To move forward, or to retreat, that was the question.
If they continued, they could complete the mission… but Liliweiss would have to go all out. And that would inevitably attract a Tyrant-class Rapture like Gluttony.
And this was their base of operations… when that happened, it wouldn't just be Gluttony. There might be others of the same level.
Charon fell into thought.
Ever since learning about Liliweiss's lifespan issue, he had come up with all sorts of excuses just to keep her from fighting too much.
If they kept going… he didn't even know what might happen to her.
But…
who knew if they'd ever get another chance like this?
His extraction point was right in front of him.
And yet…
He turned to look at Liliweiss. They held eye contact for about ten seconds before she gave in first.
"W-why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, shyly turning her head away, though her eyes still peeked at him from the corner.
Her gaze held nothing but trust.
Charon sighed inwardly.
Fine… the extraction point wasn't going anywhere. There was no time limit.
Better to find a way to fix her body first.
Even if his identity was just a disguise, these relationships were his own. He couldn't just walk away.
"Liliweiss." Charon's expression turned serious.
"Yes!" she straightened immediately.
"Do you trust me?"
"I absolutely trust any order from my Commander!"
"Good." Charon pointed at the phone screen. "My super brain says it's time to use your super speed and super strength."
"Huh?"
One minute later.
The manhole cover suddenly burst open and crashed onto the road.
The Raptures froze…
then almost all of them turned toward the sewer entrance.
And Liliweiss jumped out.
"Wow… what a spectacular sight."
She stuck out her tongue, ignored the monsters, and casually fixed her hair.
Then… she did something she never thought she would.
With a bright smile, she raised both hands, clenched them into fists, flipped them upward…
and extended both middle fingers.
"You bunch of ****ing **** Raptures! I'll **** you, then **** your **** and **** everything you've got!!!"
The moment she finished, her face turned red like a ripe apple.
"C-C-Commander, what did you just make me say?! Aaaah!!"
[Come on, you've wanted to curse them out like this for a long time, right?]
Charon chuckled through the comms.
[Commander, when you get back, we need to have a serious talk.]
Rose's voice carried clear disapproval.
So far, everything was going according to plan.
Liliweiss took a deep breath.
At that moment, the Raptures had already begun attacking, one of them slamming directly into her.
The weakest ones didn't even have weapons, just pure physical attacks.
Normally, she could blow them away with a breath…
But this time, she only dodged, calculating the positions of every enemy around her.
That first attack was just a trigger, soon, a storm of firepower followed from all sides.
She suppressed the urge to counterattack.
To avoid attracting Gluttony, she could only dodge, not even at full speed.
But even that was more than enough.
Very quickly, she dashed toward the logistics center entrance, drawing a massive number of Raptures after her.
Charon stayed behind.
Watching through his periscope…
waiting.
Waiting for the moment when the number of enemies was at its lowest.
About half an hour later, the footsteps gradually faded–
Most of the Raptures had been lured away by Liliweiss.
He immediately climbed out of the sewer and sprinted toward the logistics center.
Yes, fewer enemies…
But still a large number.
However, there's a difference between
"too many to fight" and "many, but manageable."
For Charon, it was simple, everything had an HP bar.
Hit them, and you deal damage.
Hit a weak point, and it's an instant kill.
If Liliweiss was raw stats,
Charon was pure mechanics.
He pushed forward, firing and throwing grenades like they were disposable.
Raptures piled up behind him.
200 meters, cleared in an instant.
When he rushed into the logistics center, he stopped.
Inside… there wasn't a single Rapture.
After finishing off the ones that chased him in, he let out a sigh of relief.
Strange… but for now, it was safe.
Then he noticed something:
A new marker had appeared on the minimap.
A question mark.
Right near him. Inside the building.
He looked around.
Furniture destroyed, walls partially torn down…
but the path from the elevator to the entrance had been deliberately cleared.
Like… a transport corridor.
Was this how Raptures were delivered from orbit?
But if they were created in space…
Would there even be any materials left at the relay station?
Still, it was unlikely they used human resources –
Otherwise, producing this many would be impossible.
Charon walked toward the marker.
In the corner sat… an old radio.
And then, for the first time in a while, the system UI displayed a message:
[High-Difficulty In-Instance Mission: "No Way Through"]