"...Hee, do you think we'll die here?"
In the dark, cold basement, a member of the Wildfire organization suddenly looked up at the iron cage hanging mid-air and asked in a hoarse voice.
It had already been eight days since they were captured here. For a full week, they had only had some water to sustain their basic survival needs.
"..."
"...I don't know, and I don't care."
After a long while, a low voice finally sounded. Seele leaned against the iron bars, her voice weak but still resolute. "I'm not afraid of dying here. I'm only afraid that 'Wildfire' will die here."
"It won't, Big Sis Seele. Natasha and the others are still outside. Maybe they can bring people in to rescue us."
A Wildfire member said jokingly.
"Hahaha, maybe." Seele let out a bitter laugh. "If that happens, I'll treat everyone to beer."
Someone in the basement seemed to chuckle, but more prevalent was a soundless silence.
This past week had been too torturous for the spirit. Those who could still find joy in hardship like this were only a few old cadres of Wildfire like Seele.
But even Seele knew in her heart that it was very likely she would never have a chance to get out again.
"...I really want to see Bronya again," Seele murmured to herself. "No, looking like this now, she'd definitely complain that I haven't bathed for days, right?"
Clang—
Seele looked around suspiciously. Did she just hear something?
But wherever she looked, there was nothing unusual.
Maybe she was too tired, leading to auditory hallucinations? Whatever...
Clatter—
Seele: ???
That... doesn't seem like an auditory hallucination?
It wasn't just her; many other Wildfire members also noticed this anomaly. For a moment, this sudden change was like a stone stirring the long-dead waters of their spirits.
Clatter-clatter— (Sound of a steel pipe hitting the ground)
A grey-haired girl suddenly fell from the ceiling, landing solidly on the ground like a dead fish. The ventilation grate that fell afterward accurately hit the girl's head, adding insult to injury.
?
Seele blinked her eyes in confusion. In that brief second when the grey-haired girl fell, she clearly saw the confusion and fear in the other's eyes. This absolutely couldn't be her hallucination!
"Bronya, why didn't you pull me up...?"
Stelle lay on the ground, weakly complaining.
"How was I supposed to know you'd kneel on the ventilation grate to remove it?" Bronya jumped down from the vent and said irritably, "Isn't that like sawing off the branch you're sitting on?"
"...Bronya? You... why are you here?" Seele sat up straight in the cage, her small face full of astonishment. She asked somewhat incredulously, "Are you... here to rescue us?"
"Mhm, why else?" Bronya pulled a rifle from under her skirt, cocked it with one hand, and with a loud bang, a dazzling spark burst from the iron lock of the cage before it slowly split in two.
Seele swallowed and climbed out of the cage. However, after being confined in such a narrow space for so long, her legs hadn't regained their agility. She accidentally stumbled and fell from mid-air—
Bronya lightly tapped the ground, her figure like a nimble butterfly, gracefully catching Seele in a horizontal carry mid-air and landing steadily on the ground.
"Bronya, you..."
"Ew, how many days has it been since you bathed? You smell awful," Bronya said with some disdain, shaking her head. "It's been a while since we last met, right? Is this how you greet me?"
Seele's cheeks puffed up slightly. Ignoring Bronya's resistance, she forcefully pinched the latter's soft, tender cheek. "How could I bathe in here?"
"How should I know? You have to figure it out yourself."
"..."
While the two were bickering, Stelle had silently broken the locks of the other cages, releasing the remaining Wildfire members one by one. "I suggest you stop flirting for now. Don't forget we're still in the Vagrants' headquarters."
"Escape first. You can play... uh, chat as long as you want later."
"Who's flirting with her?" Bronya rolled her eyes at Stelle. "I was just about to remind this guy to hurry up."
"Bronya, who is this...?" Seele looked at Stelle and inquired.
"I am Stelle. I am a Nameless, also the Galactic Baseballer, also a Stellaron spirit, one who has been glanced upon by [Destruction]..."
"She is an otherworldly visitor, a kind person who came specifically to help us," Bronya said succinctly.
Stelle's face darkened. Would it have been so bad to let her finish introducing herself?
"...What's that sound? Are those Wildfire guys causing trouble again?"
Right then, a voice suddenly came from outside the basement, startling everyone present into silence.
"Tch, they're all unruly people. It's not surprising they're causing trouble," another voice chimed in.
"But they've been starved for so many days, how do they still have strength? Could they be desperate from hunger, wanting to risk everything?"
"Let's go check."
"..."
Stelle frantically made eyes at Bronya, jabbing her finger repeatedly towards the ceiling. The latter immediately understood her meaning and gestured to the Wildfire members: Follow me.
Bronya jumped into the ventilation duct in the ceiling first, followed closely by Seele. The numerous Wildfire members stepped on the iron cages that had once imprisoned them, escaping in an orderly fashion using a human pyramid method.
Even in such a critical moment, they still maintained proper discipline.
Tap, tap, tap...
However, even so, their speed was far from matching that of the guards arriving outside the door. Seeing the situation was bad, Stelle immediately blocked the doorway, using his body to hold it shut firmly!
"Huh? Strange, why won't this door push open?"
"Not good, those Wildfire people are causing trouble again! Force your way in, don't give them a chance!"
"Put your strength into it!!"
"..."
"Hurry up and run!!"
Stelle was using every ounce of strength she had, even the energy she used to suckle. There were still seven or eight Wildfire members in the basement who hadn't escaped. At this rate, it would absolutely be too late.
Boom!
The force from outside the door weakened slightly, but before Stelle could sigh in relief, an irresistible force came through, sending her entire person flying along with the cell door!
Screech—
Stelle "skidded" several meters on the ground, immediately grabbed her baseball bat, and prepared to face the enemy.
However, the opponent he faced was an extremely large Automaton soldier, codenamed "Grizzly," the "Diviner-Killer."
"Well I'll be damned by the matchmaking system..."
Stelle complained but didn't show the slightest intention of retreating.
After all, she was the protagonist of the game, with a "golden finger" as a guarantee. How could she possibly dodge your sharp edge?!
Thwack!
Stelle swung her bat hard at the Grizzly's massive body. The next second, an intense recoil force traveled up the bat, numbing her tiger grip. Losing her grip, the bat actually went free.