April 16th. Noon.
Lima City, where the space gate was located.
Looking down on this city, which had escaped submersion due to its high altitude, the only thing visible was the "ruins" shrouded by thick clouds. However, from a viewpoint about four hundred meters above the ground, it became clear that under the optical camouflage canopy, Lima City had been reconstructed in some sense.
Atlas' engineering department, using the space gate as the core, had continuously expanded and improved the scale of the frontline base. After more than two months, it had transformed into an industrialized town capable of housing sixty thousand people.
Numerous Hextech machines were scattered around the ruins surrounding the frontline base, shuttling between the base and recycling plants, responsible for sorting and reprocessing waste materials to assist the continuous production of the 3D printing factories.
At the same time, a fully automated mechanical transportation system connected the relic base in the main universe with the frontline base in Universe 06 through the space gate, enabling fast, unmanned transport of living supplies, weapons, equipment, and vehicle components.
The hangar, built beneath the surface, had more than quadrupled in size compared to two months ago.
But the expansion of the hangar wasn't the most significant change. It now housed a large number of fully armed soldiers and masked ARS, AECS, and cloned troops. A rough estimate placed their number at over twenty thousand.
Among these infantry units were heavily armored soldiers equipped with heavy mechanical exoskeletons and combat mechs piloted by specialists. By identifying their uniforms—black, dark green, or deep gray—the ratio of ARS, AECS, and clones in every ten soldiers was approximately 1:3:6.
All the clones operated alongside AECS tactical teams, following the orders of the squad leaders.
Next were the more than one hundred main battle tanks of two models.
Titan and Slayer tanks showed little outward difference, still featuring a variable four-track structure and twin-barrel cannons with magnetic levitation propulsion.
However, the barrel calibers of the Titan and Slayer tanks were noticeably narrower, and the barrels slightly longer, indicating an upgrade to the latest fire control systems.
Once the Atlas infantry units had assembled, a small number began following their respective platoons to designated landing platforms to board Silver Gull transports capable of carrying 36 soldiers.
Most of the troops, however, moved as companies to their designated lift platforms, where they would board a much larger transport than the Silver Gull—a medium-sized transport vessel known as the *Luna*.
The *Luna* is also a next-generation troop transport.
Faced with traditional atmospheric transport vehicles that could not meet the rapid deployment requirements of the company's armed forces, Atlas urgently needed a "medium-sized" troop transport.
After all, the Silver Gull's limited capacity made it suitable for general transport or special missions involving infiltration behind enemy lines but inadequate for large-scale infantry transfers.
Thus, in mid-1997, the aerospace research department under the Research Division temporarily borrowed a production line from the Acra campus and successfully manufactured and assembled the prototype of the first medium-sized transport.
After two months of intensive testing, tuning, and production, the first batch of five transport vessels was delivered to the AECS on October 21, 1997.
During the company's annual press conference, they officially introduced the concepts of "Moon City" and "making Earth-Moon travel as convenient as tourism" to the public in the main universe. The aerospace research department then gave the new transport vessel a lunar-related nickname, calling it *Luna*.
The *Luna* transport's maximum capacity is 182 personnel. If only the infantry seats on the second deck are retained, and the entire first deck area is connected, it can just barely accommodate two Titan main battle tanks or one Slayer hover tank while still carrying 40 fully armed infantry units.
Thus, the AECS and cloned soldiers gathered in the underground hangar, along with the armored units composed of Titans and Slayers, would be transported by the more powerful *Luna* transport fleet, consisting of over two hundred vessels.
In addition, twenty *Phantom* fighter jets with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities were stationed at the hangar's eastern end, having completed their loading and were undergoing comprehensive inspections by logistics personnel.
Moving from underground to the surface.
Two *Shadowstrike* assault vessels, each nearly one hundred meters long, had also completed their loading, with their nuclear fusion engines and magnetic levitation systems already activated. They hovered low over the makeshift landing pads of the frontline base, waiting.
Judging by the scale of the operation, Atlas was preparing to launch a large-scale orbital raid on the Steel City in Antarctica.
At this moment, in the command center;
"Seventy-five percent of infantry and armored units have boarded. Completion is expected in five minutes."
"The airborne BOW (bioweapon) formation is about to reach the designated sea area and is expected to be deployed in two minutes to execute the Primal Eradication Plan."
"Ernie-06 has reached North American airspace, ready to synchronize the Eradication Plan with the deployment of a strategic hydrogen bomb. After completing the deployment, it will immediately relocate to the skies over Antarctica to closely monitor Steel City. If the company's rescue operation encounters resistance, it will provide direct fire support and orbital drops for ODST."
The corresponding employees behind each control console sat, some raising their voices to provide real-time reports.
Samuel Young, as usual, stood beside the central console, but his gaze was fixed on the two *Shadowstrike* assault vessels hovering outside the sealed window.
Two days ago, Magnus had reported that the situation in Steel City was complicated, especially with the high likelihood of a complete Conservative betrayal, leading him to request full company support.
The request included rescuing the falsely accused PPDC commanders and using the company's orbital transport capabilities to bypass Steel City's plasma pulse cannon defenses, quickly infiltrate the city, and eliminate the traitorous Conservative members.
In response, Samuel chose to support and approve the request. After all, Atlas had been operating covertly since entering Universe 06 for the past two months, enough to catch the traitors off guard.
Moreover, the Eradicate Virus and the BOWs intended to spread it were ready, so Samuel planned to start the full-scale assault with a "fireworks show" of nuclear devastation in North America, simultaneously boosting Magnus and the others' momentum.
Since the peaceful route was blocked, they would go for the hard approach.
After counting seventy-five seconds in his mind, Samuel stopped looking out the window and turned to the central console with numerous holographic screens. He pulled up the surveillance footage from the *Homelander's* eye camera.
The footage began in darkness, and after a moment, it showed the interior of the cargo hold on the first deck of a *Luna* transport. He also used the *Homelander's* view to see the large "containers" awaiting deployment.
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