Saitama Warehouse.
The one keeping watch here was Koji Ono.
He wore a set of work clothes stained with machine oil, a wrench in hand, as he knocked and tapped on an old generator.
As one of the former apartment security members, he wasn’t particularly outstanding among Jiang Jian Yue’s original trusted subordinates.
He had neither a powerful ability nor exceptional intelligence. But he was obedient and possessed an extremely ordinary, pedestrian constitution.
A type that, tossed into a crowd, would never draw anyone’s attention.
This made him the most suitable gatekeeper for this secret hideout.
Suddenly, a faint tremor came from the modified skylight above the warehouse.
Two dark figures slipped through the gap in the warehouse skylight and landed steadily on the dust-covered concrete floor.
Their face masks retracted automatically, revealing two exhausted faces beneath.
Beiye’s mouth was stained with dried blood, his eyes somewhat unfocused.
Mizuki Hoshi was in slightly better shape, though her face showed some nervousness and unease.
“We made it safely…”
Beiye staggered and nearly fell to his knees, but Mizuki Hoshi quickly caught him.
The two exchanged no pleasantries, nor did they pay any attention to the approaching Koji Ono.
Instead, they walked straight toward the tallest pile of cargo boxes in the center of the warehouse.
There, sitting cross-legged, was a medical mannequin.
This was the receiving terminal Jiang Jian Yue had left here.
It had no aesthetic enhancements, only the most basic functionality, serving as a vessel for her consciousness to descend.
Speaking that way made it sound a bit too impressive.
Seeing this terrifying sculpture, Beiye and Mizuki Hoshi showed deep reverence.
Thud.
The two knelt on one knee in unison, heads bowed low.
“Head of the family…”
Beiye’s voice was hoarse, thick with guilt. “The mission… failed.”
The warehouse fell into dead silence.
The human sculpture did not respond immediately. It only tilted its head slightly.
As if the main body, far away in Tokyo, was processing this terrible information.
After a few seconds, the sculpture’s mouth, which had no lips or tongue, opened and closed to emit a mechanical voice. “And Sasaki?”
The words were soft, but they made the kneeling two shudder.
Mizuki Hoshi bit her lower lip and spoke with difficulty. “We were ambushed… It wasn’t just SAAC. The Pacific Treaty intervened directly.”
“Sasaki was taken out by Dongfeng… probably…”
As Mizuki spoke, her head dropped lower. For some reason, she always ran into trouble on missions.
“The Combat Suit… had no chance to be recovered.”
Another deathly silence.
Jiang Jian Yue, lying on her bed in Fortune Village, felt her brain ache.
Sasaki’s death was secondary, after all, his soul was still in her Vision World, and she could pull him back anytime.
But the Combat Suit…
Jiang Jian Yue felt a pain like being forced to drink her own precious, long-hoarded large recovery potion during a boss fight.
She had already lost two suits before. It wasn’t that she feared the Pacific Treaty copying them; it was mainly their non-renewable nature that meant every loss was permanent.
After arriving in Africa, Jiang Jian Yue had discovered that the Combat Suits used materials that only DRG could get back then, but those materials were long gone.
“And the Shock Core?”
The sculpture’s voice turned colder.
“We… we didn’t get it.” Beiye buried his head even lower. “We pinpointed the Shock Core’s exact location, but… we were still a step too late.”
“Truly… disgraceful.” The sculpture slowly stood up.
With its movement, the dust in the surrounding air began to stir unnaturally.
She extended that palm made of flesh and blood, palm facing upward.
A gray-white dust storm rose from nowhere, and every visible object within sight was sucked in and twisted.
In Beiye and Mizuki Hoshi’s gaze, a human silhouette rapidly took shape.
In just a few seconds, a completely naked man tumbled out of the dust.
“I… wasn’t I…”
Sasaki stared at his own hands, then at the flesh sculpture before him.
He suddenly realized what had happened and immediately knelt, forehead pressed tightly to the ground.
“I am incompetent! Please punish me, Head of the family!”
“It’s fine. It’s normal not to outrun the Dongfeng.”
The sculpture waved its hand, and the distortion spread further, nearly filling half the warehouse.
“Since things have escalated, relying on just you few with small skirmishes won’t cut it.”
Jiang Jian Yue’s consciousness swept through the sleeping souls in the Vision World.
She hadn’t wanted to release her main forces this early, after all, creating these high-level puppets consumed a massive amount of Heartforce.
But now, the Shock Core was a must-have.
The twisting distortion instantly split into separate zones.
One by one, figures solidified in the dust. When the dust settled, nine varied figures stood in perfect uniformity in the center of the warehouse.
Mizuki Hoshi looked up and scanned the appearing faces. Most were familiar:
Koji Hattori, who seemed dazed after realizing he had been summoned again; the bewildered Long Yin; Maria, whose expression was somewhat moved; Mark’s dark face showed no readable emotion.
Besides these old friends, there were four more subordinates from the Euro-African War. Mizuki Hoshi wasn’t very familiar with them.
Add to that the newly revived Sasaki, and the already present Beiye and Mizuki Hoshi.
The combat power of this team was enough to start a small-scale war in the current world.
But all their gazes were fixed on the person standing at the very front of the line.
A lady with silver-rimmed glasses.
Akimoto Miki.
She gently pushed up her glasses, a cold gleam flashing across the lenses.
Then, with elegance, she lifted the hem of her non-existent skirt and performed a deep bow to the flesh sculpture.
“Missy, awaiting your orders.”
With her movement, the people behind her all knelt on one knee in unison, their motions as synchronized as if they were a single person.
Jiang Jian Yue looked at these subordinates and felt a strange sensation rise within her.
Since they had just been summoned, except for the two who had failed the mission, everyone else was stark naked.
Doing this gesture felt like she had stumbled into some comedic animation set.
“Ahem…” Jiang Jian Yue forcefully reined in her wandering thoughts.
“Australia. The Shock Core. Bring it back.”
“The entire world is our enemy now. Do not show mercy.”
Hattori Koji, still kneeling, twitched his finger slightly.
“But also try to avoid conflict. Don’t cause unnecessary casualties…”
Jiang Jian Yue sighed, seeming somewhat helpless, but finally issued the order. “Casualties are inevitable. All of you… be careful.”
“Miki.”
Akimoto Miki stepped forward.
“This operation is under your full command.”
With a wave of Jiang Jian Yue’s hand, Koji Ono, understanding, pushed a small cart out from the side office.
It was filled with Combat Suits, their respective gear from back then, except for the three who had lost their specialized types.
Everyone put on their Combat Suits, and the urge to laugh in Jiang Jian Yue’s mind subsided somewhat.
To avoid rejection reactions between soul and body, Jiang Jian Yue had constructed them exactly according to their real physiques.
So everything was there. Whenever a summoning happened, it was a grand celestial nude party.
But it wasn’t necessary to specially construct clothes for high-level puppets. After all, they would wear Combat Suits once they were out.
Even so, Jiang Jian Yue still wasn’t used to it.
Akimoto Miki’s specialized version was fused with a long-skirted maid uniform, specially requested back then.
It seemed the Head Maid was particularly fond of her profession.
“Alright. Let’s move out.”
No pre-battle mobilization, no grand slogans. Jiang Jian Yue wasn’t suited for that.
After relinquishing control of the puppets in the Saitama Warehouse, Jiang Jian Yue originally wanted to message Yuki Asahi to bother him, but she noticed that Sato Ai and Gluttony were having problems at the same time.
Fukuza was causing trouble on Gluttony’s side, and on Sato Ai’s side, someone familiar was wandering around, making it impossible to sleep.
Why is everything happening at once?
Jiang Jian Yue massaged her temples, forced to engage in high-intensity multitasking.
She told Gluttony to wait for now.
The moment her consciousness retracted, Jiang Jian Yue sensed something was wrong.
The scent of citrus perfume, and a warm breath right next to her.
Sato Ai’s eyes snapped open.
A cute face was now right in front of hers, so close she could count the other person’s long eyelashes.
Golden hair fell onto Sato Ai’s shoulder. Those emerald eyes narrowed slightly, like a Persian cat examining its prey.
Sniff sniff
The other girl’s pert nose lightly twitched twice at the collar of Sato Ai’s clothes.
Jiang Jian Yue’s hairs all stood on end.
Kaori Onishi?!
What was she doing at the Sky Ladder construction site? And so close to me?!
Before Jiang Jian Yue could figure out what was happening, Kaori Onishi had already straightened up, crossed her arms, and a meaningful smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
The originally energetic, cheerful smile now carried a chill that sent a shiver down one’s spine.
“Weird. This is really weird.”
Kaori Onishi stared at Sato Ai’s utterly plain face and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. “A complete stranger…”
“But why…” Kaori Onishi suddenly lowered her voice, her tone dangerous, “do I smell… the scent of a fox spirit on you?”
Jiang Jian Yue’s heart skipped a beat.
Exposed?
Impossible! Sato Ai’s disguise was perfect. Even Yuki Asahi hadn’t seen through her true form.
Kaori Onishi might have sharp intuition, but she wasn’t a perception-type ability user!
“Ah… um…”
Jiang Jian Yue quickly slipped into character.
She pushed up the round-framed glasses on her nose, putting on a look of a frightened little deer, and stammered, “M… Miss Onishi? What are you talking about? Do I… have sweat on me?”
“Oh, don’t be so nervous!”
Just then, the voice of a man carrying a camera came from the side. “Kaori-chan, the recording has already started! Watch your expression!”
“Ahem!”
Kaori Onishi’s face changed instantly.
The dangerous air of a rival being scrutinized vanished in a flash, replaced by an energetic smile that could melt everything.
She wrapped an arm around Sato Ai’s shoulder and flashed a big V-sign at the camera.
“Minna-san! Konnichiwa! I’m your favorite, Kaori Onishi!”
“Today, we’ve come to the highly-anticipated ‘Sky Ladder Project’ construction site! To help everyone get a deeper understanding of this great project, I’ve specially ‘caught’ a lady staff member on site to be our guide!”
As she spoke, she even nuzzled Sato Ai’s cheek affectionately. “Come on, say hello to everyone!”
Jiang Jian Yue was being squeezed so tightly she could barely breathe. She still had to force an awkward but polite smile and wave at the camera.
“H… hello everyone. My name is Ai Sato. I’m an administrative clerk here.”
And also, after all this time, her perfume was way too strong!
Had she picked up some body odor from the unhealthy diet in America?