()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_engine_speedup</SE1><Night><BIN>318</BIN><黑屏2><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_23SF_Battle_1</BGM>:On the highway on the west bank of the canal, Dark Zone, Kamona.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Having shaken off Blackgold's pursuit, the Commander takes over the driver's seat. With only a sparse cache of ammunition and supplies left, they speed across the Kamona plains.
()||<黑点1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<Night><BIN>730</BIN><黑点2><CGDelay>0.3</CGDelay>:
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Are you sure your leg's fine?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Look.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The Commander pulls a contoured steel plate out from their left pant leg and tosses it aside. A dent is clearly visible on the metal.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Impressive.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>;NPC-MDR_AB(0)||:And you? Why did you come back?
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Position>0,-50</Position>;NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker><Shake>||:Uh... well...
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Position>0,-50</Position>;NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:I thought about it, and you guys are such noobs. Without me, you're definitely screwed. So I figured I'd reluctantly tag along a little longer.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Mm. You're right.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:I believe you.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Hey, I'm serious!
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:So are we... Hahahahahaha...
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Hahahaha...
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:...Hey! Enough already!
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Alright, alright, we'll stop. Thanks, Kuro!
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Hmph... Sure...
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Just so we're clear—I didn't come back for that client. I came back for you guys.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:I know. Kuro, you're the best!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>Rope</SE1><SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Seeing that Kuro is still sulking, Mityl throws an arm around her neck and pulls her into a big hug.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker><Shake>||:Hey, hey, hey! You're choking me!
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Welcome back!
()||<黑点1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_engine_speedup</SE1><黑点2><Night>:The night wind blows as the wind turbines spin silently on either side. The headlights cut a clear path ahead through the darkness. There's no one else around—only the three of them, alone in the Kamona wilderness.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Where are we going?
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Doss controls Floranpino. If Beluga wants to take the box back and avoid Hecate's people, there's only one path she can take.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Bridge 794!
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Yeah. We haven't lost too much time. I know a shortcut—we can catch up with her there...
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Then we'll ask her how it feels to be Doss' lapdog.
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN>:
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_carmona</BGM><黑屏2><Night><BIN>480</BIN><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Half an hour later, the car passes through an abandoned town.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Mityl, who has been laughing and joking in the backseat, suddenly falls silent as she stares out the window.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:What's wrong?
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:...This was my home.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:...
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The road is riddled with potholes and scarred by deep tire marks from military vehicles. The buildings on either side have been wrecked by shelling, and rubble lies strewn across the road.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The Commander carefully navigates around the debris, slowing the car even more.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:When the war reached here, I lost my home and my family. I was lucky. A special operative found me and let me follow him. He was the one who taught me how to shoot.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:A few years later, he took on a job and never came back. Before he left, he gave me a gun. I used it to complete my first gig.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:After that, I kept taking jobs, scrounging junk, stashing more and more stuff, saving up more and more money...
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:I even found a smuggler willing to get me out. Once I finish this job and get the payment, I can finally leave Kamona. For good.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Mityl turns her gaze back into the car and instinctively reaches for the giant backpack that she always carries—only to realize she has left it on the riverbank. Her raised hand falls onto the empty seat.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Don't you worry. I'll get you a bigger pack.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Mityl forces a smile.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Is this smuggler really trustworthy? I've heard it's getting harder and harder to leave the Dark Zone lately. You sure you're not getting scammed?
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:I don't think it's a scam? It's someone named Evita—she's a contractor in Marulos. I've taken jobs from her before. Seemed reliable.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Evita? I know her too. She may really have a way to get you out.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Come to think of it, I've seen her quite recently. If she hadn't helped me back then, I wouldn't have gotten this job in the first place.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Door_Hit</SE1><震屏3><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:The Commander is momentarily distracted. The front-right tire runs over a massive rock, the steering wheel jerks, and the car lurches toward a pile of rubble.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Brake! Brake!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<controll_shake>%%type_id=2%%duration=4%%delay=0%%range=3</controll_shake><SE1>AVG_brake</SE1>:A shrill screech fills the air. The car halts just short of the mound.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:What happened?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Sorry. I was just... taken by surprise...
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><回忆><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay><BIN>479</BIN>:
NPC-Evita_AB(0)<Speaker>Evita</Speaker>||:Listen. Don't stay in Marulos for the next little while. It's better if you take an out-of-town job.
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><关闭蒙版><BIN>9</BIN>:
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_engine_speedup</SE1><BIN>730</BIN><Night><黑屏2><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Sneak</BGM>:The Commander shifts gears and reverses, restarting the vehicle.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:We all know Evita, and we all saw her before this mission.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Is that a problem?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:...Not necessarily.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Evita is a well-known contractor in the Dark Zone. It's a coincidence, but not suspicious.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:But there's someone else you know. And that's not so easy to explain.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Who?
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Hecate.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Who?! That psycho woman who almost got us all killed?!
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:...
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:I went back for you guys after I found the car, but Blackgold's people had already surrounded the area, so I had to hide in the woods. I saw everything.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||<CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:When you looked back and saw Hecate, you clearly recognized her.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:...Fine. I admit it.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:We've met once.
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN>:
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><Night><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay><BIN>1</BIN><回忆><SE1>AVG_wind_grass</SE1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Four years ago.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:I'll say it again. Your mission is to rescue the hostages trapped in the mountaintop camp and ensure their safety. Is that clear?
()<Speaker>众人</Speaker>||<震屏3>:<size=50>Yes, sir!</size>
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:In a forested valley somewhere in Kamona, a uniformed officer is delivering a briefing. Before him are soldiers standing in a neat row—and six slack-looking special operatives.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:The hostages are at the top of the mountain. Three sides are cliffs; only the northeastern slope is suitable for approach.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:It's dense with rocks and trees, so I've brought in six local operatives familiar with the terrain.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:Stand up straight!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The officer barks at the slouching operatives. They straighten up instantly.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:What a hard-ass...
()<Speaker>Old Friend</Speaker>||:Shh.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:What was that? Speak up so I can hear it.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||<震屏3><SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:<size=50>Sir! We will complete the mission, sir!</size>
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:Hmph.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The Commander is among the six, whispering to a friend.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:This mission is important. Anyone who performs well gets a commendation. Whoever takes the lead role gets a rank promotion!
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:What if it's an operative?
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1><震屏3>:What a joke. An operative? Fine. If one of you gets the lead, I'll push to get them admitted into the military. Any other questions?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:No, sir. Thank you, sir!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_XXS_kick</SE1>:The Commander's friend elbows them, whispering excitedly.
()<Speaker>Old Friend</Speaker>||:The military! Did you hear that? The military!
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Of course I heard.
()<Speaker>Old Friend</Speaker>||:Join the military, and you get a chance to leave Kamona...
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:It can't be that easy. They're just stringing us along.
()<Speaker>Old Friend</Speaker>||:<size=25>God, I don't care where—I just want out of the Dark Zone...</size>
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Lost in dreams of a better future, the friend doesn't notice the Commander's cynicism.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Hey, look at that one with the dark hair.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:In the front row stands a girl with short dark hair, dressed in uniform and carrying a full set of climbing gear.
()<Speaker>Old Friend</Speaker>||:What about her?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:When the officer was making promises, she shrugged. Clearly didn't believe a word, haha...
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Punch</SE1><震屏3>:<size=50>Quiet!</size>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Ahem...
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:The winds are too strong for helicopters today. The northeastern slope is the enemy's only retreat path. We'll advance from there and trap them—
NPC-Hecate_AB(0)<Speaker>Dark-Haired Girl</Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Sir!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The dark-haired girl suddenly speaks up.
NPC-Hecate_AB(0)<Speaker>Dark-Haired Girl</Speaker>||:I found a potential escape path on the southern cliff during reconnaissance. The enemy might retreat that way.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||<震屏3>:You said it yourself, "Might." "MIGHT!' That cliff is steep—how would they get down with hostages? What about the others who scouted south?
()<Speaker>Soldier</Speaker>||:Sir! I believe the south is impassable.
NPC-Hecate_AB(0)<Speaker>Dark-Haired Girl</Speaker>||:If we only attack from the northeast and they escape another way, the mission fails.
NPC-Hecate_AB(0)<Speaker>Dark-Haired Girl</Speaker>||:I request—
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:I've scouted it too. No way they're getting out that way!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The officer cuts her off, clearly irritated.
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||<震屏3><SE1>AVG_Punch</SE1>:I don't care how smart you were in the academy or what your scores were. This is Kamona. The Dark Zone. Not your fancy simulation lab!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:As the officer drones on, the dark-haired girl falls silent.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Interesting.
()<Speaker>Old Friend</Speaker>||:What is?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Say, if that soldier's right... what then?
()<Speaker>Officer</Speaker>||:You again? If you've got something to say, say it to my face!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The Commander sighs and steps forward.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||<CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:Sir! I agree with her.
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM><黑屏2><关闭蒙版><BIN>9</BIN>:
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<Night><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay><黑屏2><SE1>AVG_engine_speedup</SE1><BIN>730</BIN>:
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:And? That dark-haired girl was Hecate? Did the officer listen?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The three have long since left the ruined town. Bridge 794 is just up ahead.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Well—
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||<BGM>10106</BGM>:Look!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Mityl interrupts suddenly.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:There is a sudden glow at the end of the dark road.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Headlights. We've caught up.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The Commander kills their own headlights and floors the accelerator.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Get ready.
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN>:
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><关闭蒙版><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay><BIN>801</BIN>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:They arrive at where the light is. It is indeed a vehicle—but it's parked and not moving.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The headlights shine down the road in the direction from which the Commander is traveling. Beluga is leaning against the hood, as if waiting.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:A lone person, one car, beside the bridge under the moonlight. The Doss assassins are nowhere to be seen.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:What the hell...?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay><SE1>AVG_HeavyVehicle_Stop</SE1>:The Commander parks the car. The three get out, weapons in hand, cautious of Beluga and any unseen threat.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Where's the box?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Beluga doesn't answer.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Why did you betray us? We... we were in this together...
NPC-M16_AB(0)<Speaker>Beluga</Speaker>||:I never said I was on your side.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:...
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>Select</SE1>:Mityl falls silent. She realizes she had only assumed Beluga's allegiance. She was wrong. She raises her gun and points it at her.
NPC-P90_AB(0)<Speaker>Mityl</Speaker><Position>0,-50</Position>||:Hand over the box. I... I might let you live.
NPC-M16_AB(0)<Speaker>Beluga</Speaker>||:...Heh.
NPC-M16_AB(0)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Where's everyone else? Why are you here alone?
NPC-M16_AB(0)<Speaker>Beluga</Speaker>||:Because they're all idiots...
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Beluga turns and walks toward the trunk, her back completely exposed.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Door_Car_Open</SE1>:But just as she opens it, she pauses—and looks to the far end of the bridge.
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:What now?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:An engine revs in the distance. More headlights. A convoy is approaching from the other side.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Door_Car_Close</SE1>:Beluga slams the trunk shut, draws a pistol from the pocket of her suit, and points it at the Commander.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:You—
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The three shift focus to the convoy, weapons raised. The cars stop on the opposite end of the bridge.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Team_Running</SE1><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:Bodyguards in black step out and flank a middle-aged man in a suit carrying a cane as he walks toward the Commander and company.
NPC-Doss_AB(1)<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:What a show. Seems I arrived just in time.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The man wears sunglasses even though it's dark. He carries no weapon and strolls casually, in spite of the guns aimed at him.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:But the bodyguards around him and the glint of a sigil on his ring finger leave no doubt about his identity—
NPC-MDR_AB(0)<Speaker>Kuro</Speaker>||:Doss...
NPC-Doss_AB(0)<Speaker>Doss</Speaker>||:I came to see how things turned out.
NPC-M16_AB(0)<Speaker>Beluga</Speaker>;NPC-Doss_AB(0)||:It's done.
NPC-M16_AB(0);NPC-Doss_AB(0)<Speaker>Doss</Speaker>||:Good. And these leftover pests—do I have to teach you how to deal with them too?
NPC-M16_AB(0)<Speaker>Beluga</Speaker>||<CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<震屏3><SE1>AVG_pistol_finalshot_n</SE1><CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<CGDelay>0.5</CGDelay><SE1>AVG_weapon_reload</SE1><SE1>Select</SE1>:Beluga fires, blowing out the front-right tire on the Commander's car. Doss' bodyguards fan out, guns drawn.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Prepare for battle!
()||<黑点1>: