“Please… allow us some time to deliberate,” the security guard, along with several other adults behind the kindergarten’s iron gate, exchanged uneasy glances and whispered among themselves after hearing Ji Bingyao’s words. “We need to make some preparations…”
Having spoken, the adults immediately retreated into the main building of the kindergarten, which functioned as both a teaching facility and a dormitory, securely locking the heavy door from within.
“Damn it, they won’t listen to us,” Even though the other party had used pretexts like ‘deliberate’ and ‘make preparations,’ Eileen, the most astute among the team, immediately discerned the adults’ true intentions. “This is going to be troublesome.”
“Hmph… what a pathetic, short-sighted populace,” Yurizumi grumbled. “Do they truly believe those flimsy railings and barbed wire can withstand the coming tide of destruction?”
“I’m afraid they do—so far, the attacks here have only involved the first wave of parasitic hosts to enter the academy, primarily consisting of giant insects with limited combat capabilities and infected students. At most, there have only been a few ‘Hybrids,’ whose fighting power is also limited. Even the attack on the dormitory relied on disguised infiltration and exploiting information asymmetry to succeed,” Eileen, the team’s strategist, analyzed as she injected deworming agents into the subdued students. “Therefore, the kindergarten department has withstood small-scale attacks. This may have given those inside a false impression, making them believe the potential scale of the assault would be no more than this.”
“I can understand that,” Alice nodded. “Furthermore, there are many defenseless children in the kindergarten. If I were one of the adults inside, I certainly wouldn’t let them leave there to risk danger so casually. And with our current appearance, it would be difficult to convince them.”
“Uh… well…” Hearing Alice’s words, the others exchanged glances, then displayed helpless expressions. Their school uniforms were now dirty and torn, and the raincoats and helmets they wore were stained with a mixture of fresh blood, mud, and the pale green hemolymph of insects. Even setting aside the array of weaponry they carried, their mere appearance was utterly terrifying.
More significantly, with the added bloodstains, burn marks, and various dust and grime, Shirley’s ‘Goddess of the Hunt’ looked even more horrifying, resembling the ‘ultimate weapon’ of a villain in a children’s adventure novel. Anyone who saw it for the first time and wasn’t afraid was either an incorrigible mech enthusiast or suffered more than a slight affliction in their aesthetic taste.
“Shirley, do you have any good ideas?” Ji Bingyao, unsure of what to do next, asked Shirley, but received no reply. Then, she gently tapped the cockpit hatch of the ‘Goddess of the Hunt,’ and to her surprise, it opened directly!
“Pilot unconscious. Auxiliary cooling system experiencing level two malfunction. Initiating ventilation and emergency medical care.” A monotonous artificial voice stated. Inside the open cockpit, Shirley, missing limbs, was enveloped by a mass of writhing pink tentacles, her eyes rolled back, her gaze unfocused, easily evoking images of defeat CGs from works of fiction featuring female ninjas. The air within the cockpit was hot and humid, filled with a distinct, pungent odor reminiscent of a biogas digester.
As the hatch opened, these foul, high-temperature gases immediately surged out, striking like a heavy punch to the senses, almost knocking the wind out of Ji Bingyao and Eileen, who were closest. As they hastily recoiled, a series of slender, needle-like tentacles emerged, piercing into Shirley’s body, causing her to suddenly open her mouth to its widest extent.
“Yiiiiiaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh——”
“Shirley?! Shirley!”
Hearing that heart-rending shriek, the others could no longer pay attention to the terrible stench and rushed forward. Fortunately, Shirley’s agonizing scream did not last long. After a few seconds, she regained her composure.
“Everyone… don’t worry, I’m fine.” After the tentacles completed their injections, Shirley, her face flushed and drenched in sweat, managed to say, “It was just… ugh… too painful earlier, so I briefly lost consciousness. Now… huff… now I’m almost recovered.”
“You can’t keep fighting with this monstrous contraption; it’s an instrument of torture!” Ji Bingyao declared in an unyielding voice. “That Salome is deliberately tormenting you! From now on, we’ll handle everything!”
“Exactly! She looks like such an adorable young girl, how can she be so wicked?!” Alice exclaimed, her hands on her hips in anger. “I… I won’t let Shirley suffer anymore!”
“I, Fujiwara Ason Shijō Yurizumi, swear by the names of my ancestors—who were both scholarly and martial, and remarkably handsome—that if that stinking winged brat ever falls into my hands, I will make her pay the price she deserves!”
“Thank you for your concern…” Shirley said with a bitter smile after recovering slightly. “However, I’m afraid I can’t do that yet.”
“Huh?”
“Please stand back.” As the hum of a car engine rapidly approached, Shirley closed the ‘Goddess of the Hunt’s’ cockpit hatch once more. Then, the plasma assault cannon mounted within the mech suddenly fired forward, a superheated green orb of light hurtling with astonishing intensity, accurately striking a heavy-duty truck that had just crashed through the school wall!
Although the large truck was quite old, it had undergone extensive modifications. The entire cab was encased in thick steel plates, and a bladed digging shovel, salvaged from a heavy excavator, was even welded to its front, making it a veritable internal combustion engine-driven ‘battering ram.’ It clearly looked like prime equipment for murder, robbery, and traversing other worlds. However, under the powerful impact of the B-9K plasma assault cannon, these components melted rapidly like frost under a scorching sun. As the engine’s residual fuel ignited, a shower of semi-molten parts scattered, resembling a fiery rain from purgatory.
“What in the world was that?!” Ji Bingyao and the others all stared with wide eyes in astonishment.
“It’s the main force of the parasites—they’re here!” Shirley’s voice, hard and brooking no argument, boomed through the ‘Goddess of the Hunt’s’ loudspeakers. “Everyone, retreat! Let me handle this!”
Beyond the breach in the wall created by the large truck was a diverse, makeshift legion. In addition to over a thousand giant insects and hundreds of parasitic animals like wild boars, deer, cattle, and large rats, there were also more than a dozen ‘war vehicles’ modified from forklifts, SUVs, and other means of transport. At the forefront of these ‘war vehicles,’ a man over two and a half meters tall, clad in homemade armor fashioned from various scrap metals, wielded a heavy machine gun with his bare hands, looking remarkably like the legendary Juwuba, who commanded legions of beasts into battle at Kunyang.
Of course, unlike the historically imposing yet ultimately useless giant, Shirley knew perfectly well that this behemoth was a ‘Hybrid’—just as they had modified the insects that served as host species, these otherworldly parasites had gradually transformed humans, turning them into more effective weapons of war.
Furthermore, the individuals on the other ‘war vehicles’ were certainly no ordinary folk. Many possessed additional limbs that had transformed into blades or even ranged weapons, or tough carapaces had grown on their vulnerable body parts. Others, though appearing as harmless children or even young girls, had been recognized by Shirley and her companions after previous encounters with ‘Hybrids’ as being far from trivial opponents.
Undoubtedly, these creatures were all ‘Hybrids.’ And unlike the mere cannon fodder-level foes within the campus, Shirley knew clearly that they possessed the capability to pose a mortal threat to the ‘Goddess of the Hunt.’
And so… she chose to confront them.
****
“This… no way? This is impossible…”
Two kilometers away, on a mountain peak, Salome clutched high-magnification binoculars with trembling hands from the rooftop of an abandoned weather station. Sweat completely drenched her dark dress, yet she was utterly oblivious.
“Sister Salome…”
Cassandra, squatting beside her, looked at Salome, unsure of what to say. Among all her sisters, she was the weakest in terms of ability. Aside from occasionally glimpsing future images through contact with the temporal turbulence of Li Hentian, she was almost entirely powerless. And at this moment, she had seen no new premonitions, naturally unaware of what to do.
However, she understood perfectly why Salome had fallen into such a state.
Just two days prior, Cassandra’s opinion of their mother was not much different from Salome’s. In their memories, their genetic mother, the former chief scientist of the Human Revival Council, Dr. Irmindada, was a ruthless being with ice water flowing through her veins, willing to sacrifice everything for her research goals. And they, her ‘daughters,’ while her flesh and blood, were merely tools to achieve her ambitions.
In years past, Cassandra had several times narrowly avoided being placed on the ‘disposal list’ due to her weakness. Had it not been for her unique precognitive abilities, which were deemed worthy of study, she might well have become one of Salome’s dissection subjects, like many of her sisters.
Of course, all her sisters harbored hatred for their mother… yet they were helpless. Dr. Irmindada had always controlled them with powerful technological means, granting them special powers but rendering them unable to resist. Until one day, these invisible shackles were suddenly lifted, allowing them to secretly join forces with the resistance, dealing a heavy blow to the Human Revival Council.
But their mother had unexpectedly escaped.
Foreseeing a reunion with their mother, Cassandra and Shirley were sent by their other sisters to ‘welcome’ her. Cassandra had anticipated that their mother, having hidden in another world, would be utterly horrified and bewildered by everything, weeping bitterly and begging for forgiveness. But the reality was, she had not only become an ordinary high school student in a parallel world but had also made a group of friends. Most importantly, she seemed to have forgotten her past!
Upon learning all this, Salome’s first reaction was denial. She insisted that the innocent, naive JK who called herself ‘Shirley’ was the same person as the former Dr. Irmindada, and that both her ‘amnesia’ and her friendships with other girls were merely an elaborate performance. But Cassandra instinctively felt that Shirley’s actions were not a performance—and as it turned out, her hunch was highly likely to be correct.
Especially at this very moment.
“Sister Salome,” Cassandra tugged at Salome’s wing once more. “What… what should we do now?”
Salome slowly lowered her binoculars, her eyes swirling with confusion, anger, guilt, and bewilderment. Then, two clear lines of tears traced paths down her cheeks.
“I… don’t know.”