Chapter 288

"But I know absolutely nothing about weapon forging..."

Listening to Nian's explanation, Nana tentatively tried to sense it by manipulating the Night-Sky Blade. Then, the enormous, iron-like 'sword' disappeared amidst a visible deformation... But Nana could clearly feel the Warp curling in her palm; she only needed to anchor it back to reality...

Another burst of fire, and the rough-looking mica-colored iron block reappeared in Nana's hand.

"Hmm, you got the hang of it pretty quickly... Next, it's time to see how you complete the 'forging' and truly pull it out of the 'anvil'."

Because she likes to simply ignore incomprehensible references, Nana lowered her 'sword' and looked at Nian, whose attention was entirely focused on the boiling spicy hot pot:

"... So, what should I do?"

"I reckon you know the Warp better than I do... and this sword is Heart-Aspect Sword, so it will naturally be forged according to your will and shaped as you wish... because it is a creation of pure power, it is absolutely capable of fulfilling your needs. As for what the final product will look like, that naturally depends on your heart."

"... In short, if you use it, it will eventually accomplish its purpose on its own?"

That's the gist of it, but you can't omit your own role in it!

As the waiters brought out all the hot pot ingredients one by one, Nian first picked up a plate of tripe and put it into the pot:

"The Authority Sword will exist as long as I don't disappear, but I've placed a restriction within it, so it can only be wielded for the sake of all living beings... With that, Xiao Qingyan, your reports will be a little easier to explain, right?"

The blonde girl with pigtails waved her hand impatiently as she spoke of some mysterious and mystical thing.

"You don't have the final say on this kind of thing. Don't even think about it; it'll definitely be something the higher-ups will ask about afterward... And then there'll be a ton of work dealing with Lungmen... But since the enemy is an enemy of civilization, there's nothing we can do; we don't even have a reason to refuse... Tsk..."

"Hahaha, just accept this as an exception, or are you going to become the kind of person who, even when things are Lin Qingyan, still calls the Fire Department, and wouldn't even wipe it with their hand, preferring to endure the pain and wait for the Fire Department?"

"... Don't you think your description is a bit strange?"

"But it suits a rigid girl like you perfectly, doesn't it?"

As he spoke, Nian picked up a piece of tripe, put it in his mouth without even blowing on it... then his expression subtly furrowed his brow:

" In Lungmen, they dare to call this kind of chili pepper Sichuan-Shu hot pot?"

"Shouldn't you look at the locals when you say that?"

Following Lin Qingyan's comment, Nian first glanced at Ch'en Hui-chieh, who was covered in sweat, and then at Xingxiong, Hoshiguma was even worse off than Ch'en Hui-chieh and had tears in her eyes. He then curled his lips into a 'happy' expression.

Aside from the two local superintendents who aren't good at eating spicy food, Medic, though not sweating or shedding tears... still received a lot of ridicule for his flushed face.

"Hey, you don't have to force yourself... It's only mildly spicy at most... Is it really that serious...?"

"If you keep doing this, I'm going to ask the restaurant to add tomato soup to the pot."

"Ugh?! How cruel Feline!"

Seeing that Nian and that Rhodes Island Feline, Felin, had steered the conversation to food and drink in a few words, Lin Qingyan had traveled all over the country with Nian and had developed some ability to eat spicy food, blew on the freshly cooked beef tripe and ate it. Then, without changing her expression, she struck up a conversation with Ch'en Hui-chieh, who was clearly not used to Sichuan-Shu cuisine:

"Although there's no reason to refuse, this concerns the creation of the year, and I must be present and record what happens next... I hope Lungmen won't refuse this request."

"... If you won't cause trouble on the battlefield, then that's fine with me. Or rather, it would be even better if you could join as a fighting force."

"That depends on Sui's Office's arrangements... Nian came to Lungmen under the pretext of relaxing, but you guys have also gotten involved in some shady dealings with Rhodes Island, a company outside of Yan... Whether or not Nian will be recalled is no longer up to me."

"... Will it affect the sword's condition?"

"How would I know...?"

As they spoke, the two looked at each other, who seemed completely unconcerned about the upcoming 'battle' and were instead focused on how delicious the hot pot was, though one preferred spicy and the other sweet. The two, their minds unsettled, sighed in unison, and then looked at each other with a mutual sense of sympathy.

They suddenly realized that their jobs were actually completely the same... Compared to Hoshiguma, who was completely speechless from the spiciness, Ch'en Hui-chieh continued talking about work:

"Anyway, I'll submit the report as soon as possible... because it concerns those two items, the higher-ups shouldn't give us too much trouble..."

"That's just wishful thinking on your part. I can only say that Nian's importance is no less than those two... otherwise you wouldn't have found her here... But now the question is, find her, get a creation weapon... will that be enough to deal with those two enemies of civilization?"

In response to Lin Qingyan's question, Ch'en Hui-chieh put down her chopsticks and lowered her head slightly... She tried to touch Chi Xiao with her other hand, but sensing the sword's resistance, Ch'en Hui-chieh was filled with resentment:

"I... I hope so."

PS: Waaaaaaah!

Still the same series, a slender girl and a dragon, very cool ↑

PS2: Actually, I wish Nana's meetings with the other characters could be more natural... But right now, we're in a rush to fight monsters, so Nana seems a bit impatient, like she's just trying to finish the quest quickly and then go somewhere to kill who and how many... But since all the characters we encounter are factored into our combat power, I'll write more about Nana's interactions with the other characters later.

9th Lungmen Seafood: 328 Exusiai is trembling with fear

From a macro perspective, considering the current progress of Nana and the others, with the goal of cleaning up the Collapse Pollution in Lungmen and joining forces with Rhodes Island to eliminate the Seaborn Cult, Rhodes Island's tactical deployment can be described as divine, thanks to the privileges granted by the Governor of Lungmen and Ms. Ch'en Hui-chieh's highly efficient point-to-point coordination.

Lungmen granted deployment permission on the first night, and the frontline commander arrived at noon the next day.

Construction of the Frontline Command began simultaneously, and frontline combatant Medic obtained heavy weaponry permits. With the cooperation of the Lungmen commissioner, he acquired a special weapon from a special care recipient in Yan. Although he didn't know if it was suitable, he was sure it would be very effective if thrown at.

If we only consider Nana's solo annihilation mission as the standard, then Medic has now achieved the minimum guarantee for launching an operation in Lungmen.

However, as we all know, a great macro situation does not mean that all the details at the grassroots level are in place... In order to gain the favor of a special person named 'Nian', Nana and the others accompanied her to eat spicy food, which they were not good at.

Although Nana wasn't quite used to it, she had a special constitution that wouldn't be knocked down by mere chili peppers. Ch'en seemed to be in worse shape, but judging from the swelling in her lips, it was probably just a matter of going to the toilet and getting a couple of spicy meals...

The worst off was probably Hoshiguma, the Higashi. After lunch, he looked the worst. As the initial flush on his face faded, cold sweat started streaming down his pale cheeks. Even Ch'en couldn't help but whisper to his partner if he could hold on.

Although Nana felt somewhat helpless, she still had to accept the fact that the first person in her front-line action team to be eliminated from combat was defeated by Sichuan hot pot.

"... If you really can't handle spicy food, there's no need to force yourself like that. My little sister isn't good at spicy food either, but I don't say anything when she eats tomato hot pot in front of me."

"So you guys aren't actually eating with me just because you need something from me, are you? No way, no way!"

Listening to the white-haired Dragon Lady girl beside her, who was both amused and slightly teasing, Nana handed Hoshiguma the yogurt she had bought from the roadside to see if it could help her, while casting a helpless glance at Nian.

"Little Cat, the look on your face is practically asking me why I'm still here..."

They swaggered half a step behind Nana, popping a bag of peanuts into their mouths as they walked. Against the backdrop of the bustling crowds on Lungmen Street, they looked at first glance like a silent cat working in the medical field and her overly friendly Dragon Lady...

But if you add the two senior police superintendents hanging behind them and the Prosecution Office in red robes, Nana feels that the scene is getting increasingly eerie.

Honestly, it's fine if Ch'en and Hoshiguma are in civilian clothes, but having Lin Qingyan in the red robe uniform of the Great Yan Inspectorate hanging behind me makes me feel like I'm being escorted... Nana has decades of experience in various missions, and she has never been so conspicuous.

Compared to Medic, who looked embarrassed, Nian, who was holding snacks and trying to feed the cat, put peanuts near Nana's mouth much more naturally:

"To be honest, it's rare to see Lungmen fighting those two, especially not in the wilderness but inside a city... It would be a waste of the sword I gave you not to film the whole thing... Maybe the footage will actually come in handy next time."

"... next time?"

"Oh, I haven't mentioned it yet... I'm a director, and I came to Lungmen just to shoot some stuff for fun... Here, this is my business card."

Taking the note that Nian handed over... well, it only had a phone number on it, and Nana suspected that the number probably didn't belong to Nian herself, but to that Prosecution Office... But a polite response was still necessary, so Nana took out Rhodes Island's business card and handed it to the other party.

"Oh, Rhodes Island... its main business is dealing with Oripathy... but what you're going to do seems a bit unrelated to your core business? Well, that doesn't really matter... Since you're using my sword yourself, which means you're pretty good at fighting, I'll use you as the main character for the filming~ And if anything goes wrong with the sword, I can fix it on the spot. See, a win-win situation~ So, let me film it! How about it!?"

As Nian spoke, he pulled out a small camera from somewhere... It seemed to be a film camera. Nana turned around and glanced at Miss Lin Qingyan in the red robe, speechless. But when the other party felt Nana's gaze, she just rolled her eyes, probably because she couldn't control what he wanted to do.

"... If you... truly understand how dangerous it is to make enemies of those two things..."

Seeing that Nana seemed reluctant to agree, Nian immediately and casually put his hand on Nana's shoulder.

Even though the cat was genuinely uncomfortable with this person's overly familiar manner, she thought about how he had indeed given her a seemingly powerful weapon, and how his abilities might be useful in future battles. Therefore, having him around seemed more beneficial than harmful... and so she didn't resist, letting him embrace her.

"Hey~ I know those two pretty well. The Ministry of Works and the Celestial Masters' Office come to me every few days asking if I can handle those two bastards."

"And then there's my older sister, who's been troubled by that thing for ages. If it weren't for our family visiting, and the fact that using our abilities on a large scale always depends on Sui's Office's whims, I might have gone and gotten something new for my sister... You happen to have something with you, so go ahead and test it out, see how it works, consider it helping with the trial."

"If that doesn't work, look at my armpits, look at all this tattooing. I'm not exactly a saint. If something really happens in Lungmen, do you think I can just relax and eat hotpot while making movies? Things have to be sorted out before I can have fun... ah, no, before I can get back to work."

Although Nian's words made sense, Nana knew neither her combat strength nor her actual rank within the Great Yan... And the red-robed young woman from the Prosecution Office was always so arrogant, saying things like "You don't have that authority," so Nana felt that relying on her to join the combat force was probably not a good idea.

Therefore, we have to find a second-best solution: an umbrella.

"How about this, Miss Nian..." Liu

Seeing that Nana still maintained a rather distant demeanor, the white-haired Dragon Lady patted Nana's back forcefully, interrupting her with a slight frown. "Wine..."

"Just call me Nian!"

"Alright, Nian... Considering you did give me a new type of weapon that I've never encountered before, even without considering your request, you can conduct close-up filming under the guise of logistical support. I will do my best to ensure your safety..."

"Until the handover between Lungmen and the Prosecution Office is completed, our frontline commander will not incorporate you into the combat sequence... Before you are officially incorporated into the combat sequence, I hope you can stay on the outer edge of the front line as much as possible, following the operational procedures of on-site logistics personnel... That will also count as close-up filming. If you get any closer, I will not be able to explain it to the higher-ups in Yan."

"... Um, I'm not a regular combatant. How far is the outer edge of the front line from the battlefield?"

"Considering that we will suppress the use of high-destructive-powered weapons as much as possible within the city, judging from the distance of melee combat, it should be around ten meters away."

Seeing Nian stroke his chin and say something like that it seemed acceptable, Nana looked again at the Nana sorceress in the red robe, who nodded in agreement...

Nana finally breathed a sigh of relief, even though she knew all along that being in charge of a large-scale operation required various compromises and coordination.

But even before the operation began, in the preparatory stage, it was already fraught with such difficulties with several government departments... And this was despite Lungmen sending a dedicated person to oversee the entire handover and granting full authority, and the target being incredibly cooperative in the name of the greater good...

Nana couldn't help but miss the carefree days when she had an agent to arrange things, and she only needed to decide where to go, who to kill, and how many to kill.

Originally, Nana had said that after meeting the helper introduced by the Emperor, she would return to the Frontline Command, which was built based on the Penguin Logistics headquarters, to help and arrange the next steps... But now, because she had brought along Nian and Lin Qingyan, two people who were neither quite involved in the war nor quite in logistics, Nana had to change her plans at the last minute.

After confirming that Lycoris Cafe staff had been deployed to the Doctor and Amiya's side, and that Blacksteel and Nana's old friend Operations Team E3, could transport supplies while ensuring the Commander's safety, Nana notified Penguin Logistics to open several safe houses located in the shantytown.

Although only one location is currently needed, Rhodes Island's personnel have already obtained the pass to Lungmen. If the Firearms Operator want to maintain their combat effectiveness, then combat supplies must be prepared in advance.

In order to avoid alerting everyone to Rhodes Island's entry into the slums, the two large helicopters, 'Good Guy' and 'Bad Guy', could not be used... Transporting supplies by vehicle without attracting attention is a technical task, and the Doctor said that these tasks could be handled by ordinary Rhodes Island employees dressed in plain clothes.

Thus, when Nana and her group of five arrived at the safe house, which was temporarily designated as their frontline base, in a jeep bearing the Rhodes Island logo, not to mention Nian, who immediately picked up a camera and began 'filming' as soon as she got out of the car...

Under Nana's sincere persuasion, Miss Lin Qingyan of the Inspection Office finally took off her red robe and changed into a black dress with a white long-sleeved outdoor jacket.

But putting aside the fact that this Qilin girl has a head of fluffy blonde hair, a heroic face, and an outfit that combines innocence and sexiness, featuring an off-the-shoulder top and black stockings.

This alien Qilin horn that occasionally flashes with electricity, this exquisitely handcrafted magic staff, this small military drone of the Great Yan... Nana silently watched the Qilin lady who called herself 'Jingzhe'. The cat had no desire to comment on the fact that the other party seemed even more conspicuous after taking off her official robes.

"Ah, Medic, you're back... And who are these two...?"

"Those who might be able to help later... the on-site support staff... and that blonde sorceress is someone else's... bodyguard? Let's not include her in our available combat forces for now."

Seeing Nana say that, Texas nodded. Watching Lupo long, straight black hair occasionally seemed to glow with red magic, casually take out a chocolate-filled Poki cookie and hold it in her mouth, Nana smiled slightly.

"This action... are you trying to quit smoking?"

"Well, after all, there's an idol trainee in the team now... Sora doesn't suit the smell of cigarettes."

"Texas really cares about its players..."

The other person didn't respond to Nana's exclamation, but instead pulled out a Poki cookie from the box and handed it to Nana. Although Nana had smoked before in order to infiltrate the gang, and in fact, due to her constitution, Nana could smoke quite a lot... since everyone else was quitting, it was better for her to follow suit.

Nana took the cookie offered to her in the same manner, then picked it up with a slightly surprised expression.

"Huh, it's blueberry... this isn't chocolate flavored?"

"That was the last chocolate... Oh, by the way, Lupo isn't a dog, he won't get poisoned by eating chocolate."

"... Why would you suddenly bring this up...?"

"Because Exusiai teased me like that when she saw me eating chocolate-flavored food."

Hearing Texas's 'confession', Nana chuckled to herself... This did indeed seem like something that little Sankta would do.

And just as they were talking about Exusiai, a red-haired Sankta and her Halo emerged from under the half-person-high roller shutter door:

"Texas, those goods... Ah, Medic, you've arrived! Perfect timing..."

As she spoke, although she had revealed Nana's real name 'Lemuel,' it was better to Exusiai grabbed Nana's arm and led her into the base... As Nana entered the house, everyone, including Nian who had been filming the perimeter for a while and Ch'en Hui-chieh who had gone to buy a carton of milk for Hoshiguma, followed her into the front-line base.

After slipping through the concealed roller shutter door and letting his eyes adjust to the dim light, Nian looked at the boxes piled up in the hall, filled with weapon crates bearing the logos of the Guard Bureau or Rhodes Island, along with various convenience foods and medical supplies, and exclaimed in surprise.

On the other side, Exusiai, looking rather impatient, found an ammunition box among the support units bearing the logo of Rhodes Island and marked with a cute girl's portrait, labeled 'LycoLyco Café'.

"This... this thing, can I use it?"

Seeing Exusiai's eagerness, Croissant, who was helping with the delivery, also pushed in several boxes of unmarked cardboard boxes on a handcart... Clearly, all the supplies in this room were brought into the [war zone] in this way.

"Exusiai, do you know what that is?"

"This is an ammunition box! What else could it be but Etch Rounds?"

Watching Exusiai holding the coffee shop's ammunition box and speaking so matter-of-factly, Croissant, who had already been stunned once, smiled and looked at Nana after glancing at the supply list.

After Nana smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, Exusiai was still rambling on:

"Since arriving in Lungmen, aside from long-distance field missions, I haven't fired any proper Etch Rounds... This should be for resupplying Medic's three guns! Lungmen has granted Miss Medic permission for lethal force, so as an operator also participating in the operation... I shouldn't have any problem enjoying the same firing authority, right?"

In the last sentence, Exusiai looked at Superintendent Ch'en Hui-chieh, whose lips were inexplicably a little swollen. After raising an eyebrow, the latter nodded at her as a matter of course. Exusiai was overjoyed and whispered, "Great!"

"Of course, Exusiai, you are a combatant contracted with Rhodes Island, so you naturally enjoy the combat agreement between Rhodes Island and Lungmen. Everything here is available for everyone to use."

"However, it seems that due to considerations of discreet transportation, no one has labeled the contents of the goods on the outside of the boxes... so we'll have to open each box one by one to check."

As for Exusiai's request, Nana readily agreed... Since Lungmen couldn't produce many Etch Rounds in a short time, Nana and the Rhodes Island team would have to bear the cost of their own ammunition consumption during this operation.

In Nana's view, since Penguin Logistics was hired as her partner, the supplies must be the same as those for her other units. There was no such thing as giving Jessica high-grade ammunition while letting Exusiai the ordinary ammunition they purchased themselves.