly without hurting others."

"I know my thoughts may seem somewhat naive, but blind killing is not our true intention. Killing can’t solve all problems, it’s just the most direct solution. Some people can have other uses while they are alive, but if they die, then the only purpose they have is simply being dead."

"As we delve deeper into our missions, the amount of people we need to kill increases. I finally realized, we’ve unwittingly turned into executioners of the walking dead. However," Luo’er said, turning around to look at Tangmo, "our captain, you, you’ve always held on to your kindness. It might seem naive but we truly need this kindness. That’s why I understood, killing can’t solve all problems. Maybe beyond the killings, there are other methods. That’s precisely why I agreed to rescue those women."

"Luo’er," Tangmo looked at him with tear-filled eyes, asked after a sniffle, "You wouldn’t be saying all this just to comfort me, right?"

"Of course not, these are my true feelings," Luo’er replied with a smile, "Although you are quite naive, in a sense, you really are our team’s little angel!"

"Luo’er..." with ever increasing tears in Tangmo’s eyes, she could no longer hold back. She opened her arms and held him tightly.