Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 546 Turmoil
The one who came to invite Mu Xiang for dinner and drinks was none other than the most leisurely Zheng Zha... He didn't need to put in much effort to master the skills of piloting mechs, and his match was scheduled for the last day; Mu Xiang didn't assign him any tasks either, which made him feel incredibly bored, whether from the perspective of Mechanical Dragon or the Central Continent Team.

"So what did you figure out?" Zheng Zha casually put his arm around Mu Xiang's shoulder, nodded to the few staff members walking towards them, and asked seemingly nonchalantly.

Mu Xiang said in a low voice, "The referee of the match on Luogan Road during the day... flew away in his aircraft after the match ended and returned to the referees' rest area."

"and then?"

"That's it," Mu Xiang said.

Zheng Zha was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"The aircraft landed in the referees' rest area... and then the referees disappeared." Mu Xiang glanced at Zheng Zha. "No one paid any attention to the referees when they left. Also, after Zhang Jie attacked the referees, it didn't cause any trouble. It's a pity that their experiment wasn't conducted in a perfect setting, otherwise the information would have been more comprehensive."

Zheng Zha pondered for a moment: "What does 'imperfect' mean?"

Mu Xiang sighed and carefully chose his words: "Do you remember what happened after the Eastern Front Bishop was killed? That's right, after Zhang Jie and his team killed that referee, there was no such thing as sealing off the scene, and no related information could be found afterward. There are two possibilities: one, referees are just disposable materials, so it doesn't matter if they die; two, referees are not on the same level as ordinary people."

“Consumables are unlikely... I don’t think anyone in this world would kill a referee.” Zheng Zha frowned. “It seems you’re leaning towards the second possibility.”

Mu Xiang shrugged, almost shaking Zheng Zha's hand away: "That's right, that's why I said the occasion wasn't perfect... The Eastern Front match was to decide the ownership of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. With only one match, it's impossible to predict what would happen the next day if the referee were eliminated. Would we simply get rid of the referee, casually replace him with another one, or would that referee come back?"

Zheng Zha felt a chill run down his spine, then forced a smile and said, "This...this is the wrong movie set, isn't this a sci-fi film?"

"It's weird, isn't it? But judging from the way the referee disappeared and the attention everyone else paid to him, there's definitely something wrong with this thing. If we weren't members of the Samsara team, we might have gotten used to it too. It's almost like a hint," Mu Xiang said. "Zhang Jie's judgment is that there was no mental hint, but there are likely other influences."

"Of course, even if it really turns into a sci-fi horror movie, there's nothing to be afraid of... just find out what's behind it and punch it into two pancakes." Mu Xiang's last sentence was full of sarcasm.

Zheng Zha shook his head: "That's not right. How can one punch turn someone into two pancakes?"

"Hehe, you'll understand when you reach my level..."

"roll roll roll……"

When they arrived at the restaurant, Alexander and Logandao were already waiting there. Judging from Logandao's slightly embarrassed expression, he must have been dragged there by Alexander... This man was quite old, but he was full of energy and vitality in both his speech and actions.

Since being thoroughly beaten by Mu Xiang, Alexander has lost all his airs and become the kind and approachable senior brother. He usually exchanges techniques with them and grabs anyone he can to eat and drink with. Tonight, Luo Gandao was the one they caught, and judging from his expression, he seemed to have been given quite a bit of alcohol.

Seeing Mu Xiang and Zheng Zha approach, Alexander hiccuped and laughed, "Oh, two more have arrived. This time we're sure to win."

He seemed nonchalant, but his eyes were glancing to the side. Mu Xiang and Zheng Zha followed his gaze and saw more than a dozen young men with unfriendly expressions, seemingly drinking at other tables, but those tables were subtly surrounding them.

Zheng Zha chuckled, not mincing words: "What did you provoke this time? Why are you about to fight them?" Alexander shrugged and raised his glass to him: "I just praised Brother Luo Gandao's skills... but the young people of the United States aren't convinced, and they probably won't live to see the next match."

Mu Xiang rolled his eyes. "Stop pretending to be innocent... Anyone who's seen the movie knows you love to provoke first, right? So Alexei tells us to keep a low profile, and your solution is to be high-profile and eliminate potential enemies in one fell swoop?"
But it wouldn't be good to criticize Alexander at this point, so he smiled and took the opportunity to say, "Oh, is it that you can't wait, or that you won't have the chance to wait until then? You need to be clear about what you're saying."

Zheng Zha plopped down next to Alexander and teased, "You think the little bit of English you've learned is just for provoking the United States? Hahaha!"

Unfortunately, Alexei didn't bring many substitutes with him to this match; otherwise, if the Allied substitutes had been there, they would have been laughing and banging on the table in celebration.

Hearing Zheng Zha say this, the faces of the people from the United States became even uglier, and some of them even stood up.

Mu Xiang tapped his fingers on the table, a tactical signal used by the Allied forces during training... At the same time, his voice reached Zheng Zha and Luo Gandao's ears: "The hearts of the waiters behind us and several people from the United States are beating faster... We guessed right, if the United States seizes the opportunity, they will definitely create a fight to affect our combat effectiveness."

At the same time, he laughed loudly, "What are you doing? Could it be that the United States' substitutes train in boxing every day just to get revenge for their masters during the off-season?"

An empty wine bottle fell to the ground, but the waiter behind them failed to catch it. At first glance, it seemed like a mistake, but it was actually a signal to the United States... In this standoff, any unusual noise, whether intentional or unintentional, could become the fuse that ignites the situation.

Besides, this waiter was already on the same side as the United States' substitutes. By smashing the bottle, he gave the United States' substitutes an excuse to attack, and then he took sides... Trading a few substitutes who would never play for the opponent's mechanical dragon was a sure-fire deal for anyone.

In Alexander's words... both the Allied Powers and the United States of America are well aware of this.

A cool female voice reached Mu Xiang's ears: "It's ready and can be placed at any time... You can start a commotion now."

That was Zhao Yingkong's voice. Although she couldn't hear what Mu Xiang was saying, it was easy for Mu Xiang to hear her voice. At this moment, Zhao Yingkong was outside the referee's lounge not far away. With her infiltration skills, she could complete this task.

Mu Xiang smiled, grabbed a table, and slapped away a waiter and a substitute who lunged at him. The next moment, chaos erupted amidst shouts, and bottles filled the air. Zheng Zha picked up Luo Gandao, shoved him behind the bar, and then flipped a table, smashing it towards the United States substitutes.

The security guards, hearing the commotion, were bewildered. They knew their men were going to target the Allied people, so their original plan was to wait outside... but why were they hearing their own men screaming inside? Just as they were about to rush into the restaurant, another table was thrown over, knocking down the first few people and then getting stuck perfectly in the restaurant's automatic door.

Meanwhile, a dark shadow entered the referee's lounge. It was truly just a shadow, not a person dressed in black... a shadow without form, yet it existed in the real world.

This was Zhao Yingkong using the Shadow-Switch technique; the surrounding surveillance cameras had been temporarily hacked by her pre-programmed settings… Judging from the security of the surveillance system, it seemed to be merely a formality provided by the Allies, as inadequate as the network systems of this era. Could it really be as Mu Xiang said, that the referee and the others were simply not on the same level?
A device was placed in the middle of the referee's lounge. According to Mu Xiang's observation, the referees who returned to the lounge disappeared into the device... But no matter what the nature of the device was, the Zhongzhou team had ways to tamper with it.

A metal plate appeared in Zhao Yingkong's empty hand after she regained her physical form. This was a storage medium infused with Zhang Jie's spiritual power... Melting it would allow Zhang Jie's spiritual power to be entrusted to something.

Her spiritual power merged into it, triggering the power of the storage medium. The metal sheet melted in her hands, but without any change in temperature... Reaching out, she smeared the molten metal onto the instrument, and Zhao Yingkong once again transformed into a dark shadow, disappearing from the room that was nominally for the referee but was actually uninhabited.

(End of this chapter)