Labi disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Clara could guess who was responsible and clicked her tongue in annoyance. Psycho, who claimed he wouldn’t participate in this operation, had ultimately intervened and rescued Labi.
Jeanne told the Moon Rabbits following her to temporarily return to the Rabbit Hole to lay low. ‘They’re still on the island anyway. We can search for them later.’
She herself followed Clara, escorting the Red Star General, Verdant Echo, and Anya back to the resort. She would act as a representative for this group of Moon Rabbits, seeking the right to survive for her people.
At this moment, Clara still didn’t understand what exactly had fallen from the sky. But since Fran called it reinforcements, it was probably some kind of aircraft that could ignore the solar storm.
Science couldn’t withstand a solar storm. Maybe it was something magic-related?
The brainwashing state of the red and green heroes could be undone using the new ability extracted from Labi.
But it couldn’t be done directly. After all, it was an ability involving the soul and the brain. Nyx needed to first study Labi’s data with Fran.
Therefore, they decided to return to the resort and make plans there.
“What is this?”
The light from the night sky dome was extremely limited. By the time they approached the resort, it was so dark they could barely see the road…
“Why is the ground all black?”
Clara squinted her eyes and vaguely saw the ground slowly writhing.
[These are mycelium.]
[Though, this scale should be called a mycelial carpet.]
Only then did Clara clearly see what the writhing substance underfoot was—Moon Rabbits were covered head to toe in mycelium.
Whether ordinary Moon Rabbits or rabbit soldiers, all were entangled by the mycelial carpet, unable to move, only twitching and struggling under the faint moonlight.
A crude oil-black mycelial carpet covered the ground, with swallowed figures all around.
Clara was quite familiar with this type of mycelium.
“So, the reinforcements are… Minister Mossima?”
Nyx was silent for a moment before answering.
[Mossima is currently intervening in the brains and hive mind of these Moon Rabbits, conducting negotiations. As a fungal collective consciousness, she might be able to achieve something.]
“Negotiations? Didn’t she come to directly eliminate the Moon Rabbits?”
[No, these rabbits are all still alive.]
Precisely because they were alive, the scene looked even more hellish.
This was the first time Clara had witnessed Minister Mossima’s power. As the most enigmatic executive-level Mutant at Naitemel, her abilities and identity were quite mysterious.
“Ugh—”
A sudden headache.
Clara held her forehead and stopped walking.
Was this really her first time seeing such a scene?
This image of the ground covered in mycelial carpet… it felt vaguely familiar.
She couldn’t recall. An inexplicable, intense headache interrupted her train of thought.
[Clara? Are you alright?]
Clara held her forehead and shook her head.
But judging from the scene before her, Mossima was indeed no less capable than Labi or Psycho.
“I-I’m fine… Let’s just get back to the resort first.”
These Moon Rabbits that bit and ate everything had no good countermeasure against fungi that reproduced even faster and couldn’t be bitten, and could even be parasitized in return.
Among the people Clara knew, there really was no one more suitable as reinforcements than Mossima.
“Truly worthy of being a minister. She’s amazing.”
But how would they explain this to the Sigma Heroes later? What if they were recognized by the audience?
[You, as a Naitemel employee, have never seen her. Outside the Company, who would know she’s a Naitemel executive?]
… That made sense.
The thick mycelium underfoot didn’t cling to Clara and the others. Stepping on it felt quite springy.
The mycelial carpet extended all the way to the resort entrance before disappearing.
And standing at the resort’s main gate…
“Miss Clara?”
A young female hero in a white armored exoskeleton stood there, holding two thin blades whose edges were dulled from chopping. A “crow” drone followed behind her, filming.
Around her, corpses were scattered in a radial pattern, painting the surrounding ground with splattered blood.
“How did she do that?”
She alone guarded the gate, dealing with ninety rabbit soldiers. Under the lens of the live broadcast, she defended the last vestiges of the Sigma Series’ reputation with her actions.
Moonlight fell on Sista. Clara hesitated at the gate.
It felt like taking one more step forward would cause the gate behind her to be blocked by fog, and Sista’s health bar would appear above her line of sight.
Only upon seeing Clara did she begin to sway, as if about to fall…
“Watch out!”
Clara hurried forward to support her tense body.
“Alright, relax a little~”
Clara carried the slightly trembling Sista on her back.
“The fight is over.”
Though for the four unlucky members of the Sigma Series, it wouldn’t truly be over until the strong solar storm subsided, they returned to Central City, and were restored to their original forms at the Abyssal Administration Bureau.
At the warehouse entrance, as a final defensive measure, one could see from a distance the moon bus, modified into a firepower platform, blocking the way—that was the temporary hangar, the spare parts warehouse they had visited before.
The vehicle body was already battered and broken. Dozens of rabbit soldiers also lay around it.
Wait, those didn’t seem to be corpses.
Some were still writhing and struggling, making sounds as if having nightmares.
Clara pushed open the warehouse door. As soon as she entered, she heard:
“Um, we’re back.”
“You’re too slow!”
A black-haired girl with a wicked grin rushed up to Clara, immediately pinching her dirty cheeks, saying:
“We finished up here ages ago.”
“Ch-Chairwoman Qiexiya?!”
It made sense. The dream witch group only had so many members. If they were really sending reinforcements, naturally only the chairwoman herself would come.
The Moon Rabbits sleeping outside the warehouse were her handiwork. And Mossima, one of the few who knew the truth about the undercover operation, had naturally been pulled in to help.
As a relative of the Supreme Leader, Chairwoman Qiexiya possessed at least executive-level strength.
Though she arrived a bit late, with this, the combat power of “Naitemel” and the “Fourth Calamity” was finally balanced.
“The Sigma Heroes are really in a sorry state, huh~ Oh my, even the heroes have turned into little girls?”
Chairwoman Qiexiya walked around Clara, covering her mouth with a punchable expression, circling the Red Star General and Verdant Echo while letting out a high-pitched laugh.
The two remained silent but showed expressions of disgust and displeasure.
“Miss Clara.”
Producer S walked over to Clara, asking respectfully:
“Excuse me, is there any way to undo their brainwashing state?”
Fran Livka held a tablet displaying the report sent by Nyx.
“Don’t worry. With the Abyssal system, there’s no brainwashing that can’t be undone. However, regarding the Fourth Calamity’s methods… I’m still analyzing the results.”
“Rather than worrying about the brainwashing, you should think about how to salvage the Sigma Series’ image. Apart from the Pure White Storm, the reputations of the other three are pretty much ruined, right?”
Judging from Dharma Okata’s expression of “the person is alive, but the heart is dead,” the Sigma Heroes had indeed encountered a rather severe PR crisis.
“Don’t worry.”
Producer S, however, was quite composed. He wore a smile, maintaining a humble demeanor.
“I came precisely for that.”
Cherish the book group, stay away from sword arrays!! New group: 2498048
Ahem, updating early because the group got blown up…
Thanks for translating