2489.9.12, 7 am.
Echo Town, Sheriff's Office, "Anti-Gang Operation" temporary command center.
"The leader of the Pegasus Brotherhood, Mittal Severa, committed suicide by gunshot during our final closing. All his personal terminals, electronic products, and old records have been destroyed." Tychus Finley Wearing a khaki immigration police officer's uniform, with an electromagnetic pistol slung across his waist, he had a vulgar and ferocious face under his wide-brimmed, high-top cowboy hat.
Tychus pressed a wanted notice in front of Augustus with one hand, pulled out a sharp dagger with a blood groove from the dagger holster on his waist and nailed it to the table: "This also means that I want to It would be difficult to get past the boss behind this notorious drug trafficking organization or to uncover a larger criminal syndicate."
"Well done, Sheriff Tychus." It took some effort for Augustus to pull out the dagger nailed to the desk, and looked at the photo on the wanted poster that was stained red with blood.
"Didn't anyone tell you you had the talent to be a police officer?"
"It's just a joke," Tychus said with a nose but no eyes.
"If you ask me to be a police officer, then I will definitely think of going to a weapons warehouse or supply depot to get some benefits. But if you want to pay me to play a police officer, then I am still happy."
"I think it's not difficult, as long as you can control your bad temper and the habit of taking advantage of other people." Augustus threw the dagger to Tychus, and then tore off the one nailed to the wall.
So far, there are only a few wanted criminals in the federation. In addition to the newly emerged drug lords in the Port of the Dead, the wanted orders of Augustus and his father Angus are prominently listed.
"Maybe." Tychus lit a cigar: "We have cleaned up all the gangsters in this town, and even the gangsters who were walking on the streets doing nothing have been taught a lesson."
Tychus suddenly laughed: "I think it's funny when I think about the way those gangsters saw more than a hundred revolutionary army boys in power armor blocking the door of their house. They probably have only one chance to see such a thing in their lives. It’s a big scene.”
For Augustus, who had a revolutionary army in his hands, it was still easy to clear out the gangs in a small town. Augustus has several ghost agents captured from Victor 5. With their excellent telepathy ability, the underground gray network of Echo Town is invisible. Then the well-trained revolutionary army can disguise themselves as much as possible. The police struck hard.
Currently, the Echo Town Police Department nominally has nearly two hundred police officers on staff, but in fact, as long as Augustus issues a few more police uniforms, the police force that can be mobilized will be much more than the actual number.
"We have wiped out the Jebu family. We have brought back the gang boss and his blonde mistress." At this time, Renault opened the door of the Sheriff's Office again: "We also brought back a lot of addictive people. The white powder seems to be a stimulant-like drug, and it should also be an aphrodisiac."
"Want to inspect the goods?" Renault walked in with strong steps and placed a bag of drugs and a wanted warrant on the table.
"No, I bet Tychus will need this." Augustus picked up the wanted poster.
"Let Corporal Faraday calculate how much this is worth. This is a great achievement." He said: "This is the last gang leader."
"That's right, the others have almost escaped. Now that the wind is tight, everyone knows that a selfless Sheriff Agria has arrived in Echo Town. He has a battalion of fully armed police officers under him, and he uses a Sidewinder electromagnetic gun to clear the way." As he spoke, he pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Augustus, while Tychus had already gone out whistling happily, ready to have some fun.
"I captured a lot of people, and they were all scum with bad records. I sent the others back to their homes and to their mothers. How can I say that the prison in Echo Town can still hold so many people?"
"The prison has been filled with more than two hundred people, and it is overcrowded. I heard that many people have had their butts screwed up inside." Augustus picked up the internal terminal in the office: "Chief McAllen, please arrange Several hovercrafts will transport criminals to the mining area."
"Yes, it's the Monte Canyon Mine. I have signed an agreement with the owner of the mine. We provide them with cheap labor, and the mine pays in unrefined Adien crystals."
"I know the owner is a Umoyan, but that doesn't matter. The diplomatic conflict between the United States of Umoyan and the government has nothing to do with us. I bear all the responsibilities. If something goes wrong, let the Justice of Shiloh State come to me. "
"This business is good." When Augustus hung up the phone, Renault said with a smile: "We punish criminals and eliminate evil, maintain order, and then throw those villains into the mining area to make atonement for their sins."
Now the streets and alleys of Echo Town are posted with the police department's "Crackdown on Crime and Evil" slogans: "Anonymous reports will win prizes, and we will build a better Ma Sara!". During the past two weeks, residents of the town could hear fierce gunshots from time to time, and watched police officers marching neatly like an army through the town under the leadership of the ferocious Sheriff Tychus.
During this period, even the most domineering villains would tremble when they saw someone wearing a police uniform. The number of police in Echo Town was so large that every street had police officers watching vultures or patrolling on Masala ponies. There were checkpoints for checking federal ID cards at every intersection. In the meantime, some wanted criminals who were in panic all day long were forced to surrender voluntarily.
The new Sheriff has swept away the gangs and gangsters of all sizes in Echo Town with unprecedented efforts. He is praised for his iron-fisted methods in dealing with villains, and has won the hearts of Echo Town residents with his statement in public that the federal police are the servants of the people. of praise.
Soon, Augustus's revolutionary army had actually taken control of Echo Town as police.
"This is called squeezing out the value." Augustus clasped his hands and rested his elbows on the table: "As for those death row prisoners, the scientists in Cerberus who are studying limb modification and neural control will definitely be interested."
Augustus has taken full control of Cerberus Biological Corporation, which will create the war dogs in the future, and has transferred its main researchers to a scientific research base in a distant system of the Umoyan Protectorate Army.
"Aren't they just studying the alien creatures on Victor 5? What did Cerberus get from those monsters." Raynor seemed to have remembered something.
"Two studies on the zerg and humans are being carried out at the same time." Augustus replied: "By studying the carapace of the zerg, they improved the armor of the battlecruiser and made it more tough. New discoveries such as this It goes on and on - but there are very few zerg specimens left, and the lack of live zerg has stalled the zerg control program."
"In general, we still need to obtain more zerg samples to support further research by the Cerberus project team," he said.
"What is certain is that the Federation must still have a lot of zerg samples in its collection, and may even keep many alive like wild beasts."
"It won't surprise anyone how dirty the federal government is," Reno agreed.
"At least we already have a lot of evidence of the federal crimes." Augustus stood up, took a large cloak from the hanger, and turned to look at the map hanging on the wall behind him.
"As long as we have enough evidence, we can let our revolutionary comrades at the UNN headquarters once again expose the sins and ugliness of the federal government to the entire Terran Federation through television."
"That Mike Liberty has been given a column in the UNN Morning News, sneering at the federal government every day." Reno walked around the desk and walked to Augustus' side, looking at the map of Herodia: "Although I am not happy with him I admire you very much, but how do you survive until now when he doesn’t give face to those federal executives?”
"The Tagore family and the Hort family have blocked many dangers for him, and as long as Mike does not expose the scandal of a certain founding family, then he will be safe." Augustus smoothed the wrinkles of the map with his hands.
"I think he couldn't help it..." Renault followed Augustus' gaze to the corner of the map.
"The Corridor of Purgatory... is between the Ridge Plains and the Gray-spotted Wasteland, and the exit is the Saraje Desert, which is two hundred miles away from Echo Town and even further away from our camp. According to the initial survey records, there are crystal mineral reserves there. It can be equivalent to one-tenth of the total reserves of Marsala, but due to the strong interference in those bands, electronic equipment cannot work." Renault looked at the map.
"A more fantastical statement is that people who pass through the corridors of Purgatory will see strange scenes inside, such as chaotic whispers and strange images of planet destruction. Because this has also given birth to a new religion with many believers, who believe in the so-called death Goddess, worshiping witchcraft.”
"I'm more convinced that this is a psyker behind the scenes, or a criminal group or pirates hiding in it, deliberately spread to create panic, so that people don't dare to approach." Augustus slowly gestured on the map : "The two ghost agents I sent discovered at least four different forces and organizations in the corridors of Purgatory."
"The Chimera pirates have a scientific research base in the Purgatory Corridor. They kidnapped more than a dozen archeology doctors and xenobiologists from Tarsonis University to study the strange image of a strong electrical pulse signal released by a rare crystal mine."
"The Confederate rebels have two mobile bases there."
"There is a New Trinidad Pirate Scrapyard at the edge of the Purgatory Corridor."
"At the center stands the mining base of the Kaimorian complex."
"Kemorians?" Renault is quite familiar with the style of the Kemerians. If the United States of Umoyan has many scientific research stations and flying fortresses in the Koprulu sector, then Kemerians may appear in any mineral-rich land. Ryan people. Because the Camorians are like potatoes in the soil, they can suddenly pop up from any corner at any time, holding a piece of crystal and shouting roughly that it belongs to them: "They are really brave enough." , this is one of the core worlds of the Tyranid Federation."
"This is stealing!"
"No matter what, we have to capture this place." Augustus had a hunch that the strange phenomenon in the Purgatory Corridor was caused by the fragments of the Xel'Naga artifact. As long as he dug out the artifact, he could successfully obtain a piece of land with rich reserves. Mine.
"Send out the Revolutionary Marines in the fleet, and with only two battalions of rangers and a few arc tanks, I can clear out the pirates and Camorians entrenched in the corridors of Purgatory." Renault said.
"No, the orbiting satellite on Mar Sara can easily photograph the movements of our troops on the plains." Augustus had already thought of a plan of action.
"The Marines of a battalion were divided into parts. They entered the Purgatory Corridor in batches over a week with the squad as the smallest unit, and gathered at the preset assembly area to set up a camp." He marked on the map with a marker: "After that, I Then lead the troops disguised as police to join them."
"Step by step, first establish multiple outposts and supply depots in the Purgatory Corridor, and then gradually eliminate or expel the forces inside."
"Then, maybe we also need to hire some archaeologists and a professional team to do related work to solve the mystery of the corridors of Purgatory."
"Is there anyone chosen?" Renault said and shook his head to himself: "Since you already have a plan, you must have thought about even the smallest details."
"The main thing is to recruit people in Umoyan, and then find some young archaeologists in the Terran Federation who are young and full of energy but have not yet made their mark. As long as they are not spies of the Federation, there will be no problem. .”
…
Seven days later, Ridge Plains, entrance to the Purgatory Corridor.
The Corridor of Purgatory, the only road from one desert to another, a paradise for the villains of Mar Sara, and a hell on earth.
In the vast Gobi desert with rugged rocks, howling winds rolled up yellow sand all over the sky. The temperature has reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the dazzling sun is constantly emitting scorching rays, and only a few tenacious Salamander crabs are still turning over the sand and rocks.
Hot, dry and deserted.
Hundreds of vulture bikes are speeding on the red land of the ridge plain. These suspended bicycles are like light leaves on the Gobi, and the propellers raise dust that blocks the sky.
Augustus' Vulture car stopped after a beautiful turn. With a burst of engine hum, more Vulture cars stopped.
"This is a hell of a place."
Tychus stood behind Augustus and pulled down his sunglasses. The Corridor of Purgatory is a canyon that is so long that it even reaches the sky. The sand at the entrance is filled with the bones of humans and animals. The wind howled, as if there were thousands of evil spirits crying and howling.
"Going deep into this terrible place of death involves taking many risks. The people who died there were basically because the compass malfunctioned and their personal tracking and positioning devices could not work properly. Some of them were kidnapped by the robbers inside and then killed." Ogu Stuart said to the men beside him.
"This operation is likely to be very difficult. The first thing we will encounter after entering the Purgatory Corridor is the Chimera pirates. The Chimera pirates are accustomed to using fast assault ships and high-tech weapons to attack their targets on the interstellar trade routes. Sometimes they will even raid Terran Confederacy outposts and starports."
"I heard that the Chimera pirates' favorite thing is to collect high-tech parts for weapons and battleships. Maybe we can impress them in this regard and avoid a bloody conflict." Corporal Faraday next to Augustus suggested.
"Or kill them." Tychus chewed on a cigar.
"The Chimera Pirates' collection belongs to us."
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