Chapter 17

It is very clear that the bandits' target should be the main venue of the exhibition on the 43rd floor. However, apart from the hundreds of military and police personnel below the 35th floor, there are countless people between the 35th and 43rd floors who appear to be ordinary staff but are actually hiding firearms... From the way they brazenly tuck their guns into their waistbands and pant legs, it is evident that these people do not belong to the T faction.

Although the DiHao Hotel has only 45 floors, it is already considered the tallest building near the new district of N City, with an average floor height of no less than eight meters. To enter via a zip line from the air, even with the help of the height of the adjacent buildings, they could only slide in up to the 20th floor at most.

Unless the bandits are fools, they would never do something as stupid as putting themselves in a desperate situation.

The hotel's internal elevators clearly have a braking system, and there are dual monitoring rooms on the 20th and 40th floors. It would be impossible to silently disable the surveillance and then take the elevator up.

The country's border restrictions have always been very strict, and the entry of foreign mercenaries would certainly attract surveillance. Airspace control is even stricter, and not far from N City is a military zone, which means that a large number of foreign soldiers hired by T faction players could absolutely not parachute in.

Therefore, no matter how you look at it, the T faction's strength in this 'major event' is far inferior to that of the CT faction!

Because the defensive forces here are not only CT faction players but also countless security forces!

Holding a plate of自助餐 (buffet), Ye Yun stood by the floor-to-ceiling window on the 35th floor, overlooking the entire city while eating.

He had also carefully studied the "Counter-Terrorism Biweekly," which recorded only a few major events worldwide in the past six months, all marked with titles as red as blood.

Take the Tokyo Ginza terrorist attack, for example. At least sixty players from both factions were involved, with the Red Army (a Japanese terrorist organization) mobilizing nearly five hundred people after being reorganized and exploited by the T faction. The CT faction called in the Japanese Special Police and Self-Defense Forces, which mobilized over a thousand people. In that battle, the number of civilian casualties reached a thousand... Major events are the only tasks that are reported by the government. However, the information the Japanese government released to the public was: The Red Army, after reorganization, boasted to the Japanese government, and was caught and eliminated in advance.

In reality, that time it was just a 'blood' case triggered by both factions' players competing for a bottle of something (Ye Yun's rank was not high enough to access the specific details).

So, what kind of support and lineup will the T faction bring this time?

And can I survive this catastrophe?

Ye Yun smiled bitterly, calmed himself down, and tried to clear his mind of distractions, striving to be aware of any developments as soon as they happen—no matter how strong an individual is, this is an era of weapon-based combat, and no matter how strong and tight your muscles are, you cannot stop a bullet.

...

When the entry time at seven o'clock arrived, Xu Yanan took Ye Yun's hand and walked towards the exhibition hall... She was very satisfied with Ye Yun, as he had brought her a lot of things during their dinner.

Actually, she didn't know that Ye Yun just didn't want others to see that they had no relationship.

The exhibition hall was decorated in a magnificent and luxurious style, and as soon as you entered, a sense of nobility hit you. The golden chandeliers, jade curtains, embroidered wall flowers, and women adorned with diamonds were all displayed on marble pedestals and encased in tempered glass. Each exhibit was accompanied by a woman in a traditional qipao, holding a square redwood plaque with descriptions in multiple Asian languages. These exhibit girls were all stunningly beautiful and sensually dressed, with their qipaos being both traditional and revealing, showing off their white thighs and chests... Not only were they beautiful, but they also had excellent professional qualities, standing still like white jade Guanyin statues, barely moving except for the slight rise and fall of their chests, making them seem like additional works of art.

There were many people in the hall. Xu Yanan whispered a few words to Ye Yun and then went to greet her elders, while Ye Yun wandered around, his eyes scanning the crowd behind his sunglasses.

Soon, his gaze stopped on a rugged man. This man exuded a clear military aura, and just standing there gave the impression of being as immovable as a mountain and as solid as a rock, as if even a bulldozer could not pass by him!

Ye Yun immediately thought, "Is he a player?"

"Beep! After detection, this person is an ordinary bodyguard, not a player from any faction."

"How can that be? Look at the calluses on his fists and the tiger's mouth; he has clearly practiced boxing for many years and is also an excellent marksman! His steps are steady, and each step is a fixed distance with almost no deviation, clearly indicating a highly skilled martial artist. Even with my current physique, I doubt I could have such a solid foundation."

"Beep! The system does not make mistakes. Do you want to check his resume?"

"Tell me!" Ye Yun was不服气 (unconvinced).

"Beep! Zhang Husheng, born in 1991, joined the B Military District in 2008, became a non-commissioned officer two years later, joined the B Military District's Oriental Divine Sword Special Forces in 2012, and retired in 2016 due to injuring someone. He is currently the head of the bodyguard team at Fenghua Industries, responsible for training bodyguards and protecting the company's chairman, Hu Yuanshan."

"..." Fenghua Industries is one of the leading companies in the country, with many international businesses. Ye Yun had heard from his uncle that the company might be backed by the military, which explains why someone like Zhang Husheng, a professional soldier, would be working as a bodyguard.

Estimating the strength comparison between himself and Zhang Husheng, Ye Yun quickly analyzed that "if I don't use a gun, the odds of winning are four to six, with me at four and him at six," which made him feel a bit uneasy.

The yet-to-be-named 'major event task' had once given Ye Yun a hint, "Your strength is even inferior to some non-player characters in the major event." At the time, Ye Yun thought the system was exaggerating, and his confidence grew after spending 5300 system points to enhance himself. But now, he realized the system might not have been exaggerating.

Steadying his mind, Ye Yun selected two more people from the crowd who seemed the most threatening and asked the system, but the answers were still that they were not 'players.' The three valuable opportunities were thus exhausted, leaving Ye Yun to marvel at the hidden talents in the room.

Xu Yanan returned and chatted with Ye Yun for a while when a host took the stage, giving a long speech and inviting a white-bearded old man to give a speech. After everything was over, the lights suddenly dimmed.

Ye Yun's heart tightened, and his body instantly tensed up.

However, the expected situation did not occur. Instead, three spotlights shone on the center of the venue, and the floor moved to reveal that it was not just a space for socializing but the stage for the most precious items!

Three pedestals slowly rose to the sound of grand music, and the surrounding lights came on. As the host introduced them, Ye Yun understood the origins of the three treasures.

On the left pedestal was a golden rose encrusted with jewels, created by French Emperor Napoleon for his beloved Josephine after his coronation. Josephine, who always loved roses, cherished this one deeply.

On the right pedestal was a diamond the size of a fist, with blood-like liquid inside. According to the host, it was the blood diamond from the top of the Egyptian Khufu Pyramid, which was said to be stained with the blood of tens of thousands of people. However, the host also mentioned that although it was a priceless treasure and had been passed down since the 16th century, it was impossible to verify whether it was indeed the Khufu blood diamond.

The sword in the middle, slightly to the back, caught Ye Yun's attention.

It was an ancient black iron sword, rust-free, with a design very similar to Chinese bronze swords. The hilt had a crescent-shaped end, a three-ring grip, and a crossguard. The blade was entirely black, about three inches wide, two feet long, and an inch thick.

The host introduced it as the genuine Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, one of the three sacred treasures of Japan. It was lost during the reign of Emperor Keikō in 112 AD and rediscovered in 1016 AD, then passed down through a Japanese family. In the mid-19th century, it fell into the hands of the Portuguese and is now owned by a wealthy businessman in Macau. The one allegedly stolen by a Silla monk from the Atsuta Shrine is actually an early forgery.

Ye Yun was drawn to this sword mainly because its name sounded familiar. He remembered that when he was young and his father was still alive, he was fond of the "KOF" series of games, especially the character Kyo Kusanagi. His father would often shout "Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi" and push Ye Yun away playfully, and Ye Yun would comically pretend to fall backward... Although those memories now seem silly, they were incredibly beautiful, and Ye Yun would never forget them.

Seeing the genuine Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi now, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia and sorrow, a pain known only to himself.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, Ye Yun's shoulders suddenly tensed!

Because a sudden, soul-piercing sense of danger flooded his mind, making him shudder from the core, as if a mountain were about to collapse or a tsunami were about to hit.

Following this feeling, Ye Yun turned his head, and his pupils involuntarily contracted.

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