Era 2137, Germany, Walthem Sector, Second Space Station, Keon City
"What the f*** is this?! I've been a soldier for over a decade, and I've never seen such an undeclared war!" Joseph, who was in his forties, shouted in anger, though he sounded short of breath.
"Senior, undeclared wars happen all the time. What was that devil of the European continent called again? After he attacked Poland, didn't Britain and France declare war on him? But did those two old powers actually send troops? Or did they just give Poland a little political aid?"
"Come on, just because you've read a few books?! Does knowing history help with our current mission?"
Seeing the two arguing incessantly, Judy stepped in to smooth things over. "That devil was called Hitler. Adolf Hitler."
After a burst of laughter, Burgrade instantly felt he had lost face and wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
At that moment, Joseph looked out the window. The peaceful daily scene suddenly felt wrong. A glint of cold light flashed from the building opposite, and a bullet flew past Joseph.
"Dodge, kids!"
The group threw themselves to the ground in fright, but the bullet still unerringly hit the unlucky Burgrade. Fortunately, it missed his vital organs. Edward scrambled over to Burgrade and immediately began emergency treatment. Meanwhile, Joseph had already jumped from the window to the floor below, unaware that he had long been locked onto by the enemy.
Boom! A rocket streaked across the sky.
This was no ordinary rocket; it possessed a precision guidance warhead. Internal laser energy replaced standard TNT explosives, but it still required high-speed plasma to drive the heavy energy matter, making the cost relatively high. Joseph was shocked that the militants could produce such a weapon just to attack them. He realized the militants' objective: their superiors must have issued a mandatory kill order.
Enduring severe pain, Burgrade hauled over the M17 Heavy Sniper Rifle. He didn't use this gun often, so he wasn't very familiar with this forty-seven-pound "hometown heavy sniper," despite it originating from his own country. He struggled to set up the M17, opened the scope cover, loaded a Magda Type-II laser charge rod, and closed the bolt. Finally, he aimed at the enemy sniper's position and fired.
But he didn't see the enemy fall.
Did he miss?
A laser round struck him from behind, hitting his injured shoulder again. The sniper, over a thousand meters behind him, tortured him shot by shot. After taking four hits, Burgrade couldn't hold on any longer and passed out.
Seeing that no backup was coming and the enemy sniper hadn't retreated, Edward instantly realized the situation was dire. He rushed up the stairs to save Burgrade but was immediately suppressed by the enemy's sniper fire. Splattering dirt, bricks, and even iron shards pressed him down so hard he couldn't lift his head.
However, Judy was clever. She grabbed a steel plate, used a wrench to break its original connection points, and then attached it to a piece of reactive armor. This way, even amidst a hail of bullets, she could hold the reactive armor steadily, preventing it from falling onto the ground covered by enemy machine-gun fire.
She dragged the steel plate and rushed toward Burgrade, using the reactive armor to shield him. Edward then dragged Burgrade inside. After performing emergency medical treatment on Burgrade, Edward took a risk. While the enemy wasn't paying attention, and braving two laser rounds that grazed past him, he retrieved the sniper rifle. He mounted it on the roof, attempting to use a reflection mirror to aim at the enemy. Unfortunately, he didn't even know how to read the scope properly. He fired a shot wildly, which only exposed his position. Two laser rounds came flying at him, forcing him to quickly pull his head back.
But at this moment, the enemy sniper, who should have continued firing, suddenly stopped. Shortly after, Joseph's voice came over the walkie-talkie, ordering a retreat.
Joseph had slit the sniper's throat. He quickly searched the sniper's body and found a tightly protected box. In his haste to retreat, he stuffed the box into his pocket without a second thought and left.
Meanwhile, those sharp, hawk-like eyes continued to stare fixedly at Joseph. He pressed the switch on a signal jammer, even if doing so meant losing the asset he used to track the Secret Police agent team of the Solar System Federal Committee.