Prologue
260 Words
Amid chaos, a thousand strange voices echoed in 003’s ears, visions flickering like a film reel. Tang Xiaoshi tried to clench her fist, fingertips groping for the Colt 2000 at her side, but her body felt filled with mercury—weightless yet immovable. An overwhelming pressure clouded her mind; she bit her lip, the warm tang of blood in her mouth a grim reminder that if she let go now, she’d never open her eyes again.
“Calling HQ… mission complete.” Someone pried open her eyelid, checked her pulse, then reported calmly into a micro-transceiver: “Target is down. Requesting exfil.”
“Down?” Xiaoshi’s heart thundered. I’m not dead—I can still hear them… How could these marines be so careless?
No—she would not die here without knowing why. A fierce will to live ignited within her shattered body. She drew a ragged breath, vision blurring, voice a thin rasp: “I… I possess Iran’s … HK-48 schematics… I… I have…”
A thunderous blast of darkness. Pain flared at her neck. In her last moment—she saw her torn body yanked upright, a marine’s boot smashing into her chest, and then a rough hand closed around her head.
“Exfil!”
That curt command echoed into Tokyo’s night. Another desperate soul claimed by the darkness.
In the void, a broken lament drifted on black wings—an accursed eagle’s dying cry weaving a song of vengeance.
Above and below, I served my country… yet met this fate. I die with eyes unclosed!
- Writer
