Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 689 - 682: Lost and Regained

Chapter 689: Chapter 682: Lost and Regained

"Open it first, it’ll save you some disappointment." On noticing Luoer start to relax, Cheng Ziang can’t help but caution him.

"Yep, I know." Luoer nods, then slowly retrieves the metal box from a pile of hay.

The metal box isn’t big, maybe about the size of a briefcase and there are two in total. After all, they must accommodate a reconnaissance aircraft, so naturally they can’t be too large.

The box has a seven-digit code lock; without the code, they can’t open it. Luoer notices many scratches near the code location, clearly these people attempted to open the box after obtaining it, but ultimately failed.

As the captain of the advance team, Luoer was privy to the box’s password. Before pursuing the box, Li Si had already told him.

"4757039...," Luoer mutters the code and moves the rotary dial on the box, then undoes the latches on both sides. A ’click’ is heard as the box pops open.

Inside, the box is lined with foam that houses five dark brown vials of liquid.

Upon seeing the recovered virus, Luoer draws a long breath, barely holding back tears of relief. Regardless, they had finally got their hands on the virus again, and everything was finally over.

Next, he opens the second box, the password is different but Luoer remembers both. The virus inside is quietly nestled within the foam.

Albeit the second portion of virus was already transported to Earth, having these two boxes of virus not fall into enemy hands was a satisfactory completion of the mission for the advance team.

Excitedly, Luoer removes his gas mask and wipes away tears welling up in his eyes. With the virus problems behind them, they had been stressing and not sleeping properly, going through hell only they understood.

Whenever he would close his eyes, Luoer’s mind would race thinking about what would happen if their mission failed and how the Headquarters would react. Nonetheless, the virus was finally back in their hands, their worries unrealized as Luoer finally felt a true sense of relief.

"Moumou, inform the air fleet that we have all materials. Ask for dispatching a transport plane to haul the cargo." Luoer ordered, sniffling and choking back tears.

"Got it," Tangmo, who was busy working, put it aside and prepared to write a letter. Suddenly, realizing something was off, she looked up and asked Luoer rather surprisingly, "Luoer, why are you crying?"

"It’s nothing, just a bit overwhelmed." Luoer wipes away a tear, waving dismissively.

"Don’t rejoice too soon. Keep warning until these boxes are transferred to the air fleet. Do not let your guard down," Cheng Ziang coughs out a warning.

"I know." Luoer nods, then wipes away the teardrops on his eyelashes and once again clutches his rifle.

Princess Melia’s help in this mission is invaluable. Without her troops, it would not be possible to besiege these convoys. With only the advance team’s manpower, there’s no telling how long the search would’ve lasted.

It must be said, the support of the headquarters was a significant advantage in this mission. As the saying goes, success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan. Had the headquarters not chosen to help Melia build her power, the advance team would’ve been left to fend for themselves.

Lastly, there’s Feng, undoubtedly the most surprising variable of the entire mission. Initially, Luoer thought that as a mage and a swordsman, Feng would only be effective against combatants with melee weapons. However, it turned out that Feng was just as strong against gunmen as she was when battling foes using cold weapons.

Since their plane was shot down, Feng had consistently shown incredible combat skill. Whether countering search parties or launching assaults at anti-aircraft positions, Feng demonstrated terrifying destructive power.

Initially, Luoer intended to have Feng act as support for the advance team, designed to distract the enemy while the team took the lead. Little did he know, Feng’s formidable combat capabilities proved so effective that she ripped through the enemy lines, turning a standoff into a rout. Feng, who was supposed to be a supporting player, stole the show as the dominant force on the battlefield.

After a series of battles, Luoer couldn’t help but revise his assessment of Feng. He could no longer consider her a backup plan; her overwhelming combat power far exceeded the sum of the advance team. At times where she should have been providing support for the team, the advance team were often the ones lagging behind.

Of course, Feng is not without weaknesses. Once the magic power stored in her body is exhausted, her combat power diminishes significantly. To absorb magic power, she must have specific items, making her extremely dependent on logistical support. The existence of the Advance Team can perfectly compensate for this drawback, and serve as her strong rearguard.

Luoer was considering that if Feng were truly integrated into the Advance Team’s system, would the team need to adapt specifically for her? In this scenario, she could serve as the main combat force, while the other five members would mainly be responsible for her logistical supply work.

In the past, without Feng, each member of the Advance Team had to participate in combat firsthand, including Luoer, the team’s decision-maker. But now, Feng alone possesses the combined abilities of everyone else. Does this mean that some members of the Advance Team could refrain from direct involvement in combat, and instead focus primarily on providing Feng with logistic support?

Such division of labor had occurred before. When the Advance Team was first formed, Luoer assigned different roles based on individual abilities. The team included both riflemen and snipers, as well as mages and assassins.

However, it was regrettable that as battles ensued, the division of labor in the Advance Team began to reveal significant drawbacks, leading to severe firepower shortages. This ultimately forced them to change their strategy so that everyone had to take up arms for battle.

Now that the Advance Team has such a powerful force as Feng, the problem of insufficient firepower is no longer an issue. The former division of roles can therefore, once again, be reinstated.

But Luoer decided to remain cautious. He didn’t want to immediately change the division of labor in the Advance Team. Instead, he aimed to adjust using Feng as a model.

The first change needed was for Tangmo, who once played a useless role as a mage. With Feng’s inclusion, her role started becoming evident. The restoration of magic power concerned the discipline of magic, which was precisely Tangmo’s specialty. So, Luoer was considering relegating Tangmo to the backline, to focus solely on Feng’s logistical support work.

After Tangmo sent a magic messenger, soon, two transport planes arrived at their location. One of the transport planes discharged a team of infantry soldiers who began to jointly remove the engine and lift it onto the plane.

The Advance Team then took their briefcase, boarded the other transport plane, and flew to the supply ship that served as their flagship.

"Mission accomplished, the virus has been retrieved!" Arriving at the office, Luoer and others placed the briefcase in front of Zhuyan Yu, lined up, saluted, and announced.

"Did you open it and check?" asked Zhuyan Yu.

"We did, and confirmed that nothing was missing!" Luoer replied.

"That’s great, thank you all." Hearing Luoer’s report, Zhuyan Yu finally let out a sigh of relief and broke into a relieved smile.

After expressing her gratitude, Zhuyan Yu looked up at Luoer and said, "Good work. We’ll bring the virus sample back to our base. The Advance Team can rest up a bit and then return to Airboat Headquarters to report to Li Si."

"Understood," replied Luoer, though he looked a bit hesitant.

"What’s wrong?" asked Zhuyan Yu, noticing his facial expression.

"Without contributions from Princess Melia during this mission, we wouldn’t have been able to retrieve the virus," Luoer answered truthfully.

"I understand. We will express our gratitude to her," said Zhuyan Yu.

"Well, can I personally thank her, after all..." Luoer hesitated.

Zhuyan Yu studied him with a meaningful expression, then nodded and said, "Alright. I’ll arrange it. After you thank her, return directly to the Airboat Headquarters."

"Yes, sir!" Luoer saluted enthusiastically.

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