Colonia Storm Tour

The ill-fated bond between Epsilon and the Burning Winds, two arch-enemies, cannot be easily severed by time and space, especially since Epsilon also possesses time-space technology. With a mysterious stroke of luck and mystical enhancements, it is even less likely that the two arch-enemies will never meet again. However, this time, having lost the air base on the flank of Colonia and degenerated into the Burning Winds resistance army on the Pacific front, they no longer have the ability to escape Epsilon's pursuit. They can only use all available forces to confront them head-on, or they will perish.

-Acutan Islands, Northern Ocean-

An Epsilon construction vehicle emerged from the wormhole with a whirring and metallic vibration. Inside the construction vehicle's command center, the Epsilon heretic looked smugly at the report document before him. This document, bearing the Hebrew triad symbol jokingly referred to as "VIP," explained the reason for his arrival in the Akutan Islands of this other world.

Since Parallel World Earth 0 was transformed into a Tiberium planet due to the Nod Brotherhood's Ascension Plan, we have not found any signs of life on its surface. Only a massive explosion created a huge crater hundreds of kilometers in radius around the Threshold Tower in southern Italy. Subsequent telepathic reconnaissance yielded no trace of the Burning Wind Resistance led by Lin Haiyuan or their aerial flagship. Therefore, we deduce that there is a greater than 90% chance they destroyed the last Threshold Tower and then used hyperspace technology to leave this world. Thus, we conclude that Parallel World Earth 0 has no further military value. Only miners and guards will remain to continue mining Tiberium resources for our own use; all other troops will be withdrawn.

Three years and six months later, during a psychic gathering of our most powerful psychics, a peculiar psychic energy fluctuation was perceived within their psychic vision. This fluctuation was remarkably stable, orderly, and powerful, but strangely, it also contained two chaotic energy fluctuations. These were clearly the energy fluctuations of a powerful, intelligent being. Under Lady Yuri's orders, the psychics attempted a covert infiltration to investigate. Initially, they discovered a rhombus-shaped crystal suspended within a metal ring. Within the rhombus-shaped crystal, they saw the blurry silhouette of a young girl. They then realized that the powerful, orderly, and stable energy fluctuation was actually caused by psychic resonance. In reality, there were four energy fluctuations in total; the first originated from the crystal containing astonishing... The psionic crystal was radiating a stable psionic matrix. A second, blurry image of a young girl appeared within the crystal. The third and fourth psionic fluctuations couldn't be immediately confirmed. Then, we psionicists inadvertently gleaned the name "Lin Haiyuan" from the girl's mental fluctuations. Our mental vision was immediately interrupted, and we were sent flying, falling in disarray. Several psionicists' attempts to observe were discovered by the girl's shadow, who then violently interrupted their mental vision. However, the all-too-familiar name "Lin Haiyuan" proves that our greatest threat exists in that world. To eradicate the Burning Wind Resistance once and for all, and to understand their situation…

[Our psionicists have once again gathered, having painstakingly obtained the correct spatial coordinates to support wormhole teleportation. Now, heretic, you are designated to lead a small army to occupy the building and area that Lady Yuri calls the Crystal Tower, establish a field base, enforce area control, and protect the psychic experts we have dispatched to study the mysteries within the Crystal Tower, as well as the Shadow of the girl who previously hindered our access to information about the Burning Wind Rebellion. Please ensure that the relevant psionic suppression equipment is installed and that you are able to become a psionic entity; psionic power is extraordinary.]

"Is it that Burning Wind Rebel Army again? Why do they always seem to be haunting us, appearing on our path? Don't they know what it means to give up...?"

Epsilon the Heretic touched his bald head and rubbed his throbbing temples. According to the battle records, Epsilon did achieve some tactical victories against the Burning Wind Rebels, even once driving them to the brink of defeat and forcing them out of their stronghold. But after that, there were no more victories against the Burning Wind Rebels. Instead, there were only frustrating cat-and-mouse games and countless defeats.

People within Epsilon are already complaining about how long it will take to get a result from fighting such a slippery eel.

"Heretical, the mobile construction vehicle has arrived at the designated deployment location and has begun deployment. Please prepare to carry out the mission."

Epsilon EVA's voice echoed in the command room.

"Alright, let's get to work. Hopefully, the Foehn rebels won't be thinking of hiding somewhere like the Arctic again, and then our small force will run into their main force again."

After making a sarcastic remark, the heretic skillfully began operating the control panel in front of him.

It's time to end this mystery with Epsilon.

Chapter Sixty-Six: A Chance Encounter (Part One)

Military Operations: A Close Encounter

Location: Northern Ocean - Acutan Islands

时间:1982年1月15日6:00:00

Theme song: Frank Klepacki - Odd Funk

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"Establishing battlefield con/t/rol standby."

A clear, female EVA voice rang out in the command room inside the Allied mobile construction vehicle. Lin Haiyuan sat in the commander's office chair, looking at the giant monitor in front of him with a serious expression. Compared to the holographic projections that were used extensively in the air base on the flank of Colonia, this giant monitor did not seem to have such a high-end feel, and it could not divide the view window and functional areas.

At first, Lin Haiyuan was not used to it, but after a period of training, he was able to readjust to this outdated commander control interface, even without the assistance of Walker.net AI.

Returning to the battlefield view provided by the satellite system, as usual, Allied destroyers led the charge, with Aegis cruisers specializing in air defense flanking the fleet. Behind and to the sides of the massive battleships, Traveler hovercraft accompanied them. At the stern of the battleships, a Traveler hovercraft carried a mobile construction vehicle; essentially, the entire fleet's command center was located on this one Traveler hovercraft. However, the vanguard consisted of severely unbalanced CNC naval units; the Allied destroyers possessed only 155mm guns and a single Osprey anti-submarine aircraft, with no other firepower. The Aegis cruiser, like the early Aegis ships in the real world, lacks both land and sea attack capabilities. The battleship is also a super-sized destroyer without anti-submarine capabilities, lacking any real anti-submarine function. It only has a single, lonely twin 360mm naval gun. It's barely comparable to a battlecruiser like the Rodney or Nelson, with all its turrets positioned forward. At best, it's at the level of a CA heavy cruiser. However, compared to the equally bizarre Russian naval tech tree, it's sufficient. In the game's design, it was originally intended to be called a heavy cruiser, but for some reason, it was changed to the inaccurate name of a battleship.

This small fleet was advancing in an orderly fashion across the sea. They had been sailing off course in the Northern Ocean for almost a month, and were now finally approaching the waters near the Akutan Islands. The radar map above the construction label on the right side of the giant display had resumed normal operation and was now showing the radar map of the current area.

The first thing that catches the eye is the dark seawater and the large white islands scattered among it. It is currently winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and the islands of the Acutan Islands are naturally covered with a layer of snow. The scarcity of natural resources and the distance from shipping routes have made this place deserted. Therefore, there is no need to worry that the arrival of this small fleet will cause chaos in the surrounding area.

"Commander, after 21 days and 6 hours of sailing, the exploration fleet has arrived in the waters near the Akutan Islands, and the radar and satellite systems have been reconnected."

A support skill tab for "Satellite Scan" popped up on the left side of the giant display, allowing Lin Haiyuan to use satellite scanning as he wished.

"This feeling of being completely obscured by the map can finally be gone. Now I'm going to scan this archipelago properly and find where that crystal tower is..."

Just as Lin Haiyuan was preparing to use satellite scanning, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded in the command room.

"This is Destroyer Explorer-1/2/3/4/5/6. Sonar system has detected an underwater unit. Waveform analysis indicates a small submarine, model unknown, approaching. Requesting instructions!"

The destroyer captains' communications were shrouded in a jumble of noise on the communication channel. Then, Lin Haiyuan saw familiar ripples and slender, thin hulls with simple and crude turrets on the battlefield. Several piranha mini-submarines were rapidly rising from the shallow waters, preparing to attack these uninvited guests.

(Holy shit, isn't that Epsilon's piranha mini-submarine?! What are they doing here?! This is another world, how come they keep showing up again like ghosts?!)

"Activate combat alert! All personnel, level one readiness! Do not use Osprey anti-submarine aircraft. Use your ship's guns to blast these surfacing submarines to smithereens! Heavy cruiser Explorer, open fire at will!!"

Lin Haiyuan issued the order directly through the communication channel, without using EVA to put everyone on alert.

"Aye yes sir!!" The captains of the destroyers and battleships immediately went into battle mode, and the 155mm spherical turrets of the destroyers immediately rotated and fired at the incoming piranha mini-submarine.

In the game, destroyers cannot rotate their turrets to fire; they can only fire at the enemy in front of them. This is purely due to a trade-off between gameplay and engine limitations. In reality, the turrets are designed with a 180-degree firing arc.

Epsilon's piranha mini-submarine also opened fire without hesitation. ARO rockets were fired from the fish-mouth-shaped turrets, bombarding the destroyer's hull armor and blasting a charred shallow crater in the destroyer's armor. A single ARO armor-piercing shell from the piranha mini-submarine was not enough to seriously damage the enemy, but the destroyer's 155mm high-explosive shells were a catastrophic blow to the piranha mini-submarine.

Boom! Boom! Thump! The piranha mini-submarines were easily smashed into small explosives by a single shot from the destroyer's 155mm gun. Ripples and debris spread across the sea. Four piranha mini-submarines had already been destroyed, and two others were only severely damaged. At this time, more piranha mini-submarines were surfacing behind them, preparing to attack. The battleship in the center of the fleet decisively turned its turrets to aim at the incoming piranha mini-submarine swarm.

Thump thump thump thump thump! A barrage of 360mm high-explosive shells slammed into the waters where the piranha mini-submarine cluster was located, creating numerous towering columns of water. Even those not directly hit by the shells would have their fragile armor torn to shreds and rendered unusable by the impact of the high-explosive shells in the water.

"The fleet has been attacked by an unknown enemy. There is no enemy data in the database. We are attempting to analyze the enemy's combat data to formulate a corresponding countermeasure!"

EVA's database does not contain data on Epsilon units, so it is normal that it is impossible to analyze and understand the enemy's approach. The only option is to record the enemy's combat data on-site, input it into the database, organize it, and send it to the rear for further revision and completion to form a complete set of unit data.

The presence of these Epsilon submarines within the Akutan Islands means that Yuri is still relentlessly hunting him across worlds, or it may simply be bad luck. In any case, their submarines appearing within the Akutan Islands means that there is something on the Akutan Islands that attracts them, such as the crystal tower where Exile exists!

Lin Haiyuan immediately conducted a satellite scan of Akutan Island, the main island of the Akutan Islands, which is the coast in front of him. Purple spots immediately appeared on the radar minimap. Sandbags and barricades, Gatling guns and Hellfire Towers, as well as Epsilon Shipyard and some beach defense forces composed of T1 and T2 units could be seen in the battlefield vision.

"An unknown enemy is guarding the beach with unknown weaponry. This is terrible! Someone beat us to it and entered the Akutan Islands. Our mission target may have already fallen into the hands of the unknown enemy. If we don't want this mission to fail, we must reclaim our target!"

Allied destroyers can attack while moving, provided the target is directly in front of them. The reason they cannot use rotating turrets is due to the Osprey anti-submarine aircraft. Releasing an Osprey drone is considered "firing," and any firing action cannot bypass the turret. Therefore, equipping destroyers with rotating turret codes would allow Osprey anti-submarine aircraft to take off from the turret...

Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Chance Encounter (Part Two)

"Battle Con/t/rol Online."

After EVA announced the connection of the combat control system, Lin Haiyuan was finally able to control his troops through the combat control system. The instructions issued by radio communication before were actually bypassing EVA.

Generally, commanders using electronic vision assistants (EVA) and combat control systems do not give orders to designated units directly via radio communication. Instead, they use EVA to convey the commander's orders, such as moving to a certain location and performing certain tasks. In the event of an emergency where the combat control system has not yet established contact, EVA also has the authority to put the unit into a state of free fire alert.

"Fortunately, there are only Mind Legion T1 and T2 units here, and the current troops are enough to deal with them, but it is unlikely that I will receive more troop support in the short term, so I have to rely entirely on myself."

Lin Haiyuan saw that the Coast Guard only had Whiplash Tanks and Gatling Tanks, and knew that he should not have encountered the main force of the Mind Legion, at least not yet.

The attacking swarm of piranha mini-submarines was naturally blown to pieces by the 155mm and 360mm naval guns armed with high-explosive shells. As he said, there was no need to deploy Osprey anti-submarine aircraft to deal with these fragile little submarines. However, the six destroyers connected to the combat control system discovered that the sonar showed an unusually large squid swimming rapidly from the water ahead. When the view turned to the battlefield, it was a translucent giant squid with purple rings swimming towards them, constantly expanding and contracting its tentacles.

"So there really are cheap naval warfare weapons, giant squid. We can take advantage of inexperienced opponents' carelessness and wipe out an entire fleet in one fell swoop. EVA, order the troops to launch Osprey anti-submarine aircraft and use depth charges to kill these giant squid. Let them know that they are not harmless wild animals, but are controlled by humans!"

When Lin Haiyuan was in the midst of the World War, he wanted to sink the American fleet. He could have taken advantage of their lack of knowledge about giant squid as a weapon and sank the entire Seventh Fleet in one fell swoop. However, using giant squid to sink the American carrier group would obviously not have the same propaganda effect as winning a naval battle through traditional fleet warfare, so he did not use it.

"EVA, order the rocket-propelled infantry platoon on the Traveler hovercraft to take off. Relying solely on Osprey anti-submarine aircraft may not be enough to deal with those giant squid."

The only air force Lin Haiyuan brought with him this time was a rocket flight platoon consisting of three squads. The 42K heavy machine guns they carried were the most powerful air firepower he currently had... Although it was a bit embarrassing and meager, it was enough to deal with the current situation. At least those giant squid and piranha mini-submarines were not heavy units with thick skin.

On the giant display screen, six destroyers, following Lin Haiyuan's orders, launched Osprey anti-submarine aircraft to bombard the giant squid. The Ospreys quickly took off from the destroyers' stern platforms and dropped extremely fast-sinking depth charges on the approaching giant squid, creating a series of underwater explosions that directly blasted the giant squid to pieces. Large amounts of blue blood mingled with the fleshy mess floating on the surface or underwater. These giant squid, which had no armor protection, were subjected to the damage of the depth charges with a brutal, bone-crushing force.

As the Osprey anti-submarine aircraft dropped a salvo of depth charges at the giant squid, the three Traveler hovercraft opened their hatches, allowing the brave, long-trained rocket pilots inside to take to the skies!

Generally speaking, rocket pilots can take off at a stable speed to their combat altitude. However, the current tense wartime situation requires rocket pilots to be deployed immediately, and the takeoff point is on the sloping deck. If they do not take off quickly, it is easy for them to fall into the sea.

With the familiar buzzing sound of rocket launchers, all three squads of rocket pilots successfully took off from the Traveler hovercraft. Lin Haiyuan didn't say much and immediately ordered them to move to the side of the destroyer, prioritizing the shooting of any giant squid that showed up, and then the steel-cast piranha mini-submarines. No matter how weak the armor of the piranha mini-submarines was against artillery, it was still stronger than high-mobility vehicles like Humvees. Using two heavy machine guns to spray bullets at them immediately was not the most economical and correct choice.

"I never imagined we'd be firing on marine life, especially such huge squid. How did the enemy control those squid?"

"In this world with magic, nothing is surprising. Controlling squid is probably a piece of cake. It's just a pity we can't use them as an extra dish."

Two rocket pilots watched the giant squid emerging from the water, muttering to themselves. The muzzles of their two 42K heavy machine guns gleamed, and the cold sea breeze quickly dispersed the gunpowder smoke. As the giant squid surfaced, it faced a hail of bullets and immediately thrashed its bronze tentacles in pain, continuing to rise. Large amounts of tissue debris and blue blood splattered everywhere. Under the control and suppression of the neural controller, these giant squid, despite the intense pain, prepared to entangle and attack the destroyer. However, the moment the giant squid's head emerged from the water, it would be their end. Since their heads were above the surface, the rocket pilots could easily blow their heads off, turning them into lifeless corpses that would writhe unconsciously and sink into the water, or simply shatter them into pieces. Such biological weapons, used alone against a prepared opponent without any cover, were destined to be easily torn to pieces.

Lin Haiyuan noticed that there had been a group of dune cavalrymen on the island's beach, riding hoverboards and preparing to rush over to cause trouble for them. However, after seeing the rocket soldiers take off and shoot the squid, they turned around and left without hesitation, returning to where they came from, as if they were completely under someone's command.

“There must be an Epsilon commander here, otherwise these dune cavalry wouldn’t be so smart as to return the way they came… In any case, let’s blow up their shipyard first.”

Lin Haiyuan chose to fire upon the battleship, targeting the Epsilon naval dock built next to the coast.

Thump thump thump thump thump! A barrage of 360mm high-explosive shells shattered the Epsilon naval dock, which was a sewage treatment pipe structure, into pieces. The massive explosive fragments sank or floated on the sea surface. These production buildings were not reinforced concrete fortresses; one should not have too high expectations for their sturdiness.

This temporarily cut off the possibility of Epsilon naval warships pouring out of this naval dock, ensuring the temporary safety of their small naval fleet. This fragile and unsupported small fleet could not withstand any major damage that it could not repair itself, as they had no hovering repair drones to follow and repair the damaged ship units.

*Beep ring!* "No further enemy naval units have been detected, and no more enemy submarines have emerged from that naval dock."

EVA sent him a voice message at the exact moment the Epsilon naval dock was destroyed.

Colonia's flank air base won't just disappear...

Chapter Sixty-Eight: A Chance Encounter (Part Three)

-Epsilonian Heresy-

Beep beep beep! The piercing alarm sounded throughout the command room. The Epsilon heretics looked at the well-commanded Allied fleet on the giant monitor, as well as the rocket pilots flying above the destroyers.

Feeling utterly humiliated, they decided to withdraw the squad of Dune Cavalry that they had prepared for boarding maneuvers. The Dune Cavalry could use their hoverboards to gain a mobility advantage and use poison grenades to blast open the hatches for boarding maneuvers, which meant killing the captain, sailors, and other soldiers to cripple the warship. As for sinking a warship with poison grenades alone, that was wishful thinking.

"Warning - This Allied fleet has destroyed all our naval units and naval docks in the area. We need to rebuild our naval forces and establish new naval docks!"

Epsilon EVA was alerted after being blown to pieces in the water by a battleship's 360mm high-explosive shell in the only naval dock owned by the heretics.

"Why is the Allied fleet, which only exists in the EVA database, here? And judging from their blue paint, they don't seem to be the Foehn Resistance..."

The Epsilon heretics stared sullenly at the Allied fleet on the giant monitor. Destroyers and battleships had already begun bombarding the coastal defenses and structures, while the troop-carrying hovercraft were starting to move. It seemed they were planning to use the ship's guns to ravage the beach defenses before sending troops ashore.

"Tactical advice: Heretic, our coastal defense system has now collapsed. It is recommended that the remaining coastal troops be withdrawn to the inland areas of the island to prepare to meet the Allied forces that are about to land."

When Epsilon EVA made this suggestion, it was clearly too late. After the Gatling guns and Gatling tanks that could attack the air were destroyed by the naval guns, the rocket infantry began to dive and strafe the archers and Epsilon recruits who were suppressed by the artillery fire and could not raise their heads. As for the dune cavalry, they did not become targets because they had retreated far enough.

"Let all the soldiers and vehicles that can retreat withdraw. There's no need to recover those Hellfire Towers. The construction drones won't be able to recover them anyway. Besides, leaving those Hellfire Towers alive can absorb some firepower, since they're still operational. EVA, prepare for the other forces to launch a counterattack and suppress these Allied forces on the beach to wear them down. Contact the First Otherworld Headquarters and tell them that we've discovered an Allied fleet in the north of this world, but we don't know which faction it belongs to."

The Epsilon Heretics did not see any unique units corresponding to the Allied sub-factions appearing on the battlefield; they were all general infantry and general naval units.

"The order is being processed, troops are being deployed to prepare for a counterattack, and it is in progress..." "Integrating battlefield information into a report and sending it to the otherworld headquarters in the southern part of the world... Failed."

Epsilon EVA gave an unexpected response to the second order, stating that it was unable to contact headquarters during this battle that might require calling for support.

"Communication link with Headquarters No. 1 in Another World has failed. The communication equipment is experiencing abnormal interference and is switching channels...failed. Switching channels...failed. Switching channels...failed. Switching channels...failed. The technicians initially deduced that this was caused by the special energy of the so-called magic in this other world. We are currently recalibrating the communication equipment and strengthening anti-interference measures. Until the recalibration and anti-interference measures are completed, our communication link with the Southern Headquarters will be temporarily interrupted. At present, there are no satellites under our control in the orbit of this planet, and we are also unable to communicate via satellite."

Epsilon EVA's voice message reveals an awkward situation that both Lin Haiyuan and Shinobu Tsukasa have faced: without satellites to support a global communication network, only a land-based radar station and a set of communication equipment support communication with headquarters in other parts of the world. Once interfered with or affected, there are no other means to maintain long-distance communication.

"What?! We can't contact the headquarters in the first other world at this time?! Yuri above! Who knows if this Allied fleet is the vanguard of a larger Allied fleet? Besides, this small Allied fleet is already enough to give me trouble. My base is within the firing range of the Allied battleships!"

According to the section on Allied fleets in the EVA database, the Allies typically tend to deploy medium-sized fleets in battles and rarely use small fleets.

Akutan Island is indeed large as an island, but half of it is still within range of naval guns. Once they discover their base, this small base, without any terrain buffer or high ground protection, will be annihilated by battleship fire, even if it is a heavy cruiser with only one 360mm naval gun! If he still had enough air power, he could gather a large number of Wraith attack aircraft to try to destroy the enemy battleship, but the three Medusa missile launchers of the Aegis cruiser still raise doubts.

It's important to know that the Allied Navy possesses the most powerful anti-aircraft warships. These warships are capable of taking on the air fortress Ilicara single-handedly. Of course, that's in the game and requires sufficient micro-management. Although the effectiveness of missile anti-aircraft weapons in the game is questionable, in reality, missile anti-aircraft weapons are more effective than anti-aircraft artillery, and shooting down Wraith attack aircraft is not difficult.

On the giant monitor in front of the heretic, destroyers, battleships, and rocket infantry had cleared all the beach defense forces. Traveler hovercraft had landed on the beach, opened the front hatch, and lowered the landing board. Snow Maiden tanks, Blizzard tanks, Peacemaker artillery, Longsword infantry armored with engineers, a squad of SEALs, and a squad of guards were all present. Finally, a Traveler hovercraft unloaded Allied mobile construction vehicles carrying Lin Haiyuan. All of this immediately made the heretic feel a thud of despair.

"Yuri above! Blizzard tanks, Longsword infantry armor—this is a Pacific Front unit, that Allied force belongs to the Pacific Front! But those twin-barreled hovercraft and… the Mirage Tank that turns into a tree? It doesn't look like a European Union Mirage Tank. What kind of unit is this?"

As the heretic stared in disbelief at the brand-new vehicles he had never seen before, he noticed that six traveler hovercraft remained stationary. He wondered why these hovercraft hadn't moved to deploy troops, but before he could think any further, he saw the landing Pacific Front forces take action.

The SEALs and guards immediately reused the barricades and sandbags that hadn't been destroyed by the naval guns, forming a temporary shelter with the guards' folding armor. Together with the Snow Maiden Tanks and Blizzard Tanks, they protected the Allied mobile construction vehicles and the unknown twin-barreled hovercraft. At first, he thought this twin-barreled vehicle was a new type of advanced hovering unit. However, when the Peacemaker cannon de-hovered, extended its gun mount, and fixed itself to the sandy ground, raising its long, thick gun barrel and rotating its turret into the sky, the heretic immediately realized that it was a variable self-propelled artillery.

"The EVA database has no information about this type of artillery unit in the Pacific Front's arsenal. Damn it, their artillery power is even stronger than we thought!"