On a screen woven from light, a lifelike portrait appeared before Zhou Chen and Old Yang.
A Western European beauty with long, wine-red hair.
"Fina Blanch. Western European, twenty-seven years old, unmarried. She's had six past relationships.
Ten years ago, she legally came to settle in Jinzhu City. After finishing high school, she attended Jinzhu University. Since graduating, she's held many jobs and is currently an Advanced Bartender at the Red Rose Bar.
In the past thirty-six months, she has secretly contacted high-ranking local members of Xi Feng on more than one occasion. According to our intelligence department's analysis, she likely joined Eternal Fire ten years ago and may even be a Steward for the Jinzhu Region."
Jiang Che introduced the mission's target, the content on the screen changing at the appropriate moments.
Coffee shops, movie theaters, park benches, the front counter of a bar… In many of these scenes, Fina could be seen secretly conversing with several men.
Those men were high-ranking members of Xi Feng's local network in Jinzhu, who were also undercover moles for Eternal Fire. They've long since pulled their score and vanished without a trace.
But one thing is certain: they haven't fled Jinzhu. Instead, they're hiding in some dark corner of this bustling city, biding their time and plotting who knows what.
"Fina is an unregistered, illegal Tier One Ascender. Her Ability is suspected to be 'Forced Love.' In the last six months, she has used her Extraordinary Abilities to control nearly one hundred and forty young men."
Clips of surveillance footage appeared on the screen, all showing Fina entering and leaving hotels with young men. For the past six months, she has had a new 'playmate'—or even several—every single day.
Every single day!
Old Yang whistled, laughing in admiration. "Now that's how you live."
'Nearly one hundred and forty…' Zhou Chen was secretly dumbfounded. 'This "alumna" really knows how to live it up, and on such a grand scale.'
'Half a year is 180 days, and she went through nearly 140 men. That means, aside from that time of the month, she basically never took a break. A new guy every day, and sometimes she even took on more than one at a time.'
'Ascenders really have incredible stamina.'
'But the thing is, with her looks and figure, she could definitely have guys lining up to worship her without even using her Extraordinary Abilities…'
'Is she just trying to avoid the hassle? Doesn't want to waste time talking to simps every day?'
'Or... is she actually using this as an opportunity to create "puppets"?'
"This morning, the intelligence department discreetly brought in a few victims for questioning. We discovered that even those from six months ago still harbor an inexplicably intense affection for Fina. They only broke free of her control after undergoing psychological therapy.
According to the victims, it was like they were living in a dream during that time, and Fina was their dream girl. They would obey any command she gave, no matter what, even if it meant dying."
As he spoke, Jiang Che brought up recordings of several victims, taken before and after their treatment.
Before the treatment, merely mentioning Fina's name or showing them her picture would trigger extreme reactions: their eyes would turn red, they'd get agitated, shout questions, stomp their feet, slam the table… In short, they acted like someone had just stolen their wife, ready to fly into a murderous rage on the spot.
After the treatment, however, they reacted to Fina with indifference, all of their previous fiery passion gone.
"Fina's Ability isn't suited for combat, but she can control ordinary people and make them die for her. I suspect she already has the Red Rose Bar under her secret control. Sending in an operations team would lead to massive casualties and might even alert Eternal Fire, causing all our subsequent operations to fail.
So…"
Jiang Che looked calmly at the two of them. "This mission can only be handled by the two of you, and you must take her down tonight. Any delay invites complications.
Of course, the logistics team will be on standby, and the command center will be pulling an all-nighter with you."
'Two people…' Zhou Chen was stunned. He pointed at himself and asked, confused, "Old Yang is a battle-hardened, gold-medal Operator, but why do I have to get dragged into this mess?"
'It goes without saying that I have to do what my boss tells me, but is it really a good idea to send a rookie like me on such a critical mission?'
"You seem to have forgotten something."
Jiang Che stared at Zhou Chen. When it was clear Zhou Chen had no idea what he was talking about, Jiang Che sighed and offered a reminder:
"D-394."
Zhou Chen froze for a second before realization dawned.
'More than a week ago, during his awakening experiment, he had worn the Forbidden Object D-394, the Concentration Necklace.'
'And D-394's side effect was a month-long state of Sage Mode!'
'The side-effect period wasn't over yet. In other words, he was currently incapable of feeling affection, love, or sexual desire for anyone of the opposite sex, the same sex, or even any other bizarre species. Naturally, that meant he wouldn't be affected by Fina's "Forced Love" Ability.'
'He was the perfect candidate for the mission.'
"Wait… Why not just find a few veteran Operators, have them wear the Concentration Necklace, and send them on the mission?"
Zhou Chen looked at Jiang Che earnestly. "To be honest, I'm afraid I'll screw it up."
'This mission was no joke. Screwing up would alert Eternal Fire and put them on guard, which would render all of the Star Association's subsequent plans useless. It could even set off a chain reaction…'
'Forget the big picture—just thinking about it from a personal angle, if Eternal Fire went on high alert, the difficulty of finding that shipment would skyrocket. That was definitely not good news for him. He still needed a Star Mango to save his life.'
Old Yang chuckled beside him. "Of course, it's because you're young."
"Huh?"
"Look at this girl. She's hot, great body. I'd give her an eight-point-five out of ten."
Old Yang stroked the stubble on his chin, scrutinizing Fina on the screen. He let out a cheerful whistle. "You're in for a treat this time, kid."
Zhou Chen: "???"
Old Yang explained gleefully, "Didn't you hear the intel? All the victims are young men. If you look at them, you can tell this beauty likes pretty boys in their twenties. I'm clearly not her type, so of course, it has to be you."
"Wait!"
Zhou Chen finally processed what he was saying, his face a mask of disbelief. "You want me to go hit on her?"
"Not hit on. Seduce."
Old Yang corrected him. "Look, we have to take down the target tonight, and she works at the Red Rose Bar. Do you have any idea how crowded that place gets? Are we supposed to charge in with guns drawn and just grab her? There's only one best way—"
"—We go fishing!"
"She likes to control young men and take them to hotels, right? So you go and get her to take the bait. We'll make our move once you're in the hotel room. Or, if that's too much trouble for you, you can wait until after you've… finished… and she's asleep. The success rate would be even higher…"
He said with a huge grin, "Ever heard the saying? The best Hunters often disguise themselves as prey."
Zhou Chen was stunned for a long moment. When he finally processed it, he exclaimed:
"Isn't that just a honey trap?!"