Manhattan Police Department.
After several days of searching, investigation, and collecting and examining the equipment from the deceased, the case of the attack on Brilliant Star finally began to clear up.
In the conference hall, Captain Jeffrey pinpointed the target to Brooklyn.
"That's right, those mercenaries must be from Brooklyn. As for the mastermind behind it all, once we take down their lair, they'll naturally spill who the real culprit is!" Captain Jeffrey declared confidently.
"Brooklyn again? Does Brooklyn produce terrorists or something?"
One officer was furious. Brooklyn used to be a paradise for crime. After a cleanup, it had been peaceful for a while, but now it was acting up again—and even more rampant than before.
Captain Jeffrey sighed. Brooklyn was far more chaotic than people imagined. Big and small cases happened every day, and the police there never had a moment's rest.
"But Brooklyn is so huge—how are we supposed to find them?" another officer asked.
Captain Jeffrey raised his hand. "This is no longer something our precinct can handle. Before the meeting, I contacted the Brooklyn police. They said there have been recent crimes in Brooklyn involving thugs wearing the same gear. They've already located the criminals' lair and handed it over to the special forces for handling!"
"Special forces?!"
One officer clicked his tongue. Even the special forces were mobilized—this criminal gang must be no small fry.
"And it's the 'Falcon' special forces!" Captain Jeffrey had already foreseen the outcome.
"Falcon!"
Several officers looked quite surprised. They had heard that in the past two years, Falcon had taken down dozens of criminals' lairs without a single failure. Casualties were inevitable, but Falcon always struck with the smallest cost and fastest efficiency. It was known as America's sharp military blade, always piercing the enemy's vital point in one strike!
No matter how massive a terrorist organization was, hearing the name "Falcon" would send a chill down their spines.
With Falcon deployed, there was nothing left to worry about. This matter would finally be resolved and give the public an explanation, preventing the masses from sinking into endless panic.
The officers at the Manhattan Police Department all breathed a collective sigh of relief upon hearing this news. This long-troubling terrorist case was finally about to be cracked. They could finally relax from the intense workload.
They could now enjoy a leisurely afternoon with sunlight streaming into the station, brewing a cup of coffee and savoring it slowly.
After driving for two hours, Ronin finally arrived at his destination—a desolate area west of Manhattan.
On the vast stretch of land stood a circular building that resembled a factory. Ronin didn't think it was actually a factory. If nothing went wrong, this was the criminals' lair!
Thomas was very likely inside.
But how was he supposed to get in?
Charge in directly?
That didn't seem like a good idea. He had no understanding of the interior layout. Unless he killed every thug inside, he would be in constant danger.
Disguise himself as one of the thugs and sneak in to scout the layout first?
This idea seemed pretty good.
That day at the burger joint, he had asked Tony how he had made Thomas look exactly like Soldier: 76. In the end, Tony had explained the method in detail and even given him a little gadget.
Ronin got back in the car and took out the item—a small black cube with one side covered in glass and a red button on the side.
This was a little gadget Tony had come up with on a whim while making the Soldier: 76 armor.
Tony knew Ronin wanted Thomas to impersonate Soldier: 76, but Thomas's facial features were very different from Soldier: 76's. So he created this device and casually named it the Face Replicator!
Though small and with a rather lame name, its function was powerful. It could read facial data from a virtual character and load it onto synthetic skin, turning the synthetic skin into the virtual character's face.
Tony had used it to copy Soldier: 76's face and create a human-skin mask from the synthetic material.
When Thomas wore it, he looked as if he had been cast from the same mold—extremely realistic.
They also had to thank the fact that Soldier: 76 was fully armored. Except for the upper half of his face, everything else was tightly wrapped by the suit, so Thomas's extremely dark skin wasn't exposed.
Of course, even with this function, it still wouldn't be enough to sneak in, because it could only read data from virtual characters. At this point, Ronin had to give Tony a thumbs-up. The man truly deserved to be called a genius inventor—his brain worked differently from ordinary people.
In addition, the Face Replicator could also scan a real person's face, archive the facial details, and then project them onto synthetic skin to make a mask. However, the realism was not as good as the virtual version—for example, it couldn't perfectly replicate the height of the nose bridge or brow bones.
Ronin didn't need it to be especially realistic. As long as it could fool other people's eyes, it would be enough.
Time to get to work!
First, he drove the car to a hidden spot, gathered his gear, and headed out alone.
Since the distance was several kilometers, Ronin wasn't too worried about being spotted at first. But as he got closer, he had to be increasingly careful.
Especially now, he could only use scattered metal debris as intermittent cover, sneaking around like a thief.
There were guards at the main entrance, holding guns and scanning the surroundings.
Their equipment was identical to that of the thugs who had attacked Brilliant Star. It had to be them who had captured Thomas—Ronin confirmed it once again.
He quickly circled around to the side, pressing his back tightly against the wall. Since the building was circular, the guards at the door couldn't see him—he was standing right in their blind spot.
He then transformed into Soldier: 76. In his normal state, he couldn't even hold a gun steadily—he definitely wasn't a match for these people. He still had that much self-awareness. But Soldier: 76 himself was a professional agent with strong overall capabilities.
Instead of using the pulse rifle, he pulled out a small handgun—more precisely, a high-powered tranquilizer gun. Taking someone down in one second was no dream!
He crept slowly along the wall, moving closer and closer, his footsteps so light that even he could barely hear them.
When he felt the distance was about right, he suddenly spun around. He didn't aim at all—he simply fired a shot. If he still needed to aim at this range, he would be unworthy of the title "agent."
The guard at the door was just about to press the alarm button in his hand when his body went limp and he collapsed. Ronin quickly stepped forward to catch him, dragged him aside, and used the Face Replicator to scan the thug's face before projecting it onto the synthetic skin.
The originally smooth synthetic skin gradually gained sharp angles. Once turned into a mask and worn on his face, it felt like applying a facial mask—neither uncomfortable nor particularly pleasant.
Ronin canceled his transformation, stripped the thug of his clothes, and put them on over his own sportswear. It felt a bit bulky, but since the guy had a naturally sturdy build, it didn't look out of place.
As for the hair, it was short and black—nothing distinguishable at a glance.
Then, grabbing the thug's legs, he dragged him to a spot where others couldn't see—actually just behind a piece of iron sheet a hundred meters away.
After finishing all this, Ronin stood at the door holding a rifle.
Before long, someone came out. His heart raced; to be honest, he was quite nervous.
"I'll take over. Go inside and eat."
The man had oil all over his mouth and vegetable leaves stuck between his teeth—he had clearly just finished eating.
Ronin didn't say a single word. He simply walked inside. The less he spoke, the lower the chance of exposure.