Steel steam and flame

The mood is divided into two different groups. Although they are different, the pressure on them cannot be relieved. After the train stops for supplies and when the train starts moving, the feeling seems to be completely different. The tranquility of more than ten days was remembered again at this time. The silence before a huge storm is usually like this. The sky is open, there is no wind, and the air has no sense of oppression. It is just waiting for the moment when it comes. When the clouds press down, it makes it difficult to breathe. .

Isa and the others spoke less and less, except for necessary announcements, and the owl was unwilling to turn on the communicator.

On the second day of the countdown to the empire's border area, Adolf contacted him. They have got off the train and are organizing a secret warehouse to replenish the equipment and ammunition they will need next. He has gathered a team of nearly 1,500 people, with standard combat configuration, and corresponding numbers of logistics and medical teams.

But they will not join Cassia in the future. Owl once said that going to the border of the empire will make the team more detailed and become several or even a dozen teams that advance parallel to each other and enter the border of the empire from some wilderness places. . It is not yet known whether there will be teams taking the formal route in the end.

Adolf contacted him not only to inform him of his early arrival, but also to bring some bad news. We dispersed from the station in the morning, and several hours after the gathering time ended, there were still close to a hundred people who had not come. At first, it was judged that he had left the mission midway. After all, the closer he got to the direction of the empire, the more the members of the organization gathered from there knew about the situation in the empire. Because of fear, or facing threats to their lives, it seems foreseeable that some such people will appear.

However, the corpses of fresh organization members were later discovered in garbage dumps and underground waterways, shattering this judgment. The atmosphere there was not very good, and the hundreds of people who had lost contact were probably dead.

In addition, after a more basic investigation, it was found that in the small countries bordering the empire, at least the country where Adolf and the others got off the train, there were people arranged by the enemy in advance. "The enemy is a little ahead of us, which means that the opponent has probably prepared what they should prepare."

Corresponding to the bad news, the only information that can make Cassia and the others feel relieved is that the enemy does not know where their side will enter the empire. They have deployed a large number of manpower in several large trade entrance and exit areas, and in other remote areas, the number may be much smaller.

In summary, the enemy's power is dispersed and not concentrated at one point. As a consolation, no one will care about this. The enemy's support speed is much faster than the speed of our own side's advance.

On the last day of the countdown to entering the empire's border, Cassia and the others got off the train at three stations in this small country. General Pullman walked with Cassia, and Isa and the others were also there. Coming out of the station near noon, everyone was dragging their luggage, pretending to be travelers in a hurry. Organization members here had also prepared different limo cars, and some were picked up like old friends they hadn’t seen for many years. Some were limousine drivers, relying on mutual signals to leave one after another.

The surrounding area completely looks like an empire, and the border area does not look like a prosperous area. Not far from the station, you can see a large industrial area that has sprung up due to the convenience of transportation. Two towering steam furnace towers are emitting light gray smoke columns, slowly rising into the sky, and indicating the size and direction of the wind today.

It borders the empire and has two regular trade areas and passages, making this small country busy and lively all the time. The limo also smelled like an empire, at least it was no longer a hybrid, it was completely a standard steam engine, and the sound gave Cassia a long-lost sense of familiarity.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the limousine drove around the city countless times before finally arriving at the organization's secret base here. Although it is not a coordinating country, there are still companies here similar to those in Larsa, which are used to purchase some needed items from within the empire.

The team did not end up joining together, but split up and went to different cities. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was still hot. The so-called stronghold is the basement of a large-scale office building, which is entered from the underground parking lot. You can rest there and get rid of the fatigue of the long journey while dressing up.

Owl received a contact midway, and what Cassia said three days ago was confirmed. On the other side was Adolf, which roughly meant that the escort mission ended, but a new mission began immediately afterwards. I was prepared in my heart, but the shock when I actually heard those words was still not small.

Cassia could only watch from the sidelines. The comforting words were useless at the moment. He chose to leave them behind because they would only make him more sad later.

It took nearly two hours to dress up, and Cassia thought about how the organization would get themselves into the empire's borders, and what they would do afterward. Without a reasonable grasp, the lack of information has indeed become the biggest limiting factor now. The only thing that is certain is that there will definitely be a melee in the border area. Now that the enemies within the empire are ready, Cassia also believes that Ye Jielin and the Qilaandi family have also arrived here. It is impossible not to have this sense of smell, even though Ye Jielin may not know whether her identity is true or false at the moment.

It seemed that the action would begin tonight. After putting on makeup, Cassia was told that the next stop was the storage warehouse, where there was a large number of weapons, all of which were standard equipment from within the empire.

Getting into a limousine in the underground parking lot, Cassia and Isa were together, Nighthawk and Owl, and General Pullman were in another car. Together with the correspondent and the other two squad leaders, the three vehicles were considered a small convoy. They set off one after another half a minute apart.

Cassia and Isa were walking in the middle. It was already around seven o'clock when they set off, the time period when dusk transitioned into night. The street became more lively, and the limo turned from the exit of the parking lot onto the main road. A subtle feeling made Cassia wary.

For Cassie, the things and memories related to the empire stayed more than a year ago, but there are always some things that are engraved in his mind and will never be forgotten. Cassia shook her head and looked to the left and right through the window. There was nothing to pay attention to. Just when he was wondering about this feeling, seemingly inadvertently, but there seemed to be traces of it, Cassia looked at the rearview mirror.

The world in the mirror was a little skewed, but it did not prevent Cassia from seeing clearly the scene behind the limousine through it - under the street where the cold street lights were turned on, a man who looked like a local was standing there. There was destined to be mutual attraction. Cassia saw the man bending deeply towards the main road, as if giving the most polite greeting. Then the man tilted his head, and the smile that stretched out the corners of his mouth instantly refracted from many angles and reflected in Cassia's pupils.