"Special Forces! Drop your weapon and hit the floor!" Similar threatening slogans erupted suddenly after a door burst in.
The gang members' psychology was overwhelmed, not yet recovering from the initial two fellows who were unfortunately slammed unconscious by the wooden door.
Quickly scanning their faces, the operators fired. None of the faces here belonged to the undercover agents they had memorized deeply.
Before leaving, every operator had read Athena's files to enrich themselves with appropriate intel.
Bodies fell. Gunshots rang above, growing heavier as time passed. "Fan out and clear fast."
Kilo 5 operators rushed their movements. Even then, their motions still retained professionalism, without missing steps due to hurriedness upon entry.
Bringing up the NVGs, apart from the responsible one covering important sectors where enemies could pop out, Kilo 5 operators landed a few more shots on the dead bodies.
As bullets sieved through the flesh, dust and small biological debris sprinkled like mini-volcanic eruptions.
"Continue," Kilo 5 operator said. "Locate the circuit breaker to cut the power."
"You sure they use a circuit breaker here?"
"Anything that resembles one. Find it. Darkness is our advantage."
Intangible muffled exclamations came from one of the connected rooms. The building was very large.
From Kilo 5's entry point, there were various rooms connected to the aisle in all directions. Directly ahead, the space between was larger; this should lead Kilo 5 toward the staircase.
The sound came from the left. A few operators immediately stacked on the door. One pied the threshold and turned her back, her arm length just in reach of the doorknob.
She retracted her HK416, took out a slim flashbang from a pouch somewhere behind, and nodded to her partner aiming at the door.
The latter nodded back. Both knew there were multiple tangos inside. Clear fast and get out. Using a flashbang was the most appropriate.
Of course, rushing toward the staircase was better while containing other angles that might threaten the team than always trying to eliminate enemies.
But who knew the direction of the staircase? Who was certain they were going in the right direction? Following the sound of gunfire was correct; however, if one pursued the source , the entire team would be miserable.
Bursting into a few rooms to check whether there was another path to continue could reveal the building's architecture so that the operators could guess the path. At least, the probability rose.
Receiving her partner's response, the operator smiled under the hood and delivered a powerful donkey kick. The whole door slid vertically into the room, hinges broken from the strong hit.
Since Spirit Fox operators had strengthened their physiques, they were never the same. The aggression shown toward the enemies would scare them to death.
Naturally, they had full control of their force. If the operator desired to simply swing the door in through her kick, she knew. But she was just too lazy to control it.
After the kick, she tossed a flashbang in and returned to high ready.
A bright light illuminated outward.
"Ahem...Ahem..." Continuous coughs and screams ensued.
Her two partners entered and began spraying, ending the misery. She stepped in and saw two crumpling uncomfortably and coughing. "Hold! Keep them alive. I have some questions."
These two were the 'luckiest' to stay alive. The two operators put them last on the list since they weren't holding weapons.
Slinging away her rifle, she marched toward one and lifted the figure by the neck, slamming him down on the table behind, sliding him until his neck was off the edge. Choking him, she asked, "Where's the stairs? Tell me now!"
The man choked and coughed, turning his face away. She felt resistance and sneered, gripping his chin and asked again, "Answer me."
The man still said nothing. She simply unholstered her pistol and aimed from above. Out of patience, she squeezed the trigger and the man stopped moving.
She clicked her tongue and huffed. "What a tough mouth! It's not like we're bloodthirsty."
If the man had heard her complaint, he would definitely crawl back from the Death gate to prove his innocence. He really wanted to talk, but with the iron plier crushing his mouth, how could he speak?
And please, he was still recovering from the closest blast. The 'grenade' exploded underneath his feet! He really died unjustly.
Then, she turned her eyes toward another figure, who was pushed down to the floor nearby by her partner. "It's your turn now."
This time, the operator's violence terrified the shivering man, who began to cough and stutter as he confessed.
Too bad, perhaps he was stimulated too much. The operators frowned and bellowed, "Just give me the general direction."
The man pointed in the direction, somewhere close to the widest aisle of Kilo 5's 12 o'clock orientation.
The operators nodded, satisfied. "You should have spilled the beans earlier to suffer less. Look at him now, cold and alone in the underworld. Do you want to accompany him?"
The man gulped and shook his head. These women were devils! Compared to them, his gang was like puppies. Suffer less? Bullshit, they were sent off to see God, not given a chance to reason.
"Touchy, I thought you'd be loyal to your friend till the end." The operator who exhibited pure violence sighed with regret.
The man fumed and glared at the woman who spoke, but he remembered his situation and lowered his gaze.
Who wanted to prove loyalty to the dead? Brotherhood between gang members was like thin paper, easy to tear at a moment's notice. Betrayal was the norm here.
He couldn't complain much before being hit in the back of the head. The operator who attacked pulled the man's wrists behind and cuffed them.
"Tsk, why knock him out? It's too light, he deserves a bullet."
"Sis," the busy operator bit her lip and disagreed. "Control your mood. We still have a job to do. Remember, we're saving people, not killing them for pure revenge."
The members rapidly withdrew from the room and reported to the leader. Pap! Pap!
Firefight continued as enemies rushed toward Kilo 5 and reacted. They were fighting everywhere, but Kilo 5 was never outgunned.
As long as targets appeared, they were mowed down. Spirit Fox's accuracy was ridiculously high. It wasn't a fight, it was a massacre.
"Cut the power," Kilo 5 leader ordered after hearing her subordinates' report of the discovery of the main circuit breaker.
"Roger." The operator pulled the lever down, and the electricity went out. The tide turned in Kilo 5's favor. The enemies went blind and suffered instantly.
Kilo 5 immediately advanced in the rough direction, leaving behind unclear rooms and hallways.
It couldn't be helped. If they focused on speed, they had to sacrifice security. Unlike before, where the team secured step-by-step, ensuring no escapes or loopholes in the manner Spirit Fox cleared.
The gang members and other unknowns could squirt out of the building and flank them, which was why both Kilo 5 and Kilo 6 requested Tang Ziyi's and Ling Qingyu's assistance.
Every member locked their muzzles on the doors as the team passed. For hallways, someone contained the threat until the entire train passed and declared "last man."
Cries in a language they couldn't understand echoed around. The group put down any threats with firearms. There was no resistance.
The gang members were totally confused and in chaos, without any organization. The enemies were picked off one by one.
There were women too, in uniform, running around. This was a total mess for Spirit Fox as well. Nevertheless, saving the undercover operative was a priority.
So, Kilo 5 shouted in an international language to declare their status.
"Special Forces." Then, an explanation, depending on the target's situation. Suspected ones were met with an aggressive tone and forced to lie down. Those who wielded weapons were warned once and shot. Finally, Kilo 5 managed to find the staircase and raced against time, their hearts a little heavy. Leaving behind two operators to guard the stairwell, Kilo 5 reached the second floor.
Fortunately, Kilo 6 made another entry and began to rectify Kilo 5's follow-up, rapidly occupying spaces before Kilo 5 left the floor. Otherwise, the situation would roll out of control. Panicked bystanders despite numbering low compared to the violent gang ruffians.
Kilo 6 cleared from a different angle and neutralized threats that tried to escape from Kilo 5's route. At the same time, the team quelled the remaining chaos.