ER11-1 Prologue
>A young girl limps across the battlefield, engulfed in clouds of gunsmoke.
Collapsed buildings, steel frames, and the dismembered limbs of various creatures lie haphazardly among the rubble.
Report.
Power transmission towers malfunctioning, approximately 76% of the area's cables have been disconnected. Stronghold No. 5's power distribution network has most likely collapsed.
The girl called Ewig's visual module momentarily blurs.
She hits the ground as soon as she loses sight. CRACK—her broken leg assembly snaps, becoming part of the rubble. Vital fluid pours from the severed joint.
What else? What took you so long, and why are you using my private channel?
A voice, barely suppressing its anger, comes through the comm channel.
Communication base stations destroyed, public frequencies down. It took 10 minutes and 23 seconds to switch channels and reestablish contact.
Infrastructure damage amounts to approximately 537 standard supply units.
The girl lies there among the rubble, reporting in a robotic tone.
Oh, great, great, great. Just what I needed—more good news.
The rough voice from the other end of the communication transforms into a sharp, cold laugh.
And...
Her visual module scans the ruins: the badly injured girls are helping each other, their limbs broken, armor dented, cables spilling out from beneath their synthetic skin.
Most are covered in charred soot and nearly blend into the debris. The only difference is that they move, which the visual module recognizes as signs of life.
Remaining combat units: 5. Losses: 4. The missing collar IDs are No. 17...
I didn't ask you to report on the loss of expendables.
Humanoid combat units are company property, just like power and communication facilities.
According to company regulations, losses should be listed in descending order of value in post-battle reports.
That's exactly why—no one cares about the value of expendables listed at the bottom.
And...
A somewhat irritated voice comes through from the other end.
Where is she?
She is not within tracking signal range. Attempting a fourth search.
After Unit No. 17's depletion, its frame remains in another battle zone. She's most likely gone to find Unit 17.
If she had just followed orders, we could have saved at least one antenna tower!
The highest-value unit's action strategy prioritizes protecting humanoid combat units above all else.
If she had followed orders, estimated losses would have exceeded 7 individuals.
Enough!
Time and time again, you keep reporting combat unit losses—do you think the company actually cares about losing a few handy weapons?
...
By disobeying orders and acting on your own, you needlessly prolonged the mission and even damaged our infrastructure.
No one blames the weapons—so who ends up paying the price? I do, as your commander!
You've only lost a few combat units, but I'm about to lose my job!
Click—the communication cuts off.
She lifts her eyes, lacking even a hint of emotion in them.
In front of her, a young girl's eyes gradually lose their spark as her body rolls down from a small mound of rubble.
Just like that, she naturally and silently blends into the ruins, becoming one among the many broken bodies.
New casualty log: Unit No. 11. Remaining combat units: 4, losses: 5.
Ewig silently updates the numbers in her report.
Conference Room
Babylonia
Conference room, Babylonia.
Yes, the mission location is in... City 141 along the Transatlantic coast.
There's a recently reclaimed conservation area in that region. The troops stationed there discovered a strange "unit" there.
A group of girls wearing matching uniforms were fighting against the Corrupted. They possess exceptional individual combat skills and teamwork capabilities, but don't belong to any faction we know—
We even cross-referenced them with major factions that disappeared at the end of the Golden Age, but still found nothing.
So, we need you to... undertake a solo infiltration mission.
Celica pulls out the confidential mission documents from her desk and hands them over, looking somewhat confused herself.
Disguise as a hired specialist transported by external vehicle... solo operation... infiltration... City 141...
Why is this a solo infiltration mission? These missions are usually assigned to Constructs.
This is the result of Gestalt's calculations.
...
According to Gestalt's calculations, solo operation for [player name] has a 93.14% success rate, while the next best, the Purifying Force construct, the is only 15.11%.
Strange, isn't it? We've verified it repeatedly, even inputting different commandants' data into the Gestalt simulation, but only your data shows this anomaly.
No. We tried questioning Gestalt, but it only displayed a classified mission file about an operation you previously conducted with the Control Court... Do you remember it?
You have a vague impression that something like that did happen, but you can't recall what happened, no matter how hard you try.
All the negotiations and missions you've experienced have blurred together in your mind, making it impossible to distinguish which is which anymore.
...The people from the Control Court are always so peculiar. They only report to President Hassen, and there are certain missions even I can't inquire about in detail.
Anyway, that's the situation in a nutshell.
No way. A solo mission... That's far too dangerous.
Don't worry, we've made thorough preparations.
The nearest conservation area is only about 100 kilometers from this city. At Construct's speed, reinforcements should arrive quickly.
Lee, stay out of counter-reconnaissance distance, but stay as close as possible to [player name] to provide immediate support if needed.
Once Liv and Lucia complete their current missions, we'll immediately dispatch them to standby positions around City 141.
But it's still too far away...
You're permitted to attempt to infiltrate City 141 yourselves if feasible, but safety and stealth must remain your top priorities.
After all, we still have limited information about this organization. What we've discovered may only be the tip of the iceberg. The size of their forces, their purpose, their stance—everything remains unclear.
We need to gather sufficient intelligence about them before we can determine how to proceed.
Soldiers from the conservation area have observed transport vehicles entering City 141 at regular intervals. We'll help you infiltrate by disguising you as a specialist.
Your mission is to gather as much intelligence on them as possible, but your personal safety takes absolute priority over everything else.
As you leave the meeting room, the mission details are sent to both your terminal and Lee's.
...It's still too dangerous.
He scrolls through the mission details on his terminal with disapproval.
It has been a long time since you have carried out an infiltration mission like this. There is definitely some risk involved, but...
What exactly did you do to assist the Control Court when they requested your help?
Even with Celica's prompting and your best efforts to remember, all you can recall are a few brief words from someone.
...they still assigned you to execute the mission. I'm just here to calibrate... the system.
Whether or not to immerse is up to you.
These hazy memories and Gestalt's unusual behavior suggest there's something strange about this operation.
...Anyway, I'll modify your weapons and request some special equipment support for you.
Keep in contact with us at all times. If anything unexpected happens, make sure you have at least an hour of buffer time... Once I find an opportunity, I'll figure out a way to get in there myself.
...Hmm, the mission will be successful.
It wasn't a wish, but a statement. The moment those words left his lips, he was prepared to make them an established fact.
Remember, stay in contact at all times.
Babylonia acted swiftly. Before long, Task Force members who had arrived early at the conservation area successfully intercepted a transport vehicle and apprehended the specialists stationed there.
...This is a special ID card from one of the employees. They use it to verify their identity. Keep it safe.
The ID card is made of a special material. In the top left corner of the card is a prominent mark—
Leibowitz
...Leibowitz?
She seems surprised, but quickly finds relevant information.
Leibowitz... was a world-renowned AI manufacturing company during the Golden Age and was a crucial pillar of the Transatlantic Economic Community.
During the Golden Age, this company had frequent business and technological exchanges with Copperfield, the Community's leader, particularly regarding cyborg research.
Copperfield was renowned for researching and manufacturing bionic animals, while Leibowitz was famous for producing androids.
The founder of quantum computing process standards and pioneer of Gestalt physics foundations—William Leibowitz.
He once worked at this company, or rather, the company originally belonged to the Leibowitz family.
But at this time... why would they be active here?
Good work.
Beyond the rudimentary protective wall of the conservation area, the silhouette of City 141 is faintly visible in the distance.
