Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

Page 118

"Damn it, is this a war story or a horror story... I can understand dealing with anti-war nags, but what's with giving weapons to innocent children?"

"And to have a nightmare like this, tsk, this soldier must have had mental problems before enlisting."

"Who knows? Anyway, if this place becomes like this because of a war, I think it's even more ridiculous than having a ghost living under my bed..."

"Oh well, this article doesn't seem very credible. Shall we just skip this last part? Some officials will probably think this is a movie anyway."

"Hey! Yes, yes, yes! We've reached an agreement!"

……

Two or three pages were taken by the two of them to read as horror stories later on. At the end of the diary, this was the last sentence.

"April 21, 1945, Straussberg."

"The Russians..." The handwriting was very messy, as if it were written with trembling hands, "...are about to attack..."

"I could hear Soviet warplanes flying overhead even from inside the tank... I couldn't control my breathing..."

Behind him stood the Führer's fortress, the eternal capital of the German Empire...

"We will make the Slavs pay the price..."

The remaining lines of text were large and crooked, completely losing the shape of the letters...

"Long live the Führer!"

"Long live Germany!"

"Long live the Germanic people..."

……

Six months ago, on a German highway, a Soviet soldier picked up what looked like a diary from the body of a German soldier.

"Hmm..." He couldn't read German, nor did he know the name of the diary's owner on the title page, so he flipped through it casually.

Hey comrade! What are you looking at?

"Here you go! It's a fascist's! You might understand a bit about it."

"Oh? Thank you! Comrade! What do you think I'd like to offer you in exchange?"

"Hey? The Iron Cross! Give it to me! Give it to me!"

"Hehe! Throw!"

During the playful fight between the two Red Army soldiers, a tattered Iron Cross medal stained with blood was casually tossed into a fire.

There, two more comrades threw in a captured, dirty Nazi swastika flag, seemingly unconcerned about the ruined trophy.

The blood-red hue and the snow-white sheen were burned along with the Iron Cross, crackling and popping like buildings collapsing in the capital due to artillery fire. The comrades, slightly drunk, gathered around and started making a ruckus.

The road beside the bonfire was still busy, tank tracks and car tires rolling over it, sending up wisps of warm wind that lifted the still-burnt black swastika, and carried past a road sign written in Russian...

……

"We are still 17 kilometers away from Berlin."

Chapter 123, Section 184: The Power of the "Bear"

The sun was shining warmly; it was a day when you could let go of all your burdens in the morning in the Tokyo concession.

This is true in military camps, police stations, and hospitals where lives are at stake.

Davis, with his two young men, stood at the hospital entrance—why were there only three of them this time? Clark was faking his death, so who was the other one?

“Here, take a look at this. This is Private Myfic Garcia’s medical report.”

Standing in front of the three were two other female soldiers in blue Britannian military uniforms. They had just come out of the hospital's lobby and brought these things to the three of them.

Yes, Davis is acting strangely today. Why did he come here to report to those two first? Was it just to get information about Garcia?

"So, you don't even know your old comrades from the same unit?" One of the female soldiers, Taylor, knew her very well—Jenia's long blonde hair and ample bosom had already made the soldiers eager to find out her name.

"This person has a history of morphine addiction, right? This time it's his withdrawal symptoms flaring up, and he needs to be observed in the hospital for a few more days. So please make sure you know each other better in the future. Didn't you even notice any adverse reactions in his daily life? Your lack of awareness is no wonder you're considered prisoners of war. You're even worse than the numbered people."

"Oh, we...we've never met before..." Davis answered haphazardly, his mind racing. "Withdrawal symptoms? Could it be that Garcia's constant curling up, clenching his teeth, and sweating profusely since the day he was captured is because of drug withdrawal?"

Seeing that the three soldiers seemed to know nothing, Genia shook her head helplessly and turned to chat with her companion.

"These country bumpkins are really hard to deal with, they don't know anything, tch."

"It doesn't matter, oh well."

The other person looked disgusted, but the three soldiers secretly started to pay attention to her: Genia's appearance was similar to theirs, but this one was different, how come she had the features of an Asian?

"Alright, have you finished reading? Let's get down to business." Genia glared at the three of them, her tone becoming more serious. "Because of arrangements from above, starting today, this sergeant next to me will be on routine patrols with you for the next three days to get to know each other. After that, one of you may be selected to participate in KMF's driving training. Wait for further notice."

"KMF?"

"KnightmareFrame, the robot you saw when you fought us in Sector 45, I'll tell you its name for now."

"Understood, little sister! We'll be good!"

"Okay, I'll be going now." Genia glared at the soldiers and was about to leave when she passed by Taylor and suddenly felt a gust of wind brush past her ear.

"You!" She turned around abruptly, but Taylor's groping hand was still not in a hurry to be withdrawn—this brat had just ruffled a large clump of her hair!

Seeing the three soldiers grinning maliciously, Genia was instantly enraged. She had just raised her fist to punch them when her companion, who had stayed behind, quickly pushed her away.

"Oh dear, go away, go away, go away..."

"Remember this, that Taylor! Just wait until one day..."

"One day you'll pin someone down and kiss them until they die, then oh dear, I'm leaving..."

……

Leaving the hospital, the unfamiliar Asian female soldier led several soldiers along the patrolled street. Surprisingly, she didn't say much, only asking for directions.

“Uh.” Taylor wasn’t interested in her figure, but Philip wanted to lighten the mood. “Hey, what’s your name?”

The female soldier sighed as she spoke, as if she couldn't be bothered to utter another word.

"Ah, Chizuru Nagayama, just call me Nagayama."

"Huh? Japanese?" Philip was taken aback, and then Taylor behind him got a little anxious.

"WTF? This..."

"Shut up, shut up..." Davis quickly punched him a few times in the chest, whispering a warning, "Watch out for this..."

"I absolutely cannot..."

"Don't you ever learn? Don't you?" Saying this, he punched him a few more times and pinched his cheek, finally making Taylor swallow back the "Japanese devils" that he was about to say.

Looking again, the female soldier turned around, as if something had caught her attention.

"Japan? That's rare. Now the whole world knows to call this place Area 11. 'Japan' and 'Japanese people' are almost fading out of history books. Who told you to call it that?"

"Ah, we've seen civilians arguing like this during our daily patrols," Philip said, trying to smooth things over. "So, by the way, Miss Nagayama, are you used to this kind of fighting?"

"Ah, right." He said two words and then fell silent, still as lazy as when he first arrived—his eyes darted around, his arms swayed in the wind, his neck swayed, and his knees bounced as he walked.

"This..." Philip was both puzzled and worried; it was hard to find out the truth about this.

"So, what are you planning to do with us?"

"Oh dear, I already said we'd practice KMF from now on."

"After you teach us how to drive that, is that all?"

"No, we'll work together in KMF, if there's a mission."

"That's normal..."

"Huh?" Chizuru Nagayama raised her hand to signal Philip to shut up, then listened to the walkie-talkie. It seemed like there was a message from her superiors.

“Hmm…” Philip turned around and leaned closer to Davis and the others, “This little girl is really mischievous…”

“Looks like we’ll have to play some tricks when we meet with Clark from now on, if she acts like this.” Davis lowered his voice, watching the female soldier warily. “It’s hard to say whether she, as a former Japanese, will offer any help, but for now, it seems best to be cautious…”

"Hey! You guys!" Chizuru Nagayama suddenly turned around and shouted at them, startling them.

"Ah, ah? What's wrong?"

"Something's happened! Run!"

……

"I understand, sir. So, is there anything we need to do?"

"Just call a few of your nearest patrol teams over there! Hurry, Lieutenant Colonel! That's a busy area!"

"As ordered!"

Caronville was in his office at that moment, having just finished a phone call from the police headquarters.

"whats the matter?"

"Are you aware of the Viscount Nasova's estate relocation project? The police just reported that a truck responsible for this transport was involved in an accident in Nagata-cho, and the contents of the truck..."

Is it some kind of dangerous item?

"The Viscount's bear! The bear cage was broken, and now the bear has escaped and is going around greeting everyone!"

……

"Hey! Come over here! Don't panic!"

At the intersection where the accident occurred, cars that should have been moving smoothly all stopped and blocked the road. Some drivers and passengers locked the doors and windows of the bus and stayed inside the vehicle for protection, while many of those sitting in cars or riding motorcycles jumped off in a panic and ran to the sidewalk away from the scene.

Davis, along with two young men and a young woman named Yongshan, had just met with a policeman and were busy dispersing the crowd.

The source of all the fear was right next to the truck that had been hit hard in the middle of the road. The unusually large brown bear had climbed onto the hood of a car, looking around and around. From a distance, it looked like someone had stuffed a bundle of dry grass as tall as a horse onto it.

"Hey! Boss!" Taylor panicked as he watched the bear get off the hood of the engine. "Can't you just shoot that big fat thing? Or are you just waiting for it to turn us all into beehive loaves with one slap?"

"Shut up! You idiot!" Davis cursed as he hid where Xiong couldn't see him. "Are you sure that if I fire this shot, someone else might be using my head as a target?"

"Relax, Taylor!" Philip laughed, though he was also flustered. "The honor of dying in the line of duty is no less than killing a few Germans back then! Maybe they'll even build a church in your name or something! Hahaha!"

"Miss Nagayama!" The female soldier returned at that moment. "Excuse me, where are the police in the other directions? We can't manage this intersection with just a few of us!"

"Don't rush! We should be here! Guard this place first! Don't let the bear run away!"

As they were talking, the situation got worse and worse. The bear seemed to have found a car with people still sitting in it, and it sniffed at the window. The soldiers could hear from afar a young woman screaming in terror as if she had lost her soul.

"Holy crap, isn't this just asking for trouble?"

The soldiers and female soldiers were in a dilemma. No one dared to approach them, and they didn't know how to lure the bear away.

Just then, they saw a soldier in black with three people in familiar uniforms appear at the opposite intersection. Davis could see clearly that they were wearing the same blue and white uniforms as him, with a gold six-pointed star on their chests. It should be easy to guess who they were.

……

"Don't stand there! Comrade! Move aside!"

Yes, it's Stasevich and his team. They've joined the patrol reserve team so quickly.

Now that the three of them had mostly dispersed the pedestrians they needed to urge to leave, they started inspecting the bear—the woman's screaming voice inside the car hadn't stopped at all, and the bear seemed to be getting suspicious as well, stroking the car a few times with its head-sized hand. This was going to be a disaster; if it got angry and smashed the glass and the head together with one of its bear fists, the situation would probably get completely out of control.

"Ivanov! You stay here! Chicherin, you come with me! I'll go to the right, you go to the left!"

……

"Hey? Aren't those Russians?"

"Why are you wiping them? Don't get so close to that bear!"

Davis and his men huddled behind a lamppost, startling the few former Soviet soldiers.

"Hey!--"

At this moment, Chicherin rushed to within twenty meters of the bear and howled. The bewildered bear seemed to only then notice him, touched the car door a few times before slowly turning its face. After looking the Russian up and down, it actually put away its previous snarling expression and looked at him with a puzzled expression, like a fool seeing the solution to a math problem on a blackboard.

Taking advantage of the situation, Chicherin clapped his hands twice more, let out another loud howl, and took another step closer.

"Whoosh!—"