“…… Claiming that it was a strategic necessity, the ACA has tightened its control over the management of supplies in the war zone, and now its soldiers can shoot and kill suspected smuggling vehicles without warning, and there is no doubt that this massacre has exacerbated the hardships of the residents...... "-- the special opinion page of the "Allied Times".

***

Three days later

South Africa, ACA Controlled District

On Highway 1 from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg.

"In 1880 it was just a small farm; Since 1886, a colonist named George Harrison tripped over a piece of gold, and since then the city has been nicknamed the 'City of Gold' by gold prospectors, the Soweto genocide in 1976, which nominally ended apartheid in the former Republic of South Africa, and today it is the ACA's largest military fort in southern Africa, with less than a third of its 2.3 million civilian population remaining. ”

Ling Yu sat in a dilapidated pickup truck, one hand pressed on the steering wheel, the other holding the gear lever - this former General Dynamics pickup truck is at least fifty years old, the electronics have basically been replaced, plus other large and small repairs, it is estimated that the former General Dynamics senior engineer will have a hard time recognizing the car from the appearance.

As for Ling Yu, he recognized it from the three letters GMC in the middle of the worn-out steering wheel.

At this moment, the vehicle is carrying a truckload of scrap steel and two boxes of military fusion batteries buried under the steel through a makeshift road that has been potholed by air strikes and shelling.

Things went much smoother than Ling Yu had imagined, as the two of them were taken to the barracks by the Secret Service as soon as they got off the plane, and the plan was very simple - although there were occasional skirmishes on the South African front, the smuggling activities never stopped: the ACA needed some military supplies from the Alliance's side, such as fusion batteries; The alliance does not want South Africa's precious metals to be completely cut off, after all, gold and diamond are also important industrial raw materials regardless of the significance of luxury.

So, no matter how heavy the front line is, Highway 1 from Cape Town to Johannesburg has never been blocked in the true sense of the word, and a large number of civilians on both sides with their heads pinned to their belts drive tattered trucks to maintain circulation, including those who work for the intelligence agencies of both sides.

So the next thing is very easy to do, the alliance used the money offensive to help Ling Yu get a special pass for the ACA South African Theater, this kind of "smuggling permit" issued to civilians changed owners after writing the genetic identification code of Ling Yu and Jiesi, and helped the two of them to get through the many checkpoints on the front line.

"You have a good history?"

Jesse in the assistant's seat had changed her appearance by this time, and had changed into a dirty coat, a dusty mask covering most of her face, and a baseball cap with a lowered brim, disguised as a relatively young man—the beautiful princess would not cause trouble because of that face.

"Han Fei has a very good history, you haven't heard him say it?"

Ling Yu, who was also wearing a worn-out baseball cap, stepped on the brakes to reduce the speed of the car, bypassed the crater in front of him, and replied.

"He left early yesterday, and I've been gathering information and haven't talked too much."

Jesse adjusted her sitting position, leaned herself against the door on the right, stared at the vast grassland outside the window, and replied a little carelessly.

Suddenly, the wreckage of a car appeared on the side of the road in front of them, Ling Yu and Jiesi glanced at each other, and the two read something similar from each other's eyes.

"Looks like you've noticed it too."

Ling Yu gently turned the steering wheel, drove the car off the road, stopped next to the wreckage, turned off the engine and got out of the car, walked to the truck that had turned into a twisted piece of scrap metal, walked around the truck for half a circle, and stopped at the rear of the car.

"It was hit by a missile from a drone, and it was a chase battle."

Jess followed Ling Yu and stood next to the cab of the truck, seemingly not confident in her judgment.

"It was hit by the UTV-22C, the 'Ninja Dart' missile carried by the 'Scavenging Bird'," Ling Yu observed the wreckage, "Only this ultra-miniature missile specially designed to attack unarmored targets has such an attack effect, and any other air-to-surface missile is enough to blow this truck to pieces." ”

"Hmmm......"

Jesse didn't say anything, took a few steps forward, stretched out her right hand, grabbed the deformed door, the mechanical arm easily ripped the door off the wreckage, clapped her hands, and the girl saw two skeletons in the cab that fell on the steering wheel. And in the space below the two skeletons, another skeleton that clearly did not belong to an adult made Jesse frown.

"Sure enough......"

Ling Yu put away the watch-type detector and walked to Jiesi's side, "Like the previous four, this car has not detected any traces of carrying gold and diamonds. ”

"That is, the ACA is indiscriminately slaughtering people who they believe have no valid reason to leave the South African war zone."

Jesse asked.

"No, you can't define 'good cause', it's not like people with gold or diamonds won't be targeted, have you been paying attention to the vehicles coming from north to south to Confederate territory?"

"No ......"

"There were 47 cars in the opposite direction of ours, with male and female drivers of different ages, but they had one thing in common." Ling Yu followed Jiesi's gaze, and her black eyes reflected the charred black skeleton of a child, "All the cars going to the alliance area are driving alone. ”

"I understand what you mean, if it is carrying goods, at least one person will be escorted with the car, even if it is not escorted with the car, an extra helper can also reduce the fatigue of the driver, and it is easier to deal with faults or pits."

"Well, so my guess is...... Probably since a few days ago, none of the vehicles on this highway from north to south have been driven by 'civilians'. ”

"What ...... are they trying to block"

Jiesi summed up Ling Yu's point of view, and then nodded in understanding, the girl bent down to pick up the twisted steel that had been torn off by herself just now, and bowed slightly, then reloaded the door back into the car.

"Let's go."

Ling Yu took a step forward, patted Jiesi on the shoulder, and turned to get into the car.

"Have you ever had a mission, I mean, that kind of TF real mission."

The pickup truck continued on its way through two more checkpoints, one of which was hastily cleared without even checking the men's papers. However, the vehicle in the opposite direction of them was not so lucky, and after witnessing the execution of a mother and son on the side of the road in a car with incorrect documents, Ling Yu adjusted the car to the automatic transmission and held Jiesi's stiff arm with his free right hand. The question was asked.

"Three times, all in Europe, the most time I single-handedly killed an ACA infiltration team, in Finland, twenty-six people, one of whom is only about fifteen or sixteen years old, but he is indeed their captain."

Jesse also seemed to be a little aware of her emotional fluctuations, she sighed and took off her mask, as if she was a little suffocated, "It was very dangerous at the time, I had no choice but to crush his head." ”

Ling Yu nodded, picked up the cigarette case that might have been thrown by the previous owner on the driver's platform, only to find that there was not a single cigarette in it. Throwing the cigarette case out of the window, Ling Yu continued to ask questions without a match.

"I'm a little curious about your Order's attitude towards this war."

"It seems to us that the world is now in a state of peace." Jesse shook her head helplessly, "I'm probably the only one in the Order who disagrees with this. ”

"Oh?" Ling Yu's fingertips tapped lightly on the steering wheel, "It's the first time I've heard of a religious group that can tolerate members who don't have the same views as most people. ”

"Science itself includes a skeptical attitude, and if we are a religious community, then the object of our worship should also be science itself." Jiesi ignored the sarcasm in Ling Yu's words, but there was a little bitterness in her smile, "Although the number of people who hold this view is decreasing. ”

"So you're actually a complete heretic...... Is this your reason for being banished? ”

Ling Yu frowned, he didn't know much about the Knights, but he was no stranger to religious groups, in today's New Renaissance ideology, various sects emerged one after another, in addition, he also had a simple contact with the hermitage - in that environment, the end of openly disagreeing must be very miserable.

"Sort of, I had a fight with the Speaker and slapped the Chief Scribe, and I'm lucky to still be wearing the clothes of this chief knight, and it's okay to come out to work, isn't it?"

Jeunsy laughed again, turned her head and glanced at the other party's smile, Ling Yu only felt a burst of sweat - the speaker of the privy cavalry team was a person who even the president of the alliance ignored, and the scribe was the number two person in the knights, which one of them could not be provoked.

But think about it, the chief knight in front of him is not strictly speaking something he can afford to provoke, he just hopes that the immortals will fight, and he will not suffer as a mortal.

"But don't worry, since I have asked to be transferred out of the Knights, this matter should be solved like this."

Looking at Ling Yu's embarrassed expression, Jiesi made a supplementary explanation and comforted her boss.

"However, no kidding, in the northern part of the North Pacific, far from the battlefield, the Knights may really have a reason to stay away from this war, and as a force that can control the overall situation, your current situation may be the best."

The car had already driven far away from the checkpoint, Ling Yu finally let go of Jiesi's left wrist and said his opinion indifferently, "There is no justice in war, and it shouldn't be a cosplay game for knights, I don't know what your bosses and subordinates think, for me...... Or in general, it is wise to move as far away from war as you can get. ”

"If it's just a matter of survival...... What is the difference between humans and animals? Jess raised her eyebrows slightly, and she subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror, and she could no longer see the checkpoint and the bloodstained corpses.

"Even if you want to do something," Ling Yu held the steering wheel with his right hand and supported his head with his left hand, "Don't be too impulsive, we have an old saying, 'Stay in the green mountains, don't be afraid of running out of firewood'." ”

"Poof--it looks like you're stunned for that kind of hot-blooded virgin."

Jess smiled helplessly and shook her head, "You underestimated me, boss, don't worry, I'm also a soldier anyway, and I won't have a sense of justice so much that I put everyone in danger." ”

Ling Yu nodded slightly, accepting Jiesi's words, at this time, a roar of a jet engine interrupted the conversation between the two, and a "scavenging bird" drone with ACA livery flew quickly across the sky, and then flew back, following the head of the truck, and the blue scan line swiped back and forth across the body.

Ling Yu, who had been prepared, took out the pass from his coat and pasted it on the windshield, the relative stillness of the drone and the car lasted for a few seconds, and the scanning, and the drone that checked the correct information increased its horsepower and disappeared into the northeast sky.

"Actually, I'm a person who doesn't hate people with a sense of justice."

Suddenly, Ling Yu muttered something like this for no reason, the voice was very small, and Jiesi didn't respond as if she hadn't heard it.

Dusk is approaching, and the once capital of the Republic of South Africa, the largest city in central South Africa, has appeared at the end of the horizon.