Mysterious Attack

(This chapter is free.)

I didn't even know how I got through the day.

Those Empire Commanders blended into the crowds around me with astonishing efficiency. In every classroom and every hallway, you might spot one or two unfamiliar faces at any moment. They included schoolteachers, groundskeepers tending flowerbeds, cafeteria ladies serving meals, electricians repairing wiring, and practically any other profession that could appear on campus. It felt like a Hollywood blockbuster about aliens invading Earth was quietly unfolding without anyone noticing...

At first, some students whispered in surprise, "Did our school get a lot of new people?" But before long, such discussions became much rarer. I didn't know whether it was the Mind Interference of the commander named Keaos at work, or whether my classmates had simply grown accustomed to unfamiliar faces popping up everywhere.

As I walked home after school with Pandora, greeting acquaintances and strangers alike as they passed us, I became more and more amazed by these Empire Officers who could infiltrate an unfamiliar civilization without anyone realizing it—fortunately, they hadn't come to this world intending to conquer humanity.

I turned to glance at Pandora, who silently followed beside me.

...With this tiny war maniac around, all I could say was that they weren't going to conquer humanity for the time being.

"Brother," Pandora suddenly said softly, "are you very popular?"

I found that strange. "I suppose so. Why ask all of a sudden?"

"Just now, several Carbon-Based Lifeforms behind us were quietly discussing you. They said you were very popular."

...Anyone would get that impression after seeing a high school student warmly chatting all the way from roadside patrol officers to vendors on street corners, right? If I didn't look so young, people might have suspected I was some high-ranking official traveling incognito.

My home was quite a distance from school. Walking there meant passing through a bustling market street, famous for its food stalls that had long played cat-and-mouse with city inspectors and its vendors selling Pirated Discs. Its market for pirated Light Discs in particular was known as the last piracy Sacred Ground still standing proudly despite the city inspectors' relentless crackdowns. Sister had repeatedly forbidden Pan Lili—Pandora's name in front of outsiders—from walking through such a chaotic place, and Qian Qian had repeatedly suggested that I take a longer route to ensure little Lily's safety. Yet for some reason, Pandora insisted on going home through this mixed-bag market street.

Before long, I learned why Pandora had been so insistent.

Near the exit of the market street, a man dressed head to toe in black, looking like he had stepped out of The Matrix, sidled over and mysteriously asked, "Hey, buddy, want some discs?"

I looked up, and tears instantly welled in my eyes.

It was that Knight-Faced Uncle who made fake IDs.

The ancients were right: you couldn't judge a person by appearances. Every single thing this uncle did, despite his righteous face and resolute expression, was so far beyond my expectations...

Pandora explained from the side, "Our original plan was to monopolize all commercial systems in this city, then use that as an opportunity to establish a complete information network and formulate safe travel routes for you. But later, we discovered that simply having Sikaro lie low here could achieve the same result."

Knight-Faced Uncle also reported with a solemn face, "The humans in this district seem to have mastered a primitive yet highly unusual method of transmitting information. While it cannot be called an intelligence network, it is sufficient for gathering the movements of humans within a nearby range. Furthermore, given the rather chaotic management of this area, it is relatively easy for our personnel to hide here."

Cold sweat covered my head as I listened.

Only then did I realize that several of the nearby small vendors were vaguely familiar faces as well. It seemed I had still underestimated these people's wartime mindset. This wasn't coming to human society to find jobs at all—this was practically operating according to espionage standards...

"Brother, an anomalous target has been detected," Pandora suddenly warned.

"An anomalous target?" I was startled.

Knight-Faced Uncle left behind the words, "I'll set up a sniper position," then quickly departed.

What was going on? Hey, hey, you weren't planning to stage The Matrix in the middle of the street, were you?

"One... no, two Carbon-Based Lifeforms with high-energy reactions have locked onto our location. They do not possess hostile intent, but they do have intent to attack."

No hostile intent but intent to attack? Why couldn't I understand that?

But before I could figure out what was happening, Pandora let out a low cry. "The enemy has launched an attack!"

I felt a gust of cold wind brush past me, then everything returned to normal.

Just as I thought nothing had happened, Pandora gestured for me to look behind us.

I turned around and saw a deep cut more than a meter long and half a centimeter wide in the wall behind me. A thread of white smoke slowly drifted from the gash.

Cold sweat poured down my back...

"A highly compressed Air Blade." At some point, Pandora's eyes had gained a faint blue glow, the sign that she had entered information-processing mode. "It possesses extremely high speed and considerable destructive power. Most importantly, it is difficult for the Sensory Organs of Carbon-Based Lifeforms to detect. It poses a lethal threat to ordinary Carbon-Based Lifeforms."

"...Now isn't the time to be explaining that..." I said, twitching at the corner of my mouth. "That thing almost killed me. You could have stopped an attack like that, right?"

I still didn't understand their technology very well, but based on what I had seen so far, stopping an attack of that level should have been effortless for Pandora. Yet the situation was that the enemy had attacked and nearly killed me, while Pandora calmly stood beside me analyzing the characteristics of the attack method...

Pandora raised her head and looked at the sky. "Although this attack method has some commendable aspects, it poses no threat to me. The other party does not appear to have killing intent. It was more like a test, and they deliberately missed this time as well."

"So you knew beforehand that this attack definitely wouldn't hit me, which was why you didn't intercept it?" I asked in surprise, gaining a new understanding of Pandora's instantaneous calculation abilities.

"That is correct." Pandora continued staring at a point in the sky. "We can now confirm that the other party is not hostile. They came to test us for some unknown purpose—requesting a Satellite Cannon connection..."

"A test..." I nodded in understanding, though I was still confused. "Testing what? What's there to test about me? Your affairs have been kept secret, haven't they? There was no way information could have leaked in such a short time. And they attacked using compressed air—have Earthlings developed this kind of weapon?"

"It is not yet clear whether this attack method is a technology mastered by lifeforms of this world, but it is certain that the attackers are Carbon-Based Lifeforms—Satellite Cannon in position..."

"Oh—huh? Pandora, what did you say? Satellite Cannon?" Only then did I finally notice the Satellite Cannon Pandora had mentioned twice. What was this thing that already sounded completely unfair just from its name? What exactly was this tiny war fanatic planning to do?

"Although the other party does not possess hostile intent and did not cause you actual harm, attacking the Shilin Emperor is itself a grave crime. Anyone who dares harm you must pay the price—final coordinates confirmed, fire at will!"

"Hey!" I shouted loudly, regardless of whether it attracted the attention of passersby. "Stop right now! This is a residential area!"

Pandora's eyes had now taken on specks of red light. Without turning around, she said, "This Satellite Cannon is a weapon we directly summoned into space through Void Projection. Its attack is nearly invisible and will not be noticed by ordinary people. We have also taken care to limit the attack's energy level. A Satellite Cannon at minimum output will not cause devastating damage."

"That's not what I mean!" I said anxiously, because I could already vaguely see an unnatural distortion appearing in the distant air. The Satellite Cannon's attack was about to begin!

How powerful were these Satellite Cannons? According to the information I had obtained from the Database, the most powerful Shilin Satellite Cannon could even pierce an entire planet in a single strike! Although Pandora said this attack had been limited in scale, it was still not something ordinary humans could withstand.

Being attacked for no reason made me furious, but if thousands upon thousands of people had to be buried with me because of it—then I would be worse than an animal...

"Pandora, I don't want to force you with an order." I stared into Pandora's eyes, which had turned purplish red. "Just do Brother a favor. Don't hurt innocent people."

"Even if two foolish individuals among them attacked you?" Pandora asked quietly.

"You said it yourself. They aren't hostile—just let it go."

In the end, the little girl before me chose to compromise. "All right, if that is your command."

As Pandora's words fell, the Satellite Cannon stopped its attack.

Although it had not actually begun firing, I noticed that severe unrest had already broken out directly beneath the patch of distorted air. It seemed that a small fire had started.

Even the radiation from energy focusing before the Satellite Cannon fired possessed such power. It was hard to imagine what the consequences would have been if I hadn't stopped the launch.

"Although they may be spared the death penalty, appropriate punishment remains necessary—Brother, this is the limit of what I can tolerate. Otherwise, the Empire's dignity will be utterly lost."

"It's not that serious..." I felt a headache coming on. Everything about this Loli in front of me was fine, except that whenever the Empire was involved, she became this stubborn. She had absolutely no concept of "peaceful resolution," and who knew when she might cause some huge disaster.

"Don't cause any overly serious consequences." Under Pandora's unyielding gaze, I gave up on trying to turn her into a messenger of peace. "Most importantly, don't hurt innocent people."

Now, all I could do was silently pray for those two mysterious attackers—hopefully, they could escape alive from the assault of Shilin weaponry...