Six SUVs and a sedan stopped between the rows of Fir Trees. In the lead SUV, Sawamura looked at the 12 pieces Claymores neatly arranged on the hood.

"This many?"

"Yes, and they're ours. Meaning they have captured the villa." Yoshi pointed to the SUV's headlights as he continued, "And if they were still at the villa, then they must have seen us."

Sawamura nodded slightly before asking, "How do you find these claymores?"

"It seems they are too greedy. For the sake of getting a maximum effect they placed it one meter above the ground on the Fir Trees." Yoshi turned to Sawamura as he continued, "If they put it on the ground and covered it with camouflage, I definitely wouldn't have seen it."

"Maybe they thought we'd be driving fast."

"Maybe."

Sawamura then tapped his finger on the SUV's hood as he asked, "Do you have any other info?"

"There's only one trail. The knots he uses indicate he's an ex-Americ mil."

"White Mutt?"

"Yes."

"What's your suggestion?"

Yoshi turned his head towards the villa in the distance and asked, "Do you know the pattern of Claymores' distribution around the villa?"

"Of course not, I only know Chief Koji spread it 50 meters from the artificial creek and he used all of our Claymores. So there are still 36 pieces we have to watch out for."

"So, we can only enter through the front gate?" asked Yoshi.

"It seems so."

"Well, they must have anticipated it. But as long as we can get through the gate, then we can do fire and maneuver if versus contact occurs. We will lose some people, but we have a good chance to reach the main building."

"Let's do it that way then," said Sawamura shortly but firmly.

Whether coincidentally or not, at the same time all the lights in the villa went out.

---

Once she saw the Green SUV, Shizuka immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, we arrived."

"Yeah."

Sweat was pouring down from Anya's forehead and her breathing was heavy, but she was desperately trying to look tough. Without delay, Shizuka lifted and carried Anya to the Green SUV, where Takeo had already opened the door.

After putting Anya in the Green SUV, Shizuka gave her a bottle of Ponary Sweet. Then, she turned to Takeo.

"Are we really going to leave him?"

"Yes, I trust in Apple's judgment."

"Maybe I can help him?"

"I think you'll only become a burden. We should also take our VIP away immediately."

As she gently wiped the sweat off Anya's forehead, Shizuka said, "Her name is Anya, and Apple wants us to take refuge in Pine Abode."

"Let's go then."

Takeo and Shizuka then got into the Green SUV. A moment later, the Green SUV was driving at full speed leaving the rest area.

---

Six SUVs and a sedan, moving slowly in tight formation approached the front gate without turning on the lights. The roof of every SUV was open, where a shooter armed with M4CQB was ready to launch suppressing fire as soon as muzzle flash was seen from the villa. Meanwhile, the other QRF personnel walked behind the SUV door with great vigilance.

Behind the left door of the lead SUV, Yoshi walked while making calculations. The guards were equipped with a 200-meters thermal scope and 300-meters NVG PVS-117. Therefore, by using the loot, they could fire at QRF personnel as soon as they arrived at the gate.

'I hope they don't have an MG Gunner,' Yoshi muttered inwardly.

When the lead SUV reached a position five meters from the front gate, Yoshi raised his left hand and the convoy immediately stopped. Without delay, he then sneaked into the guard post with one QRF personnel as an escort.

Yoshi was worried that the opponent would set a booby trap at the guard post, so he decided to check it himself. Carefully, he checked every inch of the guard post's door. Then, after he made sure that the guard post was clear from any danger, he allowed his guards to come in.

'So far everything is good.'

Without delay, Yoshi approached the panel which controlled the 800 kg crossbar and operated it. A moment later, the end of the crossbar lifted and pulled the twelve trap wires tied to the lower end of the crossbar.

The twelve wires were braided together until they touch the ground, before spreading and connecting to the Claymores' safety ring without passing the road where the QRF team stopped. And, even as the crossbar just lifted 20 cm high, the trap wire already tightened and pulled the safety ring on each Claymore.

When one of the personnel saw twelve trap wires suddenly appear from the grass field in front of him and tightened up, it was already too late.

"Get dow----"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Ba-ba-bang!

Almost simultaneously twelve Claymores exploded, each spewing 700 grains of 3.2 mm steel balls at a speed of 1,218 m/s toward the guard post. Even if the QRF convoy was not at the center of the explosion, more than 80% of the steel balls rained heavily on their position.

In a blink of an eye, the windshield shattered, hundreds of small holes formed on the car, while the QRF personnel slumped to the ground, and pools of blood immediately formed near their bodies. The lucky QRF personnel got instant death, while the rest could only lie down while groaning and whimpering.

It would take 10 minutes before they lost consciousness due to blood loss, then went into a coma, and finally crossed over to the afterlife.

Inside the guard post, Yoshi and the other QRF personnel also experienced a similar fate. The construction of the guard post only consists of wooden planks and ordinary glass. So, the steel ball pierced the guard post along with two people inside it easily.

"Bastards!!" Yoshi cursed softly.

Even in his wildest dreams, Yoshi would not have expected the opponent to move Claymore to the front gate and sacrifice the defense on the other side.

What's more, they installed the trigger wire on the lower end of the crossbar without any camouflage. Unfortunately, it was too late to realize it and Yoshi could only wait for the last seconds of his life while cursing in silence.

---

On the command post balcony, behind one of the gaps in the guard rail, Hide knelt while holding the MP5-PDW with both hands. He carefully looked at the front gate and the area around it. After making sure that no threat remained, he then got to his feet and jumped down onto the roof of the SUV beside the balcony.

'Time to go home.'

Without delay, Hide jogged towards the garage. After changing his clothes he took out Elder Moruyama's smartphone. First, he sent the message 'Stop Sakura Project or more deaths will follow!' to all contacts in the phonebook, followed by the last photo of Elder Moruyama.

Not long after that, he had driven the Black Van away from Villa Tigera which was engulfed in flames. He and Shizuka left too many forensic traces, so he had to wipe them as cleanly as possible. Fortunately, the villa had a large number of alcoholic beverages. Apart from a few bottles of the most expensive drinks and a few boxes of Leginon white wine, Hide used the rest as fuel.

As he passed through the front gate, Hide saw that there were a few QRF personnel who were slightly moving, but he ignored them. He didn't have time to ease their suffering. Moreover, the sun was about to rise.

'I have to hurry,' muttered Hide as he stepped on the accelerator.

*****