“This is the safety.
Here are your sights, and right down here is the grip and the counterweight to adjust your firing angle and center of gravity.” “When it comes to shooting, just use whatever posture feels most comfortable for you.
After all, Prophet, you have amnesia.
Your main job is just to be our eyes and note any unusual phenomena.
If someone actually manages to slip past us and approach the vehicle, you have full clearance to decide whether or not to pull the trigger.” “Inside this magazine are five corrosion rounds.
If you run into an enemy caster using Originium Arts, you can use these to counter them.
They pack a serious punch.
I will usually be watching your back, so do not stress too much about enemies getting close.
But if they really do breach our perimeter, do not try to save your ammo.
Empty all five rounds and put them down.” “You actually memorized all that, right?
You are not going to forget how to use it when the adrenaline hits, are you?” “I won’t.” Lynn nodded calmly, looking at the highly energetic yet visibly nervous Sankta girl hovering over him.
Ever since he had transmigrated into this world, he had already come to terms with his bizarre situation.
At the very least, he figured he could avoid dragging his teammates down.
Now that he knew the handgun in his grip was a relatively low-power sidearm, what was the point of hesitating?
There was no reason to be afraid.
He just had to treat this entire scenario like dropping into a hot zone at the start of a battle royale game.
It was exactly like playing a shooter on voice comms.
When the time came, he would simply secure a good vantage point, call out the enemy coordinates, and let his expert teammates handle the heavy lifting.
All he needed to do was keep his eyes and ears wide open.
Lynn was incredibly familiar with this exact division of labor.
Although this was his first time doing it with real bullets and real lives on the line, he had played enough tactical games to understand the core mechanics.
He could absolutely crouch in the shadows, look through a pair of binoculars, and feed target locations to the vanguard.
However, seeing Lynn’s completely deadpan demeanor, Exusiai raised a vibrant eyebrow in sheer confusion.
“Did you really memorize everything?
You can just ask me directly if you forgot a step, you know.” “I really did.” “Really?
You are not just trying to act tough for us?” “I really am not…” ‘Rather, it is you constantly staring at me from an inch away that is making me nervous.’ Watching Exusiai anxiously lean into his personal space, firing off questions left and right while carrying the faint, pleasant scent of freshly baked apple pie, Lynn felt his heart rate spike.
His nerves, which had just cooled down into a state of tactical readiness, involuntarily started hammering against his ribs again.
He awkwardly turned his face toward the window.
Exusiai felt even more suspicious.
She eyed Lynn up and down, pinching her chin in deep thought.
Lacking the natural observation skills to read his subtle discomfort, she turned a pleading gaze toward the driver’s seat.
Texas was currently watching the rear of the vehicle through the rearview mirror.
Exusiai’s silent plea for backup was entirely meaningless, earning only a quiet, gloomy snort from the Lupo and a sudden burst of uncontrollable laughter from the back seat.
“Ahahaha, Exusiai, you and the Prophet really get along great.
I have never seen you fuss over anyone else this much before.” “I have a lot of confidence in the Prophet, but he does have amnesia.
Someone has to look out for him.” “No, I mean the trust aspect is just a little bit—” “Ahem.
I will now explain the details of this delivery.” Texas coughed, shifting the chocolate stick she held between her lips like a cigarette, and smoothly interrupted the banter.
Her tone dropped into a serious, professional register as she outlined the mission parameters for the three of them.
Simply put, this operation was a standard Penguin Logistics VIP service.
It involved retrieving a specific package and delivering it to a designated location and recipient.
However, this particular contract was not the glamorous, high-society VIP service they usually imagined.
Due to a temporary shortage of available couriers at the company, all four of them had been deployed as a single unit., the client’s strict confidentiality requirements meant they had to drive out to a highly secluded, off-the-grid location to make the exchange.
This was standard industry practice.
Clients requiring black-market discretion usually requested handoffs in strange, desolate places.
None of the veteran Operators in the car found the setup particularly odd.
When the sedan finally followed the GPS coordinates and rolled to a stop beneath the looming shadow of an empty, abandoned building, everyone except Lynn wore an expression of total indifference.
Croissant popped the door open and stepped out into the chill air.
Only Lynn remained glued to his seat, looking out at the pitch-black night with a deep sense of unease.
Something about the silent architecture felt incredibly wrong.
“I will head in first.
Let’s grab some barbecue when we get back to the city.” “Good luck out there.
Croissant-sama is moving to secure the package.” Croissant stretched her arms, offered a casual bow to the three people remaining inside the cabin, and then marched straight into the suffocating darkness of the concrete structure.
According to standard logistics protocol, one or two Operators were dispatched to retrieve the goods while the rest remained in the transport vehicle on standby.
This ensured that if an ambush occurred, the team preserved a tactical advantage in manpower and maintained the ability to relocate instantly.
Those assigned to the physical retrieval also received double the hazard pay of a regular Operator due to the inherent risk of walking blindly into a drop zone.
Theoretically, Penguin Logistics had executed this exact maneuver countless times.
They were seasoned professionals.
But as Lynn stared at the gloomy, jagged ruins surrounding their parked sedan, a cold knot tightened in his stomach.
‘What is this chilling feeling?
It feels exactly like walking into a choke point heavily guarded by veteran campers.”Should I warn them to be more careful?’ His anxiety peaked when Exusiai casually crossed her legs in the passenger seat, popped in her earbuds, and started bobbing her head to a loud music track.
Lynn scanned the increasingly dark and quiet scenery.
The silence was too heavy.
It was identical to the overwhelming intuition he experienced right before a massive team wipe in a video game.
A distinct, spine-tingling sensation kept prickling at the back of his neck, warning him of multiple hostile angles.
Sticking to the firm belief that it was always better to be safe than dead, Lynn reached out and shook Exusiai’s shoulder, signaling her to pull out an earbud.
“…Exusiai.” “Huh?
What is it?
Did you forget how to rack the slide?” “No.
Look out there.” Patting Exusiai’s thigh to get her full attention, Lynn leaned toward the glass and whispered to the slightly bewildered Sankta.
“Look at the ruined building two hundred meters away, right at our seven o’clock position.
The fourth window from the left on the third floor.
Now look at the elevated platform about one hundred and forty meters away at nine o’clock.
Finally, check the convex traffic mirror at the alley entrance at ten o’clock.
Are those not people staking us out?” “Is that so?
Let me take a look.” Exusiai gestured for Lynn to lean back.
She twisted her lithe body within the cramped confines of the car, pressing close to the glass to follow his line of sight.
Her ruby pupils flared with a faint, dangerous light as she channeled her Originium Arts, enhancing her vision to sweep the exact coordinates Lynn had provided.
She locked onto the suspicious shadows one by one.
Her initially bright, casual expression dissolved into cold, hardened focus.
Without uttering a single word, she reached behind her seat, popped open a hidden tactical compartment, and began pulling out heavy hardware.
Texas caught the drastic shift in Exusiai’s demeanor through the rearview mirror.
She calmly checked the digital timer glowing on the dashboard and lowered her voice.
“Croissant has been inside for ten minutes.
Something is wrong.” “Mm.
We definitely have a problem.
Every single position the Prophet just called out has hostile figures dug into cover.” “Hold your fire for a few more minutes.
They might step out to propose a negotiation.” “Understood.
Prophet, do not move a muscle.
I am going to need your shoulder in a second.” Moving with terrifying efficiency, Exusiai screwed a heavy stabilizer onto a barrel.
Much to Lynn’s immediate discomfort, she yanked a high-powered scope from the compartment and locked it onto the rail.
She licked her lips, a faint, predatory thrill lighting up her eyes as she stared down the hidden assassins in the dark.
Her hands blurred as she rapidly reassembled a custom-made miniature sniper rifle.
Up front, Texas hit a switch on the console.
A narrow, horizontal slit slid open in the reinforced, reflective glass of the passenger window—just wide enough to accommodate a gun barrel.
Exusiai leaned her entire weight against Lynn, using his rigid shoulder as a temporary flesh-and-blood bipod.
She squinted through the optic, her finger resting lightly above the trigger guard, ready to turn the ambush into a slaughter at a moment’s notice.
Sure enough, exactly three minutes later, a man’s voice echoed loudly from the hollow entrance of the abandoned building.
“Good evening, members of Penguin Logistics.
I believe we have a business deal to discuss.” “…Oh dear.
Looks like the other side decided to make the first move tonight.
They better not deduct my salary after this mess is over.” With her wrists bound tightly in heavy steel shackles, Croissant was marched out into the open doorway, completely surrounded by a dozen men in tactical black gear.
She turned her approachable, slightly bruised face toward the idling Penguin Logistics sedan, offering an awkward shrug and a highly forced smile.
‘I knew it…’ The moment the drop zone felt too quiet, the entire operation was destined to go up in flames.
Trapped in a highly awkward position as Exusiai’s living gun rest, Lynn could only sigh and shake his head as he stared at Croissant’s subtle, apologetic smile through the scope’s glare.
[Rhodes’s Note: Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?
(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent!
to use the links!)