Chapter 177: Going All Out

He Yun's words were undoubtedly like dropping a bomb into the crowd, and everyone looked at him in disbelief.

Although Lin Xiao's performance along the way had already made those veterans look at him in a new light, directly appointing Lin Xiao as the commander still felt far too much like child's play.

Even people like Zi Shu did not expect that He Yun would hand over the position of commander-in-chief to Lin Xiao just like that.

"Chief, I admit that Xiao Lin is very capable, but letting him take direct command seems a bit inappropriate. Wouldn't it be better to have him assist you from the sidelines?"

"Chief, please think twice! This is not children playing house."

Seeing that the ones speaking were veterans who had followed him for many years, He Yun felt a tightness in his chest.

*Such unworthy fellows are impossible to scheme with!*

"Shut up! If any of you has a better solution right now, I can gladly hand this commander-in-chief position over to you!"

At this, everyone obediently closed their mouths. Indeed, they had not come up with any viable plans.

Lin Xiao was also somewhat surprised by He Yun's decision.

"Chief, do you trust me that much?"

"Rest assured, once this mission succeeds, I will report your achievements to the higher-ups. If it fails, I will bear all the consequences alone!"

At this moment, Lin Xiao's view of He Yun truly shifted. He admitted that for a split second, he had suspected He Yun might just be looking for a scapegoat. Now, it seemed his own heart had been small-minded.

To make up for this, he decided to give it his all.

He certainly couldn't let his dear nephew down.

"Fine! Since the Chief has put it this way, I will not decline. Let's get the ugly truths out first: anyone who is unwilling to follow orders can withdraw right now. I don't want any unexpected incidents during the subsequent operation. Does anyone wish to withdraw?"

The veterans hadn't expected Lin Xiao to actually dare to accept the role of commander-in-chief.

Since things had progressed to this point, they naturally wouldn't continue to voice their opposition.

No matter how unconvinced they were in their hearts, they still had to participate in this operation.

"Since no one has any objections, please report your supernatural abilities to me one by one. Knowing your abilities will make it easier for me to command. Chief, start with yourself."

"He Yun, Level 9 SS-rank Lightning type."

Lin Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly. He knew He Yun was strong, but he hadn't expected him to be *this* strong—already a Level 9 powerhouse.

A Level 9 powerhouse under forty years old was truly formidable.

The others, whom Lin Xiao didn't recognize, also began their self-introductions.

True to being elite members of the Special Spirit-Warrior Forces, aside from the members of the War Wolf Mercenary Group, the lowest among the rest were Level 6, with as many as five Level 7 powerhouses.

After everyone finished introducing themselves, Lin Xiao summarized the roster and felt a tinge of regret.

The lineup was quite powerful, but unfortunately, there were no stealth-type abilities capable of silent infiltration.

At that moment, he somewhat missed Luo Yao.

If a dark-attribute powerhouse like Luo Yao were present, they might have been able to slip in without the enemy noticing.

Now, he would just have to think of another way.

Sorting out his thoughts slightly, Lin Xiao retrieved his laptop from his spatial ring.

During his earlier observation, he had noticed quite a few surveillance cameras around the villa.

This indicated there should be a monitoring room inside the villa, and he needed to take control of it; otherwise, many subsequent events might spiral out of his control.

Although the vehicles they arrived in included military electronic warfare trucks equipped with usable equipment, they still fell far short of his top-tier laptop.

His own device was much more familiar and efficient to use.

Seeing Lin Xiao open his laptop, a specialist in charge of electronic warfare spoke up.

"Commander, I know what you're trying to do, but I still must remind you that this is a research institute with a very high security clearance. Infiltrating it is already extremely difficult, let alone doing so without alerting the enemy. Unless you have absolute certainty, I advise against acting rashly."

Lin Xiao cast a faint glance at the man and remained silent.

His fingers began to fly rapidly across the keyboard.

Lines of code quickly filled the computer screen.

The man who had just offered the warning shut his mouth. Only those in the know understood what those lines of code represented.

An expert! An absolute expert!

He himself couldn't reach Lin Xiao's level; he was lagging far behind!

Perhaps he really could pull this off!

Just as the man had warned, the research institute's security level was very high. Infiltrating it took a tiny fraction of a moment, but that was all.

The institute's surveillance feeds quickly appeared on Lin Xiao's screen.

Not only the surveillance feeds—if Lin Xiao wished, he could even directly take control of all the electronic devices within the institute.

Cutting off the power and the like would merely require a flick of his fingers.

Of course, he wouldn't do that; it would only alert the people inside.

Seeing that Lin Xiao had actually successfully hacked into the research institute's surveillance system, everyone was ecstatic.

Being able to view the surveillance footage meant they could at least gain a certain level of understanding regarding the situation inside.

All eyes were fixed on the surveillance feeds, most prominently the central large screen.

On the large screen, over twenty people were gathered together. These men and women were all wearing white lab coats, presumably researchers from the institute.

Earlier, some had doubted Lin Xiao's words, and now they couldn't help but quickly count them.

There really were only twenty-seven people. This made them even more curious about Lin Xiao's intelligence-gathering methods.

Just how had he figured out the exact headcount?

Lin Xiao didn't care what those people were thinking; his gaze was locked onto the various surveillance feeds. Although his own eyesight could detect the enemies, many intricate details were clearer through the cameras.

Lin Xiao quickly compiled the feedback gathered from the surveillance.

"To summarize the situation: there are twenty-six thugs in total, with thirteen on the surface level and thirteen underground.

They are all armed with lethal weapons.

The thirteen on the first floor are responsible for observing the surroundings. The good news is that only two are watching our direction, and those two seem to be slacking off—I suspect it's because traps have been set up in this area.

There are thirteen in the basement: five guarding the hostages, three in the monitoring room, and the remaining four in a surveillance blind spot. What we can confirm is that all four are in the same room, presumably discussing something.

That is the current situation. Does anyone have anything to add?"

After Lin Xiao finished speaking, everyone looked at him with disbelief.

In just this short span of time, Lin Xiao had organized and analyzed the entire situation from the surveillance feeds. While their own brains were still lagging from processing so many security cameras, Lin Xiao had already delivered a complete summary.

It wasn't that they didn't want to add anything; they genuinely couldn't!

"Commander, we now understand the situation well enough. Just tell us what our next step is!"

Lin Xiao closed his eyes and began to think. The situation was clear enough, but launching a surprise attack without being detected—how could that be so simple?

He still needed to plan carefully, and he would only act once he was certain there was zero room for error.

Various viable plans flashed rapidly through Lin Xiao's mind, and those with a high risk of exposure were eliminated one by one.

Finally, Lin Xiao found the most feasible plan.

"Everyone stay put and wait for my command. I'll sneak in by myself! The most urgent task is to take care of those two guys keeping an eye on our direction first."