Infinity, The Arcade Age
Chapter 516: Shadaloo’s Brainwashing Technique

Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Shadaloo’s Brainwashing Technique

Amid the furious roars, over a dozen enemies charged forward simultaneously.

Among them, a few adventurers pulled out various weapons and gear from their pockets.

It was obvious they had already joined the Shadaloo organization, trying to gain benefits from it—and from the look of things, their ranks weren’t low.

After all, Shadaloo respected strength above all else. If you had power, rising through the ranks was definitely more feasible.

But if you didn’t have strength, then you were better off sticking with the protagonists. You might not gain much, but at least you wouldn’t get killed.

At the front of the line, Qin Ming was the first to be hit by the wave, colliding head-on with several of the incoming elites.

One of the December Guards lunged in with her spear, but Qin Ming easily dodged with a sidestep and slashed across her abdomen with a raised hand, sending her flying backward on the spot.

The second one leaped up for a knee strike, slamming hard into Qin Ming’s chest—only to find it completely ineffective. Qin Ming simply grabbed her by the collar, spun her around, and hurled her like a cannonball into the ground, leaving a cratered floor as she was heavily wounded.

The so-called December Guards were terrifying opponents to ordinary people, but in the end, they were mass-produced fighters. Their actual skills weren’t all that high.

The strongest among them was barely second-rate, and the weaker ones were third-rate at best.

Two of them working together might be able to hold their own against Chun-Li—but against Qin Ming? That was wishful thinking.

After swiftly dealing with both of them, Qin Ming suddenly felt a tightening around his waist—Nash had grabbed him in a bear hug and was shoving forward with all his might.

Sliding across the floor from the force, Qin Ming frowned. He hadn’t expected Nash’s strength to be this overwhelming.

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed Nash’s belt and abruptly hoisted him upside down.

Lifting him high, he then slammed him hard into the ground—and when he saw Nash still hadn’t lost his fighting ability, Qin Ming followed up with a vicious kick.

BANG! With a loud crash, Nash, struck square in the face, spun across the floor like a top, smashing through furniture and landing motionless in the debris.

Having finished him off, Qin Ming looked up and glanced around, noticing that the others had already engaged with Mai Shiranui and the rest of the team.

Seeing the battle was in full swing, Qin Ming calmly pulled out his satellite phone and dialed a number.

As the call connected and the device activated, a deep rumbling came from outside the building.

The clouds tore open—and a WWII-era fighter jet dove from the sky, ramming straight into the tower.

CRASH! The aircraft burst through the wall, and as the hatch opened, soldiers in Hound Squad combat uniforms stormed out with overwhelming presence.

Qin Ming’s Hound Squad—had arrived!

Ten fully armed soldiers, rifles at the ready, charged into the fray. Each of them bore vampire bloodlines, making them the elite of elites.

With both high-tech gear and special bloodline abilities, their individual combat prowess was no less than that of a second-rate fighter. At the very least, an ordinary martial artist wouldn’t be able to kill them.

The ten-man squad, rifles raised, opened with a synchronized volley before charging in with bayonets. With their entry into the battlefield, the already chaotic hotel lobby descended into even greater disorder.

In the end, only two adventurers managed to escape—one used an item to return to his space, while the other jumped out the window and fled. Everyone else was wiped out completely.

But the hotel, now wrecked beyond recognition, was no longer habitable. No one dared to stay there any longer.

After all, with all the noise from helicopters and fighter jets, the local police were bound to respond quickly.

If they didn’t leave fast, once the police arrived, things would become very troublesome. Everyone would likely be treated as terrorists.

The group quickly evacuated the city in a large combat aircraft and landed deep in a remote forest. As they stared at the three captured prisoners in front of them, their expressions were all quite complicated.

Guile, in particular, wanted to go up and check on his old friend—but as soon as Nash woke up, he almost bit him.

Seeing Nash’s fierce expression and violent gaze, completely forgetting who he even was, Guile clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Damn you, Shadaloo! Damn it all!"

They hadn’t even started the mission properly before being ambushed—completely throwing their plans into disarray.

With no choice but to rest and regroup, the group decided to spend the night in the forest.

Guile spent most of the time circling his best friend, constantly trying to wake him up.

The good news was that Nash hadn’t been captured for too long—and more importantly, he was a professional soldier and a skilled fighter.

So thanks to Guile’s repeated efforts, Nash eventually regained his memories and broke free from Shadaloo’s brainwashing.

But the bad news was that Nash had only been under control for a short time, so breaking free was possible.

The two captured December Guard members, however, weren’t so lucky.

They had been brainwashed and trained since childhood, and there was no sign of breaking free at all. Worse, Shadaloo’s big boss, Vega, was a psychic. He used a special device to link his spiritual power with the December Guard’s minds, meaning even if they broke free, Vega could still influence and reassert control over them at any time.

This was known as the Mind Seal. As long as this seal wasn’t broken, these people would forever remain Vega’s slaves.

Still, even though the two women couldn’t be saved, at least Nash had been recovered.

Through his account, the group finally learned the real location of Shadaloo’s nearby base.

The site Guile had discovered earlier? It was actually a trap. There were no important facilities inside—only bombs.

Anyone who went in wouldn’t come back out alive.

The real Shadaloo base was hidden underground in the busiest part of the city—truly hidden in plain sight.

Because Nash had been brainwashed and turned into an assassin, he’d been inside the base before and was very familiar with the entry methods.

Upon learning this, the team immediately changed tactics. They would have Nash lead the way to the real secret base and put an end to Shadaloo’s evil plot.

Chun-Li, having just learned from Nash that her father was already dead—killed in a gauntlet battle by the December Guard—quickly adjusted her mindset and volunteered to join the mission.

She even proactively suggested handing over the two captured December Guard members to Interpol for temporary custody.

After all, if they were given to the military, the U.S. armed forces wouldn’t care whether they’d been brainwashed or not. Those two would either rot in prison for life—or be executed on the spot.

Interpol, however, was different. With a more complex structure and protocols for handling special cases, the two women might at least avoid immediate execution.

(End of Chapter)