On the afternoon of July 10th, Europe, Crown County.
The Leonardo da Vinci Airport was heavily guarded, with hundreds of knights under the Iron Discipline standing ready. The guns and cannons in their sleeves were all filled with live ammunition, and were manned by ten powerful knight captains and a flag officer. It was in a state of complete preparation to welcome the visit of the members of the Anti-Cross.
They were supposed to arrive three days ago, but they were delayed again and again. Only during the last call yesterday did the consultant say that their plane would land here at noon today.
As a result, it was already 1:30 in the afternoon, there was not even a bird in the sky, and there was no sign of any UFO entering on the radars in the Iron Commandments.
Just as the flag officer, Suisside, was about to report to the superiors that the other party was releasing doves again, someone saw a strange black shadow in the sky with the naked eye.
But they saw an antique biplane coming slowly from the sky. When they approached the runway, they discovered that the plane didn't even have wheels underneath. There were lengthened and widened skis on the left and right sides of the plane. The truss structure was like It's a luge. It is obviously impossible to land smoothly depending on the friction between these two boards and the ground. It is estimated that the aircraft will fall apart within five seconds of landing.
Of course, the people on the plane also understood this, so they had no intention of landing. When they flew over the airport, they directly chose to skydive. Three figures jumped out of the plane, and then they miraculously detonated the abandoned plane behind them. This shows that they actually installed explosives on the vehicle they were traveling on in advance...
As the saying goes, pure men never look back at the explosion scene, and neither did the three of them, because the explosion happened overhead and could not be seen through the parachute.
The parachute fell slowly, and the people waiting below had enough time to surround the three people.
The consultants, gunsmiths, and Darkwater were captured like prisoners, but the other party did not put handcuffs on them, but had many guns aimed at their heads at close range at all times.
The three people were "invited" into three cars respectively and drove to the headquarters of Steel Discipline.
After arriving at their destination, they were taken together to a special room to receive them—an interrogation room surrounded by pure alloy walls. This was originally a government building of the empire, so it is not surprising to have such a room.
After locking them in, Iron Command's Santa Claus-like Inspector General of the Holy Land, Agostino Lodovico, and his secretary, Mr. Dasher, a fervent admirer of Mexican culture, walked into the next room together. , opened one side of the wall, revealing a layer of tempered glass that was bulletproof, explosion-proof, radiation-proof, and everything-proof. Through this thing, they finally said hello to the person they were "cooperating with" this time.
"Mr. Consultant," Lodovico said, looking at the three men on the other side of the glass.
The one on the left is a consultant. Lodovico has seen his image data and spoken to him several times. He looks very young, at most in his early twenties, and has a clean and gentle appearance. At this moment, his shirt and pants, including his face and hair, are all covered Dirty, as if it had been rolled in the dirt.
The young man in the middle was a few years older than the consultant. He looked a little unhappy and was sitting cross-legged on the ground. Lodovico also knew this man, a gunsmith who had once been a weapons consultant for the empire. A few years ago, he had a quarrel with the Steel Command due to the "Blue Gift" project. In fact, it was originally just a cleanup operation by the empire, but because of the gun Takumi experimented with his then-new invention "Blueberry Bomb" during the operation, causing Iron Discipline to suffer heavy losses, so the account was charged to him.
The man on the right is the oldest, looking to be in his thirties, but he is bald and unshaven. He is staring at the glass without saying a word. Like the other two, he looks slovenly and embarrassed. . Lodovico did not recognize this person.
The consultant heard this and replied: "What are you doing?"
"I have a few questions for you to answer," Lodovico said.
"Can we talk in a different environment? For example, as we said on the phone, let's have a big meal first, then we'll each stay in a luxurious suite, take a hot bath, and then find a decent place to sit. Come down and talk to you," the consultant replied.
"Mr. Consultant, do you understand your current situation?" Dasher said from the side.
The consultant said: "Fifty percent of our current situation is due to your unilateral hostility and breach of trust, and the other 50% is due to your ignorance."
Lodovico said: "Then, I would like to ask, why do you think that if you three outsiders intervene in the excavation work that we cannot complete, some kind of breakthrough will be achieved?"
The consultant walked up to the glass and pretended to roll his eyes to the sky, as if he was really thinking about something, "Let me think about it... First, take off the fraction of my IQ, and then divide it by two, so that I can be on the same level as you." Thinking inside. And you actually put me and you guys on the same level as soon as you opened your mouth to speculate on the results when we do the same thing, and you also asked me this question in a rhetorical tone.
Secondly, if you insist on some reasons, I can also tell you that the gunsmith has successfully explored and walked out of a ruins that are more dangerous than the one you are exploring.
As for that one, Mr. John DeSoto, he is a famous explorer. You can directly search for his name on the public Internet, and you can even find a few of his books.
Finally, I also want to ask, why do you think that if you idiots can't complete the work, others can't do it? "
"You are eloquent, young man." Lodovico did not get angry and instead said: "But even if there is no problem with your ability to do things, what about your stance? The Counter Cross has invaded the apostle system and has had a negative impact on our organization's interests in Asia. It has had a huge impact, causing losses beyond expectations, and... I don’t know how to find out about this excavation. Now you are actively asking to intervene and help us. Isn’t it suspicious? "
"Ha!" The consultant sneered: "It's very suspicious. Then I would like to ask, with your wisdom, what is the worst case scenario that you can think of?"
Before Lodovico could answer, the consultant said: "Carrying out sabotage within your organization? Assassinating important figures? Looting resources in the ruins? That's pretty much all there is to it.
Regarding the question of why I came to assist you, I have said it before in the communication, and I have no comment. Until now, the initiative to answer or not is still in our hands. Because objectively speaking, you need our help. If you want the things in the ruins, you have to let us participate in the excavation work, it's that simple.
You can assume that we not only want to cause destruction among you, but also want to assassinate an important person, and also try to plunder the resources in the ruins. But even so, the Iron Discipline still needs us.
Therefore, you can be wary of our every move anytime, anywhere without concealment, but you must keep the three of us together like I did until you achieve your goal. After that, you can fall out. At that time, you can interrogate or threaten us as you do now, but there is no point in doing so now and it will only waste each other's time.
I analyze it this way, do you understand? "
Lodovico thought for a long time. Indeed, the other party was valuable and had made his words completely clear. What was the point of imprisoning them? Each of these three people is useful, and it is impossible to lock up just one to threaten the other two.
The top priority is to excavate the ruins, not to interrogate them about their purpose. Even if they were interrogated, it would be in vain. The other party has just admitted all three possible situations, so what else is there to ask
"Dasher."
"exist."
"Get ready to cleanse the three guests." Lodovico said, and then said to the advisor: "Young man, you are very arrogant, and maybe you have the capital to be arrogant, but you should not use such an insulting tone towards your elders. "
The consultant replied: "Respect is earned with hard work, not purchased through inheritance or money, and it is not something that can be obtained by relying on one's old age." His eyes were more full of contempt and disdain than before: "If If you continue to speak to me in such a lecturing tone, you will be humiliating yourself."
Lodovico was quite angry, but he still didn't have an attack. He snorted coldly and left without saying a word.
After the other party left, the gunsmith raised his head and said to the consultant: "It doesn't matter if you just ask him to say something. He has already done what you asked, and he just wants to find a way out. What if he is beaten by you? They got so angry that they stopped excavating the ruins, and then they locked us up and tortured us, so what should we do?"
"Only by being aggressive can you see the other party's caliber and bottom line." The consultant replied nonchalantly: "Besides, since it is impossible for both of us to establish any trust, there is no need to save face for the other party."
The gunsmith said: "If there is a stalemate, I am afraid that except for Dark Water, both of us may be captured or even die."
"There is no need to worry about this kind of thing at all." The consultant said: "Don't forget, we stand under the banner of the Reverse Cross. I dare say that no resistance organization in the world today dares to go to war with us, or take the initiative to fight with us. Be an enemy.
They don’t understand us, and they can’t ignore or despise us. Other organizations, including the Empire, have the same attitude towards the Counter Cross as you are worried about your situation at the moment. They don’t know what the consequences will be if they piss us off. It may not be a big deal, or it may It's a catastrophe. "
"The strength is unknown, the purpose is unknown, and the members are unknown... The only thing that is shown to the world is the prison break and the rumors of killing the Heavenly Guard." The gunsmith continued: "Sure enough, being powerful and unpredictable is the most effective. Deterrence, right?”
The consultant replied: "That's right. Therefore, no matter what we do, as long as it is not suicide, at least our lives will be safe. The people of Iron Discipline will also wonder what the reverse cross can do after killing us."
"There may be no reaction, or they may release biological and chemical weapons or something... Haha, if you think about it, I don't know how to deal with people with reverse crosses." The gunsmith said: "This is an organization that suits an agnostic like you."
They chatted for five minutes. Someone opened the door of the cell, and a knight said to them expressionlessly: "Please three of you, follow me."
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