Not long after Qian Qi left, a fierce gunfight erupted in a nearby district, echoing across the entire area.
“Seriously! Why do I have to do this… Ouch!”
A purple-haired girl in a black and white functional uniform complained loudly. Her full, firm legs were forced to stop due to an attack, making her quickly jump back behind cover while clutching the injured spot. Her chest badge, displaying her name—"Hayase Yuuka"—swung in a graceful arc.
She held her beloved MPX-K compact submachine gun, firing at the stubborn delinquents from behind cover.
Bang!
At the same moment, the black-sailored girl beside her seized the opportunity, poked her head out from behind cover, and pulled the trigger. A bullet burst from the barrel of her beloved Enfield P14 bolt-action rifle, accurately striking a delinquent's head, knocking her out instantly.
“Be careful.”
“I know, Hasumi-san.”
Hikawa Hasumi looked at Hayase Yuuka, who was rubbing her head in pain after being hit by a bullet. She casually pulled the bolt of her rifle to reload, then looked at the fair-skinned girl with orange-pink hair, who was also reloading her Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol, and asked:
“But speaking of which, Yuuka-san, Chiharu-san, do you feel it?”
“???”
The two girls looked at her in confusion. Hikawa Hasumi, who was checking her remaining ammunition, explained:
“Don’t you think the enemies we’ve encountered so far haven’t been very strong? Although we were called in at the last minute, this operation feels unexpectedly smooth, completely different from what we usually handle.”
In fact, they had originally planned to question Shichigami Rin, the administrative officer of the Federal Student Council, about the recent events in various academies.
Shichigami Rin seemed to be waiting for someone at the time, and in response to their questions, she reluctantly stated that due to the Federal Student Council President's disappearance, the highest leader of the Sancta Sanctuary was vacant. Therefore, the Federal Student Council was currently without administrative control, all operations were halted, and this certification could not be forcibly interfered with by other means, not even by her.
However, fortunately, Shichigami Rin said there was a solution. She stated that only the "Teacher" who, according to the Federal Student Council President's message, would arrive at Shale today, could re-certify. But this was also a pointless statement, as she had been waiting since morning and the person still hadn't arrived. She had even tricked and coerced them into "helping."
Saying that if they helped the Federal Student Council retrieve something from that building, all problems would be resolved once the Teacher arrived.
So far, things were indeed going smoothly. After all, the enemies they encountered on the way weren't particularly strong, which allowed the three elites to breathe a sigh of relief while also noticing something amiss.
“Yes, the enemies we’ve encountered so far have either been very few in number, or they looked like they had just been defeated by someone and were fleeing…”
Himiya Chinatsu lowered her head in thought, recalling the various encounters on the way, her heart full of questions.
The three present were all elites from their respective academies. Although not the top combatants, they had handled thousands, if not tens of thousands, of cases.
Normally, these delinquents would either appear in droves like locusts, or swagger around with illegal weapons, making them very troublesome.
Sometimes, they even had to deploy the top combatants from various academies, such as Millennium's C&C, Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee, and Trinity's Justice Realization Committee, to help stabilize the situation.
Yet, along the way, the delinquents they encountered were either pitifully few in number or looked disheveled, as if they had just been taught a lesson.
This was beyond the trio's expectations.
“Anyway, let’s quickly deal with this…”
Just then, Hayase Yuuka rubbed her still tingling head, muttering softly.
“I still have to go back to the Seminar to help with things, honestly… These delinquents are actually using illegal lethal bullets. Where do they even get such sophisticated weapons?”
“…”
The other two girls didn't respond to Hayase Yuuka's complaints, but they had the same thoughts.
For example—they felt that the recent chaos in Kivotos seemed a bit off… Meanwhile, in Kivotos, on the top floor of the tallest building in the Shiratori District.
This was a spacious office, exceptionally bright inside. At this moment, a beautiful girl in a snow-white uniform, with smooth, dark long hair cascading over her head, sat anxiously in a chair.
Her eyes showed signs of urgency, and at this moment, while processing a mountain of documents, she raised her left hand, watching the time on her wristwatch tick by second by second.
Then, she cast her gaze towards the white automatic door directly opposite her desk, as if waiting for someone's arrival.
“It is indeed today… But an hour has passed already… President, oh President, you really left me with a mess…”
Just as Shichigami Rin was filled with doubt, unsure of what to do next, suddenly, the tablet terminal on a nearby desk rang.
“Hi Rin-chan, the helicopter is ready.”
“Okay, I understand, thank you, Momoka.”
Shichigami Rin's voice was calm yet firm, as decisive as ever.
“But are you sure you want to go?”
The voice on the other end sounded somewhat surprised, with the occasional crunching sound of potato chips.
“It's very chaotic there right now, you know? The delinquents who escaped from the Correction Bureau are causing a huge ruckus, they even blew up a tram. That place can practically be described as a battlefield now!”
“However, according to on-site intelligence, they seem to be planning to occupy the Shale building, apparently having heard that some important item they desperately desire is hidden there.”
These unsettling messages made the already tense atmosphere even more severe.
“So we're leaving immediately. We need to retrieve that item as quickly as possible before anything happens to it, otherwise if it's destroyed by the enemy beforehand…”
Just then, something unexpected happened.
A huge sound suddenly erupted from a certain area. Shichigami Rin frowned and looked out the window, only to see a building not far away explode, with thick black smoke rising straight up. Looking at the destroyed building, Shichigami Rin's pupils sharply contracted.
Because she remembered that place seemed to be—
“No way…”
—
—