Well, that is uncalled for.
- Stop right there, you filthy loiterer. - Mirai provokes the Intruder while pointing the rifle's barrel at him. The red laser pins its forehead like a menacing beast.
- With all this disguise, you can still see through my identity. So I can conclude that you have wreaked all sorts of trouble on us lately, can't I?
The Intruder seems not to look down on this individual among all the humans it deems lowly. It averts its eyes from the drone towards the figure that is pointing a gun at it. However, despite showing wariness, it keeps its composure, shown by its tone when responding to Mirai's provocation.
- So what? Any sane person on Earth will try to stop you should they know what you are planning.
Mirai has already switched to combat mod
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You do not need to be a professional engineer to know that what we see down here is not a drainage system. According to my hypothesis, the Intruders build an entire structure under Cairo to react to anomalies, with entrances in the guise of manhole covers. But it should not be the case, as if they did so, they would have been discovered. - Yuusha, you have to check this. Mirai looks very surprised as she sees what unveils in front of us, but it is not because of the unexpected view. She projects her vision onto the ground. The map is of the North African region. And the blue arrow that marks our coordinate is in... - Wait, we are directly inside their underground base? - I am also surprised by the revelation. - Yes. The manhole cover is used as a temporary portal that links the
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As soon as the connection to the outside is recovered, Mirai immediately redirects satellite weapons towards the various locations in the Sahara desert. Even if they fail, this is one of their last bet. Then, a subspace of the arsenal is formed, directly linked with the main arsenal. She will transfer weaponry for as long as the link lasts. Meanwhile, the continuous and reverberating pulses immobilise the Intruder units, buying a barely sufficient time frame for us to break through their formation once more. To maximise speed, I switch to a photon submachine gun. - Yuusha, we will try to escape this base first. I have transferred the teleportation port into the subspace, as well as more items for you to use against their numbers. Please help me hold them off for another five minutes. - I will try. But please be fast. Mirai turns
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Once again, the entire city of Cairo is under the intense scrutiny of the Intruder forces, in a rather desperate attempt to find us. While to the naked eye, nothing can be seen in the sky, with Mirai's real-time information from the satellites, the drone density is higher than any numbers we have ever recorded. Thus, Mirai is effectively stuck in the hotel. And that is not our only concern. - According to the arsenal data, we have lost fifty per cent of our aerial units. Fifteen per cent of them suffer minor to major damage, and ten per cent needs recharging. For the throwables and ammunition, half of our supply has been depleted over the past few weeks. On top of that, the teleportation station is still there. The next batch of supplies will come after more than a week. At least, I manage to sneak a few kilogrammes of gravitational charge material... Murmuring to herself, Mirai looks at th
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For the rest of the week, Mirai has been busy working, whether in my room or the working lounge of the hotel. She has been restricting her movements outside as much as possible to avoid the frequently patrolling drones. I do not know what she has been working on, but I hope that it is to address our 'pathetic budget'. I am watching the news on the television. There are recently all sorts of news reports referring to 'A Mysterious Disease spreading in Cairo' and 'Irregular Activities' that deluge all of the headlines. There has been a record-high Intruder presence in the area, showing how determined they are in trying to kill us. At this point, I believe the information about us has spread to the entire Intruder forces occupied on Earth. It is the weekend, so I might as well do something rejuvenating. The hotel offers some spectacular massaging services, and I find no reason not to indulge myself in a free treat using the premium key card. I head
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- What the hell do you think, barging into the men's massage area? If you want a massage, at least wait first. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Mirai stands in front of me with the tablet, while I am effectively half-naked. After getting startled, I quickly jump from the bed and wear the linen suit. Mirai presses the screen of the tablet to my face as if I am extremely myopic. - See these numbers? Something is already going on. We need to hurry! - At least wait until I get out of this massage room first, can you? I have to cut short my session. After paying an apology to the massage worker, I head to the changing room where I put back on my normal clothes and go out of the lobby, where Mirai is already impatiently waiting. - What do you think w
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The blinding flash slowly fades and the scene of a slightly damaged underground base materialises in front of our eyes. This means that the Intruders have insufficient time to repair the damages from the last time, but instead they choose to pursue us as a higher-level threat. - All connections are stable. A third of our remaining units are stationed on top of the base in the Sahara desert region. Ready to engage in combat. - Mirai updates me on our formation. - Nice. All set. Ready to enter deeper, Mirai? - Yes. According to the Intruders' density, we will follow strategy A. Split up and follow this highlighted route. I will send further instructions. The portal again leads us to the Intruders' dormitory. We then split into two different directions, aiming for the central region to take control over i
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 70 - Desert Artefact (part 18)
It does not take long for me to reach Mirai, who is lockpicking a door to a building when I see her. - So, would you mind elaborating on your next phase? - After we cut their reinforcements, I will attempt to breach the security of this base. Meanwhile, you destroy their remaining forces. If we succeed, we will move to the third phase. - Okay, how many phases do we even have in your plan? - Enough so that the word 'phase' is in its plural form. I do not see any point in trying to be evasive. But sure. After a few minutes, Mirai successfully opens the door, and we enter the building. Again, it does not take long before we reach the control room after climbing a long flight of stairs. Mirai injects a cable from her hand into one of the ports. Despite a d
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In the dim light of the electric factory, there stand two individuals, one with wisdom and logic, the other with mysteries. Mirai has soon known that even with a forty-five years' worth of advantage, she would still struggle fighting head-on with an Intruder whose overall rating reaches the ninety band. Whatever happens next further confirms her fear. Behind the Intruder, she can see the dark, faint shape of some large weapon-like machine, characteristic of a Scientist class. To remind you, besides ratings, Intruders are also split into classes, the Physical, the Engineer, the Technician, the Scientist, and the Commander, in increasing power and authority order. Intruders with higher ratings are eligible for higher classes. However, the Intruder is showing a very calm expression. The entrance to the electric factory is not shut. It does not plan to trap Mirai here. Rather, it is just a display of an overwhelming power gap, where the aura of the Intruder itself is telling Mirai that
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