Volume 4 Chapter 7 (1/2)
We were in the parking lot below the Desert Dream casino
The outside had been ravaged by the bo the gel attack We searched around and found ere looking for: a secret underground passageway protected by a thickmoney or as an escape route if robbers showed up
”Looks like the dae really didn't reach down here”
We could not bring Anastasia out onto the buery, but I also would have been worried if we left her in the half-collapsed underground parking lot On that front, the underground passageway looked like it would protect her fro buried alive Plus, the door was airtight, so it didn't seeot in
”Anastasia, stay here We'll be right back”
”Be quick I h, okay?”
”Also, I brought a huge bottle I found in one of the cars It's still sealed, so it should be safe to drink You need water, right?”
”Glass Gazer, hm? That's kind of hard I prefer my water a little softer”
I could only really tell the difference between tap water and mineral water, so I wasn't sure what that ht understand
Even in the sealed underground passageway, I could contact Maxwell back in japan, so it seemed to have a decent wireless setup Theythe walls to pick up the signal fro their TV antenna line into their house It eway If they couldn't knoas going on outside, they could open the door right into an ambush
”Maxwell, change the door lock's number once we leave”
”Sure Being overprotective is probably about right given the situation”
With that exchange, we returned to hellish Las Vegas
The wind seemed to broil my entire face
It was supposedly pretty late at night, but the sky was even hly the city had been burned
Where were the gels? How far had the boet us all wiped out at once
”Ayumi, be careful”
”Y'know, Onii-chan, I'h to burn myself here”
”Not that I think Satori-kun is worried about unexploded ordnance buried in the rubble with this citywide fireworks parade underway”
”Fuguu!?”
But there were soas They would be blending into the background even with all the gels and incendiary bombs everywhere
”Nn, hh…”
That hen the Class Rep groaned while Erika carried her on her back
”GoodAnd this burning hellscape is hardly ood”
”Eh? Eh? Satori-kun? Uheh!? Wait, what is going on!?”
The Class Rep cried out like she had entered cold sleep to see what things were like a millennium into the future and awoke to find civilization had returned to the stone age It was a natural reaction and it cleansed my heart The Class Rep really was the best She had a way of cal me She was so cute I just wanted to do a little dance
”Fuguu More i to find these professional observers? They're probably the kind of person ould stay still for three full days in the jungle with a sniper rifle and a diaper if you told them to wait there”
”Maxwell, can you access real-tie? A civilian satellite service is fine”
”I could not earlier, but now I can access it quite smoothly”
”Oh?” said Erika ”I would have thought the ht around and cut off all access to things like that”
”Theythe evil Archene to set up a e fro with the ile bomb dropped on it That's where the observers will have their bunker”
”analyzing… The results are not pro a specific location would be difficult However, there does see with the storm of bombs, like the eye of a hurricane”
”H a fixed bunker? Okay, Maxwell That eye of the storm is where the observers are Calculate out a predicted route so we can lie in wait and contact them”
”Sure However, these are elites, so there is a very high risk of theh even if you know their location”
”I know that”
The military was a phrase I really only heard in movies and I had no idea what kind of equipment they would have in reality At the very least, I knew stuffing h
”Anyway, let's go Erika, Ayumi, and Class Rep too”
”Fine, but will you explain what's going on while we move!?”
We started walking through rubble-strewn Las Vegas as the Class Rep raised her voice to yell
The first wave of bo must have been co bombs like crazy any through the burning night sky and they were dropping bombs every so often, but the intensity had clearly dropped
”Wait, are you serious…!?”
When she heard the situation, the Class Rep crossed a pile of rubble blocking the way and viewed the transformed cityscape I couldn't blaed into this massive farce And there was some monumental idiot who had caused all of this
”Satori-kun, a lull in the bohtto the next phase of their operation”
”I know They round unit that will pry open the door to Anastasia's underground passageway, or they ainst time”
Fortunately, we had Maxwell to navigate us to our destination, so we didn't have to worry about wandering in circles through the razed city
”Warning: you are 400 e of the standard assault rifle Even with the intense fla your sht Be careful”
Maxwell's support was crucial, so I covered as much of the screen with my palm as I could and crouched down on the spot
Upwind and doind…probably didn't matter With all the blazes started by the incendiary bo every which way Even a trained police dog would only detect a scorched smell
”A-are you going to keep going, Onii-chan?”
Ayuhtened
400 meters I looked across the burned city and a half-collapsed theater was the only real option for the observers Las Vegas was known for its casinos, but it was also counted as a holy ground for movies
No matter how much I squinted, I could not see anyone there
Could they see us?
Were we already in their sights?
I felt like I was in theabsolutely still, I spoke to my smartphone
”Maxwell”
”Sure”
”The bombers and the observers must be linked somehow to ure out how?”
”As far as I can tell by switching ca IR reflective tape I have detected an EM signal sent fro their position on an online map”
”Those observers are more careless than I expected Maxwell, let's rewrite their map We'll lure them out below the bombs”
”No This is the world's strongest air force I ah to break in”
”Don't be so sure Anastasia”
”Nweh? What? What? Do you need so, Truth?”
Shecalled Maiden or a hacker My persistence had paid off
”You ht? All the way to Phase 2 If that wasn't a bluff, then I need your help”
”Who do you think I am? If not for the manual key in the way, I could have dropped a nuke from a bomber”
Erika and Ayulance
It was exactly those bo around overhead
”I want to cut off the link between bo in the background Can you think of a way to mess with their map?”
”I see How far away are you? You can use tethering, right? If your set, you can do sos”
”No,” said Maxwell ”Based on the scale of the satellite ireater than 9000 meters They have nearly 10,000 meters of vertical distance plus the horizontal distance you have to worry about Aoff the li the hardware”
”Not that We're about 400them should be fine”
Anastasia sounded exasperated too
”Again, can't you just use feet or miles?”
”Look up the conversion yourself”
”Fine But in that case, let's rewrite the e co on their back is one thing, but their handheld devices are probably normal Pearphones or Bioroids in shock-resistant cases They truly believe they're untouchable as long as they have a contract with a major company that runs ads on TV, no matter how many times we hackers try to warn them”
”Anyway, can you handle the observers' map?”
”Yes Even if they're in a safe place, they'll panic and get out of there if they don't know that Let ive me a 30 second countdown Your cute hound will drive the hares out from the bushes, so keep your eyes open and pay careful attention, Truth”
We had pulled the trigger of zeroes and ones
It really was like wild birds taking flight froht caround, but it was al how readily they appeared now They had made their mistake
”Ha ha! Of all things, they're using the Winners Phones that are affected by every virus in the world!? I mean, the base OS itself is often called an official virus that steals your personal info!!”
”Do you have a grudge against Winners or so!?”
”The tracing progra was just about killed when they swapped out o to hell! Intellectual property is a valuable resource, you know!?”
But I did not have tie And unfortunately, I doubted anyone was going to accept hacking tools as intellectual property
”Gh”
It happened suddenly
An unbelievably powerful iht my entire body had been bent into a sideways V-shape It took me a while to realize that idiot Ayuth to tackle me
”Bh!?”
Soht by my face Then I heard a dry sound hit my eardrums
A gunshot!? They suddenly shot at us!!
My vision blurred soto snap, but I just barely ed to see Erika leap the other ith the Class Rep in her arms
Both pairs escaped the bullets by hiding behind rubble
But it wasn't over yet They put infiltration and stealth above all else If they had fired a shot, it h death no matter what it took
”What do you think they'll do next?”
”They failed at 400 meters That's all this means, Onii-chan So they'll adjust their assuh to finish us off for sure”
I was japanese through and through, so I honestly wasn't too fahts I did have a disaster environ, but while I had tried out UFOs and giant robots, I hadn't done much with FPSs where macho men ran around with lots of firepower
But there was one thing I understood
A professional treated a firefight like a chess problem They would move their pieces on the board to ensure they could finish off the enemy no matter where they fled Once they had taken their positions, there was no turning things around We had to do so before that happened
That ame over if they reached it
But an amateur like me had no idea where that was
300 meters?
200 meters?
100 meters?
Or 0 meters???
Then ed