Chapter 86: The Wolves' Teeth That Suddenly Leaped Out

After they left, the mission world was indeed still unfolding.

So this world should be independent, and they were merely outsiders who disrupted the plot.

What, then, was the true purpose of the mysterious train? Was it plundering some kind of energy, or gaining something by altering the timeline?

There was too little information to judge.

Over the next few days, Gao Ning busied himself gathering every scrap of intelligence he could.

With money smoothing the way, the staff of the five-star hotel showed remarkable efficiency. Round after round of reports and materials appeared in the suite, and someone even recommended several military experts who specialized in war studies.

Through comparing information from every source, Gao Ning at last grasped the present situation.

"We came too early!"

He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of wine in hand. Outside, golden sunlight spilled across the earth, and evening was already descending.

In the story, the major who had been thrown onto the battlefield as cannon fodder was still blustering away on every major news channel.

William Cage, played by Tom Cruise, was a media officer attached to the military.

In the plot, his journey to the London front was meant to capture better war footage, partly to promote recruitment and partly to gather combat data on the exoskeleton armor.

Five years earlier, a meteor fell from the sky and slammed into Germany.

Five years later, more than half of Europe had been overrun by monsters.

And unlike in the original story, these monsters had not confined themselves to Europe. Instead, they spread across the seas and launched attacks on multiple fronts around the world, seizing many scattered tracts of territory.

Gao Ning did not much care about that. What troubled him was this:

Since the protagonist had not yet been sent to the battlefield by the general, it meant he had not yet acquired the cheat of dying and being reborn.

That was bad. Gao Ning's previous deductions no longer held.

Others would surely move against the protagonist.

Should he strike first? Simply abduct the protagonist and hide him away, while stockpiling troops and guarding against whatever attacks might come. That might even give them the initiative.

Old Second Gao suddenly appeared on the sofa and said, "Found the protagonist's location?"

"Where?" Gao Ning asked.

"News from the black market says he arrived in Paris two hours ago. This time he came on behalf of the American military, presenting the exoskeleton armor in the capacity of a military expert.

He should be at the television station now, getting ready for a live broadcast!"

"A television station?" Gao Ning nodded. "After these past few days, the number of terror robots has exceeded twenty. That should be enough to put up a fight. Get ready. We leave at once and proceed according to the original plan."

Old Second Gao asked, "After we catch him, where do we send him?"

"To Luxembourg. That place is already occupied by the alien monsters, a wasteland stretching for a thousand miles and utterly deserted. It's the perfect place to build up forces."

After a few brief exchanges, they had made their decision. Just as they were preparing to depart, the television that had been playing the news suddenly flickered, and a middle-aged gentleman in a white suit with short blond hair appeared on the screen.

He sat in a broad chair, his back straight as a rod. Behind him, a black banner hung on the wall, emblazoned with a ferocious white wolf's head that seemed ready to leap out at any moment.

At his feet, William Cage knelt in miserable disarray, his hands and feet bound behind him and a large gag stuffed into his mouth. His face was pale with panic, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Gao Ning froze. "This..."

The gentleman in the white suit smiled faintly. "Good evening, viewers. My name is Wolf Fang. That name may be unfamiliar to you, but it does not matter. My purpose is not you.

Do you see the gentleman beside me? He is the famous William Cage!

I do not know what your little group is called, the one opposing us this time, but I would still like to invite you to a proper contest.

Let us set the place at the beach that appeared in the story, and the time three days from now.

During this period, you may verify the news about William Cage at your leisure.

After three days, if you do not appear, I will take it as your collective surrender of the mission, and I will simply kill William Cage, complete the mission, and return.

Do not think the time currency is of no importance. Its function is far greater than you imagine.

If you come, perhaps I will tell you this secret."

Wolf Fang stepped down from his seat with a faint laugh, seized William Cage by the hair, and forced his face toward the camera.

"By the way, the kidnapping of Colonel Cage was entirely voluntary. For the moment, we have no intention of going up against the military. Whether it is the resistance on the European front, the American army, or the World Allied Forces, do not interfere in our little game. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourselves!"

"Remember, you have only three days!"

With that, the screen flickered and returned to the news segment.

The news hall erupted into chaos, evidently thrown into disarray by the sudden incident.

Only after more than twenty seconds did the anchor finally recover his wits, quickly replay the clip that had just been cut in, and launch into commentary on it.

Gao Ning was merely surprised; he was not angry.

Being late could only be blamed on himself.

In truth, from the very beginning, the mission world had been hinting that this was a parallel space.

Just like the Tuxedo world, Edge of Tomorrow was also a different world within the same story line.

At present, only two-thirds of France had fallen, with the remaining third still holding out, including Paris and Versailles.

In the original story, however, France had already fallen completely, and Europe itself had been devoured by ninety percent, leaving only Britain and a few fringe countries still resisting.

Wolf Fang's meaning was clear. They already held victory in their grasp. Broadcasting a hijacked signal and openly declaring that William Cage would be executed three days later was merely a way to force Gao Ning and the others to reveal themselves.

From the way he spoke, it was obvious Wolf Fang was extremely confident in his side's combat strength.

No matter what abilities Gao Ning and the others possessed, he could kill a few of them and obtain even more time currency.

A faint smile touched Gao Ning's lips.

"Found him?" Old Second Gao asked.

Gao Ning said, "Conveniently, he's in Luxembourg too."

Wolf Fang's appearance had caused the Red Alert interface to instantly lock onto him as an enemy, marking his location on the mini-map.

He never imagined that merely sending a message would expose his own position.

Gao Ning said, "Since he craves war, then let's give him war. Take the terror robot squad and pay him a visit. Let's see what tricks they're playing!"

He was not afraid of a direct confrontation.

Gao Ning took out a small notebook, flipped through a few pages until he found a phone number, then pulled out his mobile and dialed it.

"Mr. Joseph, yes, it's me! No, this time I am not calling to ask about the war situation. It's not that I don't trust your theory; it's simply that I'm not interested in that subject.

Do you remember the Mr. Yordel you mentioned the last time we spoke, the one who inherited a munitions company and is developing a high-powered weapon to deal with the alien monsters?

I would like to meet him." A faint curve touched Gao Ning's lips as he spoke.