Que Tang swept her hand out, snatching the water bottle back from her. "You can speak now."
Emily arched an eyebrow in amusement. Without haste, she retrieved a sophisticated black button from her pocket and pressed it toward the empty air, projecting a three-dimensional holographic image into the space between them.
"First, the matter I am about to explain is classified as Level 5 Top Secret. Once I have finished, no record of this conversation will remain."
Que Tang toyed with a maintenance knife on the table with feigned indifference, carving shallow lines into a piece of paper.
"Second, you still have a chance to regret your decision to join. I never resort to threats or coercion."
"Cut the nonsense. Get on with it," Que Tang said, shooting her a cold glare. Her hand continued to slide the maintenance knife across the surface, as if using the motion to vent her simmering irritation.
"As expected of Major Que." A faint smile played on Emily’s lips. "We suspect that the so-called mole is a group of two or more individuals. Their exact numbers are unclear, but they are spread across various departments and organizations."
Upon hearing this, Que Tang’s flippant expression vanished, replaced by a chilling gravity. "Accuracy?"
"Sixty percent."
"Their objective?" Que Tang frowned. Coming from the highest level of the national government, a sixty percent probability was practically a certainty.
Emily did not answer immediately. She pressed the button again, and the map projection rotated and brightened, reconfiguring itself into a text report. "Sources indicate that this group has been executing a program known as Project C2X. Objective: unknown. Details: unknown. Participants: unknown. The only thing we know is that to ensure the project's success, this organization has embedded numerous individuals into politics, commerce, the military, and other pivotal sectors of society." Having finished, she looked at Que Tang with a meaningful gaze.
After a long silence, Que Tang slowly asked, "And the reason you sought me out?"
Despite her outward calm, her heart was racing with shock. She had never imagined that the mystery that had plagued her since childhood would yield a clue in this form. *C2X*—those were characters used during the Era Period. Much like the Renaissance recorded in Era history, where nobles, scholars, artists, and geniuses used Ancient Latin and Ancient Greek to revive the glory of ancient cultures, these characters were now only used by scholars and specialists in specific fields in an age where Federal Common Language was universal.
This was precisely why she had delved so deeply into such studies. The public assumed it was merely a hobby, unaware that she had been searching for clues to the riddle that had been entwined with her life since birth. Yet, after years of research with no results, it had finally appeared just as she was on the verge of giving up.
"We intercepted a brief message," Emily said, switching the display back to the map. "It only mentioned a few words: *Colony*, *C2X*, *Implant*. From these, we infer that the project will be executed on the Colony. As for what 'implant' refers to, we currently do not know."
"And since you cannot fly to the Colony through official channels with a grand fanfare, you must disguise yourselves as rebels and take an illegal transport ship from the Lone Army Territory in the Lost Lands?" Que Tang let out a sharp laugh. "Truly, the unscrupulous Excellency Vrataski. Only you could devise such a suicidal method. Those rebels are friendly enough toward refugees who have renounced their Union citizenship, but they harbor a deep-seated hatred for 'lapdogs' like us and 'elites' like you. Heading to the Northern Lost Lands is no less dangerous than announcing to that organization in front of the media: 'I’m going up to the Colony now!'"
"You truly are the Major Que adored by all Union citizens. The plan you’ve surmised is largely identical to our actual strategy." Emily walked to her side, glancing at the table that Que Tang had scarred with her knife. Her tone shifted. "The Major’s temper remains as fierce as ever, though your appearance has grown more beautiful with the years."
Just as her palm was about to brush against Que Tang’s long hair, the latter took a step back to dodge the touch.
"The general direction is the same, but what about the details?" Facing Emily, Que Tang showed none of the etiquette expected toward a superior. However, the other woman didn't seem to care.
"The detail is that in three minutes, a region-wide warrant will be issued for your arrest on charges of treason. As for me, I am here on behalf of the President to commend you for your triumphant return. Once the warrant shatters your heroic facade, I will be taken hostage by you and abducted." Ignoring Que Tang’s face as it turned ashen, Emily smiled. "Now, you have two minutes and thirty seconds. The troops coming to capture you have likely already gathered at the military gates, preparing to enter."
"You bastard!" Que Tang’s face was livid with rage as she slammed her hand down, overturning a tool box and scattering its contents across the table.
She pulled a military emergency supply compression bag from under the table, tossed one to Emily, and shouldered two herself. Donning her jacket and swiftly grabbing her weapons, she grabbed Emily and pulled her behind her mecha. With a forceful stomp, she kicked open a section of the floor, revealing a hidden passage beneath. "Get down there!" After pushing Emily in, she jumped in after her and pulled the floor panel back into place, restoring the room's appearance.
***
"Open the doors immediately! We are here to apprehend the traitor, Que Tang!" the military captain shouted at the entrance, locked in a standoff with the V-Squad members.
"How could our Captain be a traitor?" Joe, the youngest member of the squad and the one closest to Que Tang, responded furiously.
"According to the contents of her recovered journal, she admits to having consistently attempted to contact the extraterrestrial species, and she finally succeeded. The aliens promised her that if she successfully defeated the Union government, she would be appointed its first administrator." The captain produced a sheaf of yellowed paper. In the paperless post-Era age, people who were still obsessed with the ancient method of keeping a diary were nearly extinct. Que Tang was one of them.
"What kind of absurd, fabricated excuse is this? I don't believe a word of it!" Joe lunged forward, intending to snatch the journal, but Mousse held him back. "What are you doing? Let go of me! Can you really stand by while the Captain is framed? Have you forgotten she saved your life?"
"Joe, calm down. Rather than making a useless scene here, it’s better to calmly and seriously find the root of the problem and a solution. Isn't that what the Captain always told us?" Mousse urged him.
Only then did Joe reluctantly clench his fists and suppress his emotions.
Standing to the side, the secretary, Liao, watched them with an air of detachment. In reality, however, he was beginning to worry. If Que Tang truly was a traitor, Her Excellency was in grave danger.
"We will open the door," Mousse said. She turned and opened the iron gates, but the interior was already empty, the occupants long gone.
The soldiers immediately rushed in, searching every corner.
Mousse and Joe followed behind them, walking in silence with furrowed brows to the spot where Que Tang and Emily had originally stood.
"Where are they?" Joe demanded.
Mousse quietly scanned the area, tidying the cluttered tools on the table as she went. Suddenly, she discovered carvings on the tabletop.
"They’ve escaped. You were guarding the door—did you really see no one leave?" The military captain walked over, his hawk-like eyes scrutinizing them severely.
"I guarantee on my reputation as Excellency Vrataski’s secretary that no one left through the entrance," Liao said, speaking for the first time.
"What? Her Excellency was here today as well?" The captain was startled.
"That is not for someone of your rank to question," Liao replied coldly. "Currently, Her Excellency has vanished along with Major Que. Instead of interrogating us here, you would be better served returning to draft a counter-strategy."
His low rank having been pointed out so bluntly, the captain’s face flushed red. He led his men away in a hurry to report to his superiors and organize a search.
Once they were gone, the secretary looked at Mousse and Joe with an expressionless face. "Excellency Vrataski is the most powerful young leader among the Reformists. I do not care what Major Que’s intentions are, but I will use every resource at my disposal to find them." He turned and left, leaving the two squad members behind.
"Where did the Captain go?" Joe asked anxiously. Though he was impulsive, it didn't mean he couldn't see the gravity of the situation. Both the government-led military forces and the noble-led private factions were now hunting for Que Tang. How could they possibly get to her first?
He was about to pull at Mousse, only to find her busy sketching on a piece of paper.
"I know being a painter is your unfulfilled dream, but you don't need to find inspiration at such an inappropriate time."
Mousse ignored him. She meticulously transcribed the lines and dots from the table onto the paper before dragging Joe out of the maintenance bay to an open area outside. She pulled out a surveillance detector, swept it over both of them to ensure they weren't bugged, and then spoke. "You idiot. I told you to study more and stay sensitive to your surroundings, but you never listen. The Captain left a message."
"What? Where?" Joe looked at her in pleasant surprise.
Mousse spread the paper before him. "See for yourself."
Joe saw only a string of symbols and looked at her in confusion. "The Captain actually..." He grabbed the paper, pointing at the sequence: `.-----------.----/-..../-.......-.-...-.-.–`
"A001, Sector 6. Sector 6 is the code for the Colony. The Captain wants us to go to the Colony and wait for further orders," Mousse announced calmly.
"Why? What on earth did she and Her Excellency talk about?" Joe looked at her blankly.
Mousse glared at Joe with a look that clearly said *Are you a moron?* "I don't know either." She smacked the back of his head. "Move. Let's get back and conduct an emergency command briefing." She pulled Joe toward the V-Squad building.
"But the Vice-Captain..." Joe said hesitantly.
"Since the Captain has acknowledged him as our Vice-Captain, we must trust him and treat him as part of V-Squad. However, if he doesn't agree, we'll just kick him out of the squad," Mousse said without hesitation.
***
