The other members of the action team looked on, perplexed, until the team leader reacted first, his expression completely changing as he shouted, "Get out of the car!"

Then, without hesitation, he yanked open the car door and was the first to rush out. Some of his teammates understood, others did not, but either way, following the boss’s orders was definitely the right thing to do.

So everyone bustled out in a rush, and only then did the team leader see that the Director-General’s gaze wasn’t on their vehicle at all.

The second vehicle passed by, and the third vehicle slowly came to a halt.

Aviloya’s expression remained composed as she gently blew a breath towards that car. Slender strands of luminous energy materialized—they were supple and thin, spreading out from beneath the car, each one wrapping around the neck of every person inside!

"There’s a traitor in our convoy!" the members of the action team were shocked.

Aviloya’s chill voice echoed through the wilderness, carrying a divine authority as she said, "Barolyov, are you still planning to fight like a cornered beast?"

Barolyov, using those action team members he controlled as fulcrums, was lifted from under the car by strands of light. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"The lives of these men are in my hands," he said coldly. "I want to talk with you."

Aviloya shook her head. "There’s nothing to discuss. I’ll give you one choice: surrender, and you’ll spend the rest of your life in the highest-security prison of the Bureau of Mystic Security. If you behave, after thirty years, I might consider granting you a pardon."

Barolyov tried to speak again, but Aviloya cut him off directly. "Ever since I chose this base for the experiment, I’ve implemented a stellar quantum web firewall in advance. No sensitive data can be transmitted out of here over the network."

"Your men are already dead. Chu Zheng, Dr. Meng Ji, and the others—we’ve rescued them all. You should seriously consider: what is the point of this futile resistance?"

"And you should know, I’m a student of the Principal and I’m also of the Ninth Power Level. If you cause the deaths of these people, I’ll kill you—and I won’t just kill you, I’ll follow in my Principal’s footsteps and take a trip through the Empire’s territory. Your family, friends, lovers... I will spare none of them!"

Her tone was not fierce as she spoke. Instead, it exuded a relaxed confidence. Moreover, the huge war sword automatically floated out from behind her, hovering above her head and exuding a substantial, ice-cold aura that rendered her words all the more ’persuasive’.

Barolyov’s face changed. "If you do this, it will lead to a war between our two nations!"

Aviloya was disdainful. "The Empire wouldn’t dare, nor will it start a war with the Confederation over a petty person like you."

Petty person... In front of his subordinates, Barolyov, who carried himself with the air of a master, truly had no bearing whatsoever before Aviloya.

He gnashed his teeth, struggling to make up his mind.

Aviloya watched him intently, the giant war sword also pointing its blade at him from a distance.

"I’ll give you three seconds to decide: three, two..."

"I surrender!" Barolyov raised his hands high, and the strands of energy connected to the team members’ necks snapped at once, retreating back into his body.

"Good," Aviloya said haughtily.

「...」

This incident seemed to be perfectly resolved. The Bureau of Mystic Security and the Huai Shan Branch School coordinated to rescue all the important hostages, ensuring no research secrets were leaked.

However, both parties involved in the operation, whether the Bureau of Mystic Security or the Huai Shan Branch School, were dissatisfied.

On the school’s side, the teachers felt that the school had been "helping" the Bureau of Mystic Security a bit too much lately. We are an educational institution, a place to cultivate talent, not a national agency of violence!

Instructor Zhong Yuanbei strongly supported this view, and he himself felt no awkwardness about it.