I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was continuous, like a flying insect trapped in a light tube repeatedly hitting the glass tube wall.

Chen Xi stood in front of Kang Xiaojia, Jiang Chen, and Wang Lei, looking at the group of people standing at the stairwell.

There were eleven unfamiliar faces, more than she had expected.

Neither group took the first step; silence stretched between them like an invisible film.

The other party was observing Chen Xi, and Chen Xi was also observing the other party.

Four Asian faces and seven foreign faces were not arranged intentionally, but the boundaries were clear.

"……strangeness……"

"Her face..."

Two people whispered a few words after seeing Chen Xi, their eyes full of suspicion.

……

The team leader, who had an Asian face, took the first step forward.

He was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a short buzz cut, a very straight head shape, and a deep scar below his hairline.

Chen Xi had seen similar looks in the police force.

"Hello. I'm the leader of this team, you can call me Amin."

His voice was short and forceful, each word clear and distinct:

"Former Special Duties Unit (SDU) of the Hong Kong Police Force, currently employed by a consortium - our contract is subject to confidentiality clauses, and we cannot disclose the employer's information."

After he finished speaking, he turned slightly to the side, making way for three other Asian faces behind him.

The three of them stood in the same way as Ah Ming—feet shoulder-width apart, arms hanging naturally at their sides.

One of the team members had a piece missing from his left ear; it didn't look like it was congenital, but rather like an old injury.

Seemingly noticing Chen Xi's gaze, she nodded slightly, subtly revealing the tattoo on the lower half of her collarbone:

"Shan, this is Xiang, Kai, and Jiaxin."

Former SDU, and all four of them.

Chen Xi had seen the SDU's selection criteria in the training materials—the Hong Kong Flying Tigers, one of Asia's elite special operations units.

It is said that the selection success rate is less than five percent.

Their training includes counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and high-risk water combat... and the intensity of their training is on par with top international special forces.

Generally, retired SDU members usually work for private security companies, earning ten times more than the police force.

But this was the first time Chen Xi had ever seen a special forces soldier who was privately employed in the instance.

……

……

"We are an exploration team that has been approved by China and jointly applied for legal access to the instance with Hong Kong City and the UK."

Amin's voice was devoid of any superfluous emotion:

"Our destination is to enter this instance to rescue the target and obtain relevant intelligence."

This does not conflict with your mission—searching for and rescuing civilians and gathering intelligence.

After he finished speaking, he paused, his gaze lingering on Chen Xi's face for half a second, as if assessing her reaction, before introducing the several foreign faces behind him:

"They are from the United International Security Assistance team."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen, who had been silent all along, changed his expression.

Joint international security.

He knew that name.

It's not because it's famous among ordinary people, but because it's very authoritative in certain circles—

United International Security is one of the world’s top three private military contractors.

It is said to be headquartered in London, and its main clients include multinational conglomerates, resource extraction companies, and certain Middle Eastern royal families who prefer to remain anonymous.

Their recruitment process never appears in public; all employees are recruited through internal referrals and targeted poaching.

In other words, those who can secure contracts with United International are either top-tier retired special forces soldiers or authoritative experts in a particular field.

……

……

The former SDU member became a mercenary, and at the same time, he could hire a joint international security force, and an employer who could get both Hong Kong and the UK to apply for duplicate entry permits simultaneously...

Their financial resources can no longer be described as "abundant".

Jiang Chen quickly added in Chen Xi's ear, while several possibilities flashed through the latter's mind:

A multinational energy giant, a top-ten global technology company, or a Middle Eastern investment fund with royal connections.

Whoever can reach into the instance system means that during their time in the instance, the outside world has undergone tremendous changes.

The existence of duplicates is no secret to some aspects of this world.

It may even have been regarded as a resource, ready to be developed and utilized.

This means there are more variables in the copy than before.

More players, more objectives, more uncontrollable factors.

……

……

……

"What's your mission?" Chen Xi asked directly. "Just search and rescue?"

"Search and rescue operations, and assisting you in searching for civilians, are among the conditions under which we were allowed entry."

Amin did not evade the question, but he did not utter a single extra word:

"There is a target character in the instance, but her identity cannot be disclosed."

Our mission is to find her, confirm her survival status, and if she is still alive, take her away.

We regret to inform you that we have no further comment.

Chen Xi did not press further.

Her gaze passed over Amin and landed on the other seven foreign faces.

Of the seven people, two stood at the very front.

One was a Russian priest dressed as an Orthodox priest, with a large wooden cross pendant hanging around his neck, almost as long as his palm.

Ordinary ornaments can't be brought in; they have to be props.

Chen Xi silently remembered this detail.

The second person standing in the front row was of mixed race.

She is about 1.8 meters tall, which is very tall for a woman.

Her skin was wheat-colored, with a texture unique to mixed-race individuals.

Her hair and eyes were pure black, and it looked like a battle between Eastern and Western features on her face, with neither side completely winning.

She stood next to the priest, her body positioned just half a step ahead of him.

There were five more people behind them. Chen Xi quickly glanced at them and mentally categorized their characteristics one by one.

Orthodox priest.

Translation by a person of mixed race.

American soldiers.

Navy SEALs.

The ingredients are too complicated.

……

Jiang Chen's gaze shifted from Chen Xi, but he couldn't find his captain again in the next second. He could only rely on his intuition and whispered to the woman hanging on Kang Xiaojia:

"These people are equipped with top-of-the-line military-grade gear."

"Yes, I know."

Chen Xi nodded. There were eleven people in total, plus their four, making a total of fifteen living people in the building.

This number made her feel vaguely uneasy.

The more people involved, the greater the variables.

"You don't need to worry about that."

Amin spoke in a businesslike tone:

"Our mission priority is to search for and rescue the target, followed by assisting you in the rescue and conducting a full investigation of the instance."

We have official authorization—approval documents from China's national security department, operational permission from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and joint operational authorization from the United Kingdom.

The procedures are complete and do not violate any international treaties.

Officially authorized.

Approved by the national security department.

Joint operation license.

Each word carries enough weight to crush a person.

Chen Xi knew what this meant—the existence of the copy had been incorporated into national-level strategic considerations.

Foreign governments are aware that the dungeons contain special items that can be used and even traded in the real world.

So they sent in their most professional staff.

"How long have you been preparing?"

"From receiving the quest to entering the instance, forty-eight hours."

Ashan, standing to the side, replied with a smile, "The intelligence preparation time was even shorter—about three days ago, we first obtained the exact coordinates and entry method for this instance."

Three days.

It only took three days to go from knowing nothing to organizing a multinational elite team to enter the instance.

The mobilization capabilities and intelligence networks behind this are beyond the reach of a private security company.

Clearly, there are even greater forces driving this international cooperation.

……

……

"Okay, Uncle Biao said I'll show you how to patrol."

Chen Xi snapped out of her thoughts, her voice returning to its usual calm: "You can choose to follow me, or you can figure out the rules of the dungeon on your own."

She looked at Jiang Chen, who nodded and led Kang Xiaojia and Wang Lei away first.

Kang Xiaojia's identity as a "doctor" should not be revealed in front of unfamiliar players.

……

Fortunately, all eleven people were very professional, and no one questioned Chen Xi's questions.

Even the most skilled person will choose to observe and learn first when entering an unfamiliar instance.

A group of people followed Chen Xi up the stairs.

The hallway was very narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

The white paint on the walls has turned yellow and is covered with all sorts of marks—handprints, shoe prints, painted lettering, GG paper, and fingernail scratches.

There's always a damp, musty smell in the air.

Chen Xi walked at the front, her pace steady and unhurried.

Footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell, each step followed by a delayed echo.

It was as if someone on a distant floor was mimicking her steps.