Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume19 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 8===

Quenser’s group had lost their truck-based mobile base and they were now being pursued by Faith Organization police, but what they needed to do and where they needed to go remained unchanged.

“To Rome’s outer gate!! The big main gate that trucks weighing more than 10 tons can fit through!!”

“May I ask why!?”

Millia had a reason for yelling to Quenser even though she preferred covert operations and was right next to him.

A deluge of voices that were definitely not cheering rattled all the windows in the area. The tourists hadn’t been shaken by a truck blowing up, but this they couldn’t pretend was part of the parade or another event.

Quenser caught some glimpses of Valkyries in their black combat suits with add-ons resembling sexy underwear, but those police special forces were meant to protect the people of the city and couldn’t fight their way through the crowd to reach the spies. Quenser let the crowd carry him as he spoke.

“The Chain Cutters launched hundreds of cruise missiles and the Faith Organization shot them all down with their secret weapon…the Septimontium, was it? The Faith Organization is probably mighty pleased with itself, but Bad Garage expected that. The plan was for the missiles exploding in midair to send the crowds into a panic! Including the tourists, that’s more than 10 million people, right? Get that many people running around in a panic and the ordinary security system entirely breaks down!!”

They had already learned the Electric Drills had a device meant to unlock a SM-510Gi, an electronic lock for a large truck they presumably intended to steal.

Quenser could easily predict what the future held now.

“Their main force is waiting outside of Rome. That’s probably Bad Garage themselves.”

He was careful not to be swept away by the crowd, but he did not stop either.

The situation was pressing.

“The cruise missiles were bound to bring chaos whether they hit the city or were shot down. As the fearful people try to leave Rome, security at the gates will cease to function, which means this is their chance to break through the gate and enter Rome with their truck or whatever!!”

“We can discuss what their cargo is later, but it’s suicide either way. Maybe they can slip past the human eyes, but the gate has countless cameras and sensors. Even if Bad Garage uses the chaos to break through, the make, model, and number of their truck will be known and the authorities will catch up to-”

Realizing the flaw in her reasoning, Millia trailed off and Quenser continued for her.

“Which is why they’ll switch to a new truck as soon as they’re inside. Truck A used to break into the city will be marked, but they just have to reload their cargo on Truck B prepared by the Electric Drills and they can vanish into the city. Then they’re free to move around Rome with whatever secret weapon they have!!”

“May I ask a fundamental question here, teacher?” whispered Putana, finding two young siblings who had apparently been separated from their parents and guiding them toward the wall where they wouldn’t be swallowed up if the crowd started to collapse like dominoes. “What exactly is this secret weapon?”

“…”

Quenser had no answer.

He had predicted so much, but it wasn’t enough to catch up with the Chain Cutters and Electric Drills. Their leaders in Bad Garage were still at least a step ahead of Quenser.

He heard a vehicle honking loudly behind him.

He looked back to see Heivia driving a humongous fire truck he had gotten from who-knows-where. When the truck passed them, Quenser’s group hopped onto its side like it was a tram. It continued down the chaotic Roman street with them onboard.

This would let them escape Sarasa Gleamshifter and the Valkyrie special forces.

Myonri reached down from the top of the fire truck.

“It’s a pretty bumpy ride! If you aren’t confident in your grip, it’s safer to climb up to the roof!!”

“Thanks, Myonri. I’m giving up first!”

Everyone knew Quenser was scrawny, so he gave up before the girls. Pretending to be stronger than you were would get you killed in war, so he grabbed Myonri’s hand and crawled up onto the roof.

(Bad Garage wants to prove the environmental destruction by Objects theory. That means they want this to end with Rome being obliterated by an Object-created disaster. But what are they bringing into the city to do that? It has to be small enough to carry on a truck. I doubt they actually have dozens of trucks carrying all the dismantled parts needed to construct an Object inside Rome. That would take months undercover here.)

“No, wait.”

“Teacher?”

“Damn, so that’s it. They only need the one part. They don’t have to construct the whole thing!!”

Putana climbed up on her own and tilted her head with her black ponytail whipping in the wind. Unfortunately, now was not the time to adore how cute that was. Quenser cautiously moved to the front of the fire truck and kicked the roof of the driver’s compartment with his boot heel to get his partner’s attention.

He was practically on top of Heivia, but he still shouted into his radio.

“Heivia!! What underground spaces in Rome could you directly drive a 10ton truck into? It has to be at least 60m deep!!”

“Do you have any idea how many millions of people there are crammed into this tiny area of land?”

“Including the carnival tourists, over 10 million.”

“Your adoring student is right, Quenser. Everything looks all fancy and they insist on preserving the scenery, but that makes it really hard to do any construction and they’re forced to keep all the ugly and dirty infrastructure underground. Really, just driving into a subway tunnel would be enough to meet your conditions, so what’s your point!?”

“Bad Garage’s win condition is destroying Rome with an artificial disaster caused by an Object and they’re willing to do anything to accomplish it.”

Quenser briefly paused for a deep breath.

And he attempted to explain once more.

“So what could that artificial disaster be?”

“The first things that come to mind are an earthquake or volcanic eruption. Because an Object’s weight and footwork have a negative effect on the earth’s crust.” Millia must have been confident in her grip because she remained on the side of the fire truck while she gave her casual response. “And luck would have it Mount Vesuvius is located on the Italian Peninsula. It’s one of the world’s most famous active volcanoes, right alongside Mount Etna, and it’s only about 200km from the center of Rome. Mineral springs are fairly common around here, so there is a chance the same magma reservoir exists below the city. It’s currently dormant, but the kind of massive energy that destroyed Pompeii in a single night still lurks below the surface.”

“I had the same idea,” said Quenser. “Bad Garage just has to artificially trigger an eruption. And no matter how cheap an argument it is, they’ll consider it a win as long as it counts as Object technology causing an earthquake or eruption. That means they don’t even need some brand new secret weapon. Existing tech is more than enough to pull that off.”

“Um, Quenser? You aren’t saying what I think you are, are you?” asked Myonri on the fire truck roof, hoping he would reject the idea in her mind.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that. He was forced to confirm it.

“An artificial earthquake.”

“…”

“Long ago, an underground nuclear test apparently caused a malfunction in the seismographs installed on the surface, recording it as a magnitude 5 or greater. So it should be possible. They don’t even need a whole Object. If they carry the high-powered JPlevelMHD reactor in on a truck and detonate it deep underground, they can affect the magma reservoir linked to Mount Vesuvius. Then that magma will burst up from below Rome and submerge the city in an orange hell!!”