Morning. Sunlight pierced through the curtains, striking the room. Amidst the faint sounds of movement from outside and the occasional, muffled chatter of her sisters, Soldier 11 regained consciousness.
Before even opening her eyes, she instinctively shifted her body.
With that single movement, Soldier 11 felt what could only be described as an earth-shattering difference in her body.
She'd never felt so light before.
She no longer remembered the specific reason she had lost consciousness; Soldier 11 only vaguely recalled that she had been forced to skip a combat test meant for training.
But she already had a guess as to what had caused her to miss the test.
'Was it another severe injury from over-training?'
But after carefully assessing her physical condition, its perfect state—even better than she remembered—made her uncertain.
Besides, she remembered making a promise with her captain that if she trained to her absolute limit, the captain would come and stop her.
But regardless of the reason, her current physical state was... far too perfect.
'Have I been in a medical pod for a long time?'
But that couldn't be right. According to standard procedure, she should have been woken up as soon as she was basically recovered. Could there have been some kind of accident?
Soldier 11 still didn't open her eyes. The unprecedented softness of the bed beneath her was slightly intoxicating, and she couldn't help but want to rest for just a little longer.
But soon, she pulled herself together, no longer indulging in the comfort she found herself in.
She snapped her eyes open. An unfamiliar ceiling filled her vision, an unfamiliar room, unfamiliar decorations.
Among the myriad of assorted decorations, there wasn't a single one that Soldier 11 recognized.
"Where... Where am I?!"
Soldier 11's expression was somewhat dazed, her usually emotionless face now completely frozen.
Although she had a problem with forgetfulness and was always misplacing memories, Soldier 11 was certain of one thing: she was no longer at the research institute.
Bewilderment and helplessness enveloped Soldier 11. Waking up in a completely strange place and environment would be called transmigration in a novel.
But for Soldier 11, who had never read a novel, all this wasn't so easy to accept.
Although her clothes had been changed into a light, non-combat outfit, Soldier 11 had no intention of simply surrendering to anyone who dared to make a move on the Silver Squad!
A set of footsteps gradually approached the door. Soldier 11 immediately became alert, her eyes scanning her surroundings. A black, circular saucer; a bicycle hanging on the wall; shoes on a rack by the door.
In an instant, Soldier 11 had identified tools she could use for a quick escape.
The Silver Squad would never be helpless just because they lacked equipment!
She tore open a large, square box on the bedside shelf, quickly took out the black disc inside, and gripped it in her hand as a throwing weapon, warily facing the door.
Holding her breath, she waited for the moment the other party would open the door.
Soldier 11's ears twitched slightly as she carefully tried to identify the approaching enemy.
The footsteps were of two people: a girl of about her own size and a man nearly two meters tall.
The former's steps were steady, her base solid, ready to respond to any sudden situation. It felt somewhat familiar.
But the man behind her was different. Despite his height and weight, his steady steps revealed a certain nimbleness. Soldier 11 was certain she had never heard such unique footsteps before.
'A formidable opponent!'
It seemed her only option was to launch a surprise attack the moment they opened the door, take advantage of the chaos, and rush out. With that, she could secure her escape.
'I hope the Captain and the others aren't too worried about me.'
As that thought crossed her mind, before Soldier 11 could think further, the door was pushed open with a crisp click.
In the next instant, the several black discs in Soldier 11's hand had already flown out. But it wasn't until that moment that she got a clear look at who had entered. It wasn't an enemy or a guard at all, but the very captain she had just been thinking about, Anby.
"Captain?!"
————
"Considering the time, Soldier 11 should be awake by now."
Anby led the way up the stairs of Random Play, heading towards Wise's room on the second floor.
Last night, as she was the one recovering, Soldier 11 had been arranged to sleep in one of the video store's only two beds—Wise's bed.
By now, 24 hours had passed, enough time for Soldier 11's jumbled memories to fully recover.
Following behind Anby, Andrew scratched his head. His hunter's sixth sense was telling him something was a little off.
Seeing Andrew hesitate, Anby said confidently:
"It's okay, Andrew. Even if Soldier 11 doesn't understand the situation, with me, her captain, here, there won't be any problems."
Thinking about the absolute trust the entire Silver Squad had in Anby, Andrew felt her confidence was indeed well-founded.
So he chose to take a step back, positioning Anby in front of him.
Anby didn't think anything of Andrew's action and simply pushed the door open first.
"Don't worry, Andrew. Soldier 11 is a good kid, there won't be any... trouble."
As the door opened, what came whistling towards them were several black discs and a cry of surprise.
"Captain?!"
Anby's reaction was swift. She instinctively twisted her body to dodge, intending to evade all the thrown discs.
But the thought that Andrew was behind her and might get hurt if she dodged made her instantly lash out with a sharp punch, shattering all the discs.
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
The complete black discs were smashed to pieces and fell to the floor. Only then did the two of them see what had been thrown at them.
Even in fragments, their shape and material made it clear to Andrew that these were the vinyl records Wise had so carefully arranged in the display case by his bed.
Hearing the series of noises, the two siblings downstairs thought there was an emergency and rushed up. When he saw what the shards on the floor were, Wise couldn't help but cry out in anguish:
"NO!!!"
'Snowflakes~ drift and drift~, the north wind~ whistles and blows~, Heaven and Earth~ a vast~ expanse~~.'
Seeing her brother's records, which contained his favorite songs, now in pieces, Belle instinctively pulled out her phone and started playing a song to serve as background music.
Nothing could have been more fitting for the occasion.
A mocking sister and a grieving brother—the scene was a perfect picture of sibling harmony.
Inside the room, Soldier 11 took in the scene before her and finally realized that she had most likely overthought the situation. Her imposing aura instantly deflated, and she looked helplessly at her captain.
But she found that Anby was also standing there at a loss, looking pleadingly at Andrew, who was cheerfully watching Wise's performance right alongside Belle.
____
Want more chapters? Our community goals are active!
🎯 Goal: 100 Powerstones for a bonus chapter for everyone.
🚀 Milestone: 55 SUPPORTERS to unlock +5 extra chapters on everything!
🎉 Your Welcome Bonus: A huge markdown on your first month!
👻 Get your perks by finding Walnutchan on (P). You know the one! 😉