Huo Shen looked terrible.
Not the dramatic kind of terrible that invited pity-but the quiet, unsettling kind that made seasoned operatives instinctively straighten their backs.
His complexion was bloodless, lips faintly blue at the edges. Each step was measured, as though his body were a weapon running on discipline alone.
In fact, with his old illness flaring, compounded by a gunshot wound that had barely scabbed over a week ago, his body was objectively in no condition to be standing,let alone commanding.
And yet, when duty called - he answered. Unflinchingly. It was that determination, the sheer power of will that led him to be the formidable soldier he is today.
The downside was how cruelly it exhausted him.
Viper was at his side immediately. "The final dose" he said quietly, offering him the chinese medicine the benefactor had given them.
Huo Shen accepted it without comment. His fingers brushed the bracelet at his wrist, an unconscious habit now, before he swallowed the medicine in one go.
He had always been a very co-operative patient. He never said no to any treatment or medication that was prescribed to him and diligently took care of his health.
However, Viper sensed that somehow, this was different for his boss.
He seemed gentler, almost reverent taking it. Like a doting husband who indulged his wife's care, thought Viper suddenly, and had to look away.
"Ermm.. It's the kid - the hacker genius who helped us before" explained Lin Ke haltingly.
"With this kid helping, we will be ready in a few days" smiled Mo Jiali.
Huo Shen nodded. "Radar systems are live " he confirmed. "Rhino and Viper, you can start on the ground surveillance from tomorrow. Falcon support them from base" he ordered and went to one of the make-shift tiny beds in the corner to rest.
"And dating is ok - as long as the other boy is sincere and upright" he said without looking back.
This was a promise Huo Shen had made to himself the minute Lu Mian became his responsibility.
His obsession, his unreasonable love will not be her shackle. After all, he cannot give her happiness, was not even remotely qualified to approach a young genius little girl who had her whole life ahead of her.
But he can be her shield - and make sure she finds happiness. In a spot others couldn't see, Huo Shen lifted his wrist, pressed a reverent kiss to the old bracelet/
Maybe it's a good thing I don't have long he thought vaguely. It would destroy me to watch her with someone else.
Taking a deep breath to control his racing thoughts. The very idea of her belonging to someone else awakened a monster within him. Rest was impossible now.
"Notify me when you are ready to proceed" he said, getting up to focus on things he could control. "We deploy as planned" and turned to leave.
The team exchanged glances.
They knew that tone.
Their boss was heading back to work -on the projects he never spoke about, the ones that kept Bai Renzhou awake at night.
"You would think after infiltrating Nexus base today he would relax." worried Falcon. The base was strictly guarded with not just top soldiers, but also the best tech the world could buy. To Huo Shen, breaking into it and coming back was just a day's work.
"Yeah, he's making us look bad" yawned Lin Ke and stopped midway to see his team glaring at him.
"Err. I mean… I will come back once Lumina responds" he mumbled and beat a hasty retreat.
Not so far away, in a private hospital sealed under atleast two layers of false credentials, sat Han Zheyu. His eyes were closed, his head resting against the headboard.
He was trying his best to focus.
Pain burned through his ribs. His face needed surgical restoration because of the fury Huo Shen had unleashed on him.
Han Zheyu welcomed the pain. This wasn't the first time he was hurt on an operation. However, this was the first time he had lost so spectacularly.
Humiliation burned through him - the kind the pain of his injuries could not suppress.
Where did it all go wrong?
With their information, they were meant to go in, get the researcher and files and move out. Intelligence, manpower, skills - they had it all. And yet, things had spiralled drastically out of control.
It was her he thought savagely. She ruined my plans!. And then there was Huo Shen. Han Zheyu gritted his jaw. He had never never been so badly defeated in close combat ever.
The fact gnawed at him. But, to counterattack, he needed rise beyond it. Focus, now, he snarled at himself.
"There were three teams operating," he said at last, voice slow, measured. Us. Huo Shen - who came in late and grabbed the wrong person"
His subordinates waited respectfully, not daring to interrupt.
"And then," he continued softly, "there was Aegis".
Shock rippled through the room. "Aegis took researcher Mo?" one subordinate gasped.
He opened his eyes, sharp and gleaming.
"Yes and No. It was a good smokescreen - but the girl unintentionally let slip. That soldier Huo Yichen is Aegis"
"He faked mediocrity," Han Zheyu went on, savoring the deduction. "Used a proxy to extract the real target. Researcher Mo is under their custody." surmised Han Zheyu.
The room buzzed with unease.
They knew that Aegis was someone with very close ties to the Huo family. That was why they initially suspected Huo Shen. He was definitely skilled enough.
But looking at how he was shunned and marginalized he was, it no longer made sense. Huo Yichen fit the narrative better.
"And if I am right," continued Han Zheyu decisively. "If Aegis has Researcher Mo, he is very likely setting a trap for us. Within a week there will be some movement" he grinned.
The art of strategy wasn't hard. Fundamentally, it boiled down to observation, predicting the enemy's moves, and then action.
Good strategists like Han Zheyu find patterns based on their previous experiences - like now, he completely ignored that Lu Mian could have the brains or the knowledge to trick him.
However, cleverer ones, like Lu Mian considered facts, removed bias and then formed her hypothesis. It was what made her an excellent researcher.
And this difference, this arrogance, though Han Zheyu didn't know it yet, would end up costing him a lot more than just Project Nexus.
Absolutely unaware of the abyss opening beneath his feet, Han Zheyu went on to create his counter measures.
The die was cast and now both sides intentionally prepared to win. However only one of them truly understood the battlefield.