Bait

"That's about it. We'll only have two minutes to escape. Over the next two days, we can find a few more hiding places, like caves, more than three kilometers away and stash some food and water there in advance.

"The nuclear bomb is deep in the canyon. The shock wave will first travel north and south along the cliffs, so that supposed lethal radius of 4.2 kilometers is only theoretical. In short, run as far as you can and get under cover before the shock wave arrives."

Nick gently stroked the girl's shoulder with his fingers, feeling her smooth, delicate skin, and found his attention wandering a little.

They were both white, so why was the hair on his arms so thick that even mosquitoes couldn't land properly, while Dahlia's skin was as smooth and fine as an Asian person's?

"That's a nuclear bomb. Are you sure we won't get leukemia or cancer after leaving this world?" Dahlia's voice was barely above a mosquito's hum, and she gave a languid yawn.

She was starting to regret her terrible idea. After a certain someone had switched on cheat mode, she, who had originally been fairly evenly matched with him, had all but crumbled under his sustained offensive. Now she was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Of course not. You can think of it as a kind of rebirth. You know, the first time, I actually..." Nick stopped abruptly halfway through.

"What is it?" Feeling him stiffen for an instant, Dahlia forced herself to perk up and pushed against his chest to lift her head slightly.

Nick sighed. The word cancer had suddenly reminded him of something else. "I just remembered that I'll have to wait until next time to try my luck with Aunt Mary's illness. I just don't know whether I can reproduce that charging method from before."

Dahlia didn't make a fuss or offer empty words about how it was all her fault he had lost his mission reward.

Since Nick was willing to say something like that openly, he clearly hadn't meant it that way. Besides, he had already said he only wanted to try his luck.

The Magic Movie Ticket wasn't some omnipotent wish-granting machine. Although it seemed fairly accommodating and would give him a little reward even if he failed a mission, it had never offered Nick any choices about what those rewards would be. He didn't even have the option to refuse.

"Didn't that Movie Ticket turn into some kind of joint ticket?" Dahlia comforted him softly. "Then I can go with you the next time it activates. Maybe the two of us will have an easier time completing the mission."

Nick looked down at the girl nestled meekly in his arms like a kitten and couldn't resist planting a light kiss on her forehead. "We'll see. At least for now, I don't want to go through another nightmare like that."

As though recalling those scenes in the canyon that looked like illustrations of hell, they both shuddered and involuntarily held each other a little tighter.

A moment later, Dahlia's whisper reached Nick's ear like murmured words in a dream. "If all of this is just a fictional movie, all I ask is that you remember me. At least those memories will prove I once existed."

Nick felt those words stab hard into the softest part of his heart.

For an instant, he seemed to understand something. Perhaps Dahlia had never believed anything he had said from the very beginning. Her insatiable demands during the time since they had escaped danger hadn't simply been a way to vent. More than that, as she had just said, she wanted him to remember her.

An uncontrollable panic immediately rose in Nick's heart. He gently took the girl's pretty chin between his fingers and met her eyes.

"Although some things might be impossible to explain, I believe that both your world and mine really exist. We aren't virtual people, let alone 'brains in vats'..."

What he said next grew somewhat incoherent, full of difficult theories about parallel worlds and film and television being nothing more than projections between neighboring worlds.

"So no matter what, you have to stick with me until the end. No, we need to change our plan. Once everything is set up, you have to stay with me..."

Smiling, Dahlia pressed her index finger to Nick's lips, stopping him from saying anything more.

"No. We'll follow your original plan. That gives us the best chance of success. I'm not as fragile as you think. Whether it's fiction or reality, whether I'm following fate or fighting it, I'll only act according to my own wishes."

Three days later.

"This is West Tower with an urgent report. Please respond if you read me."

Nick repeated the call twice. After a long while, the same strange voice, altered by an electronic voice changer, came from the other end. "Roger. State your authentication code."

After he recited the authentication code, the other end paused briefly before asking, "What happened?"

Nick made his tone sound somewhat hurried. "One of the Hollow Men managed to escape the canyon, but I've captured it. Requesting instructions."

The voice on the other end showed no emotional fluctuation whatsoever. "Do I need to repeat your mission, Levi Kane? Shoot it dead, throw the body back into the canyon, and forget this ever happened."

Nick "hesitated" for a moment, then spoke again before the other person lost patience. "Are you sure? But that monster can actually talk. It keeps repeating Captain Bradford Shaw's name."

"What?!"

The exclamation slipped out from the other end, but the voice cut off abruptly.

Meanwhile, seated in front of the radio, Nick raised an eyebrow, his face otherwise expressionless. The reaction was exactly what he had expected.

Time ticked slowly by. One minute... two minutes... five minutes. Finally, a familiar elderly woman's voice came over the radio.

"Rivi, please repeat your report." Although he could only hear her voice over the radio, Nick could still picture the older version of Ripley on the other end, forcing herself to remain calm.

"I captured a Hollow Man that can talk. It keeps repeating the name Captain Bradford Shaw. I get the feeling this thing has some ability to think. Are you sure you need me to shoot it?"

The older Ripley didn't answer his question right away. Instead, she abruptly asked, "Have you been down into the canyon?"

Even so, Nick knew she had taken the bait. "No, but I previously witnessed a drone flying out of the canyon. That belonged to your military, didn't it?"

"You don't sound curious about any of this. May I know why, Rivi?" the older Ripley continued.

"From the day I joined the army, I was told that I only needed to follow orders, not ask questions." Although he had prepared his response long beforehand, Nick still silently gave himself a thumbs-up for that answer. It was simply a perfect fit for his identity as Rivi.

"You're a good man, Rivi. Keep that thing under control. Under no circumstances can you let it escape. As long as you can do that, not only can you finish this assignment early, but your pay will also be doubled."

"I'll get it done," Nick immediately assured her.

"Over and out. Thank you for everything you've done for your country, Rivi."

"Over and out."

Nick switched off the radio, picked up the writing board beside him, and wrote, "Everything went smoothly. Proceed according to plan." Smiling, he held it up and walked toward the observation terrace.