"Captain, the report for this operation is ready."
Lin Xi handed the operation report to Tang Li.
Tang Li took it and glanced over it. It truthfully recorded the entire process of the operation.
This included the fact that the people from country R had kidnapped Tang Li's clone, Tang Li's counter-plan to infiltrate the biological research institute, and her regaining control of the D City shelter through an invasive brain-computer interface.
After all, the military was aware of many of these events, so there was no need to conceal them.
However, any matter involving spatial replication was attributed to "Boss Li, the all-purpose merchant."
Of course, Lin Xi was unaware of these details.
It also stated that "Boss Li, the all-purpose merchant" had prior knowledge that D City was the main base for those individuals from country R, and had made arrangements accordingly, which allowed for swift action after Tang Li's clone was kidnapped.
Similarly, Lin Xi was aware of these matters.
Lin Xi's report simply outlined the events as she knew them.
The report also included photographic evidence of the crimes taken by Tang Li in various laboratories.
Tang Li took the pen and signed the report, instructing, "Have the accompanying supervisor sign it, and then submit it to the Mercenary Guild."
Lin Xi took back the report and said to Tang Li, "Captain, many of the teams that participated in this mission also want to join our team."
Tang Li raised an eyebrow at this, asking, "Which teams want to join this time?"
"Our team already accounts for half of the entire Mercenary Guild, doesn't it? Except for those few major teams, all the smaller teams have joined our team and become combat groups."
"If more join, won't our team be the only one left in the entire Mercenary Guild?"
Lin Xi couldn't help but chuckle at this.
"Yes, it's those few major teams that want to join us."
Tang Li's brow furrowed upon hearing this.
After Takahashi reached the stronghold of the Holy Light Organization in Jiangcheng, although he hadn't yet discovered Ishikawa's plan or his current whereabouts, he learned other things.
Previously, when the Holy Light Organization's D City shelter fell, some official personnel were dispatched to investigate. These individuals were bribed by the Holy Light Organization and, taking advantage of the chaos of the apocalypse, falsified reports to help the Holy Light Organization cover up parts of the truth about the fall of the D City shelter.
At this time, the "United Team" had recaptured the D City shelter, and the actions of those who helped cover up the truth were exposed. The best outcome for them would have been to be sent to the construction sites for the underground city.
These individuals were unwilling to accept this outcome.
In order to save themselves, they acted as the aggressors. Before the report for the D City recapture operation was submitted, with the help of high-ranking officials who had been infiltrated and bribed by the people of country R, they created conspiracy theories and various rumors to shift the blame.
They claimed that behind the "Apocalypse Mall" and "Boss Li, the all-purpose merchant," there was a mysterious force, and the "United Team" and Tang Li were the public faces of this force.
They asserted that this force knew about the coming of the apocalypse long in advance, which was why they had prepared so many resources and were aiming for something great by using these resources to buy people's loyalty.
They also claimed that the events in D City, including the previous arson and stalking cases, were all staged by this force, and even the organization in the black market was a scapegoat for this force.
Finally, in order to distance themselves, they stated that the events in D City were caused by this mysterious force, and that they, too, were deceived by the false pretenses created by this force when they went to investigate.
Although these were merely conspiracy theories and rumors without any evidence, and in normal circumstances, the authorities would not have believed them, the authorities were inevitably influenced by these rumors, leading to increased scrutiny of the "United Team."
Moreover, it was possible that the identity of the "Apocalypse Mall" and "Boss Li, the all-purpose merchant" in F City Base would be investigated more thoroughly.
At this very moment, Tang Li also heard that the "United Team" could continue to expand.
"Our team is already attracting too much attention, and some people are helping the people of country R to sow distrust in us among the authorities. If we continue to expand, it might play into their hands and have the opposite effect!"
Hearing Tang Li say this, Lin Xi also dropped her smile and became serious.
She frowned and said, "But our team has always been open to new members from the start. If we could accept those smaller teams, it would be difficult to refuse these major teams now, wouldn't it?"
Tang Li's initial intention in forming the "United Team" was to deal with organizations like the Holy Light Organization that wanted to capture her for experimentation.
To strengthen the combat effectiveness of the "United Team," she had always accepted any smaller teams that wanted to join, and from them, she selected trustworthy individuals to become core members.
Later, she also secretly established the "Apocalypse Mall" outside of the "United Team."
In this battle, both of these overt and covert forces played significant roles.
However, after this battle, it seemed as though these two forces had completed their missions and were beginning to appear redundant, with no further necessity for their existence.
Future conflicts with the people of country R might resemble intelligence warfare rather than large-scale confrontations.
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