Chapter 109: Ultra-High Level
Chapter 109: Ultra-High Level
Matthew continued in a stern voice,
"Regional heads will claim targets in their respective territories based on geographic location.
For those you can't handle, headquarters will send special operations teams for support."
The screen wall went quiet for three seconds.
Then, the head of the Novaria region spoke first,
"The three in Ukraine, I'll take them."
Right after, the head of Southern Europe raised his hand,
"The two in the Balkans, I'll handle them."
The Middle East regional head followed suit,
"The five in Iraq and Syria are too far away, we'll need headquarters support."
Daniel stood behind James, pulling out a notebook to start recording.
One by one, targets were claimed, areas were divided, and action routes were finalized. The entire meeting lasted two hours, with not a single wasted word, not one person complaining, not one person asking "why."
Because they all knew this wasn't just James's order—it was the reason Apex Global Enterprises existed.
When the meeting ended, James stood up and said one sentence to the screen wall,
"In sixty days, I don't want to see these names again."
The dozen or so faces on the screen wall all nodded simultaneously. The screens went dark one by one, until only a black screen remained, reflecting James's shadow in the conference room.
Daniel closed his notebook and walked to James's side.
"Boss, sixty days, forty-seven targets, spread across twenty-three countries and regions. This plan is too big. If something goes wrong..."
"Nothing will go wrong."
James interrupted him, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on nice weather,
"Because we'll be faster than them. One step faster is enough."
Daniel said nothing more.
He knew what James meant by "one step faster"...
Not one step faster than the enemy, but one step faster than time.
One step faster than those terrorist organizations could use the C6 knockoffs in more terrible places.
One step faster than those extremists could sell the formula to more dangerous people.
One step faster than this world could completely spiral out of control.
The next sixty days were the busiest sixty days since Apex Global Enterprises was founded.
Every day there were operations.
Every day targets were eliminated.
Every day good news came back to headquarters, and so did casualty lists.
James woke up at five every morning, and the first thing he did was read the operation reports Matthew had compiled.
Red folders meant operations completed, green meant operations in progress, and black meant...
Operation failed, personnel casualties.
Black folders were rare, but each one left James silent for a long time.
On the twenty-seventh day, the Middle East special operations team encountered an ambush while raiding an extremist organization stronghold.
The other side had received advance notice and planted improvised explosive devices around the stronghold.
As soon as the convoy entered range, three roadside bombs detonated simultaneously. The first vehicle flipped over, the third was destroyed, and the command vehicle in the middle was trapped in the crossfire.
Daniel knocked on James's office door at three in the morning.
"Boss, something happened in the Middle East."
James was reading documents.
He looked up, took the report from Daniel's hand, and opened the first page.
His eyes scanned the text, the casualty list, the scene photos.
His finger paused on the paper, then he closed the report and placed it on the desk.
"Casualty situation."
"Three seriously injured, two lightly injured. No deaths."
James was silent for a second.
"Who was in command?"
"Isaiah."
"Have him pull back. Find someone else to take over the Middle East operations."
"Boss, Isaiah says he won't pull back. He says the mission is seventy percent complete, and if he pulls back now, all the previous sacrifices will be for nothing."
James looked up, meeting Daniel's eyes.
His gaze was calm, but Daniel saw something in those eyes...
Not anger, not heartache, but something deep and heavy, like a sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean—you couldn't see it, but you knew it was down there.
"Tell him, this is an order."
James's voice was low,
"People are more important than missions. Apex Global Enterprises doesn't do suicide charges."
Daniel nodded and walked out.
James sat alone in his office, looking at the huge world map on the wall.
On the Middle East section, several red dots were flashing—markers for ongoing operations. He looked at those red dots, remembering something the founder had once said,
"Apex Global Enterprises isn't a charity, but it's not an insane asylum either.
We make money, but not dirty money.
We fight, but not unnecessary fights."
James said silently to the founder: Don't worry. I won't let your company turn into an insane asylum.
On the forty-third day, the South American operations team took down a drug and explosive manufacturing site hidden deep in the rainforest.
The site appeared to be a cocaine processing plant on the surface, but hidden in the basement was a small bomb-making workshop.
The workshop was piled with various chemical materials and semi-finished products, along with some printed C6 knockoff tutorials downloaded from the dark web.
The walls were covered with screenshots from James's livestream, each one circled in red pen highlighting the test tubes in James's hands, thermometer readings, every detail on the workbench.
Those screenshots were wrinkled and worn, their corners curled up, like a textbook that had been studied repeatedly.
The operations team seized over a dozen completed bombs at the scene, varying in power—some slightly larger than grenades, others powerful enough to destroy a building.
And one more... kept in a separate room at the very back of the basement, packed in a foam box, wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap... so powerful that even the team's bomb disposal expert's face changed when he saw it.
"If this thing detonates in an urban area, there won't be anyone alive within a hundred feet."
When the bomb disposal expert said this, his voice was calm, but his forehead was covered in sweat.
The team leader was silent for a second, picked up the satellite phone, and dialed Daniel's number.
When the news reached James, he was eating lunch. He put down his utensils, took the report Daniel handed him, opened the first page, saw the estimated data for that bomb, and frowned slightly.
"This thing, they didn't make it themselves."
James said.
Daniel paused.
"Boss, you mean..."
"Their technical level can't produce this."
James placed the report on the table, tapping lightly on the data column with his finger,
"Look at this ratio. Although it's far from C6, it's much more precise than what they've made before.
This isn't something someone can mix up at home with pots and pans. This requires a lab, equipment, and someone with professional knowledge."
Daniel's frown deepened.
"You're saying professionals are helping them?"