"Do you know? When that damn Stellaron erupted, our Old District Police Department was the first to respond. And the result...? We were the closest, and we were the first to go..."
Knight's face was etched with bitterness. He could never forget that day...
The Stellaron erupted from within the Legendary Tower, and the energy it released dragged the entirety of Punklorde into a dark corner of the universe. From that moment on, their nightmare began...
Countless citizens transformed into half-human, half-machine monsters. They spread out in all directions with the Legendary Tower as their epicenter. By the time the police arrived, many civilians had already been devoured alive by those man-eating beasts... All they could do was use all their strength to cover the others as they retreated to the Old District. The price for that was...
"The Old District Special Armed Forces... wiped out. Tactical teams... wiped out. Only a fifth of our officers remained, and even they were lost in the final defense of the Old District..."
At this point, he no longer cared how awful the ginger beer tasted. Forcibly suppressing the grief in his heart, he grabbed the bottle from the floor and took a long, hard swig. A burning sensation instantly filled his throat, and tears streamed from the corners of his eyes, whether from the spiciness or... something else.
"They all call me an old popsicle, the kind whose tear ducts are frozen solid. But I don't think... it ever got that bad."
Knight gave a bitter smile. It was a miracle he had survived this long. Even the coldest person would melt in the face of such overwhelming flames...
"Do you understand what I'm saying? If it's just the few of you, you'd better give up on going to the Legendary Tower. Otherwise, you'll just be throwing your lives away... The situation in the New District is about the same. They've lost almost everyone. I hear they've even hired some hackers recently... Heh, if only all hackers were as good as Miss Meryl..."
"..."
Looking at the middle-aged man before him, Wende was at a loss for words. In the end, he could only offer a hasty thank you before leaving the tent.
"Aren't you going to ask how to get to that... Legendary Tower?" Jingliu asked softly, looking at Wende.
"No. He won't tell us."
Wende shook his head slightly, recalling the expression on Knight's face. That pain wasn't fake... Asking him about the Legendary Tower right now would be like poking a raw nerve.
"Let's go ask Miss Meryl. She might have a way."
But before that...
Wende saw the wounded in another tent. Out of professional obligation, he sighed and walked inside.
---o---
Inside the Punklorde New District Police Department, Himeko and Topaz sat on leather chairs, having a [meeting regarding the current situation on Punklorde and potential solutions] with the police chief across from them.
Outside the meeting room, Stelle and March 7th were wandering around the station. The place was absurdly large, almost like...
"What? This police station was converted from an abandoned museum? Wh-what..."
After learning this from an officer, March fearfully grabbed onto Stelle's shoulder.
"Is... is it really that kind of setup? This police station... is it really safe? Wait... doesn't this remind you of that one horror game where the police station was also a museum?"
"Oh? It seems this young lady is quite knowledgeable, to even know about such an ancient game."
A nearby officer with sunglasses pushed them up his nose and struck up a conversation with March.
"They say the former police chief was inspired by that very game, which is why he decided to set up the station in an abandoned museum. It saved a ton of money, and it also saved them the demolition costs when the New District was being rebuilt."
"Tsk... Why do I get the feeling there's a hidden meaning in your words?" Stelle shot a displeased look at the man. That tone, and that overly familiar way of speaking... she felt like she'd seen it somewhere before.
"Ahahaha, you're too kind, miss. I'm just a humble external contractor. Besides, that chief disappeared in the Legendary Tower along with all the other higher-ups from Punklorde. As for what's happening now... who knows?"
At the time of the Stellaron's eruption, Punklorde's entire senior leadership had, by a stroke of sheer coincidence, gathered in the Legendary Tower for a meeting. And then... there was no 'and then.'
Thanks to that, the situation on Punklorde was able to temporarily stabilize. If not for that... it's likely that neither the new nor the old districts would have been saved...
---o---
"Holy crap. So the entire upper brass went to meet the legends of Punklorde? They're totally dead!"
Dogzi watched the main story unfold with a speechless expression. This was proof that you should always pick an auspicious location for team-building meetings.
Think about it. The Legendary Tower is where they store the Aether Cartridges of the Legends, right? And the cartridges are what's left after a Legend dies, right? So, doing the math, isn't the Legendary Tower basically their cemetery? So you're telling me they held a meeting in a cemetery?
Even though the plot on Punklorde seemed tragic, at this part... she really wanted to laugh! What was she supposed to do!
---o---
Stelle and March continued to wander around the police station. It had to be said, the place was truly massive. And according to a friendly female officer, they had even added a number of underground levels to recreate the game...
"Why is this feeling of déjà vu getting stronger and stronger?" March subconsciously rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling a chill.
"...So, what are you two doing?"
"Waaah!!!"
Dan Heng, who had appeared out of nowhere, spoke quietly from beside them, scaring the daylights out of March, who was deep in a tense, self-induced fantasy.
"Dan Heng! You scared me to death!" March yelled, puffing out her cheeks.
Dan Heng (turns his head away).
"Hey! Don't just act like nothing happened!"
CRASH...
"Stelle! What are you doing!? Don't just go around breaking people's flowerpots!"
"Uh... sorry, impulse took over. It fell on its own!"
"Like hell it did!"