boyutpedia Page 118
Page 118
"OK."
After hanging up, Hawke swooped down from the clouds, his midnight blue shadow trailing a dark golden afterimage. The sudden sonic boom carved a terrifying sound wave across the night sky.
His target this time is all the witches in the villa on the slope, as well as Baek Jing-eun herself.
Although Ross promised at the Blue House that Baek Jung-eun would be handed over to the South Korean authorities, if you can't protect the prisoner yourself and she gets kidnapped, that has nothing to do with me, Ross.
Rose had only one request for Hawke—don't reveal your identity when you're trying to recruit him.
The outline of the hillside villa gradually became clear, and the snow on the mountain peaks shone faintly in the moonlight.
As they drew closer, the roar of artillery fire filled the air.
Outside the manor, more than fifty mercenaries, with weapons comparable to those of the US military, various heavy firepower, and the advantage of occupying high ground, managed to hold off more than two hundred Marines for a time.
0 ······Requesting flowers···· ········
But when twelve Apache attack helicopters entered the scene, using aerial maneuvering and decoy flares to exhaust the enemy's Stinger missiles, the moment of destruction arrived.
Each Apache is equipped with four M-261 19-cell 70mm Sea Serpent rocket launchers. In fact, as is customary, the Apache has always placed great emphasis on anti-tank weapons, so at least half of the hardpoints are loaded with four- or six-cell anti-tank missiles on each mission.
But this time they didn't have that problem at all; all they needed was their strongest ground attack firepower.
From the command vehicle hidden at the foot of the mountain, Ross naturally saw the Marines' predicament. When the Apache team arrived over the battlefield, he gave a vicious order: "Colonel Rook, unleash your maximum ground firepower and send them and that poor bunker to the sky!"
..... ... ....
An incredibly shocking scene unfolded: twelve Apache helicopters spread out, each with a total of forty-eight 19-tube rocket launchers, unleashing terrifying jets of fire at all the positions occupied by the more than 50 mercenaries on the ground.
Thick smoke from the rocket launch engulfed half the mountainside, and the deafening explosion lasted for several minutes. The bombing range stretched for more than two thousand meters, leaving only scorched earth as far as the eye could see, with the occasional charred arm buried in the ground.
Fifty mercenaries were killed without a complete corpse.
The core area, unlike the fiercely contested outer perimeter, was completely calm. The entire sloping villa was shrouded in darkness, with not a single light on, as if the whole world had fallen silent.
Moments later, the U.S. military began broadcasting a surrender appeal in both English and Korean.
"Slope villa, you are surrounded by US Marines stationed in South Korea. Surrender immediately! Surrender immediately! Put your hands on your head and leave the villa within one minute, or we will launch a devastating attack on you..."
The broadcast continued, and Hawke, hovering high above, could even see the panicked figures inside the villa.
213 Enfei counts as half a line [Seeking flowers and subscriptions]
Inside the villa, Bai Jing'en was completely bewildered.
She couldn't understand how things had suddenly developed to this point. Shouldn't the headquarters be the one being hit right now?
But when she saw the blue and gold figure floating high in the sky, she finally let out a helpless sigh...
She waved her hand, knowing that in front of this king, the fighting power of these dozen or so witches was probably not even enough to fill his teeth.
Keep in mind that the King was on the streets of Manhattan, rescuing civilians while simultaneously slaughtering a group of witches.
There is really no need for futile resistance.
The witch number 0, who was staring intently at the king behind her, sensed Baek Jing-eun's change and took a deep breath. She was prepared to fight the king to the death, but who would want to die if they could live?
Clearly, Baek Jing-eun and her witch squad had lost all will to resist. With more and more troops surrounding them and the king watching them with predatory eyes, the immense mental pressure was something no ordinary person could withstand.
So, one after another, they came out of the villa with their heads in their hands. The last one to come out was a girl in white pushing a wheelchair. The woman in the wheelchair looked to be in her fifties, wearing thin-rimmed glasses. She looked refined and had a very elegant demeanor.
Walking among the crowd, who would have thought that this intellectual woman, who looks like a professor, is actually one of the main promoters of the Witch Project for more than 20 years?
Hawke, suspended in mid-air, made eye contact with Baek Jung-eun and Witch No. 0, who had both looked up.
Baek Jing-eun is like a kind university professor.
As for Witch No. 0, although she is a clone of Gu Ziyun's biological mother, she is indeed much prettier than Gu Ziyun. I wonder which pig Gu Ziyun's real biological mother was taken by.
As agreed, Baek Jing-eun and her group would become Hawke's spoils of war. In exchange, Hawke would smash the headquarters of the company for General Ross and obtain all the core research and development data about the Witch Project.
At that moment, Ross, who was directing the cleanup of the mess, suddenly received a call from the South Korean authorities. He frowned, but still answered the phone.
"General Ross, I apologize for disturbing you so late. I heard your operation was very successful."
Ross gave a soft "hmm," and at that moment, Hawke descended from the sky.
The ingratiating voice came from the other end of the phone again: "Could you please ask General Ross to send troops to escort Baek Jung-eun to the foot of Hallasan Mountain? Don't worry, we will cover the corresponding expenses."
Hawke, who was on the phone, looked at Ross, who looked annoyed, with a bit of amusement. It seemed that the South Korean authorities were also afraid of being hijacked and had asked the US military for an escort.
But Ross definitely wouldn't agree.
He knew Hawke was going to kidnap people, yet he still sent troops? Was he just waiting to be thrashed?
After politely declining, I hung up the phone.
A moment later, a South Korean military vehicle arrived and picked up Baek Jung-eun.
After Ross signed the release order, he looked at Hawke and asked, "What about headquarters?"
Hawke smiled confidently. "Don't worry, General Ross. I've deployed two of my top generals to help you sort out this organization."
Hawke sent Koo Ja-yoon and Shin Si-ah to the company headquarters ahead of time. Judging by the time, they should have been able to secure them by now.
Sure enough, three minutes later, I received a message on my phone: "Our company president—Keigo Ishikawa—has had his huge head chopped off by Shin Shia, who was furious and wanted to avenge Hawke."
General Ross also received the information, and his personnel were already copying materials from headquarters. His researchers said the acquired materials were very valuable.
Ross was relieved, a smile appearing on his serious face. He looked at Hawke, then at the captured witches beside him, and said, "I'm a soldier, and I like loyal people, so I always train them from scratch. As for this group, my advice to you is to treat them with caution."
Hawke nodded in deep agreement. General Ross's idea was correct, but Hawke didn't have time to test whether his men were disloyal. It was still the same old story—treat them to meals, behead them, and take them in as dogs!
Choose one of three!
Be loyal to me, and I'll treat you to dinner...
If you're my enemy, then go die...
As for being a dog, that's difficult because there are too many ungrateful people.
Eunfi was the first dog, a female dog, but now she can only be considered half a dog, since she still needs to be given a chance for promotion.
So currently, only Murakami, the owner of the hand-held dog, is a complete dog.
Ross provided Hawke with a military transport vehicle to carry the twelve witches.
I timed it; the car that Han Jun took Bai Jing'en away has been gone for a while now, it should be about time.
After bidding farewell to General Ross, they changed their clothes in a secluded spot, followed by a sonic boom, but no one paid any attention...
Just twenty minutes later, Hawke, completely covered up, quietly returned and placed Bai Jing'en, whom he was holding, into the military vehicle that Ross had prepared for him.
The transport vehicle doors closed slowly with a low hum from the hydraulic system.
Twelve witches dressed in straitjackets were strapped to specially made chairs, their eyes either unfocused, wary, or still filled with lingering fear.
In the open space in the middle of the carriage, Hawke placed Bai Jing'en on a cushion. "Uh..." Bai Jing'en let out a muffled groan, her eyelashes trembling beneath her thin-rimmed glasses as she slowly opened her eyes.
After a brief moment of confusion, the cold floor, the unfamiliar carriage environment, and the tall figure in front of her instantly brought her back to her senses.
Hawke took off his combat uniform, which concealed his identity, changed into civilian clothes, and came to stand in front of Baek Jing-eun.
"Welcome to the American air express, Manager Bai." He made a small joke to ease the tension.
Baek Jing-eun stared at Hawke Lane, the man who had once crushed numerous witches in a live broadcast. Her heart pounded. She forced herself to calm down, but her voice still trembled slightly: "Mr. Hawke... this is kidnapping! The South Korean authorities and international law..."
“International law?” Hawke chuckled, interrupting her. “Let’s not play that game. If you stay in South Korea, you can probably guess what will happen to you. But what I’m giving you…” He leaned down slightly, gazing at her, “is another 4.8 option.”
Baek Jing-eun's breath caught in her throat.
She certainly understood what Hawke meant.
She looked at Hawke and saw in his eyes an undisguised ambition and a thirst for talent, far beyond a simple sense of justice or desire for revenge.
"You want to... recruit me?" Bai Jing'en asked with difficulty, her voice filled with disbelief. "Do you think that after everything we've been through, I'll trust you? Or rather, do you even believe me?"
“It’s not a ‘feeling,’ it’s a ‘demand.’” Hawke’s tone was resolute. “You, your knowledge, and these ‘weapons’ you’ve meticulously crafted,” he glanced at the witches beside him who were also looking at him, “are valuable to me. That’s enough.”
"Value?" Bai Jing'en's lips curled into a bitter smile. "And then what? Used up and then disposed of like a discarded experimental subject? Like Ishikawa treated those failed experiments?"
214 twelve virgins... This is a huge profit! [Seeking flowers and subscriptions]
“I am different from Ishikawa.” Hawke straightened up. “Ishikawa only sees the value of tools, while I appreciate the people who create them. With me, loyal followers will receive rewards far beyond your imagination. Resources, a free research environment, opportunities to challenge cutting-edge technologies… and even,” he paused, his gaze sweeping over the witches, “to grant your ‘daughters’ true freedom, as long as they prove their loyalty.”
“True free will?” Bai Jing'en seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. “They are clones! They are products of gene editing! Their core instructions have already been…”
“Z,” Hawke interrupted again, “retriev the core database file: Project Zero Protocol – Override Codes. Show it to Manager Bai.”
Instantly, a holographic projection unfolded in front of Bai Jing'en.
Above are densely packed, complex gene instruction sequences and neural regulation maps that are dizzying to look at.
At the core, a command lock flashing red light is prominently displayed at 06—it is the highest-level control command set by Ishikawa to prevent the witches from betraying them.
This genetic lock cannot work on high-level witches because the reason why witches' abilities are of different levels is due to the uncertainty in the genetic modification process. Some people are modified more thoroughly and can break free from the limitations of the genetic lock.
However, there are very few witches who can reach this level; at least they must be at the level of Eunbi and the dual-wielding swordswoman Jung Da-eun.
Witches at this level and above use physical control methods. The initial physical control method simply involves attaching a tracker to the neck, just like Eunbi, Shin Si-ah, and Koo Ja-yoon.
However, after Koo Ja-yoon and Shin Si-ah were kidnapped by Hawke, our company developed nano-bombs that could be implanted into the body in order to better control the witch.
This information was also obtained from Zhao Xian and Zheng Duoen, whom Hawk had captured.
Logically, given Zhao Xian's abilities, it would have been possible to apply a gene lock. However, Zhao Xian was a direct descendant of Ishikawa and had previously purged traitors for the organization, making her experienced and meritorious. Therefore, only a tracker was implanted in her body.
Jung Da-eun was implanted with a nano-bomb because she was Baek Jung-eun's person and belonged to a different faction from Ishikawa.
Z intercepted the company's remote control of the nanobomb at the scene, which allowed Jung Da-eun to survive. Furthermore, Z developed a solution by reverse engineering the nanobomb.
Among Baek Jung-eun's guards, the Zero Witch also uses a combination of physical trackers and nano-bombs for control, while the other eleven are genetically locked. However, Hawke can currently break free from any of these control methods.
"Theoretically, no one but Ishikawa himself can unlock this command lock. It's a combination of multiple gene anchors and neural network resonance locks," Hawke said calmly. "Unfortunately, Ishikawa's head has already been removed by my men. Fortunately, I have backups of all the data in this organization."
Bai Jing'en stared wide-eyed at the document.
As a core developer, she knew all too well the authenticity of this document.
That was the last shackle that she had personally helped design to bind the souls of the witches!
"What is my choice?" Bai Jing'en's voice lowered, filled with exhaustion and the last struggle before resignation.
“It’s simple.” Hawke held up two fingers. “One, work for me. You’ll get the best labs, ample funding, and I’ll have plenty of projects that will interest you. Two…”