Chapter 245

"Hey guys over there, are you all alright? Stop just yelling and not making a sound, it's kind of scary... We have enough space between us, how about we talk? We can't just stay stuck here like this."

The girl's voice echoed slightly in the somewhat obstructed corridor, and after a moment, a somewhat nervous question came from the other side:

"That's easy to say, sister! What kind of street do you live on?! If we don't have anything in common, how about we become friends?"

He glanced at Mika beside him, who was frowning and typing on her phone, "Bandit slang, most likely Mercenaries," and nodded.

"We are being tasked by the Chernobog Military Police to distribute notices to various underground civilian shelters."

"Oh, a messenger, right? Came down from the ground? Now there's work to be done on the ground?"

"... There might not be any Mercenaries jobs, but there are missing person notices in every shelter..."

Before Nana could finish speaking, the other person interrupted the girl:

"There's no money to be made in that kind of work; it's just a bunch of poor people. Right now, we're just planning to sneak out into the wilderness in the dark to find supplies. There shouldn't be any conflict between us."

"... Then, shall we talk in person?"

"Let's talk. I'm also curious about what the military wants to tell us down there... So, shall we open the door?"

Seeing Huang's questioning expression, Nana nodded. Then Huang used his phone to unlock the central Fire Department door, allowing the other person to open it manually.

However, as the gate slowly opened, Nana mischievously dimmed the brightness of everyone's Halo, then added:

"By the way, you guys... don't hate Sankta, right?"

"Huh? Do you have the legendary 'Fallen Angel' here...? That's really rare. Don't worry, it's just one or two..."

Before the other party could finish speaking, as the gate opened, the Sarkaz leader, seeing the long guns and short cannons pointed at him and a sea of dark alien Halo, stumbled and almost fell to his knees.

A small group of people behind them screamed "Halo guy!" and then scattered in chaos as they began to flee for their lives.

Since no permission to attack had been given, Nana's group exchanged glances and remained silent.

"... Weren't they overreacting a bit?"

"Not as good as those Ursus people from the previous camp."

"It's not a good idea to compare him to that old man; he was a person from the reign of the previous emperor..."

The subtext is that, because of the previous emperor's army's attack on Laterano, the Ursus army has a record of fighting against the Pontiff's Gun Knights... The fact that the old man could remain calm in front of Nana and the others suggests that he may have witnessed the Laterano army's barrage of bullets.

However, there are also differences in strength among Firearms Operator... Just as you can't use those imitation guns that can't kill to match the power of the Firearms Arts in Nana's hands, the same applies to the Sarkaz in front of us and the old man before us.

Returning our attention to the present, while the Sarkaz's panicked and aimless behavior was undeniably comical, they had likely achieved their objective of traversing this area... However, seeing them frantically rushing into a dead end and banging on the disconnected door, Nana first reached out to help the young Sarkaz who was standing frozen on the ground to his feet, then spoke towards the distance:

"Don't turn left, that's a dead end. If you want to avoid us, you should turn left at the third intersection, left... and then left again! Okay, that way you'll reach a rotating Fire Department escape that leads to either the upper or lower level. After that, it's up to you." (Jun)

Watching the Sarkaz group disappear from sight, Nana readjusted the brightness of her Halo. Now everyone could see the Sarkaz young man in Mercenaries attire before them, his lips pursed as if he were about to be honorably executed, his legs trembling.

"Don't worry, we're not Laterano's troops. We won't harbor any unwarranted hostility towards you. Are you alright? Can you stand firm?"

As she spoke, she took an energy bar from her daily rations and handed it to him as a gesture of comfort. Nana quickly told him about the Chernobog Military Police.

--The nuns are talking--

"... Therefore, the more people gather around the refugee Safe Corridor, the more likely the military is to agree... but since it's a refugee corridor, using it privately will require disarmament, so whether you use it or not is up to you."

"I know many people in Sarkaz are now working as Mercenaries, and if this message is relayed to those looking for a way out, hiring you to escort them to designated shelters would certainly be a business opportunity... So please inform your team leader about this; it's a mutually beneficial arrangement." Lin

Seeing the Sarkaz youth's slightly open mouth but unable to utter a word, Nana didn't press him further. Following the girl's gesture, the team, armed with rifles and cannons, silently moved forward again.

Only after Nana and the others had gone far away did the Sarkaz, who had scattered earlier, cautiously return to their original positions.

Because of the distance, Nana couldn't quite hear what they were chattering about... but they seemed surprisingly excited.

Although it consumed an extra energy bar, it was still a very worthwhile deal if contacting the Sarkaz Mercenaries went this smoothly.

However, when they encountered the Mercenaries again during the subsequent march, the mercenaries immediately became hostile without saying a word, making Nana realize that the initial smooth sailing might have been just a coincidence. The current group, which would draw their crossbows and shoot at the slightest glance... they didn't even have many Sarkaz!

There's not much to say about that. Even the Liskarm, who was raising its shield and shouting, was blasted back into cover by magic, Nana also made a gesture to allow lethal force.

"Enemy engagement confirmed. Lethal force permitted! Repeat: Lethal force permitted. Attack commence!"

Nana said this just as the other side drew their sword and began to charge.

Obviously, ordinary people wouldn't understand why Nana's squad was positioned at the back of the guard ranks, but when they rushed to within ten meters of Jessica and Typhon, everyone in the Arius Special Operations Team, including Liskarm, Franka, and Blaze, raised their guns.

Nana also witnessed the entire process of the opposing Shieldguards's expression changing from fierce and menacing to panicked and bewildered.

"Fire."

Nana's Guardian Gun, Franka's spare Liskarm gun, Mika, Liskarm, and Hoshino's MPX, Jessica's Honey Badger, and Typhon's massive TAC-50... When Typhon, wielding the largest Firearms Arts, fired, the momentum and impact were no less than that of the giant bow. The large-caliber anti-material ammunition, imbued with spatial magic, created black Thunder effects in the corridor, resembling shattered lenses.

The shield-bearer, who refused to reason with Nana, was Typhon a physical lesson by Firearms Arts. A bullet struck his neck, and the victim brought his head to face the police—but let's leave that aside for now... Immediately following, a dense hail of bullets from four assault rifles and two pistols, emptying their magazines, turned the passage into a veritable death trap.

Nana generally dislikes fighting, since fighting requires going to extremes.

When the enemy realized the warlock had been instantly killed and tried to escape, it was too late. Faced with the Liskarm charging with their shields raised, their crossbows were no longer effective. Then, Franka, wielding a gun in one hand and a sword in the other, charged into the crowd... and the skirmish came to an end.

"Twelve people... What's the standard squad size... Nana, is there one still alive here?"

Clearly, Huang may not yet have the habit of going all out even in a one-sided game. Nana thinks that this kind of tacit understanding can be cultivated with her gradually in the future.

The spotless nun quietly approached the Mercenaries was gasping for breath and pressing hard on his wounds, demonstrating his will to survive.

Not wanting to waste time or give him any guarantees, Nana simply used her gun to hook the other person's chin so they would look directly at each other. Finally, the ominous black magical light emanating from Nana's left eye made even her teammates take a step back in disgust.

Seeing the man's increasingly confused expression, Nana asked:

"Come, look at me, listen to me. Dizziness is normal, it will be over soon... Why are you attacking us?"

"... in order to... do business..."

"... Someone ordered you to attack us?"

The man shook his head blankly, blood gradually seeping from his eyes.

"In order to arrest and traffic..."

Hearing this, Huang, who had previously thought Nana's use of magic to interrogate them was a bit excessive, frowned and revealed the identities of these people:

"Human traffickers?!"

Seeing Huang's angry spitting expression, Nana increased her spell output, and now even the man's ears started spitting blood:

"Answer me, who do you supply...?"

"I... don't know... it's just that each time we agreed on a delivery location... the money... was given in lieu of payment..."

Seeing that she couldn't get any information out of her, Nana gave up asking further questions.

"So, have you caught them? Where are they?"

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSS: I didn't really want to start with such trashy stuff... but after all, it's a battlefield, and if I don't write about this kind of thing, people might think Terra is some kind of nobler place than Earth...

Perhaps at times like this, we should quote Gen Urobuchi's famous line, "I don't think..." (The rest is omitted).

The Chernobog's Blood Money: 275 Doctor Thirty-Six Stratagems

War... or rather, any lack of order, provides fertile ground for the birth of evil.

Nana wasn't unfamiliar with similar things; in fact, she had witnessed enough of them while working at Columbia.

The understanding of modern moral axioms is based on people's aversion to all cruelty in the past. The reason why countries have legislated to make certain things that have run through the history of human civilization illegal after entering the Originium Industrialization Era is because humanity has experienced the pain caused by these behaviors over countless years.

Human trafficking is not merely a process of ignoring human rights and treating people as commodities for sale; it may also involve physical harm, forced prostitution, and restriction of personal freedom. These problems can then lead to even more horrific acts such as organ trafficking, sexual abuse, and even the slaughter of people as livestock.

The basis for the abhorrence of this kind of 'evil' is that no one wants to be involved in such a situation, but similar situations have been repeatedly prohibited but not stopped throughout history.

Some people enjoy that primal urge, some focus on plundering others, and some are simply psychopaths... But no matter what, where there is demand, there will be people willing to take the risk.

Normally, if Agent Number Seventy-Seven encountered this kind of problem, based on the government's self-correction, she would rescue the hostages, then report the clues to the ICA and await further processing.

Once the source of these heinous crimes is identified—that is, when the demand side is unable to self-correct due to various problems—Killer Number Seventy-Seven will be deployed as the government's... or rather, 'order's' ultimate means of correction.

This process is a well-established system in Columbia. As one ICA salesperson put it, "When the law can't bring you justice, ICA will deliver that order that goes straight to hell..."

Clearly, Chernobog is now hell for those victims.

Crime arises in regions where order has collapsed, and the reason they run rampant is undoubtedly the lack of government function... Although it's not Columbia, Killer Number Seventy-Seven isn't that little girl who needs her agent's orders to act... She can decide for herself whether to act as an 'assassin'.

As the man tortured by Nana's magic breathed his last, Nana said goodbye to her teammates, and the group began to move towards the Mercenaries' camp.

"Although the questions weren't very clear, we have some leads. One is the human traffickers' camp; the kidnapped hostages should still be there. The other person revealed their delivery location..."

"What is their delivery time?"

Nana shook her head at Liskarm's question. The guy twitching on the ground hadn't been able to answer before her brain was even fully formed; Rhodes Island's black cat was still a bit too impatient.

"If we don't know the delivery time, then we can only rescue the hostages as soon as possible... Every day of delay in this kind of thing reduces the chances of the hostages being rescued. Give the order, Captain. The reputation of Mercenaries is ruined by unscrupulous guys like this."

As she spoke, she angrily brandished the pistol in her hand. Clearly, not only Liskarm, but even Franka had always maintained a very calm demeanor, was showing obvious signs of anger.

If even the long-time employees of Blacksteel are like this, then Rhodes Island members like Blaze are even more so Typhon, who comes from Sami, understands the simple truth that human traffickers should be killed.

The group even sped up their march, but upon arriving near their destination and seeing the desolate, lifeless factory, Mika was filled with rage.

"That bastard actually lied to us?!"

Ignoring the pink-haired girl's angry stomping, Nana frowned and began to have everyone investigate the area. As the girl's shoes collided with the steel structure of the Mobile City, a thud Echo through the empty space.

There are signs of camping here... but... it's impossible to tell when they left.

As he spoke, Huang poked at the embers on the ground with a small axe, then frowned as he looked at the dark bloodstains on the ground and walls beside him.

Franka: "Too bad, we came up empty-handed... Captain, what's up with you? Should we go back to the delivery point that person mentioned?"

Although Vulpo's tone was relaxed after her transformation, the way she kicked open the iron corner cage door was anything but as calm as her words. Seeing her increasingly pale face after entering the cage, Liskarm pulled Franka out while glancing at Nana:

"I think we shouldn't follow the enemy's unverified intelligence... Franka, don't forget we have our own mission. How about we pass on the information about the human traffickers to the head of the refugee camp to help spread the word? Like that old man in the first camp..."

After a moment's thought, Nana could only nod disappointedly at Liskarm's suggestion.

"That's the only way."

Clearly, Nana couldn't come up with a good solution right away. After all, Nana couldn't forget the Doctor was still lying near the Exploration Vehicle, and rather than a haphazard approach of chasing after whatever she saw, the best way to protect them was to establish Safe Corridor as soon as possible and move everyone to an area with public order.

With the slightly disheartened team still maintaining regular communications with Rhodes Island, Nana and the others continued their journey to the area below the public high school... a large refugee settlement built by Scar Market and relying on the Mercenaries black market.

Ironically, the biggest maintainers of order in the underground world are now the Sarkaz Mercenaries middlemen, because those who don't obey will be put on the target list for reasons like 'rudeness'... Although Nana understands that absolute violence from above to below is the foundation of order, this fact is still too darkly humorous.

[I see, human trafficking... Perhaps the actual situation is even worse. Captain, your method of establishing refugee corridors is indeed the most helpful for everyone.]

Nodding to Saria, who had a 'I knew it' expression on her face, Nana, still in her Laterano Sister form, said:

"But the problem now is that I'm not sure if Kal'tsit can put on a good show with us... After all, we don't even know the location of our own ship."

[However, self-rescue and fighting crime are not a problem. As for the issue of missing out on opportunities, as you mentioned earlier, the essence is still our lack of intelligence on those criminals... So please don't be so discouraged; it's not impossible that the preconceived 'victims' never existed at all.]

At this point, both sides in the team channel fell silent for a moment, after which Nana took the initiative to change the subject:

"Now let's talk about our own situation... How is the Doctor doing?"

[A day has passed, and after several brief moments of lucidity, VIP is now fully awake... However, Captain, your worries seem to have come true; VIP is experiencing significant amnesia. Amiya is currently with her. Please change the caller ID to Amiya.]

As the screen flickered, the background changed from a security room filled with surveillance screens to the normal interior of Exploration Vehicle. After passing an empty operating room... which was also the Doctor's current room, Saria found a black-haired girl holding hands with Amiya on the roof of the vehicle.

Although Nana had already marveled at the Previous Civilization's restoration technology during the surgery, Nana was still somewhat at a loss when she saw the Doctor, who was originally much taller than her, shrink to only slightly taller than Amiya, and whose white hair had all turned black, making him look at least thirty years younger.

After all, all he could remember about this person was the comical image of him being dragged by the ear and having Kal'tsit pry open the window.

While Nana remained silent, Amiya introduced herself to the Doctor on the other end of the phone... a combination of multiple identities: Medic, from the Rhodes Island Human Resources Special Operations Team and the Emergency Medical Department Trauma Team.

So, do you still remember her? She was the one who performed your surgery...

[...]

Amiya spoke softly, but her eyes were red, clearly indicating that the Little Bunny had been crying earlier, the reason for which was obvious. Even though Nana's impression of the Doctor was already quite limited, looking at the black-haired girl in front of her with her bright eyes full of confusion and seemingly at a loss for words, Nana... Medic could only respond with a smile.

"Doctor, you may not remember me, so let's get to know each other again. I am Nana Ivy, Rhodes Island codename 'Medic,' your medical director, bodyguard, and Human Resources Department."

"As Kal'tsit instructed, the Human Resources Department will restore your command authority after you awaken. For now, the special operations team will follow your command, provided your safety is ensured."

"In the past, thanks to Kal'tsit's connections, you have given me a great... or rather, a life-saving help... So, no matter how critical the situation, I will remove all obstacles for you."

"Please wait a little longer, I will bring you and everyone else safely back to Rhodes Island... Please give me a little more time."

Nana found it difficult to explain the reasons behind her unusual feelings for the Doctor, given that Nana past cold demeanor was almost universally acknowledged.

Apart from Mika, no one here knew what kind of help the Doctor had given Nana, but Nana's rare, heartfelt smile, and the way even the Halo around her seemed to soften... left a deep impression on everyone.

Even the Doctor himself might be a little taken aback by the gentle tone on the other end of the screen. The black-haired girl, wearing a Rhodes Island uniform but without a name, who had only ever been a symbol called 'Doctor' since waking up, had finally come to life.