It all happened too fast.
First, they fell into the rebels' trap. Then, Mr. Mole exposed their identities, throwing Nicole and the others into a panic.
The rebels raised their guns.
Soldier 11 instantly drew the blade from her waist. "Don't just stand there—move! Take them down first!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The enemy opened fire, but Soldier 11 stepped in front of Eous, blocking every bullet.
At the same time—
Nicole, Anby, Billy, and Nekomata sprang into action.
"Billy, don't hold back—unleash everything you've got!"
"Got it, Boss Nicole!"
Before he even finished, Billy leapt forward, gripping his gun in one hand and unleashing a full barrage...
Nicole charged forward with her suitcase, knocking out one of the rebels in an instant...
Anby swung her blade toward the enemy...
Each of them had their own fighting style.
They moved together.
It was a complete rout. In just ten seconds, they had taken down every last rebel.
So fast that even Mr. Mole hadn't realized the fight was already over.
He was still shouting arrogantly through the communicator.
"Ahahaha! Shoot! Kill them! How dare you deceive the smartest and cutest Mr. Mole—you all deserve to die—!"
But then—
The gunfire stopped. No one responded to him.
Mr. Mole's puzzled voice came through again. "What happened? That was it? You won that fast? How disappointing. I even had a big surprise ready for you. I didn't think you'd be this weak. The Defense Force really is useless. Turn the communicator around—I want to see their corpses—"
Getting carried away in his gloating, Mr. Mole didn't notice Soldier 11 approaching.
She sheathed her blade and stepped up to the communicator. "Yeah. We've already won."
Seeing her image appear, Mr. Mole jumped. "Huh? You were supposed to be dead! Why are you still alive?! Someone kill her! Shoot!"
No matter how many orders he gave, the defeated rebels could only cower in silence.
"I told you. I already won," Soldier 11 said coldly.
Mr. Mole shouted in fury.
Then suddenly, he stopped panicking and let out a sinister laugh.
"Won? Oh no, not yet. I told you, didn't I? I prepared a little present for you. Time to unwrap it... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—"
The moment he started the countdown, everyone tensed.
They frantically scanned the area. Aside from a few large boxes, there was nothing else around.
Wait—
Those boxes.
Something was off.
Soldier 11 realized it—too late.
The next second—
"Jejejeje... Boom!"
Just as Mr. Mole's voice cut off, the boxes exploded like bombs.
Sam Li frowned.
In a flash, he moved in front of everyone, shielding them from the blast's impact.
But before they could even catch their breath—
A colored smoke spread through the air, thick with a sharp, acrid stench.
"Don't breathe it in! It's poison gas!" Soldier 11 shouted.
Billy was already on the ground. "I'm done for... The gas wrecked my intake system and damaged my mechanical nerve unit... I can't move—I've got no strength left..."
Nicole had no time to react and was hit too. "Help... someone help..."
Even Eous, controlled by Belle, couldn't escape the gas. "The poison is corrosive—it's interfering with the mechanical nerve unit. Eous is losing control..."
Anby rushed forward to help Nicole, but she collapsed after a single step.
In the confined space, the gas had maximum effect.
In an instant, everyone but Sam Li was incapacitated.
Through the video feed, Mr. Mole burst into laughter at the sight of them collapsed.
"Ahahaha! You never saw it coming, did you? That wasn't just any bomb—it's a poison gas bomb we spent ten years developing! Just a whiff and your powers are suppressed! Without an antidote, your bodies will rot from the inside out—you'll die in agony—"
But soon after—
Mr. Mole realized something was wrong. Why was someone still standing?
"Why haven't you gone down?! You breathed it in! I order you to collapse!"
Sam Li kicked the communicator aside with one foot.
He rushed over to check on the others. Luckily, their condition wasn't as bad as expected.
Channeling the power of Geo, he quickly expelled most of the poison gas from their systems.
Moments later, everyone began to regain consciousness.
Nekomata looked around in a daze. "Meow... is this hell?"
Nicole, pale-faced, muttered, "It was awful... I really thought I was going to die. I still can't stand up..."
Billy lay motionless. "Good thing Sam Li avoided the gas... otherwise we'd be wiped out. That damn mole... If only we had a mechanical engineer to fix my busted nerve unit..."
Though the poison had been expelled and their lives were no longer in danger,
Its suppressive effect lingered, leaving them completely drained and unable to move.
Billy and Eous were hit the hardest.
Their mechanical nerve units were ruined—they couldn't even move a finger.
Anby forced herself to sit up. "If we had some adrenaline, we might recover faster."
At those words—
Soldier 11 suddenly remembered.
She had one dose of adrenaline in her backpack—standard issue for Obol missions.
She'd never used it and had nearly forgotten it was there.
Who would've thought it would come in handy now?
She quickly reached behind her and pulled out the only shot.
Glancing at Anby, she hesitated for a moment...
Then injected it into herself.
Within seconds, a rush of energy surged through her. In under ten seconds, she was already regaining her strength.
As Soldier 11 stood up from the floor,
Nicole grew anxious. "How did you recover? Help us too!"
Soldier 11 replied seriously, "Sorry, there was only one dose. But don't worry—I'll get you all out of here."
The air was still heavy with poison.
If they didn't leave soon, they'd all be dead.
Soldier 11 carried Eous to the door, hoping Belle could help open it. The thing looked like a giant steel slab.
But after inspecting it—
She realized it wasn't a smart lock at all, but an old-fashioned mechanical lock.
Meanwhile—
Mr. Mole, watching through the video feed, saw Soldier 11 back on her feet and trying to open the iron door.
He was stunned—then burst into laughter again.
"Idiots! That door's made of 10-centimeter-thick steel! No matter what you try, you'll never get through—"
"It's a mechanical lock inside! Your fancy tricks won't help you now! You fools are finished—just sit there and wait to die!"
...