Today was the day for Uwa to call Catherine. She needed to find time for the call first. Before each mission, she always hid her phone in a safe place. This time, she had hidden it under a tree two kilometers away. After walking for more than ten minutes, she finally spotted the tree. Making sure no one was around, she crouched down and dug out a box from beneath the tree, retrieving a button-sized phone from inside. When the call connected, the voice on the other end asked, "Why are you so late today? Did something happen?"
"Sister, something did happen just now. I just escaped from a building."
"It's good that you're safe now. It seems things aren't going smoothly."
"Sister, I miss my brother. Where is he exactly? Can you tell me?" After a long silence on the other end, Catherine finally spoke slowly, "I'm sorry, Uwa, truly sorry. I lied to you. Amandine passed away four years ago."
"No!" Uwa cried out involuntarily. Everything she had done was to see Amandine again. Without this goal, she immediately became despondent. For five consecutive days, she didn't take a drop of water until Sean appeared before her again.
"Weren't you caught by them?"Uwa asked weakly. It turned out that when Sean was being hunted, he had been wounded and gone into hiding. Only after his wounds healed did he come out to look for Uwa. He had been shot in the leg and now walked with a limp. "I heard about what happened to you. You need to pull yourself together now. Mr. Amandine was killed by the Illuminati. You should be thinking about avenging him, not hiding here doing nothing."
"My sister lied to me. I don't trust her anymore."
"Sister? Which sister?" Sean was completely confused. "My brother's sister," she replied. Sean became even more perplexed, wondering if Uwa was having mental issues. He didn't dare to probe further, fearing he might uncover more problems. He turned and left to buy food for Uwa.
The "Courage Alliance" received their first mission from Simon. They were to attack a former city-state subsidy station nearby that had been occupied by the Illuminati. Alena dispatched twenty members with Martin as the team leader. To ensure the success of this operation, she also sent ten additional members as backup. The subsidy station had been converted by the Illuminati into a warehouse specifically for storing food. When Martin and his team arrived, only two old men were guarding the entrance. They encountered no resistance and successfully removed everything from the warehouse. Even the two old men enthusiastically helped them with the transportation. They delivered the goods to a supermarket entrance, where another team would handle the rest. After returning, Martin embellished the operation, making it sound thrilling and dangerous. At the exciting parts of his story, listeners were on the edge of their seats, but he always managed to turn the dangerous situations around. Alena was also deceived by his exaggerations and couldn't help but regard him more highly.
The second mission was scheduled three days later. This time, they were to target an Illuminati external liaison base three hundred kilometers away, which housed over a hundred people. The "Courage Alliance" had about two hundred combat-ready members. De Silva also wanted to participate, planning to bring his invented weapons to prove their value. "Brother, I'll go with you," Alena said, concerned. They were divided into three groups led by Martin, Collin, and the De Silva siblings, with sixty people in each group and a total of three vehicles. After driving for more than two hours, they reached the vicinity of their destination. Everyone disembarked, and the three groups immediately dispersed.
Alena and her brother led their team toward the left, walking more than five hundred meters until they came upon a three-story building. "According to the map, this should be it," said De Silva.
"Will your weapons be effective?" Alena asked. De Silva was disappointed. The building was centrally located with other buildings surrounding it. Using firearms could potentially harm innocent bystanders, something he was unwilling to see. He didn't respond verbally, just shook his head in frustration. Just then, gunfire erupted from another direction. "That must be Collin's team. I guess we should start our attack too," Alena said reluctantly. Within moments, bullets were fired from three directions simultaneously. The enemy was returning fire from the second and third floor windows. De Silva and his team took cover behind another building. After more than ten minutes of exchange, not a single casualty had occurred on either side. Nearby residents heard the gunfire and fled for safety. Alena angrily exclaimed, "That fool Collin! He always ruins things by exposing our position prematurely."
"Maybe we should retreat. Continuing like this won't get us anywhere," De Silva suggested. "Brother, try using your weapon. Otherwise, we've come here for nothing," Alena urged. "Alright, most people in the area should have evacuated by now. I'll give it a try," he replied. He took out his laser weapon, preparing to fire upward, but needed to get closer first. He asked everyone to provide cover as he quickly crouched and moved to a tree. Due to his short stature, he was quite suited for this kind of stealthy work. An Illuminati warrior on the third floor spotted him and said to someone beside him, "Why is there a child running toward us?"
"A bald child at that," the other person laughed. De Silva had been running so hastily that his wig had fallen off. He moved from cover to cover, looking like a playing child, which fortunately saved his life. Hiding behind a car, he raised his laser weapon and fired at the upper floors. With a "whoosh" sound, the beam immediately blasted a hole through the third-floor wall and continued through the roof. Although it didn't hit anyone, it terrified the Illuminati warriors. One asked, "What kind of weapon is that? It's so powerful!" After firing, De Silva moved to another position. He was excited; this was the first time he had used his invention in battle. Seeing the effectiveness, Alena ordered the other two groups to use similar tactics. However, they were instructed to aim upward. After half an hour, the building had been punctured with more than a dozen holes, and four enemy combatants had been killed.
Martin found a megaphone and called out to those inside, "Attention everyone in the building! You are surrounded. If you don't come out, we will completely destroy this building." After calling twice, a few frightened individuals actually came out with their hands raised. At this moment, Alena's Starlink communicator activated – it was Simon calling. "You need to leave immediately," he said. "Illuminati reinforcements are on their way and should arrive in about twenty minutes."
They had captured six enemy members in total, who were blindfolded and loaded into vehicles. Alena ordered a retreat, and all three teams returned to "Flame Farm." De Silva was in good spirits because his weapon had played a crucial role in the battle. Simon interrogated the six captured individuals and obtained some information from them. It turned out that this liaison office had been established by the fat man.
I'll translate this chapter into natural English for you. Let me work on this right away.