In the pitch darkness of the underground, a young man in a black shirt was shackled inside a cell, one hand cuffed and connected to the cage, while in another corner of the room, a burly man with short, gray hair sat in front of a computer terminal, continuously typing on the keyboard, and then a flood of data scrolled across the screen.
The room was stifling and quiet, the only sound being the clacking of the keyboard. The young man in the black shirt sat with his head lowered, seemingly without any strength left.
As the burly man inputted data, more and more appeared on the screen, and then the progress bar slowly advanced, until it finally unlocked completely, revealing encrypted content, including a vast amount of professional data, formulas, drawings, and explanatory diagrams, among other things.
"This... this is truly remarkable..." he confirmed that this was indeed the patent information he had been searching for.
However, he quickly realized the risk of continuing to look and stopped the screen, then turned it off.
Having decrypted the data onto a memory card, he removed it and inserted it into a slot in his chest, then stood up and walked over to the cage.
"Not bad, what you gave was indeed real." He looked at the exhausted young man being tortured in the cage, gave a slight nod once he confirmed that the other was still alive, and then picked up equipment from the side of the room, putting back on his overcoat and hat that concealed his identity.
"You're not going to kill me?" asked the weak voice from within the cage as he watched the burly man about to leave.
"Kill you?" The burly man suddenly found the idea amusing and chuckled, but he had no time to explain because he had already heard the alarm outside.
"Just completing the task is enough, I won't do anything unnecessary." After speaking, he left the room and quickly entered the nearby underground passage.
After opening the steel grate door of the underground, a black hover motorcycle was stopped next to the entrance. He mounted it, started the engine, and pale blue flames gushed from the exhaust, propelling him deep into the tunnel ahead.
Less than a minute after his departure, three fully-armed staff members of the agency blasted the entrance to the basement and leaped inside. They swept around with their pistols before discovering the person locked in the cage.
"Target found, confirmed alive, no other personnel."
"Roger, search the surroundings, inquire about the target's status."
Afterward, one of the agency members approached and used an ion dagger to cut open the cage, extracting Gleid from within.
"What happened, who captured you?" A member wearing a tactical helmet scanned Gleid's physical condition and found many internal injuries; some were damage to soft tissues, while others were bones shattered into small pieces.
"He got the patent data from me, then took it and left." Gleid said in a barely-there tone.
"Which way did he escape?"
"The underground water passage."
The agency members exchanged glances, and one immediately dashed toward the underground passage.
"Reporting to the captain, there's been a change; the target had the data taken by the opponent and has left through the underground passage."
"Begin pursuit immediately. Have squad four move the shuttles into the underground passage. You guys blow open the entrance beforehand."
Soon after, the entrance to the underground chamber was completely blasted open by an explosion, and in less than a minute, three two-seater hovercraft entered the underground passage and began tracking residual heat in the air.
"The target hasn't been gone more than three minutes; capture is still possible." A member reported the AI scan's analysis results.
"Increase speed! Also, take the target up, prepare to leave."
"Although he's no longer the primary mission objective, he still holds considerable value."
Shortly thereafter, a member of the agency injected Gleid with a Middle Rank emergency healing potion and placed him onto one of the hovercraft, preparing to ascend and depart.
However, before they could take off, a steely figure leapt from the woods, reaching directly toward Gleid on the hovercraft.
The electromagnetic pistol openly fired, bullets sparking off the steely figure's body without penetrating the armor. After leaping toward the hovercraft, he grabbed the firing gun, crushed it, then swung a punch that sent an agency member flying, seizing the semi-conscious Gleid.
"Interloper spotted, he has taken the target." A member gave covering fire as he reported.
"Squad two, follow up and retrieve the target, squads one and four pursue the thief of the data, squad three intercept security forces in the Sala Tree Mountain area."
Soon, two hovercraft, each carrying four members, sped toward Valke, who held Gleid. This time, they didn't shoot but drew their portable Light Sabers.
Blue particles surged out, and six Light Sabers lit up in the air before slashing toward Valke, who retreated while carrying someone on the ground.
Valke, eyeing the rapidly approaching Light Sabers, narrowed his eyes, set Gleid down beside him for a moment, and then drew back his fist to his waist. In these few seconds, time seemed to slow. His armor's seams overflowed with hot vapor, and the edges even showed red-hot traces before he threw his punch.
The overwhelming pressure of his fist was channeled into a narrow corridor by his Transcendent Profession Ability, akin to a cannon, suddenly bursting forth.
"Pressure of the Burning Sun!"
When the red-hot fist was swung, it aligned with his arm and shoulder in a straight line, the entire figure seemed to blur momentarily, leaving an afterimage. Then the explosive punch instantly pierced through the oncoming hovercraft, melting various fragmented components in the stream of heat that spewed forth, scattering and striking the surrounding trees of Sala Tree Mountain, producing wisps of blue smoke.