Chapter 1 One Hour Later, the Muzhi Unit Command Headquarters

"What the hell is going on!" Ted paced back and forth in the command headquarters, covered in sweat. "Why is their battle plan completely different from what we discussed before?" As he spoke, he grabbed a communication soldier by the collar and roared.

"C... Commander..." The communication soldier was also wronged. "Th... We don't know either." He paused. "The content from the bug... You heard it yourself, sir, it couldn't have been a miscommunication from us."

"The bug..." Hearing these words, Ted seemed to realize something. "That's right! It's the bug!" He suddenly revealed a furious expression. "That's it... That must be it! Those bastards tricked me! What 'otherworld travelers'? They're clearly spies sent by 'Lijian'!"

…………

At the same moment, deep in the dense forest.

"Captain, I don't think these NPCs can hold on for much longer. While the enemy's encirclement hasn't tightened yet, let's retreat ourselves... Maybe there's still a chance to turn things around when we get back to command headquarters." Imagawa Gi, who was hiding behind a bunker, reloading his bullets, offered a somewhat anxious suggestion to Toyotomi Hei beside him.

At this time, the four members of Sengoku Team Two were trapped in the enemy's firepower network along with a group of Muzhi soldiers. Although the players were not in any immediate danger, the Muzhi soldiers were basically doomed.

"Strange... Something's not right..." Toyotomi Hei's expression was grave, and he vaguely sensed something, but he couldn't be sure. "Imagawa... When you went to install the bug, did you encounter anything unusual?"

"Huh?" Imagawa was taken aback. "Anything unusual? No, the whole infiltration process was smooth, and I didn't even encounter a member of the Trash Alliance."

"Hmm..." Toyotomi Hei frowned and pondered. "This..." He suddenly thought of something, his expression changing drastically. "Could it be!"

Bang—

A loud explosion interrupted his thoughts.

It turned out that the Lijian army's basilisk unit had approached within ten meters and began using short-range rocket launchers to attack.

The force field used by the Muzhi unit to block beam weapons couldn't withstand that kind of thing, and in the blink of an eye, several more flying shuttles were hit and overturned.

"Captain! We might not be able to retreat if we don't retreat now!" Hojo Kazu, seeing this, immediately urged him from the side.

"Yeah, Captain," Tokugawa Tada also advised. "There's no benefit for us to stay here. Although we can fight those mechanized units, the other side's numbers and firepower are not to be underestimated. Plus, they are more familiar with the terrain... If we really drag it out, we will inevitably have to pay a price."

"Tch... Fine..." Although Toyotomi Hei's doubts had not been dispelled, the current situation didn't allow him to consider too much, so he decided, "...Retreat!"

…………

Their retreat did not encounter much resistance, and they easily passed through the enemy's flanking firepower network.

This was, after all, a planet that excelled in technological capabilities, not a place like Rabbit Star where a "Fist Saint" would pop up from time to time. In terms of individual combat capabilities, the players had an absolute advantage.

About twenty minutes later, the four members of Sengoku Team Two returned to the Muzhi unit's headquarters.

Just as they thought they could rest and recuperate, and then make a comeback, they didn't expect that what awaited them was…

"Everyone, don't move!"

Several beams of intense light shone down from the towers all over the base, focusing on the four members of Sengoku Team Two.

Ted's voice also rang out from the loudspeakers, "Hmph... You guys... You actually have the nerve to come back?"

"Colonel Ted..." Toyotomi Hei was shocked and angry, but on the surface, he suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "What do you mean by this?"

"You're still asking me what I mean?" Ted's tone was somewhat of an angry laugh. "There's a limit to how much you can treat people like idiots!"

Accompanied by his stern roar, a group of soldiers in light combat armor surrounded the four players with guns, and several heavy machine guns at high places had locked onto them with lasers.

"I'm going to ask you guys instead..." Ted didn't wait for the other party to respond and continued to question through the broadcast, "...What about the troops that went out with you to ambush?"

"This..." Toyotomi Hei hesitated for half a second and replied, "The enemy seemed to have changed their attack plan, which led us to be..."

"...Ambushed, right?" Ted didn't intend to let him finish his sentence, interrupting directly, "Hehe... Then let me ask you another question, since you were counter-ambushed, why are all my troops dead, and you guys came back unscathed?"

"Hmph... Do you want us to be buried with your troops?" At this time, Imagawa Gi finally couldn't help it and retorted loudly with a cold snort.

Even if Toyotomi Hei wanted to stop his teammate from speaking recklessly, it was too late...

Of course, now that things had come to this, it didn't matter whether Imagawa Gi said this or not, the result would be the same.

"Ha! Hahahaha..." Ted laughed a few times, then suddenly turned his laughter into scolding, "You spies... working with those Lijian bastards, putting on a show in front of me... and then tricking my men into walking right into the trap." He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and finally, he roared, "Since you asked, then I'll tell you... I want you to be buried with my troops!" As he roared, he issued the order to attack, "Brothers! Kill them!"

This colonel didn't conceal his warlord-like behavior, and the last few lines were full of déjà vu.

But in any case, the Muzhi unit's soldiers were still receptive to this. In addition, the profession of "spy" was universally hated, so the surrounding soldiers unhesitatingly launched a deadly attack on the four members of Sengoku Team Two.

Ta-ta-ta-ta—

Gunshots, machine gun fire, artillery fire... Various chaotic noises announced that countless powerful firepowers had launched a total attack on the four players in a very short period.

Even if the players had a hundred skills, it was unrealistic to retreat unscathed from such an encirclement...

…………

Forty minutes later, on the beach.

"Damn it!" Panting for breath, Toyotomi Hei sat down on the beach and spat fiercely.

With him, who had escaped to this place, were Imagawa Gi, who had suffered minor injuries, and Tokugawa Tada, who had lost most of his survival points; as for Hojo Kazu... he had unfortunately been killed in the encirclement and suppression by those NPCs and failed to break through successfully.

"Captain... is Colonel Ted out of his mind?" Imagawa Gi also complained unhappily, "Can the enemy's temporary change of formation be blamed on us? He heard the content from the bug himself, it wasn't something we fabricated, how can it be said that we colluded with the enemy and let us take the blame?"

"Idiot!" Toyotomi Hei turned around and roared fiercely, "Don't you understand? We fell into a trap!"

"Wh... What?" Imagawa Gi was stunned by the captain's roar, but he couldn't think of when they had fallen into a trap.

"When you went to plant the bug... I'm afraid you were already discovered," Tokugawa Tada said in a deep voice from the side.

"Nonsense!" Imagawa Gi couldn't accept that this was his responsibility. He said loudly, "How could I possibly..."

"How could it possibly be discovered by us?" At this moment, a voice rang out from a distance, joining their conversation.

The remaining three members of Sengoku Team Two quickly got up and looked around warily.

Soon, they saw four figures riding mechanical basilisks emerge from the dense forest and arrive on the beach.

The newcomers... were undoubtedly the four members of the Trash Alliance. And the one who had just interrupted... who else could it be but Honghu?

"Captain Toyotomi, we meet again." Honghu looked at Toyotomi Hei with a smile and greeted him, "I remember last time you said... you hoped to have the opportunity to actually experience my strategy in the game. I think... your wish has come true." He repeated the other party's words at the time and continued with a smile, "It seems... I'm not just good at talking, am I?"

"Hmph..." Toyotomi Hei snorted coldly, "I have indeed learned a lot from Your Excellency's strategies... but..." He stood up and glared at Honghu. "We haven't lost yet!"

"Ah... that's natural," Honghu said. "When I set up this game, I guessed that the 'Muzhi' people wouldn't be able to wipe you all out. It would be good enough if they could kill one or two."

"Don't keep talking about setting up the game, what exactly did you do?" Imagawa Gi hadn't understood the previous question, so he was a little out of sync with the rhythm of these people's conversation.

"Hehe... I didn't do anything." Honghu smiled, raised his hand, and pointed to his teammates beside him, "If we're talking about credit, it's mainly his."

"I just used summoned creatures to collect some information." Zhao Yingwang, who was pointed at by Honghu, calmly replied, "Those conspiracies were all his ideas, it has nothing to do with me."

"In short... your 'infiltration' operation was already being watched by us when you set out," Honghu waited for two seconds and then said to Imagawa Gi, "That's why... your operation went so smoothly, and you didn't even see any of us, yet you successfully planted the bug."

Imagawa Gi finally understood when he heard this.

"The only thing to do after that was to say the lines next to the bug," Honghu continued. "Even if General River didn't want to help, I could complete it myself using a voice changer." He adjusted his glasses. "As expected, the commander of Muzhi believed the 'information obtained from the bug' and then fell into the trap; and when things developed in a bad direction, Colonel Ted's primary suspects would definitely be you... because you were originally a group of suspicious elements that suddenly appeared and couldn't be fully trusted; moreover... the entire bug plan was proposed and implemented by you... Considering all these factors, it's not difficult to come to a conclusion – you four are spies sent by Lijian, putting on a good show in front of him, Ted."

"Using a scheme within a scheme, counter-espionage, borrowing a knife to kill..." Toyotomi Hei gazed at Honghu, and at this moment, the former's attitude returned to calm. "Good... you are worthy of being called a strategist."

Before he finished speaking, Toyotomi Hei reached out and grabbed, and a white light flashed, and a long staff appeared in his hand.

Seeing that the captain was ready for battle, Tokugawa Tada and Imagawa Gi also took out their weapons, ready to fight the four members of the Trash Alliance.

"I wonder... besides your schemes, how is your skill?" Toyotomi Hei continued.

"Hehe..." Hearing this, Trash Uncle on the opposite side laughed, "You want to use reverse psychology to get Honghu to fight you one-on-one?" He shook his head. "Don't regret it, our team's strategist is also very capable."

"Yeah..." Juan Menghuan nodded in agreement, "So I suggest... let Honghu and Zhao Yingwang solve it alone now."

"Tch... are you looking down on us?" Imagawa Gi shouted, "All four of you can come at us! We don't need your sympathy."

"Sympathy?" Juan Menghuan cast a sharp gaze at Imagawa Gi and replied coldly, "This... is Imagawa Gi, right..." He had undoubtedly done his homework before the game and knew a little about the appearances and abilities of the opposing team's members. "I hope you don't misunderstand, we have no intention of 'sympathizing' or 'looking down on' you, and we have no intention of 'going easy' on you." He paused. "I'm just making corresponding suggestions based on the current situation. For the sake of the subsequent games, we don't need to expose our team's combat power too much here."

"That's right, but... your estimate of the situation is still not accurate enough." At this time, Zhao Yingwang continued, and at the same time, he slowly moved toward the three members of Sengoku Team Two, riding his mechanical basilisk. "I can handle it alone here."

…………

Four o'clock in the morning.

Game world, Sengoku Guild meeting room.

"As expected, we lost..." [Akechi Nobu], who was speaking, had gray medium-length hair and wore yellow light armor. His tone was quite steady. "I thought they would at least have a chance to get more information out..."

"Although it was an expected result... the process was a bit unsightly." [Takeda Chi] had long white hair, and the armor under her guild cloak was pink. Her voice gave people a sweet and lively feeling. "Why don't we deduct all their bonuses for this month..."

"I think... there's no need to deduct money or anything..." [Uesugi Jin] had long black straight hair, blue armor, and a white shirt. She gave people an upright feeling when she spoke. "Those guys have been arrogant and condescending since they entered *Thriller Paradise*. This failure... is a good lesson for them." She paused slightly and looked at the red-haired beautiful girl in the main seat of the conference table. "Oda, what do you think?"

"Ah?" While people were talking seriously, [Oda Ai] was playing a small game on the conference table. "What? Can we log off and have breakfast?"

"Are you an idiot!" Takeda Chi cursed at the team's first combat force. "The men of Team Two have already lost! You should have some sense of crisis!"

"Ah~ Men are unreliable anyway..." Oda Ai yawned and replied weakly, "The only one I consider an opponent is [Tun Tian Gui Xiao]... Anyone else... it's all the same... When we in Team One enter the finals, no one will care about Team Two's defeat, right?"