Chapter 33-34

Chapter 33: Black Nest

In Chamberlain, South Dakota, a city not far from the Black Hills, which isn't very well-known and has a population of just a few hundred thousand, lies a vast enterprise hidden among the dark mountains, largely unnoticed by the average person—the headquarters of Black Nest Military and Security Consulting Firm.

The name "Black Nest" is derived from the nearby Black Hills—a region filled with pine forests, caves, lakes, canyons, and prairies, making the entire area appear as a monolithic dark mass from afar.

Black Nest once served as a primary military contractor in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other regions, tasked with establishing and training new Iraqi armed forces, police, and involving numerous agents across various countries. Their clientele includes the U.S. Department of Defense, State Department, Department of Transportation, federal law enforcement agencies, multinational corporations, and foreign governments. Currently, Black Nest employs 6,300 staff across 13 countries worldwide, with an additional 30,000 on standby and 30 aircraft ready for deployment.

In the curved Quixin Meeting Room, Chairman Spender Prince sat at the head of the table, surrounded by most of the company's senior executives stationed at headquarters.

Joseph Black, the head of Special Operations, stood solemnly in front of a large screen. A medium-built, no-nonsense African American man and former CIA counterterrorism chief, he represents the kind of high-level executive recruited from government positions, a common practice for the Prince family, long-time major donors to the Republican Party.

Individuals like Cofer Schmitz, a former Pentagon Inspector General and now vice chairman of the company, bring invaluable assets to Black Nest with their extensive practical experience, professional excellence, and deep connections.

"Gentlemen, what you're about to see is the latest information uploaded to our database by our 'Fox Hunt' strike team. After consulting with Chairman Prince, I believe it's necessary to brief you on the situation," Joseph Black said with seriousness.

The screen flickered before playing a video of shaky footage, clearly shot from the perspective of the operatives' body cams. The video, edited for clarity and coherence, shows various angles and segments of the operation, allowing the viewers to roughly understand the sequence of events.

The video's beginning looked like any other operation Black Nest would undertake hundreds of times a year, commissioned by anyone from super-wealthy individuals, foreign governments, and financial moguls to powerful figures in the U.S. military and political circles. Their clients also included armed factions in Central Africa and Middle Eastern dictators, often involving tasks that were too sensitive for them to handle publicly.

As long as there was payment, Black Nest could provide suitable operatives for beheadings, quelling insurrections, or even terrorist acts, contributing significantly to their income. Clients, often very generous, received professional, confidential, and efficient services in return.

Officially, Black Nest's executives unanimously declared the company's shift away from actively seeking new private security and military contracts, focusing instead on training and logistical support. However, this was widely understood to be a facade. Accusations of indiscriminate killings and civilian shootings reached them yearly, but what did that matter?

Spender Prince never took these complaints to heart, and time proved him right. Black Nest continued to thrive and grow, indispensable to the powerful elite, with all protests amounting to little more than a nuisance, especially given the American public's general indifference.

For example, if the regular military suffered casualties, the current U.S. government, including the president, would face immediate backlash and criticism. However, employing highly skilled, combat-ready private military contractors from Black Nest circumvented such issues, addressing manpower shortages while avoiding widespread criticism for excessive military casualties. Casualties were handled discreetly, providing a win-win solution.

In regions of geopolitical tension, the military could use mercenaries to bypass congressional, governmental, and media oversight, achieving military objectives without legal violations or overtly supporting another country in conflict zones. For resource-rich, unstable countries, hiring mercenaries as war tools to protect assets like diamond mines was commonplace.

Thus, as the executives watched the operational footage, they appeared relaxed and unsurprised. Some even nodded in approval, deeming the operation well-executed—a standard special operations assault procedure, with the enemy caught off guard and quickly neutralized.

However, the video took a dramatic turn during the squad's attempt to breach the bulletproof vehicle housing the target. Opting for a cutting approach to avoid harming the vehicle's occupant, the situation escalated unexpectedly.

Midway through the cutting, the vehicle's door, still partially attached, was forcefully opened from the inside, propelling outwards and knocking down an operative poised beside the vehicle. The enemy bodyguard who leaped from the vehicle then delivered a devastatingly powerful blow.

Despite the poor quality of the footage, Spender and the others could feel the terrifying force of the impact. They clearly saw the team member's head burst like a ripe watermelon under the pressure of the car door, with brain matter and blood splattering everywhere, creating an extremely gory scene.

The expressions on everyone's faces soured instantly. The head of the tech department, Hunter, even experienced a cramp in his leg and awkwardly shifted his position. The brain, being one of the most vital organs of the human body, is protected by a layer of hard skull bone, which has a strong resistance to pressure.

Even a bulletproof car door, heavily reinforced and weighted down, along with the bodyguard's own mass, couldn't possibly make the skull bone so fragile to cause such a shocking effect. This could only mean that the force applied by the opponent far exceeded that of a normal human, breaking through the skull's limit of pressure resistance.

Chapter 34: Hidden Dangers

The scene that unfolded next was even more fantastical. The bodyguard, strong and fierce beyond imagination, charged through like a lion entering a flock of sheep. Carrying a bulletproof car door, he sprinted and zigzagged, almost completely ignoring the elite combat team's firepower that could annihilate an entire village. Even armor-piercing bullets piercing through the car door couldn't stop him; instead, wherever he went, slaughter was inevitable.

"Cover fire!"

"Concentrate armor-piercing shots!"

"FCUK! What kind of monster is this...I hit him already!"

"Launch the grenade!"

"No use! This guy is too damn fast...Ah!!..."

The video was filled with intense gunfire and explosions, but the bullets seemed to have little effect on him, and the grenade launcher was too slow to keep up with his ghostly speed and agility.

Despite the video becoming particularly chaotic in the latter half due to intense combat and rapid changes in perspective, making the footage shaky enough to make one feel nauseous, the expressions on Spender and others' faces were as if they were watching a collision between Mars and Earth, so much so that they couldn't snap back to reality even after the video ended.

The Hell Paratrooper's individual combat system, equipped with a computer and wireless electronic system, served as the communication center, battlefield information acquisition, and command reception system, allowing for the sharing of team members' positions and viewpoints, while uploading and downloading data required operation through a keyboard on the arm.

Clearly, Commander Lloyd fulfilled his duty by uploading data before personally entering the field, but this also meant that the footage was interrupted during his action, and Spender and the others missed out on even more thrilling scenes like the anti-materiel rifle firing.

Nevertheless, they felt as though they were watching some Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, utterly unreal.

"I say, could there be something wrong with this video? Could that guy be the Terminator?" The airborne division's supervisor, Croft, tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood in the conference room, although he was well aware that these were real-time recordings and couldn't possibly be tampered with.

Unfortunately, no one laughed; they were still digesting the astonishing scenes they had just witnessed.

Spender Prince, looking somewhat exhausted, rubbed his forehead and addressed his subordinates, "Let's hear it, gentlemen, what are your thoughts?"

The president of the security consulting company was the first to speak up with a light "cough," drawing everyone's attention.

As someone directly responsible for military operations, he had rich experience and a keen eye:

"Whether the video shows some kind of super soldier or a single soldier armed with a hydraulic system, one thing must be clear: this is not within the realm of normal human capabilities. The strength, speed, endurance, and vitality all far exceed our most elite soldiers by several times. Therefore, I'm more inclined to believe this is a breakthrough by some agency or organization in enhancing individual combat capabilities."

Upon hearing his conclusion, most turned their gaze to Vice Chairman Cofer Schmitz. This former high-ranking official of the Department of Defense and the first Deputy Inspector General undoubtedly had the most authority to speak. However, he shook his head in denial, "It's hard to make an accurate judgment as there are no apparent external devices on the bodyguard. I'm not aware of the Department of Defense's latest genetic warrior research program. Even if there were breakthroughs, they wouldn't be provided for private bodyguard duties."

He paused thoughtfully, then scanned the room, "In fact, I've heard some uncertain news. Rumors say that individuals with combat capabilities like the one in the video have appeared before, and some have even seen creatures completely different in appearance from known organisms. The military suspects these are biological weapons developed by other countries or private organizations and is urgently investigating."

"How coincidental? The opponent seems to be involved in biotech, isn't that right on the money? Handing this guy over to the Department of Defense would be a way to offload this trouble," someone said with a smirk upon hearing Cofer's words. This was the head of the Black Nest training center, a somewhat corpulent individual.

It's well-known that America is the most enthusiastic country about super soldier programs, from individual systems and exoskeletons to nano combat suits and genetic warriors, striving to turn these into reality. Providing similar information to the Department of Defense could not only rid them of the problem but also strengthen their relationship.

"Absolutely not!" Cofer Schmitz lowered his eyelids, trying to hide his disdainful look from the other party, this man with a brain full of lard, except for some managerial talent, was nothing but a bootlicker. Cofer had always looked down on him, but for the sake of the bigger picture, he had always had to smile and nod, which irked him greatly.

"The target is a significant donor to the Democratic Party's

current election campaign, not some idiotic warlord from a small country. We can't be linked to this. Unless absolutely necessary, I don't think there's any need to continue this operation."

After speaking, he looked around uncertainly, seeing that no one else spoke up to support Kirk Bunyan, the idiot, he then kept silent. Kirk, sensing he had misspoken, gave a sheepish smile and did not argue further.

Spender Prince was evidently a wise man. Bruce Lee, although a newcomer tycoon, had risen rapidly and maintained close relationships with many bigwigs in politics and the business world. There were rumors that Sheila even sent him copies of her own internal reports, indicating a deep alliance between them.

Handling such a character poorly could put oneself at a significant disadvantage, and the Democratic Party's mad bulls would surely cause endless trouble for Black Nest. If not for the differences in their camps, he might not even consider taking on this job, which was also only feasible because the target was abroad, and they aimed to minimize the impact as much as possible.

There are no secrets that time does not reveal. Whatever Bruce Lee's background, he had already proven himself to be a formidable adversary.

Losing some manpower was one thing, but such matters could not be publicized. There was no other reason; it was too taboo. Black Nest was known for making quick money and seemed willing to undertake any job, but picking the low-hanging fruit rather than engaging in direct confrontations was their forte.

A 20-man elite armed team wiped out, and now to organize even more people to clash with an unknown target? It was just business, with no conflicts of interest; why bother stirring up more trouble?

Black Nest knew its own affairs, and there were plenty in the Department of Defense who envied them. Leak details to those arrogant hawks? Even if they could gain some advantage, Black Nest would at best pick up scraps, rather than exploring other ways to gain unexpected benefits. With this in mind, Spender had already made his decision.

"The operation's details are to be classified as top secret and not disclosed. At the same time, immediately contact the client to explain the loss and the reasons for failure, citing significant discrepancies in the provided information, refund the commission, and cease any actions against the target."

At Black Nest, Spender didn't often act unilaterally, usually seeking everyone's opinion first. But once he made a decision, it tended to be final, with little room for change, and this time was no exception.

The executives looked at each other, no one speaking further, clearly agreeing with this approach.

After everyone had left, Spender Prince picked up the encrypted phone and dialed a special number:

"Hey, Jeb, I have some news...not sure if you're interested..."