Far to the north of PETERUMMAN, thick snow covered an abandoned bunker that now served as a temporary operations center for Captain Snake. Though old and filled with thick dust, all the advanced equipment in its control room still functioned perfectly, humming quietly as it channeled electric currents.
"Right now, Elang must be peering straight into their memories," Snake remarked amid the dim console lights, chuckling with satisfaction.
"You planned this down to the very last detail, Captain?"
"Of course. Every weakness and capability of the PETERUMMAN soldiers is already in the palm of my hand. They will never even suspect who they are actually facing, and Elang will regret trying to probe into their memories," Snake answered, his laughter bubbling out softly.
"You truly are a mad scientist, Captain Snake. Seventeen years ago, your wild experiments nearly plunged this country into terror with your creations of half-monster, half-machine soldiers. Amazingly, you managed to make it all look like a pure accident, forcing a high-ranking official to take the fall for your actions."
Snake hissed softly, the corners of his lips curling cynically. "Shh... shh... It was their own fault for daring to ignore my warnings!"
"As a result, that bunker ended up as a silent witness, and many brilliant people were exiled instead. But how did you manage to survive that tragedy?"
"Lord Elos, forget the old stories. It's far too boring," Snake interrupted with a wave of his hand.
"How are our preparations coming along, Captain Snake?" Elos asked, shifting the subject.
Snake flashed a wide grin. "Lord Elos, you just need to focus on how your subordinate is going to buy time."
"Do not doubt him."
On the main monitor screen, the digital progress indicator flashed brightly: Energy Extraction: 10%.
Snake peeked through his glasses, staring straight at the steadily climbing progress bar.
Within another realm of consciousness, Elang pushed his way through the memory shards of Subject 029 from the night of the incident. Amidst the dark fog of memory, he spotted a mysterious silhouette walking with a faceless smile.
"Damn it, it's too dark. I can't see his face!" Elang grumbled inwardly.
Elang tried to probe deeper. The veins around his temples and eyes strained, enduring an extraordinary mental burden. However, the silhouette simply stood still and laughed at him.
"He's acting like he's deliberately standing there... Is he laughing at me? Damn it, what a truly troublesome guy," Elang thought, gritting his teeth.
Suddenly, the golden-yellow glow in Elang's eyes shifted drastically into a deep crimson.
"What is this...?" he muttered, choking on his breath. "He's spreading a poison that blurs this body's vision... even the owner of the memory never realized his presence."
From the control room, General Don spoke through the microphone, his voice echoing firmly inside the cold interrogation room.
"General Elang, do not push yourself! Your eyes are bleeding!"
Elang's breathing turned ragged, breaking the silence of the interrogation room that suddenly felt suffocating. Fresh blood trickled slowly from the corner of his left eye, dripping down to strike the metal table. Before him, Subject 029 slumped weakly, his body trembling violently from the lingering psychic shock.
"Take him away," Elang ordered coldly, wiping the blood from his temple without caring about the pain tearing through the nerves of his skull. There was one terrifying enemy now operating off the radar, and that physical data was the starting point of a new terror.
Behind the burning glow of his crimson eyes, Elang let out a suppressed growl. "Damn it, what a troublesome bastard... but I've got what I came for."
He drew a heavy breath, then spoke without shifting his gaze, "Note this down: height 182 cm, weight 78 kg. He wears a suit."
While General Elang struggled to piece together clues from the victim's memories, the atmosphere inside the room reeking of pungent citrus felt far tenser.
Varkas stood rigidly with a forced expression of composure, though a subtle tremor he tried hard to hide was clearly visible. He stood right outside the door of Lion's room.
"Lina, how dare you ignore my call? And Snake... damn it, why is he completely unreachable?! What on earth is going on?!" Colonel Leon hissed in pure fury, his fingers deftly activating the emergency communications link.
Click.
"Lina, you—"
"Hello, Elder Brother. Puma here."
Lion froze for a moment. Instead of Lina's cold voice, Puma's calm tone greeted his ears.
"Puma, listen. Whoever is near you, ignore them. Prepare a special investigation team right now, and move to Sector 03!"
"What's wrong, Brother? Isn't that the jurisdiction of the Central Command?"
"Find whoever is behind the theft of the Azure Core! We are in a fierce race against Sector 01. Do not let Lord Vier bear the shame before the other higher-ups!"
"Understood, Brother. Executing order."
Click.
The connection severed instantly. Lion dropped his hand onto the desk, his breathing heavy. He pinched the bridge of his nose firmly, trying to quell the trembling in his fingers.
"Must I unleash all my ace cards now? In a critical moment like this, you choose to cause trouble, Tiger..." Lion thought, his jaw tightening until his teeth ground together. "If that man uncovers the truth behind Dragon's death, everything will fall apart."
The mechanical hiss of the door to Lion's room sliding open coincided with a greeting from a sergeant.
"Colonel Lion?" Varkas spoke, his voice slightly lower than usual, breaking the silence of the Sector 07 command room as high-alert alarm chimes began to echo.
"You've arrived, Varkas?" Colonel Leon shifted his gaze away from the main monitor screen, even as the looming threat of Tiger and Dragon's death still raged fiercely inside his head.
"Ready, Colonel. Awaiting further instructions."
Lion took a deep breath, trying to mask the tremor beneath his seemingly calm demeanor in front of the young officers. "Organize your combat units right now. I am certain something much larger is coming to strike us from outside the radar. And one more thing..." Lion paused, his gaze sharpening with heavy burdens, "...prepare those kids."
"Those kids, Colonel? Do you mean the cadets in Block B?" Varkas frowned, a hint of hesitation in his tone.
"Yes. The situation can no longer be saved by the old rules. They must be prepared to face the worst reality before this fortress collapses upon itself," Lion answered firmly, leaving no room for debate.
"UNDERSTOOD, COLONEL!"
Varkas turned and walked out of the room. The man whose body was half replaced by machinery grinned with glee, his bald head lifting as his cyborg eye flickered wildly with anticipation.
Unit 009, it's time for your destruction. Nugia, I'll make sure you die this time... No, something far more horrifying than mere death.
The iron joints of his arm creaked as he clenched his fists tightly, suppressing the dark malice burning steadily in his chest.
Far away in the darkness of the dormitory hallway now torn apart by the wailing sirens, the shadows of the night seemed to creep faster. The iron door of Dorm Room 09B creaked softly, signaling that the time for them to survive—or die slowly—had officially begun.