Chapter 242: 242, Triple identity Ren Xiaosu!

When all beheld the argent filigree etched upon each other's flesh, Deputy Captain Liu Taiyu froze, his gaze dropping to the ground as words of rebuttal died upon his lips, for he knew this to be the most elite of Li's inner sanctum—these were fully integrated nano-soldiers!

Li's main theater of war was divided into two: one along the Fengyi Mountain front facing Qing, the other along the Ping Mountain front facing Yang, separated by hundreds of kilometers, and Liu Taiyu had heard whispers that the nano-soldiers had all been dispatched to Ping Mountain, for Yang now stood as Li's paramount foe, while Qing merely sought to exploit the chaos.

Yet Liu Taiyu had not anticipated their presence here.

Could it be they sought to catch Qing unawares, concealing even internal dispatches?

A chill seeped into Liu Taiyu's marrow—alas, the Fengyi Mountain front where he stood would surely erupt in conflict first!

But how could nano-soldiers lack vehicles? Their equipment was ever the finest, they eschewed transport trucks, instead issued with all-terrain vehicles.

Liu Taiyu whispered urgently: "Sir, where are your vehicles?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the officer's shoulder patch—three characters for Divine Machine Camp, and a white nano-spider sigil.

This was the legendary Li's Divine Machine Camp.

The Divine Machine officer sneered at Liu Taiyu: "Our vehicles await ahead; all your soldiers must disembark and board ours, and your private troops' uniforms—remove them."

"In such biting cold, stripping to the skin would see us dead!" Liu Taiyu protested.

The officer's foot lashed out, a hooked punch to Liu's midsection, bending him like a shrimp upon the earth, pain silencing even his cries!

The Divine Machine officer spoke calmly: "Why must you prattle so?"

Ren Xiaosu's vehicle was nearest to the Divine Machine officers, so he overheard their exchange, and when they demanded the private troops shed their uniforms, he grasped their intent—to masquerade as private soldiers and press onward!

Li's nano-technology had long drawn scrutiny, and now that it took the field, both Qing and Yang would surely deem it a dire threat.

Li understood full well the spies within their ranks, so the Divine Machine Camp sought to strike Qing with surprise—thus, their movements must remain hidden.

The Divine Machine soldiers approached the truck, and the foremost called out to Ren Xiaosu: "Disembark, strip your uniforms..."

Yet mid-sentence, the speaker halted, for he beheld that Ren Xiaosu and his company wore no military garb at all.

Ren Xiaosu chuckled—this was fortuitous, for they had never been issued uniforms.

The Divine Machine soldiers puzzled: "Where are your uniforms?"

Ren Xiaosu's voice carried wounded indignation: "We were given none—not just uniforms, but even weapons were incomplete..."

The Divine Machine officers stood stunned, for they had little contact with private troops and had not considered this possibility!

The officer who had felled Liu Taiyu laughed in exasperation: "You dare withhold pay and provisions so brazenly! Are we Li's kin to be devoured by parasites?"

He kicked Liu Taiyu's head, sending him sprawling unconscious.

Truth be told, the Divine Machine commander believed his plan flawless—first masquerade as private troops to skirt spies' notice, then thread through wilderness to Qing's flank, delivering a mortal strike.

For nano-soldiers possessed such formidable physiques, traversing paths impassable to ordinary soldiers, reaching Qing's unguarded positions.

This scheme had won command's approval, all deeming that while all eyes fixated on Yang, striking Qing would ensure a stunning victory.

Should Qing falter, Yang would surely seize greater spoils from their ruin.

The root of the three-way war lay in profit—whoever first exposed the gravest weakness would face the fiercest onslaught.

Thus, though imperfect, this stratagem was a wondrous gamble, yet the Divine Machine officers never imagined its first step would collapse in failure.

Their uniforms marked them as Divine Machine soldiers at a glance, and even riding private vehicles could not mask the scrutiny of keen observers.

"Then what do we do now?" a Divine Machine officer asked.

The commander gritted his teeth: "Don them in their civilian clothes, clothe them in our military garb, and send them onward to the Fengyi Mountain front—let the spies within the army fix their gaze upon them."

Ren Xiaosu's eyes gleamed—now he had gathered the identities of private troops, special reconnaissance, and Divine Machine into one.

Ren Xiaosu feared not his multiplicity of roles, for more identities meant greater utility.

After rousing Liu Taiyu, the Divine Machine soldiers whispered: "Proceed toward the Fengyi Mountain front—within ten days, you will reach its base. Fail, and face military tribunal. I dispatch five nano-soldiers to accompany you—no tricks."

As he spoke, the commander fastened an electronic ankle cuff upon Liu Taiyu's wrist—a crimson light blinking, clearly for tracking.

Yet its function surely transcended mere location, else how could they trust Liu to obey?

With surveillance and nano-soldiers shadowing the private troops to Fengyi Mountain, the plan now wore double safeguards.

The Divine Machine's decision to supplant a private unit was premeditated, for the conglomerate knew private troops' nature, and none deigned to plant spies among them.

Even if they disrupted a private unit's plans, it would not sway the greater strategy.

The Divine Machine commander spoke coldly: "Camp here tonight; you depart at dawn."

Yet Ren Xiaosu wondered—these could not be the full strength of Divine Machine, for he had not even glimpsed Lin Qi nor that Captain Zhou.

He knew not if further chances would arise to harvest more nano-robots.

At that moment, Li Qingzheng inquired: "We are to don Divine Machine uniforms?"

Ren Xiaosu nodded: "A good omen."

Li Qingzheng studied Ren Xiaosu's eager expression: "Xiaosu, have you schemed something? Share it."

"Once we wear Divine Machine uniforms," Ren Xiaosu replied, "we shall return to that forward base and feast like kings!"

All recoiled in shock—surely, upon wearing Divine Machine garb, their first act was to swindle sustenance from the base?!

Li Qingzheng grasped the truth: no matter Ren Xiaosu's identity, he wielded it with unassailable justification...