Soon after the race, the grand clock on the ship makes a loud ringing, signalling the midday of the second day. The shops start their first wave of visitor reception after the vibrant night, although the traffic is not high yet. Mirai and I are occupying a bench in the corner of the invention room. I am waiting for her to analyse the camera footage and compile the statistics regarding the recent occurrences. Without any specialised tools to do data analysis, and with a supercomputer next to me, maybe even better than a supercomputer, I cannot perform any calculations, and I would not even attempt to do so. The only thing that Mirai shows me is a percentage bar that slowly runs to a hundred per cent. - How long until you finish the data analysis? - I start to feel impatient, as the bar starts to slow down. - I have very little data, you know? And I need to perform extra calculations to maximise accuracy, at the cost of time. Just find something around here to p
I return to my room and close all of the windows. After making sure that nobody is near, I make a call to Issac. The call is also encrypted to avoid any third parties, just in case. After a few seconds, the other side picks up the phone. - Hi, Issac. What happened? - Yuusha. This sounds a bit weird, but... Is my secret exposed? - Yes? - I hesitate a bit. - There is a group of armed people visiting the university, and they specify that they want to visit the head of the department of Applied Science. I do not think that something bad may happen, but, do you have any idea? - I do not have any. But why do you ask me? - These armed people asked about the Huntly Mine incident. I freeze for a few seconds. Issac continues. - But no worries. I am not, like, suspecting you or something. I am just a bit concerned for your safety. - Oh, thanks for that. - I sigh in relief. I feel the other side of the p
- Yuusha, wake up. We have some troubles. Big ones. - OK, give me a moment. It is three in the morning. I wake up, just to see something, I mean lots of "something", flying outside the window. Their lights flash through the window like an extravagant theatrical performance. People on the ship would think that these drones are a part of the cruise, so they would not care much. But for us, this ignorance is a threat. The drones can just roam about freely exactly because nobody cares. - Finally, you are awake. I think the situation now is quite self-explanatory, right? - Yes, I can see it very clearly. But what do you want us to do now? - I believe I have said it already. We will commence our operation now. So it is not just a dream. - Well, what are you waiting for? Go do your basic hygiene now. Time is crucial. - Fine, fine. It is not like I can argue with her regarding this matter. I quickly take a piss, bru
According to Mirai's data, this gate is the most unguarded one among five to six entrances. The primary gate automatically opens, leading us to a smaller room. After we enter the room, the primary gate closes tightly. Two high-pressure pumps drain all of the water inside the room, leaving a dry space. The verification machine of the secondary gate emerges from the ground, asking for identification. - Give me a minute. - Mirai gives me a pat of assurance on my shoulder and approaches the machine which is protruding from the ground. A few connecting wires grow from Mirai's left arm. She plugs the wires into the machine and performs a hack. In exactly one minute, the machine is disabled, and after the primary gate, the secondary gate opens. - Okay, done. - Mirai retracts her wires. - Nice. I know the outcome of Mirai's attempt by heart, but a compliment does not kill. As the gate opens, there are specks of light, enough for us to switch back to no
We use the walls of the opening to slide down to where the machine is located. Mirai takes out a tool kit and starts dismantling the rigid cover of the machine. From the real-time data sent by the drones, the whole town has been set on alert mode, and on the map, the empty streets have been filled with full of red dots, meaning that the Intruders are initiating an active search for us. The red dots are marching closer and closer to the central area, and it would be just five more minutes before they find us. - Yuusha, come here. - Yes. I bend down next to Mirai, who is using an electric chainsaw at maximum power and cutting layers after layers of the machine to expose the computer connection. - So now, what I am doing is I will launch a malware attack which would infect the entire system and disable every single machine like this in the area after I finish setting up. However, the malware would need direct access to be activated, so what I need y
- I see. I would help you fix all of the machines, but just a small favour. If you are chased already, try to lure all of them at once and hold your position until I can come for help. - Can. But please be quick. The message signal turns off. I stand in front of a humanoid, cybernetic Intruder holding a gun. - Finally, I found you! The higher-ups have planned to isolate the ship and assassinate you, but it seems that you are a step ahead. And you also waste not a small number of our forces. What an accomplishment. - The Intruder injects some sarcastic tone in his speech, but I know that otherwise, they are genuine. - Thanks. I have heard that countless times from your comrades, and you know their fate already, I assume. The Intruder seems unaffected by my boasting. - That is just a fluke. Right now, you are effectively trapped here. Just accept your fate. Straightforwardly, the Intruder points his gun at me. A red light beam i
After escaping the losing battle with the help of Mirai, we manage to sneak into a small, abandoned cabin, maybe at most ten metres square. Mirai seals all of the doors and sets up a barrier to deflect any signals toward the cabin. Then, we sit down in the centre of the room. We take out the protective suit. - What time is it up there, Mirai? - Late afternoon. About six o'clock. Now that she says it, sudden exhaustion strikes my body, quickly spreading throughout my body. I have been staying awake for quite a long time, and it is only now that the effect kicks in. - How long have I been running around? - Three hours. I am impressed that you can last for that long. And thanks to that I can finish the hacking. No Intruders are around. - Lucky. I almost get killed. - And you must thank the fact that I have encountered this type of Intruder before. Mirai takes out a bullet that resembles a metallic needle, with a blue li
I am forced to wake up by a rumbling that makes the whole cabin tremble. Then, I find my head lying on Mirai's lap. The weird softness makes me startled and sits up directly from the sleeping pose. So it is not a dream. - Good, you are awake. I think there is no need to explain right? - Besides the lap pillow, I would assume that the Intruders decide to level the whole central area. - Yes. Quickly gear up, we will bring this place down today. I wear the protective suit and put on my backpack. As soon as everything is ready, Mirai dismantles the barrier and we get out of the cabin. The place is like a mess, which is not what we saw before we entered the cabin. Besides the small buildings and stuff, the roads and plots of land have been completely ploughed up. They even go to the point of searching the underway. It is a miracle that they do not detect us. - Move with the way highlighted on your spectacle vision. We will head to the biggest