Atlas Military Might

"Before dawn today, we detected a powerful energy wave in Paris. While the UDF does not yet know what this signifies, the results indicate that our enemies have completely lost the ability to act. Russia and..."

Inside the vehicle, the radio broadcasted a declaration of some unexpected victory.

Outside, the countryside road was bright and clear in the early morning.

However, the villages on both sides of the road had long been deserted. Combined with the trees that had yet to sprout their spring leaves, the entire area appeared incredibly desolate.

At this moment, Sui Yang sat in the back seat, using a tablet to review the latest information.

Just as the radio broadcast suggested, when he had initiated a [Reset] and returned to [Yesterday], the Mimics ravaging Earth-01 simply crashed, unable to hinder the UDF's full-scale counterattack.

But in truth, even if he hadn't been able to initiate a [Reset] voluntarily, Sui Yang would have "forced" it. The reason was simple and clear: he had to fulfill his promise of "seeing them yesterday."

Every participant in the raid on Paris was his trusted confidant—the very foundation upon which he could firmly control Atlas.

To the outside world, they were contractors cooperating with the military, mercenaries driven by profit.

Internally, however, these soldiers were members of the "Atlas Response Service," or "ARS" for short. They held exclusive military ranks and serial numbers.

The origins of the ARS could be traced back to the end of the nineteenth century, with its prototype being a security team raised by Sui Yang, led by Arthur Morgan and his associates.

Once Atlas was formally established and began to step into the military industry, the security team gradually transformed into a militarized unit: the ARS.

The vast majority of the elite members of the ARS were descendants of Arthur Morgan and his peers, having received specialized academic education and physical training from a young age.

The "ordinary" members of the ARS were also carefully selected.

They were often veterans who had achieved significant combat merits but were discarded by the federal government and society due to family tragedies or bankruptcy crises.

Atlas provided these veterans with salaries and benefits far exceeding those of the federal military, along with top-tier medical services.

Of course, before Atlas officially hired these veterans, the human resources department and investigators would strip away every detail of their interpersonal relationships, spending habits, and attitudes toward their families.

When these selected veterans faced desperate straits, only to be reborn through Atlas—or rather, through Sui Yang—and even find themselves valued and given a stage to showcase their skills...

Their level of loyalty could be imagined.

Since its inception, the ARS had assisted Atlas in secretly handling countless threats and had even been hired by the U.S. military to execute more dangerous missions.

Today, the ARS consisted of six companies, with personnel fluctuating between 3,500 and 3,600.

The First Company was the elite of the elite, possessing the best individual equipment and higher clearance levels. Known within Atlas as the "Hunters," it was they who had assisted Sui Yang in the raid on Paris.

The Second, Third, and Fourth were infantry companies, while the Fifth and Sixth were armored and aviation companies.

Typically, the Second through Sixth companies were organized into mixed units and deployed to Atlas's overseas bases to ensure the safety of foreign assets, factories, and employees, possessing the capability to suppress low-to-medium intensity conflicts.

The aviation company could be considered a unique branch of Atlas, possessing numerous aerial vehicles that allowed the ARS to rapidly transfer and deploy in regions like Africa, the Middle East, and South America.

The UH-1H and CH-53E transport helicopters responsible for the Hunters, and the AH-1W gunships providing escort, all belonged to the Sixth Aviation Company.

In addition to conventional transport vehicles, the aviation company also possessed several AC-130 gunships, as well as A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft and F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighters, acquired through unconventional but "legal and compliant" channels.

This allowed the ARS operating in Africa, the Middle East, and South America to call upon the aviation company for bombardment when facing troublesome enemies or fortifications.

Currently, Atlas had established three military bases: in Kenya in East Africa, Bolivia in South America, and at the border between Syria and Iraq.

If one included outposts, base stations, and conventional armed security contracts, Atlas needed to spend at least $1.8 billion annually to maintain the normal operation of all its military units.

Last year, from January to December 1992, Atlas had spent $1.92 billion in this regard.

However, this cost was not fixed; it fluctuated due to factors such as wanting to replace equipment, purchasing new vehicles, or currency devaluation.

Yet one thing was certain: this "military expenditure" would only continue to rise. However, incidents like "buying a coffee mug for $1,300" would absolutely never happen within Atlas.

Furthermore, Sui Yang had prepared a large amount of cash between 1988 and 1991, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991, he "recovered" a massive amount of military equipment in Eastern Europe at extremely low prices.

Due to various restrictions, Atlas could only act like the "Lord of War," buying low and selling high, unable to claim these armaments as their own.

Fortunately, given that Atlas maintained friendly relations with other arms dealers, was a premium client to others, and frequently "sponsored" the U.S. military, Atlas was able to recruit a large number of former Soviet scientists while everyone else turned a blind eye.

Even when Vought International noticed that Atlas's behavior in recent years was "abnormal," they did not pay much attention; after all, there was no clear conflict of interest between the two companies, and they had even collaborated in certain fields.

Therefore, losing the entire First Company of the ARS was a pyrrhic victory that Sui Yang could not bear.

Moreover, he had invested a great deal of affection into the First Company. The captain of the First Company was the great-grandson of Arthur Morgan, bearing the same name, and his marksmanship and physical fitness were no less than those of the original Arthur Morgan. He was the absolute best within the ARS, and indeed, within the entire United States.

Thus, no matter what, he had to initiate a [Reset] to let the children of the First Company "live again."

At this moment.

Sui Yang finished reviewing the construction progress of the ruins base and signed several documents titled "Construction of Ghana Park" and "Ghana Mining Development" before locking his tablet screen and setting it aside.

He then leaned back in a reclining position, turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window, and tried to clear his mind...

But it was to no avail.

Ever since he completed the [Reset] and heard that cold voice warn him of the [Primarch Descent], Sui Yang's heart had been hanging by a thread.

Although that voice had fallen silent after the warning and provided no further information, perhaps due to the faint psionic energy he had acquired, or perhaps some form of intuition or sensing, blurred images frequently flashed through Sui Yang's mind.

Following this, Sui Yang had Arthur and over twenty Hunters drive ground vehicles to accompany him to a location 20 kilometers west of the space gate.

Not long after, a sign reading "Aulnois en Perthois" flashed past the right side of the vehicle.

If one were to look away from the interior and view the scene from the air, a convoy of five black military SUVs was slowing down, eventually coming to a stop on a vacant lot on the outskirts of a small town.