There were ten minutes left before logging into Ghost Star. Yuan Zhu opened his phone; it was rare for him to go offline, and he wanted to call his mother.

  However, it was too late now, so he ended up dialing Jiang Kai's number.

  The phone rang a few times before Jiang Kai's voice came through, cursing, "Are you out of your mind, calling me at two in the morning? Can’t a guy get some sleep?"

  Yuan Zhu chuckled, "I heard from Lu Jun that you went offline."

  "Yeah, why did you go offline too?"

  The Dawn Operation was confidential, and Yuan Zhu couldn't disclose it.

  "I have a mission that requires me to go offline."

  "I'm so jealous you guys have a green channel, it's so unfair!" Jiang Kai complained. "By the way, your mom moved to the military family area. I even helped her with the move that day."

  "Yeah, I know," Yuan Zhu replied.

  "You seem weird today... what do you want from me?" Jiang Kai asked.

  "Nothing, just... just thought of you. For some reason, hearing your voice makes me feel at ease."

  Before Jiang Kai could respond, Yuan Zhu said, "Alright, I won't disturb your sleep anymore. Bye." With that, he hung up.

  Shortly after, Chen Yueling called out to Yuan Zhu, "Zhu, get ready to go!"

  "Okay!" Yuan Zhu stood up and caught up with the squad.

  Su Nuannuan sidled up to Yuan Zhu, glanced at him, and whispered, "Did you call Jiang Kai? The mission is top secret..."

  Yuan Zhu nodded, "Just chatted casually, didn't say anything else."

  Yuan Zhu looked at Su Nuannuan again. She was the only doctor in the three squads, making her the most vulnerable in such brutal battles.

  "Nuannuan, don't worry, I'll protect you."

  Su Nuannuan gave Yuan Zhu a surprised look, as if it was odd for him to say such a thing.

  However, she quickly smiled and nodded firmly, "I believe you can!"

  ...

  Jiang Kai put down the phone, bewildered.

  Thinking about what Zhu had just said, he shivered, "What the heck, why is that guy being so mushy!"

  Putting down his phone, Jiang Kai was about to sleep, but he tossed and turned, unable to feel sleepy.

  Though Zhu was timid, he and Jiang Kai had grown up together, knowing each other inside out. It wouldn't surprise him if Zhu teased him a bit, as that's what good friends do... but for Zhu to say such mushy things.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  That guy was definitely acting weird today!

  Tossing and turning, Jiang Kai couldn't sleep. He picked up his phone to check it.

  Besides the recent call log, there was an unread message.

  He opened the message.

  It was from a strange number, with only a short sentence.

  [Watch the video at 6 AM on the Calling International Station.]

  The message was vague, like a promotional ad from the Calling International Station...

  "What the heck..." Jiang Kai frowned, "Why is everything so weird in the middle of the night?"

  "Wait..." Jiang Kai suddenly froze.

  He knew that the Tiger Squad, which included Yuan Zhu and Nuannuan, had performed excellently in the selection contest, securing second place.

  And he knew the tasks for the top three in the selection contest!

  Combining Zhu's strange behavior earlier, Jiang Kai thought of a possibility!

  They were going on a mission, and it might be happening soon!

  An overseas tech company had developed a device capable of transmitting images from Ghost Star, which could be carried into Ghost Star by a specific profession, the Postman.

  The device was still in the experimental stage, but some videos had already been recorded using it, showing promising results.

  Could it be that the message was a reminder to watch the video?

  Thinking of this, Jiang Kai became even more restless.

  He immediately opened the Calling International Station. There was nothing special on the website at the moment; in the Global Championship section, it was mostly posts of resident players from various countries mocking each other.

  He waited until 6:01 AM, and suddenly, a video shot to the homepage!

  [Led by China, multiple countries launch a full-scale attack on the Public Area! Attached: Real-time video!]

  Jiang Kai's eyes widened, and he immediately clicked in.

  ...

  The Tianheng Squad had just entered the connecting gate, with Chen Biao leading the five members of the Tiger Squad, closely following through the gate.

  Yuan Zhu's dizziness hadn't subsided when the system's voice reached his ears.

  [You have entered the Global Championship (Beginner) Zone. We will provide you with simultaneous translation, and all the language you hear will be converted to Chinese.]

  The next second, shouting reached his ears.

  "Someone's logging in, all squads prepare to engage!"

  Then came the shout of Tianheng's Captain Zhu Yuan, "Li Biao, warn your people about the Orion's beast trap!"

  Yuan Zhu immediately opened his eyes.

  At this moment, a large number of troops were approaching, and the five members of the Tianheng Squad were already engaged with four or five other squads.

  Li Biao shouted, "Yueling!"

  Chen Yueling's eyes scanned the ground in front of her, swiftly drawing her long sword and lightly touching the ground.

  Suddenly, a massive bear trap sprang up from under the dead leaves. This trap was incredibly sturdy, with a diameter of about two meters, and the force with which it sprang up was surprisingly strong. Triggered by Chen Yueling, it jumped over half a meter high!

  Getting caught in this trap could easily break bones!

  Fortunately, China had previously sent out numerous squads to probe, so both Tianheng and Tiger were well-prepared this time.

  "Quick, join up with Tianheng!" Li Biao immediately ordered, leading the team toward the Tianheng Squad.

  Moments later, a third squad appeared behind them!

  Hot-Blooded Captain Xu Jun didn't rush to order a merge with the other two squads. His team took advantage of Tianheng and Tiger being entangled with the enemy's night watch squads, and all opened their watches to scan the current environment.

  "Captain, our location is Point A!" a team member reported.

  Hot-Blooded's task was to determine their login point as soon as possible; only by confirming the login point could they figure out which direction to break through.

  "Confirm Point A!" another person said.

  Xu Jun immediately ordered, "Leave a mark!"

  The five team members quickly took out some blue cards and scattered them around.

  The blue cards quickly materialized upon landing, turning into glowing blue stones.

  "Their reinforcements will arrive soon, join up with Tianheng and the others! Move!" Xu Jun took out his shield and led the team toward Tianheng and Tiger!

  The Hot-Blooded Squad also joined the battle with the Tianheng and Tiger Squads.

  About a minute later, the A Point teleportation gate lit up again, and a Middle Eastern team emerged from the teleportation array.

  They saw the blue stones on the ground and the Chinese team engaged in fierce combat with the enemy, immediately understanding their situation.

  "Wait for the next two teams, then break through to the southeast!"

  At that moment, a large number of troops suddenly appeared around them, roughly estimating at least a dozen squads.

  They immediately surrounded the teleportation array.

  Among them, a tall and burly white man, standing two meters tall, saw the situation in front of the teleportation array, waving his thick arms, showing off his muscular physique, and laughed excitedly, "Haha, after days of boredom, finally some fools have come to die today!"

  "Looks like quite a few have come! Seems like I, Clementine Hockman, can go on a killing spree again!"

  Another Asian man in night attire let out a cold laugh, already holding a long katana in his hand, "Interesting, the Chinese are here again, did they bring some underlings this time?"

  "If you want to enter the zone, first ask the sword in my hand, Onoda Juro!"

  Behind the two, a woman appeared much calmer. Her silver chainmail outlined her sensual curves, covered by a black cape, with the hood concealing her face, revealing only her crimson lips.

  "It's the Chinese! Haven't you Chinese always had complaints about the sorcerer snatching the fifth place in the Martial Apprentice rankings? Today, I'll show you the power of a sorcerer!"

  Hockman raised his greatsword high, rallying his troops, "Reinforcements will be here soon, let's have a good slaughter!"

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