Part 94: Mission #29: Blood For Oil

The next wanzer build will take place this weekend some time, I'm hoping for a better turn-out than last time. (And to be perfectly clear, that IS a veiled threat.)


Yeah, unfortunately, they don't the ability to prevent melee wanzers with superior move speed from charging them.

Mission #29: Blood For Oil



We've finally made it to China.



: These are the headquarters of an anti-government faction called Hua-Lian.
: Huh...? Who are you guys!?
Hey, it's Chang! One of the many, many rebel characters we brutally killed in the last branch.
: I need to contact Commander Huang.
: ! Who are you? How do you know the commander!?
: Jeez, hello to you, too!
: We don't have much time. Tell him it's Dennis.
: No way. How do I know you're not a spy?
: We're not spies!
There, see? Not spies.
: Calm down, Kazuki.
: Kinda unreasonable to ask him to believe us right away.
: There is no way you'd contact him?
: Of course not! I don't know who you are!
: I'm begging you. Tell him it's from COOL FACE.
: Fine! I'll contact him. Hey put me to the headquarters in Guangzhou.
You know, I think the reason the rebels aren't winning is because they have the willpower of slugs. "Take me to your commander!" "No!" "Come on...." "Well, okay, then."
: Here you go.
: This is Chang from the Fuzhou headquarters. Get me the commander.
: I'm sick of this nonsense!
: Let's set fire to this place. That guy's staring at me.
Good to see Yun is as stable as ever.
: Can't he take a joke?
: Hello, commander? There's a guy calling himself "COOL FACE" here to see you. Oh... really? Okay, I'll take him to you right away.
: See?
: So you know the commander. I'll take you all to Guangzhou. Don't get me wrong, I still don't trust any of you.
What? Is it because one of our members just threatened arson?



Ah, Guangzhou...we'll be spending a long time here. Hell, the next two builds will be done out of the Guangzhou shop.



: Thanks. You can leave us alone.
: I thought the headquarters would have the latest machinery and stuff.
: Yeah. It's kind of a dump.
: Seriously. My home looks better than this.
: Long time no see, Huang.
: Since I founded the Hua Lian Rebels. You were a great help. I would've been buried in the yellow earth if it weren't for you.
: Dennis, I'm not interested in your story. Get to the real issue.
: Calm down. You must be calm in order to survive on the battlefield. You'll put everyone else at risk.
: What!?
: Kazuki, stop it! Huang, we need your help.
: How come?
: We came into the DHZ in search of a certain individual. We need you to assist our search.
: ...All right. I do owe you one. But there's no guarantee that we can trust the others.
: You have my guarantee.
: No. Our members won't agree to that.
Damn you, Huang, and your reasonable mistrust of strangers! Why, if Kazuki had the same sort of trust hang-ups, we'd have no party members at all!
: Please! My sister's life depends on it.
: That's none of our concern. Besides, we don't have enough personnel to search for a single person.
: What do I have to do to prove myself to you!?
: It's not that I don't trust you. Why don't you get some rest for now?
: Commander! You're gonna let them stay here!?
: It's fine I owe Dennis a favor. Sorry, Dennis. We need time to think this through. I'll let you borrow our training database. Feel free to use it.
: I don't care if you know the commander. I don't trust people like you very easily.
: Commander! There's an encoded message from Sanya Base.
: Let me talk to them.
: The Sanya Base?
: This is Huang. What? ...All right. I'll send backup. Wait until tomorrow. Yes, right. Hang on until then.
: Sanya is a DHZ Navy base. Why are they contacting you?
: Mind your own business. Chang, show them to their room.
: Yes, sir.



: This is getting us nowhere.
: They don't trust you, Dennis!
: In a large organization, one can't make a decision like this alone.
: I guess management sucks in every country.
Yeah, what all organizations need is firm-handed control, whereby the rabble are controlled by their betters.
: Alisa could be in danger as we speak.
: Don't worry too much. Huang is trustworthy.
: I'm more concerned about that transmission.
: The one from the DHZ base?
: There's more to this.
: That's a long story...
: So you know what's going on.
: Would you explain?
: Sure. But it'll be long.
Ugh.
: What is Sanya Base?
: It's a DHZ Naval base in Hainan Province of Sanya. The DHZ and the Philippines are in a proprietary dispute over the oil fields in the South China Sea. Sanya Base protects the oil field, and the Hua Lian Rebels have tamed the commander of the base.
: He betrayed the DHZ?
: That's right.
: What did you do together with Huang?
: I helped set up the Hua Lian Rebels as an FAI agent. I also saved him from the Changli Army. [The Hua Lian rebels are] opposed to Chairman Jie Bo Liao's socialist policies. Influential members of the Huanan-Taiwan Economic Block established it.



: Is Huang here?
: What? Why?
: I need to talk to Huang!
: What's all the noise?
: It's not me, This kid's the one who's been yelling.
: It's you again.
: Huang! We need your help.
: I told you to give us time.
: I'll throw you out if you don't leave!
: Please! I'm begging you.
: All right. I'll give you a chance.
: A chance?
: You're going to the Sanya Naval Base.
: Will you help us if we go there?
: That depends on how well you do. Prove yourselves to us.
: Fine. We'll do it.
: Are you serious? Let's get some rest before we go.
: Chang will accompany you as a guide.
: Who, me!?
: Any problems?
: N-No...
: Good luck to you all.



To the DHZ base which is somehow allied with the rebels!



: And which headquarters would that be?
: Don't listen to him.
: Is Commander Nan here?
: You're late.
: This is the guy who sold out his country.
Kind of a judgmental comment coming from a rebel leader.
: What an introduction. I'm the commander of the DHZ Sanya Naval Base.
: Can we really trust him?
: I could ask the same thing about you.
: How rude.
: Not as bad as you.
: I'm Dennis.
: I heard from Huang. I need you to get you work.



: Yeah, but how does it relate to the Hua Lian rebels?
: It's our source of capital. We borrow profits from the oil field...
They wouldn't be rebels if they weren't funded by petro-dollars!
: I see, the black market.
: They're having a surprise inspection. Destroy the inspectors.
: If we are found out, our source of income is gone.
: Of course all the oil platform crew are allies, don't worry.
: How's the oil drilling platform set up?
: It's a giant floating island. There are 4 main areas. The inspectors will check the drilling area. There's a control room there, and a logbook keeping track of the oil. The inspectors will enter that room.
Commander Nan, message from the ;oil field!
: This is Nan. What is it?
: The inspectors departed early. They will be here shortly.
: What! Much earlier than expected. Please depart immediately.
: Yes, sir. Please hurry.
: You heard him. Please hurry.
: No problem.
: Ideally, you'd hit them before they arrive, but there's no time. When you get there, they will have started the inspection. Finish them off on the platform, that's the easiest way.
: The platform will certainly be damaged.
: Don't worry, it'll be worse if the army learns of our operation.
Dude, you're openly holding meetings with rebel leaders, and diverting oil directly to the rebels. Unless you were to erect a billboard proclaiming your rebel affiliation right outside of the DHZ government offices, I think you're safe.



: How do we disguise ourselves?
: Don't worry about it. Hua Lian's supposed to take care of that.
: Won't the military get back at us for this?
: We'll get paid extra.
: Pretty sneaky.
: You're coming with us?
: Of course. Who else will look after you guys?



The time for talk is at an end!



: So this is the excavation site.
: Kazuki, look at that.



: Looks like it has already begun.
: Hurry! They're beginning their inspection.
: What are the wanzers for? It's just an inspection!
: We don't have the luxury of complaining.



Last mission for this generation of wanzers. Ryogo, Dennis, Yun and Marcus will represent their cohort.



Well, Marcus got a two-hit combo...and hit the enemy's legs both times. Great.



Ryogo proves his mettle against yet another Yongsai.



Dennis manages to hit a vital part of an enemy wanzer. It's a miracle!



You also get a couple of Hua Lian Rekson M4s to back you up, not that I particularly need them. In a normal game, they'd be much worse than the wanzers you're using. This is not a normal game.



I am losing faith in Marcus. Fortunately, I get to ditch his wanzer immediately following the conclusion of this battle.



Yun isn't doing well, but that's mainly a function of the fact that every single enemy has a shotgun or machine gun, so she can't help but get counter-attacked.



Marcus finally gets through a Yongsai, but look at how little health he has left. That's not sustainable.



Yun is her usual solid self, and having now played through all of the missions using the next set of wanzers, I know that she's about to get even better.



Can I give the MVP to an NPC?



Anyway, beyond the usual assortment of Yongsais, there are a couple of machine gun emplacements up on top. If you have a missile wanzer, they're not much of a pain, but I'll need to use this elevator to get to them.



Yun finally succumbs to her injuries.



Ryogo cleans up.



And a nameless grunt ends this mission. He's already better than Dennis.



Bah! Ryogo wins MVP, more by default than by merit.



Kazuki happy? My world is falling to pieces!
: You guys aren't bad.
: But they might have contacted their HQ during the battle.
: They're going to target the Hua Lian even more now.
Yeah, I mean, a massive armed insurrection? That's one thing, but stealing oil? That's unforgivable!

Next Time: Prepare yourselves for the Coming of Girl-Kazuki!