“23 is in position, ready to begin the assault at any time!
The heroes of the Clara and Sigma series have quietly surrounded the bunker, and all the surveillance devices at the entrance, set up by Ps·ycho, have been hacked by Nyx, rendering them useless.
To avoid alerting the mole among the staff, Azure Cavalier asked Okada Dharma to pretend that the Sigma series exoskeletons weren’t adapting well to the beach, so they needed to return to the hangar for adjustments—a process that would take about half an hour.
So, for the next half hour, that introverted and socially anxious photographer lady would be leading the livestream viewers on a “cloud” tour of the resort’s artificial bay.
Let the citizens living through winter in Central Hub City see the midsummer that also exists on the Moon.
At that moment, Pure White Storm was flying low along the tops of palm trees, conducting a high-altitude scan.
“I see it, there are three people inside the bunker. The two huddled together should be Miss Fran and Miss Lucia. Ps·ycho is right next to them.”
“They’re okay, right?”
Clara asked, and Pure White Storm replied via intercom, “No problem, their physiological conditions are stable… I can’t really see the details.”
On the radar’s image, she could only see blurry red dots.
At the password door of the bunker, Verdant Echo suddenly shouted.
“Wait, Four, you said there are only three people? My results seem a bit different?”
He disagreed with Pure White Storm’s conclusion, then added,
“My radar picked up a whole bunch of red dots. What are those?”
“Ambush?” Blue.
“No, smaller than humans. Could be animals.” Green.
“Wild animals from the resort’s ecosystem?”
Red Star General asked, and Azure Cavalier immediately denied it, “Captain, normal animals couldn’t dig down into a bunker, nor would they be able to. So I have a bad feeling…”
But the bad feeling he spoke of was something everyone present had already thought of.
Lunar creatures.
Whether it was lunar sandworms or moon rabbits, they were all experts at digging. With the site outside covered by the solar storm at the moment, the resort under the gaseous dome was practically a paradise. Would these lunar creatures burrow in for survival?
In theory, they shouldn’t.
Because even with the environmental change, they would still die.
The fact that there might be lunar creature activity under the resort was even more dangerous than Ps·ycho, and they’d have to report this hazard to the resort later.
But before that, they had to deal with the threat of Ps·ycho first.
“Number Three must shoot her before she goes invisible—make sure to hit her with a single shot, not more. If the scent source multiplies, it’ll affect our tracking.”
“Ha, got it!”
Azure Cavalier had prepared special bullets for Ps·ycho.
These bullets weren’t lethal, but when they struck, they would release an indelible, pungent scent—as could be seen from his breakfast-making skills, he was surprisingly good at chemistry.
After that, Clara would track her down by scent and force her out of stealth, just like at Monument Square.
Clara’s role was not unlike a hound.
As long as Ps·ycho couldn’t go invisible, they could suppress her. Besides, this time they weren’t using exercise equipment.
As long as Miss Fran didn’t speak up, they had a pretty good chance of winning.
Nyx, what’s Ps·ycho’s current status?
Clara asked inwardly, and Nyx explained.
[She’s mobile. She’s not wearing any clothes right now.]
“Huh?”
Clara didn’t get it, so Nyx rephrased.
[She isn’t wearing any protective gear. Nyx thinks now is the best time.]
Did you think changing “clothes” to “protective gear” would make me accept it?
How about explaining what’s actually going on!
But just as Clara and Nyx were arguing mentally, Red Star General gave the order to move.
“Number Three, go!”
“Roger.”
“Wait! Hold on!”
Clara didn’t have time to stop him—Verdant Echo, acting as the assault leader, had already ripped open the password door with his bare hands.
“Villain, surrender peacefully—huh?!”
Verdant Echo raised his gun, but that unexpected flash of snow-white (seated, at a distance, fleeting, partially obscured by a chair’s backrest, with something behind) made him forget to fire.
The uninvited and rough intruders also caught Ps·ycho off guard, but her horns immediately glowed and erased her presence. In the blink of an eye, she vanished.
The whole process took less than a second.
But that single second of hesitation completely ruined Azure Cavalier’s plan.
“Number Three, why didn’t you shoot?”
Verdant Echo charged in but didn’t fire, drawing Azure Cavalier’s rebuke.
“No, that guy seemed not to be…ugh!?”
He hadn’t finished his explanation before an invisible blow hit his abdomen, sending him flying out the door and rolling several meters away. That vengeful kick nearly snapped his exoskeleton.
But suddenly, an electric wall sprang up in the corridor in front of the door.
Azure Cavalier immediately sealed all exits.
“She’s still inside the bunker. Stay alert.”
Because of Verdant Echo’s blunder, the operation hadn’t gone as Azure Cavalier planned, but there was still a chance to recover.
Azure Cavalier had to maintain the electric net, and neither Red Star General nor Pure White Storm had managed to get inside. At that moment, only Clara and Verdant Echo were trapped in the bunker by the electric net.
“This is bad.”
The bunker’s interior was a maze of complex, dim passages. Trying to catch an invisible Ps·ycho and break her stealth was no easy feat.
What’s more, in the last battle at Monument Square, Ps·ycho had already fought Clara and knew she could dispel the stealth, so she would definitely be on guard and not recklessly approach—
Bang!
Clara’s back was suddenly clawed, sending her rolling to the side with a muffled groan. Thankfully, her magical protection saved her from being torn in half—she was only knocked away.
Trying to predict the actions of a lunatic with logic was clearly futile.
Nyx, you handle the tentacles! Next time I get hit, wrap her up!
Just as Clara was thinking this, Verdant Echo at the door took another kick to his side.
He clutched his waist and tried to fire the scented bullet at Ps·ycho in the direction of the blow. But as he raised his gun, he found the barrel had been sliced with perfect precision…
Ps·ycho’s claws were way too sharp.
[She obviously hates men more. How can you guarantee she’ll still come for you?]
Actually, there was a simpler way to catch her.
“I’m going to delete every single video of Pure White Storm—none will be left!”
Clara shouted and charged toward Ps·ycho’s computer.
Then, someone grabbed her by the neck from behind, lifting her like a kitten.
With her neck in a vise-like grip, it felt like she was about to be snapped in two. Clara was, of course, miserable, but at that moment the tentacles hidden in her hair shot out and wound around Ps·ycho’s arm.
“Guh, if you caught me… that means I caught you!”
[Accessing data… Ps-Weirdo Ps·ycho… Complete.]
[Deactivating stealth field.]
“No!!”
Clara tried to stop Nyx, but she was still a step too late.
Who said she wasn’t wearing any protective gear—
Isn’t she hanging two giant headlights there?
….
Well, that’s just dirty.