Chapter 220

"Also, regarding the operation plan... Aside from the two who were killed yesterday, there's supposedly another guy who was only injured and is currently being held by the military and police... Should we deal with him too?"

[It's too late now, isn't it? After all, it wasn't a fatal wound, and the statements were definitely taken last night... Although I've said before that death is the most stimulating thing for a peaceful city... fear has its limits. Excessive stimulation in the short term will only make the residents here wary and suspicious... Don't forget our purpose.]

"Yes, let them distrust each other... When the city government loses the trust of the people, the power entrusted to it by the people naturally becomes ownerless... I will continue to find things for the Chernobog Military Police to do."

[Very good. Although we couldn't complete our offensive preparations before winter due to the Fifth Army's interception... we can do it next year. That gentleman even hopes to begin operations in winter...]

Listening to the description from his superior on the walkie-talkie, even the utterly immoral 'thug' who had used the deceased to incite unrest against his family was stunned for a few seconds:

"Start the offensive in winter? Even though Chernobog is already quite far south... that's a stretch."

[... The higher-ups seem unconcerned about collateral damage. Compared to the faction's reputation and interests, Grand Duke Baikal, the Third Army's staff officer, only desires the physical disappearance of Chernobog... But if possible, that lord hopes every drop of Ursus's blood will be rewarded.]

A silent sigh escaped their lips. Even the most ruthless men couldn't help but tremble at the cold-bloodedness of the Ursus upper class. And with the closing remark, "I look forward to your performance," the Nobles' Army agents, having completed their day's work, finally had some private time.

He sighed and sat down, taking out his cigarette case from his pocket. But just as he lit a cigarette, he suddenly felt a cold sensation on his neck.

As a former reconnaissance soldier who later became a special agent, this man was not the type to remain calm even in the face of a major crisis.

The moment he sensed something was wrong, a scream like a woman's came out of his throat... but because his jaw was instantly clamped like in a vise and he couldn't move, the man couldn't make a sound except for feeling dizzy from the sudden increase in internal pressure in his eardrums.

At this moment, the normal response for a special agent would be to calmly begin negotiations, but as mentioned earlier, men aren't that kind of person... So, relying on his training as a reconnaissance sentry, he immediately began to struggle.

Although Nai-O-Wu-Ling-San-Liu-Jiu-Nai, who had been following him for a day, was also puzzled as to why this person was so fearless, as a senior colleague, the assassin naturally wouldn't tolerate him.

After taking a step back to avoid the headbutt, letting him fall to the ground along with the chair, Nana picked up her heavy steel-plated combat boots used for connecting Tactical Unit and kicked the man in the bridge of his nose... Because the kick directly shoved the shoe into the man's mouth, he didn't even have time to scream, which was quite miserable.

By the time the other person realized what was happening and calmed down, it was already after Nana had swung her baton and broken his struggling limbs.

"Who... who are you?! What are you doing here...? Where are the guards at the transportation station?! Did you...?"

Compared to the man's natural act of gathering information, Nana, who had blindfolded him, silently stuffed what appeared to be a glove or sock into his bleeding mouth.

Then, looking at the shoe print on the man's face, Nana frowned slightly. The assassin then pulled out her baton and used it to mark other parts of his face a few more times... After confirming that the obvious shoe print couldn't be extracted on its own and used as evidence to expose herself, Nana then took the communicator from the immobilized man.

As a military radio Terminal, it lacks the detailed information storage capabilities of a mobile phone, so Nana can't use it to prove anything... But the ICA's Ghost Assassin isn't a police officer, Nana's actions don't require evidence.

Now that we've confirmed this person's attempt to take advantage of the situation, we can handle it however we want... Yes, just like when Nana discovers a child has been kidnapped, her first reaction is to shoot them dead, not follow police procedures... In that case, we might need to send a negotiation expert.

Although Nana has developed her own behavioral logic and may not be entirely at ease with the Rhodes Island operation, her goal is to protect the Doctor... There is no such thing as failure in Agent Number Seventy-Seven's missions, and even if it means burning Chernobog to ashes, Nana will ensure the Doctor's safety.

Therefore, at most, she will ensure that collateral damage is not amplified within her capabilities... This is the limit that Nana can currently take care of. Apart from that, Nana will do anything that is conducive to ensuring the Doctor's safety.

Convincing herself in this way, Nana copied the decoding mode of the communicator onto her phone.

With this, along with the decoding headset collected from this enemy safe house, Nana can monitor the enemy's communications using this encryption system at any time.

Nana tossed the walkie-talkie back at the tightly bound enemy agent. Looking at the room that should have been a light rail station shed in the Core City, she began to ponder how to deal with the guy.

Normally, the assassin doesn't have a friendly attitude towards enemy agents carrying out sabotage missions... Knowing the ICA's usual practice, she should probably give him a time bomb to show the Nobles' Army what Ghost Assassin is all about.

However, detonating a bomb in the city would be far too thrilling for the citizens. Nana was there to maintain order, not to spread chaos... That's why Nana chose the time-consuming and laborious method of tracking them throughout, even infiltrating the area instead of using the easier method of eliminating the sentries.

Currently, Chernobog and the rebels are in a delicate balance; the former is the legitimate government supported by a million local residents, while the latter possesses a fleet and wields absolute power.

Just as the other side believed that excessive stimulation would make the unity of the Chernobog's police force a tough nut to crack, Nana held the same judgment... Excessive stimulation would only accelerate the Third Army's use of final violence; by the time the Landship's main guns were aimed at Chernobog, it would be too late.

If we were to define a phased progression for Nana's mission intensity... then Nana's mission could be roughly divided into three parts: 'Protecting Chernobog,' 'Protecting the Sarcophagus,' and 'Protecting the Doctor.' (crying)

The longer the stalemate at Chernobog continues, the safer the Doctor will be... and there are still approximately 150 days until Rhodes Island arrives.

So, returning to the original question... how can we prevent the dismantling of Chernobog's order without excessively provoking the Nobles' Army?

Nana already has the answer to this. (Tomoe)

The night-sky-colored knife slashed silently, and as the man struggled with silent whimpers, it began to sink rapidly. Soon... the agent vanished without a trace into the bloodstains beneath him.

As the blood, which was the color of the night sky, returned to its original state, Nana kindly righted the overturned chair and, letting the blood evaporate, observed the safe house.

First, she took the canned food from the cabinet, then filled two bottles with the Water of Life hidden in the drawer. She lit a small stove to cover up the excessively high room temperature she had created. Then, she curiously patted the seemingly slovenly bed, which was actually made of Ursus military-style sleeping bags... Nana found a sum of cash under her pillow, which wasn't a huge amount but still quite a bit.

With the Old Nobles' Army retreating to their camps along with the outer squads, leaving the city is now much more difficult than coming in. Reporting their findings to Loban will likely be a matter for tomorrow.

After confirming that there was no trace of blood left, as if the room had simply been left unattended with an emergency backpack, Nana nodded in satisfaction.

(I) The Optical Camouflage of the second Lin Shi is activated, and the assassin disappears along with the outside world's conspiracy.

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSS: The kidnapper's perspective from the previous chapter ↑ (lol?)

PSSSS: Things are starting to develop, from something one person could handle to something Nana is struggling to keep up with... This is the original outline and pace... I hope to create a sense of tension. If I can't get that tension, then I'll just have to write Nana in a comedic direction (sad).

6th Patriot's Gun: 243 horizontal jump

[When the plainclothes agent said you disappeared, I initially thought you had come to your senses and left this dangerous place... I never imagined you actually went to... 'work'?!]

[We did take in that guy you beat to a pulp, although his constant use of 'Sarkaz' was annoying... To be frank, I don't know if your blatant actions were genuinely foolish or if there was another purpose, but since you've openly attacked the rebels, I'll assume Rhodes Island has indeed distanced itself from them.]

[The Marquis is very pleased. He asked me to inform you that you have earned Chernobog's friendship through your actions.]

[Although the Chernobog docks are currently completely under rebel control, we have indeed cleared out a section of the unloading area for basic industrial raw materials and allocated it to Rhodes Island. There's enough space there to park small Landship like wilderness Exploration Vehicle... provided, of course, that you can get through the rebel blockade.]

[The access key has been sent to your phone; you are now free to use that area.]

[His Excellency the Marquis emphasized that, not only now, but if you continue your efforts, we will also consider providing you with a Core City space exclusively belonging to Rhodes Island, with a renewable energy source, for the establishment of a specialized hospital for the Infected on Rhodes Island.]

Looking forward to your next performance -- Loban.

After repeatedly scanning the text message that didn't even have caller ID, Nana thought for a moment and decided to delete it without much discipline... Although Nana herself usually didn't care too much about the promises of fence-sitters, as proof that she had indeed worked hard, having these text messages would save her some trouble in the reports to Kal'tsit later.

The Old Nobility spy captured yesterday has already been handed over to the Chernobog Military Police by Nana. The assassin didn't reveal any information about her abilities during the operation, so the military police, whose daughter almost got her head cracked open, will probably give that third-rate agent who made a fuss about ordinary people a good beating.

The following time, however, was different from what the Chernobog Nana was hoping for. The girl Feline had worked overtime for a whole day and night the day before, simply wore headphones and listened to the radio broadcasts from the Chernobog Military Police and police departments as well as the Nobles' Army, while measuring the area around the Sarcophagus on foot.

After comparing factors such as the building materials, the location and transportation environment, and the straight-line distance from the Sarcophagus, Nana used the cash she had collected to rent a house in the city center.

As an area close to the center of the Core City's 'Tree Rings', the brick houses in this vicinity, which are no more than five stories high, have a strong sense of déjà vu for Xiao Feline, who has been awake for decades.

It's worth noting that even in Columbia, this style of old architecture, rich in historical significance, is constantly disappearing as old towns are renovated.

As an architecture style in Ursus, Chernobog's theme is indeed warm and inviting, with orange and beige tones, in contrast to the cool-toned cement of Columbia.

It is said that the Ursus people decorated their houses with orange-red accents so that people returning home could find their way in the wind and snow... As Nana Feline has always been active in subtropical regions, I will take the landlord's enthusiastic introduction as fact.

Despite Nana's smiling reminder that Chernobog had been staying near the Great Yan Lungmen, which was essentially in the 'southern' region, for decades... the landlord's nostalgic expression for the late emperor and his inflammatory remarks about the recent situation around Chernobog suggested that the blizzards of Ursus seemed to be forever etched in the hearts of the people.

The continuous heavy snow and the birch forests that still stand straight in the snowstorm seem to have become a kind of symbol. Even though they use seemingly inexhaustible old civilization energy and enjoy a climate that is warmer than other cities, the people of Chernobog still seem unable to escape the harsh cold of Saint Petersburg in the north.

Nana was quite moved by this during her brief conversation with the landlord, but after receiving the house keys and obtaining permission to change the locks, she instantly forgot about the cultural customs and traditions of Ursus, which were shaped by geopolitics and climate.

In recent years Chernobog School has been adopting a Victoria teaching style, which makes Nana, wearing a functional coat, seem like she could easily blend into the Chernobog student group after removing her Rhodes Island and Catastrophe Messengers markings.

Because she could no longer live on campus, she had to find a place to live on her own... This was Nana's excuse for renting an apartment.

After buying some daily necessities and stopping by the market, the phrase Nana heard most often was the anxious discussion about 'XXX prices going up'.

Clearly, unlike the past when they were merely 'monitoring' without any open conflict... Now, having taken over Chernobog's main logistics hub, the Third Army immediately cut off the Core City's logistics system.

As prices were rising by 80% in the second week of being taken over, it was only the beginning... But considering that she would have to stay here for several more months, Nana was now starting to worry about whether Kal'tsit would give her a hard time if Amiya starved to death in Chernobog.

In short, that concludes Nana's hasty setup of the safe house and careful procurement of supplies.

After taking a nap, Nana packed a cake she'd bought along the way for lunch, sent the identification code given to her by Chernobog and the location of her safe house to the Exploration Vehicle, and began searching for Nana 'Saria whereabouts.

Well, despite her predicament of being unable to prove her inability to engage in 'Inner Guards strife', Saria is currently under de facto house arrest.

However, due to Nana's instructions, Saria was quite cooperative with the arrangements made by the Chernobog authorities... Although she was under house arrest, Saria's situation seemed much better than Nana's, who was always working overtime as soon as she stepped out of the house, thanks to her location, freedom of communication, and living conditions.

Although in Nana's eyes, yesterday's trouble with the Nobles' Army's spies and today's provocation of her fellow travelers in Chernobog seemed exactly like a fickle 'foreign force'... Nana still wanted to emphasize that she was in league with them...

That's how it is, at least for now.

"... So in the end, they still locked you up in this mansion in front of the Sarcophagus?"

As dusk fell, taking advantage of the fact that the guards weren't used to looking up, Nana sat on the eaves of the third-floor balcony of the mansion and sighed as she checked on Saria's condition with her own eyes.

Well, as always... but since Saria really didn't show any emotion on her face, Nana couldn't judge Saria's mental health... let's just assume that everything is still within her physiological tolerance range.

Standing ramrod straight as ever, Saria seemed to be talking to Nana on the roof, as if to herself:

"Yes, although they clearly still had doubts about my 'confession,' they did accept my proposal to blockade the 'Pollution'... In a week and a half, they truly believed in my expertise in handling the 'Pollution'... even though I was just reciting according to the 'hints' you gave me."

"That's enough. In fact, the best way to coexist with 'those Pollution's is not to go too deep... But this obviously can't satisfy the curiosity of researchers... After the mission is over, once you've completed the Collapse Paradigm training, you can gain a more concrete understanding of the relevant concepts in the 'Demons' entry on PRTS."

"But now, let's not forget our fundamental goal."

Nodding, Saria glanced around the mansion at the several fixed sentry posts she had already identified. Confirming that no one was paying attention to her as she appeared to be merely enjoying the view from the balcony, Saria tossed a handwritten map to Nana:

"The new isolation design for the Sarcophagus, I've marked the route on it... but the Sarcophagus's blockade uses the same heavy-duty gates as the Mobile City. I don't understand Pollution or anything, but physical isolation is simple and effective."

"Without obtaining the control password for Chernobog, there are only two ways to enter the Sarcophagus..."

"Forcefully break in, or take control remotely from the Central Control Tower."

Picking up where she left off, Nana glanced at the blueprints and memorized them. After scanning and photographing the PRTS with her phone and sending it to the Exploration Vehicle to be shared with everyone in the team, Nana returned it to Saria.

"It's a good thing that Chernobog has increased the defenses of the Sarcophagus, since Chernobog won't destroy its own power source. It's difficult for us to attack, let alone the Nobles' Army... Although my Tactical Unit is also locked inside, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Saria, you can cooperate until they try to find out what's going on with the Sarcophagus."

She nodded, but Saria's expression was serious:

"I understand your plan, Nana, but merely passively delaying won't buy you enough time... You're placing too much importance on the actions of the Ursus Nobility army. Don't forget that Chernobog itself also has a strong motivation to penetrate the Sarcophagus."

As dusk settled, looking at the Core City, still predominantly dark, Nana noticed a blind spot she hadn't paid much attention to before:

"... energy supply..."

"Yes, with the Core City cut off from the outside world by the Nobles' Army, the power outage is fatal for Chernobog... Until a few hours ago, the agents codenamed 'Crow' were still discussing with me the possibility of using individual protective gear to enter 'Pollution' to check the situation."

"Although I firmly refused as instructed by the armband, I couldn't come up with a theory about the source of the 'Pollution' danger. Coupled with the increasingly dire power shortage in the Core City, and the fact that the other 'Swallow' told me this morning that several hospitals' small generators were running out of fuel... Boris seems to have given his agents a death order: even if it means risking lives, they must find out what's wrong with the energy pipelines..."

It must be said that although Nana's perspective on Boris is somewhat biased and prejudiced, the 'bravery' of the Ursus people always manages to be displayed in strange ways.

"... I can roughly guess the reason for the power outage inside and outside the city... it's because of the effects of 'Pollution' itself. The obstruction of the Warp has caused time and space to become disordered. Even if the Sarcophagus itself is not the problem, the existence of the 'Pollution' space will affect the surroundings... Concepts are affected, and space is not on the same plane. Without connecting wires, of course, not even a milliampere of electricity can be transmitted... Even entering at the risk of Collapse cannot improve anything in this situation."

"... Telling them this directly probably won't change their minds."

Nodding in agreement with Nana's sigh, Saria added her own understanding, seemingly unsurprised:

"After all, they are an army, and orders are absolute... Even if they themselves knew that the Pollution of the Inner Guards could have dire consequences, they had no choice but to try to repair it under pressure from the Nobles' Army..."

At this point, Saria turned and glanced at the girl who was resting her chin on her hands, her heterochromatic eyes filled with the sunset:

"... If the energy supply cannot be restored, then it's only a matter of time before Chernobog attacks the Sarcophagus on its own... Neither Rhine Lab nor Rhodes Island can stop them."

"So, this huge Mobile City really doesn't even have a standard Originium Reactor?"

Sighing, Nana looked at the black, egg-shaped shadow in the distance against the sky:

"But I don't know how to restore power to the Warp... If I had to say, I could only wait until everyone else is in position, then take Weedy to see if there are any flying wires... or change the power supply sequence to bypass the Pollution area."

"So, the way to prevent the Chernobog authorities from weakening the Sarcophagus's defenses is for us to open the gates ourselves, thus reducing the Sarcophagus's protective level...?"

"Yeah, it's like that joke about the bigger the fish, the smaller it gets... To prevent Chernobog from discovering my arrangement in the Sarcophagus, we need to enter Sarcophagus before them... We might even have to infiltrate the heavily guarded Core Control Tower to obtain the gate password or authorization..."

"Or you could proactively withdraw the Tactical Unit left there... and hide them in the surrounding area, how about that?"

Although she knew that Saria's suggestion was just a well-intentioned reminder based on her role as an assistant, this consideration of 'taking a step back' still reflexively reminded Nana of the option she had given to place Rosemary and her brother in the church.

The moment she recalled it, Nana's expression vanished. Meanwhile, out of Saria's sight, Cole, dressed in a white dress, smiled wryly and hugged Nana from behind. Nana gently patted the invisible arm that was holding her... Nana knew that the other party hadn't meant any harm, and she didn't intend to hold a grudge.

"Not good... I once had this mindset that led to a child losing his family in just two hours... Now I will not back down on the core issues. The Doctor's security will either be handled by us personally or by heavy equipment like a Tactical Unit. I will no longer place my 'hope' on the actions of outsiders."

"... Then, it's up to us to do it ourselves now, [restore power to the Core City]."

Standing up, Nana corrected Saria's statement about 'tactical objectives':

"No, it's about gaining control of the Sarcophagus... If restoring the power supply allows Chernobog to focus on dealing with the Old Nobility, then we'll restore it... I'll send you some information about the Collapse Paradigm later; how you deal with the Ursus's doubts is up to you."

"I'm supposed to be helping Amiya and the others into the city tonight... If possible, I'd like to take a nap before we begin."

Seeing the slightly noticeable dark circles under Nana's eyes in the candlelight, Saria glanced at her own bedroom in the mansion:

"Judging from the location markings, this place is more suitable as the starting point for the operation than a safe house... The furniture in the mansion is of very good quality; let's rest here."

"... Is everything alright? Won't the agents from Chernobog bother you?"

Shaking her head, Saria helped Nana pull back a corner of the blanket:

"Yes, but that's a scheduled check, and there shouldn't be one today... Also, I'll cover for you, since Nana, you're the type who won't enter deep sleep without someone standing guard for you..."

"Eh, without me even realizing it, Saria, you've come to know me to this extent?"

"Don't forget I'm your assistant... Besides, our special operations team has been living together for over six months."