At night, everything is silent.
There are occasional stars twinkling in the sky.
Figures of people flashed one after another in the late night jungle.
The leading man squatted down on the edge of a cliff, took out his night vision binoculars and looked into the distance.
A moment later, a dozen soldiers in full armor and wearing night vision goggles came behind the man without saying a word.
The leading man took back the telescope, turned around and nodded slightly at the figure behind him. Everyone raised their hands and looked at the watches in their hands.
After setting the time, everyone looked at each other and nodded, then quietly left in groups of three or three.
No sound was made in the middle.
at the same time.
The surface of the Aegean Sea was rolling, and a submarine quietly surfaced.
Dozens of soldiers boarded the speedboat without saying a word and rushed toward the mountains and forests in the distance.
Early in the morning.
Woo——
The piercing siren rang through the mountains and forests.
But it stopped abruptly at a certain time.
——————
The next day.
"What--?"
Zhen Feiniao couldn't help but scream loudly, and was glared at by Lei beside him. He quickly changed his words and continued to ask: "...Uh, you mean the exploration mission, right?"
Arthur stood in front of them, raised his eyebrows and said, "That's right——! And this is a formal order directly from the military headquarters!"
The military headquarters directly deployed the mission, and unconsciously, the Minerva also became a 'big shot'.
Thalia glanced at Arthur sideways. This deputy captain was really——
"According to information from local residents——"
Arthur didn't notice Thalia's sight and just called up the panel and nearby maps.
On the map, in an inland area far away from the Aegean coastline, there is a flashing orange light spot.
"——There is a research institution of unknown origin in this area. It is said that it is probably related to the joint military. There seems to be no movement at the moment, but there have been vehicles, planes and MSs coming and going frequently. I heard that it is a large-scale institution. mechanism."
"There was a siren over there last night, but I don't know why it suddenly stopped."
Zhen Feiniao listened gloomily. He thought it would be some big task, but he didn't expect that it was to investigate some research institution.
"I hope you will set out tomorrow morning to investigate."
"That kind of work also requires us to - uh, subordinates?"
Zhen Feiniao still couldn't help but ask a question.
After all, they are also top combat pilots, but they want to conduct reconnaissance? And we still have to scout out unknown research units.
Is it necessary to fly two MSs for such a small errand?
"Really, you are too presumptuous."
Ray put a stop to it as he always did.
Arthur also corrected the actual wording, but did not appear displeased: "Hey, how can you talk about that kind of work? What if someone hides force in it?"
"ah……"
I see, so of course you need to be armed.
Zhen Feiniao temporarily accepted this speculation, but heard Arthur still making assumptions: "There is no movement now. Who knows if anyone is still using it, and if it is the location of an important institution, it must be heavily guarded... No, no, no , maybe it has a large secret base underground..."
Weird talent!
——Zhen Asuka almost uttered these words to ridicule the commander, and had to cough a few times on purpose.
Arthur quickly recovered from his whims: "——Well, in short, that's the mission, you guys do it well!"
"receive."
Lei, who had always listened intently and intently, stood up and saluted energetically.
Shin Asuka followed suit, but his disgusted expression was very dazzling.
The other side.
"Where's Mr. Andrew?"
Cagalli, who had just finished taking a bath and was about to have dinner, suddenly noticed that there was one person missing at the dining table.
"He went out for something."
Lacus stood aside and replied.
"Is that so?"
Cagalli didn't ask too many questions after hearing this.
————
Zaku Phantom and Impulse Gundam leave the battleship.
The two aircraft are not equipped with much armed equipment. After all, for reconnaissance missions, ordinary equipment is enough.
They flew from the Sea of Marmara across the Gallibo Peninsula to the Aegean Sea where the islands are dotted.
The blue sea surface was sparkling, and the two continued to fly along the coastline for a long time, arriving near a north-south mountain range.
As the two of them moved forward, the scenery below changed to houses and fields, and then gradually to forests and wasteland.
After flying over the deserted forest for a while, an open flat land appeared in front of us.
"...that's right there."
Lei made a judgment, and the two of them flew there, alerting the surroundings.
They hovered in the sky for a moment, but did not find any signs of attack.
There was not even a single person on the huge ground. Every building looked very old, and the asphalt on the ground was mottled and peeled off, and the damage was quite serious.
I don’t know what was used here before, but it must have been abandoned for a long time, at least that’s what it looked like.
"It looks like no one is attacking us."
Ray offered his typically cautious reflections.
"Is it okay? Lei, I have to go down!"
Shin Asuka said in annoyance, and landed the Pulse Gundam in the mechanism with a big sting.
After stepping out of the plane, the surroundings were still silent. Surrounded by this absolute silence, Zhen Asuka suddenly felt uneasy.
It's not empty here, but it actually embodies the quiet atmosphere.
The overwhelming silence rushed towards him, as if he would bounce back if he stretched out his hand. There was unpleasant silence everywhere.
After a while, Lei also got off the plane and came over.
"Really, you are too rash. No one is sure where the enemy will be hiding. They may just not show up yet!"
"……I got it!"
Although he said it nonchalantly, Zhen Asuka carefully held the pistol.
What is this strange feeling of unease? Is it the sadness unique to abandoned ruins? Or is it the slanting sunlight that makes the vast factory building look even more desolate?
"Let's go, let's go around in a circle first."
Under Lei's urging, Zhen Asuka walked nervously.
The air was cold and heavy.
"Wait a moment!"
Suddenly, just as Zhen Asuka looked around nervously, Lei in front of him suddenly stretched out his hand to stop Asuka.
Asuka quickly pointed the gun at it, and then - nothing.
"What are you doing, scaring me!"
Zhen Asuka couldn't help but reply.
Lei didn't answer, but carefully walked to a corner, bent down and picked up a special bullet casing from the ground.
Looking at the marks and texture on the bullet casings, as well as the footprints in the corner that were swept but not completely swept away, Lei couldn't help but frown slightly.
This is a ZAFT bullet.
The weapons and ammunition of the ZAFT special forces are all unique and completely different from ordinary standard weapons.
"What's wrong?"
Zhen Asuka came behind Lei and asked.
"nothing."
Lei Wenyan quietly put the cartridge case into his trouser pocket, and swept the footprints in the corner with the soles of his feet.
The two of them continued walking forward.
However, Lei's alertness was obviously higher at this time.
As Lei continued walking, Zhen Asuka's tension gradually eased.
It seems like there really isn't anyone here.
Just when he started to think so, he couldn't help but laugh secretly when he thought about the fuss he made just now.
Now, he was no longer qualified to make fun of the deputy captain.
The two of them entered one of the larger buildings one after another. Lei took the lead and walked up the stairs carefully, paying attention to every step he took.
Zhen Feiniao was not so alert, but Absolute Lei's behavior was a bit troublesome.
Even if there is no problem, he will always look there or raise his leg to scan.
However, only Lei himself knew that something was wrong here.
Although the battlefield has been cleaned very clean, small traces of the battle still exist.
Traces of bullets and blood are everywhere.
There must have been a battle here recently, and the members involved in the battle were all elites in the army, the kind who would not give in to the special forces.
I just don’t know why, but the traces of this battle are a bit chaotic, as if there are not just two forces but multiple forces.
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