Chapter 93 02.0093: "Digging out the conspiracy"

"Sky Cage", an interrogation building belonging to the Fleet Military Intelligence Command, is located in a large bathroom.

The right-angled washbasin was filled with water. Suddenly, a person's face was pressed into it, and blood dyed the clear water red.

After choking for a minute, the head was lifted up by Sergeant Valina's hair.

After treatment in the repair tank, the wound on her upper arm healed, but it left a horrific scar, which made her very unhappy.

As soon as she recovered, Rear Admiral Hood sent her to interrogate the insects caught from the smuggling ships.

"How much arms have been smuggled? What do you plan to do with them?" she asked grimly.

The ship owner was trembling all over, his lips were purple, his face was ashen, and his eyes, swollen from being beaten, glanced at the first mate who was drowning in the water with his hands tied behind his back. His head was floating up and down with the waves of the water.

He was limping against the washstand with a big belly. Louise, who was wearing a training uniform, turned her arms to stretch her muscles. The symbol of the Cadia white shield expanded and contracted slightly as her shoulders stretched, and blood dripped from the brass knives of the trench knife in her hand from time to time.

Fideo sat behind a desk, recording confessions of the Chaos Conspiracy, while Leidos rested against the wall with his arms folded to allow for uninterrupted interrogation.

"These... are mainly requested by the Howling Teeth Gang. I just took the money and did the job. I really don't know anything else."

He was obviously lying and trying to shirk his responsibility. If things were really that simple, how could there be so many crew members on the ship with the Chaos Eight-pointed Star symbol engraved on their bodies?

Valina snorted coldly, a cold light flashed in her eyes, and she and Louise walked forward.

“Ah! Ah!! Ah!! Ahhhhhhhh!”

The heart-wrenching screams could be heard next door.

It was a dark room, separated from the bathroom by a one-way glass.

Sitting on the chair was a man who was trembling all over, with his eyelids completely stretched open by brackets. He had undergone 48 hours of imperial brainwashing, his eyes were red and bloodshot, and the wounds on his body had begun to fester.

Hearing this horrible howl, his body began to tremble uncontrollably, and now his physical and mental state was on the verge of collapse.

Two days ago, he was still an official of the noble planetary customs.

Because of his greed for petty profits, he endangered the safety of the empire and the navy, and was invited to "stay" by the Imperial Navy.

Horatio stood beside him, with a blood-red rose hanging on his chest.

He placed the interrogation tools back on the metal tray. They were stained with blood, but soon they would be collected and cleaned for use again.

"You know very well that this is the fate of betraying the empire. If you conceal it, you will be the next one to go in." The blue eyes emitting icy light glanced coldly at the traitor beside him.

At these words, the man began to tremble violently, his legs kicking forward instinctively, and Horatio held down his chair.

He had been in there once, and he would never want to go in there again.

"This is at least... at least the sixth batch... I'll tell you everything I know..."

Captain Sterling sat at the desk at the back with his legs crossed, writing down his confession word by word on brown paper.
-
In Major General Hood's office.

"The Howling Teeth Gang is a gang made up of corpse collectors from the Corpse Guild. In the process of collecting corpses, they developed a habit of cannibalism and drinking blood, and gradually degenerated into cultists who believed in the Scarlet Might. They have great influence in the Bottom Nest and the Lower Nest, and not long ago they used force to unify the gang forces in the Middle and Lower Nests of Vegas.

According to recent intelligence, a large-scale terrorist attack is brewing, and their goals include causing large-scale chaos, causing panic in the hearts of the people, losing trust and expectations in the navy, and ultimately exacerbating corruption and chaos, as well as sabotaging and attacking starports and fleets. "Horatio reported.

"The guns they smuggled in are enough to start a small war," said Captain Elphinstone. "And there's some bad news."

"Speak." Major General Hood sat behind the luxurious mahogany desk, crossed his hands in front of him, and said gloomily.

"The Ministry of the Interior wants us to hand this over to the Ministry of Justice. We are not allowed to mobilize the navy's troops until the situation becomes serious, so as to avoid any confusion and cause panic in the Upper Nest."

"Those damn bureaucrats, they only care about the stability right under their noses every day." Major General Hood was furious.

"We can't control other places, but the starport and the prison area are under the jurisdiction of our navy. Let's strengthen the security of these places first. The fleet must not be destroyed."

Brigadier General Edward looked at the list of sealed warships and rubbed his temples exhaustedly. Dozens of cruisers were anchored in it, and there were even sealed Retribution-class and Oberon-class battleships.

Including his own Doomsday-class (Armageddon-class) battlecruiser 'Indefatigable' is also being maintained in the dock.

"I will go to the Ministry of Justice in person, and I believe they will do their best, but their number is limited after all." Major General Hood looked out the window:
"Sergeant Horatio, do you have any suggestions?"

"They mainly want to attack the Vegas area. Our intelligence has roughly identified some areas where terrorist attacks may occur. I suggest that all Hell's Pioneers be mobilized, disguised as plainclothes, and conduct surveillance in groups of two to prevent the Ministry of Justice from being completely passive."

"I'll do as you say." Major General Hood nodded. "Major General, there is one more thing I need to add."

"Go ahead, Sergeant Horatio." The major general lit a cigarette and took a long puff.

"According to the underground intelligence network, the cult leader who kidnapped your daughter has not appeared in the Middle and Lower Nest for a long time. If he is from the Middle and Lower Nest, our spies must have seen him."

"You mean..." Major General Hood narrowed his eyes.

"This person is most likely from the Upper Nest or even the Spire District. Judging from his social contacts and confessions during the interrogation, he is likely to be working for the Empire, thus coming into contact with the Ministry of Justice and customs officials, and then disappearing without a trace in the Middle and Lower Nests."

The reason why Horatio singled this out was because it involved matters involving personnel from other official imperial agencies. Whether and how to investigate must be coordinated and handled by the immediate superior. Otherwise, it would easily cause conflicts between the Navy Department and other departments, and even bloody conflicts.

However, it is difficult for the underground intelligence network to directly spy on the already complex and sinister circle of the upper class. The curtains that cover up conspiracy and shame are thick and multiple.

If you want to find out the truth, you have to spend a lot of effort, and even set up another intelligence network among the upper class celebrities. The cost will not be small.

"I will be responsible for the intelligence search and verification. Once there are any results, the document will be given to Brigadier General Peru for review first, and then it will be in your hands." Major General Hood seemed prepared.

"Thank you for your hard work, sir." Horatio saluted.

This was within my expectations.

If Rear Admiral Alexander Hood did not have some ability, he would not have recommended himself to be the chief of the Fleet Intelligence Command.

Combined with the information he gleaned from Lord Hood's diary, he obviously had extensive sources among the upper class.

There may even be special spies.

"Next, we will start testing the experimental equipment."

Major General Hood put out his cigarette and said, "Sergeant Horatio, please come with me to the parade grounds."

[Equipment testing?] Horatio was somewhat surprised at the efficiency of Major General Hood.

On the parade ground, Horatio's Squadron 13 was conducting comprehensive tests wearing experimental armor customized for the Hell's Edge by the Fleet Military Intelligence Command.

The design of this set of equipment is based on the Battle Sister force feedback power armor and the Hunter Lord power armor. It combines the power backpack with the energy battery and can be adapted to active equipment such as the Hell Gun and Hotline Volley Gun.

It is divided into the light-armored, stealth-enhanced 'Shadow Type', the medium-armored, multi-functional 'Glory Type', and the heavy-armored, exoskeleton-equipped 'Assault Type'.

The most groundbreaking design was the power boot designed by Father Ratti, which had adaptive retractable power pulleys on the bottom.

This not only allows the Hell Soldier to reduce the loss of physical strength while running on flat terrain (such as the deck of a ship), but also eliminates the aiming jitter caused by the up and down movement of the legs while running.

Horatio felt like he was roller skating automatically. When he first tried it, several people fell down, but after falling a few times, they gradually got the hang of it.

The Hell Soldiers participating in the experiment slid across the shooting range while shooting at the target.

At a constant speed of 20km/h, through the advanced guided optical sights, they still hit the target without missing a single shot. As their figures passed by, the targets fell to the ground with a thud.

By raising their left arm, the forearm armor can shoot out darts, and by quickly retracting the steel cable, they can slide faster.

[She might have... dug up some STC from the dark technological era in Abyss Port...] Horatio thought as he looked at the smiling Father Lati.

Horatio's guess was well-founded. Abyss Port was originally an unfinished artificial planet from the Golden Age, so it was not surprising to find anything dug out from the bottom.

These armors are not cheap, and the Gothic Fleet had to pay a large sum of money to the Adeptus Mechanicus, especially Father Lati, for them, so they were only produced to equip 5 squadrons. Fortunately, Father Lati agreed to a lifetime warranty, and even if they were blown to pieces, they could be replaced or remade.

Because it is an MK.1 experimental armor, some parts are not mature enough, but both its defense and ergonomics are better than the Tadashi Carapace Armor, and the existing Orm Shield helmet can also be directly adapted.

The test was over, and when everyone was about to leave, Major General Hood suddenly looked up and called to Horatio, "Sergeant Horatio, I would like to invite you to my residence tomorrow. Are you available?"

Horatio held the helmet he had taken off and saluted the major general, feeling a little surprised: "General, is there something wrong?"

"About your mission, and a new team member."

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(End of this chapter)