NIKKE, when the stars bloom

At Pepper's response, the two of them followed the old rules, moving north one after the other.

But soon...

Phoenix realized that the current situation was several times or even dozens of times worse than he had imagined.

Boom-! ! !

A huge marble table whizzed down from the sky, hit the outer wall of a building, and then broke apart and fell.

Then, another freezer flew out of sight...

That was a "handmade cannonball" that Xiaocao used to try to shoot down the transport plane or to force Baixue to dodge.

For several parties involved, these heavy flying objects were troublesome but not dangerous.

But for Phoenix and Pepper who were planning to advance northward, these shells were not much different from the howitzers that dropped randomly on the battlefield.

If one is unlucky, it is possible that he might be crushed to death on the spot.

【etc. 】

Holding Pepper's shoulder, the man hiding behind the counter waited patiently until the lame fish that had escaped the net in the alley ahead turned the corner. Then he stood up, bent over, crouched down and continued to move forward.

During this time, he did not forget to complain in his heart.

Besti’s fighting style is too rough. How can he leave any “enemies alive” when he has a missile container that can automatically search for enemies?

It's obvious that this is a preset search route without any careful thought!

Clang!!!

Just as Phoenix was tiptoeing along the wall, a mahogany table accidentally hit the wall diagonally above them.

Fortunately, they were lucky enough not to fall on their heads...

The two people who looked up had just begun to feel lucky, but the subsequent reaction caused by the collision of the table immediately made them realize that there is a law in the world called Murphy's Law.

Squeaky, squeaky, squeaky——

The huge billboard that was twenty or thirty meters long slowly fell down in front of Phoenix and Pepper because the screws were loose or it was due to aging. It was just because the wall was vibrating.

run!

Seeing this, the two of them retreated without thinking.

The billboard, which seemed to be collapsing very slowly but actually accelerated further as the angle changed, also cooperated very well, landing successfully the moment they ran out of range, just the right amount.

The deafening sound of the crash immediately filled the entire alley.

In the distance, perhaps sensing the provocation from the billboard, the roar of the electromagnetic cannon sounded unyieldingly.

Boom——!!!

"commander!"

Hearing Pepper's nervous and almost panicked voice, Phoenix, who had just escaped a disaster, felt as if his body was hit by a car and flew backwards before he could understand what was happening.

"Commander, are you hurt?! Please look at me, Commander!"

Hearing Pepper's cry in a daze, Phoenix almost thought that Snow White was using an electromagnetic cannon to attack him, but then he thought again and felt that something was wrong. If it was really an electromagnetic cannon aimed at him, then he would not even have the chance to hear the sound of the cannon.

"I...it's okay."

The man sat up with difficulty and was about to ask his field doctor what was going on, but his pupils, which had regained focus, saw Pepper's completely broken left calf.

Looking to the side, a "shell" as big as two pillows was lying quietly on the ground. Its broken appearance explained why it appeared here.

——Some stone object hit by the electromagnetic cannon.

"Lie down and don't move. Give me the gun and the smoke bomb!"

Phoenix quickly understood everything and staggered to his feet. After taking the shotgun and smoke bomb from Pepper, he gritted his teeth, turned around and rushed straight to the corner ahead.

Pepper can't run away...

If the lame Letcher, who only heard the noise, was allowed to return the same way, Pepper, who had difficulty moving, would surely die.

Therefore, he had to get rid of the lame Letcher before he came back.

Just a crippled Letcher,

Nothing to be afraid of.

I have killed at least a dozen mechanical spiders with my own hands, so there is really nothing to be afraid of.

Blood foam climbed up from the respiratory tract again due to the overly intense exercise.

Phoenix, who was running wildly, had his consciousness stuck at the corner, watching the two-meter-tall Letcher limping towards him...

Getting closer.

But it's not enough, for shotgun shells, this distance is still beyond the optimal range.

A little closer!

Staring at the Letcher on the other side of the wall with his mind, Phoenix threw the smoke bomb low.

Nothing to be afraid of.

boom!

The moment the smoke bomb left the bunker and appeared in front of Letcher, a machine gun bullet instantly blew it up on the spot.

Extremely hot white smoke filled the air with high temperature explosions, and along with it, there was a man with a gun in his left hand and bloodshot eyes.

boom!

There was a sudden gunshot, and the weak joint of Letcher's other front leg was torn into two pieces by the close-range shotgun bullet.

However, everything was not over yet. When the man was about to fall, the painless mechanical spider forcibly rotated its gun muzzle and sent a machine gun round into the outside of the man's arm in an almost retaliatory manner.

boom!

The right arm broke and flew backwards into the night sky, leaving a trail of scarlet blood.

Afterwards, Letcher finally fell to the ground with a bang. The machine gun, which could not be aimed downward at 90 degrees, could only fire in vain in all directions and could no longer hurt the human at all.

"spit!"

The pale-faced man spat all the foam in his mouth onto the ground. Then, he slowly turned his head and looked to the other side of the T-shaped intersection.

Pah pah pah pah——

There was a series of gunshots, and more than 20 meters in the sky, a flying Letcher that was hit to pieces fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

"Yes...I'm sorry."

Christine, who arrived late, stared blankly at the pair of fierce green eyes under the moonlight, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

"I'm late, Commander."

"It's okay. We are here earlier than Labi and the others."

The violent aura disappeared with Christine's apology. Someone smiled and raised his gun towards the intersection with his consciousness becoming increasingly blurred.

"Pepper's left leg is broken. Ahem... help her find a shelter quickly."

Chapter 19 Wait for Me

Nikki's existence is meaningless to Nikki.

All the meaning that Nikki thinks she has is nothing but shackles given to her by humans when they created her.

Therefore, Nikki does not need to pursue her ideals or think about the meaning of life. All she needs to do is to follow the control of the NIMPH nanorobots and ensure her meaningless survival while protecting humans.

After all, they are nothing more than tools used and discarded by humans.

but……

"why?"

Looking at the commander's broken arm that was still bleeding, Christine couldn't understand what was going on. So, desperate to get an answer, she picked up her gun and destroyed Letcher who was still firing, then turned sideways and looked at the corner of the intersection.

What came into view was Pepper's miserable appearance, biting her lip, her eyes red, and limping towards them.

"Why would you risk your life fighting a Letcher?"

"Because this Letcher heard us, but I couldn't carry Pepper, so..."

"commander!"

Just as Phoenix came to the intersection and tried to explain that he was not blindly fighting with Letcher, Pepper finally saw the appearance of her commander... and the missing right arm.

At this moment, the little doctor, who had been going smoothly all the way, finally realized how bloody it would be to fight Letcher.

Tears rolled down the girl's dusty cheeks like a broken pearl necklace, leaving two clear marks.

But for some reason, Pepper, who would have cried out loud under normal circumstances, just closed her eyes and wiped away the tears that she couldn't stop, sobbing:

"We need to stop the bleeding. Please...please cooperate with the treatment, Commander."

Christine, who ran to Pepper's side to help, turned around and asked in a low voice:

"Commander, your arm..."

"Oh, no need to pick it up."

The person involved urged with a pale face.

"It's impossible to heal a flocculent wound. Pepper, just use the curing hemostatic ointment, it's faster. The most urgent thing is to get away from the Letcher group."

Solidifying hemostatic ointment, a kind of medical black technology that is rarely used in the Ark. Once it comes into contact with blood, it will quickly coagulate at high temperature.

The advantage is that the bleeding can be stopped at an incredibly fast speed, but the disadvantage is that a small area of ​​the adhesion needs to be removed in subsequent treatment to ensure that there is no residue in the blood vessels.

As a result, most commanders are unwilling to use this life-saving device that "aggravates injuries" unless it is absolutely necessary.

However, since someone had already made the mental preparation to return to the Ark for amputation, he was quite open-minded about it.

If he didn't have to consider the political issues that would arise after Anis used the release agent, he really wanted to go back to the Ark and enjoy a long work-related injury vacation.

……

……

drip.

The headset sounded a reminder that the communication was successfully established, and Phoenix, who was receiving emergency treatment behind the bunker, finally heard many long-lost voices.

"Commander, this is Rabi."

"Third rate, I didn't expect you were still alive."

"...Yinhua, long time no see."

"...Tsk, why do you want to set up a public channel? Do you want us to cooperate with your disobedient Nikkis?

Stop being funny, third rate."

Phoenix didn't really want to get involved in the awkward relationship between Lapi and Yinhua. First, he was not familiar with Yinhua; second, Lapi's behavior of leaving without saying goodbye was indeed too outrageous, and even somewhat undermined his character as a soldier who strictly obeyed orders.

Put yourself in his shoes. In the middle of a battle, a teammate accidentally killed a civilian and left the team without saying a word. Not to mention that Yinhua couldn't stand it with his hot temper, he would probably have high blood pressure too.

"Well, I don't really want to know about your personal grudges on the ground."

Phoenix cleared his throat and gave orders at a very fast speed.

“Yinhua, the three of you land quickly. There is another group of Letchers coming around us. The number is between one hundred and one hundred and fifty. Your altitude makes it easy for them to be shot down.

Rabbi, you guys go south along Commercial Street Avenue and we'll meet you there.

Also, I need to communicate with that white-haired Nikki. Yinhua, try to help me set up a communication channel.

Please execute the above commands. Do you have any questions? "

"Orders received, Commander."

"...I understand, but I'm not sure I can get in touch with that Nikki."

"Understood, then everyone will follow the order."

……