063 Bizarre Mission

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The film "White House Down" tells the story of a group of outlaws, abandoned by the White House government, who band together to seize the White House, control the nuclear launch codes, and replace the president. However, their plans are thwarted by a Capitol Police officer named John Cale, played by Channing Tatum. The whole incident begins when Cale's daughter, Emily, asks him to join the White House tour.

“Hey, are you here for the tour as well?”

When Yang Tang heard the male guide greeting Cale and his daughter, he immediately realized the series of gunfights in the White House was about to begin, which is why he wanted to get his hands on a weapon.

At this moment, Enlightenment activated, searching for a skill, and found “King of Hackers” to fit the requirements.

Because the total sins expended in the first four dreams by the dreamer exceeded the merits used, the dreamer is heavily burdened by guilt. Thus, the task is to help the King of Hackers, Skip Taylor, escape the White House after Air Force One is destroyed, in order to copy the skill.

Yang Tang was speechless upon learning the task. He hadn’t expected Enlightenment to require him to help one of the criminals, Taylor, escape the White House. This was hardly a good job!

In the original film, Taylor, the slightly neurotic King of Hackers, forgets that his files have already been deleted. He tries to swipe his card to open the bomb door in the basement, inadvertently triggering the explosives he installed himself, dying in a bizarre fashion.

Yang Tang, touring the White House with the group, silently recalled the film's plot, hoping to find the best opportunity to complete his task.

“Hey, why aren’t you talking? I’m Emily!”

Yang Tang’s train of thought was interrupted by the sudden childish voice, but he wasn’t annoyed, since the speaker was just a child—the protagonist Cale’s daughter.

“Hello, Emily, my name is Billy!”

Emily didn’t question the name Yang Tang made up on the spot. She simply asked, “Billy, isn’t the White House nice? Why do you always frown during the tour?”

“The White House is certainly nice, but the guide isn’t much. Let me tell you a secret—don’t tell anyone else.”

“What is it?” It must be said, young girls are always curious. She even leaned over, putting her ear by Yang Tang’s mouth.

“What the lady just asked about—the secret passage—it really exists.”

“Secret passage?” Emily was momentarily stunned, then reacted with excitement, exclaiming, “You mean the passage Kennedy used to bring Monroe into the White House?” Her voice was so loud it drew the attention of everyone nearby.

Seeing this, Yang Tang put a hand to his forehead. “Emily, can’t you keep it down?”

“Sorry!”

At this moment, Cale, who had been focused on the home theater, noticed Yang Tang and Emily lagging at the end of the group. “Hey, kid, where did you come from?”

Before Yang Tang could reply to Cale’s question, Emily erupted, “John, he’s my new friend! Don’t yell at him!”

Cale was immediately displeased. “Emily, he’s just a friend. I’m your dad!”

“I wish I didn’t have a dad like you,” Emily muttered softly.

Yang Tang couldn’t help but tug her sleeve, apologizing to Cale, “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to put you and your daughter at odds.”

“Billy, you don’t need to apologize to him!” Emily retorted stubbornly.

“Emily, you’re father and daughter—there’s no lasting grudge between parents and children.”

“‘No lasting grudge between parents and children’? What does that mean?”

“It’s a Chinese proverb. Didn’t you notice? I’m mixed-race—my father is Chinese. He taught me that saying.”

“Then your father must be very great!” Emily exclaimed.

“Thank you.”

As a father, hearing his daughter praise another man’s father right in front of him, Cale felt a sour sting in his heart!

Just then, the tour group, moving forward, erupted in commotion—the President of the United States had appeared.

Emily immediately squeezed forward with all her might, and Cale could only protect her.

“Mr. President, could you answer a question for my video blog?”

“I suppose I can. What’s your name?”

“Emily Cale!”

“Emily Cale? All right, ask away!”

Yang Tang watched as the President performed live for the crowd, then saw him whisper something to Cale, who then wore a very awkward expression.

After the group parted ways with the President, they turned into a gallery filled with old paintings and decor.

As Cale and the male guide stood chatting by the “White House Burning” oil painting, Emily stepped up and said, “John, I think I need to find one of those thirty-five bathrooms.”

The guide laughed, “There’s a women’s restroom downstairs.”

Cale continued, “Where is it? I’ll take her.”

Emily objected, “No, John, I can go by myself!”

At this point, Yang Tang timidly interjected, “I think I need to use the restroom again myself.”

The guide was surprised, “Didn’t you just go?”

Yang Tang clutched his stomach, “I think I told you, I’ve got a bit of diarrhea!”

So Yang Tang and Emily left the gallery together.

But when they got downstairs, Yang Tang didn’t head toward the restroom. Emily noticed and reminded him, “Hey, Billy, the bathroom’s this way.”

“I know, but that’s the women’s restroom. You go ahead—I’ll look for the men’s.”

“All right, I’ll go myself.”

After sending Emily off, Yang Tang circled back near the entrance, following his memory, and ducked into a random room next to the First Lady’s home theater.

He had barely hidden himself when he felt the shockwave from an explosion at the Capitol. He began counting silently.

According to the film’s plot, after the Capitol explodes, the White House starts evacuating. The dozen or so outlaws, disguised as renovation workers and hiding in the home theater, begin their operation. Their goal is to clear the corridors of White House guards, seize the armory and the aerial command center, and open the side doors to let in another group of outlaws.

Without a weapon, Yang Tang didn’t believe he could take on the armed outlaws, so he planned to follow them like a shadow and locate the White House armory.

“Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine—Eagle Eye!”

At that moment, Yang Tang opened the door, just in time to see the last outlaw disappear around the corner. He quickly slipped over to the open home theater entrance, scanned it with Eagle Eye, and confirmed the room was empty.

Without hesitation, Yang Tang briskly pursued the outlaws, hiding behind them to witness as they used silenced pistols to kill several armed guards.

After crossing another corridor and rounding two corners, three outlaws split off and entered a side door leading to the basement. After a few shots, they soon emerged, each carrying a rifle.

The armory!

Yang Tang immediately realized.

After six or seven outlaws had armed themselves and left, Yang Tang crept up to the side door, found it locked, so he hurried back to the corridor, found the room where the outlaws had hidden the guards’ bodies, and searched a dead guard for an access card. He doubled back and swiped into the armory.

Inside, the room wasn’t bigger than a bathroom, but it was neatly stacked with weapons. The outlaws had only taken less than a fifth; Yang Tang could take as much as he wanted.

He didn’t get greedy. He took two Glock 18s, loaded them with standard seventeen-round magazines, tucked one in his waistband, held the other in his left (less-favored) hand, grabbed four more magazines—two for each pocket—plus a grenade and a silencer he stuffed in his jacket pocket, then quickly left the armory.

Back in the corridor, Yang Tang cursed under his breath, “Damn, why do I have to wait until Air Force One explodes to get the King of Hackers out?” But there was no choice; the task required it. “Fine, I’ll go check where Taylor is supposed to be later! Mode 2, triple crosshair!”

With Eagle Eye and three crosshairs bouncing on his retina, Yang Tang headed upstairs to the White House’s top floor.

The film never specifies the exact location of the aerial command center; Yang Tang only knew it was near the top. He didn’t search door to door, but hid in a storage room, waiting for the King of Hackers to arrive.

Sure enough, before long, Skip Taylor showed up, and even pointed out the command center’s location to Yang Tang.

Unfortunately, Taylor’s decryption had only just begun. From outside the door, Yang Tang glanced at the progress bar—0.1% took about two seconds. At that rate, 1% would take twenty seconds, and the whole process would take over half an hour.

Yang Tang cursed at the conclusion, but to copy the skill, he had to wait.

Fine, let Taylor struggle here; I’ll go deal with some outlaws!

After all, Yang Tang had never killed anyone in a dream, and he wanted to see if killing in the dream would earn any rewards. So he quickly returned to the side wing on the main floor.

“Trying to play hide and seek with me, little girl? Fine, I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!”

As the saying goes, timing is everything. Just as Yang Tang reached the stairway corner, he saw a white man standing in the corridor, shouting at a heavy wooden door. He suddenly realized this was the scene just before Emily was captured by the outlaws.

“Crash!”

The wooden door was opened from inside.

The white man’s lips curled in a smug smile.

Meanwhile, the crosshair on Yang Tang’s retina locked onto him.

“Bang!”

A single silenced shot from the Glock 18.

The white man took a bullet to the temple and dropped instantly.

The half-open door swung wide, and Emily stared in shock at the fallen outlaw, completely at a loss.

Yang Tang, too, was stunned, for after the kill Enlightenment gave a prompt.

There is no cause and effect in the dream, no merit or sin!

Skill “Aimed Sniping,” Mode 2, upgrade progress: 8%!

The U.S. government is commonly referred to as the Washington D.C. government, or simply “the Capital,” but this term can easily be confused with “Hua,” meaning China. Therefore, throughout this story, it will be referred to as the White House government.

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