When this "comrade" stood there without so much as a change in expression, she looked exactly like an uncanny-valley doppelgänger. But the moment she spoke, a spark of life appeared in those cold insect eyes. Even though she spoke in a flat, emotionless monotone, her whole "person" seemed to come alive.
"What kind of mythical beast is this?" Hachiman sucked in a silent breath, his expression unchanged. He took half a step back. The gaze behind his glasses shifted from sharp to scrutinizing, then turned curious.
His thoughts raced through several possibilities in an instant: an Imperial esper with a poker face, a mysterious artificial spirit, Marshal Yu's nanobots, perhaps even some bizarre creature from the Void. At last, they settled on a piece of information buried deep in his memory.
So this was the so-called Swarm?
Hachiman studied the other party's compound eyes, then the chitinous "hair"—or rather, the feelers—and finally gave a doubtful nod. "The Swarm?"
"The Swarm." Yang Xiyi's voice remained steady. He even raised a hand to signal that Hachiman should relax.
"So this is the 'comrade' you just mentioned—the one we need to create an opportunity for?" Akina Mountain Hachiman looked back at his superior, his expression slightly stiff.
His reaction was understandable. He had known about these unusual creatures for a long time, and even had some idea that they were allied with their side. But he had never imagined that he would one day have the chance to deal with them personally.
He pushed up his glasses and sighed. "I see. This subordinate understands."
"What do you understand now?" Yang Xiyi couldn't help asking. He felt that his student's sigh contained three parts sorrow, three parts helplessness, three parts resignation, and seven or eight parts protest against fate and his own lack of