Awesome, Plan Successful

Lin En thought it over.

His super brain, using super wisdom, told him it was time to use his super cheat ability.

Having him act as bait would be far more worthwhile than letting Sister take the injuries.

He had Thirty Days with him, so even if he got hurt, he would recover quickly. Cecilia, on the other hand, had no such regenerative ability.

As long as nothing went wrong, the three of them could rely on this tactic to wear down the entire group of cultists.

He got straight to work. Lin En turned to Iron Hammer. "Hammer, do you know how to set traps?"

Iron Hammer's eyes lit up.

He drew a welding torch from his waist, then pulled a coil of wire, a trigger, and a palm-sized metal box from his robe pocket.

"I do! This is a Warp Crystal Trigger I dismantled from a cultist's psychic weapon! Connect it to an explosive pack, and when a cultist steps on the wire, the trigger will—boom!!!"

Lin En gestured. "How big a boom?"

"Big enough to kill two or three cultists. If we lure them into an enclosed space, the boom will be even bigger!!!"

Fantastic!!!

They could do other things, too—whatever dirty tricks they could think of.

Animal traps, pits, stone spikes, or tying explosives to the stalactites on the ceiling and giving them some heaven-sent justice the moment they detonated.

A truly devious man never admitted defeat.

"Good." Lin En stood up, dusted off his leather armor, and began explaining the strategy to the stupid mechanic and Sister. "Quiet, quiet. Listen to me for a moment. I've come up with a strategy. Here's what we'll do: I'll draw the enemies out, Iron Hammer will set up traps somewhere, I'll lead the enemies into them, and Sister will come out with a mighty leaping slash and deliver heaven-sent justice."

Cecilia looked at him. The light in her slit pupils flickered as she said worriedly, "You'll get hurt."

"It's fine, Sister. You know what I can do—I'll recover quickly. I managed to run for fifteen days straight while surrounded by them before. Luring out some enemies is child's play. It's nothing worth mentioning." Lin En imitated Sakamoto and brushed back his bangs, looking unbearably smug.

What was a little pain worth? Damn it, he was going all out against these idiot cultists. Nobody was getting off easy!!!

Cecilia said nothing more. She extended a hand, placed her metal gauntlet on Lin En's shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Lin En felt that she no longer treated him like a child. It was more like she was treating him as a new recruit.

Admiration shone in Cecilia's eyes. "Good luck."

Iron Hammer pulled a data slate from his waist and began drawing a map of the terrain. "This passage turns left after leaving the cultist camp and leads to a relatively wide cavern. There are several stone pillars in the middle that can be used for cover. I can set some simple traps on the cavern floor. I'll modify the energy cells from the cultists' psychic focusers. They'll explode when stepped on."

He looked at Lin En. "Remember to avoid them when you run."

"I'll do my best," Lin En said.

"Don't do your best—make sure you do! I don't want to become someone who beats up his teammates!!!!"

"I'll make sure," Lin En said.

The three of them spent another dozen minutes going over the strategy.

Iron Hammer would set up the traps, Cecilia would hide behind one of the cavern's stone pillars, and Lin En would go to the cultist camp to draw out the enemies.

He would lure them out wave by wave. He mustn't attract too many; ten or so at a time would be best.

Once the enemies arrived, Cecilia would handle close combat, Iron Hammer would provide support from a distance with his Bolter, and Lin En would run.

After finishing one wave, they would rest, then lure out and fight the next wave.

They would repeat the process until they had wiped out every last cultist!

It was just like running a game dungeon—a perfectly mature plan!

Plan successful!

Put it into practice!

**********

Iron Hammer went into the cavern to set the traps, laying wires across the ground.

He pulled the wire out of the metal box and ran it along the stone wall to the corner of the passage, weighing it down with loose stones.

He tied the metal box to a stalactite on the ceiling, leaving only a thin copper wire exposed.

Iron Hammer said ominously, "Lure them into this passage and make them step on this copper wire. Then run. Don't look back."

Hehehehe.

"Okay." Lin En imitated him and spoke ominously as well.

Hehehehe.

Cecilia hid behind the largest stone pillar in the middle of the cavern. Her Power Sword was already drawn, its blade wreathed in a terrifying blue electric arc. Her Bolter hung at her waist, ready to be drawn at any moment.

Everything was ready. There was nothing to worry about!

Lin En stood at the entrance to the cultist camp, took a deep breath, and slapped his own cheeks.

Although his leather armor was tattered, his expression was utterly punchable.

Lin En continued to cackle as he stepped into the cultists' dark-red aura.

The cultists were patrolling beside the supplies. When they saw him enter, they froze.

?

???

They hadn't seen wrong, had they?

That little thief who had escaped had come back again???

Countless eyes fixed on Lin En. The dark-red light fell across his face, illuminating his wide grin.

"Hi~~~"

Lin En waved like he was performing at a concert. "I'm back again~ Did you miss me, big brothers~? I've finished eating everything I stole. Has your new shipment arrived yet~?"

Hehehehe.

The cultists exploded.

"It's him again—!!!"

"That thief again—!!!"

"He dares to come back!!!"

"Kill him—!!!"

The cultists outside rushed out from every corner of the camp. There were around twenty or thirty of them, most of them mortal brutes, with a few psychics among them.

That was just the right number. Lin En turned and ran.

A group of cultists chased him into the passage.

The dark-red light shook wildly, and the screams made Lin En's ears ring.

Just wait. I'll have my sister slaughter every one of you.

He ran straight ahead without looking back and entered the passage where Iron Hammer had set the traps.

The cultists followed him in.

Lin En heard the cultists' footsteps crunching across the loose stones behind him. Copper wire was buried beneath the stones, the copper wire was connected to the trigger, and the trigger was connected to the explosive pack.

Then came a "click"—the beautiful sound of the trigger activating.

Hehehehe.

"Boom—!!!!!"

A massive, muffled explosion rang out.

The entire passage trembled.

The shock wave surged from behind, pushing Lin En forward two stumbling steps. Loose stones and dust fell from the ceiling, landing on his hair and shoulders.

The cultists' screams turned into agonized wails.

The stalactite on the ceiling fell. Its sharp tip was like a heaven-sent weapon... Oof, that had to hurt.

Lin En didn't look back. He kept running until he reached the bend in the passage, then stopped and bent over, panting heavily with his hands on his knees.

Cecilia rushed past him.

Her silver Power Armor flashed through the darkness like lightning!

Her Power Sword was already drawn, and the blue light on its blade surged toward the cultists who were still alive.

She charged into the smoke from the explosion. Her Power Sword sliced through the air, every swing accompanied by a cultist's scream.

It was like chopping vegetables.

The cultists in the smoke couldn't see anything, nor could they mount any effective resistance.

Ten seconds later, Cecilia emerged from the smoke.

A little blood spattered her silver Power Armor. Her slit pupils gleamed golden in the darkness, and the blade of her Power Sword shone bright as snow.

"They're all dealt with," Sister said.

The first group of cultists to give chase had all fallen. They had cleared the enemies without taking any damage.

Iron Hammer gave Lin En a thumbs-up.

Awesome.

Plan successful.