Inside a hotel room, the three of them were conducting final maintenance on their equipment. On a nearby table lay a pile of wiretaps and micro-cameras they had swept from the room.
Chisato Nishikigi picked up the revolver known as the "Wingman Elite," checking its condition. Once satisfied that this weapon—powerful enough to shatter the skull of a grizzly bear—was functioning perfectly, she slightly lifted her skirt. Her originally smooth, porcelain-white right leg shifted, deploying a built-in weapon rack.
After securing the Wingman Elite and several loaded speedloaders into the rack, the mechanism retracted, and Chisato's thigh once again looked exactly like that of an ordinary young girl.
Inoue Takina, meanwhile, rolled up her left sleeve to check if the various devices within her body were operating normally.
Clang...
With a metallic ring, a Mantis Blade flickering with electrical current suddenly extended from her originally slender arm. The feminine softness was gone, replaced by a form radiating lethal aggression.
Nagisa Shiota was busy organizing his own gear: high-frequency knives, the standard-issue Wingman Elite, and the crucial Smart Pistol.
Unlike the original version, which required a Titan core for small-scale auto-aiming, this Smart Pistol entered a state of true "aimbot" once linked to his cybernetic body. Coordinates were derived directly from his line of sight, automatically calculating trajectories and transmitting them to the micro-missiles within the magazine.
"Micro-Mirage System operational. Mirage Colloid reserves at normal levels..."
Inoue Takina retracted her cybernetics and checked the time displayed in her vision.
"In any case, the objective now is to head straight to the AEU base and investigate the identities of those Agents."
This plan had been proposed by VEDA, which stated quite clearly: if it's connected to a network, nothing can stop VEDA from finding it. Therefore, either these Agents fell from the sky like the Nahel Argama, or their information was strictly recorded on physical paper.
Thus, this seemingly playful plan was approved. As elites in infiltration operations—further augmented by powerful cybernetics—they were confident they could escape even if they couldn't win a direct fight.
"Any other questions? If not, then move out."
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Two hours later, at an AEU base that VEDA had disclosed to Roz Links and the others.
Inside an office, an officer who already wore a naturally stern expression was now deeply frowning as he looked at the figures standing before him.
Observing this group of Agents—who, despite wearing military uniforms, exuded the disreputable aura of street thugs—the officer pondered for a long time before finally delivering his decision.
"The Hidden Sentry unit, Captain Black Flag, correct?"
"I've long heard that the pilots from the Hidden Sentry base were... 'unique.' Now, I see it for myself."
Although the officer was bewildered as to why such a base or unit even existed, he continued along with the false identity implanted by the Lord God.
"The reason for summoning you this time is to form the Anti-Gundam Unit."
The officer had originally considered bringing in the AEU's ace pilot, Patrick Colasour, for this unit. However, thinking of how Patrick had been shot down during his first encounter with a Gundam, combined with finding this group who had supposedly "repelled" a Gundam... he could only hope everything would go smoothly.
"This unit will have an unlimited supply of resources. You have only one objective."
At this point, the officer nodded firmly.
"Defeat the Gundam—and capture it."
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"Hmph... they make it sound so simple, 'defeat or capture' the Gundam."
Walking along the path to the dormitory, Ah-Bao couldn't help but sneer at the objectives proposed by the AEU officer.
"Regardless, their goals align with ours. We can leverage their strength to deal with the Penelope."
At the front of the group, the Captain known as "Black Flag" walked with a set of documents in hand. "After all, once the three-nation joint exercise begins, the Penelope that's been hounding us is bound to show up."
"That will be the perfect opportunity to defeat the Hunter."
Saying this, Black Flag brandished the documents. "We have a high degree of autonomy to formulate our own operations against the Gundams... this is a good thing for us."
"True... a brand-new base all to ourselves. As expected of the three major powers, they really are obscenely wealthy," Four-Eyes remarked with a sigh of admiration.
A brand-new base, complete with almost all necessary supporting facilities, had been allocated to them to serve as their logistical backbone.
According to the schedule, they would depart for this new base tomorrow. As for their old "original" base, the AEU had reportedly decided to decommission it and reassign the soldiers stationed there to other locations.
"Locksmith, come with me to the office building. There's some paperwork to handle."
The documents in Black Flag's hand were the official appointment papers for the Anti-Gundam Unit. Due to the nature of the identities implanted by the Lord God, their personal records were stored as hard copies; they now needed to be re-entered into the system. Everything seemed to be going perfectly smooth.
However, for these Agents, things were clearly not going to remain so pleasant.
"The office building is so quiet... it's almost eight o'clock, haven't they woken up yet?"
Entering the silent office building, Black Flag instinctively knit his brows. Outside, the sounds of morning drills were already echoing; under normal circumstances, this place should have been bustling with activity by now...
"Wait... something's wrong."
Suddenly, Locksmith's voice rang out, causing Black Flag to freeze mid-step.
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Silence. A deathly silence that had no business existing within an office building.
Yet here it was, looming heavy in the air, accompanied by a sudden, violent alarm in Locksmith's mind—a warning that felt like a hydraulic press slamming into his skull.
"Fall back! Captain!"
Seeing the guards slumped over their desks in a deep sleep, and feeling that crushing pressure once again, Locksmith instinctively let a short blade slide from his unbuttoned sleeve. His right hand caught the hilt, snapping the blade up just in time to parry a sudden strike.
In the next second, the sheer force of a high-frequency vibration nearly sent the short blade flying from his grip.
"You bastard... this is an AEU base! How did you get in here?! Why are you attacking me?!" Locksmith snarled, his teeth gritted as he barked out questions.
While Locksmith scrutinized the boy with the light blue hair, Nagisa Shiota was also observing him.
Seeing that he was about to buckle under the pressure, Locksmith suddenly deployed a thin, shimmering barrier, knocking Nagisa back two steps.
The sight of a protective shield he had never encountered before confirmed the enemy's identity for Nagisa.
They had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth just like anyone else. They were humans—at least on the outside. But why... why did these people insist on twisting the world, turning it into the purgatory he had seen in the "Original SEED" timeline?
As he suspected, these creatures had long since ceased to be human.
"I see. So you're one of the Agents..."
Nagisa's voice grew deeper, a dangerous glint igniting in his eyes. "The ones who warp the world."
"Get the hell out of this world!"
.....................