Chapter 101: The Combat Squad

Chapter 101: The Combat Squad

The operational meeting was straightforward. Dirot, a seasoned commander, divided the ten members into two teams: Alpha and Beta. He appointed himself as the captain of Alpha. To Xia Zheng’s surprise, Carol was named captain of Beta. It seemed her influence extended beyond being the most beautiful woman in the team; compared to Eileen, Carol was evidently quite capable.

Alpha was assigned as the main assault force, responsible for the primary investigation into the Peijel infection incident. Beta was tasked with support duties. Most of the elite members were placed in Alpha, with Carol as the sole exception due to her leadership role.

Xia Zheng’s representative, Benson, was naturally assigned to Beta, as his rookie police officer status—though elite compared to others—placed him in a supporting role.

Both teams would take separate helicopters from two companies to Peijel. Aside from vague orders to “assist and support,” Xia Zheng received no detailed instructions. He understood that his current “strength” had yet to earn his teammates’ trust, so he would have to play it safe for now.

After assigning tasks, Dirot checked the timings and handed out maps to everyone. Although Xia Zheng had seen maps of Eternal Night City before, they were often inaccurate or speculative reconstructions from civilians or online sources, riddled with flaws and distortions.

But this map from Dirot was the first to give him a true, panoramic understanding of part of Eternal Night City.

The city’s layout resembled a giant clock face. At the center was the “Eternal District.” Surrounding it were twelve districts arranged clockwise from the 12 o’clock position: Subdistrict 1 at 0 o’clock, Subdistrict 2 at 1 o’clock, Subdistrict 3 at 2 o’clock, Subdistrict 4 at 3 o’clock, Subdistrict 5 at 4 o’clock, Subdistrict 6 at 5 o’clock, Subdistrict 7 at 6 o’clock, Subdistrict 8 at 7 o’clock, Subdistrict 9 at 8 o’clock, Subdistrict 10 at 9 o’clock, Subdistrict 11 at 10 o’clock, and Subdistrict 12 at 11 o’clock.

Eternal Night City covered about 22,000 square kilometers. Each district ranged from 1,300 to 2,000 square kilometers and housed between one to 1.5 million residents. The Eternal District alone had nearly five million inhabitants. The city’s total population reached around 20 million, excluding satellite cities.

Within a 50-kilometer radius were dozens of satellite cities, each with populations between 100,000 and 300,000. These were true megacities, economically prosperous, contributing up to 40% of the federation’s tax revenue—almost half the nation’s wealth, a country within a country.

Though Xia Zheng was somewhat familiar with Eternal Night City, these detailed figures left him awestruck. No wonder the city’s fall was of critical importance to the federation. Both the president and the military commander had vowed in their inaugural speeches to reclaim the city at all costs, refusing to yield.

After the meeting, as Xia Zheng prepared to leave with Carol, Dirot called him aside.

“Benson, I’m worried about this operation. Intelligence from the front lines isn’t encouraging. The casualties have exceeded ten, half of them officers. The Eternal District’s police headquarters are taking this seriously. Once our investigation team returns, we’ll have to report in detail and decide whether to deploy a massive police sweep of Peijel,” Dirot said, furrowing his brow with concern.

Xia Zheng, stepping into his role, pondered before asking, “Uncle, is there anything unusual about this case?”

Dirot nodded. “It’s not a simple murder case. We initially suspected a deranged serial killer. The victims were often savagely bitten, left unrecognizable. Yet some were completely drained of blood—very strange.”

“Have you ever heard of the Blood Clan?” Xia Zheng tentatively asked.

“The Blood Clan? You mean those terrifying demons rumored in the Northern Snow Mountains who drink blood and prey on people? Benson, have you been watching too many movies? We’re police officers, elite ones at that, not fans of sci-fi fantasy,” Dirot scolded, displeased. Xia Zheng sighed, realizing no one was ready to believe in such a dreadful tribe.

Eleven years ago, within the federation, the Blood Clan was merely legend and rumor, mostly confined to films and literature.

In any case, Dirot warned Xia Zheng to stick close to Carol and avoid rash actions. For now, their role was to support and guard the perimeter.

Xia Zheng nodded, knowing he couldn’t convince this “uncle” for now and resolved to follow the script.

Leaving the conference room, Xia Zheng joined Carol and three others—Jim, Chen Hui, and Mario.

This was the first time the five members of Beta had assembled as a team, so they introduced their strengths and specialties.

Jim was tall and burly, his genes partially enhanced though not fully modified, boasting immense strength—the strongest among the five. Chen Hui was a sharpshooter, with enhanced eyesight and concentration, excelling in sniping—ideal for vigilance and fire support. Mario was a fully gene-modified soldier, capable of high-speed movement and stealth.

Carol was the strongest fighter, with all physical attributes enhanced. She also possessed a special ability—“Berserk.” When activated, it dramatically boosted her entire body’s capabilities for ten minutes, though afterward she would be extremely weakened, so she rarely used it.

Benson (Xia Zheng) had a unique gene ability. Though his physical attributes were generally enhanced to an elite level among ordinary humans, his most distinctive trait was mental enhancement. His brain development exceeded normal humans by 5%, making his thinking sharp and spirit robust—ideal for intelligence analysis, cartography, and administrative tasks. His original ambition was to become a senior civil servant. Unfortunately, his uncle Dirot had transferred him from Azure City, seemingly wanting him to inherit his elder brother’s legacy. Benson’s father, John, had died in the line of duty seven years prior and was the powerful deputy director of the Eternal District Police Headquarters, founding the critical Special Investigation Unit.

Compared to the others, Benson’s overall attributes were indeed the weakest, but his future potential might be the greatest. Everyone understood this, so while their treatment of him was indifferent, none dared offend him—he might well become their superior someday.

After introductions, the team quickly proceeded to the armory to gear up. About ten minutes later, all ten members of Alpha and Beta gathered atop the police headquarters’ helipad, where two helicopters awaited: STK0159 and STK0162. The bureau had four helicopters in total; these two were assigned exclusively to the Special Investigation Unit.

The pilot for Alpha’s helicopter was Eileen, a dreadlocked woman with excellent flying skills rated A-class. Beta’s pilot was Benson, whose flying skills were rated A+, surpassing Eileen’s.

“Operation commence!” Dirot’s voice crackled over the radio as the two helicopters took off one after the other. The sky was dark and overcast, threatening a storm.