If military forces are looking for you, you probably shouldn't try to hide in a military vehicle. Soldiers will automatically pay more attention to it, no matter what. Even if they hadn't decided to destroy it right there and then, after murdering the owner, they likely would have taken the mecha with them for later use, whatever it might be, maybe just for spare parts, practice material for mechanics, or even target practice.
If Ludia value was for intelligence, I'm afraid the author of this story would be struggling to get a high score.