Compared to cities on Earth or other colony satellites, this lunar colony couldn't be called bustling.
But as the main base of the Earth Military's space fleet, most of the crew would take advantage of leave to rest in the colony.
With such a targeted clientele, it was obvious to Roz that on the street in front of him, he could immediately spot four bars, each with its own character.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
Oss's voice came through the earpiece, sensing Roz's astonishment, and he couldn't hide a slight tension. "After all, the main patrons of the lunar colony are still the people from the lunar base, so this kind of situation naturally appears."
"Moreover, this street is already somewhat restrained. If you walk two more blocks, you'd see…"
"Enough, stop talking."
Roz cut off Oss, and after a brief glance, spotted a relatively quiet bar.
"Are you sure the target is there?"
"Absolutely. He's in charge of arranging the work list and comes here to drink every day… I've already seen him in the surveillance."
Oss read from the intelligence report and sighed. "Honestly, while the place is nice, it's quite expensive."
"However, he also accepts plenty of bribes. Don't underestimate what Blue Cosmos is building—the wages they offer are not low. A bunch of workers would rather give up one or two percent than miss out, though most are doing peripheral work anyway."
A few scrutinizing glances turned toward Roz, causing his mind to continuously issue warnings.
Roz casually found a chair outside a café on the street, pulled out his communicator, tapped on it, occasionally taking selfies, showing excitement, and even editing the photos.
His behavior was exactly like a college student arriving in a new place, curious about everything.
This was the "persona" Roz needed to project, at least in this colony.
After all, people on the street had clear objectives, and Roz, who had just stood there appearing lost in thought, stood out just like the current Eighth Fleet.
But seeing Roz's current behavior, combined with his appearance and age, all those gazes disappeared.
A captain, young-looking, editing photos… probably a rookie from some fleet, excited on his first visit to a space colony.
At least to these people and the cameras, this was Roz's persona.
"What a clever performance… how do you show that clear-headed stupidity so effectively?"
Watching on the monitors, Oss couldn't help but be surprised at Roz's expressions and movements, realizing he had slipped past Blue Cosmos's surveillance.
"Because I'm young."
Roz didn't speak into his earpiece but typed on his communicator, sending to Oss: "A young pilot on his first visit to a colony—the mindset of a college student is perfect for immersion."
"I see, got it…"
Applause came from Oss through the earpiece.
"But be careful—the target has left the bar. As expected, his approach failed and he drank quite a lot… follow him, Mr. Roz."
Roz swiped on his communicator, pulled up the lunar colony navigation, and rose from the chair.
The next second, he blended into the crowd on the street, occasionally checking his navigation.
The distance between Roz and his target was rapidly closing in.
-----------------------------------
"Tch… failed again…"
The target Oss had been tracking, a middle-aged man with a flushed face, wearing a seemingly proper suit, staggered down the street.
Almost no one would have guessed that this apparently unlucky office worker in love was actually a member of Blue Cosmos—and even responsible for the worker list of Blue Cosmos's lunar project.
Suddenly, he felt someone bump into him. Already off balance, he fell face-first onto the ground, his phone falling out of his pocket.
"Ah… sorry, are you okay?"
A slightly panicked, unusually young voice came from behind him.
Roz, wearing an Earth Military officer uniform, ran up to the man and extended his hand.
"You idiot… watch where you're going!"
Looking at the somewhat clumsy Roz in front of him, and seeing the captain's rank on Roz's shoulder, the man could only suppress his frustration.
He grabbed Roz's hand, letting Roz help him up.
"Sorry, sorry… do you need me to pay for your medical expenses?"
Roz patted the man on the shoulder while observing him.
"You have to… huh?!"
The man had been thinking that a naive officer wanted to pay for the medical costs, planning to scam a little money—but suddenly his waist hurt, as if something had been injected into his body.
He looked at the source of the pain and saw a pneumatic injector in Roz's left hand, its contents just injected.
"Hey… hey? Are you okay?!"
Hearing Roz's "concerned" voice, the man immediately sensed something was wrong.
It was targeted at him.
In intense dizziness and weakness, the man fell into unconsciousness, lying on the ground.
"Target silent…"
Roz had somehow retracted the pneumatic injector, mentally summarizing the situation.
Then, seemingly checking the man's breathing, Roz secretly kicked the man's fallen phone into his pocket and connected a data cable.
"Your identity will take a little more time to implant into the list. Please delay a bit, Mr. Roz."
Oss's voice came through the earpiece, mixed with the sound of keyboard typing.
Although Roz wanted to leave immediately, raising Blue Cosmos's suspicion and obstructing his infiltration of the secret project would be problematic.
"…Someone?! Someone here needs emergency aid!"
Under surveillance, Roz acted startled and shouted instinctively, attracting a few passersby's attention.
Watching Roz "pressing the man's chest" in the footage, Oss's expression was strange.
Normally, the next step would be to dispose of the body quickly, but Roz called for bystanders to perform first aid, distancing himself from the "murderer" label as much as possible.
It made sense that Roz had used a drug that would make any post-mortem report read "alcohol poisoning from overdrinking."
Both on-site and on camera, it would only look like: "A young officer collided with a civilian, who died of alcohol poisoning, while the officer tried his best to save him."
"Very skilled acting, right?"
A kind voice sounded behind Oss.
"General Halberton."
Oss ended the communication and saluted Halberton, who had appeared unnoticed.
"Don't waste time. Continue the mission!"
Halberton shook his head and let Oss continue supporting Roz.
On the surveillance, the scene had become chaotic. A crowd of onlookers, along with several Earth Military officers, gathered around the suited target, performing emergency aid.
But Halberton watched Roz's operation and couldn't help smiling.
Roz pressed the target's chest repeatedly, the force and amplitude large enough to likely break a few ribs.
"Cause the nearby traffic lights to malfunction, delay them a bit."
After seeing someone call an ambulance, Halberton spoke to Oss.
The surrounding traffic lights either went out or malfunctioned, traffic quickly paralyzed, delaying the ambulance.
"All right… the list has been implanted. Evacuate, Mr. Roz!"
With everyone working at full capacity, the name "Amuro" had been added to the next batch of workers, and all traces cleared.
Roz, receiving the order, collapsed in apparent exhaustion, kneeling aside and letting others continue chest compressions.
Due to angle and height, unnoticed by others, his hand quietly removed the data cable from his pocket and returned the target's communicator to the target's pocket.
Amid the chaos, Roz weaved through the crowd and left the scene, leaving only a body already affected by the venom and a pile of eyewitness accounts about himself.
-----------------------------------
"Excellent acting, Mr. Roz."
After completely leaving the chaotic scene and arriving at a quiet park, Halberton's amazed voice came through the earpiece.
"By the way, I remember when we met, your hair was black. Why is it brown now?"
"…Temporary hair dye, can be done by oneself."
Roz exhaled slightly and began typing on the communicator.
"Acting is exhausting. Was it like this for you back then?"
"Not really. Most of the time we just told the target, 'I know there's a newly opened mixed swimming pool in the colony,' and most would just follow us."
Hearing this, Oss truly couldn't hold back a laugh.
"In any case, since you'll still be operating on the lunar base, I'll try to keep myself hidden."
Roz sighed and continued typing on the communicator.
"By the way, my officer ID and identity code—what fleet are they from? Through which channel?"
"Belongs to the First Fleet, through the First Fleet's channel."
Halberton pressed his hat with a half-smile. "Captain Amuro Ray."
Even without seeing Halberton at that moment, Roz could hear the "schadenfreude" in his tone.
"That fleet already under Blue Cosmos's control?"
Oss sounded surprised, apparently unaware. "You never told me, General Halberton!"
"The fewer people who know about this, the better. And now the most difficult task has been completed."
Halberton smiled, explaining his intent. "As for how this… thing came about, don't ask. I have my own methods."
"Roz… go to the safe house first. We'll send you the address."
Roz looked at the address on his phone, calmly rose from the chair, and continued maintaining his "naive new pilot" persona under surveillance.
The hardest part—obtaining the identity—was now complete… Let's see what Blue Cosmos actually intends to do here.
.................