Chapter 216

Scout happened to recognize this drone's serial number; it was a reconnaissance drone.

If Huang remembered correctly, that thing seemed to have only flashed by, and it was quite far away from them.

The other party actually saw and remembered it?

Outrageous!

"When you see Chen, be careful... don't be scared."

Shirou pressed the communicator button and turned around to give a reminder.

They were afraid that the others would be frightened by Chen's amazing voice when they saw him.

Although the current situation shouldn't lead to a reprimand, it's better to be safe than sorry!

"I can hear you. I'll settle the score with you later. Also, the plans have changed..."

Even though Shirou had covered the communicator with his hand, there would still be some sound as long as it wasn't completely cut off, especially in the unusually quiet environment between Chen and Hoshiguma.

The two of them had been passing the time during their boring infiltration by listening to Shirou's voice.

"...I see."

Hearing the voice on the other end of the communicator, Shirou felt utterly helpless.

But there was nothing he could do; he had underestimated the communicator's sound reception capabilities.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Shirou's suddenly collapsed expression, Amiya thought something had happened, so she went over to ask him with concern.

Although it's a small contribution, Rhodes Island can still do its part.

"No, it's nothing. The plan has changed. I have to flank them from the other side."

While Amiya was concerned, Chen had already directed Shirou to move to the other side.

If Shirou were alone, then there wouldn't be any problem with them meeting Hoshiguma. However, it wouldn't be appropriate if there were other people involved, as it would be bad if their positions were exposed.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Mr. Chen felt that these people were vaguely on guard against something.

Although I'm not entirely sure, it's best to be cautious.

In addition to having Shirou flank the enemy from the other side, he also notified Swire to be ready to provide support at any time.

If this were in the city, we probably would have already stormed in; why would we still be here?

Despite his inner complaints, Chen continued to ponder what his next step should be.

The most dangerous part will definitely have to be done by her and Hoshiguma. Last time, Shirou was hit in the face by Originium Bomb. Although he was fine, miracles can't happen one after another.

Ultimately, Shirou came to help them; she wouldn't put them in danger.

"Do you need us to come together?"

Amiya asked, since Shirou hadn't mentioned them when he spoke earlier.

"That's possible, but what follows is very dangerous, you know?"

Chen didn't mention this, and the other party seems to be very busy right now, so it's up to Shirou to make the judgment himself.

Although Amiya and the others have not yet replied, Shirou is quite certain of their answers.

After all, that was their original intention.

"Don't worry, this operation is considered relatively safe. We're professionals in this area, you know."

Huang, standing to the side, gave a thumbs-up and said.

"So you're saying you're a pharmaceutical company...? You seem more like a mercenary organization."

Upon hearing the other person say that they were very skilled in this area, Shirou couldn't help but retort.

Although he kept trying to convince himself that Rhodes Island was a pharmaceutical company, you guys shouldn't keep talking about how you fight every day!

He's finding it hard to convince himself!

"Of course we're a pharmaceutical company! Hahaha..."

Amiya, standing to the side, spoke somewhat awkwardly. Looking at her expression, Shirou knew he was definitely not the first to ask such a direct question.

"Let's talk about it later, let's deal with this first."

Seeing the awkward smiles on the faces of the others accompanying Amiya, Shirou felt it would be better to avoid bringing up this topic.

After a quick reorganization and having a few people notify Scout, who was no longer on standby, the group prepared to head in the other direction.

From here on, we encountered a much larger number of drones.

"These drones... seem a bit too many?"

As Ace watched several drones fly past in the distance, he began to feel something was off.

Including what they just encountered, the drones that attacked them...

It seems they, or perhaps Shirou's side, were discovered and targeted quite early on?

If that's the case, then there might be a problem with the intelligence gathering channels.

While reflecting on the current situation, Ace also put forward his conjecture.

"Indeed... for the scale of this transaction, the number of drones is rather excessive. It's less like a transaction site and more like a giant trap. Amiya, do you still want to proceed?"

Scout, who was in charge of supporting the group from a distance, also offered his opinion.

Both of them are Elite Operator with rich experience on Rhodes Island, capable of finding the problem from the slightest clues and grasping the key point.

"... A trap?"

Amiya, after hearing their analysis, also started to think about it. If that was the case, then it wouldn't be good for them to continue delving deeper now.

Putting operators in danger is not something Rhodes Island does.

But the Rhodes Island operators present were all Elite Operator.

While it's not appropriate for a pharmaceutical company to say this, everyone here certainly has a wealth of experience in this field.

Besides, they weren't a legitimate pharmaceutical company to begin with.

Which pharmaceutical company would disregard costs to treat infected individuals?

Rhodes Island's original goal was not to make money through pharmaceuticals, but to help the infected change their current situation.

To change this situation of being disliked, discriminated against, and even hated.

Amiya raised her head and looked at the people present, saying:

"We must continue deeper, even if it's a trap. Besides, we're not the only ones fighting now; the Longmen Knight Bureau is fighting too. We have no reason to back down."

Looking at the somewhat slender and petite Casters in front of him and hearing what she said, Shirou could sense that she possessed an extremely strong conviction.

"Is her name Amiya? I'm starting to like this organization called Rhodes Island!"

Shirou wasn't the only one who thought this way; Hoshiguma on the other end of the communicator felt the same way.

Although we've never met, judging from that childish voice, the other person must be quite young.

To have such conviction at such a young age, Rhodes Island must be quite something...

Thinking about this, and recalling the conversation she had just overheard on the communicator, Hoshiguma was no longer so sure.

"..."

As for Chen, who was standing to the side, he was slightly taken aback after hearing what the other party said, but he quickly returned to his original state and continued to mobilize the personnel.

Once Shirou arrive at their destination, the operation will begin.

They will hold off everyone inside, while Swire will immediately bring people to support them.

Although I don't really want to say it, with the help of those people from Rhodes Island, the pressure has indeed been reduced a lot.

At least the other party cooperated with their actions and did not act on their own.

If it were the original her, she would have strongly stopped the group from staying put from the very beginning. But after experiencing Shirou, the Penguin Logistics' outside help, she is not as resistant as before.

However, there are still differences.

At least Shirou is a member of Lungmen, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with someone from Lungmen working for Lungmen.

So you still need to be reprimanded, no matter how grand your dreams are!

If Shirou hadn't noticed, their entire operation might have been disrupted!

As for Shirou, he didn't react much, since the safety of the entire team rested on his shoulders.

If it were a relatively safe place like before, perhaps he could still think things through, but as for now...

Let's forget about it.

The question Ace just raised was actually something Shirou had noticed quite some time ago, but he considered it a normal phenomenon as they got closer to the enemy.

Judging from what they said... it seems they were concerned that the other side had an unusually large number of drones?

Shirou hadn't considered this direction before, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized it was indeed the case.

Compared to previous operations, this was probably the second largest number of drones we've seen.

As for the first one?

He blew them all up that very night with his fake Spiral Sword; they were gone as soon as they rose up.

Moreover... Shirou always felt there was a very strong sense of malice in him.

Based on past experience and what had just happened, Shirou was certain that the target was him alone, and Rhodes Island was merely caught in the crossfire.

Although he doesn't know where this ability comes from, Shirou will be alert whenever someone harbors ill intentions towards Shirou.

If it's just a minor incident, that's fine, since that's how Penguin Logistics operates. But if it escalates further, Shirou will start to be on guard.

After all, that means the other party has already started thinking about how to deal with, or even eliminate, him.

While it's not very helpful in actual combat, it's quite useful for reconnaissance.

The downside is that it seems useless for drones.

However, since it's an ability that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, let's not worry about it too much.

"Have you all made up your minds?"

Just to be on the safe side, Shirou asked Amiya and the others again.

"Yes, Rhodes Island will assist the Knights of the Round Table in capturing those people during this operation. I have already sent the Blacksteel team to provide support, so please don't worry."

Amiya's expression was full of determination, as were Ace, Blaze, and Rosemary beside her.

"Yeah?"

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Shirou's tense nerves relaxed considerably.

"Then stay close! What's coming next is very dangerous, you know! I won't be watching you the whole time!"

Turning around, Shirou said.

At the same time, Gan Jiang Mo Ye also appeared in Shirou's hands.

For some reason, Shirou felt extremely good.

In the past few days, he had been angry about what those people had done and afraid of the version of himself that had been corrupted by the Black Mud, but after seeing Amiya, or rather the people of Rhodes Island, make their choice, he felt much more at ease.

Indeed, there are still many people on this land who help the weak and punish the strong.

Isn't this great? Like Hero of Justice.

"..."

As Amiya opened her mouth to speak upon seeing the black and white twin swords that suddenly appeared in Shirou's hand, Shirou had already rushed out.

"Let's follow!"

Swallowing back the words that were about to come out, Amiya directed everyone present to follow Shirou's footsteps.

The others were momentarily stunned when they saw the black and white twin swords in Shirou's hands, but they immediately got back into the swing of things at Amiya's command and caught up with Shirou, who had already run some distance ahead.

"Is there a left side ahead?"

Gan Jiang Mo Ye, destroying the Shirou before it could launch its attack.

Now there's no need to worry about being discovered.