Gundam, but from the Ground Alliance to the Human Alliance to the out-of-control servitor

"I will cover Captain Brad."

"Then, please cover Captain Blade, Sergeant Amuro; the Gundam will then set off and approach the forest at the foot of the mountains in the southwest from the desert. The destination is a small town about 80 kilometers away. Pei Forest Town.”

The central hangar of the White Base was opened, and the cargo hold of the transport aircraft Steel Perry carried Brad and Kai who were riding in the car and drove out of the hangar.

……

Payson, a tourist town built in the center of an old natural forest park, welcomed two guests from a foreign country at about 7:[-] in the evening.

"Platinum, can you hear me? Platinum?"

"Your voice is loud and clear. The current positioning shows that you have arrived at the east side of the town. Is that right?"

"Yes, I am observing at the eastern edge of the town..."

Captain Blade, who was wearing casual clothes, looked around. This place was originally a helicopter base of the local government's forestry bureau. After the Zeon army announced that it had occupied this place, it was naturally empty now.

In such a tourist town, where economic activity was almost stagnant during the war, there were naturally no homeless people occupying it. Captain Brad was now standing on the watchtower next to the tarmac observing this mountain town.

'I didn't see the flag or the national flag of the Zeon army. Zeon probably doesn't have the energy to station here...'

Captain Brad thought about it and asked casually: "Where is Amuro now?"

"The Gundam piloted by Amuro is currently located about 3.5 kilometers northeast, in the woods behind the ridge, and is on standby." Platinum's calm voice came from the invisible earphones in Brad's ears;

"Okay, so I'm entering town now."

"Please be safe, Captain Blade."

Looking at Brad climbing down from the observation tower, Kai, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car with his hands folded, rubbed his arm and said:

"Captain Brad, it's a bit cold. If you don't mind, could you turn on the heater?"

Among colonial satellites, unless they deliberately pursue the restoration of the earth's landscape, most colonial satellites do not have four seasons of the year. The same is true for the battleship White Base that can be used in the universe. The temperature inside the ship It is stable all year round.

Kai had been in a constant-temperature environment for a long time. Now he was on a beautiful forest road. Kai, who was wearing thin clothes, felt that it was really [Side7] expletive cold outside.

"Ah... yes, it's already October, and it's autumn on earth."

Captain Brad said as he inserted the key, started the car, and continued driving towards the town.

There are many abandoned residential houses on the outskirts of the town. The courtyards are overgrown with weeds, and most of them cannot find a complete window. Most of the street lights on both sides of the road are dim, and you can only see one that is still bright after a few hundred meters. On.

"Captain Brad, it seems like there's not a lot of people here. I guess we won't be able to find out anything. Why don't we go back now..."

"I should have told you before, what should I be called after the mission begins?"

Captain Brad was distracted from time to time as he looked at the closed shops on both sides of the street and the large trash cans that were already full and even littered around with no one taking care of them, and asked Kai.

"Uh...I'm sorry, Brother Brad, I mean, can we really ask for any Zeon military information in a place like this?"

"It's better than now that we don't know anything."

Although Captain Blade frowned, his tone was still full of certainty;

Although looking at the depressing scene in front of him, Captain Blade was a little worried in his heart, but he had already come here. If he went back without even talking to the locals, it would be a disguise for his previous enthusiasm. Brad, who made the investigative decision, was a bit embarrassed.

"Over there, there seems to be a bar with lights on? Let's go and take a look."

Brad parked the car on the side of the road and led Kai out of the car; he opened the door of the classically decorated bar.

"jingle--"

The wind chime hanging on the door rang. The bartender behind the counter was sitting there with his head down. He didn't know what he was doing. He only heard a weak voice saying:

"Welcome - we don't accept military vouchers from Zeon guys here, thank you for your cooperation."

"Huh? Would you say the same thing if the Zeon soldiers really came?"

"Haha, Zeon won't open the door so lightly——"

The old bartender with a mustache, about sixty years old but still looking very strong, raised his head, lazily supported the bar and stood up, looking at the two young people who walked in, his brows could not help but raise slightly;

"——Oh, it's really rare for young people to come to this small place these days. Now is not the tourist season where you can run around."

Captain Brad pulled out a high stool and sat down, looking curiously at the large TV screen hanging behind the counter. Kalma in a gorgeous military uniform seemed to be giving a speech, but the TV was muted.

"This is the way the world is, and schools have been suspended. I can't tell if a bomb will fall and kill me if I stay at home. Why don't I go out for a walk?"

Brad somewhat stiffly recited the character design that Bai Jin temporarily made up for him;

Neighbors and good buddies Brad and Kay, who were about three or four years apart in age, decided to take advantage of the war, when schools were closed and social order was no longer maintained, to leave home and wander around, seeing the world.

'Is this really reasonable? '

Captain Brad had doubted this before setting off, but Platinum assured him that this background story focused on a rebellious character, which was the setting that best suited their appearance and was also the best to fool the prosecutors.

Captain Blade pulled out a drink list from the small wooden basket on the counter, thinking in his mind how to naturally ask about the information about the Zeon army around him.

Young Brad was not a talkative social butterfly, and it turned out that the lecture on disguise detection he had attended during his accelerated officer training had left only a series of pale textual bullet points in his mind.

"Don't look at that. Most of the things above are out of stock. Look here -"

The old bartender knocked on the top of the counter, attracting Brad's attention, and gestured towards his back with his thumb; on the wall behind the counter, there was a handwritten white paper with a list of Some product lists:

"Beer, popcorn, grilled chicken... cigarettes, rolling papers, shampoo, shower gel... sanitary napkins?"

As Captain Brad's eyes swept across the paper line by line, his mouth could not close for a moment because of surprise; he was now a little hesitant whether he had entered the wrong door. In fact, this was a convenience store.

Kai, who was looking around in the store, also turned his attention at this time, but as soon as he read the first line, he slapped the table and shouted:

"Boss, I'd like a beer."

"Is your boy 21 years old?"

"Hey, 21... No, ahaha, I mean boss, just think that I am 21 years old. Zeon guys won't check this now."

Logically speaking, even according to the laws of Side 7, it is probably not allowed to sell alcoholic drinks to Kai, who is still a minor. However, looking at his skillful appearance, I am afraid he has done this kind of thing before when hanging out in Side 7. thing;

However, if this shouting was in this bar at ordinary times, people would probably laugh at it, but now in the deserted store, the old bartender didn't pay much attention to it. He just looked at these two young people with weird behavior and felt amused. ;

"Hmm, even if no one checks, it won't work. If you are a kid, I have Coke and milk here. Why don't you choose one?"

"Hey! Old man, don't look down on people, it's not like I haven't drank before!"

Kai slammed the table, and after entering the bar, he started to get into the fun. In terms of natural behavior, he might be much better than Captain Brad, who had a straight back whether he was standing or sitting.

At this time, Shirogane, who was paying attention to Brad's movements from the miniature microphone clamped in Brad's collar, whispered in his ear:

"Captain Brad, please note that the thermal imaging of the drone shows that there is a person in the corner behind you at 7 o'clock, and there is another person in the suspected back kitchen of the bar."

Brad's throat moved slightly, and he almost wanted to go back and confirm following Bai Jin's words. However, recalling the content of the training, he held back and asked stiffly:

"Hmm...Boss, is the Zeon army's promotional video shown on TV mandatory by the Zeon people? When I came from the next state, I felt that doing so would be an eyesore among the local guests."

The old bartender just raised his hand and tapped the handwritten product list behind his back without saying a word.

"Brad...Brother, you have to at least pay for something before I ask questions...You must be 21, right? If we buy two glasses of wine, maybe this old man will be willing to chat?"

Most of Kai's knowledge of disguise investigation comes from spy-related movies.

But after hearing Kai talk about buying wine, Captain Brad's face darkened. He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and took out a few colorful banknotes. He looked at the product list and said:

"I'm sorry, first...two cups of Coke and one piece of popcorn. Can you take the money here?"

"Hey - this is a bar, Brother Brad."

Kai looked a little surprised and a little disappointed; but the old bartender took the money unceremoniously, and then didn't shy away from it. He took out a bag of premade popcorn from the closet next to the counter and threw it into the microwave, and then took it out again. Two cans of Coke.

"Keep it, maybe one day the federal army will fight back? After so many years, you said that suddenly the government was beaten by Zeon dogs and went into exile, the central bank also ran away, the currency and credit went bankrupt, and we all I don’t know what else to replace time with.”

The old bartender paid attention to the changes in expressions on the faces of Captain Brad and Kai with his peripheral vision, but he only saw the young man turning the can of Coke in his hand and trying to pry open the price tag on the can with the nail of his little finger;

"What is the recommended retail price...?"

"Hey boy, land logistics is not smooth now. This is the inventory before the war broke out. You may not be able to find it elsewhere!"

Kai's soliloquy was interrupted by the old bartender.

"So, boss, is it the nearby Zeon garrison that forces these videos to be played?"

Captain Brad was still staring at the TV on the wall behind him. On the screen, the silhouette of the White Base suddenly appeared. Although there was no sound, looking at the subtitles at the bottom of the screen, Captain Brad read:

"The rotten federal government will carry out indiscriminate strategic bombing in the vicinity, and this flying object is the secret weapon used by the federal army to implement this plan; in order to protect the safety of the residents of the Goodwill Zone, anyone who has seen the flying object is requested to Friends, please be sure to report to the nearby garrison..."

"Oh, this, the evening news said it. It is said that anyone who can provide valuable clues can receive a reward of up to 10 yuan, but it will be distributed in the form of vouchers. I wonder which idiots will believe this? Find Zeon Dog to get those vouchers that are worse than wipes."

The old bartender turned sideways, put one hand on his hip, and put his other hand on the counter with his elbow. He picked up the remote control and turned on the TV sound. He turned around and looked at the TV screen with Brad and Kai.

"Captain Brad, please note that from the voice analysis, the bartender is deliberately repeating words that are hostile to the Zeon army. This may be a test..."

Perhaps it was because Brad at this time really didn't look like he was in the intelligence spying business, so Bai Jin had to whisper in his ear:

"...Have you behaved in a manner that would reveal that you are a soldier?"

'Have it? '

Captain Brad lowered his head slightly, thought for a moment, reached out and unbuttoned the top button of his long-sleeved shirt, 'Maybe this will make it look more casual? '

"Ding--"

Along with the sound of popcorn expanding inside, the bell sounded to announce the end of heating in the microwave oven.

Chapter 34: Between the battles (End)

"I think this purple-haired boy is a bit narcissistic, isn't he? Why hasn't he finished talking for more than ten minutes? What kind of commander-in-chief is he without a title? Doesn't he have anything to do in the military?"

Kai unceremoniously grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth, then chugged down half a can of Coke in one gulp, making an exaggerated gasping sound.

"Purple-haired boy? You two are really lucky to have come this far without being arrested. If you say that in front of any Zeon guy, you might be arrested and imprisoned for two days. Even among the girls here, this purple The guy with the hair is also quite popular.”

The old bartender seemed a little surprised. He picked up a bottle of whiskey from the counter whose brand Kai couldn't recognize, but didn't look too low-end, and poured himself a glass.

Brad continued to pay attention to Kalma's speech on the screen, 'The commander-in-chief of the Zeon attack force descended from Earth will personally command the hunt for the White Base?This is too exaggerated. '

Even Captain Blade couldn't accept it for a moment. Less than half a day after the White Base landed in the Zeon-controlled area, it had already alerted Zeon's top military commander on Earth?

So next, what scale of troops will the White Base, which has internal differences and no reinforcements, face?

A mere major from Char can push the White Base to a very extreme level, so how far can Karma Zabi, this big shot who bosses around Zeon's generals, do it?Lieutenant Brad couldn't imagine it.

"Hey, I see it's quite casual for you to call Zeon a dog - you don't sell this wine?"

The amber liquid rippled in the cup in the old bartender's hand, exuding an elegant grain smell that made Kai, who couldn't help but take a deep breath, stare.

"I take it you just drank some beer on the sly? It's too early for you."

"If you don't want to sell it, don't sell it. I heard that 'cooks eat secretly', but I didn't expect that the bartender can also secretly drink. What kind of business are you doing?"

"What kind of business do I do? Hum, let me tell you what kind of business I do with the kind of people who come. Are you two from the federal army? The federal army in North America has been defeated for half a year. , you just appeared now, are you the crew members on that white flying battleship?"

The old bartender leaned forward and pressed on the counter.

"Varied……"

Captain Brad subconsciously reached for the pistol in the chest strap on the inside of his jacket, but before he could finish it, he heard Platinum whisper:

"Captain Blade, I noticed that a Zeon army convoy is approaching from the south of Payson Town. I am not sure whether the Zeon convoy has equipment to detect or counter drones. To be on the safe side, I need to lower the drone. Please rest assured that the communication function can still be maintained."

Through the camera on the drone, Bai Jin could clearly see the south side of the town, leading to the nearby state capital, and a string of headlights on the road in the direction of Phoenix, like fire dragons, emerging from the corner of the valley one after another.

"Please don't worry. We have observed 8 armored vehicles and more than 20 military trucks. There is a high probability that they are not coming for you."

Platinum could guess the expression of consternation on Captain Brad's face at this moment, but she wasn't worried about Brad now. If she only caught him and Kai -

Even if they were immediately exposed as soon as they entered the town, the Zeon Army responded immediately and dispatched troops. It was too exaggerated to mobilize a large mobile force with such a big fanfare, but it lacked heavy armor units.

"What's going on? Do you still want to pull out a gun?"

The old bartender blew his beard. Although he couldn't hear Platinum's whisper, he still guessed from the look on Captain Brad's face that he should still be talking to a third person who was not present.

"I don't have to guess. When you pull out the gun, it's either an M11 or a Glock 28. It's only a secondary weapon issued by the federal army. Don't install it."

Captain Brad tried hard to suppress the panic in his heart, put his hands down, and his brain was working rapidly, trying to understand the situation.

"Captain Blade, can you reveal that the Zeon team is..."

Before Platinum finished speaking, Captain Brad, who was easy to understand, immediately understood what she meant, so he turned over his hand and tapped the table with his knuckles, and said in a deep voice:

"Boss, you say such a thing so harshly, you really are not afraid that I will do something for the Federation - do you think that the mobile strength of the Zeon garrison is about to arrive, so you are confident?"

This time, the shock was instantly transferred to the old bartender's face, but only for a moment: the old bartender's eyes moved slightly downward, and his eyes scanned a certain computer screen hidden behind the counter.

Captain Brad was convinced that the old man had verified what he said in some way, so he continued to fight for the dominance of the conversation: