69novels Page 102
Page 102
"Eliminate? Are you kidding me!?"
Yu Tozaki gripped the other person's collar even tighter, gritting her teeth as she spoke.
“Those with special powers can indeed die, but Hat and Kei Nagai are genuine demi-humans. Even if you blow them to dust with a missile, they can revive and swagger away! Hat’s incitement is too strong; he’s our primary target to capture!”
"This isn't a battle against criminals; it's a brutal war between humanity and another species! No matter the cost, we must capture Hat! Those with special powers don't matter, understand?!"
Upon hearing Tosaki Yu's words, the high-ranking official looked troubled and hesitated.
“But… given the current situation, the mobile units we’ve deployed… probably won’t be able to stop these people at all. Just dealing with Sato alone is difficult enough. If this continues…”
Although Tozaki Yu was very agitated at this moment, she knew in her heart that the other party's concerns were not unfounded.
He originally planned to set a trap, waiting for Sato and the group of humans with special powers to walk right into it. However, he made a fatal mistake: he underestimated Sato's strength, and even more so, he underestimated the group of mysterious people who appeared out of nowhere.
Although the members of the mobile unit successfully killed several humans with special abilities, this was not a victory, because after successfully killing a few targets, the mobile unit was still wiped out by the remaining comrades of the enemy.
Moreover, Tosaki Yu could tell that the people who were successfully killed by the mobile unit were completely incomparable to the four people he had just seen on the big screen. Just by looking at their calm and composed demeanor, their complete control, and their skillful tactical coordination, he knew that those four people were terrifyingly strong.
Perhaps those four were the ones who broke through the defenses of the Chiba Prefecture train station and instantly wiped out dozens of members of the mobile unit.
Yu Tosaki's plan was actually quite simple: first, pretend that the research base's central system had been successfully hacked; then, once Sato and those with special powers had all entered the research base, immediately restart the control system and turn the research base into a prison for these people through the heavy metal doors.
But now, he's starting to worry about something.
Can a mere metal gate really stop those guys with special powers?
He was originally very confident in his plan, but now he began to have doubts. After all, the tall, dark figure summoned by the other party could even withstand a volley of rifle bullets. Even if it possessed some kind of ability to forcibly break through the metal gate, it was not entirely impossible.
If Sato manages to use the opening created by this group to successfully take Nagai Kei away...
The members of the Naya Countermeasures Bureau's mobile unit essentially died in a meaningless way.
Just then, Izumi Shimomura, who was standing in front of the screen and serving as Yu Tosaki's bodyguard, but whose true identity was actually an Ajin, suddenly spoke up.
"Mr. Tozaki, the hat has encountered a group of people with special powers!"
"Ok?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Tozaki quickly went to the screen, and the technician zoomed in on the shot.
Because it was a camera attached to the tactical helmet of a deceased member of the mobile unit, the angle wasn't great, but you could still see several people standing not far away, all with wary expressions on their faces.
"You're Sato?"
One of the male players looked at the man, who was wearing a black combat suit and whose squinty eyes and a smile could be seen through the transparent front flap of his riot helmet, and who appeared to be between thirty and forty years old, and spoke in a cold voice.
"Get out of our way, we have no reason to be your enemy."
"Move aside...?"
Sato looked at the players in front of him and gave them a friendly smile.
"No, I'm going to kill you all."
"kill him!"
Upon hearing Sato's words, a player immediately raised his automatic rifle and took aim. As for the gun, it was of course picked up from beside the fallen members of the mobile unit, since at this stage, the killing power of most players' skills was far inferior to that of automatic rifle bullets.
Just as he raised his gun and before he could even aim, Sato drew his pistol from his waist with lightning speed and fired four shots in quick succession. Three of the shots hit the three players precisely between the eyebrows, while the first shot hit the shoulder of the player holding the automatic rifle.
"what!"
Suddenly in pain, the injured player's right arm drooped down, and the heavy automatic rifle fell to the ground.
He tried to raise his arm, but he couldn't muster any strength. When he looked up again, he saw that Sato, despite wearing a heavy combat suit, was as fast and agile as a ghost, already in front of him, with a gleaming military dagger pressed against his neck.
"tell me……"
Sato opened his narrow eyes slightly, a chill emanating from them.
"Who is the strongest among you?"
"You guy..."
Seeing a curved knife suddenly appear in the player's left hand, Sato immediately circled around the player's back, dislocating the player's left arm joint. Then, he kicked the player in the knee, grabbed the player's hair with one hand, and held the military knife in the other, keeping the player kneeling on the ground, and slowly slit the player's throat.
This extremely cruel scene caused the entire command and control room to fall silent.
"Boring, so boring."
After killing four players, Sato shook his head in slight disappointment. Without making any move, his black mobile combat suit suddenly disappeared, leaving only ordinary trousers, shoes, and a shirt.
"I even put on my gear, but after overcoming countless difficulties to try and get here, is this all the level of player strength you've ever seen? It's so boring."
Seeing Sato crouch down and search the bodies of the four people after killing them, and hearing his ambiguous words through the earpieces of the members of the Death Mobile Unit at the scene, Tosaki Yu frowned, then slowly spoke as if he had thought of something.
"Players? Could it be that... the people he calls 'players' are not allies, but enemies?"
At this point, Tosaki Yu looked at the technician sitting in front of the computer and gave an order very quickly.
"Reboot the central control system, locate the so-called 'players,' and lure Sato towards them by closing certain metal doors!"
Upon hearing this, Shimomura Izumi immediately realized what was happening and exclaimed in sudden understanding.
"Mr. Tozaki, are you going to make Sato and those players kill each other? I see..."
"Yes."
Yu Tozaki stared intently at the large screen that had restarted, displaying footage from various surveillance cameras throughout the research base, and gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"Although this will make the hat realize it's a trap, it's the only way. We can only gamble on that guy's ruthless nature; even knowing it's a trap, he'll still try to rescue Nagai Kei and kill those people with mysterious powers..."
……
Meanwhile, Asagiri and the others, who were venturing deeper into the research institute, noticed that the lights in the corridor had been turned on again.
"Has the system been restored to control...?"
Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly and murmured.
"Just as Phantom suspected, this was a trap set by the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau from the very beginning. They can regain control of the central system at any time, so by simply lowering the metal doors at each entrance, they can trap us and Sato inside..."
Upon hearing this, Asagiri chuckled and spoke.
"It is indeed a trap for Sato, but it has nothing to do with us."
After completing the level objective, players will be directly teleported back to the real world.
You've blocked the entrance and exit? What does that have to do with the players? Failing to complete the level objective is still a dead end, while completing it means you can just leave; there's no difference.
Just then, Asagiri and the others suddenly saw two people wearing white coats and masks running out from around the corner of the corridor. When they saw them, they were stunned for a moment, seemingly wanting to turn around and run away, but they stopped in their tracks, their eyes filled with despair and fear.
"researcher?"
Asagiri walked slowly over and looked at the two male researchers standing in front of him, trembling and almost crying. He spoke in a smiling voice.
"We're in luck. How about this, we'll skip the cruel torture procedures like sticking bamboo skewers into your eyes and cutting off your male organs. Just tell me where the experimental data in this research institute is stored and how to get there, okay?"
37
Chapter 37: There are also differences between players.
"I...we..."
Just as the two researchers were trembling and about to reply, a distinctly hurried sound of footsteps came from around the corner.
Without hesitation, Asagiri pulled the two researchers to their side, while Yuuki Asuna gripped her exorcist sword, ready to unleash her sword technique "Thrust" at the first sign of an enemy.
But as the footsteps grew closer and stopped behind the corner, only an ordinary-looking middle-aged man cautiously peeked out to observe.
"Hmm? You are..."
After he clearly saw Asagiri and the others standing there, he first pulled his head back, and then led five other players out from behind the corner.
Of the six players, only one was female, and the other five were male. One of the male players was carrying an automatic rifle belonging to a member of the mobile unit.
Asuna Yuuki, Megumi Kato, and Kotoko Iwanaga all noticed that the players' clothes were somewhat disheveled and dirty. It wasn't the kind of filth from blood, but rather the kind of disheveled look that came from fleeing a disaster.
Clearly, these six players were different from the group, Kaguya Shinomiya, and the other two teams involved in the discussion. They must have just arrived here and hadn't even had time to wash up or rest.
The relentless 24-hour escape not only left their clothes disheveled and dirty, but also caused bloodshot eyes, making them look quite like vengeful ghosts.
Two of the male players' expressions changed when they saw Asagiri wearing a dark gray mask.
"It's you?"
"Hey, you two, what a coincidence!"
Seeing this, both Kato Megumi and Iwanaga Kotoko looked somewhat puzzled, but Yuuki Asuna, who had met these two male players before, almost burst out laughing.
Just by listening to Asagiri's smiling tone, as if he were greeting an acquaintance on the street, one would really think that he and the two middle-aged male players were acquaintances or friends. But in reality... how should this relationship be described?
To put it nicely, it's called working together to beat the game; to put it bluntly, it's...
These two middle-aged male players were the ones who paid protection money to Asagiri during that zombie instance.
Among so many players and so many dungeons, they actually managed to encounter Morning Mist again; they were incredibly lucky.
"Do you know this person?"
Upon hearing the question from the other male player, the two middle-aged men exchanged a glance. Their tacit understanding as teammates allowed them to reach a consensus without needing to speak.
The next second, the two middle-aged male players looked at Asagiri standing there, squeezed out a standard corporate slave's smile to please his boss, and quickly spoke.
"Um... so you're here too. We won't disturb your progress any longer, goodbye!"
After saying this, before the four players could even react, the two middle-aged male players turned around and quickly left as if fleeing.
Faced with this sudden situation, the remaining four players were somewhat bewildered.
what is happening?
Although the two were random teammates who met on the run and decided to team up to conquer the dungeon, it's not like they just ran away without giving a reason, is it?
Besides, the two researchers are right there. If we can get the location information of the stored experimental data from them, we'll be able to clear the level in no time. Why run away at a time like this?
What the four players didn't know was that it was precisely because the two researchers knew the location of the experimental data that the middle-aged male office worker duo decided to make a quick getaway.
Are you kidding me?
That guy wearing the dark gray mask started collecting protection money in the first phase of the dungeon. Although I haven't seen him make a move, I can tell just by looking at his clothes. While I'm covered in dust and dirt like a refugee, he looks like he stepped out of a comic book, exuding an elegant and unhurried air.
Without a doubt, the opponent must be an incredibly strong player, at the top of the player food chain.
Trying to steal information about experimental data from someone like that? You'd definitely die!
As for cooperation... the two sides are not even in the same league, so what's the point of cooperation? Either they'll be killed by the other side or become cannon fodder for scouting. No matter which possibility it is, the end result is certain death.
Ultimately, the moment they saw the morning mist appear, the two middle-aged men had already completely given up on the idea of obtaining experimental data.
You'll have another chance to claim the rewards after completing the level, but you only have one life.
This is the cautiousness of a mature middle-aged person.
The other four players could vaguely sense that the guy wearing the dark gray mask and his companion were very strong, but they did not intend to leave just like that. After all, they had gone through all sorts of hardships to get to this place in order to obtain the highest level of completion rating and rewards.
"You're a player too, right?"
A male player, around thirty years old, looked at Asagiri, then turned his gaze to the two researchers standing behind him, trembling with fear and panic on their faces, and then spoke in a deep voice.
"We discovered them first."
"Um……"
Asagiri nodded first, then asked a question in return.
"so what?"
Upon hearing Asagiri's words, the male player frowned slightly, trying to maintain a calm tone.
"So, according to the rule of first come, first served..."
"What kind of rules are these? Don't make me laugh."
Asagiri didn't want to waste any time on these people, so she interrupted them and said in a flat tone.
"Your wisest choice now is to stop talking nonsense and turn around and leave. With your strength, you can only serve as cannon fodder to disperse the defense of the research base. Then place your hopes of passing the level on us. The greatest contribution you can make is not to hinder us."
"You guy..."
Hearing Asagiri's calm yet dismissive words as cannon fodder, the leading male player's face turned grim, and the player behind him, holding an automatic rifle, prepared to raise his gun and aim at Asagiri and the others.
But just as his arm had been raised a few centimeters, and before the muzzle of his gun had even been raised, a fleeting crimson flashed in his field of vision.
"Clap."