Getting a closer look really was astonishing.
Wouldn’t even the fish that can’t swim underwater get eaten clean?
Are we going to go days without even a meal?
Clara furrowed her brow.
On the way to the hangar, passing by the reddish bay, she observed the strange phenomena on the sea surface up close. The air carried a faint, lingering scent of blood.
“There are rabbits in the sea.
If you looked closely, you could just barely make out the silhouettes of Moon Rabbits fishing in the water.
Fran, who was driving, also glanced at the sea and explained, “With that kind of evolution speed, it wouldn’t be strange if Moon Rabbits that could survive underwater emerged within a few generations. Their adaptability is extremely strong—ordinary animals are no match for them.”
They’re way too powerful; this is only their third day at the resort.
The out-of-control Moon Rabbits were reproducing at an unimaginable rate, and with the limited manpower at the resort and no effective extermination methods, could they really last until the solar storm subsided?
Perhaps this truly could be called a natural disaster.
Bang—
Inside the hangar, Okata Dharma slapped the blackboard and, holding a megaphone, said:
“From today, the live broadcast of the variety show cohabitation is suspended. The production team will transform into the Moon Rabbit Extermination Operation Command Center…
…and record a new show!”
She was, after all, the leader of this operation, so she had to chair the meeting.
It’s just that her train of thought seemed rather unconventional.
“Huh? Even with things like this, you still want to broadcast?”
Clara hadn’t expected that, in such a dire situation, Okata Dharma was still thinking about broadcasting. Wasn’t that a bit too professional?
“You spent all night thinking about these things?”
Clara said, and Okata Dharma nodded, hands on her hips.
“That’s right! Turning crisis into opportunity, packaging the operation itself as a show for the audience! At the same time, viewers will get to understand the crisis the resort is facing, and maybe we could get some help…maybe?”
Why was her tone so uncertain?
Is this woman’s mind filled with nothing but “ratings”?!
“So, how do you plan to continue the live broadcast?”
Fran Livka picked up the thread and looked at Okata Dharma as a reminder:
“If we fail to stop the rabbit disaster, our reputation as heroes will take a hit. For Dream Witch and the Sigma Heroes, it would be a loss. Our chances aren’t high right now…do you really want to take that risk?”
Fran was reminding Okata Dharma that her actions also concerned Dream Witch’s interests.
“The sudden broadcast interruption last night has already made many viewers uneasy and suspicious. Even if we do nothing, we’ll face doubts. We have to give our audience and fans an explanation.
Moreover, our contract with Dream Witch specifically includes raising Miss Clara’s popularity. If we do nothing, that’s a breach of contract, so it’s better to find a way to make things work…”
An operation with such a low chance of success would only add pressure on the Sigma Series and Clara. Was she just tossing them onto the fire?
Okata Dharma then asked, “Also, Dr. Fran, weren’t you pretty confident in the virus you synthesized?”
Actually, things had changed. Fran muttered under her breath.
She was referring to the existence of Rabbit Soldiers.
Those guys were also Moon Rabbits; the virus would probably work, but she couldn’t guarantee a fatality rate.
But Okata Dharma misunderstood and thought she meant something else.
“Wait, what about the Moon Rabbit we were going to use for the operation? You said the situation changed—did you lose that rabbit?”
Her imagination was quite something, but the Moon Rabbit operative really couldn’t return for a while.
“That rabbit did get away.”
Clara thought about it, then simply went along with her guess.
“But it’s not a big problem. We can catch another Moon Rabbit to do the job.”
“Oh-ho, that Moon Rabbit was so well-behaved last night, but it still ran away? Did it realize we were going to use the virus on it?”
Okata Dharma thought for a moment, then asked, “When you catch a new Moon Rabbit, can I put a miniature camera around its neck? That way we can livestream the operation as it happens.”
She even wanted to broadcast a viral operation like this?
Wouldn’t this attract complaints from animal protection groups?
Fran still reminded, “Those rabbits aren’t stupid. Most of them know what a camera is. Doing this would arouse their suspicion.”
“It’s fine, we’ll disguise the rabbit so well that no Moon Rabbit could ever spot the camera.”
Okata Dharma gave her assurance.
The Sigma Heroes had stylists; with special effects makeup, it really was possible to hide a camera.
But Clara hated how even things like this had to be broadcasted. It was a traffic-first industry.
“So when can we start the operation?”
After a long-winded meeting that still hadn’t touched on the main topic, Verdant Echo was getting impatient and shouted.
“We have to catch the mastermind and avenge Second Brother!”
Clara soothed, “Don’t worry. As long as we keep whittling down the Moon Rabbits, the mastermind will eventually be forced out. As for the operation…I’m still waiting for the right moment.”
In truth, they could start any time, but Clara wanted to gather more intelligence.
“Speaking of Azure Cavalier, there’s actually some serious news I need to share with everyone.”
Okata Dharma continued, “I checked in with the company about the situation. Apparently, Azure Cavalier hasn’t returned to Divine Abyss…”
He didn’t revive?
“Did his soul get exhausted?”
Clara offered a hypothesis, but Fran shook her head in denial.
“No. Artificial humans’ souls are more fragile than ordinary people’s, and they lack willpower support, but they don’t disappear that quickly…Perhaps, he isn’t actually dead?”
This statement only confused Clara more.
“Huh? But isn’t his body still lying in the morgue?”
“Mhm~”
To this, Fran just let out a meaningless hum.
Okata Dharma continued, “The company’s view is the same as Miss Fran’s. Cases where the body dies but the soul still exists aren’t rare. Maybe Azure Cavalier is drifting around us in the form of a ghost we can’t sense…”
“Hey, don’t say scary things like that!”
Those words made Clara recall her experience during the test of courage, and her face instantly turned pale.
“Speaking of which, the ghost lights, ghosts, and ghost hands from last night…what kind of mechanisms did you use for those?”
Okata Dharma raised one eyebrow and denied it:
“Huh? We didn’t set up any such mechanisms.”
“D-Don’t tell me there are really ghosts?”
In this era, ghosts truly exist as a life form.
Even though science had proven it, the living still feared ghosts.
Azure Cavalier was already dead.
But his soul was still “alive”…
This conclusion made a chill run down Clara’s spine.
“S-Should we hold some kind of ritual to lay him to rest?”