Leibowitz... what exactly are they plotting?
Flipping the card to its reverse side, another string of text materializes before your eyes—"Gestrig" Academy.
Operating under Leibowitz, it was where the owner of this card was originally supposed to report for duty.
Academy...? There's no record of any such academy in the Babylonia database, at least not in any section related to Leibowitz.
Which means this "academy" might have been established after Leibowitz Company went into hiding...
A group of young girls dressed in identical uniforms combating Corrupted...
If the place you were supposed to report to is an academy, then the uniformed troops would make sense—they're likely "students" of that academy.
Being able to combat Corrupted... suggests these "students" are likely Constructs. But...
Why dress Constructs in school uniforms? Or rather, why would students be deployed to the battlefield like this?
The vehicle's bumpy ride jolts you back to reality.
The transport vehicle races across the vast, desolate wilderness.
Wait—cap, there seems to be someone lying on the ground ahead.
No time to waste. This area is crawling with Corrupted. Finding bodies on the ground is nothing unusual.
Following their gaze, you see only ruins at first glance. Upon closer inspection, you notice tiny dancing sparks among the debris.
That girl—if one can still use such a term—lies amid the ruins as lifeless as the surrounding rebar and rubble.
Her body appears damaged, with severed mechanical limbs exposing their cross-sections. Short-circuited wires emit sparks—the only feature distinguishing her from the other lifeless debris.
...But to a corpse, you can't really call it rescue — it's salvage.
The lead soldier does not contradict you; instead, he offers a coaxing reply.
You sure know how to ask for the impossible, Dear Specialist.
He responds with sarcasm and mockery, but does not outright refuse your request.
We'll take a look when we pass by.
Mid-conversation, the mercenary driving suddenly jerks the wheel, causing the vehicle to swerve violently.
Enemy attack!!
What's going on?
Someone's opening fire on us, cap!
Turn around! Fall back!
Rat-tat-tat-tat—
Rapid gunfire echoes relentlessly in your ears.
Hmph...
The transport vehicle zigzags erratically, desperately maneuvering through the hail of bullets.
At this point, you really don't want to play hero, do you!
...Damn it, drive towards those ruins we just passed!
The low, crumbling buildings could shield them from bullets. If they could just reach those ruins, they should be able to find temporary cover...
The transport vehicle sways violently as it changes course, heading toward the abandoned town.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—
Strangely, the gunfire not only fails to subside, but actually intensifies.
Eh-? We're still heading forward? It's super dangerous in there...
Damn it! Why are we driving this way? There are only more bullets now!
Still cursing under his breath, he spins around to shout at the team member behind the wheel.
Drive faster! Shit! I sure as hell don't want to die here!
Sit tight, cap!
The gunfire continues, but strangely enough, almost no bullets hit the transport vehicle's critical areas—
Those bullets don't seem intended to attack the transport vehicle; they're more like warnings telling it not to approach this area recklessly.
Dust begins to rise.
As the transport vehicle enters the abandoned town, yellow sand gradually engulfs their field of vision.
As the transport vehicle disappears into the haze, the previously relentless gunfire gradually falls silent.
Did we... did we lose them?
An uncanny silence falls over their surroundings.
Squeak!
From the sand-shrouded ruins, a Corrupted suddenly slams against the front windshield. Immediately after, countless pairs of crimson eyes light up from within the dust cloud.
Damn it... did we just ****ing stumble into a Corrupted nest?!
One, two, three—hordes of Corrupted emerge from the mist and charge toward the transport vehicle—
Lock and load!
The Corrupted are crowding in front of the vehicle, making it nearly impossible to move—
Damn it... abandon the vehicle for now!
ROAR!
He barely pokes half his body out when a large Corrupted lunges toward him.
Grrrr...
The Corrupted loses its balance and tumbles to the ground like a kite with its string cut.
Whoa—as expected of a specialist! Damn good shooting!
Something doesn't feel right.
That bullet definitely hit its mark squarely.
But even with a service weapon upgraded by Babylonia, it should be impossible to paralyze such a large Corrupted with just one bullet.
ROAR!
The Corrupted roars and charges toward you again.
Guhk—
The bullet strikes it mid-charge, sending its body flying backward from the force of the impact and its own momentum.
What's going on? You only fired once, but there were two gunshots through the dust cloud.
What an awkward introduction.
Through the swirling dust, the silhouette of a girl in black clothing flickers in and out of view from a higher vantage point.
I'm a Corrupted... coming to eat you up! Now, are you going to shoot?
A girl appearing during a sudden Corrupted surge makes no sense. Your instincts made you raise your weapon without thinking.
Oh?
The girl's laughter rings through the windblown sand.
But in the blink of an eye, the black silhouette vanishes like a ghost.
As the sandstorm gradually subsides, a wave of Corrupted surges forward.
Two gunshots ring out again, and the targeted Corrupted falls instantly.
Suddenly, an interesting thought pops into your head.
Just as expected—the Corrupted falls anyway, even though your bullet missed completely.
Someone is assisting you from the shadows. But... who exactly is this person?
You watch as the transport vehicle ignores the warning shots and charges straight into the abandoned town swarming with Corrupted.
Sigh... they just won't listen... There are loads of Corrupted over there, you know. If something goes wrong, don't blame me.
The girl yawns out of boredom and passes her black gun to her tail behind her.
She perches on the roof of a wooden cabin, leisurely swinging her legs.
She can't figure out why that transport vehicle would stubbornly press forward even after it had been warned by gunfire.
Gazing into the distance, she knows her companion's remains lie buried somewhere in those ruins.
That's her real purpose for coming here—to recover the body that was so carelessly discarded.
She stands up, ready to rush toward her companion's location, but her body suddenly freezes.
Why is that transport vehicle... still heading toward the exact ruins where her companion lies?
No way...
Is it just a coincidence...?
Hah... I can't take this.
With a resigned sigh, she takes the gun from her tail, aims at the Corrupted, and prepares to fire again.
Hmm?
She is synchronized with something.
A strange feeling. Her signal... seems to be synchronized with someone else's.
The other person... is loading their weapon, raising their gun sideways, quickly taking aim, pulling the trigger—she perceives their every movement with crystal clarity.
Who is it? Where? Her visual modules dart back and forth, desperately scanning for the shooter's position—
—Found you.
A figure in an exoskeleton combat suit looks somewhat bedraggled beneath the thick clouds of dust blotting out the sky.
What an awkward introduction.
She can't help but find herself intrigued.
Loading—aiming—pulling the trigger... to her, these are distinct actions happening in slow-motion that she can easily break down and analyze.
So she mimics those slow movements, deliberately raising her gun barrel.
bang！
