Kitty Killer Wasn't Exactly Cold

Puff watched heartbroken as her ship became tainted by the inevitable Originium Pollution. Twirling her platinum-blonde braid around one finger, she puffed out her cheeks slightly and looked toward the "Medic operator" drawing the route map.

Perhaps on this bridge where only the two of them were present, she could address the person in charge of the Security Bureau Engineering Division as... Agent Number Seventy-Seven.

"...Whenever I think about the decontamination procedures the ship will need after this incident, my heart practically stops... Your manager isn't going to make TDD handle that expense alone, is she?"

"TDD?"

"Terra Dynasty Deformer... the changer of Terra's destiny... Your superior is the kind of person who keeps saying things like, 'I'll change Terra's destiny myself.' I thought you'd at least have some basic reaction to the ship's name."

Nana did not rise from the digital navigation console, and her response seemed remarkably flat to Puff.

"That person really is eccentric. Sometimes she makes people feel like she's strange... So when you briefed the others earlier, you didn't mention the ship's name because it was too embarrassing?"

"Ahaha~ It was just because of confidentiality regulations~"

"...So it really was because the name was too absurd for you to say out loud."

"I said it was confidentiality regulations!"

Taking a deep breath, Puff returned her attention to the route Nana was tracing across the map.

"TDD was designed from the start with the possibility of passing through Catastrophes for surprise attacks. Although its alloy composition uses a lightweight D32 Alloy formula... its overall hull defense is unquestionably generations ahead of old-style battleships. So don't assume that just because TDD can take a route, Blacksteel and the supply ships behind us can definitely take it too."

"...Yes, I considered that... But even so, I hope everyone is mentally prepared to lose the uppermost deck and its cabins... Preferably, prepare for it operationally as well... Also, pass those words on to the other two ships."

Hearing Nana's warning, Puff exchanged a glance with the first mate. Only after the first mate touched her glasses and nodded gracefully did Puff operate the Intercity Network and continue.

"If possible, don't make it sound as frightening as that... We're entering the Catastrophe voluntarily. The insurance company won't compensate us for equipment losses during this period."

"The only thing I can guarantee is that no large Active Originium will inflict structural damage on the ship... First Mate, reduce speed to thirty knots, then quarter port rudder..."

"Understood, quarter port rudder--!~"

Along with the distinctly Victorian helm command, Nana swiftly sketched the course line. As the data link synchronized the report, the tower's co-pilot looked at the white-haired first mate... The old woman then looked to Puff for confirmation before nodding to the pilot and ordering him to obey.

"...We're circling, Number Seventy-Seven?"

"...Wait a little longer... Can the bow's main cannon be used inside the Catastrophe?"

"It can... But you're only guiding us. Why do you need the main cannon?"

Seeing that Puff apparently did not understand the Catastrophe data she had sent over—or perhaps had seen it but was not sensitive to Originium Dust concentration figures—Nana did not blame her. Instead, the girl began explaining.

"...This is indeed the planned follow-up route, but the Originium's crystallization rate here could threaten the two Landships arriving later..."

"Ah... So we use artillery to trigger it here with external force in advance... make it begin its active reaction early and fall to the ground? That is one way to do it..."

Seeing no objection from the captain, the first mate adjusted her glasses and asked.

"So we'll be using Active Originium shells... Also, Agent, main cannon fire requires a set of firing parameters. Please fill out the form using the required detonation point with the firing position as the reference point. However, please note that the main cannon has a maximum elevation angle... And firing inside a Catastrophe could allow Pollution into the hull..."

"Ah, that means even more parts will need cleaning later... Anyway, have the weapons crew take their positions... As for the money to wash the ship, I'll apply to Ms. Eternal Constant for it."

Ignoring Puff's muttering, Nana rapidly calculated the firing solution based on the main cannon's parameters. After checking it, the first mate began repeating the order.

"Yes, ma'am-- Weapons crew, take positions! Main cannon firing sequence initiated! Main cannon Originium shell loaded, quantity one!"

In the dark wilderness, the battleship charging beneath the sea of Catastrophe Clouds raised its barrel. Black crystals washed over it, scattering sparks.

As the first mate counted steadily, Nana stopped looking at the information panel before her...

The killer raised her head and looked through her remaining eye at the sealed window. Black mist burned like flames at the corner of her eye, and her gaze pierced through the porthole toward the red gleam flickering in the sky.

Although Miss Killer did not possess Little Cat's strength to face a Catastrophe head-on, she still wielded a blade equally capable of cutting through one.

An Originium shell the size of a vehicle was carried by the loading mechanism. With the assistance of artillery crew members wearing fully sealed exoskeletons, it slowly entered the barrel... The firing data was entered into the fire-control computer. Five helmsmen and drivers worked together to control the levitation apparatus, adjusting its output in time with the countdown. The first mate stood with both hands behind her back, straighter than a pine on the Snowfield...

Like a giant sword, the ship precisely "slashed" toward the sky through everyone's coordination.

"Fire--!"

PS: Wuwu, kitty...

PS2: The Rosemary in this story has received an epic-level buff... Cherish this Little Cat who casually throws things around for now. She's using cars to smash Catastrophes now, but who knows what she'll use to smash things later.

PS3: End of the month strength... Please vote.

The Mystery of the 2nd Medic: 049 Seventy-Two Hours of Countdown

Artillery fire illuminated one corner of the Catastrophe. Through special processing, the Active Originium shells, which left behind no residue, intensified the Originium Dust in this region.

The explosion in the sky ignited flames, and blue-green shockwaves spread in every direction. Some Originium was shattered directly. Under the compression of high-temperature impact, they emitted a bright yellow light, linking into bands across the sky... Yet several dozen seconds later, those bands of light, along with the cyan flames, were swallowed by the black Catastrophe Clouds.

It was as if the entire sky had never lit up at all.

Masses of crystallized Originium fell from the sky. After the shockwave that even the floating ship could feel swept through... the intensity of the Catastrophe that had been densely hammering against the porthole armor lessened somewhat.

Looking at Nana's calculations, Puff sat in the captain's seat and muttered to herself.

"Using Active Originium shells to trigger localized intensification of the Catastrophe, reducing the airborne Originium Dust concentration in the current area, artificially creating a low-threat zone..."

Scratching her head, Puff's expression turned serious. Though she was the captain of an experimental ship, she was technically a member of the Engineering Department within the organization.

"But in reality, because of the Originium Prime component in the shells, increasing the amount of Active Originium could significantly extend the Catastrophe's duration... Compared to certain imaginative people who want to use low-energy-state Orundum to reduce the area damaged by Catastrophes... Number Seventy-Seven, you're taking the opposite approach."

Nana was full of question marks at Puff's teasing.

"...At most, this is an artificial-rain version of Originium Rain... Using Originium Rain to reduce the area damaged by a Catastrophe? What kind of genius idea is that?"

"It's one of the organization's... funding-scam projects... It's from decades ago, but whenever the Engineering Department submits a proposal that gets labeled 'wildly impractical,' the higher-ups always bring up that example at meetings to lecture us... Things like, 'Do you also want to stop Catastrophes with human effort?'"

Nana did not answer the young captain's words. After all, what they were doing now looked no different from that reckless act at first glance.

But fundamentally, these were entirely different matters. At the very least, Nana had never expected human effort to confront a Catastrophe directly.

Unlike the old method of using Arts—and the current method of using equipment—to stimulate the internal energy of Active Originium, trying to use Orundum to absorb a Catastrophe's Originium energy was an inherently contradictory idea from the beginning.

Nana could understand those researchers' desire to create an artificial "safe zone." As a processed component of Originium, Orundum did indeed possess the same physical properties as Originium when it came to absorbing and releasing energy...

But once a Catastrophe formed, the Originium had already converted all of its internal energy into physical potential energy... By then, it was too late to arrange Orundum devices.

Thinking of this, Nana's eyes grew slightly unfocused as she held the electronic drawing pen.

"I think... the person who proposed that project was probably trapped by the contradiction that equipment couldn't be deployed once a Catastrophe began, but deploying equipment did not necessarily mean a Catastrophe would arrive... And maintaining a system that converted Originium energy likely required external energy support as well... In the end, what turned that plan into its present state... was probably, at its root, maintenance costs..."

"Mm-hm~ The organization originally invested in that project because it valued its claim of 'reusable Originium energy'... If those people who talk about cost-effectiveness in everything saw you firing Originium shells into the air, they'd probably nag you about it for a long time at regular meetings."

"...It's fine. I don't have to write my own reports..."

And she did not have to attend meetings either... probably...

Seeing the agent fall into a strange silence, even pausing the drawing pen in her hand, Puff did not continue the subject.

Telling a few organizational jokes to this newcomer favored by a certain manager was Puff's way of socializing... But... it seemed that even senior agents went quiet when reports were mentioned.

Taking a sip of coffee, Puff lowered her voice as she watched the constantly changing data on the command console.

"Eternal Constant asked me to look after you... but please spare me when it comes to reports..."

"...I think I heard that term before... What is 'Eternal Constant'?"

"You work under her and don't know her organizational codename?"

Nana shook her head at Puff, her expression utterly bewildered... Wasn't a manager just a manager?

After confirming that Nana was not joking, Puff inhaled deeply and sighed.

"So this is how the ICA director operates. What a perfect practitioner of mysticism... Still, since she didn't tell you, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to say much. If you have questions, ask her directly?"

"...So it's a codename like my Medic, then? As for what it specifically refers to, or its underlying meaning... I'm not interested."

As she spoke, Nana's pen paused again. On the drawing board, the icon representing TDD had already reached the edge between the yellow and red zones. This meant Miss Killer had successfully led the Security Bureau vessel through the outer perimeter of the Catastrophe Cloud.

"...Checkpoint two, confirmed... We're about to enter phase three."

"Confirmed... Number Seventy-Seven, are you ready?"

Stopping Nana as she rose, Puff still wore the familiar expression of someone entrusted by an acquaintance to take care of her. But the girl playing with her braid no longer smiled. She was asking a very serious question.

"...Phase three... As we approach the thunderstorm Cloud Anvil range, even the Originium-Resistant Communications Circuit cannot directly transmit routes and real-time meteorological data to the two ships behind us from within the Catastrophe.

"To ensure communication, this ship will remain at the Catastrophe's outer perimeter as a relay base station... If you continue fighting after this, you can only travel into the center of the Catastrophe in a small vehicle.

"At that point, the only people you can rely on will be yourself, along with Blacksteel and Rhodes Island volunteers... In return, the lives of more than ten thousand military and civilian personnel aboard three Landships, equipment and supplies worth tens of millions of Lungmen Dollars... and the political careers of more than one hundred and forty officials, including two five-star generals, will all be placed on your shoulders..."

"...You didn't mention Tkaronto's one million people. Are you assuming they're already dead in the Catastrophe?"

As she spoke, Nana put on the Rhine Lab exoskeleton work suit over her Rhodes Island uniform jacket again. Her words left Puff somewhat speechless.

"...Of course not... It's just that, with the mobile city, the government predicts that as long as the Core City does not suffer a fatal malfunction, the worst-case scenario should be chaos breaking out in the Fourth District, followed by everyone there dying in the Catastrophe and internal fighting among the Infected over supplies... The maximum acceptable death toll is probably around one hundred thousand... I know you're heading for the Fourth District, but what if neither the Contingency Contract nor the Columbian government's rescue operation was ever planning to go there from the beginning?"

"...Then I have even more reason to go."

As she spoke, Miss Killer activated the "experimental exoskeleton" sponsored by Rhine Lab. Silver neurotransmitters flowed across the framework, and with the successful neural connection, it emitted a pale yellow glow characteristic of Rhine Lab.

"Whether it's rescuers numbering in the tens of thousands or victims numbering in the millions... none of that has anything to do with me. In the end, there is only one reason I'm going..."

Because Matilda was there.

Seeing Nana's resolve, Puff did not try to persuade her further. The girl tied her platinum-blonde hair into a ponytail, stepped down from the captain's seat, and walked to the agent. She picked up the Originium-resistant communicator from the Columbia Homeland Security Bureau, inserted it into the exoskeleton's equipment port, adjusted it to the TDD frequency, then smiled again.

"Although this ship has no chapel due to confidentiality requirements, as captain, I accept your departure prayer... At the same time, since this is your first Security Bureau mission, I need to emphasize the concept of the collective.

"Your actions from here on will determine countless lives and deaths... Everyone knows that following you into the Catastrophe means walking down a road of no return without knowing whether there is an end... Any intelligence error will mean they face a severe Catastrophe directly.

"Although we have made every possible anti-interference preparation, I still must say this... There is still a sixty percent chance that our communications will be one-way, or even completely severed... Given the capabilities of small vehicle-mounted equipment, you must be mentally prepared for subsequent meteorological data to be cut off... and for all contact with us to be completely lost.

"In the name of the Security Bureau Engineering Department, I guarantee that TDD will be responsible for maintaining contact between you and the ships behind us throughout the operation... But if the following circumstances occur, I will prioritize the lives and safety of this ship's personnel..."

Puff raised three fingers, her tone becoming incomparably cold.

"Inside a Catastrophe, without a navigator's guidance, ships may drift, anchor unexpectedly, or even be destroyed at any time... Even for a specialized ship like TDD, which was designed from the beginning with traversing Catastrophes in mind, I can give you no more than three days.

"If communications are cut off, this is the final countdown for us to wait for you to restore contact. It is also the limit that the Catastrophe Messengers aboard the three Landships can calculate they can hold out on their own before the storm descends into complete chaos...

"Although you may not be able to hear the ship's side once the vehicle-mounted equipment lacks post-processing capability... the anti-interference equipment has a disconnection notification. As long as the communications light remains on, it means someone is listening on our end and our connection has not been severed... You should now set an additional monitoring item for communication status on your agent Terminal... Once we lose contact for more than three days..."

Puff did not say what she would do if there was no contact for more than three days... Nana did not care either.

The two silently walked to TDD's large elevator. There, the BPRS Squad and Rhodes Island operators, also wearing Rhine Lab equipment, were already in position.

Unlike Nana, who had been working in the tower all along, they had been practically forced to rest and sleep a little after their earlier escape by vehicle... Aside from Cardigan, Stewart, and Adnachiel, whose lack of relevant training made the effectiveness of their rest questionable... everyone else had now put on the standardized equipment. Standing together, they finally looked somewhat like a team.

"...Is this the laboratory's newest protective equipment... It feels much lighter, and moving in it isn't as... cumbersome as the protective gear we usually use..."

"Liskarm, you can just say that what we wore before made us all look like barrels... I remember little Jessica has a set too, so she could stay on the front lines with us~"

Carrying a large backpack and already wearing her helmet, Jessica still shrank her neck. Her opaque, fully enclosed metal helmet completely obscured the tearful kitty expression on her face... Nana, who was particularly insistent on confirming identities, was truly unaccustomed to talking like this. So, recalling the exoskeleton's operating instructions, she adjusted Jessica's helmet mode.

As the liquid metal shifted its configuration, the angular triangular helmet gradually became transparent around the visor. Only then could Nana once again see that unfortunate Little Cat's expression, as though she were about to cry.

"To ensure visibility, everyone can switch their helmets to half-helmet mode... The system UI inside the helmets will automatically increase brightness to supplement some of the lighting... More importantly, while we are all unfamiliar with one another, this will help us avoid incidents where commands are passed incorrectly..."

"The price of calling the wrong name at a crucial moment could be death... That's what you mean, right?"

With that agreement, after Franka taught Liskarm how to use this fresh Columbian high-tech gadget, everyone from Rhodes Island had more or less confirmed the exoskeleton equipment's additional functions with each other.

"...Harpoon Device for breaching obstacles... Wave... processing... Captain, what does this system do?"

Hearing Cardigan's question, Nana slung the backpack Puff had given her onto her back and glanced at the manual displayed on the built-in projection screen.

"A patented Rhine Lab device... Supposedly an extended application of the Originium Arts of its director, Kirsten Wright... The manual says it can alter an object's density to a certain extent... And while the Haze Wave System is active, people can even pass through walls as though passing through water?"

Skipping over the rigorous explanatory content, Nana described its effects as briefly as possible.

But seeing the bright red warnings—"Do not disengage the Haze Wave while passing through," and "Do not allow activated Harpoon Devices to interfere with one another"—Nana looked uneasily at the curious Cardigan. Then her uneasy gaze shifted to Franka on the Blacksteel side...

"Why are you looking at me? Mm... I wasn't planning to activate this... Harpoon Device, okay? I wasn't."

Nana silently stared at the big fox until her posture returned to normal, then glanced at the Haze Wave System she had swiftly locked using captain authority just moments earlier... Though this thing was supposed to be rescue equipment, Nana felt that if mishandled, it would get everyone killed inside the Catastrophe.

"The Haze Wave System has many restrictions on its use... Its built-in medium also imposes subtle limits on the number of uses and duration... Most importantly, we don't yet know whether it can function properly amid the Catastrophe's high Originium Dust concentration... And there are only limited units available. At present, it seems everyone is carrying a Haze Wave System that can be used three times... I've locked them for now. Once we test them inside the Catastrophe and confirm they can be used, I'll unlock them for everyone."

Looking at the group that had voluntarily formed ranks before her, Nana checked the time. It was currently 10:35 p.m. local Columbia time.

Ship TDD Intercity Network connected. Communications channel has been open for four hours and twenty-five minutes.

Rhine Lab-sponsored "-- Exoskeleton," friend-or-foe identification system activated... Total quantity: ten.

Squad assignments complete:

Blacksteel Worldwide Volunteer Squad: Franka, Liskarm, Jessica, Vanilla.

Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical Company Action Reserve Team: Cardigan, Stewart, Adnachiel.

Rhodes Island Human Resources Action Group: Medic, Blaze, Su Sulo.