Chapter 79: Rushing Headlong into the Net

A new day had dawned on Pandora. The darkness receded, and once again, light bathed the entire planet. For Parker, however, the night had been anything but calm. He was filled with both anticipation and anxiety about what was to come—a tension that harked back to more than a decade ago, when he was vying for the position of project leader for Pandora within the company.

With the arrival of the new day, Parker was about to assume a new identity: a minor shareholder in Pegasus Technologies. This hard-won benefit, though amounting to a mere fraction of a percent in shares, was enough to make him a wealthy man. All he needed to do was see today’s business through to completion.

At half past seven, Parker rose, washed up, summoned several subordinates, and together with Colonel Miles, set out for Ma Jun’s stronghold.

Yet the excitement that surged within Parker changed the moment he arrived at Ma Jun’s base.

“General Carls, what’s going on here?” Parker called out, unease creeping into his heart as he took in the heavily guarded facility.

“We’re conducting some training exercises!” Carls replied through a loudspeaker.

“Is Mr. Ma Jun here?” Parker hesitated, swallowing nervously. “I have some important business with him!”

Carls glanced at his watch. “He’s currently linked with his avatar. He can’t see you now.”

Deep in Pandora’s forests, at the spot where Jake had lost his avatar the previous day, a tense scene unfolded. Five mechs, three engineering vehicles, and more than twenty mercenaries stood guard around a prayer tree, ever watchful.

Ma Jun, controlling his own avatar, was at the heart of the tree, handling assorted scientific instruments.

“Mr. Ma Jun, there are numerous creatures approaching rapidly!” one of the mercenaries suddenly shouted. Their mechs’ radar and thermal imaging scanners had picked up signs of life.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be finished soon,” Ma Jun replied with calm nonchalance.

Without hesitation, he tore several vine-like branches from the tree.

A sound like pounding hooves echoed through the forest; nearly a hundred Na’vi, mounted on their planet’s horse-like beasts and armed with bows and arrows, appeared, poised for battle.

“Outsiders! Leave this place at once!” their leader roared in anger. “Do not destroy our home!” Though the Na’vi’s English was halting, it was clear enough to understand.

“We’re only collecting samples!” Ma Jun shouted back. “We have no wish for conflict. You already killed some of our people yesterday!”

As he spoke, Ma Jun yanked off two more branches.

“Damn you, outsiders! You must be punished!” the Na’vi leader cried. “You killed our kin, and now you dare provoke us again! You must die!”

No sooner had he finished than massive arrows whistled through the air, instantly felling several mercenaries.

Without waiting for orders, the mercenaries responded with savage gunfire.

Battle erupted in a frenzy. Though human weaponry was more advanced, the Na’vi bows were formidable, and they outnumbered the humans—soon the tide was turning.

“These savages, these brutes!” Ma Jun, sheltering at the rear, shouted in fury. “Bring in the engineering vehicles—flatten this tree! Let them taste our wrath!”

With a thunderous roar, the three engineering vehicles met no resistance, easily toppling the sacred prayer tree.

The sight drove the Na’vi to madness. Uttering strange cries, several flying creatures swooped in, bearing more Na’vi who launched a fierce assault on the humans.

“For humanity—charge!” Ma Jun bellowed, no longer seeking cover; there was nowhere left to hide, and in this situation, his fate was all but sealed.

The human squad charged with Ma Jun at their head, taking down several Na’vi in a final, desperate assault.

The battle ended quickly. The Na’vi knelt before the fallen prayer tree, wailing in grief, then torched the human engineering vehicles and rode away, their spirits aflame with sorrow and rage.

Back at the human base, Miles watched Parker with interest, trying to guess his thoughts, when suddenly a mercenary rushed up. “Sir, we’ve suffered casualties!”

After hearing the report, Miles ground his teeth. “Those damned blue-skinned monkeys!”

“Mr. Parker, Mr. Ma Jun has just woken up—he wants to see you,” Carls’ voice sounded in the base.

Parker hesitated for a moment, then turned to Miles. “Shall we go together?”

Miles nodded, and the group entered Ma Jun’s domain.

Ma Jun sat in the meeting room, smoking, surrounded by his entourage.

“Hello, Mr. Ma Jun, are you all right?” Parker asked with a gentle smile.

“I thought, after seeing my arrangements, you wouldn’t dare come in,” Ma Jun replied, smiling slyly.

“What?” Parker’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Carls, send all our files to everyone in the base. Let them see for themselves,” Ma Jun ordered, turning to Carls.

Moments later, every eye in the room was fixed on the large screen at the front. At the same time, the same information appeared on the mobile devices of others throughout the base.

The more they read, the more complicated their expressions became.

Parker’s face was the most dramatic, turning pale and then red, as if he were a master of disguise.

The files contained detailed entries, arranged chronologically: Parker’s communications with Stark, messages sent by Stark, and all of Parker’s arrangements.

Ma Jun surveyed the crowd, then beckoned to Carls. Soon, several mercenaries ushered in three scientific staff members.

“They all work on the Avatar project, apparently under Grace,” Ma Jun said, his tone calm. “Earlier today, when I was entering the avatar control pod, they acted suspiciously. When I returned, I found my head of security had detained them.”

The scientists trembled, beads of sweat forming on their brows. Under Carls’ impassive gaze, one of them whispered, “Mr. Parker ordered us… He knew Mr. Ma Jun would link with his avatar today, and something was supposed to go wrong during the process—a fatal risk. But before we could act, we were caught.”

“Ahem… Mr. Ma Jun, this must be some kind of misunderstanding,” Parker stammered, his composure and mask of civility gone, and tried to defend himself awkwardly. “Perhaps Grace… or you and I… there’s been a mistake…”

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