TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
===BREAK===
"It's gone!?"
Soukaku reached out to touch the light points, but there was no sensation at all. "Just like the enemies in the previous test."
"Judging from this, his control over this world has indeed reached a considerable level," Tsukishiro Yanagi said, her expression grave and serious.
"To be able to infiltrate the HIA system, the hacker skills must be extraordinary, and given how meticulously he's handling us, it must be the recently notorious group called [Null_Face]."
Not long ago, the legendary Proxy Phaethon had mysteriously disappeared.
They were the leader of the freelance investigation group who loved participating in Scott Outpost missions.
After the Bringer incident, Sol connected the dots, and now Belle often trains with Hoshimi Miyabi.
After Phaethon started using a secondary account, [Null_Face] became one of the most active top-tier Proxies on the Inter-Knot and a key focus for Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
"If it's them, then this is going to be tricky," Harumasa sighed, his tone tinged with grievance. "This is their home turf. they're the enemy in the shadows while we're out in the open… looks like we're facing a life-or-death crisis."
He had only just recovered his health, and now he was thrust into this situation.
Was this his cursed fate? Or had he eaten too many of Soukaku's candies and was now getting his comeuppance?
He suffered it with amusement, showing no sign of fear.
"It's not that dangerous. [Null_Face] hates us, sure, and they're ruthless—but they're not the type who babbles like in the movies."
"If they really had the ability to casually kill us, we'd have died the moment we entered the VR system," Yanagi said, adjusting her glasses, her mature and beautiful face calm and composed.
Most of the time, only those without confidence put on a show. Only a rare few truly toy with their prey.
But in situations like this, the former is almost always correct—they wouldn't give up.
"That's true," Harumasa nodded, growing serious. "They let us test through three levels first, then suddenly paused the stage. That means, until that point, control of the VR world was still in HIA's hands."
"Now, we still have time to dismantle their trap. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to guide us here."
He began pondering ways to escape this VR world.
Unfortunately, this mission had a legitimate origin and was a cooperative task with allied units—there shouldn't have been any danger.
He hadn't done any special prep, since he wasn't familiar with VR systems.
Looks like for every mission from now on, he'll need to be fully prepared. He had only relaxed this once, and now he was stuck in this awkward position.
In a city like New Eridu, filled with hidden currents, perhaps only someone like Sol Mercer could act at will.
"But, Yanagi, this place is huge. How are we supposed to find the exit?"
Soukaku scratched her head, utterly confused, her energy nowhere to channel.
The entire HIA Club was empty, and outside, Lumina Square still stretched endlessly.
She could name all the good food spots and find them easily, but locating an exit in this VR world? Not her specialty.
For a moment, things reached an impasse.
Lumina Square was too vast; blindly searching wasn't a solution.
Yanagi frowned. Would HIA really place the exit in a simulated residential area of the VR system, designed for combat training?
Perhaps this virtual Lumina Square wasn't even part of HIA Club's design.
Then why would [Null_Face] specifically design such a virtual square?
She voiced her speculation to the others for discussion.
"…"
[Null_Face] watched Hollow Special Operations Section 6 ponder through data monitoring, a smug expression forming.
Discuss, discuss. You're getting close to the truth, but my preparations are nearly complete.
Whether intentional or not, he was far ahead of them.
Before his eyes, streams of data rolled wildly, occasionally interspersed with completely new program code.
This was his infiltration of the VR system's core logic, designed to forcibly block or circumvent parts beneficial to Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
Several data streams condensed into humanoid forms, identical to the four of them, each accompanied by two progress bars.
A blue bar was full—this represented static body data, the key to forming their VR bodies, collected when they first entered the system.
An orange bar was still a third short—this represented dynamic data, such as techniques and combat skills. Much of it had already been collected during prior tests; after two more battles, collection would be complete.
Combining static and dynamic data would allow him to create perfect duplicates of them.
Of course, this was a last resort. If Hollow Special Operations Section 6 failed to solve the VR world quickly, he could turn them into Bangboo, and it would be too late.
At this moment.
Among the four of Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
"First, this is HIA Club's combat system."
"Second, [Null_Face] deliberately made us log out in the test stage to bring us into this virtual HIA Club; he fears we continue testing."
"Third, according to the VR system manual, simply defeating all test monsters would trigger a forced exit."
"In conclusion, if we return to the test's virtual space and defeat the remaining monsters, we should be able to safely return."
Under Yanagi's lead, the group discussed and once again approached the VR system interface in the virtual space.
"Actually, I have a way to leave here, but it can only be used at the very last moment," Miyabi suddenly spoke, looking at the other three. "I can survive, but I can't guarantee your lives."
"I will stay with you until the last moment—until brain death."
She lightly touched her sword hilt, a faint killing intent radiating from her. "Until that moment, we survive with all our strength. After that moment, I bear the hope of revenge."
She could destroy this place, but breaking it wouldn't necessarily be good for the others.
She could sense her real-world body and forcibly return, but the others lacked this ability, and brain death was a real risk.
She didn't want to lose any of them; one tragedy was enough.
"…" Yanagi paused, a gentle smile forming. "That's good news. At least, no matter what, we can be sure [Null_Face]'s fate won't be pleasant."
"Actually, there's no need for this…"
Harumasa sighed wistfully.
Soukaku looked at Hoshimi Miyabi with concern.
After finally emerging from the crisis, she mustn't return to her previous state.
Death isn't so terrifying after all, right?
===BREAK===
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