Chapter 169
This is the front hall of the Boundary Stele Administration.
Efnir jumped off the roof of the car, followed closely by Yukina, and they looked around.
A light rain was falling, and raindrops pattered on the ground.
A faint stench of decaying corpses lingered in the air.
It was eerily quiet; even the sound of the wind was exceptionally clear. There was no one around, only bloodstains, wreckage, and blackened walls. A wrecked car lay nearby, and the greenery had long since turned to ashes. At first glance, it resembled a desolate, ancient cemetery.
In front of the hall, in front of a makeshift fortification made of heavy desks and bags of sand and gravel, lay a large number of corpses. Upon closer inspection, most of them were soldiers and Dregs, and the stench of decay in the air was emanating from their bodies.
Several heavy machine guns still stood alone in place, their ammunition belts exhausted.
The walls were riddled with bullet holes, and the glass windows at the back were shattered; the scattered ruins foreshadowed the fate of this place.
Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here, and then the place fell.
This is what the world looks like.
When Efnir first arrived in the Maesakagawa area, she had done a simple investigation and search here, so the scene was familiar to her, and she knew that there were no living people left here.
--After the death of the only agent stationed in the Garrison District, no matter how much the garrison struggles, these people will not have any other fate but death.
Because they simply cannot stop the advancing Erosion Entity.
The reason why no Trace of Erosion Entity were seen here is most likely because the Boundary Stele here was in operation until the fall of the city.
"..."
Yukina followed silently behind Efnir, her lips pressed tightly together, almost vomiting from the unbearable stench of decay in the air.
Efnir could sense Yukina's nervousness, or rather, her inner turmoil, from the sweat on her palms.
Are you alright?
"Fine..."
Yukina shook her head defiantly and gripped her weapon tightly.
Don't force yourself.
"Well, I'm fine, I can still fight..."
Efnir stared intently at Yukina's face, paused, and then handed Yukina the goggles and gas mask.
"Try to concentrate the Order Force; that will make you feel better."
At that moment, Kusei Maki jumped out of the car. She was already carrying an oxygen tank, a full set of protective gear, and weapons, and quickly walked to the front of the troops.
She raised her hand and said loudly.
"As planned! Team A will accompany me to retake control of the Boundary Stele! Team B will go to investigate and repair the lines! We don't have much time left! We need to hurry!!"
The engineering team needed to send some people into the management compound, but the compound had obviously already fallen. The engineering team needed agents and soldiers to escort them.
Canary and the others were injured, so the task was handed over to Yuan and Efnir, who were also "vanguards," and the elite soldier squad.
Yukina went along as part of the support team.
Meanwhile, the construction team also needed to confirm backup power lines and energy sources, while they were protected by Anilas and others.
The soldiers had already begun their operation. Well-trained, they swiftly stormed into the building through windows and doors, and gunfire erupted. From the depths of the dark hall came the howling and shrieking of the Dregs.
Kusei Maki glanced at Efnir and Yukina, then entered the building with Tobi first.
"Yukina, let's go over there too."
"Um..."
"Start the operation!"
The hall was quickly cleared, and the tactical lights under the gun barrels became the only source of light in the pitch-black building.
Efnir, Yukina, and Iris do not need the assistance of external light sources. As agents, they can see as clearly as in daylight even in the darkest night.
Lights were turned on among the crowd, a lighting device was set down, and soon everything in the hall was revealed to everyone.
Ash, charred, bloody, and shell casings—the hall was riddled with bullet holes and mangled limbs. Several corpses lay on the floor, Dregs bodies that had awakened in a corner of the building and pounced upon it.
Yukina frowned deeply, taking deep breaths through her gas mask.
But my heart was still beating fast.
In front of the elevator shaft, Kusei Maki threw a light stick into the shaft, which took a long time to reach the bottom.
"The elevators are all downstairs... So, is that where we're supposed to escape to, or... is this our last Defense Line? We need to think of something else."
She waved, signaling the other team to find a safe passage.
She began to speak.
"We need to find the control room. According to intelligence, the main control room is on the seventh basement level. We need to find a way down."
What's on this?
"The operations maintenance platform... that's Anilas's task. They're infiltrating from the outside, so ignore them. We just need to find the control room here as soon as possible."
The soldiers, wearing breathing masks, split into two groups and found their respective stairwell entrances.
But...
"The stairwell has collapsed, sir. Should we blow it up?"
"I can't assess the possibility of a secondary collapse... It seems we'll have to rely on the elevator after all?"
"Let me do it."
"Efnir said."
"There might be countless Dregs down there; it would be very dangerous for you to go down like this."
Kusei Maki glanced at Efnir and took a step back.
"Then it's up to you, Brigadier General."
Efnir did not reply.
A silvery glow illuminated the dark space, and silver hair cascaded down from Efnir's back, gathering at the edge of a water-colored ribbon.
She removed the assault rifle from the lanyard at her waist and instead slung it over her shoulder.
The long, narrow barrel of the gun contrasted sharply with her small, delicate body.
Efnir arrived at the elevator shaft and peered down. At the bottom of the deep shaft, all she could see were the light sticks still emitting light.
"Judging by appearances, it's thirty to forty meters deep; it seems we've already fallen to the bottom... What could be down there?"
"Naoko..."
After exchanging a glance with Yukina, Efnir smiled faintly.
"I'll be fine."
"Um..."
Yukina nodded.
A silver spear appeared in Efnir's hand. She took a step forward and leaped into the elevator shaft.
Soon, a sharp whistle came from below, followed by gunshots and dull thuds. Kusei Maki glanced down and then waved to his back.
The soldier threw the rappelling rope downwards, and Kusei Maki was the first to fasten the strap.
"I'll go first, you guys follow. Yuan, you're last."
After saying that, she turned and jumped into the elevator shaft. Then the soldiers went in one by one, and soon only Yukina and Iris were left.
Yukina gripped her weapon tightly, her light blue hair cascading down her back. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.
The feeling of weightlessness made my heart choke.
Everything in her field of vision was flying upwards at high speed. Soon, the bottom floor was right in front of her. Silver light flashed under Yukina's feet. She stepped on the Stairway to cushion the impact. With a muffled thud inside the elevator, Yukina landed steadily.
Before me lay a pitch-black corridor, filled with chilling screams. Overturned tables and cabinets lined both sides of the corridor, covered in blood.
Yukina took a deep breath, raised her eyes, and walked forward.
[17-1=16 chapters~]
30. Leeches
Inside the central building of the Boundary Stele Administration, in the basement, between the stairwells on B7 Level and B8 --
A loud bang, accompanied by the grating sounds of wood and metal snapping and scraping—the girl, her fist flashing with silver light, smashed through a large pile of debris blocking the stairwell.
With silver hair, crimson and dark purple eyes, a black assault rifle slung across her back, magazines hanging loosely from her belt, and two silver pistols and a dagger strapped to her legs, the girl maintained her punching stance, her eyes fixed on the two figures of Dregs emerging from behind the broken rubble.
Wood chips flew everywhere, metal clattered and vibrated, and the loud noise filled the corridor. Piles of debris slid down the corridor like avalanches. Efnir did not stop. She bent her knees and lifted them up, forcefully breaking through the pile of tables and chairs with a running and jumping attack. At the same time, she reached forward and a long spear appeared in her palm.
With a soft hum, the gun blade, trailing a silver gleam, swung horizontally. In the next instant, the two Dregs clinging to the debris, along with the broken pieces of debris, made a crisp sound, then scattered and fell to their knees like puppets with broken strings. Grayish flesh and blood flew everywhere, sticking to the wall and leaving large grayish stains. The severed limbs slid down the stairs, already completely dead.
At the same time, Efnir's gun didn't stop; the next moment, it spun around her waist, and the enormous force struck the heavy security door in front of her, which was already deformed and could not be opened.
With a dull thud, sparks and metal Dregs flew everywhere. The security door dented badly and was sent flying, revealing a dark corridor to Efnir.
The massive metal doors sparked with brilliant flashes of light as they clashed in the corridor, the echoes of metal striking metal reverberating and reverberating in the air.
Soon, the underground, without lights, returned to complete darkness.
However, this level of influence will not pose an obstacle for the agent.
At that moment, a belated shriek and a low roar came simultaneously from all directions at the end of the corridor and in the left and right passageways—startled by the loud noise, the Dregs gathered there "awakened".
In the darkness, even the sleeping monsters began to let out bloodthirsty roars.
Efnir narrowed her eyes; she had already spotted the humanoid monsters in her field of vision. Instead of moving forward, she took a step back, and a dark, cylindrical metal object appeared in her hand.
Click--
Efnir pressed the button, bent her knees and leaned forward, sending the metal device out along the direction the giant door slid through.
There are three in total, each pointing in a different direction.
The metal device rolled and clattered on the blood-stained ground before stopping in the distance. The next second, it emitted a piercing buzz. In the darkness, some of the Dregs, attracted by the sound, abandoned their charge towards Efnir and ran towards the metal device.
Efnir emerged from the stairwell, her long gun gone, replaced by an assault rifle and a pistol.
The next second, gunfire flashed in the corridor, illuminating Efnir's vision. The ear-piercing gunshot echoed in the air like thunder, accompanied by the crisp sound of spent cartridges hitting the ground, becoming the accompaniment of the dark fireflies.
"Action!"
On the other side, at the command of Kusei Maki, who had been waiting at the bottom of the stairwell, the assault team quickly ascended the stairwell along the wall with extremely light footsteps.
Kusei Maki was at the very front.
"Suppression Operation!!"
She gave loud commands, and her rain-soaked footprints quickly blended with the footsteps of the soldiers behind her.
The squad emerged from the destroyed passage, arriving behind and beside Efnir. Led by Kusei Maki and her adjutant, they quickly rushed towards the corridors on either side.
Wearing night vision goggles, they quickly took their positions, raised their guns, and pulled the triggers.
Gunfire illuminated the entire corridor as if it were daytime. The Dregs was either attracted by the "Lure Device" or by the gunfire, but was quickly knocked down and killed under the powerful suppressive fire.
Grayish-brown bits of flesh and blood soaked the walls and floor, and screams rose and fell. At that moment, screams also suddenly came from the passage behind.
--Like a hornet's nest being disturbed, the large amount of Dregs gathered inside the building wriggled and surged in like leeches that had smelled blood.
Yuan had already led the remaining soldiers to block the passageway with debris, tables, chairs, and cabinets. At the same time, they warily raised Dregs guns, ready for battle. The moment the Dregs appeared, a barrage of bullets immediately rained down on it.
Intense and intense fighting broke out simultaneously on both sides.
The engineering team was protected by the soldiers in the middle, but they were not idle either, each using their submachine guns or pistols to support the battle at the front and rear.
However, the Dregs is difficult to kill.
Even with their bodies covered in gaping wounds and their limbs torn apart by a hail of bullets, they stubbornly charged and crawled toward the soldiers like bloodthirsty monsters.