Kitty Killer Isn't Very Cold

"Sure enough, Meli couldn't hold her back... but we can't just let a girl go into the Catastrophe zone by herself..."

"You say that... fine, let's go together."

"Everyone!~"

Watching the three newcomers huddle together, Meli then came before Su Sulo, tossed the little fox, who kept making confused noises, into the air, and even cheered her on... Beside them, the big fox drank cola with her eyes narrowed into slits.

"They look like they're having fun~"

"...Rhodes Island's newcomers really are lively..."

"Um... don't just stand there watching... Meli, put me down first!"

Watching her office become incredibly lively, the stern corners of Doctor Jenny's mouth finally curved upward.

"Alright, alright. It's not a bad thing for young people to have drive... Then, at the next meeting, you'll come with me to see the captain.

"The Landship is currently under Level Two alert, and many areas are sealed off. The Ship Affairs Department probably won't accept normal visitation requests right now."

"Alright, then we'll be troubling you."

Answering the woman in Su Sulo's stead, Blaze found that the big fox had somehow stuffed a cup of non-alcoholic drink into her arms.

"Well then~ Now that business is done, let's get to the slightly delayed welcome party~ Liskarm! Contribute the bathroom in your room!"

"...Franka, if I remember correctly, we share a room..."

"Ah~ Is that so?"

"You..."

PS: Regarding Nana's combat outfit.

Anyway, just get the general vibe? Finding the picture was pretty difficult...

PS2: And the customary kitty-snuggling segment.

Today's snuggling subject is the Golden Apple Grand General, who may be petite but has a very sexy figure.

PSS: Today's publicly available information...

The computer... seemed to be fixed? Yeah, it really wasn't freezing anymore... Though I spent the whole time crawling under the desk to work on it... To install the new RAM, I had to fight that blood-sworn heatsink for ages again... and banged my head when I stood back up...

I did consider replacing it with one of those mature all-in-one liquid cooling systems... but the strength of air cooling is that it doesn't need much fussing with... Besides, this heatsink was a high-end gift from Hehe, and there's nothing wrong with it. How could I just stop using it?

My only lingering regret was probably... that I still didn't take off the heatsink to replace the thermal paste... Mainly because if I did, I might not have had time to write today... I really need to work toward a target rather than a hard deadline.

Axi, pull yourself together!

The Mystery of the 2nd Medic: 043 Landship Infiltration

Turning the clock back a while, as the watch Terminal reminded her, "Three minutes until reaching the checkpoint," the petite Feline wrapped in Shadow Arts silently released her knees, raised her head, and stood up.

Soundless mist swallowed the packing tape and forced open the cardboard box's seal. A black-haired kitty head poked out... Her cat ears twitched and rotated left and right like radar. After confirming the cargo hold was empty, Kitty Killer slowly rose from her half-crouched position... Her legs were a little numb.

She silently stretched her body. The rustling of her bodysuit and hard shoulder cape rubbing together was entirely masked by the cargo hold's background noise, along with the conversation between the flight crew in her earpiece.

[Splicing into communications... Channel: Columbia Government Special Aircraft—Air Force Four.]

[We're about to pass the checkpoint...]

[Confirmed. Three minutes until checkpoint passage... ]

[Confirmation complete... Say, doesn't this mission feel a little strange?]

[It is strange. Using a small government business passenger plane to deploy Catastrophe detection beacons... Our group is among the few equipped with anti-Originium-interference communications modules, so receiving an order like this isn't unusual. But why do we have to skim past the Blacksteel Landship at an awkward altitude of one thousand meters, overlapping its route?]

[Political factors aren't within our scope of consideration... Perhaps it's some kind of veiled warning...]

[Because Blacksteel's Landship refused to fulfill that Contingency Contract? The government people are pretty angry.]

[But tell me, did that captain not have a point? Only troops like us would receive a death order to fly over Catastrophe Clouds... What PMC would be willing to do it? For how much money? Why risk their lives like that...]

[A soldier's honor... Especially when large-scale mechanized casters aren't easy to come by... Countdown to checkpoint passage, three, two... Cargo hold alarm. The hatch has been opened?]

[Switching to autopilot. Let's take a look...]

As communications fell silent, the two pilots took their staffs and Columbia-made imitation guns from beneath their seats. They first checked the passenger cabin's access locks, then entered the cargo hold while covering each other.

After inspecting it, they found that a separately packaged cardboard box had been gouged by a fastening clasp. The rope had happened to press through the cushioning material onto the remote inside, and the flashing yellow light showing it was activating was extremely conspicuous.

"What is that?"

"Government disaster-relief supplies... a Master Key used to open core compartment doors across mobile city districts."

"...Should we be glad that it can only open doors, rather than remotely shutting down the engines or something?"

Ignoring his companion's Columbia joke, the captain checked the hatch's electronic panel logs. After confirming that this remote had indeed released the crew's lock, he shook his head.

"Stop fooling around. This thing can open automatic doors in every Columbia mobile city. Every single one is registered, and we can't afford to take responsibility if one goes missing... Still, it's really strange. They took out something like this, but couldn't even spare a decent box? What were the ground crew thinking?"

"Could it be that it simply didn't have any packaging? Just look at this thing, it's as big as a Terminal, then look at that outer armor... Forget a box, I think it'd be fine even if you tossed it into an Originium reactor."

With that joke, the co-pilot took out tape and reinforced both it and the cardboard box. Then the two returned to the cockpit.

During those few exchanged sentences, Kitty Killer, who had boarded without informing the crew and had maintained secrecy from beginning to end, silently watched the altitude indicator on her watch.

Howling winds rushed past. The one-eyed girl could no longer gauge distance with both eyes as she once had... Fortunately, instruments could replace instinctive estimates, while skill and Originium Arts could make up for her lacking physical strength.

As the Landship's mountain-like foundation spread out before her, Kitty Killer, who had jumped from a thousand meters up and was about to slam into it and become "Nana-chan," suddenly pulled a blood bag from beneath her cloak and hurled it at the ground.

With a wet splat, the blood bag struck directly below. Bright red liquid spread across the military armor steel in a radial pattern, and the black figure crashed into it immediately afterward.

The bright red radial bloodstain seemed to become a gateway to another dimension. Like a drop of water falling into the sea, the girl in freefall made not the slightest sound... The crimson bloodstain merely darkened to black, and the silhouette of a half-kneeling girl slowly emerged.

After roughly thirty seconds, that pool of black blood regained human form. Another ten seconds later, the bloodstains on the young assassin's body began to fade, revealing her thin clothes.

As the blood on the ground crawled up the girl's body, the bright red liquid turned into mist and converged upon her left eye. The respirator covering her face released a "hiss—whoosh—" startup sound. This was the girl's first breath after returning to human form.

After regaining her mobility, Kitty Killer's first reaction was to pull up her hood. Finally, she reached up and brushed her cat ears. Her combat recorder activated, and orange-yellow Originium light shone from her watch and shoulder-mounted Arts medium, proving they were functioning normally and connected to the local network.

"Agent Number Seventy-Seven has successfully arrived on the Blacksteel Landship. Mission start."

[I hear you clearly. The organization's hackers have stabilized your covert access to Blacksteel's Intercity Network. They haven't noticed you... Additionally, our hackers found the maintenance blueprints for the Blacksteel Landship. It seems they often deal with illegal passengers out in the wilderness, so they've sealed every infiltration route...]

[To make it easier for you to meet the captain, I've mobilized the organization's casters capable of spatial manipulation.]

[Using scans from your Arts medium, if they go all out, they can send you into the ship's interior with a one-time spatial transfer of roughly ten meters... Or you can have them send over some of the organization's little gadgets...]

[The organization recently received a miniaturized Steam Knight weapon sample. Once optimized, its Originium Prime-powered lightsaber can cut through those ventilation grilles like butter.]

[But the Blacksteel Landship's captain is a veteran. He specifically ordered alarms installed at every weak point among the entrances and exits... Will you use this outside assistance all at once to overcome the hardest obstacle, or save their energy so they can support you through the rest of the mission... The choice is yours.]

Listening to her manager's explanation, Kitty Killer stood atop the Blacksteel Landship's control tower and looked up at the gridded antenna that had instinctively flashed past her during her descent. She casually slapped a remote bomb onto the shortwave antenna responsible for long-range communications. Medic... no, Nana hoped she would never have to use this backup plan.

[Think of retreat before victory... Not a bad habit. By the way, Rhodes Island's vehicle is approaching. Once they board, they'll definitely request a meeting with the captain immediately... That will be an opportunity to confirm the captain's whereabouts. Don't miss it.]

Looking around, the assassin first glanced at the huge opening at the bow... That was where the main cannon had once been, but Blacksteel appeared to have converted it into a drone support platform. The structure originally used to support the massive breech had been turned into an elevator large enough to transport war drones as large as Owl Dragon... She did not know the state of the hangar, but it could perhaps serve as an alternate infiltration route.

Moving her gaze farther back, the only possible infiltration route in the middle of the vessel, aside from the ventilation ducts that had been fitted with numerous alarms, was probably the secondary gun turrets.

These cannons, with bores as wide as eighteen Victoria inches, were more than wide enough for the girl's slender body to crawl through the muzzle directly... The turrets themselves should have ammunition feed systems leading to the magazine, making them very suitable infiltration routes.

But the problem was that, never mind Blacksteel's crew following the Victoria Fleet's strict strategic watch system, there would definitely be people stationed at the secondary gun turrets. Just imagining herself breaking through a breech blockade inside a cramped gun barrel made the girl's head itch...

More importantly, Nana did not know whether those guns were loaded... Wouldn't it be awkward if she crawled all the way in, only to find a shell pointed at her forehead, then had to crawl all the way back out?

Having completely dismissed the idea of infiltrating through the secondary guns, Nana's gaze passed over the massive, scattered turrets and turned toward the stern.

A Landship would inevitably have a permanent air transport runway, along with elevators and unloading areas prepared for large manned aircraft.

As a way for crew members to receive online purchases, the unloading area occasionally had scattered cargo piled up due to transport vehicles of varying sizes... This was normal whether on a Landship or in a mobile city.

Compared with the heavily guarded gun positions and ventilation openings in combat readiness, Kitty Killer felt it was more feasible to have the Blacksteel Landship's crew carry her inside...

Having made her decision, the girl standing at the highest point on the ship jumped down again.

She tied her dagger to the parachute cord around her wrist, improvising a safety rope. Using windowsills and handrails for footholds along the way, she avoided the control tower's windows, then clung to the narrow ledge on the ship's side until she reached the upper deck.

Stowing away the rope and dagger, the assassin encountered her first obstacle here... the deck personnel on duty, as well as idle wanderers.

The girl did not know whether these people were bored out of their minds or simply needed to be there for work, but even near the edge of a Catastrophe, they still had the leisure to stand outside on the Landship deck and point at the distant Catastrophe Clouds.

Fortunately, most of them were gathered in one direction. Nana mainly needed to watch out for the Blacksteel deck patrols carrying crossbows.

[The patrol teams... those were also personally arranged by that captain. Two per group, three groups per team. Each team takes responsibility for a section of deck, and they swap patrol zones after every round, ensuring that if someone attacks and wipes out a team, it won't go unnoticed... As an infiltrator, how do you feel about someone so meticulous?]

"...It's awful..."

Complaining as she activated her Originium Arts beneath her feet, Nana once again felt the sticky sensation of stepping in blood. The assassin who had just been clinging to the ship's side now stood on the vertical deck as though it were solid ground.

The kitty first tried letting go with her hands. After confirming that her Arts worked on the surface of this ship, the girl crouched low, slipped past the patrol teams along the way, and ran toward the stern.

On the way, the Kitty Killer running along the wall seemed to meet the eyes of a Vulpo who happened to be looking out the window... Just as Nana left the window but remained within the other woman's field of vision, and her small hand had already raised her gun, the manager's voice in her earpiece stopped her.

[Don't worry... You'll be seeing that person often in the future...]

"So... she's our Blacksteel partner... someone from BPRS?"

[Mhm. Since it concerns Rhodes Island, we'll discuss it after you switch back to your Rhodes Island operator identity... And now we've reached the rear platform. How are you going to make a crew member open the door for you?]

Clinging to the ship's edge, the girl sneakily poked out half her head. Seeing that most of the people at the stern were off-duty crew members standing around without much organization, she immediately darted into the rear cargo area and casually tore down a notice posted on a cargo area sign.

Just as Nana checked Blacksteel's delivery schedule on her watch, the warning lights that suddenly lit up around her startled the kitty.

[Oh... Five in the afternoon... Isn't this exactly delivery time? What a coincidence, Number Seventy-Seven.]

"Give me a cardboard box. One that can fit me. Quickly..."

Hearing that the crowd gathered beneath the elevator was waiting to pick up deliveries, Nana unfolded the cardboard box transmitted by her manager at her fastest speed and slipped herself inside.

Then, as the girl listened to the noisy questions outside and the sounds of packages being handed around, Nana finally remembered to ask a crucial question.

"This cardboard box... does it have a recipient label on the outside?"

[I wouldn't make that kind of mistake. But since you're cargo that will definitely vanish, I picked someone in advance to serve as your stand-in recipient... someone who'll be easy to talk to afterward.]

Before Nana could continue asking who had been unlucky enough to catch her manager's attention, a timid-sounding girl's voice came faintly from outside the box.

"My... package? But the custom gun and Originium Etch Rounds I ordered should have arrived already... Is this some kind of bonus gift... or did my sister send it?"

Whatever happens, just don't open the package now.

Perhaps Nana's prayers worked. Her box gradually moved away from the crowd's noise and was quickly set down.

The assassin waited for a while, listening to the unknown girl mutter things like, "I should call and confirm," and, "Was it sent to the wrong person?" With the airlock's automatic door closing again, silence filled the surroundings, and Nana poked her head out once more.

Nana had no idea whom her manager had chosen. This person had actually brought a mysterious package straight back to her room without any suspicion. She knew that running off would definitely cause the girl trouble... She could only hope that, as her manager said, she really would be easy to talk to.

Just as Nana used Witchcraft to destroy the cardboard box along with its forged shipping label and prepared to leave, the assassin opened the room's automatic door. Two black-haired kitty heads stared at each other at close range, both speechless... Standing nearly pressed against her, Nana could hear the other girl's phone still beeping.

It hasn't connected yet! There's still time!

She wrapped one arm around the other girl's waist, covered her mouth with the other, and dragged her directly back into the room. As the door closed, Nana casually knocked the phone Terminal from her hand.

"You..."

Before the other girl could react, bright red blood formed a dagger in midair and pierced the phone just as the call connected. After confirming the call had been cut off, the Feline girl pinned beneath Nana began struggling.

Seeing the other girl pull a Laterano Gun from the back of her waist, Nana was startled too.

"Help—!"

Before she could finish crying for help, Nana covered her mouth with a hand. But because the girl struggled so fiercely and Nana's hand was not big enough, she nearly failed to cover it. Two fingers slipped into the other girl's mouth... but pinning down her tongue could stop her from calling out too... As for the sensation, Nana had no mood to care about that.

The important thing was the pistol she had taken out!

Her other hand moved simultaneously, gripping the slide and using her fingers to isolate the hammer. Witchcraft activated at the same time, disrupting the casting mechanism... Using her understanding of the old-fashioned Laterano Gun's structure, Nana swiftly dismantled the weapon's slide with one hand and locked its safety mechanism, making it look as though she had disassembled the gun by touch alone.

There was no doubt that this display made the Feline girl, who had already begun crying, struggle even harder. Fortunately, she did not pull out a second gun.

Under the other girl's despairing gaze, Nana clenched the removed slide in her fist and slammed it hard into her neck. The struggling ponytailed Feline girl rolled her eyes and passed out instantly.

And just as Nana drew her own gun, the manager, who had also frozen for a moment, hurriedly stopped her.

[Wait!]

"...She saw my face..."