The beginning: Doubts

A tense atmosphere instantly enveloped the entire area. As former members of the Marley Warrior Unit, Aili, Reiner, Porco, Pieck naturally recognized Bazel, who had also been a member of the Warrior Unit. Perhaps because everyone was wearing gas masks and heavy Far East military uniforms, Bazel shouldn't have recognized them.

However, at this moment, Bazel grabbed Aili, his purple eyes filled with suspicion. A strand of silver hair clung to Aili's neck through the gap in her gas mask. Considering the difference in body size between men and women, it should be noted that female soldiers are extremely rare in the Far East Army. Apart from a few female soldiers in Logistics Unit and Medical Unit, female Soldiers are basically nowhere to be seen in Frontline Combat Unit.

"Why are you still wearing masks? The Internal Base is very safe, there's no need to worry about the Scarlet Mist leaking out. Wearing them is so stuffy, it's more convenient to take them off." Bazel grabbed Aili's arm with one hand and reached for the mask on Aili's face with the other.

Aili's body visibly stiffened, and Bazel keenly noticed this change as well. Swish! A Dagger instantly slid into A-Yi's hand. Without any hesitation, it was time to act immediately!

Snap! Snap! Two crisp sounds rang out abruptly.

Bazel paused slightly, looking at his reddened hand, and then looked at Ivanor with a puzzled expression. Ivanor glared at him, clearly displeased, and said rudely, "Bazel, you've gone too far. Mind your own business. I went out with the Doctor's permission. These people are people I brought to help me move. Is there a problem with me hiring two female soldiers to help me move? If you delay the Doctor's plans, you know the consequences!"

Upon hearing this, Bazel awkwardly released Aili, shrugged, and made way for her, gesturing for her to make her move.

But if I remember correctly, weren't there two crisp sounds just now? At the same time that Ivanor slapped Bazel's hand away, Yago also grabbed A-Yi, who was about to lash out. A-Yi reacted quickly, and after realizing that the situation was safe, he quickly returned to normal before Bazel noticed anything was wrong, quietly and obediently standing back in his original position, as if nothing had just happened.

Bazel smiled and squinted as he watched Ivanor and his group leave until they disappeared from sight. Then, the gentle smile on his lips vanished, replaced by a cold, sneer.

With Ivanor's help, Yago and his companions successfully infiltrated the core of the base without incident. Inside, the Far East Soldiers were nowhere to be seen, and there was no one around. All they could see were cold buildings and a maze of pipes.

Ivanor explained to everyone that this was the most secret area of Ebson, and normally, apart from a few Titan Warriors and a small number of high-ranking officials from the Far East, no one else could enter here unless...

"Unless what?" Aili pressed, her voice sounding very muffled through the gas mask.

Before Ivanor could answer, a series of terrifying roars suddenly came from afar.

Everyone was startled and immediately turned around. In the distance stood a completely different Steel Buildings, covering an area the size of several football fields, from which the terrifying roar came.

Ivanor nodded. "Unless it's one of those people, you know, Ebson, his experiments... tsk, they're pretty noisy, aren't they? But anyway, they're not Eldians, so it doesn't matter."

Yago's gaze turned serious. So, that was where Ebson's experiments were conducted? If he wasn't Eldians, then what was Ebson pursuing? In truth, Yago already had an answer in his heart. "Really, Fate is such a cruel word!" Yago muttered to himself.

Led by Ivanor, the group quickly turned left and right until they reached a secluded corner. Yago and the others finally had a chance to remove their heavy gas masks. Pieck took a deep breath, his face beaming with relief, "That was suffocating! Finally, I can breathe!"

Ivanor walked past the group, pulled aside a pile of tarpaulins in the corner, and found several tightly wrapped boxes that had been prepared long ago.

Click, click! The boxes were opened deftly, revealing rows of brand-new Omni-Directional Mobility Gear neatly arranged, and rows of Blades gleaming with a cold light. In another box were neatly stacked Thunder Spear, along with a full range of conventional ammunition, and plenty of grenades and bullets. Don't let A-Yi and his crew's pure Ackerman fool you; they're not stubborn old bones. They're quite adept at using the new weapons.

Sure enough, A-Yi had more than a dozen hand grenades strapped to his belt, and two pistols were hidden in the holster on his thigh. With a click, he cocked the pistols.

After shedding their somewhat cumbersome Far East military uniforms and donning simple Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, Pieck, Porco, and Aili simply stood by and stared blankly. You can't blame them, after all, they had never been exposed to Omni-Directional Mobility Gear before.

Porco Reiner, who was quickly putting on the device, a strange look and couldn't help but say, "Reiner, you're much faster in this than you are at running."

Reiner's face fell. "Porco, you..."

Pieck knew Porco was mocking Reiner's poor performance on the Warrior Unit back then, and he covered his mouth and chuckled.

Ivanor smoothed his Blonde and spread out a Base Layout Map that he had prepared beforehand. "This is the Experimental Department, this is the Scarlet Mist Raw Material Storage, this is where the prisoners are held, and this is where we Titan Warriors rest."

Next door is Ebson's Private Laboratory. No one except Bill, that chain smoker, is allowed in, but Ebson is usually here at this time—in his office. Yago, you guys hide here for a bit. I'll find an excuse to check on Ebson and the other Titan Warriors' locations, then we'll take them down with a swift and decisive strike! As long as we're fast enough, we won't alert the Far East Soldiers on the outer perimeter!

While the plan wasn't particularly brilliant, it was very practical. Yago didn't think much of it and nodded in agreement. Ivanor gave Aili a final hug before leaving.

Yago pulled over an empty box, sat on it, and waited quietly, while the others waited anxiously as well.

A-Yi and A-Wu carefully inspected their equipment, pulling out Blades to check their sharpness before putting them back in. Aili Li nervously picked at her fingernails, while Pieck found a slightly taller box to use as a table, resting his chin on it and staring blankly.

Reiner glanced at Yago every now and then, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to say it.

Porco, arms crossed, looked around in the corner. Suddenly, a crimson light caught his attention. Approaching it, Porco saw a strange device, like a cylinder, or rather, a hanging flashlight, with a crimson glow emanating from the center of its lens. "What is this?"

In a dark room, on an enormous black-and-white screen, a face filled with a puzzled expression was reflected—that face belonged to Porco!

(Hey, it's almost Chinese Muzi Year! I'm going to keep my promise and work overtime to write more! Please don't call me a liar!)