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CER-01 The Meandering Three
>Push harder, 21!
Are your claws for show only?
I'm pushing. I'll destroy the car if I push any harder.
But I think you can do it by yourself.
You've been pushing the car without me for a while now.
What?! You piece of...
Help push for a bit, No. 21.
You can take the wheel in ten more minutes.
What about me? That's not fair!
You were just in the car! What else do you want?
You were so terrible at this that I'd rather put a tree stump on the driver's seat.
It is a sunny day—a little too sunny, perhaps. The sun shines blatantly upon the asphalt road that lies within hundreds of miles of deserted fields and sands.
The physical conditions of humans have determined that such an environment is not ideal for their survival. However, this place is a paradise for some other life forms.
Lizards, bharals, hares, wolves, the flying vultures...
...And the members of Cerberus, who are pushing their car on an endless highway.
What kind of mission is this?
All the secrecy! What mission is so important that they're sending us to a barren place like this?
How the hell would I know? That bedridden commandant just told us to arrive at the coordinates he sent us.
You should be glad that you're not grounded for the mess you made.
Hmph...
We're getting a call, Captain.
We're getting a signal?
Vera lets go of the car, somersaulting onto the roof and sitting beside No. 21 before taking the comms device from her.
Losing Vera's help, Noctis almost trips and falls over underneath the car.
****!
Shut up!
Vera motions to Noctis, now sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, to quiet down before standing up on the roof and waving the comms device around for a better signal.
This barren no man's land has always been a radio blind spot. There are only a few windows for them to connect with Babylonia every day, and each window lasts mere minutes.
Bzzz... Bzzz...
Why are the signals so bad here...
Bzzz... Bzzz... Ve...
Vera...
Hello?
Northwest... wagon...
...What direction are we heading?
We're on Route 77, 24 degrees northwest of where we started.
Must... Med... Serums... You...
What do we need those for? We haven't run into anyone on our way.
Not... Components... Illegal... You... Bzzz... Problems...
You... Handle it yourselves.
The voice from the comms turns into monotonous buzzing again.
What does that mean? Why did they say we're... illegal?
You didn't hide anything that got discovered by the higher-ups, did you?
Is this about those components and serums...
We're done!
We couldn't have fixed your mess just with the supplies they sent us. I heard there's still a queue of people in the court-martial waiting to make you suffer.
I can leave you to fend for yourself next time. How does that sound? Still feel like joking?
I... don't think that's what it was.
The message was designated "mission briefings" when I got the call.
Maybe it was about this mission.
What about the direction? Are we heading in the right direction?
Didn't they say northwest? I told you we're northwest of where we started.
How long do we still need to push, then?
There's a rest zone five kilometers ahead of us on the map.
Five kilometers?!
Keep pushing.
Vera throws the comms device at No. 21 and jumps down next to Noctis, giving him a light kick to get him to stand up and start pushing.
Meanwhile, No. 21 continues to sit on the roof, humming an unknown tune like she did before.
Hey, 21! Why aren't you in the car and holding the steering wheel?
I've tied up the steering wheel.
The car will drive straighter this way than it did with Noctis behind the wheel.
