Tempest of the Battlefield

Being an expert on Zergs, Dr. Gimmers was certain that there was already a leader or even an Encephalon Zerg among the Zergs on Paradise Island. The Encephalon Zergs were the most mysterious creatures of all. Although mankind was well-aware that these Encephalon Zergs were the real commanders and masterminds of the Zergs, they had never caught one before, which was why no one had any idea of how it looked like or how it was created. In fact, the other Zergs would even devour the Encephalon Zergs in order not to let them be captured by mankind.

Nevertheless, the three students were his biggest concern; however, there was really nothing he could do for the time being. He hoped the three poor lads were able to hang in there while waiting to be rescued by the FFC’s troops.

"Dr. Gimmers, the Zergs have found the entrance on the ground, and they’re trying to escape."

"Lockdown the base, we’re getting out from here as well."

"Copy that!"

Dr. Gimmers remained calm since those creatures were still struggling to break free, and he wouldn’t mind destroying the whole of Paradise Island as long as he could hunt down and capture the Encephalon Zerg. Dr. Gimmers then initiated the full lockdown protocol, and a giant steel wall began to rise from the sandy beach while countless pole-shaped iron barricades were immediately connected by a strong energy stream, forming a cage around Paradise Island. Even though the island was practically messed up, the Zergs would never be able to escape that easily.

Nobody except Dr. Gimmers had the authorization codes for every protocol, the codes were too important to be obtained by anyone else because even if there were really no Encephalon Zerg, there seemed to be still quite a lot of highly intelligent Zergs that existed on Paradise Island! Yet somehow the traitor was capable of sabotaging the controlling system on this island.

Everyone managed to get on a watercraft docked beside the island within ten minutes while waiting for the FFC’s troops; Paradise Island had become a quarantined fortress, and nothing would be able to escape as it has been completely locked down.

Ma Xiaoru, Samantha, Martyrus, and Dr. Gimmers then headed toward the command room immediately. However, Ma Xiaoru’s impatience kicked-in the moment she learned that Wang Tong was currently trapped inside Paradise Island.

"Dr. Gimmers, didn’t I tell you to put everyone’s safety as the first priority? Send in your men to look for them at once!" Ma Xiaoru looked solemn and instantly turned into another person.

Samantha and Martyrus didn’t say anything because they were not in the position to do so. Obviously, Ma Xiaoru was giving commands as the major shareholder of the FFC instead of a student of an academy.

"I am following your orders miss, but those three students have traveled into the deeper region of Paradise Island, and my rescue team is not able to infiltrate deeper. Right now it’s useless, even if we send every security personnel to join the rescue, it will only cause more casualties. Right now, all we can do is to pray for their safety while waiting for our troops!" Dr. Gimmers kept his cool and explained clearly to Ma Xiaoru. Judging from her temper, Dr. Gimmers knew that someone she cared about had to be amongst the trapped trio.

"That’s it, I’m going in!"

"Calm down, Xiaoru. You’re still unable to handle those creatures since you haven’t completely mastered your Tactics of the Enchantress. Right now, you have to trust Wang Tong and the others; moreover, this doesn’t look like an accident, which is why you have to keep your cool!" Samantha stopped Ma Xiaoru and said in a serious tone.

"Please remain calm, miss. This incident isn’t as simple as it looks like, and I believe we were set up by some other powerful party," Dr. Gimmers explained. As the person in charge of Paradise Island, obviously, he was also one of FFC’s core members.

Times had changed, the House of Ma had become one of the Five Greatest Houses, and the FFC too had changed after all these years, silently influencing the lives of mankind and especially the development of Earth. Gradually, the influence became bigger and bigger, and in the end, the FFC had gained control of seventy percent of the METAL Suits manufacturing industry and also forty percent of mankind’s Space Crystal production; which later on, triggered a lot of hatred from the emerging forces. However, the House of Ma was able to form a concrete alliance with the House of Li, which enabled both houses to stay out of numerous troubles.

Nevertheless, something would happen in each era, and the FFC were used to those "surprises", but things had gone a little too far this time.

"Dr. Gimmers, something’s happening, it seems like a military troop is heading this way!"

Gimmers was startled as he swiped his finger onto the monitor. Apparently, an unknown military troop was advancing toward Paradise Island at a high-speed, outracing their private mercenaries. Those troop had the emblem of the Confederation Army.

"Attention to the incoming party, stop immediately, this is a private property of the FFC Corporation!" Dr. Gimmers made the announcement through his monitor, he was curious as to why the Confederation Army was able to come out of nowhere at such a "perfect" timing. Ma Xiaoru and Samantha both looked at each other, knowing that the Confederation Army would only make things worse. Somehow, something more troublesome had appeared before they were able to find Wang Tong and the other two.

Ma Xiaoru took a deep breath and calmed down, she needed to remain patient for everyone’s sake. As one of the shareholders of the FFC, she knew how she had to behave during a crisis.

"This is Colonel Zhao Yongzhuo of the Eighth Confederation Army speaking, according to our source, there was an outbreak of Zergs in Paradise Island, and the situation has threatened the safety of planet Earth. Based on Act Thirty-Six of Article X under the Confederal Constitution, military forces have the right to take over Paradise Island and annihilate all threats!" A military officer in his thirties appeared on the monitor, and immediately everyone in the command room knew he was from the Golden Hawk Union when they saw the golden hawk emblem on his chest.

The Golden Hawk Union was a non-political party formed by military personnel. The golden eagle emblem was a sign of courage, motivation, and anti old-forces; they claimed to be mankind’s real alliance and were well-received by the younger generations in the military, especially those who had no family background and had to work their way up the ranking ladders. Eventually, the spirit of the golden hawk had even influenced the political circles of mankind.

When people mentioned "old-forces", they were actually talking about the Five Great Houses. Although the Five Great Houses were crucial to the development of mankind hundreds of years ago, they had gradually begun to interfere with the freedom and democracy of mankind, and they were known for their corrupted images ever since scandals about them manipulating elections and having connections with pirates were spread out.

However, the battle between the old forces and the emerging forces was never made public since the Five Great Houses were still deeply rooted in the community.

Nevertheless, a colonel like Zhao Yongzhuo would never operate on his own if there was no order from a higher-up.

"Colonel Zhao, this is Dr. Gimmers speaking. I’m the person in charge of this island. As you can see, the FFC has everything under control. Our private mercenaries will be here at any minute, and they will take care of everything, so don’t worry!" Gimmers stood strong.

"Dr. Gimmers, my job is to protect the safety of Earth and its people. Obviously, you’ve lost control of the island, and if any Zerg escapes, you’ll be held responsible!" Zhao Yongzhuo replied, thirty warships of the Confederation Army had reached Paradise Island as they spoke, which didn’t sound like a coincidence at all.

Yet Gimmers didn’t compromise, he would do his best to protect the classified data of Paradise Island, not to mention he still had to find the Encephalon Zerg hidden on this island for the sake of his future experiments.

"Colonel Zhao, the FFC has enough firepower to protect the safety of Paradise Island, and I guarantee that not a single Zerg will be able to escape from this island. According to the Confederation Constitution, you have no rights to trespass a private property. I’ll call for military backup if the situation is really bad; however, I have everything under control, so I’m asking you to stay out of this!" Gimmers said in a demanding tone. He would never let the FFC fell into the hands of the military.

"Dr. Gimmers, both you and I know that we would never be able to suffer the consequences on our own. According to the law, the experiments on Zergs are only approved if their numbers are below three hundred and if all of the creatures have been sterilized, but clearly, the number of Zergs on Paradise Island has exceeded the amount stated; hence the military has the rights to interfere. You’re welcome to file a complaint to the Confederation Court if you want to, but right now, we will be taking over!" Zhao Yongzhuo didn’t back down, he knew the FFC would never pick a fight with him, and his superior would handle the pressure from the FFC, so all he had to do was to proceed as ordered.

Dr. Gimmers didn’t expect the person would be this bold. Mankind had already gone head to head with each other before handling the outbreak of Zergs. However, since the FFC’s private mercenaries had arrived, Gimmers would not give in, and the FFC Corporation would never surrender to a tiny colonel of the military, even if they had to open fire.

Ma Xiaoru ordered Dr. Gimmers to stand back and took over the monitor. "Colonel Zhao Yongzhuo, this is Ma Xiaoru speaking. The FFC will agree to let your troops enter only if you agree to work with our troops. Three students are currently trapped in the deeper regions of the island; hence the priority tasks are to control the situation and also to search and rescue. I’ll leave Dr.Gimmers to make the arrangements for the search and rescue since he is the one who’s the most familiar with the island!"

Zhao Yongzhuo didn’t expect that Ma Xiaoru, the princess of the FFC, was here. He remembered that the order from his superior was only to surround and seize Paradise Island and didn’t mention anything about retrieving anything. Since he wasn’t planning to look for any trouble, he nodded in agreement, "I’m not in the position to reject if this is Miss Ma’s decision since this is an emergency. Please open the entrance of Paradise Island for our troops."

"Miss… I’m afraid this is a bad idea," Dr. Gimmers did not agree with letting the Confederation Army interfering.

"I’ll take responsibility for any consequences, but right now, please arrange your search and rescue party as soon as possible!" Ma Xiaoru was trying her best to suppress her anxiousness while maintaining her Tactics of the Enchantress. Right now Ma Xiaoru was no longer the charming, pretty girl in class, she had become a charismatic leader of the FFC.

Dr. Gimmers hesitated but agreed to her decision in the end since it would only worsen the situation if he chose to reject Ma Xiaoru’s order.

"Attention to all units of the FFC, proceed to C-2 Entrance at once! Annihilate every Zergs in the area and rescue the three students who are currently trapped inside!"

Dr. Gimmers also ordered another five squadrons to enter Paradise Island; however, their task was to infiltrate the designated area to capture the Encephalon Zerg alive. Whether it was the Encephalon Zerg or not, the Zergs had to have a leader among them, and as the commander of Paradise Island, Dr. Gimmers was certain that the leader would only hide in a special area, and he would do whatever it took to capture it.

Of course, he would never tell this to the Confederation Army.