NIKKE, Swordmaster Ark Succubus Daily

Page 14

Ten minutes passed, and seeing that the commander still hadn't pulled the trigger, Lapi said, "Commander, if you really can't bring yourself to do it, I can do it for you..."

"It's just that my hands are shaking from exhaustion," Li Zuoyi declined Lapi's offer. "My strength has recovered somewhat."

At this moment, Marian reached out and gently supported the bottom of the rifle butt for the commander, so that the muzzle was pointing at him.

“Commander, thank you, so there’s no need to feel too burdened,” Marian said softly.

She didn't want the commander to be saddened or upset because of her.

The commander has a future, and the Ark needs him; he shouldn't let this kind of thing hold him back.

“It seems my awareness isn’t high enough.” Li Zuoyi’s tense shoulders relaxed, he sighed, and then looked earnestly into Marian’s eyes, saying:

"Marianne, it might hurt a little later."

“As long as the commander is watching me, it doesn’t hurt at all,” Marian said with a smile.

Li Zuo nodded slightly; it was time to make the necessary adjustments.

then,

He took a sudden step forward, kicking up dust, and quickly raised the pistol above his head. With his newly recovered strength, he swung his arm in a blur, the butt of the pistol smashing straight down on Marian's head.

‘Boom——’

The lingering sound echoed through the air, lingering for a long time.

Marian smiled, rolled the whites of her eyes, and fainted.

"Phew—I've really worked hard." Li Zuoyi wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Mihara and Yuni, who were just shedding tears, seemed to freeze up at this moment.

Lapi, standing to the side, began to doubt the correct use of the gun.

"Ahhh, ahhh, what did you do?!" Anis ran to Marian's side and helped her up, as she was already unconscious.

"Execution?"

"Don't look to the side! I'm serious!" Anis shouted at the commander.

"I remember telling you guys, I would never point a gun at my own teammates."

Li Zuoyi grunted twice, then got into position to throw the gun.

But remembering Lhapi's teachings that they were still on the ground and that firepower and supplies were very important, he reluctantly withdrew his thoughts.

“At such a special time! At such a time…” Anies opened his mouth but couldn’t finish his sentence.

She didn't want Marian to be executed either!

But Marianne was corrupted!

There's nothing we can do about it!

But she couldn't bring herself to say those words.

“Even if you don’t execute her, she will soon be completely corrupted.” Pilgrim Snow said after a brief moment of surprise, “At that time, she will not be herself, but just a Lecher.”

“At that time, I will kill Lecher and avenge her.” Li Zuoyi turned around and looked at the pilgrim. “You don’t need to persuade me. I have my own principles.”

"Really? Then let's do it your way."

Bai Xue turned and left, not intending to linger any longer; she had already confirmed what she wanted to confirm.

She said in a voice only she could hear, "That's just like you, Commander."

Li Zuo scratched his face, looking at the pilgrim's back, feeling that he looked somewhat familiar.

However, he had never actually seen the pilgrim; it was probably just a feeling of déjà vu.

Chapter Eighteen: Anik's Mission

night,

Outpost

The rooftop of the commander's office building.

Li Zuoyi likes to lean against the railing here and enjoy the scenery.

Because of its proximity to the ground, the height advantage allows him to see most of the ark.

Whether prosperous or impoverished, beautiful or ugly, it all comes into view.

This is the place that the Goddess Force fought to protect with their lives.

Although he was a member of the Goddess Force, all he remembered now was his original Niki—Lilivis.

Forced to erase his memories, he forgot his important companions. This pain will one day make those bastards who betrayed them pay the price.

Li Zuo stretched and yawned; he wasn't in a hurry at all.

Even Ethel, who was kicked out of the upper echelons, is still alive, so everyone else must be trying to survive as well.

Thinking about this made him feel a little better.

Marian is the most important person right now.

Li Zuo took her back to the outpost, but he hasn't told anyone on the Ark about her condition yet.

Only Anick, who is almost omniscient and omnipotent on the Ark, should know this.

But Anick hasn't messaged or called him yet. Is he busy with other things?

Li Zuo stared straight at his phone screen, his expression as cold and stern as a rock.

Or perhaps, she's afraid to come to him?

'Didi didi didi'

My phone rang; the caller ID showed Anderson.

Li Zuoyi answered the phone: "Is this to inform me that the mission failed because we didn't capture Xiao Cao, and I'm going to be punished?"

Missilis's original mission was to capture Roar, not to bring back Roar whose head was missing and whose core was destroyed.

Given how petty Shuen is, I doubt he'll find a way to berate him in the meeting.

Now he just hopes they won't swallow up the remaining tenth of the money they had before.

The girls' dorms really need a renovation.

Otherwise, the bathroom would be occupied by the girls every night, and he would always be the last one to go in.

It's really too much.

"……no."

Anderson's voice sounded tired, and the meeting must have been quite protracted.

"First of all, thank you for your contributions, Commander Li Zuoyi. You have brought invaluable research data to Ark." Anderson forced a smile. "Ark and the three major companies will reward you."

Anderson said a number, and Li Zuoyi's eyes lit up.

With this money, not only could we get a water pipe installed, we could even rebuild Niki's dorm.

"It feels pretty good." Li Zuo nodded.

"Many people, including Shuen, didn't expect you to capture Xiao Cao on this mission, let alone bring its body back to the Ark. They only hoped that you would come back alive."

"what happened?"

“Actually, we sent out many Nikki squads to investigate the noise before,” Anderson said. “But none of them came back; we lost contact with them all, including some elite squads.”

Therefore, at the initial meeting, Anderson disagreed with sending Li Zuoyi to the ground to carry out such a dangerous mission.

No matter how special Li Zuoyi's abilities are, he is still just a rookie commander.

However, Li Zuoyi also bears undeniable responsibility for Shu En's situation. If he is not dealt with, future management will be extremely difficult.

Compared to the certain death of being exiled directly from the Ark, participating in the noisy capture mission at least offers a sliver of hope for survival.

But things took an unexpected turn.

“But you have turned the impossible into reality.” Anderson’s tone relaxed: “The Ark not only has the special Tyrant model Lecher, but the team’s survival rate is also 100%. This is a miracle.”

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there will be a casualty soon," Li Zuoyi said.

He still intended to give Anderson a heads-up.

"What do you mean?" Anderson asked, puzzled. Everyone had clearly returned to the Ark safely.

"Are you alone right now?" Li Zuoyi wanted to confirm that Anderson was the only one who knew about this for the time being.

'buzz'

His phone vibrated; someone had sent him a message.

Li Zuo glanced at the message; it was from Anick: "[He's all alone.]"

Anik, you were watching after all.

“Yes, it’s just me,” Anderson replied.

“Marianne has been corrupted.” Li Zuoyi said as if he were talking about something trivial.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

The only sound coming from the earpiece was a faint static noise caused by a poor signal.

"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up," Li Zuoyi said.

"How could nothing happen?! Do you know what you're doing?"

You could tell Anderson was speaking in a low voice.

"Don't worry, I won't let her go to the Ark. Her activities will be limited to the outpost." Li Zuoyi explained his plan: "When she is no longer Marian, I will execute her."

The complete erosion meant that Marianne was dead; he had merely killed one of Lecher's.

"Do you know how much security this poses to the Ark?" Anderson's composure forced him to remain calm. "The corrupted Niki might summon her companions, and if the Ark's coordinates are exposed then..."

"Why do you think the coordinates of the Ark weren't exposed before?" Li Zuoyi asked in return.

"..."

"The lives of nearly 100 million people, the constant electromagnetic activity, and the Ark's century-long mission to reclaim the land—do you really think Leitch can't find the Ark?"

Li Zuoyi's words left Anderson speechless for a moment.

“You’re right. The Ark should have been exposed long ago, but Lecher never assembled an attack.” Anderson clearly already knew the reason.

But humans tend to have a sense of wishful thinking; what if Lecher hadn't discovered it?

As long as this possibility exists, humanity can continue to live with a clear conscience.

“But have you thought about yourself? If others find out that you brought back the corrupted Niki without permission, do you know the consequences?” Anderson said.

Military law will be applied, the commander will be stripped of his command, and in serious cases, he may even be imprisoned in a reformatory.

Li Zuoyi was well aware of all of this.

"That's why I already told Vice Commander Anderson."

“You really are…just a troublemaker, including with Shuen.”

"But compared to the favors you might ask me to do in the future, this is nothing, isn't it?" Li Zuoyi's voice changed, becoming as cunning as a fox.

Although he had no idea what Anderson wanted him to do.

"That's all for now, I'll be attending another event."

The phone hangs up.

Anik seamlessly transitioned into the role.

However, she did not say anything.

“I thought you would never come to see me again,” Li Zuoyi began.

“There are many other things on the Ark that I need to take care of,” Anick said, as usual.