Poverty makes me capable of anything.

In this way, Anran would eventually lose sight of the big man as she walked.

But that's not a problem.

She had already left behind nano-detection robots.

An Ran discovered that the big man had arrived at what appeared to be a liaison area.

He looked around nervously again.

After confirming that no one was around, I started contacting someone.

once……

The signal is poor.

Second time...

No one heard.

three times……

"Hello! The number you dialed is currently busy. Please try again later. Sorry! The subscriber..."

Ok?

The big man's eyes widened.

The notification sound is still the same.

But what on earth is this nonsense?

He had never heard such a strange prompt before.

I refuse to believe in superstition.

"Hello! The number you dialed is not in service..."

Feel the despair of not being able to get through on the phone!

An Ran also provides more than a dozen different voice options to ensure he'll be driven to despair.

why!

The big man had already realized that something was wrong.

The prompts during the call were a fixed procedure, but the prompts changed, which means that the procedure has been tampered with.

So he...

"do not move!"

A hard...knife was pressed against the big man's back.

"Let me see who you want to contact."

A hand reached out from the side and behind.

The big man remembered very clearly that it was An Ran's hand.

Oh shit, it's over.

He wanted to go and check on the situation.

But I didn't expect that something had actually happened.

"Alright, arrest them now."

Just then, a group of people suddenly rushed out from the corner, led by Liz.

As soon as they arrived, they seized the burly man the moment An Ran let go.

This is so sudden.

In his panic, the burly man shouted, "What right do you have to arrest me?"

"Why should I? You know perfectly well what I'm doing." Liz sneered.

"I understand? What do I understand? You have no right to arrest me, pfft..."

Liz turned around and punched him hard, right in the face.

He sneered, "I said I'd arrest you, so what? You don't like it? Heh."

"I will sue you."

Liz wiped her hands: "You don't have that chance anymore. Where do you think this is? This is a shipping lane far from the Central Region. Once we confirm you're a spy sent from there, things will be easy. Just kill you and throw you out there."

"Do not……"

The big man tried to shout something more, but his mouth was quickly gagged.

The arresting officers didn't take action there; instead, they dragged the big man away.

Anran looked at Liz, waiting for a more detailed explanation.

The game's sudden notification that a hidden quest had been completed made her realize that the burly man was someone planted by the Third Prince.

The mission rewards weren't much—just over four million experience points and a small set of excavation tools, not very useful. However, the items rewarded by the game were rated quite well, so I'll just treat them as Ella's late-night snack.

“We suspected from the start that there were spies on the Forward, and it just so happens that we were escorting you away this time. So after the Forward left Aix-en-Provence, we deliberately leaked the news that you would be coming,” Liz explained.

She seemed a little embarrassed.

It's a common tactic.

An Ran sighed inwardly.

Can I ask you a question?

At this point, Anran asked a question, and Liz felt embarrassed to refuse: "Go ahead and ask."

"What exactly are the members of the Holy Church trying to do? Why are you cooperating with them?"

"I can answer your previous question."

"Can't we have two?"

Only one is allowed.

"Then let's go with the one in the back."

Anran began to consult with Liz about negotiating the price.

Let's answer the first one.

"The one behind..."

I refuse to [do something].

Having only said half of the word "return," Anran quickly abandoned her bargaining strategy.

"Then let's answer the first one."

"The headquarters of the Mechanicus is in the Tetana region. The relationship between the Holy Church and the Mechanicus has always been unclear. They may be planning to take action this time."

Liz gave a look that said, "You understand now."

This time, An Ran truly understood.

The void was resealed by the technology of the "Mechanical Church".

Perhaps because the Royal Knights were pressing them too hard, the Holy Church felt they could no longer wait and had to act first to obtain a way to break the new seal.

As for why the Holy Church would collude with the Ninth Expeditionary Force, that's hard to say.

"So this time..."

"We're just going on patrol; we don't want to get involved in anything else, and the current Ninth Expeditionary Force can't handle it either."

An Ran nodded secretly.

She is on the side of the Mechanical Vatican.

There are many intricate connections between them.

After the incident last time, the Mechanical Church contracted its forces, and many of its dispatched personnel returned to headquarters.

If the Holy Church really manages to dismantle the Mechanized Vatican, rebuilding it will be very difficult.

Considering her own situation, Anran could not allow the Holy Church to release the void ahead of schedule.

"I have to tell them the situation secretly."

While the Go Forward was resupplying at a stop along the way, Anran quietly put Ella down.

"This time, it's all thanks to you, Ella!" Anran said with a serious expression.

Standing before her was the real Ella, with an Ella replica made of mechanical puppets beside her.

"I'm sure I'll complete the mission successfully!"

Ella patted her chest, which was even flatter than Anran's.

She left just like that.

At a nearby civil aviation station, I boarded the fastest spacecraft, the "Fast Forward," and arrived in the Tetana region.

Meanwhile, inside the Forward, the two members of the Holy Church, completely unaware of this, continued to look at Anran and Ella with disdain every day as they were flattered by a group of people.

He would say it every now and then.

"shallow!"

Oh man.

Chapter 27 Long Time No See

Tetana region.

The peaceful atmosphere was interspersed with occasional noise.

The civilian spacecraft is docked at the airport.

As soon as the hatch opened, Ella rushed out.