Chapter 37: The Serpent's Nest

The biting air pierced their skin as their parachutes touched down on the snow. A cold wind whipped across Arata's face as he lay on the frozen ground. Pierson and Natasha landed safely not far from him. They quickly shed their gear, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

A thick darkness enveloped everything, save for a faint glow of light in the distance. Arata pulled out his binoculars. As he raised them to his eyes, he was stunned. It wasn't just a base, but an entire military complex. A series of buildings, warehouses, and radar towers were spread out before them, nestled among the snowy mountains. Too many guards, too many blind spots.

"Damn it," Pierson whispered. "This is much bigger than Clarke thought."

"Our plan remains the same," Arata said, his voice steady. "We'll do this in three phases. Pierson and I will infiltrate and find Collins. Natasha, you will copy all the data from the control room."

Natasha nodded. "I understand. I'll copy everything."

The first phase went smoothly. Moving silently, Arata and Pierson were like ghosts hiding in the shadows. They took down two guards, then quickly stripped them and put on their uniforms. In no time, they became two unknown faces in the crowd.

They searched for the coordinates Clarke had given them but found nothing. Confusion hung in the air until the sound of a helicopter broke the night's silence. Arata and Pierson hid behind a stack of crates. To their surprise, a figure they knew all too well stepped out of the helicopter: Prime Minister Nagato, accompanied by heavily armed bodyguards.

"So, what Nikolai said was true," Arata muttered, his eyes burning with rage. "Nagato... he's involved."

They discreetly followed the group to a hidden bunker. A thick steel door opened, and Arata and Pierson peeked in. Their hearts stopped. Inside, in the middle of a large room, stood a nuclear missile. It was the missing missile.

Arata immediately contacted Natasha. "Natasha, I need you to copy everything. Everything on the servers. We need proof."

Their second phase began. With a remote control, Arata triggered the explosives he had planted. A series of C4 explosions rattled various points of the base, causing a power outage and a deafening blaring of sirens.

From the control room, Natasha shouted. "Arata! Pierson! I've found something! Collins isn't here. He's at an underground base under the lake!"

Arata's head snapped around, searching for Nagato amid the chaos. He saw the Prime Minister running frantically towards his helicopter. "Damn it! That kid is still alive!" Nagato yelled, his terrified eyes catching a glimpse of Arata's silhouette escaping into the darkness, before he disappeared inside the helicopter.

Not long after, the sirens of police cars blared in the distance, and Arata could hear a radio command. "All units, apprehend the terrorist leader, Arata Masamune!"

Nagato had framed him.

As the base began to fill with troops from the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), media crews attempting to cover the story were immediately blocked. They were forbidden from recording or broadcasting anything. TV screens across the city that were usually broadcasting news suddenly switched to showing boring dramas. Nagato did not want the truth to be revealed.

With the main base in chaos, Arata and Pierson rushed toward the frozen lake. They dived into the freezing water; darkness swallowed them whole. After a while, they found a hidden entrance.

They entered. The tunnel walls were filled with cables and pipes. They started planting more C4, this time to destroy the base for good. However, a hidden surveillance camera detected their movements. Instantly, an alarm blared loudly.

"Damn it, we've been spotted!" Pierson yelled.

Three armed men appeared from the corridor. They were Collins's subordinates, nothing more than amateurs. Pierson sighed. "They're no match for us."

Sure enough, after a few shots, two of them immediately surrendered, and the third fled, knowing their fate would soon be sealed.

Meanwhile, inside the base, Collins, who was watching the events on a screen, began to panic. He pressed a button, and a synthesized voice boomed throughout the base. "Nuclear missile activated. Detonation time: 60 minutes."

"Natasha! Deactivate the missile, please!" Pierson shouted on the intercom.

"I can't, Pierson!" Natasha replied. "The control is with Collins. You have to find him!"

The synthesized voice spoke again. "Base self-destruct activated. Destruction time: 10 minutes."

There was no more time. Arata and Pierson agreed to split up. Arata managed to find the nuclear missile control panel. He worked quickly, following instructions from Pierson. The missile's red light finally turned green.

Just then, an explosion from one of the bombs they had planted earlier shook the entire base. Arata was thrown back, his head hitting something. He nearly fell from the third floor but managed to grab onto the ledge.

As he struggled to climb up, he saw a figure emerge from the darkness. It was Collins. He pointed a pistol at Arata.

"Hello, Masamune."