Infinity, Progressing from Arasaka

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After hanging up the receiver, Vera, slightly out of breath, plopped down on the carpet. She then picked up a cold drink from the low table, raised her glass, and smiled slightly at the Ninth Knights of the Round looked ashamed and wore a pink lace dress.

"To the victory, Nonette."

Clink. (Clink glasses)

"To victory!"

Although she was very reluctant to wear the pink dress, Nonette wasn't the type to overreact. So what if she wore it? As long as she didn't send it to Cornelia.

As for Vera, feel free to add her to your collection.

Of course, I still have to complain.

"If you could just let me have my way and not force me to change into this outfit, that would be even better. I really don't know what you ate to grow up like this, you're so strong, you even tore the knight's uniform to shreds. A bet is a bet, I won't cheat."

"You don't understand. This is called enjoying the process of victory. Oh, by the way, regarding the remnants of the Blaisgogh family, Nonette, we need your cooperation."

"No problem. However, Lelouch von Blaisgogh, if you really want to kill her, just order the Foreign Intelligence Service to assassinate her. Why go through all this trouble? Do you want to arrest her and use her as a prime example of betraying Britannia and Hohenzollern to establish your authority?"

"That's one of the factors involved."

194

Chapter 194: The W-ZERO Force Heading into the Net.

[This is the Arthas-Lorraine branch of the Imperial Foreign Intelligence Bureau. Receiving. Suspend intelligence gathering, sabotage operations, and contact with defectors. Enter deep infiltration.]

All Hail Britannia.

Weiswolf is a small city not far from the White Wolf City in the countryside.

The streets are neat and sparsely populated, with a pedestrian street that doesn't have many cars or pedestrians. There is an apartment building with a small courtyard that is neither new nor old. From the half-hidden to the completely covered basement, the faint sounds of electronic devices running and the clicking of buttons echo each other.

"Team leader, shall we continue the sabotage operation?"

"Tell our people to withdraw."

Although the team leader also had doubts, based on the principles of intelligence personnel—don't ask what you shouldn't ask, just complete the mission—he directly ordered, "The infiltration and sabotage operation against the W-ZERO unit's White Wolf City base is immediately suspended."

"Find a way to contact 'Pal 11' as soon as possible and tell him that the sabotage mission with inside help has been canceled, so that he can continue to lie low."

"Clear."

The agent swiftly left the secret room.

He took out a paper list of people he wanted to recruit from his pocket. At the top of the list was 'Pal 11,' who had already been turned.

To be honest, he didn't know why Palu was chosen, or what the historical basis was. He only knew that it was decided by higher authorities.

He had seen the personal file of this 'Pal 11': a refugee from District 11 living in Europe, a young military attaché at the Paris diplomatic embassy before the fall of Japan in 2010 of the Imperial Calendar, with no relatives in Europe, and now, in 2017 of the Imperial Calendar, he is 29 years old and has been married for four years, with his second child just born. His wife is unemployed and owes money to loan sharks from the Parisian underworld.

It can be said that he has weaknesses all over his body; otherwise, he wouldn't have been turned by them.

Recently, however, when we regularly contacted him, he became much more proactive and eager...

Betrayal or entrapment? It's possible, but not very likely, unless he no longer wants his gentle and kind wife, his lovely daughter, and his newborn son.

Is it highly likely that His Princess Vera's "Area 11 Special Task Force" policy and the public awarding of medals at the Königsberg Victory Parade gave him hope?

While pondering, the operative unknowingly walked to the entrance of the apartment building.

Donning a trendy EU-style top hat and carrying some necessary tools, he dusted off his clothes and left the base, heading towards the busiest commercial street.

He needed to buy daily necessities and food, and incidentally, make contact with 'Pal 11' there.

Calculating the time, after the simulation training ends, during the short break between dinner and the nighttime supplementary training, he is allowed to contact his family at a special phone booth. He will use a phone card with a changed address to impersonate an acquaintance and contact him at that time to convey the code that the mission has been terminated and that he should continue his undercover work.

As they passed a hotel where EU flags were flying, the operative narrowed his eyes.

Hmph, you foolish EU, let's see how many more years you can laugh! Victory will surely belong to Brittany! Glory belongs to Princess Vera!

White Wolf City Base.

Canteen.

"So, Ryo Sayama, Ayano Kosaka, Yukiya Naruse were released so quickly? They weren't executed or dismissed. Commander Marukal really treated us all equally, even showing some favoritism."

"Come on. Stop wallowing in self-pity. Didn't you see the preparations for war? We're about to go to the battlefield. This is just a pre-battle treat. Although I admit that Commander Marukal is much better than those EU bastards. I'm willing to follow her orders."

"Yes. We're all going to die anyway. Dying on the battlefield killing Britannian pigs will at least secure citizenship for my parents, my brother, and my sister, allowing them to leave the quarantine zone and live a normal life. That's worth it. If we could kill a knight and get a medal posthumously..."

"What if we face the Area 11 Special Task Force in Britannia? Listen to the Warsaw branch, those traitorous lackeys show no mercy when they kill us..."

"Let's fight back! Who's afraid of who! Especially that guy named Kururugi, a knight, a medal captain, a spot in the military academy—who knows how many of his own people he killed to get that? He's a monster!"

In a corner of the mess hall belonging to the refugee soldiers from District 11, the topic of going to war has become public. Even though the mess halls are not strictly divided, the soldiers from District 11 and those of European descent just can't get along.

A weathered young man, who rarely chimed in and had quietly finished his meal, suddenly stood up.

"Takagi, are you going to chat with your wife again?"

"Ah, perhaps there won't be another chance in the future."

The man simply turned his head and said something, leaving everyone speechless.

After washing and setting out the dishes, he walked out of the canteen and strolled along the cobblestone path. In the setting sun, White Wolf City, nestled in a dense forest, was undoubtedly a scenic spot, a perfect place to soothe the soul. It was only a pity that the roar of steel shattered the tranquility—

Buzzing.

Busy convoys, soldiers under martial law.

One after another, heavy transport vehicles carrying liquid Sakura Stone fuel, ordnance, KMF mechs, and special raw materials.

Soon, we arrived at the phone booth.

Many soldiers of African descent from District 11 have already been on the phone with their families.

He went to an empty phone booth, swiped his soldier ID card, and dialed a number.

"Hello."

Commander's office.

Didi.

It's a notification sound for file transfer and email retrieval.

"... That's all. Commander Marukal, pre-battle mobilization for the W-ZERO unit has begun. Thanks to your reputation, everyone knows that the commander is not that idiot 'Kamikaze Arno' who treats human life like dirt. The combat preparations are proceeding in an orderly manner, and everything is going smoothly so far."

"Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Lieutenant Colonel Warwick."

Sitting behind her desk, Layla nodded upon hearing this.

"Kamikaze Arno" was the nickname of the newly appointed lieutenant colonel commander of the W-ZERO unit.

Because of his overly human-like behavior during the Narva Operation in June, including but not limited to equipping the KMF mechs with high-explosive bombs weighing several tons, forcibly fixing the transforming [Alexander] into a four-legged insect mode, and locking the cockpit door... he was overthrown by Layla, who was still a major at the time, and after the war, he used his connections to be relegated to the logistics department to retire.

"Oh, that's really going too far."

After glancing and nodding, Adjutant and Deputy Commander of the Special Forces, Klaus Warwick, was busy with paperwork again. He was either contacting Dr. Landreau to confirm the combat situation of the troops, or contacting Captain Kleiman's development team to modify the parameters of the customized mechs, or occasionally calling Leila to use the connections of the wealthy Malcar family to smooth over military funds and to use General Smilas's connections to get more time to coordinate support with the Eastern Front Military District. Layla couldn't help but sigh.

Being the commander of the W-ZERO unit is a tough job.

Seemingly puzzled as to why the vice commander had suddenly gone silent, Layla looked up. "Is there a problem, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Cough cough!"

After clearing his throat a few times, Lieutenant Colonel Warwick simply pulled out his portable projection-style tactical terminal, scratched his head, and said about the upcoming mission of the W-ZERO unit, "I'm not trying to discourage you, Commander, but please make sure you have contingency plans in place for any potential failures."

"The operational orders are complicated. They require coordination with the Polish garrison in Warsaw and the Belarus garrison in Minsk to advance and recapture lost territory, and also to seize the opportunity to cut off the northern salient of the Britannian Army. Euhhhh (French, an interjection at the end of a sentence when unsure what to say)..."

"Ouais (French slang for 'ma ma,' or 'yes') is mainly to appease the domestic situation, as Britannia's recent victory parade in Königsberg caused a major setback in Paris's opinion polls."

At this point, the dejected deputy commander folded the tactical terminal in his hand, pulled a portable flask from his pocket, took a sip, and then said self-deprecatingly in a numb tone, "Our congressmen just think: if the public's attention is diverted overseas, at least they won't get burned..."

"This is absolutely insane!"

The deputy commander's blunt words finally ignited Layla's anger. She clenched her fist and slammed it on the table in fury. "What do the Parisian councilors value their lives for?!"

"To put it bluntly, it's bait, no, it's more accurate to call it the Orphan. Commander, we can't just refuse to carry out orders, can we? Grand principles are worthless. Commander, you know what to do. Besides, isn't that how war is? Conventional methods, the initiative is in Brittany."

"..."

With her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, Layla lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Just then, a knocking sound broke the unsettling silence of the room.

The two commanders inside turned to look at each other at the same time. A pretty girl with purple hair and green eyes peeked out from the crack in the door. "Um, Layla, all five [Chariot of Apollo] have been inspected."

195

Chapter 195 The Little Flying Stick is Here!

At this moment, the space launch site at White Wolf City Base was bustling with activity. Inside the multiple underground launch silos, which were over 100 meters deep, the rocket support platforms had been inspected, and the W-ZERO Force's new secret weapon—the "Chariot of Apollo"—was undergoing its final inspection.

The main control room is connected to the upper passageway of the Apollo 001 rocket launch pad.

The overly spacious preparation hall featured smooth ceilings and walls made of high-strength reinforced concrete, with crisscrossing rails and conveyor belts transporting various combat equipment. The inorganic glow of the lighting strips cast a cold, dark light on the surfaces of the humanoid and animal-shaped steel structures.

Tap, tap.

Footsteps approached.

"I've read the plan for deploying drones and intelligent KMF mechs."

With delicate and gentle features, holding a thick notebook covered with bookmarks, the intellectual girl with dark purple, slightly wavy hair said thoughtfully, "You are right, Layla."

The dark blue captain's uniform of the EU coalition forces silently proclaimed her identity, with the name tag on her right breast: Anna Kleiman.

Just as the first impression a young woman gives is that of an innocent and carefree young lady, she is the daughter of the Kleiman family, a European military-industrial complex.

It is no exaggeration to say that the reconstruction of the W-ZERO forces, the development, improvement, and mass production of the Alexander were largely due to the connections of Anna Kleiman's hometown.

The Alexander, which is equipped by the W-ZERO unit, was also developed and designed by them.

As a true technical captain, she was able to disassemble Britannia's fourth-generation mobile suit, the Glasgow Armored Rider, even as a child, demonstrating her exceptional talent.

"I also think that it's better for machines on the battlefield to be unmanned, but current artificial intelligence technology cannot meet Layla's requirements."

As she spoke, Anna looked at her childhood friend with her bright green eyes and pondered:

"In practical applications of drones, stable signal transmission, friend or foe identification, and the ability to identify combat targets in the first instance are the most fundamental aspects..."

"Although I hate to admit it, the reality is that the EU has fallen far behind Britannia in this regard. The Cleyman Group's current technological level is not capable of creating that kind of artificial intelligence. I'm sorry."

"If we could capture the armed robots used by the Britannian Army in the siege warfare in the Baltic Sea region, especially the intelligent control center of the node command machine, that would be great... I think the drone tactics used by the Britannian Army are a good idea. The imitation work has already yielded results, but it will take time before we can simulate tactics and deploy them. Is Paris urging us so urgently?"

"Yes. It's a political necessity. The coalition forces must launch a respectable counterattack."

Layla sighed softly.

"In situations where the main battlefield is deadlocked, my W-ZERO unit is the secret weapon."

What is strange?

A: Taking risks.

Layla stepped to the edge of the deep well, shifting her gaze downwards to the bottom, looking down at the [Chariot of Apollo]—an extra-atmospheric ultra-long-distance transport aircraft—lying quietly for maintenance.

It consists of three stages, with a total height of 121 meters. The first stage, including the protruding booster, has a maximum diameter of 18 meters and an average diameter of 13 meters. Its effective payload capacity to low Earth orbit is 175 tons.

If Vera were here, she would probably call it a super-heavy multi-stage launch vehicle, or a technological reserve for intercontinental ballistic missile launch vehicles.

The line between space rockets and ballistic missiles has always been blurred, and there are many examples of military-to-civilian and civilian-to-military conversions.