Operation: Cold Shoulder

This article contains SPOILERS for IEYTD3!Tread at your own risk!

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> Extra layers may be required.
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> The Handler, right before the mission is sent in

**Operation:** **Cold Shoulder** is the fifth mission in *I Expect You To Die 3*.

## Synopsis

The Handler's mission briefing is as follows:

> While you were discovering intel in Zor's secret underwater lab, we found the location of Dr. Prism's factory stored inside the robot you brought back. The location is an old abandoned ski lodge in Japan owned by Zoraxis, shut down for numerous safety violations. We're sending you with a modified version of that shield generation you took from the underwater lab. You'll be able to use it if there are any more surprise kinesium explosions. So get into Dr. Prism's factory, take it down, and if you can, find out where Zor is!
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The mission begins with the player sitting in a gondola. The player's mission is to get to Dr. Prism's factory and take it down.

## Walkthrough

The first thing that you will have to do upon starting the level is get access to the fireworks and the accompanying flare gun. To access the fireworks, you will have to open the crate to your right using one of two ways: you can either take the snow globe in the snow pile to your left, smash it, and then put the Z piece on top of the lid to unlock it, or you can put either the base of the snow globe, or the coin buried in the snow to your right in the gift shop, into the souvenir press, and make a Zoraxis logo souvenir, which you can use to unlock the crate instead. Once you have access to the fireworks, you will then need access to the flare gun. This flare gun will be in a safe which can be accessed by putting the combination, "Z," "Bear," "Fireworks," "Bear," "Fireworks" into the souvenir press; this combination can also be found on a piece of paper inside of the bear archer's mouth. Doing this will not only reveal the safe, but also activate the bear archer, which will attempt to shoot a laser at you. You can disable the bear by either reflecting the laser back at it with something metal, or lighting a firework from the crate with the laser and using it on the bear instead.

Once you have access to both the flare gun and the fireworks, you will want to use the flare gun to destroy two snow machines. The first snow machine is visible on the rightmost mountain, and the second snow machine is hidden behind the second mountain from the left. For the visible one, you will want to aim the flare gun a little higher than where it is to actually hit and destroy it, and for the hidden one, you will have to aim directly above the area of the mountain that is lower than the rest. You will have to load the flare gun with a firework each time you want to shoot it. Once both snow machines are destroyed, and the AI tells you that it's safe to start the gondola, make sure that you have one or more reflective objects on hand before starting the gondola using the lever to the left of you.

Once it starts, you will encounter another robot who, after a while, will crash into the front of the gondola and attempt to hit you with a laser. Using a reflective object, reflect the laser back onto the robot to weaken it. Two more robots will then appear, which you will have to destroy, along with the first robot you encountered. The intended way to destroy these three robots is to hit them twice with a reflected laser, and then shoot them with the firework flare when they're most vulnerable, i.e., when they're glowing a bright, orangeish-yellow colour. Destroying all three robots in this way will allow the gondola to continue moving up until a certain point, to which then it will stop, and a cutscene will start. When the gondola stops again, open the briefcase on the opposing seat, and put the shield generator that's in it in the accompanying socket; this can actually be done at any time during the mission, so long at it's done before the shockwave reaches you. Once the shockwave passes, the gondola's emergency cables will unlock, which you can then grab, pull, and hook onto either side of the gondola seat. The gondola will then fall from underneath you, to which then you will need to pull the red handle above you to gently lift yourself down to the ground. Another cutscene will start. Once this cutscene ends and Prism drops the flare gun, grab it, and shoot it towards the sky to signal Handler. This will end the mission.

## Souvenirs

### Don't Explode Any Robots With Fireworks

During the fight: aim, with the flare gun, at the snowbank to your right above the robot to crush it, reflect the left robot's laser into the mirror on the other gondola pole and use your telekinesis to aim it at the robot, and reflect the middle robot's laser at the ice-covered gondola.

### Find And Destroy 6 Icicles

The first four icicles are in the starting area. There's one by the hole in the gift shop ceiling, one slightly to the left in front of you, one directly to your left, and one to your right mostly blocked by the building that requires you lean to your left to see. If you can't get the right one from your seat, you can see it better after the gondola starts moving. Number five is hanging just to the left of the pole you come up on, and number six is on the frozen gondola area.

### Own All 3 Souvenir Press Designs

Use the Coin, Compass, and base of the Zoraxis snow globe in the coin press to gain all three coins in the coin press.

### Phantom Medal

Before de-arming the bear, open the gondola door and look to the gondola control box. Open that door and you'll see the medal encased in ice. Use either the souvenir coin or the cookie tin to reflect the bear laser at the medal. Eventually, you'll be able to pick it up.

### Robot Trophy

During the section with three robots, open your gondola door and look down to your left. The trophy is in a snowbank.

## Debriefing

The Handler's debriefing is as follows:

> I knew Zor was evil, but this...there was still the potential to convince Dr. Prism to use her robots for good. Now, that future is gone. Dr. Prism taking the shield generator is a big blow but we can't let that stop us. With or without it, we have to stop Zor from killing every Agent in the world, like they did with those poor robots.
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Inside the pneumatic tube is a slice of red velvet cake, topped with a chocolate coin with the Agency's logo and a small branch of holly.