Carl continued, "As you've seen, the boss didn't disappoint in the end. With her outstanding leadership skills, she managed to rebuild the Skull Squad within a few short years. They once again became the core special operations team of Lena Tower City, and our squad's overall strength and scale far exceeded what it was back then."
"Ah, rebuilding the heavily damaged Skull Squad was indeed no easy task. The boss had to face doubts while leading the team on various missions, proving the squad's worth with outstanding performance. At the same time, she suffered mentally from the loss of loved ones and her partner." Carl paused here and glanced meaningfully at Haoyun.
"A partner? Heh, who would've thought even such an annoying guy could have a partner?" Dream Jia expressed surprise, with a touch of sarcasm.
Carl hurriedly lowered his voice and said, "Hey, Jia, keep it down! If the boss hears you, she won't spare me!" Then he reorganized his words, "Actually, this so-called partner of the boss is only from her side. In her heart, the boss's love interest is Seras. But Seras and Ikeno were born as childhood sweethearts. So, for the sake of not affecting her sister's happiness and the peaceful atmosphere between the three, the boss can only secretly love Seras!"
"Well, you can imagine how painful it was for the boss to hear that her sister and the man she secretly loved died in battle together. Fortunately, the boss isn't an ordinary fragile woman, so this tragic news didn't defeat her. Instead, it strengthened her resolve to inherit the aspirations of Ikeno and Seras and rebuild the Skull Squad." Carl sighed admiringly.
At the end, Carl couldn't help but nudge Haoyun with his elbow. "It wasn't until the boss met you that she finally dispelled the darkness in her heart. But who would have thought that after escaping one cloud of gloom, she would enter another? Ah, it seems the heavens do love to play tricks on her! Every time she falls for someone, they're already taken. It's truly a plight!"
Haoyun didn't know how to respond to Carl. He could only awkwardly sympathize with Eva's unfortunate experiences in love. Although Haoyun believed he hadn't done anything wrong from start to finish, being the male lead in Eva's second unfulfilled love story still made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, and he deeply regretted Eva's plight.
"Carl, since the Skull Squad suffered such heavy losses, how did the observational data that created Code 665 return to Lena Tower City?" Dao Lao quickly changed the subject as Dream Jia was about to explode again due to her feelings for Haoyun.
Carl immediately replied, understanding Dao Lao's intent, "Hey! It was Dr. Chu Bo and the others who risked their lives to bring back that data. When the ambush began, Captain Ikeno foresaw the seriousness of the situation. So, she immediately ordered a team to withdraw from the weak side under the cover of the main forces' firepower."
"Of course, since all the squad's members' pheromones were already known to the Western army, Dr. Chu and the others couldn't completely evade the enemy's pursuit even during the chaos. Fortunately, since the Skull Squad had entered a resting station not far from Lena Tower City, they were able to return to the city's control zone in a thrilling manner under full-speed retreat. However, on that escape route, most warriors, except for Dr. Chu and a few others, heroically sacrificed themselves to divert enemy fire. It was their fearless sacrifice that ultimately ensured Dr. Chu and the others safely returned to Lena Tower City."
Haoyun and the others hadn't expected the Skull Squad to have such a tragic history. It's no wonder why so many aspiring individuals took pride in joining the Skull Squad; it was because this team was a highly respected hero squad.
Carl, seeing the surprised and admiring expressions on Haoyun and the others' faces after hearing about the Skull Squad's past, continued without pause, "With such a major incident like the Skull Squad's ambush, Lena Tower City was naturally shocked. Amid the shock, they began to suspect whether this tragedy was deliberately caused by someone?"
"Oh? So, was this incident really deliberately caused by someone?" Dream Jia asked.
Carl replied, "According to the final investigation results, this tragedy was not a deliberate attack planned by someone, but a tragedy that occurred due to coincidences. Because the investigation revealed that the rest station was old and had problems with aging circuits recorded in the archives. It's just that during that time, it happened to be the peak period when the Western army passed by the rest station."
"In addition, the Western army's mechanized combat squad that the Skull Squad encountered was not deliberately placed there either. It's said that a few days before the incident, other reconnaissance teams reported encountering the Western army squad on the high-speed road around Lena Tower City. They requested the nearby passing our personnel to be more careful. In short, it was just the Skull Squad's bad luck that they encountered this misfortune at that time."
"I say, kid, you seem to know quite a bit! Especially about Eva's affairs, where did you get all this information? Did Dr. Chu tell you? But I don't see you interacting with him much unless it's work-related." Dream Jia asked curiously. Obviously, compared to the Skull Squad's past, Dream Jia was more interested in Eva's love life. After all, knowing one's enemy is the key to winning every battle!
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"Hey! Dr. Chu himself is an old academic who loves research. Apart from a few big shots in the team, guys like me with shallow knowledge just don't resonate with him at all. So unless it's work-related, no one really wants to talk to him," Carl said disdainfully, forgetting the main reason why few in the team interacted with him was simply due to his low status within it.
"Actually, about the past of our squadron, especially regarding the boss's emotional side, not even the former members of the Skull Squadron know much. Dr. Chu, as one of the few veterans of the Skull Squadron, is one; Wang Defa is the second. Many of my insights actually come from Brother Fa," Carl continued.
"Oh? I thought you were just Brother Fa's venting toy. Didn't expect him to confide these things in you," teased Hao Yun.
"Hey! I'm not his venting toy! I'm straight! As for Brother Fa, he shouldn't have... any special preferences in that area, right? Hmm! He shouldn't!" Carl hastily replied, noticing Hao Yun's philosophical gaze upon him.
Speaking of Wang Defa, Carl seemed to perk up again: "They say Brother Fa wasn't always like he is now, always looking creepy and cold. Brother Fa joined the Skull Squadron when he was young, following his uncle. His uncle was the top field scout in Leinata City back then, and Brother Fa learned all his skills from him."
"So I guess his uncle must have passed away, causing his drastic change?" Dream Jia cautiously asked.
Carl nodded with a hint of sadness, "That's right. Brother Fa's uncle also died in that operation. Brother Fa had injured his leg in a previous mission, which prevented him from participating in that observation mission and thus narrowly escaping. But Brother Fa didn't feel lucky; instead, he fell into deep self-blame. He felt ashamed to be lying in a hospital bed while his teammates risked their lives. He even believed that if he had been there, he might have saved his uncle and died in his place. It was this incident that shattered Brother Fa's once lively and energetic personality, turning him somewhat melancholic and reclusive."
Watching Wang Defa commanding the team in the center of the stadium, directing them to fortify defenses, Hao Yun couldn't help but remark, "So Wang Defa has such a past! I never would've guessed that guy had such a sensitive side!"
As night once again enveloped Terlekh City, the Skull Squadron in the stadium took their positions, beginning another night of vigilance. Although they encountered no danger tonight, even the patrols of the Westerly people rarely appeared near the stadium, the mood among the soldiers was particularly tense. This was because, based on the series of signal lights observed earlier from a distant building by the observation team composed of the Savior and Eva, they had successfully taken up their position for observing ahead. Therefore, the soldiers had to remain on high alert, ready to respond to any unexpected events that might occur after the lighthouse was lit.
However, things did not unfold as the Skull Squadron had expected. Night after night, they waited in vain for the lighthouse to be lit. As a result, they began to suspect whether the Westerly people had changed their plans. Previously, the lighthouse always lit up precisely at the time anticipated by the Savior. However, judging from the recent unpredictable behavior of those annoying tripod creatures, the soldiers' speculations seemed reasonable. But based on the daytime communication between the squadron and Eva using signal lights, although the Savior was unsure why the lighthouse hadn't lit up on schedule, they didn't seem concerned about any changes on the Westerly side. Therefore, the soldiers could only continue to patiently maintain their vigilance in place, strictly adhering to Eva's remote signal commands, and absolutely not leaving the Gladiator Stadium on their own.
Another long night was about to descend. Although the soldiers of the Skull Squadron had safely passed several nights without incident and still trusted the Savior's judgment, they couldn't help but wonder tonight: would it be another peaceful night?
The answer was naturally: no.
Just as night once again enveloped Terlekh City and the starry sky replaced the sunlight, not long after, a strange wind suddenly appeared accompanied by howling sounds over the city of Terlekh. This strange wind, once it appeared, rushed down to the ground like a torrential rain and quickly formed countless irregular and unrelated whirlwinds on the streets of the city, wreaking havoc.
Although this sustained strange wind attacked everything in the city from multiple directions, further reducing visibility in the night, Hao Yun and his companions were able to quickly find the root cause of this chaos—the lighthouse. It turned out that these raging winds were not just appearing out of thin air in the night sky but were released from a black hole at the top of the lighthouse.
"It's the beacon! The beacon is about to appear!" Although Carl was pressed down by the fierce wind and could only lie flat on the ground, his tone was surprisingly calm when he spoke. Hao Yun then noticed that it wasn't just Carl—all the members of the Skull Squadron seemed unusually calm at this moment because they had experienced scenes like this many times before. So, after the sudden gusts of wind, instead of panicking, they all quickly put on their dust masks to better cope with the assault of this storm.
Once Hao Yun and his companions had donned their protective gear, they were surprised to see that the raging winds in the city had changed again. At this point, all the storm winds had completely withdrawn from the night sky and had all rushed into the streets of Terlekh City, causing the dark clouds that had just covered the night sky to dissipate completely. This not only restored tranquility to the entire night sky but also made the myriad stars shine even more brightly than before.
"When the stars in the sky align, the beacon will appear! Be sure to wear your goggles, otherwise, the beacon will blind you instantly and may even cause permanent damage to your visual nerves," Carl shouted loudly, to ensure that Hao Yun and his companions could hear his warning amidst the loud wind.
As the fierce winds continued to rage, a large amount of cold air was also released from the lighthouse, causing the temperature in most areas of Terlekh City to drop suddenly, making the soldiers of the Skull Squadron feel as if they had plunged into an ice cave. However, even though everyone felt frozen at this moment, not a single member of the squadron moved. Because now, everyone's attention was focused on the sky above.