Neo Liberation Army

**Leader** | Legislative Council

> Unlike the rest of China, Hong Kong came out of the Human-Vannai War largely unchanged, retaining their political structure, modernity, and territory. If the ACC wishes to expand into China, they might be a good potential ally.
>
> Iron Army's report on the NLA, dated 2018.

The Neo Liberation Army (formerly Hong Kong) is an independent territory in the south of China. It was never part of the Survivalist Coalition due to their distance from their territories and the impenetrable belt of Vannai Puppet forces between them before the Great Hibernation.

Relatively isolationist, they mostly kept to themselves during the Human-Vannai War, successfully defending their territories from all Superfort invasions. Even the Iron Army, which were their neighbours, did not have much contact with them.

However, when the Great Hibernation happened, the NLA started to aggressively involve themselves in the geopolitics and conflicts in the mainland, eventually becoming the ACC's first official ally in the region.

## History and Status

When the Human-Vannai War started, Hong Kong's tiny size allowed it to quickly purge almost all Vannai Puppets before they had a chance to establish a power base. Easily defensible, the PLA, which acted as Hong Kong's army at the time, chose to focus their efforts in the north, allowing Hong Kong to stay mostly independent, even letting them keep most of their suit pilots in case they are needed for the defense of the island.

As the Superforts emerged, the PLA started to collapse, and Hong Kong once again became threatened by the Vannai Puppets. During a Superfort invasion, two young suit pilots were able to distinguish themselves by destroying it without support. These two would then go on to achieve victory after victory, becoming the core of the Hong Kong defense force. The Legislative Council of Hong Kong thus conferred the title of Grand General to one of the pair, Zau Yi, giving him almost unrestricted control of the military and a considerable amount of political influence.

In the position of Grand General, Zau Yi continued to protect Hong Kong. As the remnants of the PLA came to Hong Kong to seek refuge, Zau Yi was able to convince the Legislative Council to absorb them, as well as renaming Hong Kong into the Neo Liberation Army to reflect the expansion of their territory into the mainland, namely Guangdong.

After the Great Hibernation, Zau Yi entered extensive talks (such as the NLA-ARHK Meeting and the NLA-IA/ACC Summit) with the various branches of the ACC in China, as well as the Iron Army, eventually coming to various deals such as the sale of drones fromARHK, the establishment of a jointly-held territory in Fujian, and the consctruction of a factory in Fujian.

However, shortly afterwards, due to a public broadcast made by ACC Pilot Lyn Wong, Zau Yi was disgraced and went into hiding, passing on the position of Grand General to Liu Xiao Jiu. Curiously, this did not have any outward effects on the relationship between the two factions.

## Population, Industry, and Military

The population of the NLA is quite significant, at 16 million. Governed by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, the people vote for their government every four years, with the most recent being in 2019. The position of Grand General was introduced in 2017, and was seated by Zau Yi until 2019 when it was passed to Liu Xiao Jiu. The Grand General has absolute control over the NLA military, as well as being its leader for foreign policy. While the position is non-elected, the Grand General still has to answer to the Legislative Council, and the title may be taken away at any time.

In response to China falling to the Superforts and its tiny amount of territory before they obtained Guangdong, the NLA creates its food using advanced indoor high-rise hydroponics, putting a lot of its skyscrapers to use as farms. This generated enough food to keep the population happy.

The private industry remains largely intact, although the government did take over the housing industry to ensure ample supply and distribution of living space. Otherwise, the government has set up policies that shifted manpower to the weapons manufacturing industry, as it needed to constantly supply its army.

In terms of its military, the NLA has been largely unchanged since before the Vannai War, although a much greater emphasis is placed on vehicles over infantry, as infantry are generally ineffective against Superforts. Utilizing modern artillery platforms as well as highly mobile troop transports, the NLA under Zau Yi favor highly mobile bombardment tactics. Suits are mostly regarded as another branch of the military, rather than being integrated into the existing branches, and they are mostly used in a communications and bombardment role rather than direct combat. This focus on communications and mobility has ensured that the NLA is able to achieve victory with minimal casualties and maximum efficiency, garnering a fearsome reputation for them.

## Significant Members

### Zau Yi (周伊)

 File:Zau Yi.png  Zau Yi is a native of Hong Kong, and obtained a suit during Suitfall. Patriotic at heart, he quickly signed up as part of Hong Kong's defense forces and achieved amazing feats in a short time, which allowed him to rise in the ranks of the Hong Kong defense force, eventually culminating in him becoming the first Grand General.

The former Grand General of the NLA is noted to be a rather sly and shrewd man, capable of extracting the best value in negotiations and political maneuvers. Often, his actions (such as planting the Imperial Seal to ensure the ACC got it, and the two-sided negotiations with both Hanse and ARHK) make him seem evil and manipulative. However, those close to him believe that he's always acted for the benefit and future of the NLA, and not for personal gain.

For a short time after the Che Wedding Massacre, Zau Yi was unlawfully imprisoned within the Iron Army territory, but was eventually released after making a deal about a diplomatic partnership between the NLA and the Iron Army.

After being disgraced by Lyn Wong, he quickly went into hiding, infiltrating Bandit territory and running a one-man scouting and sabotage mission to continue contributing to the NLA's defense despite the NLA's capture order for him. Deep down, however, he prefers the field work over being Grand General, believing that these were where his true talents lie.

According to older records, Zau's suit is focused on melee combat and the use of optical illusions in combat. Nicknamed the "Light of Destruction" once, his proficiency in combat is often surprising to those who only know him as a strategist and negotiator.

### Liu Yan (刘严)

 File:Liu Yan.png  A childhood friend of Zau Yi, Liu Yan also became a pilot on the day of Suitfall. Joining Zau Yi in the Hong Kong defense force, he was able to garner a fearsome reputation for himself as the "God of War", said to be a man whose mere presence would ensure victory.

As Zau Yi became the Grand General, Liu Yan settled for the position of Forward General, choosing to remain in the frontlines while Zau Yi focused on strategies and politics. Despite having a distaste for politics, he nonetheless supports and advises Zau Yi on many matters.

Much less of a talker than Zau Yi, many do not know much of Liu Yan, as he prefers to keep his private life completely separate from his military life. However, the fact that Zau Yi trusts him completely is a sign of their friendship and bond away from the public eye.

Liu Yan's suit combat style is ever-changing, capable of engaging targets from any range. Despite this lack of focus, Liu Yan excels in almost every combat role, to the point that he is able to mount an effective one-man offense against Superforts. He is said to be worth two whole armies, but he is mostly humble about it, attributing his many victories to Zau Yi's strategems.

### Liu Xiao Jiu (刘孝玖)

 File:Liu Xiao Jiu.png  Younger cousin of Liu Yan and childhood playmates of both Liu Yan and Zau Yi, Lavender "Lavvy" Liu Xiao Jiu was the daughter of a British diplomat and a Hong Kong businesswoman. At a young age, she was sent to boarding school in the UK, and excelled in both academics and sports.

However, when the Vannai-Human war started, she quickly used her wealth to obtain a suit pod, and returned to Hong Kong to join Zau Yi and Liu Yan in the Hong Kong defense force. Unlike the two, Lavvy focused on officer work, quickly gaining a reputation in strategist work.

Her borderline psychopathic love for Zau Yi is well known, and she has been training herself in all forms of talents to follow in his footsteps as his equal.

When Zau Yi went into hiding, he used his considerable political sway to ensure that Lavvy became the next Grand General, as he believes that she would be the NLA's best candidate for the job. By some accounts, Lavender is a superior strategist to Zau Yi, although she loses out in one crucial aspect: she has no regard for the human aspect of war. While her commands nearly always result in absolute victory, following those commands are extremely demanding and often cause dissatisfaction.

Her suit's combat style revolves around melee combat and hacking. Often when things don't go her way, she is known to descend unto the battlefield herself to strike fear into the hearts of both enemy and ally alike.