Kanata and the No. 1 Unit have arrived at the laboratory. The surprise attack is set to begin.
The battleship Shiranui advanced through the barren wasteland, kicking up dust.
It was the second day of the march, and not a single town or village had been seen.
Unthinkable in the original world.
Not in the middle of a desert, but in the plains of a continent, with no human habitation at all.
Due to the loss of satellite control, there was no radar surveillance from above.
Unless they triggered the surveillance radar or search network near a base, large weapons could approach enemy territory.
The Kidnap Operation involved approaching the Mechanist Army’s search network with the Land Battleship, and then proceeding to the laboratory by small vehicle, evading the network.
After the assault, they would escape with the children and the stolen “Diabolos X,” rendezvous with the Land Battleship, and return to the Rose Garden.
That was the scenario.
As the sun completely set and the veil of night began to descend, a summons was issued, and they moved to the hangar.
Vodka stood at the hangar entrance.
“Kanata, be careful. This is a tough operation for your first job. Both physically and mentally.”
“No problem. I’m used to being pushed around.”
“I want to go with you, but I’ll be staying behind on the Shiranui.”
Ah, so the heavyweights like Vodka were participating in guarding the Shiranui.
“It’s okay. More importantly, protect the Shiranui well. Even if we succeed here, we can’t return to the Garden without the Shiranui.”
“You talk like a veteran. Don’t worry, we’ll handle things. …Kanata, don’t die.”
“You too, Vodka. Well, I’m off.”
I bumped fists with Vodka and entered the hangar.
Inside the hangar, a command vehicle and a reconnaissance vehicle were ready, along with numerous military buggies and motorcycles.
Axel noticed me and approached.
“It’s finally time, comrade. Are you ready?”
“I’m not going to panic at this point.”
“Good. You’ll ride in the command vehicle with me. Come on, get in.”
The command vehicle was shaped like a large armored car.
I boarded through the opened hatch.
Natsume was there, as emotionless as ever.
I sat down at a distance, trying not to look at Natsume’s face.
Marika-san, along with a group of thugs, boarded the command vehicle.
I spoke with Rasen- through the console panel.
“Rasen, head to the rendezvous point after you drop us off. If any unforeseen circumstances arise, I’m leaving the countermeasures entirely to you.”
“Understood, Marika-sama. Please stay safe.”
“Even the Grim Reaper couldn’t kill me. Axel, go!”
“Yes, Mom!”
We departed from the Shiranui and headed towards the laboratory.
To deliver judgment to the inhumacn.
About four hours had passed since leaving the Shiranui.
So far, everything had gone smoothly without encountering any enemies.
Axel, in the driver’s seat, turned around and reported.
“Mom, we’ve arrived at the planned location.”
“Alright. Now, it’s party time. Let’s go, boys!”
The thugs cracked their knuckles and stood up, following Marika-san.
“Axel! If you encounter any enemies, fire a signal flare and run! Don’t go too far until we return!”
Axel replied with a laugh.
“Yes, Mom! Running away is my specialty!”
“That’s nothing to brag about. When we return, we’ll have children with us. Prepare some candy and cotton candy.”
From here on, we moved on foot. Marika-san led the way, with the thugs following.
It was a moonless night, which was convenient for a surprise attack.
However, the opponents were Bio-Metal soldiers. They might have good eyesight even in the dark.
We couldn’t let down our guard.
The laboratory was located in a forest surrounded by large trees, which were rare in this world.
Apparently, facilities of the Oxygen Supply Federation were usually surrounded by forests.
This laboratory must have adopted the same practice for camouflage.
The exterior was surprisingly similar to the laboratory I was in.
Perhaps the exterior of laboratories is just not very distinctive in any world.
The only difference was the numerous large duct-like structures protruding from the building.
Those must be the oxygen supply machines.
If the interior of the building was a bio-weapon laboratory, these could be camouflage.
The laboratory was surrounded by a high wall with watchtowers at the four corners.
I observed them using the zoom function of my eyes.
There were two soldiers in each watchtower, carrying rifles on their shoulders and on alert.
“There are watchtowers. And soldiers.”
Marika-san replied curtly.
“Every facility has watchtowers, and soldiers in them. Naturally.”
“What do we do?”
“We silence the watchtower at the southwest corner. And then we breach.”
Are we going to snipe?
“Natsume! Your turn.”
Natsume nodded silently, and the thugs quickly looked away or covered their eyes.
??? What’s going to happen?
Natsume silently threw off her military uniform.
!!! Her beautiful breasts, just as I imagined, were revealed. Her nipples were a bit small, and the color was…
Marika-san blocked my eyes, which were fixated on her beautiful breasts.
“Oops, Kanata, it’s your first time, isn’t it? Show’s over.”
“Marika-san, just a little more! Just a little bit longer!”
“You can look now. If you can.”
I strained my eyes to gaze upon her beautiful breasts, but no one was there.
No, she was there. What is this…? That’s right. It’s the one the Predator used.
“Mirror Stealth. Mirror Camouflage. It’s a tactical app Natsume is running.”
Grumble, Natsume is naked, but if she blends in with the background, there’s nothing I can do.
Only the sound of the wind cutting through the air was audible as Natsume headed towards the watchtower. Even though I couldn’t see her.
“That background-blending app is amazing.”
“It consumes Nenshin Power, and the consumption is intense while it’s active. But it’s useful for missions like this.”
“Don’t you have it, Marika-san?”
“You just want to see my breasts, don’t you, Kanata?”
“That’s part of it, but it’s an incredibly useful app, isn’t it?”
“It’s convenient, but not omnipotent. High-performance Bio-Metal soldiers have a thermal scan function when combat mode is activated. The advantage of invisibility lasts only until the surprise attack; it’s not that advantageous in combat.”
“I see. So you can’t fool thermal sensors. If combat mode is activated, it’s almost completely neutralized, isn’t it?”
The soldiers in the watchtower shouldn’t have combat mode activated yet. If it were constantly active, their Nenshin Power would be depleted during crucial battles.
“Besides, I don’t like sneaking around.”
“…Marika-san, you’re a ninja, aren’t you?”
While we were talking, Natsume had silenced the two soldiers in the watchtower.
By breaking their necks, but still.
Then, she reached out a hand through the window and signaled.
“Let’s go, Kanata. I got a good look thanks to Natsume. In lieu of a viewing fee, you can bring Natsume’s clothes.”
I grabbed Natsume’s military uniform, which had fallen to the ground, and followed Marika-san.
Natsume lowered a rope from the watchtower.
I slung Natsume’s clothes over my shoulder, grabbed the rope, and climbed up.
Although, only about five of us, including myself and Gen-san, used the rope; the other squad members formed dish-shaped Psyche-Barriers and used them as footholds to jump over the wall.
Was the method I devised for escaping my previous laboratory an “ohako” of Assault Ninjas?
I reached the watchtower’s surveillance booth and handed Natsume her clothes.
She put them on quickly, still silent.
Wouldn’t a “thank you” be appropriate?
“Kanata, hurry and go to Marika-sama. We’ll secure the escape route.”
As Gen-san urged me to descend the wall with a wire, Natsume grabbed me.
“Natsume! What are you doing!”
Natsume didn’t let me say anything, and with me tucked under her arm, she jumped from the watchtower.
Whoa! That’s at least 10 meters! There’s no way the impact of two people wouldn’t be severe!
Mid-fall, Natsume threw out a grappling hook and landed by kicking off the wall.
Considerately, she let go of me just before landing, so I landed face-first on the ground in a cool manner.
My nose tingled. I wanted to complain, but I had to hurry to catch up with Marika-san and the others.
By the time I rejoined Marika-san and them, the soldiers at the main gate were already dead.
“They must have noticed us by now. We’re entering the laboratory. Kanata, follow me!”
“Yes, Mom!”
We stormed into the laboratory. Marika-san’s pace was fast.
She must have been holding back her speed to match ours, but it was still all I could do to keep up.
“Kanata, you promised me something, didn’t you? That you could kill.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t hesitate. Hesitation means death.”
“I won’t hesitate. I can’t die without seeing Marika-san’s breasts.”
“Then, as long as I don’t show you my breasts, you won’t die. I heard something good.”
“Nooo!”
What a slip of the tongue, what a pitfall I dug for myself. I don’t need to be an immortal soldier, I just want to see Marika-san’s breasts!
“You can’t be helped, you breast-obsessed kid. Well then, if Kanata survives this operation… I’ll tell you something good.”
“Something good? What will you tell me?”
Marika-san glanced back at me for a moment, winked, and said:
“The color of my nipples.”
I’m absolutely not going to die! I’ll never die, even if my head is severed from my body! My spirit is rising in more ways than one!
Whiskey on the rocks.
