()||9<黑屏1>0,10黑屏1>BGM_Empty:
()||%%code=AllSeeingEye03%%:……
()||9<黑屏2>:[Inside the abandoned Paradeus base.]
()||<黑屏1>:
()||AVG_tele_disconnect22910082<黑屏2>:[After the brief conversation, Grey puts down the communicator. There is a grave look on her face.]
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:…Grey.
()||ClothingUp:[After confirming that Grey’s transmission is over. Grig carefully steps up to her side.]+[Morridow lies curled up in the corner. Her body is covered in wounds, but her eyes are filled with light and life.]
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:…I’m fine.+Teacher, how are you now?
NPC-MrsGray(9);NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:I’m largely alright after the emergency repairs.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey;NPC-Morridow(11)0,140||:…I’ll take you to the base inside the city. I didn’t think they’d do this to…
NPC-MrsGray(9);NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:A failure has no right to make demands, Grey.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:...Yes. Father has already had Bramedb clear that place out. +Nemhran ordered her to bring RPK-16, who she was monitoring all this time, to Avernus.+However… She didn’t mention us or you, Teacher.
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:Doesn’t that mean we should return to Avernus too?
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:……
()||:[Grey frowns, and then she hesitates.]
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:…If we go back now… There will be no turning back.+And we’ve already received news that “that person” is headed for Frankfurt.
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:Ange is still here. Do you think “that person” will really give up?
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:Nobody can oppose Father when he says he wants someone.
NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||ClothingUp:We must go back immediately.
()||:[Morridow, who has been silent all this time, suddenly raises her head.]
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:Teacher?
NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:We have made too many mistakes, and Father does not like mistakes.+Our current conditions have made many things clear. If we do not do something, we will all be discarded.
()||:[Morridow says so in a casual tone.]
NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:…I need an opportunity to meet with Father in person. That’s the only way we can turn things around.+Otherwise, we will all die here.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:…I understand.
NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:Help me up, Grig.
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:…Alright.
()||ClothingUp:[Morridow gets to her feet, still leaning on Grig, and makes her way forward with determination in her eyes.]
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:…I don’t understand.
NPC-MrsGray(9);NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:Grey, if we stay here, we will be discarded.+Nemhran has already gone back.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey;NPC-Morridow(11)0,140||:But her task has ended now that the “Fireworks” have blossomed.+Isn’t it normal for her to go back?
NPC-MrsGray(9);NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:No. It means Avernus needs her to work on something new.+Failure isn’t the worst thing, but by not taking part in the core project, we will have lost all value.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:……I understand.
()||<黑屏1>:
()Morridow0,140||BGM_Empty9<黑屏2>:As long as I can return to Avernus, we will regain Father’s trust.+I can assure you of that.
()||<黑屏1>:
()||GF_22W_BGM_2<黑屏2>357AVG_tele_connect:[Berlin, at a temporary safehouse near the airport.]+[The Commander connects to the Aeneas meeting room.]+[...Identity verified, please input login password.]
()||AVG_The_Division_Baggage_bomb_Activation:[Password accepted, connection in progress.]+[You have successfully entered the Operation Aeneas meeting room.]
()Commander||:Are there any new developments at the target?
RO635Mod(0)RO635<通讯框>||:Commander, Morridow’s signal is on the move.
RO635Mod(0)Commander<通讯框><同时置暗>||:Excellent. Let’s sync up our information.
RO635Mod(0)RO635<通讯框>||:Roger.+Both members of Umbrella Squad are present. We’re watching the target.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45<通讯框>||:Both members of Unicorn Squad are in position, ready to assist Umbrella Squad during ops.
SP9(0)Mona<通讯框>||:All three members of Nitrogen Squad are in position. En route to the objective.
BOSS-7(0)计量官<通讯框>||:Both members of Iron Element are in position. Standing by for further instructions.
RO635Mod(0)RO635<通讯框>||:I’ve already shared the regional offline map, Paradeus-related information and security contact frequencies with everyone.+Everyone should have topped off their ammo and tactical supplies before setting out.+Total number of Operation Aeneas personnel that have been gathered is 9/12.
()Commander||:We can’t wait for the rest of the team to assemble since the target has started moving. I’ll inform RO about how to incorporate the forthcoming team members. +Please remember the mission requirements – speed and stealth.
()Commander||:Right now, we are an unexpected dagger to the heart.
()Commander||AVG_21Winter_Click_Keyboard:I’ll confirm the mission status with everyone again.+Operation Aeneas is a raid with two objectives–+1, to rescue Angelia. Contact me immediately if anything goes wrong.+2, to get a grasp of enemy structures and units within the “Dead Sea”.
()Commander||:Dandelion will ensure this meeting room is accessible.+I’ll assist everyone if you need anything.
()Commander||:But I won’t be on the frontlines, RO.
RO635Mod(0)RO635<通讯框>||:Roger.
RO635Mod(0)Commander<通讯框><同时置暗>||:You’re the leader of this operation, so you have the responsibility of making decisions.
RO635Mod(0)RO635<通讯框>||:…I won’t let you down.+Is there anything else you’d like to remind us about, Commander?
RO635Mod(0)Commander<通讯框><同时置暗>||:Also, I mentioned something about support earlier – Persica has sent “Chess Queen” over.+Immediately upload every location you find to this place. That way, the Queen can extrapolate the objective’s location through already-known coordinates.
RO635Mod(0)RO635<通讯框>||:Understood. We’ll link up with her ASAP.
()Commander||:Right. Any other questions?
()||:[After a brief silence, the Commander speaks again.]
()Commander||:Alright. We will now officially commence Operation Aeneas.
()||AVG_tele_disconnect:The Dolls fall silent.
()||<黑屏1>:
()||BGM_Empty9<黑屏2>AVG_tele_connect:Just as UMP45 ends the comm, she hears another soft ringtone. It’s the Commander’s personal encrypted channel.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:Commander, do you have any extra tasks for me?+Let me make this clear, you’ll be billed extra for it.
UMP45Mod(0)Commander<同时置暗>||:Of course. This operation is going to be carried out by Dolls from multiple different squads. +While I have complete faith in RO’s abilities, she’s going to need help.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:Of course I’m on her side–+So long as 9 and I are safe.
UMP45Mod(0)Commander<同时置暗>||BGM_Truth:45, I need you to bet everything on supporting RO.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:……
UMP45Mod(0)Commander<同时置暗>||:This mission’s difficulty is on an unprecedented level. Even all of your individual strengths will not be enough to accomplish it. +Only if the entire team is united as one do you have a chance of completing the mission.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:You always did love ordering services that weren’t on the price list, Commander.
UMP45Mod(0)Commander<同时置暗>||:I’m not ordering you here. I’m asking you.+And you don’t need to spare my dignity here. I know I’m being extremely unreasonable–+I am asking you to bet your life on supporting RO.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:So you’re asking me, Commander…
()||:[45 lowers her head. There’s no telling what is going through her mind.]+[A moment later, she looks up again.]
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:Understood.+Still, you’d better not welch on the bill no matter how many zeroes there are on it♪
()Commander||:Of course. I'll be patiently waiting.
()||BGM_EmptyAVG_tele_disconnect:[With her usual enigmatic smile, UMP45 leaves the meeting room.]
()Commander||:…Please come back alive to stick me with the bill, 45.
()||<黑屏1>:
()||<黑屏2>46810213:[On the outskirts of Berlin, at the edges of the Red Zone, where there are few traces of people.]
()||AVG_Camera_Focus:[From under a building which looks like it’s about to collapse at any time, RO carefully studies the movements of the blip on her scanner.]
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(3)M4 SOPMOD II||:RO… I’m so booooored! Can’t we move out yet?
RO635Mod(0)RO635||:Hang in there a little longer, SOP2.
()||ClothingUp:UMP45 is sharing her scans with her as well, and she leans over.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:The target has been turning in place for the past 10 minutes. +Should we investigate the possibility that the tracking device might have been moved?
UMP9Mod(6)UMP90,-50||:Yeah, they might have stuck it on a cyberdog or something…
RO635Mod(0)RO635||:There isn’t much chance of that. The tracker was planted inside the target’s body while the target was unconscious.+It won’t be easily spotted without a full-body inspection.+Given their current situation, they wouldn’t have had the chance to perform such a detailed examination.
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(0)M4 SOPMOD II||:Yup, I hid it myself!
()||:Their four pairs of eyes turn to the scanner screen once again, but the blip representing their target still has not left its original position.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:How about closing the distance to the target?
RO635Mod(2)RO635||:…Let me think about it.
()||:After studying the target’s path and the nearby terrain, RO635 begins thinking…
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(3)M4 SOPMOD II||ClothingUp:RO! The target suddenly began moving at high speed!
RO635Mod(3)RO635||:What?!
()||AVG_ElecSpace:As the four of them watch, the target blip suddenly rockets into the Red Zone.
RO635Mod(4)RO635||:We need to catch up!
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:Roger.
()||ClothingUp:The four girls’ clothes rustle quietly as they vanish into the ruins.
()||<黑点1>:
()||469<黑点2>BGM_Empty:[...In the Red Zone on the outskirts of Berlin.]+[After ensuring that they haven’t been followed, three ghostly forms emerge from a long-unvisited ruin.]
NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||10106:…Have we lost our tails?+Extra complications will do us no good at a time like this.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:Don’t worry… I’m sure of it.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:Do you want to rest here for a bit, Teacher? Your condition…
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:……
()||:[As she watches Grey speak softly to Morridow and support her in preparation for a short rest, Grig falls silent and turns away.]
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:I’ll go watch the perimeter.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:We’re already in the Red Zone. Avernus isn’t far from here.
NPC-MrsGray(9);NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:I’m fine… Let’s move out quickly.+I keep thinking… I’m missing something.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey;NPC-Morridow(11)0,140||:But Teacher, your wounds…
NPC-MrsGray(9);NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:These wounds are nothing, they’re not critical… Don’t look down on me because of my meat body, Grey.+Rather than my wounds, I’m more worried that those cunning rats might have done something to my body while I was unconscious.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey;NPC-Morridow(11)0,140||:…We can’t rule that out. If it were me, I’d have injected nanomachine trackers.+Even so, the sensitivity of any instrumentation will plummet after entering a Red Zone.
NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:…I hope that’s the case.+Otherwise there’s no telling who’s the unlucky one here.
()||ClothingUp:Morridow licks her lips, and her anxiety drives her to stand again.
NPC-Morridow(11)Morridow0,140||:Let’s go. We’d better not delay.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:……Yes.
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:……
()||:After noticing the two of them moving, Grig silently returns to Grey’s side and looks back at the pair.
NPC-grig(1)Grig||:Will our upcoming course still prioritize shaking off our pursuers?
NPC-grig(1);NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:Hm. While I think it’s not likely that they managed to follow us here, we should detour a little more for safety’s sake.+I’ll leave some Nytos behind along the way to delay any pursuers. That ought to be enough for us to make it into Avernus.
NPC-grig(1)Grig;NPC-MrsGray(9)||:Alright.
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:I’ll lead the way. You watch Teacher.
()||:Once again, the girls vanish into the rubble like ghosts.
()||<黑屏1>:
()||<黑屏2>480:...On the outskirts of Berlin, in the Red Zone.
()||AVG_Team_Running:[The scanner screen has been covered in target blips ever since their objective entered the Red Zone.]+[Not daring to lose a single clue, RO635 has no choice but to frantically pursue…]
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(3)M4 SOPMOD II||:I think this scanner is messing with us!
UMP9Mod(2)UMP90,-50||:I have to agree…
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:RO, there’s no point panicking. Stop for a bit to analyze things.
RO635Mod(2)RO635||:Yeah, we seem to have been going in circles all this while…
()||:RO635 comes to a halt, and with UMP45’s help, she begins analyzing the data blips on the sensor screen.
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(3)M4 SOPMOD II||:Man, the Red Zone signal disruption is such a pain. Doesn’t that mean I won’t be able to tell which signal is yours if I were a little further away from you?
UMP9Mod(2)UMP90,-50||:That’s true… So does that mean we might end up not recognizing Iron Element when we’re supposed to link up with them later?
RO635Mod(0)RO635||:Relax, we have a code.
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(0)M4 SOPMOD II||:That’s RO for you!+Come on 9, let’s go look for clues around here!
UMP9Mod(0)UMP90,-50||:Sure.
()||:[UMP9 winks to UMP45, and UMP45 indicates “don’t go too far”]+[Right now, only UMP45 and RO635 are here.]
RO635Mod(2)RO635||AVG_keyboardtype_sci:45, I’ve gone over the course data again just now. I still think our current data is accurate.+However, the intermittent signal means that part of it wasn’t recorded.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:Yeah, if you keep simulating, you’ll be able to extrapolate the unrecorded data.+So what should we do now? Should we wait to meet up with Iron Element or continue pursuit?
RO635Mod(0)RO635||:Hang on…
RO635Mod(0)RO635||AVG_tele_connect:Iron Element, how much longer until you reach the rendezvous point?
()计量官||AVG_whitenoise:We’ll be there within 10 minutes.
()建筑师||:10 minutes?! We’re practically there!+Look, I can see RO up ahead. Come on, Miss Knight, run your ass!
RO635Mod(3)RO635||:Huh? But I’m not picking up your signals…
()建筑师||:Aw, I’m heading over right now!
()||AVG_tele_disconnect:Architect’s voice cuts out.
RO635Mod(2)RO635||:...That’s strange.+I scanned the surroundings a few times, but I didn’t pick up any S.F. signals. Is it because of Red Zone signal interference?
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:Same here.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||AVG_tele_connect:9, have you spotted Iron Element?
UMP9Mod(4)UMP9||:Nope! Are they there yet, 45?
RO635Mod(0)RO635||:……
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(0)M4 SOPMOD II||:Hey look, over there!
()||<黑屏1>:
()||9<黑屏2>ClothingUpBGM_Empty:[RO and 45 climb the small hill that SOP2 is on.]+[Below them, a white-haired figure creeps through the mist…]
()||<黑屏1>BGM_Sneak:
()||472AVG_Team_Running<黑点2>:[...On the outskirts of Berlin, in the Red Zone.]+[Architect drags Gager along on a mad dash toward the black-haired girl in front of them.]
BOSS-9(0)建筑师||:RO! Iron Element’s here! +Man, the signal here really sucks, the GPS took us off course several times!
BOSS-7(0)计量官0,120||:Hang on, Architect.
()||Rope:Gager grinds to a halt and reverses her grip to pull Architect back.
BOSS-9(0)建筑师0.1||:What's wrong?
BOSS-7(0)计量官0,120||:……
()||:Gager’s face turns pale. She looks into the mist ahead of her, but says nothing.
BOSS-7(0)计量官0,120||:Look carefully at who’s there.
BOSS-9(0)建筑师||:Hm?
()||:[Architect stares blankly at the figure hidden in the mist.]+[The mist in the Red Zone is like a pack of tormented souls, coiling around one’s body and constantly changing shape.]+[The only thing Architect can make out through that layer of mist is the other person’s short black hair.]
()||:[...Short black hair?]
BOSS-9(0)建筑师0.1||:Ehhhhh?!
BOSS-7(0)计量官0,120||:We’d better withdraw while she hasn’t spotted us yet.
BOSS-9(0)建筑师||:Okie…
BOSS-7(0)计量官0,120||:RO, we’ve encountered an enemy squad–
()||BGM_EmptyRope:[As the two of them look for an axis of retreat and communicate the proceedings, the black-haired girl who has been standing out in the middle of the mist slowly looks back.]+[A creepy smile blossoms on her face.]
()||<黑屏1>:
()||<黑屏2>480AVG_Walk10051:[...On the outskirts of Berlin, in the Red Zone.]+[As they draw closer, the face of the white-haired woman resolves into clarity.]
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey1||Stop_AVG_loop10106:…You can always find these disgusting maggots no matter where you go.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||AVG_keyboardtype_sci:Target locked, verifying identity– It’s Lady Grey!
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:Since you are seeking death– I don’t mind giving it to you.
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(3)M4 SOPMOD II||<震屏3>:GREY!
()||:[Sparks always fly when old enemies meet.]+[RO calmly takes command.]
RO635Mod(4)RO635||Select:45, you and 9 give us long range fire support.+SOP2 and I will pin her down at close range.
UMP45Mod(0)UMP45||:Roger!
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(3)M4 SOPMOD II||AVG_Gatling_gun%%type_id=2%%duration=3%%delay=0.1%%range=8:I know every move you can make!
()||:[RO notices that Grey doesn’t seem worried by SOP2’s vicious assault. Rather, she looks behind and says something–]+[She still has a companion, and it’s very likely to be Morridow.]
RO635Mod(4)RO635||RunStep:SOP2, be careful and be ready to pull back at any time.
M4 SOPMOD IIMod(3)M4 SOPMOD II||:Don't worry!
()||AVG_Grey_Hand_Mech:[Grey looks back and at the Dolls flanking her from left and right. She laughs lazily, and then deploys her own weaponry.]
NPC-MrsGray(9)Grey||:.....What a joke.
()||<黑点1>: