"Is Old Wang safe?" Sergei asked Lieutenant Min.
"Yes, Colonel. According to the report, Old Wang arrived at the Academy ten minutes ago."
"That's good. Now, about the next steps…"
"Forgive me for being blunt, Colonel, but where did your intelligence come from?" Lieutenant Min inquired.
This was not just his personal doubt; the entire Dingwu unit was puzzled, though they kept their concerns to themselves out of respect for Sergei's authority.
If Sergei merely had his own intelligence channels, that would be one thing, but the real question was… what kind of intelligence organization could even uncover the information that three newly emerged Gundams were about to attack their base?
If they were truly that powerful, then why had all previous Gundam operations been shrouded in mystery? Why had there never been any advance warnings?
"Private channels, Lieutenant Min. After so many years in the military, I still have some connections. Go gather everyone and prepare; the enemy is coming." With that, Sergei offered no further explanation and turned to leave.
Lieutenant Min stared at Sergei's retreating figure, lost in thought. During the previous Gundam capture operation, they had felt that one of the Gundams moved in a familiar way, as if Sergei was hiding some monumental secret.
"Colonel, who exactly are you? And what is your brother, Major Yang, really doing…"
This question remained buried deep in Lieutenant Min's heart. No matter what the ultimate truth was, he could never report it to his superiors, because Sergei was still the officer he respected the most, having saved his life several times. As long as Sergei did not openly betray them, Lieutenant Min would say nothing.
Meanwhile, Sergei entered the Beiwei Hangar, changed into a brand-new pressure-resistant pilot suit, and sat in the cockpit.
"Damn it, that little brat Xiao Hui! Can't this kind of thing be left to UNION? Is he trying to expose me?" Sergei cursed as he confirmed that all systems were shut down.
After venting a bit, Sergei examined the new pilot suit. He had to admit it was quite comfortable, and he had heard that its pressure resistance was much better than the standard pilot suits. Even without the physique of a Super Soldier, one could still perform some extreme maneuvers.
"Would this suit be better for Peries?" Sergei suddenly thought, recalling Peries' piloting habits.
"Colonel!"
"Hmm? What is it?" The sudden call interrupted Sergei's thoughts.
"Colonel, you seemed distracted."
"Oh, sorry, just thinking about some things. All units, activate MS and enter silent mode. We will annihilate the Gundams when they arrive!"
"Understood!" XN
...
The three Throne Gundams streaked through the sky, leaving long red trails behind them. Before long, the outline of the base became clear.
"This is the spot, Nena. Connect with me directly and destroy it in one go!"
"Okay, Brother Johann!"
"Hey, let me vent a bit too, big brother." Michael grumbled, feeling frustrated. They had been waiting for a while without a mission, and Michael was growing impatient, eager to show off but was told there was no opportunity.
"Calm down, Michael. This base is on the path to the new stronghold. When we reach the sky above, you'll be responsible for the finishing blow."
"Ha ha, leave it to me, big brother! I promise not to leave a single survivor!"
"Connection complete, GN Particles fully charged, Brother Johann!"
"GN MEGA Cannon, fire…"
"Beep beep beep…"
Just as Johann was about to pull the trigger, the alarms on the Throne Gundams blared loudly.
"What's going on!?"
The Trinity siblings were a bit flustered, as the support-specialized Unit 3 was the first to detect the enemy's presence.
"Brother Johann! Brother Michael! It's enemy aircraft!"
"What!?" The two were startled. This position was under GN Particles coverage, and their radar shouldn't be able to detect them. But why were there enemies?
"Nena, disengage and form tactical formation A11!"
"Understood!"
"Just a bunch of small fry; watch me wipe them out!"
"Wait! Michael…"
There was no time to stop Unit 2's impulsiveness. Units 1 and 3 quickly followed Unit 2 into the enemy formation.
But before they could engage, they were stunned, for the incoming forces were one of the units they had been trying to avoid.
"Damn it! Why is it them!?" Michael could no longer act arrogantly; they had been severely taught a lesson by this unit before, and the shadow of that experience still haunted him.
"Brother Johann! Brother Michael! Look at these machines!" Nena exclaimed, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"GN Drive! How is that possible!?"
Seeing the rapidly approaching Into the Array and Beiwei, the three were in a panic. They could not be mistaken; the red particles behind them and the GN Particles emitted by the Throne Gundams were identical.
"Beep beep beep…"
"Scatter!"
There was no time for them to think. The Dingwu unit's attack had arrived, and eight black-red beams tore through the formation of the Throne Gundams, splitting them into pairs and beginning to surround the Throne Gundams for guerrilla harassment. Beiwei and Into the Array charged towards Units 1 and 2.
"Damn bastards! Don't think you can act recklessly just because you have GN Drives! Let me show you the power of Gundam! FANG!"
With a furious shout, eight GN Fangs shot out, heading straight for the Into the Array, firing as they approached, their blades ready to pierce its armor.
But unfortunately for Michael, he was up against Peries, who was piloting the complete Into the Array. With the advantage of the machine neutralized, piloting skill became the absolute factor.
The Into the Array dodged left and right while moving at high speed, easily evading the net-like attack of the GN Fangs. The GN Vulcan mounted on its left arm fired continuously, as if a fish leaping out of the water, and half of the eight GN Fangs were destroyed.
"What!?" Michael was shocked by this scene. Seeing the Into the Array closing in, he hurriedly raised his giant sword to meet it.
"Bang~" The GN beam sword clashed with the giant sword, sparks flying, and the immense impact forced Unit 2 to retreat continuously.
"Ugh~ Damn it… how could I… die at the hands of a small fry! FANG!" In a moment of desperation, Michael immediately controlled the remaining GN Fangs to attack the Into the Array from behind, but before he could get close, they were all destroyed by the surrounding Into the Array.
"Damn it! Damn it! How could I…"
"Brother Michael!" Unit 3 quickly fired to support Unit 2, but just that moment of distraction allowed the surrounding Into the Array to seize the opportunity, and several beams directly hit Unit 3's rear thrusters.
"Boom boom boom…"
"Ah~!!!"
"Nena!"
As they watched Unit 3 plummet to the ground in a cloud of smoke, Johann and Michael panicked, wanting to rush to rescue it. They were no longer thinking about completing the mission; they just wanted to escape safely.
But unfortunately, Sergei and Peries would not give them that chance. Beiwei and the Into the Array firmly entangled Units 1 and 2, leaving them helpless to watch as Unit 3 was captured.
(End of Chapter)