Agents' Daily Lives

"Heh."

William laughed without saying anything. At the same time, he silently used the system to check the Spartans in front of him.

Their average loyalty was seventy-five—not high, but not low either.

Although he had boosted their favorability with toys and gifts, children were the most grudge-bearing creatures in existence and were difficult to appease.

But he wasn't worried that the Spartans would lack loyalty after the surgery.

That was without even mentioning the system's assimilation function.

Even the Spartan-IIs in the game's setting had initially hated Halsey intensely, and had even attempted to resist and escape many times.

Under militarized management, the Spartans developed deep bonds of comradeship, gradually came to understand the responsibilities they shouldered, and ultimately became soldiers and heroes who saved all of humanity.

Even George 052 from Halo: Reach, a veteran Spartan-II, affectionately called Halsey "Mom."

"Everyone."

After waving for the Spartans to quiet down, William said, "Major Kent still has some matters to go over with you, so I won't disturb him."

"Yes." John was the first to stand and salute William, and the other Spartans followed suit.

"All right, at ease."

With that, William led the Alpha team out of the conference hall. Kent, who had been waiting outside, then walked up to the podium and continued explaining the points the Spartans needed to pay attention to.

Immediately afterward, William and Halsey took a CH-53 away from Minos Island and headed for a military base in Kenya, six hundred kilometers away.

To be honest...

He rather liked the monotonous life on Minos Island, despite its crude facilities and many inconveniences, such as the lack of internet.

But watching Halsey teach the young Spartans from a distance always helped him relax both physically and mentally.

He didn't have to think about strategic deployments, expansion plans, or any of the other headaches that came with work.

However, avoiding things couldn't solve problems.

It was time to return to Haifa and let Umbrella Corporation continue expanding.

The document contained reports from three agents embedded in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The reports were compiled from the surviving agents' oral accounts, as well as helmet-camera footage and other recordings from their equipment.

Date: February 24, 2007.

Country: Canada.

Province: Saskatchewan.

Town: Deschambault Lake.

Area: A peninsula of approximately 270 square kilometers.

Population: 1,194.

Deschambault Lake was surrounded by water on three sides, with only Highway 911 in the south connecting it to the outside world. The nearest city was fifty kilometers to the southeast.

Since sixty percent of the peninsula consisted of mountainous forest, the vast majority of the population was concentrated along the western shore.

The town's center was the Royal Canadian Mounted Police station, where three officers lived in the community.

Between August and November 2006, the three officers successively became field agents for Umbrella Corporation.

The agents' basic information was as follows:

Police Chief: Sean Patrick.

Age: 41.

Gender: Male.

Personality: Steady and family-oriented.

Physique: Strong and skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Officer: Adam Gale.

Age: 25.

Gender: Male.

Personality: Passionate and strongly devoted to justice.

Physique: Average, but stronger than ordinary people.

Officer: Andy Clement.

Age: 27.

Gender: Male.

Personality: Witty and values friendship.

Physique: Average, but stronger than ordinary people.

The document began its account.

Inside the Deschambault Lake Royal Canadian Mounted Police station;

"Whoosh—!" The wind howled furiously through the blizzard.

"Bang—bang—!" The glass windows shook violently because of the difference in air pressure between the inside and outside.

Adam sat behind his desk, listening to the violent noises as he looked out the window.

The blizzard grew increasingly fierce.

The already sparsely populated streets had become even emptier, with only vehicles parked by the roadside, half-buried beneath the snow.

Adam couldn't help sighing gloomily. "Sigh, this snow... It'll keep falling for at least another four days."

"What, getting bored?" Andy teased from behind him.

"Yeah... a little." Adam turned around to look at Andy and said excitedly, "Hey, did you know? The company seems to have reached an agreement with the United Nations."

"Apparently."

Andy leaned back in his chair with both hands behind his head. After glancing around the small police station, he sighed. "The boss is only twenty, yet he's already been received by leaders from various countries.

"I'm almost thirty, and I'm still stuck in this little town."

"True." Adam nodded in agreement. "I really wish something anomalous would happen in our town too. I heard that if you discover three anomalies and successfully contain them, you might get assigned to UBCS."

"Hey!" Hearing that, Andy pulled his hands forward and waved them. "That agent in Athabasca died without leaving a complete body behind. I don't want to run into anything like that. I'm still waiting to hit on some girls."

"You've got some nerve calling yourself B-class personnel." Adam looked at him with disdain.

"That's enough!" A solemn roar came from the police station's only office.

The two men, who had been chatting casually, hurriedly straightened their backs and pretended to work diligently.

Not long afterward, the office door opened.

Sean, wearing a cowboy hat, came into the main hall. Looking at the two agents, he reprimanded them, "Even though we're all agents of the company, don't forget the confidentiality agreement...

"We're forbidden to discuss anomalies casually. Do I need to reinforce that memory for you?"

"No, sir, that won't be necessary!" the two agents replied in unison.

"Hmm." Only then did Sean's anger subside.

"Knock, knock!" An urgent knocking sounded on the door.

Then several people outside shouted for help:

"Sean! Help us!"

"Chief, open the door!"

The sudden commotion did not cause the three agents to panic.

"Coming." Andy, who was closest to the entrance, stood up and opened the door.

"Click!"

"Whoosh—!"

"Thud, thud!"

Once the door opened, several couples around forty years old poured into the small police station.

All three agents were born and raised in the town and were quite familiar with these couples.

From their conversation, they learned that several days earlier, the couples' children had organized an expedition on their own and gone camping in the forest east of town.

But they hadn't expected the blizzard to arrive so suddenly, nor the temperature to drop to its lowest point in fifty years.

On top of that, they had been unable to contact the children for some time, leaving the terrified parents no choice but to come to the station and report the matter.

After confirming the general circumstances of the case, Police Chief Sean first calmed the parents and told them to return home and wait patiently.

Afterward...

Andy was organizing the records. Once the parents had completely left the station, he complained, "The Grays really are something else. They let a bunch of inexperienced high schoolers fool around in the forest, and in winter, too! Tsk, tsk."

"All right." Sean, his expression stern, cut off Andy's crude remarks.

The police chief walked over to the peninsula map hanging on the wall. Pinching his chin with one hand, he analyzed the situation. "According to the information provided by the parents, the children were last active around here"—he pointed at the map—"and there's an abandoned mine shaft in that area..."