When William gave the order to jump, reports came in from the crew members on the bridge.
Shortly after, a blue glowing jump portal appeared at the front of the Phantom.
Smooth entry.
Once again, shimmering blue light spilled into the bridge.
However, everyone was already accustomed to this strange and beautiful sight, no longer as excited as before; it seemed they were experiencing some aesthetic fatigue.
Within half a minute, the Phantom exited hyperspace and arrived in Mars's near-Earth orbit.
William, still with his hands behind his back, looked out the porthole and said to the two ladies standing beside him, "Have the Phantom hover over the Mars base."
"Yes, Boss." (x2)
As the order was given, they coordinated the Phantom's descent, passing through the not-so-dense Martian atmosphere.
William also left the central console and walked to the porthole at the very end of the bridge.
He watched as the Cydonia Planitia 'below' grew closer, and upon fully entering the Martian atmosphere, the veil of Mars City was completely lifted.
Unlike the small, dome-protected city clusters of the Mare Nectaris Colony, Mars City covered a much larger and wider area, appearing even more magnificent.
After all, even if Mars's atmosphere was thin, it was still an atmosphere, which could, to some extent, mitigate meteorite impacts.
Small meteorites would be completely incinerated upon entering the atmosphere, becoming dazzling shooting stars in the night sky, and even if they successfully entered the atmosphere, the heavily invested and researched domes could withstand them.
Large, threatening meteorites would be directly destroyed remotely by the Ares and Hades, stationed above.
But the moon...
It could only rely on the hard resistance of domes to defend against those small and inconspicuous meteorites, which is why the Mare Nectaris Colony could not expand fearlessly like Mars.
As for the Mars Base, it was located in the northern part of Mars City.
The military base did not use domes composed of multiple pieces; instead, it adopted the most hardcore construction method—
Steel, iron, and titanium alloy.
From a distance, it looked like a colossal steel fortress.
In terms of weaponry, it boasted various calibers of artillery, anti-aircraft guns, missile launchers, and arrays of close-in weapon systems with intoxicating gunfire, among others.
As for vehicles like the Pelican, F-X, and B-65, as well as new siege tanks and support vessels, they were parked inside the fortress, out of sight.
Its scale was more than ten times that of the Troy Base, making it Umbrella's largest existing base and the one with the most investment.
Its codename was 'Fortress'.
Within a few minutes, the Phantom, controlled by the two AI, steadily docked directly above the base.
Seeing this, William turned to leave the bridge.
As he passed the central console, he pulled out Cortana's chip and put it in his pocket, then calmly said to Cortana:
"Cortana, inform Colonel Victor that I plan to inspect the Fortress later.
The Phantom will be under your temporary management. If Dr. Halsey has any requests, notify me immediately."
"Yes, Boss," Cortana nodded.
Leaving the bridge.
Upon reaching the deck corridor and putting on a small headset, William heard Cortana's voice say, "Boss, do you need all Alphas to gather in the hangar?"
"No." William shook his head slightly and said:
"Hank and the others need to rest, and besides, all the colonies are Umbrella's territory. Let those kids from Blue Team go down."
"Yes, I've already notified the Spartans to head to the hangar."
"Very good. Now, give me a detailed report on Mars."
"Yes, Mars..."
As William and Cortana conversed, they passed through layers of corridors and arrived in the Phantom's lower hangar.
They saw a group of Marines and paratroopers, dressed in black short-sleeved shirts and shorts, running in formation around the deck, shouting synchronized slogans, led by Hudson and Hicks.
Meanwhile, three Spartans, dressed in Umbrella's black officer uniforms, stood beside the Pelican, awaiting William's arrival.
Mylon was still his usual carefree self, looking left and right.
Carl, with his long white hair, had a quiet demeanor, waiting obediently.
As for John...
He remained cold and unsmiling.
When everyone saw William enter the hangar, they stopped their work, ready to salute him.
"Alright," William was the first to say loudly, "You don't need to salute every time I arrive. There aren't that many rules on the Phantom."
"Yes." (xN)
"Haha." No sooner had he spoken than Hudson chuckled softly to Hicks:
"What did I tell you? The boss is definitely approachable. Come on, pay up, you lost the bet."
With that, Hudson extended his hand with a mischievous grin.
"Oh... here you go." Hicks looked helpless, reaching into his pant pocket to pull out a crumpled banknote and hand it to Hudson.
William, with his excellent hearing, could hear their conversation clearly, even though the Marines were quite far away.
However, he didn't say much. Having more 'unruly' Marines on the Phantom would only add more vitality to the place.
He then led the Blue Team trio onto the Pelican, telling the Spartans to wait in the cabin, while he walked into the cockpit.
The Pelican's cockpit was spacious, with good visibility and tiered seating.
The gunner sat at the very front, and the pilot sat behind them.
William stood beside the pilot, gripping the handle on his right side, and calmly commanded, "Take us down."
"Yes."
Following the brief exchange, the pilot maneuvered the Pelican, guided by ground crew holding red glow sticks, to the elevator.
Descending.
Entering the decompression chamber.
Decompression complete.
Deployment.
Whoosh—!
After completing a series of procedures, the Pelican's fuselage shook slightly as it exited the Phantom's decompression chamber.
The alien landscape within Mars's atmosphere came into view.
But the pilot didn't stop to admire it, instead controlling the Pelican's descent, quickly hovering over the top of the Fortress.
And reported in a low voice, "Fortress, this is Igo One, requesting landing, over."
"Fortress received, proceed to Valve Seven."
"Received."
Ending communication, the Pelican slowly flew towards the valve marked with the number 7.
Hovering.
Valve opening.
Descending.
Valve closing.
Pressurizing.
A routine flight mission, completed cleanly and efficiently.
Through the window, he saw the Pelican's platform moving horizontally, entering the Fortress's massive internal warehouse, and then the platform descended and came to a stop.
Seeing this, William finally returned to the cabin and said to the three Spartans who had already stood up, "Follow me."
"Yes." (x3)
The aft ramp opened.
Greeting the four were a group of neatly uniformed lieutenants, as well as the Fortress's overall commander, Colonel Mikhail Victor.
Victor led the lieutenants in a salute and laughed heartily to William, "Boss, long time no see."
"Heh heh, it certainly has been a while."
William also smiled slightly as he stepped out of the Pelican and walked to Victor's side, saying, "Take me on a tour of the Fortress and Mars City."
"Yes."
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