Chapter 178
Guided by the aura of 'Collapse,' Nana successfully located the Archaeology Division. Those guys, after fleeing the city, had temporarily settled down in a private farm...
It would be extremely difficult for hundreds of people to disappear instantly, especially since the farm was surrounded by a vast plain with sparse vegetation in winter. Even for basic observation, Nana had to use the Optical Camouflage she had seized from the Artificial Angel to barely get close enough to set up a telescope.
Having visually observed numerous 'Artificial Angel' and members of the 'Instruction Corps' dressed in military uniforms (leaving aside the latter due to a lack of information), his clone, being a warlock, would undoubtedly be extremely sensitive to magical drones.
Therefore, even if Optical Camouflage is attached to the drones, it will be useless. Nana does not believe that the enemy who just escaped will lower their guard in just a few hours. She thinks that once they leave Laisenton... no, as long as they are in Columbia, they will definitely maintain a state of high alert.
As long as there are warlocks on guard, the drone will inevitably sound an alarm once it enters their detection range... At that point, it will be extremely difficult to sever the 'three heads' that led the Archaeology Division inside.
While there are ways to deliberately create chaos and then blend in as an 'Artificial Angel,' Nana is in a bad mood today and doesn't want to end this job so easily...
On the other hand, most of the Artificial Angel were wearing thin work clothes in the cold weather, and they were not only pale but also swaying.
It's probably because in today's world where everyone is condemning them, those who don't even consider 'Artificial Human' as human beings no longer need to hide anything... As long as they are useful, they will be used to death even if they break down quickly.
Nana didn't want to objectify herself like that, so even though she had Liquid Fabric for close-fitting warmth, that kind of outfit wouldn't make her feel cold... but Nana just didn't want to dress like that.
Even though doing so obviously increases the difficulty of entering, Nana can choose freely... This is the fundamental difference between her and that four-person team that doesn't even have a name.
"... The defenses are very tight, and the weather and terrain are also very unsuitable..."
Should we wait until tonight to continue?
Although this was clearly intended to provide an opportunity for the Archaeology Division to relocate, Nana was still here keeping watch, and unless an external supporter suddenly deployed Mobile City- level transport aircraft, they would not be allowed to escape.
While waiting, Nana took the opportunity to make a phone call to inquire about the others' situation. After all, once the operation officially began, her phone would enter Nana's working mode. At that time, not only would base station signals be blocked, but to avoid being detected by Thunder sorcerers, even the electromagnetic waves of electronic devices would be completely blocked by Nana's Witchcraft.
It was expected that her electronic devices would be limited in function, so she should try to understand other situations as much as possible now that she had the time... After Nana dialed the emergency contact number, her maid Eileen, answered.
"It's me, reporting on the mission progress."
[Master? Yes, now for a situation report... It can be confirmed that we are in the second main phase. Except for one 'pink' one, everyone is already gathered on the shuttle bus to Rhodes Island.]
"... Phase two is, have you successfully left the city...? But Su Sulo is still in the city?"
[The one who stayed was the pink-clad girl from the school... but if the first thing that comes to mind when you think of pink is Dr. Su Sulo, then it's definitely Nana- sama...]
Sensing that the person on the other end of the phone seemed worried about the situation, Nana nodded in satisfaction. Although her manager always trusted her unconditionally, her manager rarely found herself in danger... Nana gave Eileen a thumbs up for her wary attitude.
But some people remained there.
Judging from the description, it's that pink-haired Sankta who has a photo with me and says she was my former companion... Was her name 'Mika'? Because of her Halo appearance, Nana still has a fairly strong impression of her:
"So one of the former Red Coat girls stayed at the school...? There was still fighting after all? Can we confirm her safety? What's the situation...?"
[ICA observers have confirmed footage of combat on campus. The details are unclear due to the indoor setting, but the enemy consists of a large number of 'Replicant'... And because the weapons, which could easily become a target of criticism, had already been transported to Rhodes Island by ICA personnel, Miss Mika's situation is clearly not optimistic.]
"... So, there's no more usable combat power to support Mika, right?"
[I'm sorry, my lord... but according to Nagisa's description, Mika's combat ability is not weak. Right now, she's mainly held up by the children who haven't been transferred yet... Although once the children's protection ends, the ICA's manpower should be freed up to help Mika... but...]
"But the key question is whether we can hold out until then..."
After a moment's hesitation, Nana lowered her body as she watched the dust rising from the road in the direction she had come from.
"While it's natural to worry about your comrades, Mika is, after all, a former Red Coat. If she really did complete the same training as me, then she should be able to handle it properly."
Even if 'Lycoris' has had its talent base transferred, and its main administrative staff and insiders have been moved to Rhodes Island... its essence may really become a medical company's Landship coffee shop now, Rhodes Island, Laterano, Laisenton police, and National Guard... there are forces available everywhere.
"And I will also investigate information about the Artificial Angel... If we can get a stop order from the culprit..."
Saying baseless things, more like 'prayer' than 'possibility,' Nana hung up the phone after looking at the truck that was now in sight.
After sensing the situation inside the vehicle and confirming that there were only two people in the driver's seat and no strong magical reactions were detected, the Kitty Killer, using Optical Camouflage, silently leaped and landed on the roof of the vehicle...
She initially thought the other person might have skipped the security check and slipped in because they were in a hurry to escape, but when she saw the black military uniforms guarding the gate, Nana immediately thought of the 'Instruction Corps' her manager had mentioned before.
After all, they were hired to be instructors for their clones; to say they hoped they would lack warlocks... that's probably impossible.
"Stop the car for inspection!"
As the vehicle slowed down and stopped at the sentry post nearly 100 meters outside the farm, Nana immediately lowered her posture and hid in the blind spot of the sentry post and the concrete roadblock to dispel the spell.
Just as Nana had feared, the instant she moved, two 'herself' dressed in work clothes began inspecting the vehicle. At a near-passing distance, the Ghost Assassin, hiding in the shadows, used the engine noise to conceal his footsteps and evaded the inspectors' sight through the blind spots... but at the same time, he could not leave the cover of the outpost.
Because further inside the farm, there were guards, and from this distance, Nana could already see the Firearms Arts in their hands... Although she didn't know why her clone was carrying a sword and shield while the Instruction Corps was carrying Firearms Arts... But not being shot by 'herself' was great news.
This game of manipulating optics lasted for about three minutes. With the sentry muttering, "Strange, I clearly felt it..." as if no matter how much they checked, they couldn't find anything, and with another person concluding, "It's probably a warming spell," the vehicle was allowed to pass.
The second gate seemed to be less heavily guarded; Nana, using magic, only overheard the black-clad soldiers giving the driver these instructions as they opened the gate:
"The camp is now under martial law. To prevent attacks from that 'Ghost,' we've put 'those things' into a spell-detection formation... so if there's any unauthorized spell reaction, they'll swarm in from all sides."
"Several people have already been caught today for using magic to keep warm while on guard duty. It's fine on your way to retrieve the equipment, but just bear with it in the camp."
The drivers readily agreed, and as the vehicle left the outpost, Nana, who had darted into the gap between the front of the vehicle and the trailer and hidden in the shadow behind the air conditioner, also took the opportunity to slow down and enter the farm.
The two drivers ended their conversation with the following:
"Even so, we didn't turn on the heating, did we...? Why didn't we?"
"Because the car's air conditioning is broken..."
"But didn't the person who checked it before say there was a magical reaction?"
"It's probably the Originium Steam compressor that's broken, or maybe some solution in the equipment is leaking... It can't be that the actual components of those things are on our vehicle, can it?"
"Don't joke like that, thank you..."
Watching the vehicle enter the bustling unloading area, Nana, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase, had already crossed the enemy's most vigilant outer defense line. They hadn't wasted time waiting until nightfall, and had entered the camp undetected; the start of their mission had been relatively smooth.
Compared to the tense atmosphere of everyone on the periphery, armed and on edge, the atmosphere inside the camp was also somewhat chaotic due to the sudden evacuation.
However, compared to the many dejected lab members who exuded the air of researchers, the men in black military uniforms mostly looked relaxed, with their weapons either carried on their backs or hung in their gear.
Unlike the relaxed people at the camp, Nana noticed several new surveillance systems that seemed out of place on this old farm, indicating that the Archaeology Division had clearly established battlefield control over the area.
Although the arrangement of various weapons, scientific research instruments, food, vehicles, and supplies inside the farm is somewhat chaotic, the farm can be roughly divided into four areas based on its structure.
First and foremost are the vast fields.
Men in black military uniforms erected waterproof tents in the fields, inside which were numerous portable stoves. Pots were filled with bubbling tomato soup... But don't be fooled by the tempting aroma; the red and white canned goods were lying on the ground not far away, and no one bothered to crush them or throw them into the recycling bins.
Perhaps they didn't have time to deal with the trash, or perhaps they might leave at any time, which is why they left it like this... or rather, it's not just here, but the entire farm's supplies are arranged in such a chaotic way.
The crates of supplies were probably salvaged from a warehouse in the city. A large quantity of fresh fruit, essential for travel, was lying on the ground because the crates were damaged, as if to say that since they were out of luck, everyone could take whatever they wanted.
Nana was initially puzzled as to whether this group even had a table, forcing them to put their food on the ground. But seeing the way the resting soldiers casually tossed their Firearms Arts onto the table, she understood why they seemed to pick everything up from the ground.
After all, the few tables that were set out were piled high with replica AK-47s. Crates of Etch Rounds were left unlocked, along with tactical equipment such as grenades and flashbangs, piled on the tables... How to put it? It looked like this group of people had grabbed whatever weapons they could carry when they were running away, and then they arrived at this farm only to find themselves starving and desperately searching for food. As a result, the food that was brought in later had nowhere to go, to the point that there were explosives next to the cooking station, and the person in charge of cooking had only just taken off their tactical vest.
Hmm, it looks like they'll be quite a while before they start eating, so Nana went to check out other places.
To the east of the inverted L-shaped farm are warehouses and ponds... although due to winter and possible neglect, the pond looks like a muddy pond, or rather, a swamp.
Going around to the east, behind the farm's two-meter-high fence is the pond's fence, with a red warning sign hanging on the tree by the water that reads 'Warning: 10 meters deep.' It's unclear whether the pond is frozen over or not; if its surface is just filth, Nana will be happy to have another place to hide a corpse.
Compared to the fields where soldiers rested, the muddy pond seemed particularly gloomy due to the warehouse buildings blocking out the light. Apart from two lab personnel smoking there, the only passage leading from the outer fence to the livestock pen at the back was guarded only by two men in black military uniforms.
Is it because it's difficult to install surveillance cameras here? crying
Just as Nana was pondering this, the words of the two researchers caught Nana attention. (Eight)
"... Did you see it this morning? Over at the Data Division..." Dad
"Ah, that green monster, right?"
"You know?"
"The training unit almost brought out anti-tank missiles, only you, from the Finance Division, wouldn't know... Sacred Remains... Even with the 'Holy' in its name, I don't think it's anything sacred." (Seven)
"... So that's what you've been researching... Is it safe? I think it was taken to the cattle pen..."
"Don't worry, it's safe... Don't be fooled by the fact that it looks like a livestock pen; it actually looks like the original underground laboratory of the Applied Division." Liu
"Applied Division? We have that department?" (Doctor)
"They seem to have been researching No. 0 Prototype about ten years ago... The data from that time is even kept in this lab... However, the current Applied Division lab became our computer room a long time ago."
"The server room... so that's where the database people are, huh? Tsk..."
"Don't make that face. I don't really like him either... Although people don't really treat test subjects like human beings anyway, but him... never mind, let's go back. You've been smoking a cigarette for so long, the boss will yell at you if he sees you."
PS: Waaaaaaah!
Alright, the final gathering place for Nana's background information is indeed here, as expected of the assassin's farm... That 'Freedom Fighter' mission is incredibly painful no matter how you play if you don't use any special equipment.
However, everyone can try the game themselves; the feeling of choosing how the enemies die is great... But, it would be better if there was some story... I'll think about how these three people should die.
By the way, this mission is a parody of the original game's four objectives... Should I have Nana kill one more...? (Desperate)
5th Laytonson's Ghost Assassin: 195 Your life is ruined by 'Ghost'!
The area beneath the farm used to be a laboratory belonging to the Applied Division.
This intelligence not only surprised the enemy, but even Nana herself couldn't help but tilt her head. It's a pity that she had no recollection of it at all, otherwise, fighting on home ground would have been much less troublesome, and the difficulty of searching for targets while conducting reconnaissance would be completely different from what she was doing now.
Afterwards, the researcher and someone claiming to be from the finance department went north together, seemingly heading towards the laboratory, which had supposedly been converted into a computer room, through the livestock pen.
After that, because the defenses in the north became visibly tighter due to the increase in the number of people, Nana took a quick look and then retreated back to the south.
The general condition of the farm's grounds has been explored, and there are four main building blocks.
The southwest part of the farm is mostly farmland that has been converted into barracks. It's poorly managed and has a lot of equipment. Because there are so many people, it's easy for it to become a breakthrough point, but it's also easy for you to be exposed and for your infiltration to turn into a full-scale attack.
In the southeastern part of the area, there is a building that used to be a barn. Now, large amounts of rotten haystacks have been cleared out and piled up haphazardly outside. The interior of the building has become a warehouse, and the unloading area is right at the entrance... The truck that brought me here drove over there, but the fishpond left such a deep impression that Nana will tentatively refer to this area as the fishpond.
A small path leads directly north from the edge of the building. There are not many people patrolling; it is mainly a small Instruction Corps leading a large number of Artificial Angel who have no opinions Empathy their own and whose minds are empty even when they secretly empathize. However, because there are many people unloading goods near the warehouse, and a large number of staff members take breaks and wander around here from time to time, Nana only observes briefly before choosing to leave.
In the northeast, there are livestock pens and houses guarded by a large number of Artificial Angel and a small number of members of the Instruction Corps.
Below it is likely the Applied Division laboratory, possibly including Isaac's communications room. Also, from the conversation between the two men, we know that the escaped Sacred Remains is in the laboratory.
Nana can basically conclude that the laboratory still retains considerable functionality... Whether it's maintaining and modifying the Sacred Remains or imprisoning them awaiting transport, that green monster is Nana's top priority to confirm.
Because the farm owner's house is located in the northwest, it has become the command center set up by the Archaeology Division. Not only is it heavily guarded, but researchers and Instruction Corps members are always walking around haphazardly on the road... It is very difficult to get close and observe. In the end, Nana chose to only take a look at the situation from a distance and then not go any closer.
Although she knew that her main target, the Liberi from the Archaeology Division, was most likely in that house, Nana still chose to continue observing with great self-respect.
After all, it would be too embarrassing to break in with great difficulty only to find that the target wasn't home... This mission was essentially a sudden encounter, and all intelligence needed to be gathered and confirmed by oneself. In addition, there were monsters Sacred Remains, so Nana felt that she couldn't be too careful.
After all, fighting monsters alone is completely different from fighting an army that has monsters working together. Targeting humans is more difficult than fighting monsters directly... Nana has already experienced this with the original four -Artificial Angel team.
During the eras of Number One and Number Four, they could maintain a stalemate and engage in combat with themselves for over twelve hours. However, after transforming into monsters, they couldn't even last two hours. This is the most direct evidence of their transformation.
After a moment of distraction, Nana finally checked the site conditions and chose to enter from the southeast of the farm.
Because the enemy was conducting close magical observation, Nana finally took advantage of the absence of the patrol personnel and climbed the three-meter-high iron fence with her physical strength, landing as quietly as possible... She even had to turn around immediately after landing to soothe the iron fence she had climbed.
After all, there was a lot of barbed wire hanging above it, and if the shaking wasn't stopped soon, the rattling sound would be too dangerous.
She had just recently confirmed that she was 'not ordinary,' but then the battlefield situation restricted her and she seemed to have turned back into that weak, pitiful, and helpless ordinary girl Feline... This was not surprising to her. Without magic, she was indeed like that, but at least after activating the Sarkaz Physiological Factor, she could still climb over walls without any problem.
Nana gained a deeper understanding of herself once again.
Upon entering the farm, Nana crouched down and hid near the wreckage of a tractor at the edge of the field, where she once again observed the farm's interior... naturally heading towards the northern part of the farm, where there was little opportunity to get close and scout, around the standard Columbia wooden house.
The farm's terrain rises steadily from south to north, likely for water storage and waterproofing purposes. The northern wooden houses were built on stone foundations, and several sniper operators could be seen constantly moving and patrolling the perimeter from the windows and balconies on the second floor.
This effective human surveillance effectively thwarted Nana's plan to walk onto the main road of the farm; the snipers seemed to be constantly watching the people on the road... This confirmed the direction she should take.
Although the fields and fishponds were in similar disarray, the fishponds, apart from the warehouse itself, had a large temporary unloading area in the surrounding open space... Clearly, infiltration from the east would have a higher success rate.
The enemy was clearly aware of this as well; Nana had only taken two steps when she spotted two patrol teams of Artificial Angel. No wonder she hadn't seen many people on the outskirts; these patrolling guys were mainly patrolling inside the building and the unloading area.
This arrangement was clearly the result of a targeted investigation into Nana's habits. Although the management of the entire camp was visibly chaotic, these people were meticulous in their precautions against the Ghost Assassin.
Intensive magical probing, followed by intensive human patrols, supplemented by the sealing off of key locations by mechanical cameras... Nana felt like she had been disgusted as many times as she had in her entire life today.
Just as Nana was contemplating whether to turn around and check on the fields, the conversation between the two patrol teams made Nana prick up her fluffy black cat ears.
Although they were called two patrol teams, in reality only two members of the Instruction Corps were talking. It looked like there were two groups of about ten people in total, but the Artificial Angel really didn't move at all without orders.
As soldiers, this skill is nothing special, but if even Feline's naturally sharp ears and instinctive ability to scan her surroundings don't move an inch, Nana noted this down... It seems they lack more than just a sense of 'self'.
"Hey, which round is this?"
"The twentieth round, and after another thirty rounds we can change shifts."
As they spoke, one member of the Instruction Corps glanced at his watch, while another took the opportunity to look around before pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
"Want one?"
"... This is a warehouse, you know?"