Part 37: Mission #35: A Time to Die!

I thought Norway had all of the oil in that region. I'll be damned if Deceitful Pengu-

Wait...wait just a minute! Penguins only live in the Southern Hemisphere, thousands of miles away from the purported "Ice-Land!" No, no, this doesn't add up, not at all!

Mission #35: A Time to Die!

Email!



: Uncle Barilar sent me an E-mail.
: That's wonderful. Who is he?
: ... My uncle, he runs a farm in Sulawesi.
That's Celebes for all of your Dutch Imperialists out there.




As you'll recall last time, we were still trying to get Kwang out of Tianlei. Today, the exciting conclusion!



No more robots in our way...time to finish this.



: I know, thanks.
: Don't mention it. It's not like we did it for you.
: Kwang, a person's death should not be taken lightly. Otherwise, we have no reason to go on living.
Probably the sort of sentiment Alisa should have realized before helping build a super-destructive bomb, but fine, let's all keep pretending that Alisa is an innocent.
: I understand. Take care, everyone.
: Okay, Lan, do it!
: Here I go!
: Gently, please. N-no pain...okay?
You see, we've got to make it look real...



And that means that the last action that the GenericBuild participates in is getting its ass kicked.



And immolated. It's a shame, it was a fine wanzer.
: ...Thank you.
: I told her to be gentle... The chick had no mercy.
: Well, it was necessary to make it look legitimate. Liu, can you hear me? Liu!



: Put him through.
: Liu! Answer me!
: Kazuki, What happened?
: Lan escaped with Kwang!
: !? Explain what's going on!
: I don't know. Lan escaped with Kwang in a wanzer. I tried to stop her, but...
: Lan betrayed us?
: So there was a traitor. I see how you got pounded.
Well, if Lan wasn't facing the death sentence before, we've certainly made sure she is now.
: I'll take the responsibility for not seeing through Lan.
: Even the Rapid Reaction Force makes mistakes.
: Damn it... Liu, I'll have to drop you off in Wuhan. I'll arrange a transport to Shanghai for you.
: What will you do now?
: I must find Lan and Kwang!
: I see... Good luck.



We're finally done with the Tianlei.



: I'm sorry about everything.
: A child like you shouldn't worry about such things.
: But...
: It was my choice to be here. What will you do now?
: I don't know... I always believed what I was doing was right. But there are people like you who lost their loved ones because of it. Is that really the right thing?
: I don't know. I wish for a world where a child like you won't have to fight. It's up to you whether you return to the rebels or forget the fighting. But never waste your life.
: Yes. What will you do now?
: The DHZ military will come after me. I'll be a fugitive for a while.
Uh...I think it might be slightly longer than 'a while.'
: Then, why don't you live with me?
: I can't. You'll be at risk. And I must pay for my mistake. How, I don't know...
Kwang is the figurehead of the rebellion, he's going to be at risk no matter what what Lan does, so I don't...You know, whatever gets these two out of my hair is fine.
: Lan...
: Goodbye, Kwang.



: What an attitude.
: We're being a pain.
: Isn't Liu a member of the military, too?
: They don't like him either.
: Did you say something? Quit the small talk and get everything ready!
: Do we need to? Aren't we going straight to Shanghai?
: Let's be cautious until we get to Shanghai.
: You're pretty neurotic.
Yeah, I mean, it's not like the rebels would try to impede our progress for a twelfth time in a row!
: Just go!
: Alright, alright...
: Quit the small talk and get ready.
: I don't think Liu has any friends.
: We won't have to fight anymore once we get to Shanghai.
Hahahahahah, that is adorable.
: I don't think we should relax yet. Anything can happen at any time.
: Why is it such a pain to get to Shanghai?
Well, you know, we did kind of shoot ourselves in the foot in that regard when we went out of our way to slow the Tianlei down.


Eh, let's check out the local bar scene...
: I heard the rebels took a bad hit this time. They say they're on our side but they destroy our land. We spend years tilling the soil! I want them to go away. They only know how to destroy things.
: The rebels shouldn't fight a war they can't win. I'm glad they're losing now. I'm glad the rebels are losing now.
: I want to marry a soldier. Not just a Changli Army soldier, someone from the special forces. I'm going to look for a man now.
Bah! I am down with this town! Right after a quick stop and the shop to melt down the old wanzers and build a new team! Which will be off-screen!



: Where's the transport?
: You'll depart from Hankou Airport, right outside of town.



: Yes. It happens quite often.
: Do we have to wait again?
: Just until the transport is ready. Be patient.
: Liu is right. We need to get rested while we can.
: I'd rather get rested on a date with a pretty gal.
: Are you saying we're not good enough for you?
: Hey, how about some coffee? And food?
: Our girls only think about food... Actually, Alisa is a bit different.
Yeah, 'different' is a fair assessment of her, I guess.
: Kazuki, do you want something to drink?
: Yeah, thanks!
: ...
: Whoa!
: Excuse me.
: Are you okay, Alisa?
: I'm fine. Um, are you okay?
: ! Don't touch me!
: !?
: What are you doing?
Yes, I am afraid that asking Alisa not to touch someone or something is one of the 712 Alisa-related actions that will temporarily drive Kazuki into a homicidal rage.
: Don't bother me!
: ! Hey, you're an Imaginary Number. Why aren't you at the lab?
: You got the wrong guy.
I'm sure there are a ton of hulking Aryan supermen walking around in China.
: You can't trick me. What's going on?
Liu went the Deckard school of detective work!
: Damn it!
: Wait!



: Ivan, what's wrong!?
: We've got a change of plans. I'm pulling the wanzer out!
: Wait, what are you thinking? Are you going to fight in this place!?
: I saw a Real Number! If I don't stop him here, I'm done for!
: Don't do it, Ivan!
: Open the hatch, or I'll tear it open!
: Sergeant!?
: Let him go!



: What's going on!? Isn't he an Imaginary Number!? Why is he attacking us?
: I don't know. He's definitely not an ally.
: There will be damage to the airport.
: Let's go!



: He's an Imaginary Number. Don't underestimate him!
: Now I know how dangerous they are.
I guess watching them torch an entire village didn't count.
: Who would've thought we'd have to fight that...?
The chances we'd have to fight an genetically engineered soldier? I'd said about 1-to-1
: Let's go!



: Here they come... They can't catch me. I won't go back to that research lab! I want to be free. I'll not have a Real Number stop me!



New wanzer time! Kazuki is in the Best Served Cold, a shotgun/needle wanzer with questionable durability. Ryogo is in the Soulmate, using a flamethrower and a needle, neither of which he has any experience with. Miho is in the Peacemaker, which has a shotgun and flamethrower, which means she actually does have experience, and finally, Pham is in the The Tank, which is a solid unit that I could not be happier with.



Ivan is in the Lenghe 1, a superior melee machine that I can't say I'm happy to be facing.



: Are they military units!?
: Sergeant, let's leave him and escape!
: No, our mission is to get him to Hua Lian. We can't leave him behind.
: But...
: Enemies are minimal. We'll support him! Don't damage the airport! Only hit the wanzers! Got that!?
: Sergeant...



: We're going!
At this point, a few Tieqi 4s and couple of Laiying 1s will show up to try and ruin your day. Still, the mission ends when Ivan is killed, so they're not much of a threat.



That's pretty crap damage from Ryogo. In fairness, this is the first time he's ever used a flamethrower, so I suppose I should be happy he even knows which way to point it.



At least he's a bit better at melee.



Melee II? Well, it's not Melee III, but it'll have to do.



It occurs to me that Miho has an unbroken string of effective wanzers. Now that I've said it though, I have the terrible feeling that someone's going to get a bright idea...



I still don't have faith in Ryogo's new wanzer.



Miho annihilates a chopper. Granted, the chopper wasn't much a threat. Still, I'll take my victories where I can take them.



Kazuki has been trying to wear down Ivan. 'Trying' being the operative word there.



Pham whiffs on her melee attack. We're not doing so great.



Ol' Kazukes finally succumbs to the fragility of his wanzer.



I still don't want to impose a rule forcing people to use certain weapons for certain characters, but, God help me, after this next set of missions, I'm sorely tempted.



Credo in uno Miho.
: I don't want to die!
And I have no doubt that sometimes you wish you'd never been born at all.



Okay, that's bad. Let's finish this, shall we?



Goodbye, Ivan.



Victory. Miho gets MVP for not making wonder why I let you guys build these wanzers in the first place.



Ivan, I blew up your wanzer, that means you're dead. Damn it, fine, what do you got?

: He's still alive!?
: Are you okay?
: Alisa, it's too dangerous!
: He's hurt. I can't leave him.
: Don't mind me... Damn, and I thought I'd get my freedom.
: You need first aid.
: Kill me. I'll just be another guinea pig! I'll not be sacrificed to the Imaginary Number Project!
Oh, Ivan, for you, it's called 'retirement.'
: Guinea pig? Imaginary Number Project!?
: I will have my freedom! Death will free me! Ahh! M-My head!...
: What's wrong!?
: You... You, too?
: What?
: You're free...You've gained your freedom...Don't believe him. Get away from him...
Gee, I wonder what he could possibly mean?
: What're you saying?
: The Real Number is...



And then, Ivan gets shot...
: !



...by Liu, who didn't like the direction their conversation had been taking.
: Don't let your guard down. He's an Imaginary Number!
: That's no reason to kill him...
: He was having a mental breakdown. He would have killed you!
: He was hurt!
: He wasn't normal. Anyway, his wounds were fatal.
: No...
: Liu! What happened!?
: Get on the transport! We're flying to Shanghai!



Next Time: A fistful of plot twists!

But, before that, the time for new reader wanzers is upon us once again!