"Huff... huff... huff..."
Panting heavily, Carl felt the warmth continuously streaming down her forehead and could only be grateful that she was still alive.
Before the ACPA pilot opened fire, she had anticipated that he might shoot and had already dodged in advance. She had not taken a 20mm round head-on, one capable of tearing her in half. Her current injuries had been caused by stones kicked up by the bullets.
Tearing open the undershirt exposed beneath her bulletproof vest, Carl wiped a handful of blood from her head with her left hand, then wrapped a strip of cloth around her forehead to temporarily bandage the wound, lest the bleeding interfere with her vision in the coming fight.
"This time, it really is deadly."
Carl calculated the time in her head. Of the eight-minute lifespan, probably less than seven minutes remained. In other words, she had to take down that ACPA within seven minutes and bring the target to Azure Tower.
This dream is way too beautiful.
What did Carl have on hand right now?
Monomolecular Wire, a Kenshin Tech Pistol, and a few grenades. She was supposed to use these things against an ACPA over two meters tall, whose arm armor was nearly as wide as her entire body?
Damn it, this really had that Soulslike flavor. A no-hit speedrun challenge, huh? Could she get a chance to reload and try again? She would aim to clear it in under ten attempts.
As she considered what combat methods she could piece together from these things, Carl heard the ACPA she had just blown downstairs with her grenade moving again below. The thing was so heavy that it was impossible not to hear it.
Then...
Why had it suddenly gone quiet?
Carl listened carefully. Aside from the panicked cries of