"Goro! It's you!"
Wade looked at this sole surviving member of the Four Seasons Squad, his tone filled with emotion.
That day, he had been gravely injured, and even the squad of Four Seasons Squad members he had brought along had all been killed or wounded. Only this Goro, who had passed out in the explosion from the very start, had managed to survive.
The moment he saw Goro, Wade couldn't help but recall the scene from back then.
Explosion! Shadow! Green mist!
Everything had happened so suddenly that even his girlfriend-secretary, who had always been by his side, had died in that attack.
"Right now, even Goro is probably mocking me in his heart, isn't he?"
Wade shook his head, thinking to himself, before speaking in a hoarse voice: "Is something the matter?"
"Sir! I've brought your breakfast!"
Goro set a silver platter on the table. On it were fruit salad, white bread, and a jar of steaming milk.
"Thank you!" Wade was silent for a moment before speaking softly.
"Sir! Please take care of yourself!" Goro bowed slightly, then quickly withdrew.
Wade currently had no appetite at all, but for his own sake, and for his mentor's sake, he still forced himself to walk over to the table.
He casually picked up a piece of white bread and broke it open, intending to dip it in some fruit jam or something. But just then, a small note tucked inside the bread caught his attention.
Wade carefully pulled the note out and quickly unfolded it.
What had been a perfectly blank white surface immediately began to reveal several lines of tiny, fine text upon contact with the warmth of his fingers.
"Danger! Headquarters has been infiltrated by Dark Wizards! They are about to make a move against you! Leave immediately!!!"
The small text was red, looking extremely conspicuous.
Wade's gaze hardened. He rose to his feet and quickly cast several detection and isolation spells.
Afterward, he stared at the note in his hand with a peculiar expression.
"As I suspected — the Dark Wizards' assault was far too swift. They knew our defenses too well, and the Array Spirit was heavily interfered with this time, failing to function at all. There has to be a mole!"
A look of hatred appeared on Wade's face. "If there weren't a mole, this place would never have become like this. And even… Teacher Leono could have…"
His fists clenched tightly, and a few drops of dark red blood seeped through the bandages.
"I will find you! I'll avenge my mentor! I swear it!"
Determination burned in Wade's eyes as he carefully rubbed the small note in his hands.
"The paper is ordinary parchment, and the hidden text was specifically set to activate at my body temperature as a key. This person must know me very well. And the fact that they came to warn me means they know everything that's going on here… But who could it be?"
Face after face flashed through Wade's mind, only to be quickly dismissed.
"Never mind that for now — danger? Does that mean someone is coming to make a move on me? Here, at headquarters?"
Wade could hardly believe it.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Just then, the sound of rapid air explosions echoed through the room. Countless black needles as fine as ox hair seemed to pierce through the void, their tips gleaming with sharp light as they shot toward Wade like raindrops.
"There really is!"
A ring of green vine shields materialized around Wade's body, and countless needles struck it, sending up bursts of sparks.
He immediately rolled to the ground!
Bang! A black dagger stabbed into the spot where he had been just a moment ago, slicing through the bench as if it were tofu. The air itself was cut, leaving two slender white trails of displaced wind.
Tssss! From the smooth cut surfaces of the bench, the sound of corrosive eating rang out continuously, accompanied by copious white smoke. The bench where Wade had been sitting was corroded away entirely within just a few seconds, without a single scrap remaining.
And the one gripping the dagger was a short, dwarfish figure.
The dwarf was wrapped head to toe in black gauze, his movements incredibly agile. Upon seeing Wade dodge, he immediately pounced toward him like the wind, the black dagger searching for openings in Wade's defense like the fangs of a venomous snake.
"Array Spirit! Activate the defensive array around my position!!! And notify the Lightning Legion!" After narrowly evading several rounds of attacks, Wade frantically swiped at a ring on his finger!
Bang! A cloud of green smoke erupted in the center of the room. Seizing the opportunity, he immediately roared.
"Command received. Activating Sector B-7 defense... Ding! Conflicting command detected. Orders canceling out. Your authorization has been temporarily suspended!"
A mechanical female voice rang in Wade's ears, and his heart sank immediately.