MGS1英文官方小说

fengmosn

现在还算比较缩水 一天晚上打个4页左右
基本两个小时 剩下的可以自由支配

fengmosn

9

SNAK STUDIED THE aerial map of the facility on the Codec. The Nuclear Warhead Storage Building was a separate structure. He would have to return to the first level and the tank hangar to access an exit. It appeared that a narrow lengthwise canyon connected the two buildings. There was no telling what kinds of defenses the terrorists had set up outside, but one thing was certain – it would be cold. Snake was thankful for Dr. Hunter’s injection and wondered how long its effects would last.

　　Time for a cigarette. As much as he hated the kind he’d up,winced at the taste, and then punched in the code to reach masked face appeared on the Codec’s small view screen.

　　“Who is this?”

　　“You’re the colonel’s niece, Meryl, right?”

　　“I asked you a question.”

　　“I’m called Solid Snake.”

　　“You don’t say? The legendary Solid Snake?”

　　“That’s right. I’m working for your uncle.”

　　“I figured he’d send someone. I didn’t think it would be you. I thought you’d retired.”

　　“I am retired. I’m just doing this for fun.”

　　“That was you before? In the cell block?”

　　“Uh-huh.”

　　“Well, sorry about running out on you. I didn’t know who the heck you were. I didn’t want to take the chance that you were one of the bad guys. You look like -”

　　“I know. Where are you now?”

　　“I’m in the belly of the security system. I’m this close to figuring out how to hot-wire the hangar’s cargo door. It’s got a Level Five security lock on it. No one has a Level Five clearance except for the terrorists. I assume you want to get to the other buildings?”

　　“That’s affirmative.”

　　“Then you need my help. You’ll never get that door open by yourself.”

　　“I don’t know; I’m pretty good with doors. I do windows, too.”

　　“Mister, by the time you’ve found the security systerm, they’ll have already launched a nuke.”

　　This gave Snake pause. “So tell me, Meryl, what is this place,　really? It’s not just a nuclear disposal facility.”

　　“Of course not. Didn’t my uncle tell you anything?”

　　“Not enough, apparently.”

　　“This place is owned and operated by an ArmsTech dummy corporation. It’s a civilian base. For the development of the Metal Gear. Do you know what that is?”

　　“I’m, uhm, familiar with it.”

　　“This was supposed to be sort of a final test. You know, before a formal adoption of the program by the Pentagon.”

　　“I don’t like it. No government has any business fooling around with these Metal Gear contraptions. They might blow someone up.”

　　Meryl laughed. “You’re pretty funny for an ex-FOXHOUND operative.”

　　“So where are all the hostages? The facility’s employees?”

　　“I don’t know. They were rounded up and put somewhere. Some of them were interrogated, brainwashed, I don’t know …”
“Baker told me he gave you the three key cards that stop the REX from launching. Do you have them?”

　　“Hum, I have a key. He didn’t give me three.”

　　“Really? Then what was he talking about?”

　　“I have no idea. But I still have the one he gave me.”

　　“Then hang on to it. How did you manage to keep it hidden from the guards?”

　　“Uh, women have more hiding places than men.”

　　Snake almost smiled. “Do you know Doctor Emmerich?”

　　“Yeah, he designed the new REX. Nice guy.”

　　“Where is he?”

　　“Probably in the research lab of the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building. That’s across the canyon, outside, to the north. Did you bring your snow boots and winter coat?”

　　“Yes, Mom. I’m going to find him. If we can’t override the detonation code in time, maybe he knows how to destroy the back to civilization.”

　　“Oh, boy, can’t wait. Give me a few minutes. Wait for me in the hangar and I’ll go with you.”

　　“Nope. No offense, Meryl, but you don’t have enough real combat experience. I want you to find a good hiding place and concentrate on not getting caught again until I’ve sewn this place up. Then we’ll meet up and I’ll get you out of here.”

　　“Look, I’m sorry about before, you know, with my gun. I don’t know what happened; I just couldn’t pull the trigger right away. I never had any problems during training. But when I thought of bullets tearing into those soldiers’ bodies, I guess I just hesitated.”

　　“shooting at training targets and shooting at living people are very different.”

　　She sighed. “Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed about being a soldier. All my life I trained for the day I’d see some real action, and now …”

　　“So you want to quit?”

　　“I can’t quit!”

　　“Look, Meryl. Everybody feels sick the first time they kill someone. Unfortunately, killing is one of those things that get easier the more you do it. In a war, all of humankind’s worst emotions and worst traits come out. It’s easy to forget what a sin is in the middle of a battlefield. You’re just a little jumpy from the combat high. The adrenaline in your bloodstream is starting to thin out. Just take it easy.”

　　“I learned all about combat high at the academy.”

　　“We’ll talk about it later. For now, just think about keeping yourself alive … and staying the hell out of my way.”

　　“You’re a real bastard. My uncle was right,” she said. “Look, I know my way around this place. I could be useful.”

　　“Sorry. I work alone. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you on your uncle’s watch.”

　　Snake could feel her pouting. She was obviously still young and inexperienced in field operations. She had no idea how dangerous it really was.

　　She pulled off her mask. “All right, Snake,” she said. “I’ll be a good little girl. And maybe I’ll open the hangar cargo door for you.”

　　He was struck by her model’s good looks. He’d had no idea.

　　“What?” she asked, aware that he hadn’t said anything.

　　“Nothing. It’s just … your eyes.”

　　“My eyes?”

　　“They’re not soldier’s eyes.”

　　“Oh, right. Rookie’s eyes, huh?”

　　“No. they’re beautiful, compassionate eyes.”

　　“Hmpf. Just what I’d expect from the legendary Solid Snake. You trying to sweep me off my feet?”

　　Snake gave her a cynical laugh. “Don’t worry; you’d land right back on them as soon as you got to know me. The reality is no matche for the legend, I’m afraid. Let’s link up later. Stay put.”
Snake clicked off and moved toward the freight elevator. He took it to Level 1, stood to the side of the car so that he wouldn’t be seen when the doors opened, and waited. He heard nothing nearby, so he cautiously slipped out of the lift and hugged the wall.

　　The tank hangar was as he’d left it except for one significant change. One of the Abrams tanks was gone.



THE GIANT STOOD on a glacier that jutted out over the side of the canyon and eyed the building that housed the tank hangar. So far the door had remained closed.

　　The canyon was the size of an American football field, approximately a hundred yards between the hangar building and the Nuclear Warhead Storage structure. The snow had continued to fall at a steady pace, covering the canyon floor with a minimum of two feet, but weather reports predicted severe blizzard conditions within hours. At the moment, though, the atmospheric state was nothing out of the ordinary for Shadow Moses Island. For a small island in the Aleutian chain that stretched from Alaska to Russia, adverse climate was par for the course. The giant wondered why the U.S. government would build a facility in such a remote and harsh location. But his was not to question the antics of American politicians and military commanders. Even though he was an American politicians and military commanders. Even through he was an American by birth, his allegiance was to Russians, for whom he had worked for years. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the giant had worked for hire. The “new” FOXHOUND was just as good an employer as anyone. At least he would see some action … soon.
A large black bird circled the glacier and eventually landed on the giant’s shoulder. Vulcan Raven reached into a pocket and pulled out a handful of dried fruit pieces. He held it to the raven and allowed it to feed. The bird dug in even though it preferred fresh carrion.

　　“Patience, my friend,” the Alaskan said. “The time is near. Very soon we will see the enemy emerge from those doors. Then we will join our comrades in the tank and commence battle. The ancestors will be proud of our victory today.”

　　Vulcan Raven looked down onto the canyon floor, where the M1 abrams sat. the two gunners were already in position inside the vehicle. They were ordinary genome troopers who had no wish to bear the brunt of the cold weather. The climate didn’t bother Vulcan Raven. He could survive for days in subzero temperatures. He wasn’t half Alaskan Indian and half Inuit Eskimo for nothing. His immense size also contributed to the way his body generated warmth. He was a walking, breathing energy source.

　　“I suppose we should climb down the glacier now. what do you think, my friend?” he asked the bird. The raven squawked, finished the sample of dried fruit, and lifted off to hover over its master’s head. The giant picked up his gatling gun, a 20-mmM61A1 Vulcan that he could wield by hand as if it were a popgun, and sling it over his shoulder, before descending the cliff, he touched the birthmark on his forehead. The elder shamans had taught him from an early age that he had been born with the mark of destiny. Eskimos and Indians worshipped ravens, and Vulcan Raven happened to enter the world with the shape power derived from the birthmark. Whenever he became excited, such as in the heat of battle, the mark disappeared and his senses were heightened to inhuman levels. But Vulcan Raven’s size and birthmark were not the only things about him hat intimidated enemies. His imposing petroglyphs copied from prehistoric Indian ruins. The makings resembled circuit wiring, which Vulcan found ironic. Even two thousand years ago, the ancient shamans had foreseen the coming of the age of electronics.
“Let’s go, friend.”

　　The raven floated alongside him as the giant began his descent.

wildmetal

真不简单，加油阿

fengmosn

SNAKE VENTURED FARTHER into the hangar and immediately became aware of a genome guard on the catwalk to his left. He froze, hoping that the man hadn’t seen him. In the shadowy lighting, Snake’s suit could blend into his surroundings, but movement would give him away. (Snake wished his suit really could blend into his surroundings!)

　　The guard walked along the catwalk, stopped at the rail, and lit a cigarette.

　　The bozo hasn’t seen me. Good.

　　Snake waited until the guard turned to continue his patrol in the other direction. As soon as the man’s back as to him, Snake moved against the wall, out of the guard’s sight lines. He then slipped toward the metal staircase. His plan was to get rid of the guard, check to make sure there weren’t any others in the hangar, and then be ready for the slatted cargo door to roll up. If Meryl was as good as she claimed she was.

　　The operative crept silently up the stairs and reached the catwalk. The guard was walking slowly toward him, so Snake stayed on the top steps, below the levl of the mesh walk. He listened carefully for the sound of the boots approaching. Six feet …four feet …two feet…
　　
　　Snake reached up and grabbed the man by the ankles and pulled. The soldier fell flat on his back, generating an unwanted loud clang on the metal walk. Snake quickly leaped up onto the platform and stomped on the guard’s face. A second kick to the side of the head and the man was in dreamland.

　　He whirled around and surveyed the entire hangar from the advantageous height. There was no other movement. He could see, however, the tracks left by the missing Abrams tank. It had been driven from its position on the floor to the roll-up cargo door. It assuredly was waiting for him outside.

　　Snake descended the stairs and ran to the egress. He quickly punched in Meryl’s frequency code.

　　“What?”

　　“I’m waiting.”

　　“Hold your horses. I’ve just about got it.”

　　The mechanism in the wall clicked on and whirred as the slatted door lifted and rolled up into the ceiling. A blast of cold air wafted into the hangar.

　　“Do I get a gold star?” Meryl asked.

　　“I’m impressed. Can you cook, too?”

　　“I make a mean western omelet.”

　　“I’ll take you up on that in another time and another place. Now stay put.”

　　“Right.”

　　She disconnected as Snake peered into the dark tunnel that stretched from the hangar to the outside opening. It was tall and wide enough for a tank to pass through, was about sixty feet long, and emptied onto a snow-covered field. He took a step forward-
“Snake! Don’t move!”

　　It was Mei Ling.

　　“Why not?”

　　“Put on your thermals!”

　　He did so and immediately understood the team’s concern. An elaborate mesh of minute lasers, unseen by the naked eye, crossed the tunnel horizontally. They each moved up and down vertically at different speeds. Tripping one or more would certainly set off alarms or worse.

　　Campbell spoke. “Snake, our intelligence from the Knee Cap reports that the loading ramp to the hangar, where you are now, had been outfitted with nerve gas. You can probably see laser trip beams that -”

　　“I see them, Colonel.”

　　“Then avoid them at all costs. The tunnel would seal off, the gas would be released, and you’d be dead in minutes.”

　　“You always have such cheery news.”

　　“Just giving you a heads-up, soldier.” Snake could hear the attempt in the colonel’s voice to lighten the tension that had risen between them earlier. He wasn’t having any of it. Snake didn’t care of the way Campbell was handling the mission. He liked being told everything there was to know before going in, and the colonel hadn’t leveled with him. There were still a lot of things Snake didn’t understand about the undertaking. If Jim Houseman really was overseeing the entire operation, it was possible that even the colonel didn’t know all the facts. Snake supposed he should give Campbell the benefit of the doubt, but he wasn’t going to.

　　The thermal goggles clearly delineated the laser beams. The first one moved at a fairly slow speed. It was a simple procedure to wait until the line was just over his head and then slip than two feet away from the first. It also had an erratic vertical pattern – it didn’t just go up and down; it went up a little ways, then down a bit, up some more, down a lot, up even higher … It was unpredictable. Snake had to stand completely straight and pause until the beam was early touching the floor. Before the laser rose again, he stepped over it and walked forward out of harm’s way.

　　The mesh configuration continued for another thirty feet. The up-and-down patterns were more complex as he progressed. The intervals between lasers also varied; some were close together and others a fair distance apart to give an intruder a false sense of safe passage.

　　Snake punched Meryl’s code on the Codec.

　　“What?” she said, feigning annoyance.

　　“Sorry to bother you, but while you’re up in the security system, can yo fid a way to turn off these stupid lasers?”

　　“Sorry, Snake, I already checked. There’s no way. You really do have to have a Level Five security card, and the only place you can turn then off is there at the door.”

　　“Okay, I was just checking.”

　　“You’ll make it through okay?”

　　“Don’t worry about me.”

　　“I won’t. I’ll meet you at the storage building.”

　　“What?”

　　“I said I know my way around. See ya!”

　　“Meryl! I told you to stay put!”

　　“I changed my mind.”

　　“Don’t do something stupid!”

　　“Sorry, but this is the only way I can find out if I’m cut out to be a soldier. I gotta get my hands dirty! See ya there!” and she was gone.

　　Great. That’s all I need.

　　If it turned out she knew another way to get to the storage building, he was going to have her hide. But first, the task at hand.
Snake studied the patterns of the next three lasers and determined that he would have to traverse the closest two without stopping in between them. They were only a foot apart, and ad problem was that when one of the lasers was at a height over his head, the other one was at thigh level and moved too quickly for him to slip between the two. He would have to crawl under both, and he had a mere two seconds to do it.

　　He crouched, studied the pattern for another few moments, and then lay parallel to the beams. As soon as the second laser left the floor, Snake rolled like a log, cleared both beams, quickly jumped to his feet, and then leaped over the third laser.

　　Two more to go. These crossed each other; One was at the top while the other was at the bottom, and then they met in the lifted one leg high, and hurdled over the bottom beam.

　　He was clear. The icy wind was strong at the opening, and massive drifts of snow covered the field. Maneuvering through the deep stuff would be slow going and ponderous. But he had no alternative.

　　And somewhere in the blinding weather was a deadly armored tank.

fengmosn

10

SNAKE STEPPED INTO the knee-high snow and moved to the side of the open door, hugging the wall to stay out of sight.

　　The Codec beeped. Snake glanced at it and was surprised to see that it was a nonburst transmission. That meant it wasn’t from Campbell or the others.

　　“Who is this?” he answered.

　　“A friend.” It was a male voice, deep and controlled.

　　“Can you be more specific?”

　　“Snake, you must be careful in the canyon. There are Claymore mines planted at various locations. You have a mine detector?”

　　“Yes. Who is this?”

　　“Use the mine detector to pinpoint the Claymores. Stay out of their sensor range.”

　　“I know how to use it. Tell me who you are, damn it!”

　　“Consider me a fan. You can call me …Deepthroat.”

　　The transmission clicked off. Snake attempted to bring up the frequency code of the last incoming call, but the digital readout simply read 0.

　　What the hell?

　　Nevertheless, if the fellow was being straight with him, Snake’s life might have been saved. He opened a side pocket of the utility belt and removed the ArmsTech Pathtracker 3000, a handy tool that located unexploded mines and bombs by picking up radio waves from buried devices. Once the detector scrambled a mine’s signal, the user could disarm or detonate the explosive from a safe distance. Snake held the machine, which was the size of a deck of cards, and flicked it on. He extended the antenna and pointed it at the ground in front of him.

　　The outlines of three Claymore mines materialized on the screen. One was very close, about ten feet away from the hangar entrance. Two more were ten feet beyond that, nearly side by side. He would have to get farther onto the field to detect any more.
He turned the frequency knob and pointed the antenna at the spot where the first mine was buried. A green indicator light was supposed to brighten when the explosive was disarmed, but nothing happened. Snake wasn’t sure if the two feet of snow had had an impact on the unit’s functionality; perhaps it had. The best thing to do would be to avoid the area altogether.

　　Snake moved to the left side of the canyon and trudged to the north along the rock cliff. The wind wasn’t as strong and visibility was better next to the wall. Could he cross the entire field by staying on that course?

　　The answer came when the Pathtracker picked up a series of Claymores blocking his way. Once again he attempted to disarm them, but it was no go. He would have to move back toward the center of the field to go around them, out where he would be a sitting duck.

　　Snake put on his sun goggles to keep the wind out of his eyes, donned a pair of thermal gloves, and set out.

　　It took nearly twenty minutes to make the journey to the center of the canyon. Most of the Claymores had been concentrated in the first fifty yards, and now it seemed that the rest of the way was clear. Snake felt like Doctor Zhivago as he fought the harsh, frigid wind and plodded forward. He could have used a wool scarf and a down jacket, but Dr. Hunter’s nanomachines were doing a good job of keeping him warm. The worst part was the tedious traipsing through the deep snow. It was harder work than climbing a steep hill.

　　“This is Raven’s territory! Snake do not belong in Alaska! You will not pass!”

　　The deep voice resonated through the air, carried by the wind. It came from a loudspeaker somewhere up ahead. Snake squinted through the goggles and made out a dark, bulky shape that was growing larger.

　　The Abrams tank was coming his way.

　　Snake took the scope from his utility belt and focysed it on the armored monstrosity. A very large man with a bird painted on his forehead sat in the turret. No- it was a tattoo or a birthmark.

　　Vulcan Raven, the shaman giant, in the flesh.

　　Before Snake could begin to plan a defensive strategy, the tank’s 105-mm M68 rifled gun fired a shell at him. The only thing he could do was leap sideways as hard as he could and burrow himself as deeply into the snow as possible.

　　The explosion rocked the world around him. He felt his body being lifted and then slapped into the air. He landed with a thud despite the snow’s cushion. For a moment Snake saw stars, and there was a tremendously painful ringing in his ears.

　　Vulcan Raven laughed boisterously. “That’s right! You should crawl on the ground like the snake you are!”

　　The voice reminded him where he was. Snake quickly took stock of his arms and legs and determined that everything was still there. He carefully flexed each appendage and was grateful that nothing had been broken or torn by shrapnel. The ringing in his ears subsided but remained a steady annoyance.

　　He had been damned lucky.

　　The ground trembled below him, and he heard the Abrams’s engine coming closer. This time, the tank’s 12.7-mm machine gun rattled the snow around him. If anything was going to make him move his ass, that was it.

　　Snake got up and forced himself to leave the spot where he had fallen. It was impossible to run; it was like walking through molasses. What was he going to do?

　　Yet another lesson from Master Miller came back to him. It was an appropriate one, too, for it concerned a battle between a man with few defenses and a powerful giant.

　　“Do you remember the story of David and Goliath?” miller had asked the class of trainees. “David was a young Israelite lad, strong enough, but no match for the powerful Philistine warrior Goliath. The giant was armed with a sword and a club and armor and brute strength. David had nothing but a slingshot. But he used his wits to defeat Goliath. How did he do that? By invoking the principle that something small can often penetrate large defenses. So he placed a pebble in his sling, spun it in order to increase its speed and force, and flung the stone at the giant’s face. The rock struck Goliath between the eyes and killed him. Of course, it helped that David was a damned good shot! So let this be a lesson to you – know how to use your weapons expertly but also know when to use them. There is a time and place for every offense, no matter how small, and no matter how big the defense.”

　　Snake smiled at the memory. He knew exactly what he had to do.

　　The tank roared closer as Vulcan Raven’s voice boomed: “We shall toy with you a little longer, Snake. Only when you’ve had enough will I deliver the killing blow!”

　　Snake dived into the snow and dug deep until he felt the icy ground. Luckily, the snow was fairly soft, enabling him to tunnel his way toward the tank below the surface on his hands and knees. He could imagine what Vulcan Raven must be thinking as the giant searched the field for a sign of his prey. The snake truly had become a creature close to the earth. But unlike his cold-blooded namesakes, Solid Snake was a warm-blooded mammal who could withstand the frosty temperature below the snow’s surface.
When the tank sounded as if was rolling on its treads a mere few feet from him, Snake reached into the pouch and took out one of the frag grenades. Holding it firmly in hand, he stood, broke through the snow, and faced the oncoming juggernaut. He was at its broadside, about ten feet away. A gunner was in the turret next to Vulcan Raven, operating the smaller machine gun. He clearly heard the giant say, “Is that him? Over there?”

　　The gunner fired a burst of ammunition at a target perpendicular to and thirty feet away from where Snake was standing. He had fooled them. Snake pulled the grenade’s pin with his teeth, counted to five, and tossed the pineapple at the gunner. He then turned and ran- trudged, rather- through the thick snow,  moving away from the vehicle. The ensuing blast, which must have occurred in front of the gunner’s face, sent the man flying into the air. His lifeless rag doll body plopped into the snow directly in front of Snake.

　　Snake turned to see that a billow of black smoke now covered the top of he turret. After a moment, the dark cloud dissipated and Vulcan Raven’s head jutted out of the turret. He appeared to be unharmed. Snake figured that the giant must have ducked into his compartment inside the tank just as the grenade detonated.

fengmosn

　　“Damn you!” the shaman called.

　　Snake turned to the dead gunner and quickly searched inside the man’s fur=lined coat. There were two more frag grenades attached to the guard’s belt as well as a SIG Sauer handgun. Snake ignored the gun and took the grenades. As an afterthought, he went through the man’s pockets and found a key card. It was identical to the one Anderson had given him – a PAN – only this one was marked as a Level 3.

　　Brilliant!

　　He stuck the card in his pocket and dived under the snow once again.

　　“You cannot hide forever! I know where you are!”

　　Machine-gun bullets strafed the drifts, coming too close for comfort. Snake’s ruse had worked the first time, but it wasn’t going to deceive the giant any longer. So instead of crawling forward in the snow, Snake retreated into one of the “tunnels” he had created earlier. While the shaman ineffectually shot up the snow close to the Abrams, Snake put distance between them.
Time for a new plan.

　　He stood and saw that the tank was twenty-five feet away, facing south. A second gunner had joined Vulcan Raven on the turret. The shaman manned the larger machine gun and operated the tank while the trooper blasted the snow with the 7.62-mm gun.
“Where is he?” Raven shouted at the gunner. “Find him! You let him get away!”

　　Snake had a clear shot at the turret from where he was standing. He drew the SOCOM, stood in a Weaver stance, drew a bead on the gunner, and fired. The man shuddered, cried out, and then slumped over the turret. Raven turned just in time to face an oncoming bullet from the SOCOM, but he eluded it with a subtle shift of his body. Snake’s mouth dropped in surprise. The man was unbelievably quick. Snake figured that it must have something to do with his alleged mystical powers.

　　By then the shaman had swung the 12.7-mm machine gun toward Snake and let loose a volley of hellfire. Snake jumped into the snow, dug deep, and clutched the frozen ground; he knew it was only a matter of seconds before he would be hit. It was all over. He would die there in the snow-covered canyon, the terrorists would launch a nuclear weapon, and the world would never be the same.

　　But then the machine-gun dire abruptly stopped.

　　What had happened?

　　Snake dared to the thrust his head up to the surface to look. Vulcan Raven was working frantically on the machine gun. Since both of his gunners were dead, the giant had no one to act as a loader. This was Snake’s chance.

　　Using all the leg strength he could muster, Snake plodded through the thick snow toward the tank. As he ran, he reached into the pouch and retrieved another frag grenade. When he was fifteen feet away, he pulled the pin and tossed the explosive into the tank’s treads. He dived sideways into the frost, covered his head with his hands, and endured the repercussion of the blast. This time he felt the heat and a bit of debris fall into the pocket of snow where he lay..

　　After a moment he hoisted himself up to survey the damage. The Abrams was immobile, one tread completely blown off the wheels.

　　It was time for the David and Goliath maneuver.

　　He plucked another grenade from the pouch, slogged through the snow toward the rear of the tank, pulled the pin, and tossed it up at Vulcan Raven, who was too busy struggling with the machine gun to notice that his prey was behind him. The grenade dropped into the compartment – a better bull’s eye Snake couldn’t have asked for. Snake turned and trudged ad fast as he could away from the Abrams.

　　The explosion shook the entire canyon.


　　LIQUID SNAKE SAT in the Shadow Moses director’s office and watched his nemesis walk away from the burning tank. He sighed heavily and then glanced over at Revolver Ocelot, who was resting on a couch. The gunslinger’s right arm was heavily bandaged. The painkillers had done the trick, and now Ocelot was eager to close the distance between FOXHOUND and Snake.

　　“He got away, didn’t he?” Ocelot remarked. “Let me try again. I’ll kill the bastard.”

　　Liquid held up his had. “Quiet.” He gestured to the screen. Vulcan Raven could be seen, miraculously crawling out of the wreck unscathed.

　　“He’s still in range,” the giant said. “Shall I destroy him?”
Liquid pressed the button on his communicator to speak. “No. Let him go.”

　　“Are you certain?”

　　“But keep an eye on him.”

　　“He got the card.”

　　“I know. We’ll play with him a little longer.”

　　Ocelot stood and whispered, “Are you mad? The man’s dangerous!”

　　Liquid shot Ocelot a look that gave the gunslinger no choice but to sit down and shut up.

　　Vulcan Raven said, “You would do best not to underestimate him, Boss.”

　　“What did you think of him?” Liquid asked. “In battle, that is.”

　　“He is just as you said. It’s as if he is possessed by a demon.” Much like you. I would expect no less, considering your relationship.

　　“Yes. I told you so. But don’t worry. I will kill him.”

　　“Is Ocelot with you?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“Revolver Ocelot!” the giant called. “I understand he took your hand and your dignity!”

　　“Watch your mouth, shaman!” ocelot called from the couch. “It was that blasted ninja that took may hand, but it was Snake who distracted me. I could outgun you anytime, anywhere – with or without my right hand.”

　　“Let me tell you something about our intruder friend. In the Sioux language, Sioux means ‘snake.’ It is known as an animal to be feared.”

　　Ocelot sneered. “Well, I fear nothing, especially Solid Snake! He is mine now. when we next meet, I will take special care of him.”
Vulcan Raven spit. “The raven on my head thirsts for his blood. Snake and I will battle again. Of that you can be sure.”

　　Liquid switched off the communicator. “He is a formidable enemy. The next several hours are going to be most interesting, eh, Ocelot?”

　　“What is it you hope to gain from him? He is a pest. Swat him down!”

　　“Not yet, my friend. I still have plans for him.”

　　“Why do you let him live, Boss?”

　　The FOXHOUND leader’s eyes flared. “I have my reasons.”

fengmosn

11

“SNAKE?” IT WAS MEYRL, calling him on the Codec.
Snake was just about to enter the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building at the north end of the canyon. His body and suit were soaking wet from being in the snow, and he looked forward to warming up.

　　He pushed the button to accept the frequency and spoke.
　　
　　“Where are you, Meryl?”

　　“I’m in the subbasement of the nuke building.” There was a hint of one-upmanship in her voice.

　　“What the …? How did you get there?”

　　“I told you I know my way around this place.”

　　“Well, why didn’t you let me in on it? Do you realize what I just went through in that damned canyon?”

　　“Snake, relax. You couldn’t have gone the way I did. I’m dressed as one of them, remember? I got into a transport with ten other troopers. They drove the long way around, on a snow-covered road. I kept my mask on and wore a helmet. They didn’t have a clue who I was.”

　　“You’re mad, Meryl. They could have easily caught you again.”

　　“Well, they didn’t. so where are you?”

　　“I’m just entering the nuke building now.”

　　“Yeah? Well, be careful. For heaven’s sake, don’t use your weapon in there. It’s full of decaying nuclear waster and warheads. So no firepower, okay? No bullets, no grenades, no nothing! One spark and ka-boom!”

　　“I got you. Thanks for the heads-up. Now, I want you to stay put somewhere until I can find you.”

　　“I’m on the Basement One level. Just take the elevator, but watch out for guards. They’re roaming all over the place up there where you are. Out.”

　　She signed off, and Snake shook his head. Of course she was Roy Campbell’s niece. She was just as stubborn and full of herself as the colonel had always been. But even though she was green, Snake had to admit she had a lot of balls. He’d never encountered a young woman who was as brave and determined as she.

　　He was beginning to like her.

　　Stop that. Concentrate on the task at had.

　　Snake wanted to hit himself for allowing his thoughts to roam in that direction. A love life was something he didn’t need. He’d had his fair share of romantic disasters, and he wasn’t about to get himself involved with a girl more than a decade younger than he. That was the path to catastrophe.

　　Perhaps.


　　SNAKE USED THE Level 3 PAN card to open the slatted door, which was similar to the tank hangar exit. Before any guards could notice, he slipped into the building at the corner of the opening and quickly rushed to the left wall, next to a metal ramp ascending to the main floor of the storage facility. Standing in the shadows, he watched as three guards appeared at the door, wondering why it had opened suddenly.

　　He breathed slowly and deeply. Snake refused to be seen.

　　“Must have malfunctioned,” one of the guards said.

　　“There was some kind of accident out there, did you hear? One of the tanks was destroyed.”

　　A man pushed a button, and the door rolled down, totally secure. “Our new bosses like to play with matches. You play with matches, you start fires.”

　　They began to walk up the ramp to the main floor. “You don’t like our new bosses?”

　　“I didn’t say that. Things are a lot more exciting around here since they took over. I was about to die of boredom before.”
They laughed and disappeared. Snake relaxed and moved to the end of the ramp, got on his hands and knees, and crawled far enough so that he could lift his head over the edge of the floor and give it a quick reconnaissance.

　　Meryl was right. The place was littered with troopers. They all wore gas masks along with their standard-issue uniforms. Snake figured the place was booby-trapped with nerve gas, just like the tank hangar exit. The terrorists weren’t taking any chances. He couldn’t imagine this kind of security in place when the civilians were running the base. Either Liquid was a masochist or he was incredibly paranoid.

　　One thing he could do was use the chaff grenades. They didn’t do incendiary damage and were good for diversionary tactics. Snake glanced at the ceiling and saw several surveillance cameras trained on different areas of the space. The chaffs definitely would jam them. The grenades did make noise, so the question was how many guards would come running. Was it worth the risk? Snake couldn’t see any other way to get through the storage facility to the other side of the room where the elevator was. He had to take the chance.

　　He dug a chaff grenade out of the pouch, pulled the pin, and rolled it across the floor. It stopped not quite in the middle of the room, in between insulated tanks marked HAZARDOUS. Five seconds elapsed, and the grenade’s blast made all the guards in the place jump out of their skins.

　　Suddenly it was like a beehive that had been poked with a stick. The men immediately began to run around and shout at one another. They naturally assumed that the grenade had come from the entrance area, so Snake quickly hopped up onto the floor, scooted left, and ran between rows of storage boxes. An empty cardboard container the size of a large television set was among them; he jumped inside and pulled the flaps down over his head. He crouched there in the box and remained still as two guards rushed past him. Once the sound of footsteps had diminished, he opened the flaps and climbed out of the container.

　　Then he saw them.

　　Lying in berths on the left side of the room were two dismantled ICBM missiles. They were each a little over six meters long and looked as if they actually had seen some action. The exterior surfaces were beaten and scratched, secondhand relics of Cold War design and development.

　　Near them, in open containers marked DANGER-RADIATION, were objects that Snake recognized as warheads. They appeared to be weather-beaten as well. Snake reckoned that they were all useless; after all, Shadow Moses was a disposal facility. But he supposed the terrorists must have the means to extract the plutonium or make at least one operational.

　　Not good.

　　Using his Codec in camera mode, Snake snapped several shots of the arsenal for posterity and also transmitted them to Nastasha Romanenko. A few seconds later, she appeared on the Codec.
“Thank you for the photographs, Snake,” she said. “You do not have to worry about the warheads. They are not functional.”
“But if they wanted to dispose of them,” Snake asked, “why wouldn’t they just dismantle them right away?”

　　“They cannot do that. You see, when you dismantle a warhead, you still have nuclear materials that must be stored. At this point, all the nuclear material storage facilities are way past capacity. But they could not stop dismantling weapons while at the same time pushing the START-II treaty.”

　　“So you’re telling me that this base was built so they could temporarily avoid being in conflict with START-II?”

　　“Most people think that we live in a safer world now. but with all the dismantled nuclear weapons and waste around, the threat of nuclear terrorism has increased tremendously.”

　　Snake grunted in acknowledgment.

　　The Ukrainian woman went on. “After the START-II accord was signed in 1993, Russia and the U.S. reduced their strategic nuclear warheads to between three thousand and thirty-five hundred each. They completely dismantled all the ICBMs that contained multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles. As a result of that, there are over fifteen thousand dismantled nuclear warheads waiting to be disposed of. That is why the Shadow Moses facility was built.”

fengmosn

　　
　　“Nastasha, you’re a walking encyclopedia,” Snake said.

　　“Uh, I will take that as a compliment, Snake. I think.”

　　She sighed off, and Snake moved along the storage boxes, headed for the north side of the room and the elevator- and came face-to-face with a guard who had just turned the corner.

　　“Hey-” the man managed to say before Snake delivered a one-two-three punch-punch-kick combination that finished the sentence for the surprised trooper.

　　Snake pulled the limp body between the boxes and dumped it on the floor. That had been too close. Time for another diversion. He drew another chaff grenade from the pouch, pulled the pin, and threw it high over the storage boxes, toward the center of the room. The thing exploded in midair, causing all kinds of commotion. Snake creepy forward, utilizing the dart-and –freeze method of advancing within an enemy-occupied environment.

　　At the north end of the rows of storage boxes, Snake encountered two troopers standing at the bottom of a flight of metal stairs that led to a catwalk.

　　“Stay here and kill anything that moves,” one said to the other. He left the man alone and then joined his comrades in another part of the space.

　　The long trooper was between Snake and the elevator. Snake ducked behind a stack of boxes and pulled two SOCOM cartridges from his pouch. He tossed one across the aisle and hit a different pile of cartons; then it bounced onto the floor with a clatter. The trooper by the elevator turned toward the sound. He wasn’t sure what he had heard. Snake tossed the second bullet, repeating the noise. This time the guard had to investigate. He readied his assault rifle and slowly walked to the head of the aisle. Snake remained hidden behind the first stack of boxes, but the guard focused his attention on the second pile, from where the noise had come. The man stepped slowly toward the boxes and eventually turned his back to Snake.

　　The stranglehold worked like a charm.

　　Snake left the guard on the floor and ran to the end of the row of cartons. It was a clear path to the elevator. He dashed to the wall, pressed the call button, and withstood the excruciating few seconds it took for the elevator to arrive. The doors opened, and Snake slipped in without any of the other troopers noticing. He pressed the B1 button and waited for the doors to close before contacting Meryl with the Codec.

　　She didn’t answer.

　　Uh-oh.

　　Had something happened to her? He dared not think about it.
The doors opened to a hallway perpendicular to the elevator. He held them open the check for guards, but all he saw was a surveillance camera on the ceiling, pointed at the elevator. He quickly pulled back out of view, let the doors close, and pulled the emergency shutoff button so that the elevator couldn’t be called to another floor. Snake fitted the suppressor onto the SOCOM, checked the magazine, and then flicked the elevator switch back on. He assumed a firing stance and hit the open door button with his elbow. The doors opened, and he fired a silenced round at the camera, obliterating it.

　　He stepped out into the hallway and listened for activity. There was some muffled talking somewhere on the floor, and he heard a toilet flush behind the door marked MEN at the end of the hall to his right. Snake hurried to the bathroom door, pushed it open, and went inside.

　　A guard had just finished doing his business and was about to exit a stall. Snake rushed into the adjacent stall and waited. As soon as the man walked out, Snake grabbed him, performed his signature choke hold, and pulled the body back into the stall. He sat the man on the toilet and flushed the commode. Then he flushed it a second time for grins.

　　“It’s a long way to Washington,” he quipped.

　　Snake cautiously stepped out of the washroom and was headed for the other end of the hallway when his Codec chirped. His heart filled with joy when he saw the caller’s frequency code.

　　“Master Miller! My, my, it’s really great to hear from you.”

　　“Likewise, Snake. It’s been a long time. Having any fun yet?” the man’s face on the Codec monitor was a sight for sore eyes. He looked pretty much the same; he was even wearing his trademark sunglasses.

　　“You know I am, sir. The colonel said you might be on hand.”

　　“Indeed I am.”

　　“Well, there’s no one I’d rather be in a foxhole with than you.”

　　Miller’s transmission started to break up. “Listen … after… for the FOXHOUND guys to …”

　　“Master Miller? I’m losing you. Can you read me?”

　　“…again. I’m sorry. Is that better?”

　　“Yeah. Where are you?”

　　“In my cabin in Alaska.”

　　“Right. I heard you retired. Like me.”

　　“It’s great, isn’t it? Just me and my huskies. But listen … tell you …”

　　“You’re breaking up again. Master Miller?”

　　“… in the office on your floor. The subbasement of the …”

　　“What?”

　　“… sorry. There. Transmissions aren’t very good from the middle of nowhere. That’s better. I wanted to tell you that you’re going to need a rocket launcher on the Basement TWO level, and you can find one on the floor you’re on.”

　　“How do you know that?”

　　“Hey, I’m Master Miller. Remember?”

　　Snake creased his brow. Something wasn’t right. “Go on.”

　　“Anyway, you remember how to operate the remote-controlled minirecon missiles for a Nikita Personal Remote Rocket Launcher?”

　　“I’m pretty sure I do.”

　　“There’s a Nikita in the office marked B4. there’s ammo in there, too. Get what you can carry and head down to the next basement level. You should be able to find Doctor Emmerich there.”
Master Miller was surprisingly up to speed on what Snake was doing. “Okey. Thanks.”

　　“Good luck, Snake. We’ll catch up later.”

　　“Master Mill -” But the transmission ended.

　　Strange.

　　Master Miller wasn’t particularly the talkative type, but he was usually more specific about his instructions. Nevertheless, Snake thought it best to heed the man’s advice and find the rocket launcher. He hugged the wall in the hallway, SOCOM in hand, and turned the corner. A row of office doors lined the corridor, starting with B1.B4 was in the middle of the hall and required the Level 3 PAN card to open the lock. Snake swiped the card and heard the gratifying click. He pushed open the door to see –

　　A genome trooper working at a desk! The man registered surprise and reflexively reached for a button to sound an alarm.
Snake pointed the SOCOM and fired. The round struck the man squarely in the forehead, and he and his chair fell back onto the floor with a crash.

　　Snake quickly stepped into the room and shut the door. Sure enough, in an open portable carrying case that sat on a worktable was the Nikita. Alongside it was a box of shells. The Nikita was an ingenious device, a somewhat bulky but manageable rocket launcher shaped like a short, stubby bazooka that was held on one’s shoulder and supported with both hands. Snake didn’t particularly want to lug the thing around, but if Master Miller said he needed it, that was what he would do. Snake performed a cursory search of the office and also found a gas mask in one of the desk drawers. Figuring it might come in handy, he slung it around his neck but kept it off his face for now.

fengmosn

　　Armed with his new toys, Snake opened the office door, peered out to an empty hallway, and swiftly moved back to the elevator. Once inside, he pressed the B2 button, slung the Nikita over his shoulder, and readied the SOCOM.

　　The doors opened to another hallway perpendicular to the elevator. Snake carefully stepped out, made sure there were no patrolling guards, and moved toward the left. A sigh on the wall indicated that following the corridor would take one to the laboratory. Snake continued in that direction and soon came to an archway. The hallway continued beyond the arch, but the floor on the other side was made of metal mesh rather than being a carpeted floor.

　　Odd.

　　Snake took a step toward the arch, and suddenly the air quality changed. Minute yellow particles blew into the corridor from vents in the ceiling and floated in font of him the way dust is visible in a beam of sunlight. The lack of odor suggested to Snake that the hallway was filling with sarin nerve gas. The only sensible thing to do was to get the hell out of there by running as quickly as possible through the arch and across the metal floor to the far end of the corridor.

　　Another coincidence- it was Snake’s lucky day. He donned the gas mask but decided to take no chances and rush through the hall any way. He almost stepped through the arch when- the hall anyway. He almost stepped through the arch when-

　　“Snake! Don’t move!”

　　Snake recognized the voice as belonging to the mysterious Deepthroat. “You again?”

　　“Don’t take another step! The floor in front of you is electrified!”

　　“Terrific. What am I supposed to do?

　　“You’ll need to turn off the electricity.”

　　“Okay. Want to tell me where the circuit breaker is?”

　　“Unfortunately, it’s at the end of the hallway in front of you.”

　　“Oh, well, that’s convenient, isn’t it?”

　　“Look at the corridor. At the end, it jogs to the left. See?”

　　“Uh- huh.”

　　“It then doubles back, parallel to the wall on your left side. Like the queue for a ride at an amusement park.”

　　“Okey, it’s U-shaped.”

　　“The high-voltage switchboard is at the end of that part of the hall.”

　　Snake looked at the wall to his left. “So do I blow a hole in this wall with a grenade? Will that work?”

　　“No. it’s too thick. Even a Claymore mine won’t help you. You’ll have to use a remote-controlled missile.”

　　Snake nodded to himself. The Nikita. Master Miller was right.
He was extremely impressed by the elaborate defenses the FOXHOUND renegades had set up to protect their so-called revolt. Even the training exercises Snake had undergone when he first had become an operative had not been as diabolical as this.

　　He loaded the portable rocket launcher with one of the recon missiles and turned on the remote radar screen, the Nikita allowed the user to set a flight path for the missile and then guide it with the remote control. Because the missile and the obviously traveled very fast, it took an experienced eye and nimble fingers to steer the shell accurately to the intended target. Snake had practiced with the Nikita at FOXHOUND headquarters for three months until Master Miller had given him acceptable marks. It wasn’t easy.

　　Snake needed to punch a figure for the proposed range. “Uhm, Deppthroat?”

　　“Yes, Snake?”

　　“Do you know how many meters it is from me to the switch board?”

　　“Sorry, Snake. I don’t have a clue.”

　　He did his best to estimate the number. Using the two knobs, he then drew onto the view screen a digital line that represented the missile’s planned trajectory. He couldn’t afford to miss, as the ensuing explosion surely would alert the bad guys and he’d need a place to run. He didn’t particularly want to step onto an electrified walkway.

　　Snake double-checked the calculations, flipped off the safety, and held the launcher as steady as he could.

　　“One shot. Here goes,” he said.

　　Snake liked the fact that the Nikita had no kick. The launcher tube rested on his shoulder as the missile shot out of launcher tube rested on his shoulder as the missile shot out of the gun, soared through the arch and down the hall, and then made a ninety-degree left turn at the end. The shell disappeared from his sight, but Snake could hear the thing whoosh through the hallway on the other side of the wall.

　　The explosion rocked the entire floor. Snake supported himself against the right wall, and in a few seconds it was all over. All the fluorescent lights in the hallway ceiling went out, plunging the place into darkness. Two seconds later, emergency lighting kicked in.
Had he succeeded? Snake could see that the gas had stopped pouring out of the vents, but he was reluctant to remove the gas mask just yet. He carefully stepped through the arch and placed a foot on the metal mesh.

　　Nothing happened.

　　“Deepthroat? You still there?”

　　“Yes, Snake.”

　　“How did you know about this? And how the hell did you know what my position was?”

　　“Sorry, that’s on a need-to-know basis. And you don’t need to know.”

　　“Damn it, who are you?”

　　“Be careful. It’s not over yet.”

　　And the stranger’s transmission ended.

　　Snake punched in Mei Ling’s frequency.

　　“Yes, Snake.”

　　“Are you aware of these transmissions I’m receiving? From someone named Deepthroat?”

　　“Yes. We can’t determine where they’re coming from.”

　　“No clue as to his identity?”

　　“We’re working on it.”

　　“Okay. Out.”

　　Snake set the bulky Nikita on the floor. He hated to abandon it, but there was no way he could carry something that cumbersome and do what he had to do. He continued down the hall, turned the corner, and then saw the damage. The switchboard was a mess; it had been a direct hit.

　　Master Miller would have been proud.

brightxy

这个...完了，再下去就要被追上

Kissdreams

LZ让我想起一个游戏：《死亡打字员》

brightxy

[quote=kissdreams;501790]LZ让我想起一个游戏：《死亡打字员》[/quote]
+1

fengmosn

吼吼
现在发现打英文的速度有了小小提升...
原来一页要半小时 4页两个小时 现在完成4页 差不多1个半小时...轻松多了
顺说今天晚上停一下
有同事晚上办婚宴...
明天继续更新

fengmosn

12

SIX TROOPERS STOOD in the corridor outside the laboratory. The squad leader looked through the bulletproof window to make sure the doctor had not pulled a fast one. He didnt trust the brainy nerds who worked at the Shadow Moses facility. They always had tricks up their sleeves and answers for everything. When the FOXHOUND renegades took over the complex, the squad leader felt personal satisfaction that the tables had been turned on the scientists who made the big money.

   Hey, Sergeant, why are there so many of us guarding this guy? one of the men asked.

The squad leader replied, The Boss wants us to take special care of the good doctor. Nothings supposed to happen to him. The Boss needs him. High-priority asset. Why, I dont know. In my book, the only good otaku is a dead otaku.

The men laughed. One of them opened a coffee thermos and started to pour cups for everyone in the hallway. So did the Boss say why the power went out? What was that explosion?

The sergeant indicated the communicator. He told us not to worry but that we might have company. Its probably not a good idea to have a coffee cup in your hand right now.

As soon as the squad leader had said these words, the man dropped the cup and its contents all over the floor.

You clumsy fool! the sergeant snapped.

I CI didnt drop it. Someone something knocked it out of my hand!

Dont be an idiot. I saw you drop-

There was a glimpse of a shadow moving across the corridor. No, not a shadow. More like a blur, like when ones glasses are smudged, only this smudge had moved.

What was that?

What?

Three. Look.

Then men turned and followed the sergeants pointing finger. I dont see nothin, Sarge.

The squad leaders eyes darted over the room. There it was again! Look, you fools! There!

Boss, I think youre seeing th- But before the man could finish his sentence, the top of his skull slipped off his head on a diagonal split. The bone and brain had been severed by something invisible. The mans legs buckled, and he fell to the floor next to the bloody body part that contained half of his mind.

Oh, my God!

What happened?

Look out!

Shoot anything that moves!

The men began to fire their FAMAS rifles wildly about the room, spraying the hall with a salvo of bullets but hitting nothing.
Whoosh-swish-flit. An unseen sword sliced the air and flesh-and-blood appendages. Those sounds were followed by screams.


   
OUTSIDE THE HALLWAY, Snake heard the carnage occurring on the other side of the Level 3 security door. The gunfire, the screams of agony, the noise of bodies falling to the ground
   Whats going on in there?
   
He quickly swiped the card, and the door opened.

It was as if he had stepped into a slaughterhouse for human beings. At first it was difficult for snake to count just how many men had been in there, for body parts and blood were spattered all over the hallway. Snake had seen some terrible things in his lifetime, but this gruesome scene nearly made his bile rise.

One man with both arms severed was still alive. A stab wound in the chest was causing him to spit blood as he struggled to breathe. Snake knelt beside him. Who did this? he asked.

The man coughed and whispered, ghostitsa ghost

And he was dead.

Snake stood, stepped over the puddles of red goo, and made for the laboratory door. He peered through the window and saw a young man wearing a white lab coat sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He wore glasses, had long hair, was thin, and was trembling so badly that Snake thought he was about to wet his pants.

Dr. Hal Emmerich was scared to death, looking up at something that wasnt there.

Snake swiped the card in the door, but it wouldnt open. It was a Level 4 security lock. Snake cursed to himself and moved to the closest slaughtered body. It was a repugnant task to search the guards bloody clothes, but he found what he needed: the mans PAN card.

Snake used it on the door, which slid open. Dr. Emmerich was whimpering as tears ran down his face. He was focused on the space in front of him, but Snake couldnt see anyone else on the room.

Wait. There.

Sure enough, the cyborg ninja was standing in front of the scientist. The stealth suit glimmered in and out of visible mode as the warrior brandished the sword.

No, please! Dont hurt me! the engineer cried and wet himself.

Where is my friend? the ninja asked. Tell me where he is now or suffer the same fate as those fools out there.

ImIm sorry! I I dont know what youre talking about! Please dont kill me!

DONT MOVE! Snake stood with the SOCOM in both hands. The ninja turned slowly and focused the eye sensor on him. Drop the sword and back away from the nerd. Do it nice and easy.
Even though the helmet covered the warriors head, Snake could sense that the man was smiling. Ah, excellent. Ive been waiting for you. The thing said in his metallic, electronic voice.

Just who the hell are you?

The ninja didnt drop the sword. Instead, he held it in front of him as if he were preparing to do battle. Neither enemy nor friend. I have returned from a world where such words are meaningless.
Snake squinted at the cyborg. There was definitely something familiar about him; the way he carried himself, the speech inflection. Who was he?

Ive removed all obstacles, the warrior said. The path is clear to me now. you and I must fight to the death.

Snake was taking no chances. He squeezed the SOCOMs trigger-and the ninja batted the bullet away with a lightning-fast flick of the sword.

fengmosn

　　“Pathetic! There is no honor in that weapon!”

　　“What do you want?”

　　“I’ve waited a long time for this day. Now I want to savor the moment.”

　　Dr. Emmerich continued to shake and whimper as he watched the two gladiators in front of him. “What- what’s with these guys? It’s like … a scene out of one of m – my anime movies!”

　　The cyborg continued to talk in riddles. “I’ve come from another world to do battle with you.”

　　“What is this about?” Snake asked. “Revenge?”

　　“It’s nothing as trivial as revenge. A fight to the death with you…Only in that can my soul find respite. I will kill you or you will kill me. Either way, it makes no difference.”

　　The engineer could take no more. He saw an opening, got to his feet, and bolted from the room. Screaming like a madman, he ran into a sterile procedure room adjacent to the lab. He slammed the door behind him, locked it, and peered at the two fighters through a plate glass window.

　　“Ah, fine,” the ninja said. “Let him watch from his perch.”

　　Snake snarled, “I need that man unharmed. You’d better give up now or this won’t be pretty.”

　　“Yes,” the ninja hissed. “That’s the spirit!” Make me feel it! Make me feel alive again!

　　With that, the man in the exoskeleton moved forward… and disappeared. Snake fired several rounds at the space in front of him but heart only the swish-clang of the ninja’s sword knocking away the bullets.

　　The ninja materialized several feet away from where Snake thought he was. “That weapon is useless against me! Haven’t you learned anything?”

　　“Apparently not.” Snake utilized spray fire and emptied the magazine. Watching the ninja was like viewing a sped-up video in which every character moved at ten times the normal alacrity. Not a single round touched his body.

　　Then the ninja dropped the sword. “This is futile! Let us fight as warriors. Hand to hand. The basis of all combat. Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon such as that.”

　　Snake took a deep breath and holstered his gun. “Whatever.” He assumed a fighting stance and forced himself to forget everything else. It was what Master Miller had always taught him. Concentrate on the task at hand. See the victory before you even begin.

　　And the fight commenced.

　　The ninja attacked with a double-jumping roundhouse kick that knocked Snake to the floor. Slightly stunned, Snake managed to roll out of the way as the cyborg attempted to repeat his maneuver. The warrior missed, allowing Snake to get to his feet and avoid yet another roundhouse kick.

　　Unarmed combat is a matter of dodging.

　　It was another of Master Miller’s admonishments. Offensive moves were essential in order to win hand-to-hand combat, but the trick to surviving was defense. Snake let his opponent attack again so that he could watch the man’s technique. Every-fighter relied on tried-and-true moves; if you could anticipate what the enemy was going to do, you could avoid the onslaught and develop a strategy to counteract it.

　　The ninja performed the double jump again and walloped Snake. The operative crashed backward into an electronic bank of controls, causing an eruption of sparks that lit up the room. He noticed, though, that the cyborg had paused slightly between the two jumps. Snake bounced back from the assault and beckoned the ninja to try again. This time, Snake leaped into the cyborg’s personal space during the spilt-second pause and delivered a punch-punch-kick combination that connected hard and violently. The ninja recoiled, surprised and slightly dazed. Snake refused to let his opponent recover. He took advantage of the opening and performed his signature one- two- three punch-punch-kick maneuver. The cyborg sailed across a workstation and smashed a computer monitor onto the floor.

　　“Yes! The pain!” the ninja cried. “I’ve been waiting for this pain!”

　　The guy’s crazy as a loon!

　　The cyborg rolled off the desk, landed on his feet in a crouching position, and then leaped forward like a grasshopper. He collided into Snake with tremendous force, and the two of them catapulted off the floor, fists flying and knees lunging. Snake pounded the ninja’s helmeted face as hard as he could, ignoring the agony he felt in his knuckles.

　　“Yes. Hurt me more!” the ninja cried. “More! More!” The cyvorg managed to swing himself on top of Snake, who took the opportunity to grab the warrior’s arms and employ the ancient judo principle of turning an opponent’s weight into an asset. Snake placed the sole of his foot against the exoskeleton’s chest for leverage and flipped the man over his head. The ninja hit the wall with a crash that shook the room.

　　Snake got to his feet and delivered double roundhouse kicks to the cyborg’s head before the man could get up, the warrior was definitely stunned. But when Snake tried it a second time, the ninja grabbed his ankle, twisted it, and forced Snake to spin in midair. He landed on the floor with a thud.

　　“I know that move, Snake. I felt it.” The ninja stood. “Do you remember? The feel of battle?”

　　Snake shook the stars away and looked up at the exoskeleton.

　　“Do you, Snake? Do you remember me now?”

　　And then something snapped inside the dark recesses of Snake’s memory banks. The ninja’s stance, his speech pattern, his use of Snake’s name…

　　No! It can’t be!

　　“You!” Snake spat. “You were killed! In Zanzibarland!”
The words seemed to confuse the ninja. “Killed? Zanzibarland? I … don’t…”

　　Suddenly the cyborg began to shake uncontrollably. His suit sparked and made noises akin to an electrical discharge. The ninja screamed in pain, held his head, and fell to his knees.
It’s like what happened to him before!

　　“What’s happening?” Snake yelled.

　　The ninja screamed, “The medicine!”

　　“Not again,” Snake muttered.

　　The cyborg’s suit emitted an energy field that grew into a ball of bright light. Snake retreated and held his arm in front of his eyes. It was as if the ninja himself were short-circuiting and frying on the inside of the stealth suit.

　　“I’m … losing…myself!” he cried.

　　And then Snake knew the identity of the cyborg. There was no doubt.

　　“Oh, my God. Gray Fox,” he whispered.

　　After a few moments, the energy field dissipated and left a broken man on the floor, barely keeping upright on his hands and knees. His breathing was coarse and measured.

　　“Are you all right?” Snake asked. He started to approach the man, but the ninja let loose with a heart-wrenching cry of anguish and pain. The cyborg shook his fists at the heavens, stood, and ran for the laboratory door. The suit’s stealth function kicked in, and he disappeared in front of Snake’s eyes. The door opened for a second and then slammed shut.

　　The tortured soul was gone again.

　　Dr. Emmerich called from the procedure room. “Is it over?”

　　“I don’t believe it,” Snake said, trying to catch his breath. “Gray Fox… it can’t be…”

fengmosn

13

DR. NAOMI HUNTER sat at her computer terminal terminal and avoided looking at Campbell when Snake transmitted a message.
“Colonel! That ninja is Gray Fox. No doubt about it.”

　　The erstwhile colonel replied. “That’s ridiculous, Snake. You of all people know he died in Zanzibarland.”

　　“No,” Dr. Hunter whispered. “No, he didn’t.”

　　“Did you say something, Doctor Hunter?” Campbell asked.

　　“He didn’t die,” she repeated. “He should have died. But he didn’t.”

　　Campbell blinked. “What?” He left his finger on the transmit button so that Snake could hear.

　　She swiveled in her chair and faced him. “It happened before I joined FOXHOUND’s medical staff. They … they were using a soldier for their gene therapy experiments.”

　　“I never heard that, Doctor Hunter.”

　　“I never heard that, Doctor Hunter.”

　　“It happened right after you retired. My predecessor… Doctor Clark… was in charge and started the gene therapy project.”
Over the Codec, Snake’s voice sounded strained. “And where is he now?”

　　“You mean ‘she’. Two years ago she was killed in an explosion in her lab.”

　　“So what about this soldier they used?” Snake asked.

　　The doctor turned the chair again so that the colonel could not see how upset she was. “Apparently, for their test subject, they decided to use the body of a soldier who was recovered after the fall of Zanzibarland.”

　　“And that was Gray Fox? Frank Jaegar?”

　　Campbell interrupted, “But he was already dead.”

　　Naomi Hunter barely could contain her anger. “Yes, but they revived him. They fitted him with a prototype exoskeleton and kept him drugged for  four years while they experimented on him like a plaything. Today’s genome soldiers were born from those experiments.”

　　Campbell took a seat for the first time since Snake had left the submarine. “That’s the sickest thing I’ve ever heard!”

　　“They used him to test all sorts of gene therapy techniques.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall onto her cheeks.

　　“Naomi,” Snake said, “why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?”

　　“Because it’s confidential information.”

　　“Is that the only reason?”

　　When she didn’t answer, Campbell asked, “Naomi, what happened to Gray Fox after that?”

　　She shrugged. “The record says he died in the explosion along with Doctor Clark.”

　　Campbell rubbed his chin. “Hmm. I see. But even if that ninja is Gray Fox, the question is why: Why is he there?”

　　“From what I could tell, he didn’t know who he was,” Snake remarked.

　　“Are you saying he’s just a mindless robot?” Campbell inquired.

　　“I’m not sure, but he seems intent on fighting me to the death. We’ll meet again; I know it.”

　　“So you’ll fight again?” Naomi asked. “Until you kill him?”

　　“I’d rather not, but maybe that’s what he wants.”


SNAKE SIGNED OFF and entered the procedure room. Dr. Emmerich had not done a very good job of hiding inside a cabinet, for the tail end of the engineer’s white lab coat stuck out from under the door.

　　Snake knocked. “How long are you gonna stay in there?”

　　Emmerich’s voice sounded muffled and frightened. “Are…are you one of them?”

　　“No, I’m not. I always work alone.”

　　“Alone? Are you an otaku, too?”

　　Snake didn’t know what the hell the man was talking about. “Come on, get out of there. We can’t stay here forever.”
The door opened. Dr. Emmerich was sitting on the floor of the cabinet, his knees to his chest. His glasses were askew, and his eyes were wide with fear. “Your…uniform’s different from theirs.”

　　“You’re the Metal Gear chief engineer, right? Hal Emmerich?”

　　“You know me?”

　　“I heard about you from Meryl.”

　　“Oh! So you’re here to rescue me?” for the first time, Emmerich smiled. He got up and came out of the cabinet, bringing with him the pungent smell of urine, but the scientist didn’t appear to be concerned about his wet pants.

　　“Sorry, but no. there’s something I’ve got to do first.”
Emmerich brushed off his coat and shrugged. “Oh, well. At least you’re not one of them. He walked across the room with a noticeable limp and sat in a chair.”

　　“Are you hurt?”

　　“I’m okay. I just twisted my ankle a little trying to get away.”

　　“Well, if that’s all, then it’s nothing to worry about. Listen, I need information about Metal Gear.”

　　Emmerich lifted his head in surprise. “Huh? Metal Gear?”

　　“Yeah. What’s Metal Gear really designed for?”

　　“It’s a mobile TMD, you know, Theater Missile Defense system. It’s designed to shoot down nuclear missiles… for defensive purposes, of course.”

　　Snake grabbed the man by his coat lapels. “Liar! I already know that Metal Gear is nothing but a nuclear-equipped walking deathmobile!”

　　Emmerich flinched, expecting to be hit. “Nuclear? What…what are you talking about?”

　　“The terrorists are planning to use Metal Gear to launch a nuclear missile. You telling me you didn’t know?”

　　“What? How can they do that?”

　　“You tell me!”

　　“Uh, the only way would be to put a dismantled warhead into Metal Gear’s TMD missile module.”

　　“Wrong.” Snake released him, and the engineer fell back into the chair. “Form the beginning, the purpose of this exercise was to test Metal Gear’s nuclear launch capability using a dummy nuclear warhead. The terrorists are just continuing the work you started!”
“No, no, you’re wrong.”

　　“I heard it directly from your boss. Baker.”

　　“No… a nuclear missile on REX… ” He shook his head, first in denial and then in apprehension.

　　Snake studied the man. He was a pretty good judge in deter-mining whether someone was telling the truth. “So you really didn’t know?”

　　“No. all the armament was built by a separate department. And the ArmsTech president personally supervised the final assembly with the main unit.”

　　“President Baker?”

　　“Yeah. I was never told exactly what they armed REX with. I only know it’s equipped with a Vulcan cannon, a laser, and a Rail Gun.”

　　“A Rail Gun?”

　　“Yeah. It uses magnets to fire bullets at extremely high velocities. The technology originally was developed for the SDI system and later scrapped. We were successful in miniaturizing it in a joint venture between ArmsTech and Rivermore National Labs. The Rail Gun is on REX’s right arm.”

　　“Metal Gear’s main function is to launch nuclear missiles. You sure you’re not forgetting something?”

　　“Well, it’s true that Metal Gear has a missile module on his back that can carry up to eight missiles. But… are you saying it was originally meant to carry nuclear weapons?”

　　“Yeah,” Snake answered. He sat on a workstation and noticed for the first time the posters on the walls featuring Japanese anime and video game characters. He then faced the engineer and added. “But that’s not all I think. If Metal Gear fired only standard nuclear missiles, then they should already have all the practical data they need.”

　　Emmerich rubbed his brow. “No, could it be?” he snapped his fingers and looked at Snake. “Rivermore National Labs was working on a new type of nuclear weapon. They were using NOVA and NIF laser nuclear fusion testing equipment and supercomputers!” He stood and limped to a bank of machines in the main laboratory, and Snake followed him. “These are some of the supercomputers. You can’t use virtual data on a battle field; they would need actual launch data. If you link these computers, you can test everything in a virtual environment. But it’s all just theoretical!”

fengmosn

　　Snake knew it was true. “This exercise was designed to test the real thing.”

　　Emmerich leaned against the computer bank, removed his glassed, and rubbed his eyes. “Oh, man. What did our president do? If the terrorists launch that thing…damn! Damn!” He dropped to his knees and began to bang his head on the floor. “I’m such a fool! It’s all my fault!”

　　Snake didn’t enjoy watching a grown man cry. He turned away and sat in another chair.

　　“My grandfather.”

　　“What?”

　　Emmerich wiped the tears off his face. “My grandfather was part of the Manhattan Project- you know, where they created the atom bomb. He suffered with the guilt for the rest of his life. And my father…he was born on August6, 1945!”

　　Snake understood. “The day of the Hiroshima bomb. God’s got a sense of humor, all right.”

　　“Three generations of Emmerich men. We must have the curse of the nuclear weapons written into our DNA.” He started crying again. “I used to think I could use science to help mankind, but the one that wound up getting used was me. Using science to help mankind-that’s just in the stupid movies!”

　　Snake leaned forward and snapped, “That’s enough crying. Pull yourself together!”

　　The engineer took a few deep breaths and then sat cross-legged on the floor. He wiped his face again and after a moment seemed to be better.

　　“Where is Metal Gear?” Snake asked. “Where on this base are they keeping it?”

　　“REX is in the underground maintenance base.”

　　“Where’s that?”

　　“North of the communication tower. It’s along way there.”

　　“The emergency override system for the detonation code is there, too?”

　　“Yeah, in the base’s control and observation room.” He quickly got to his feet. “Gee, you’d better hurry! If they were planning a launch from the start, then their ballistic program is probably finished. And since they haven’t called me in a few hours, they must not need me anymore. They must be ready to launch!”
Snake stood. “Meryl’s got the detonation code override key. We’ll link up with her.”

　　“If we can’t override the launch, we’ll have to destroy REX.” He started to limp toward the door. “I’ll show you the way.”

　　“On that leg of yours? No way. You’ll just slow me down.”

　　“But you’ll need me if you’re gonna destroy REX.”

　　“I don’t need you. I just need your brain.”

　　“I created REX. It’s my right…and my duty to destroy it.”

　　“You’ll help me remotely. That’s the best I can do for you.”

　　Emmerich was about to protest more, but the scruffy man in the dark uniform intimidated him. “All right. I wish EE were here to help us. She’s great at computer programming.”

　　“Who’s EE?”

　　“My sister Emma. Emma Emmerich. Well, her full name is Emma Emmerich-Danziger. She works for the government, too. Systems analyst for the NSA. Oh, well. She and I don’t get along too well, anyway. We haven’t spoken in a long time.”

　　Snake couldn’t help oozing sarcasm. “Then I guess she won’t be much help to us, huh?” he walked to the lab door and looked into the hallway. “If you get a chance, try to escape. When the coast is clear, I’ll contact you by Codec. I see you have one.”
Emmerich nodded but then asked, “How am I supposed to escape from an island?”

　　Snake exhaled heavily. “Okay. Good point.”

　　“So what, then?”

　　“I want you to hide somewhere and keep me informed. You know this place well, don’t you?”

　　“Course I do. And don’t worry; I’ve got this.” Emmerich manipulated something on his lab coat and suddenly vanished. “It’s the same stealth technology as the ninja. FOXHOUND was going to use then, but…with this I’ll be fine, bad leg and all.” He reappeared and grinned.

　　Snake was impressed. But then he said, “So why didn’t you activate the stealth when the ninja was after you? Why did you hide in the closet?”

　　Emmerich’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, uh, gee…I guess I was so scared, I didn’t think about it. Hmm. You’re right.”

　　“Yeah. So don’t forget about it next time. And I want Meryl to watch after you, too.” He punched in her code. “Meryl?”

　　“Yeah?”

　　“Where were you earlier?”

　　“Uh, I had company, but it’s okay now.”

　　“Meryl, the engineer’s all right.”

　　“Oh, that’s a relief!”

　　“I want you to look after him. Where are you now?”

　　“Very close. In fact, I -oh,no! Gotta go; they’ve spotted me!”

　　“Meryl? What happeded?” but she had switched off. “Damn, something’s wrong. I gotta go find her. When did you last see her?”

　　“I dunno…earlier today?”

　　“What was she wearing?”

　　“She was dressed in the same green uniform as the terrorists.” He moved his eyebrows up and down. “She has a cute way of walking. She kinda wiggles her behind.”

　　“Oh, so you were really looking?”

　　“Well, she has a cute behind! If she’s disguised as the enemy, then you’ll have to contact her when she’s alone. There’s only one place where we can be sure she’s by herself.”

　　“Where’s that?”

　　Emmerich made a face. “Don’t be so dense!” he fished something out of his pocket and handed it to him. “Here, use this security card. It’s a Level Five.”

　　As soon as Snake took the card, he remembered what had happened to the last two men who had given him PAN keys. “You feel okay? Nothing bothering you?” he approached Emmerich and looked closely into the man’s eyes.

　　“Uh, what’s wrong? Getting friendly all of a sudden?”

　　“Oh, nothing.” He stepped back, embarrassed. “I – uh, I’m glad you’re okay.”

　　Emmerich laughed a little. He said, “You’re strange…but in a good way!”

　　“I’m a little nervous. Everyone else I’ve saved suddenly dies.”

　　“You’re bad luck, I guess.”

　　“Forget it, Doctor.”

　　“Call me Otacon.”

　　“Huh?”

　　“Otacon. It stands for Otaku Convention. An otaku is a guy like me who like Japanimation. Anime. Japan was the first country to successfully make bipedal robots. They’re still the best in the field of robotics.”

　　Snake figured he now knew why Emmerich seemed like such a nerd. “And Japanese cartoons played some part in that?”

　　“They did! I didn’t get into science to make nuclear weapons, you know.”

　　“That’s what all the scientists say.”

　　“I became a scientist because I wanted to make robots like the ones in Japanese anime. Really, it’s true!”

　　“It just sounds like a childish excuse to me.”

　　Otacon shrugged. “You’re right. We have to take responsibility. Science has always thrived on war. The greatest weapons of mass destruction were created by scientists who wanted to be famous. But that’s all over. I won’t take part in murder anymore.”

　　“Whatever. All I’ll want from you is information when I ask for it.”

　　“I’ll be there for you, Mister, er, what is your name, by the way?”

　　“Solid Snake.”

　　“Snake? Gee, the terrorist boss is named Snake, too.”

　　“I know. Coincidence, huh?”

　　“Yeah. You kinda look like him, too. I guess you’d better get going.”

　　“Stay put and keep safe, Otacon,” Snake said.

　　“Don’t worry,” the engineer said. He flicked on the stealth apparatus and disappeared. Snake heard his voice move away, across the room. “They’ll never find me now. you be careful, too.”
Snake left the room and headed back through the hall of  dead soldiers to the elevator. The next step was to find Meryl. And when he found her, he didn’t know if he wanted to spank her for disobeying him or kiss her if she was alive and unhurt.

　　Maybe he’d do both.

fengmosn

14

THE ELEVATOR OPENED on the First Basement Level, and Snake immediately heard voices. He held the doors open with his foot, carefully peered into the hallway, and saw the backs of two guards turn a corner and disappear. He slipped out, let the doors close, and glanced at the surveillance camera he had destroyed earlier. Either they hadn’t noticed it was out of order or they were ignoring it. Hugging the wall, he moved to the corner and watched the two guards pass through a doorway. Creeping as silently as possible, he went to the door and saw that the lock was marked with the number 5.

　　Snake smiled. He took the Level 5 PAN card Otacon had given him, swiped it, and opened the door.

　　The room was full of computer terminals. The two guards still had their backs to him. One of them sat at a terminal and was busy punching the keyboard. The other stood idly by, watching. Both guards wore again for the Snake Stranglehold.

　　Snake moved slowly and stealthily to the guard who was standing. Suddenly, though, the soldier moved and walked to the other side of the room…with a wiggle in the rear end.

　　As Snake eyed the guard more carefully, he could see a decidedly thinner and curvier posterior underneath the trousers. He wanted to laugh but thought it best to take care of the other guard first.

　　He quickly walked up behind the guard at the terminal, wrapped his arm around the man’s neck, and strangled him to death.
Meryl-or the guard he thought was Meryl- turned to see what was happening and gasped. She ran foe the door before Snake could call out, “Wait!” Snake let the dead man fall to the floor and chased the feminine soldier out of the room and down the hall. She turned a corner, rushed to a door marked WOMEN, and went inside.

　　“Hey!” a man’s voice called behind him.

　　Snake turned to see another soldier at the far end og the hall. With reflexes that rivaled those of his namesake, Snake drew the SOCOM and fired at the man. The shot reverberated in the hallway, surely loud enough to attract more troopers. To head them off, Snake ran toward the fallen man, hugged the corner, and fitted the SOCOM with the suppressor. As he’d predicted, he heard the sound of running boots a few seconds later. He lunged sideways, landed prone beside the dead soldier, and fired at the three men coming at him while using the corpse as cover.

　　Three shots- three cadavers.

　　Snake decided to take a small amount of time to drag the bodies into an open office. He did so, shut the door, and rushed to the first guard he’d shot. There was a grouping of potted plants in a corner of the hallway, so Snake picked up the corpse and deposited it behind the pots. Not great, but it would do. He then rushed back to the women’s washroom and pushed open the door.

　　Meryl Silverburgh stood in front of him with a FAMAS aimed at his head. What surprised Snake more than that was the fact that she had stripped off her uniform and was dressed only in a bra and panties. The sight nearly took his breath away.

　　“Don’t move!” she spat.

　　Snake froze and then slowly raised his hands. “Take it easy.”

　　“That’s not why I’m aiming this at you.”

　　“Then why are you?”

　　“Because men aren’t allowed in here, pervert.” She held the stance for a couple more seconds and then laughed. She put down her weapon and said, “That’s the second time I’ve had the jump on the legendary Solid Snake.”

　　“You know, there’s no way you can pass as a man for long. I had no idea you were so…feminine.”

　　“This is no time to try to hit on me, Snake.”

　　“You’re the one in your underwear.”

　　She laughed. “Besides, it’s a waste of time. When I joined up, they gave me psychotherapy to destroy my interest in men.”

　　“If you say so. What’s the matter? Are you hunt?”

　　“No.”

　　“What happened a while ago? When you stopped transmitting.”

　　“Oh, there were a bunch of guards. I had to blend in, so to speak.” She opened a stall and picked up some clothes that were lying on the floor. The trousers were military issue, and the black tank top was most likely from a high-end fashion shop.

　　As she started to put them on, Snake asked, “Why are you changing? You’d be a lot better off disguised as one of them.”
“I’m tired of that.” She slopped the tank top over her head. “The truth is the uniform smelled like blood.”

　　For the first time he saw the FOXHOUND tattoo on her left arm. “Hey.” He pointed. “What’s that?”

　　“Oh, this? It’s not a real tattoo; it’s painted. I’ve been a fan of FOXHOUND from way back. When guys like you and my uncle were in it. None of that gene therapy bullshit like there is today. You guys were real heroes.”

　　“There are no heroes in war. All the heroes I know are either dead or in prison. One or the other.”

　　“Snake, you’re a hero. Aren’t you?”

　　“I’m just a man who’s good at what he does. Killing. There’s no winning or losing for a mercenary. The only winners in war are the people-if they’re on the winning side.”

　　“Yeah, right, so you fight for the people.”

　　“I’ve never fought for anyone but myself. I’ve got no purpose in life. No ultimate goal.”

　　“Oh, come on …”

　　He moved away from her, stood over the sink, and examined his scarred face in the mirror. As he adjusted his bandana, he continued. “It’s only when I’m cheating death on the battlefield. That’s the only time I feel truly alive.”

　　Now dressed, Meryl leaned back against the wall and pulled on boots, one foot at a time. “Seeing other people die makes you feel alive, huh? You love war and don’t want it to stop. Is it the same with all great soldiers throughout history?”

　　He was annoyed at the direction the conversation was taking. “Why didn’t you stay where I told you?”

　　She shrugged. “You could use my help. How’d you recognize me in disguise?”

　　“I never forget … a lady.”

　　“So there’s something about me you like?”

　　“Yeah, you’ve got a great ass.”

　　She raised her eyebrows. “Ass? Oh I see… First it’s my eyes, and now it’s my ass. What’s next?”

　　“On the battlefield you never think about what’s next.”
She made a face and then jumped on the counter to sit. “So, how are things going? Is the president gonna give in to their demands?”

　　“Not if I can help it.”

　　“it’s all up to you, is it?”

　　“Somebody’s got to stop them from launching a nuclear missile.”

　　“You know, there are two ways. Either we destroy Metal Gear or-”

　　“Or we override the detonation code. I know. You got the card key from Baker?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　“I still don’t understand why he told me there were three of them.”

　　“This is all he gave me.”

　　“Where could the other two be?”

　　“Hey, if we can’t find them, then we’ll have no choice but to destroy Metal Gear.”

　　Snake took a sip of water from his canteen and handed it to Meryl. She chugged it longer that he wished. “I’m going on. I heard REX is in an underground maintenance base to the north of here.”

　　She gave him back the canteen. “Take me, too! I know this place better that you.”

　　“You’ll just slow me down. You don’t have enough battle experience. One person’s blunder can compromise the entire mission.”

　　“I won’t slow you down, I promise!”

　　“And what if you do?”

　　“Then you can shoot me!” She almost sounded serious.
He shook his head. “I don’t like to waster bullets.”

　　“Look, the overland way is blocked by glaciers. I know a secret way to get there.”

fengmosn

　　“You do?”

　　“Uh-huh.”

　　Snake pounded his right first into his left palm. “Damn it. I don’t suppose you can just tell me about that secret way?”

　　“Nope.”

　　He pointed a finger at her. “You stay by me. You don’t do anything stupid. You follow my orders.”

　　“Got it. I’ll be careful.” She saluted him, smirked, and went to the discarded clothing, where she’d left her weapon. As she passed the mirror, she stopped and examined a blemish on her cheek. “You know, I don’t use makeup the way other women do. I hardly ever look at myself in the mirror. I always dreamed of becoming a soldier. No, that’s not right. It wasn’t really my dream. My father-he was killed in action when I was young.”

　　“You wanted to follow in your father’s footsteps?”

　　“Not really. I thought that if I became a soldier, then I could understand him better.”

　　“So are you a soldier yet?” Snake noticed that the young woman had dropped her bravado. Whether it was intentional, he wasn’t sure.

　　“I thought I was until today. But now I understand. The truth is I was just afraid of looking at myself. Afraid of having to make my own decisions in life. But I’m not going to lie to myself anymore. It’s time I took a long hard look at myself.” She picked up a large handgun and a holster belt. As she strapped it around her waist, she continued. “I want to know who I am, what I’m capable of. I want to know why I’ve lived the way I’ve lived until now. I want to know-”

　　Sheesh, the girl really is still a teenager.

　　“Hurry up: we need to go.”

　　She grimaced at him and exhaled. “Yeah.”

　　“This isn’t a training exercise. Our lives are riding on this. There are no heroes or heroines. If you lose, you’re worm food.” He picked up the FAMAS. “Is this functional?”

　　“Unfortunately, it’s out of ammo.”

　　“You pointed it at me and there were no bullets in it?”

　　She grinned and raised her eyebrows again.

　　There was a pile of grenades on the floor as well. “What all do you have here? Flash-bang grenades? Frag grenades?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　“Can I have some?”

　　“Take what you want.”

　　He stuck a couple of each in his pouch and then gestured to the handgun at her waist. “Where’d you get the Desert Eagle?”
“I found it in the armory. It’s a fifty-caliber Action Express.” She acknowledged his weapon and added, “There was a SOCOM, too, but I chose this.”

　　“Isn’t that gun a little big for a girl?”

　　“Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

　　“You can use-”

　　She interrupted him by drawing the Desert Eagle quickly, removing the magazine, snapping it back in, and racking the slide with smooth, professional finesse. “Listen, I’ve used a gun like this since I was eight years old. I’m more comfortable with it than I am with a bra.” She was ready. “ Come on. If we’re gonna go north, we’ll have to go through the Commander’s Room on this floor. My Level Five PAN card will open the door.”

　　“I’ve got one now, too.” There was one more piece of equipment on the floor. She picked it up and slung it over her shoulder.

　　“Whoa!” Snake said. “A PSG-1. what a fine piece of weaponry. Where’d you get it?”

　　“I stole it from a guard when he set it down and wasn’t looking. I figured you never know when a sniper rifle might come in handy.”

　　“It’s probably the most accurate semiautomatic rifle in the world. You’ve got experience with that?”

　　“Uh-huh. And I have plenty of ammo, too.” She tossed him a box of cartridges. “Hold on to these for me, will you? I’ve run out of room in my pack.”

　　“I’m loaded down, too, but I’ll take’ em.” He opened the bathroom door a crack, looked out, and said, “Coast is clear.”
She pushed past him. “I’ll lead the way to the Commander’s Room.”

　　Snake hoped he wouldn’t regret it, but he followed her. He noted, though, that she was adept at moving with stealth. She hugged the walls, traveled lightly on her feet, and lept to the shadows. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

　　They passed the office where Snake had found the Nikita. He paused to listen at the door, was satisfied the room hadn’t been disturbed since he’d left it, and moved on. Meryl took a turn, and they entered a long corridor that led to a single door at the end. The hall was lined with paintings, and the floor was carpeted. They obviously were entering a portion of the complex that normally was occupied by upper management.

　　“That’s funny; there’s no guard,” she said, indicating the door at the end.

　　“That’s the Commander’s Room?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　“I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Earlier I made a hell of a lot noise on this floor. I don’t understand why there aren’t more troopers.”

　　“Maybe they’re busy fighting off all the other mercenaries trying to get in on the Shadow Moses Island action.”

　　“You’re not funny.”

　　She shrugged and whispered, “You are.” She approached the door and listened. “It’s quiet in there.” With the PAN card in hand, she started to swipe it in the lock, but she dropped it on the carpet and held both hands to her head. “Owww!”

　　“What’s wrong?”

　　“My head! Ooooh, it hurts!” she dropped to her knees. Snake started to go to her, but she snapped, “Don’t touch me! Don’t come here!”

　　Snake didn’t know what to do. She was obviously in a great deal of pain. Was she having a heart attack like Baker and Anderson? No, this was her head. It was something else.

　　Then, just as quickly as it had begun, Meryl’s sever headache went away. She shook her hair, wiped her forehead, picked up the PAN card, and then stood, “I’m fine now,” she said flatly.

　　“What happened?”

　　“I said I’m fine.” She stared straight ahead at the door and mechanically swiped the card. “Come on, Mister FOXHOUND, the commander is waiting.” She opened the door change in demeanor. Then he remembered that he, too, had been struck with a severe headache that had lasted a few seconds and then subsided.
As he entered the room, Snake felt a strange disturbance in the place, as if it gave off an ominous vibe. The Commander’s Room looked more like the library of a country manor than an office. It was opulently furnished with an antique mahogany desk, a sofa, three comfy chairs, and several busts and urns sat on marble pedestals. The busts were distinguished in that they were covered by black leather S&M bondage masks and gear.

　　Weird.

　　A holographic reproduction of the Shadow Moses facility sat on a large table at the side of the room. Snake moved to it so that he could study the layout. It was an impressive structure with its two communication towers standing like sentinels at the northern end of the base.

fengmosn

　　Meryl stood by the door, she hadn’t moved. She watched him curiously and then made sure the door was shut and locked behind her. Then she drew the Desert Eagle, pointed it at Snake, and began to advance toward him.

　　“Snake, do you…like me?” she purred.

　　He looked up. “Meryl, what the hell?”

　　“Do you like me?” She came closer, batted her eyes, and moved her body in a way that accentuated her curves.
For a split second, Snake was certain that someone else was behind Meryl. But he blinked, and the apparition was gone.

　　“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

　　Breathing heavily, she said, “Snake, hold me!” She was now very close, but the Desert Eagle was still pointed at his face. Should he risk disarming her?

　　“Meryl! Stop that!”

　　“Make love to me, Snake! Hurry!” her breathing increased as if she were in a kond of sexual frenzy.

　　The image of a figure- floating a few above the carpeted floor- flashed behind Meryl again. This time Snake knew that something bad was happening.

　　“Snake! I want you!”

　　Again the floating figure. There and gone in an instant.

　　“Who’re you?” Snake yelled.

　　“What’s wrong?” Meryl asked with a come-hither voice. “Don’t you like girls?”

　　Snake had no choice. He pulled back his arm and slugged Meryl in the jaw as hard as he could. She didn’t have time to cry out. She plummeted to the floor, dropping the gun and losing consciousness.

　　“Sorry, Meryl,” he said.

　　And then the figure appeared and remained in view. Still floating three feet above the floor, the man looked like something from another world. He was dressed in a skintight uniform that resembled the leather bondage costumes worn by S&M sexual slaves. Even more bizarre was the gas mask helmet that covered his head.

　　Psycho Mantis!

　　“Useless woman,” he said with a high, almost shrill voice. It hurt Snake’s ears to listen to the man.

　　“You!” Snake shouted. “You were the one manipulating her!”

　　“Of course I am, you idiotic buffoon. I am beyond your pitiful intellect. I can destroy your mind. I will make you break down and cry like a baby!”

　　“All smoke and mirrors, I’ll bet, just like that optic camouflage you have on. I hope that’s not your only trick,” Snake challenged.
“You doubt my power? Now I will show you why I am the most powerful practitioner of psychokinesis and telepathy in the world! I can read your every thought and anticipate your every move.” The terrorist laughed and said, “You like the girl, don’t you, Snake? Even though that goes against what your head is telling you to do, your heart is falling foe her. Isn’t that right?”

　　“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

　　“Oh, and let’s see, you’ve made friends with Doctor Emmerich! But where is he now? I do believe he’s making the acquaintance of a very beautiful woman at this very moment. A seductive and… woman.”

　　“Why don’t you come down and fight like a man?” Snake demanded, but his own headache was returning. It had the same intensity as the one he had experienced earlier. Dr. Hunter had said that it was due to Psycho Mantis and his mental weaponry.

　　Snake tried to draw his SOCOM, but the thing was stuck in his holster. Someone had plastered it with cement!

　　No, it’s a hallucination!

　　But try as he might, Snake was unable to pull the gun out of tis holster. In fact, the grip was hot- hot as fire! He had to release it and blow on his hand.

　　Psycho Mantis laughed maniacally. “Having a little trouble with your armaments, Snake?”

　　Snake retreated by moving behind the ornate desk. There had to be some kind of defense he could use against this thing. He grabbed a letter opener off the desk and flung it at Psycho Mantis, but the sharp instrument stopped spinning in midair and simply dropped to the floor.

　　“Pitiful, Snake!” the man laughed. “Can’t you do better than that?”

　　Snake jumped onto the top of the desk and then leaped at the floating man’s legs in an attempt to pull him down to the ground. But Psycho Mantis vanished, and Snake fell to the floor next to Meryl. He picked up her Desert Eagle, but it, too, was blazing hot. He had to drop it before the thing seared his hand.

　　It’s not really hot! It’s an illusion!

　　He tried to pick it up again, but the villain’s power over Snake’s perception was too strong. No matter how much he fought against the thought, the gun’s grip was still too hot for him to touch. In fact, the metal glowed red as if it had been sitting in a blast furnace.
“Damn you!” snake shouted, but Psycho Mantis merely laughed in his sickening way.

　　“Snake!”

　　The voice was familiar. He turned to see a lean, fit man in his fifties standing near the wall. He wore sunglasses that Snake knew all too well.

　　“Master Miller!” Snake cried. “How did you get here?”

　　“No time to chat, Snake. We have to run and get away from this clown.” Miller held out his hand to help his former trainee off the floor.

　　Totally confused, Snake looked around the room. Psycho Mantis was nowhere to be seen. Meryl still lay on the floor, unconscious. When he made a move toward her, Miller said, “Forget her, Snake. She’ll only slow you down, just as you told her.”

　　“But she’s Campbell’s niece.”

　　“Forget her, soldier! That’s an order.”

　　Resigned, Snake followed Master Miller out of the Commander’s Room and into-

　　An outdoor amusement park.

　　“What the …?” Snake was completely overwhelmed by the sights and sound and smells of the very familiar midway.

　　I’ve been here before…

　　“Recognize it, Snake?” Miller asked. “You used to come here when you were little.”

　　It was true. They were standing on the midway of Kiddieland, a small, privately owned theme park in the small town in Oregon where he had lived the first ten years of his life. He had visited Kiddieland at least once a week during the summer months, when the place was always open. When he wasn’t training.

　　“How did we get here? Master Miller, what the hell is going on?” it took a great deal to frighten Snake, but at the moment he was filled with a trepidation the likes of which he hadn’t felt in years.

　　This isn’t happening!

　　But it seemed so real. It was night, and the park was full of people: parents with their small children, teenagers running back and forth, barkers in front of the “game of chance” and the rides-the wonderful rides. Snake had loved fast rides, especially the Mad Mouse roller coaster. There were no huge, modern high-tech coasters at Kiddieland. The amusement park was “Old school”; the rides consisted of traditional favorites such as the Tilt-A-Whirl, the Octopus, and the Zipper. Piped-in carnival music blasted through loudspeakers throughout the grounds, mixing with kids’ joyful screams. Colorful lights brightened the place. The sensory overload made Snake feel eight years old again.

Kissdreams

路过检查楼主进度+帮顶。

fengmosn

恩
昨天晚上玩MGS2耽误了一晚
今天晚上继续更新

brightxy

您多耽误几周也没事，不然我就窘了:-)
您那效率…太高了

fengmosn

厄
每个人的时间不同吧
偶在想着快点把这玩意儿完成...
偶现在下班后的半宅男生活每天都要被这玩意儿占去两个小时...
有时候看个电影啥的都觉得时间不太够...
恩 算算再过一个多月差不多就该完成了
PS：为啥偶的首贴更新和帖子列表里的帖子标题不同步了...

fengmosn

　　“Why are we here?” he asked Master Miller.

　　But his trainer was no longer by his side. In fact, Snake was entirely alone in the park. The crowds had vanished suddenly. The lights were extinguished, and everything went dark. The music and happy shouts and screams continued to fill the air, but no one was around. It was as if he were standing in a ghost park. The rides and arcades were long closed down, but the spirits of ancient guests still played there under sky that was a blanket of deep, dark dread.
Snake closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. It was one of Psycho Mantis’s tricks. It had to be. But try as he might, Snake couldn’t shake the powerful illusion. The one thing he could do was walk through the midway and look at this relic from his past.
Near the end of the main drag was the Fun House. He had always loved the Fun House. It wasn’t particularly scary, but it contained all the usual trappings: curved mirrors, slides, jack-in-the-box clowns that popped up when you least expected them, rocking floors, and a mirror maze.

　　A woman was standing at the entrance. She had red hair and a nice…

　　Meryl!

　　She waved and beckoned him to come inside the Fun House. He wanted to shout and warn her to go in. it had to be a trap. Besides, the park was closed; there was no one running the rides or taking tickets. But Snake couldn’t get the words out of his mouth. It was similar to what happened in dreams in which your legs were too heavy to run or your voice came out in a whisper.

　　Meryl disappeared into the building, leaving Snake with no choice but to follow her. He bounded up the steps, went through the turnstile, and entered the dark, foreboding attraction. With the lights off, the place was much more sinister than first “obstacle,” a floor that rocked back and forth. The trick was to maintain your balance as you walked to the other side. Many kid would fall and slide on the tilting floor-often on purpose-laughing like crazy. Snake had always played by the rules and really tried to get across without falling. He’d never failed.

　　This time, however, as soon as he stepped on the platform, it tilted so high that he couldn’t help but fall and slide to the edge. He managed to brake and stop his body from plummeting oof the platform-

　　But there used to be a wall there to stop kids from falling off…!
-which emptied into a vast crevice of nothingness. In fact, it was a sky full of stars! It was as if Snake were holding on to the edge of the known universe, and if he let go, he would be lost in the infinite chasm of outer space.

　　Don’t look!

　　He forced himself to focus on the arch at the other side of the tilting platform, the one that led out of the room. Meryl was standing there waiting for him. She was pointing and laughing at him.

　　“Look at the legendary Solid Snake!” she cackled. “He can’t even stand on his own two feet!”

　　There were grooves in the tilted wooden floor that were deep enough for Snake to grip with fingertips. Using all the strength he could muster and ignoring the pain in his fingers, he slowly inched up the platform. It seemed to take forever, but after a few minutes he had done it. He rolled off the tilted floor onto the metal mesh walkway by the arch. Meryl I was no longer there. Snake stood, went through the arch, and found himself in the room lined with curved mirrors.

　　He remembered laughing at his body’s funny shapes when he stood in front of the mirrors. One mirror made him short and fat, another tall and skinny with a big head, and one gave him a very wide torso but with tiny legs and feet. This time, however, when Snake stepped up to the first mirror, he saw Meryl. She seemed to be trapped inside. There was an expression of terror on her face as she banged on her side of the mirror.

　　“Help me, Snake! Get me out!”

　　Snake examined the sides of the mirror, but it was fastened firmly to the wall. There was nothing be could do. He moved along to the next mirror and saw Otacon in the same predicament. The young man was trembling with fear.

　　“Snake! Can you get me out here?” Otacon shouted. “They’re going to kill me! Help me!”

　　Feeling increasingly helpless, Snake moved on to the third mirror. Inside of it was a uniformed man he hadn’t seen in many, many years. Unlike the other two prisoners, he stood silently, resigned to being trapped and knowing there was nothing that could be done about it.

　　“Big Boss?” Snake whispered. “Is that you?”

　　The soldier smiled at him. “Yes, my son. Have you missed me?”
Snake banged on the glass mirror, but it proved to be too strong to break. “Why are you here? What’s going on?”

　　“Son, they’re going to kill me unless you tell me the deactivation codes.”

　　“But…you’re already dead!” in fact, Snake had killed the man with his own hands. His own father. Big Boss. Yet here he was, alive and breathing.

　　“Please, Son,” he pleaded. “Give me the codes. If you don’t, I will die a horrible death.”

　　No. this isn’t real. This IS NOT HAPPENING!

　　Then blood began to pour from Big Boss’s nose and mouth.

　　“Yes, it is painful, Snake!” He clenched his eyes shut.

　　“Big Boss!” Snake shouted. “I don’t know the codes! They already have them! Baker and Anderson talked! They already have the damned codes!”

　　The man behind the mirror screamed bloody murder as his head began to split apart! Brains and goo dribbled out of the cracks in one of the most grotesque displays of horror Snake had ever seen.
The operative fell to his knees and shouted. “No! THIS…IS…NOT…REAL!”

　　-and found himself on the carpeted floor of the Commander’s Room once again. Meryl was still lying beside him. And Psycho Mantis floated in the air a few feet away, laughing.

　　It was a hallucination! And I broke it!

　　“You are a strong warrior, Solid Snake,” Mantis said. “You have a healthy mind and a tough heart. You resisted my little mind games. Very admirable! But you are still no match foe my powers!”
Before Snake had a chance to recover from the “trip” he had just experienced, the three antique chairs in the room floated into the air, and then were hurled at him with ferocity. Snake flattened himself to the floor to avoid being struck by them.

　　“Psychokinesis!” the villain gloated. “The weapon of the gods!”

　　The chairs were followed by the two metal urns. They levitated and then soared at Snake as if they had been projected from cannons. He managed to dodge one, but the second one grazed his left shoulder bounced off. The pain was intense but not nearly as bad as it would have been if it had struck full-on.

　　An antlered deer-head trophy attached to the wall split away from its plaque and zoomed toward Snake. The sharp antler points certainly would do far more damage than the chairs or urns. Without thinking, Snake’s hand went to the SOCOM in its holster, and he drew it. He let off three rapid-succession shots and blew the deer head to bits, knocking it out of the air.

　　I have my gun in hand! It is no longer stuck!

　　Psycho mantis wasn’t laughing anymore,. Instead, the villain concentrated on creating the illusion that the gun’s grip was hot again. This time, though, Snake was able to hold on to it.

　　“It won’t work this time, Mantis,” Snake said through gritted teeth. He forced himself to clutch the SOCOM no matter what his pain receptors were telling his brain. He lifted the handgun and pointed it at Psycho Mantis, but it suddenly became extremely heavy. Snake held it with two hands, but it was as if it had gained five hundred pounds in weight. He had no choice but to drop it.
As Mantis laughed uncontrollably once more, books flew off he shelves at Snake. They bombarded him like stones, forcing him back against the desk. He held his arms over his face to protect himself and then rolled his body into a ball on the floor.

　　Why had he been able to draw the SOCOM before? The answer had to be that Psycho Mantis could do only so many telekinetic tasks at a time. If Snake could keep his adversary busy throwing objects, perhaps he could pick up the gun and get off a shot.
With that in mind, Snake abruptly and boldly stood and ran for the door. One of the leather-mask-clad busts careened off its pedestal and soared at Snake to block his path. The operative ducked and immediately turned back toward the desk. The other bust lifted off and joined its counterpart to become guided missiles, following Snake around the room. No matter where he went, the marble busts tailed him as Psycho Mantis waited for the perfect opportunity to smash one over Snake’s head. The result surely would be death.