Chapter 226

The dimly lit room overflowed with various complicated and bizarre medical instruments and facilities.

Right in front of me was Leonar for some reason. At the door I had marked as the exit stood a man wearing strange goggles, and nearby was Electra, nervously tossing aside a helmet-shaped device on the operating table.

Even if I describe it positively, it was a mess… or rather, it appeared to be nearing utter chaos.

How on earth did our client, classified as a rogue intruder and a log agent, appear so leisurely in a place like this?

Isn’t it a bit harsh to expect a patient who just regained consciousness after fainting from severe bruising and suspected hypovolemic shock to intuitively grasp the entire situation? No matter how much they might have stolen from the network inside, they should at least allow me some time to collect my thoughts.

“Ugh.”

“Hic!?”

But in my slightly dazed state, did my internal grumbling somehow show on the outside?

The hand that first grabbed my wrist, Leonar’s grip, slid up my arm and suddenly squeezed under my armpit and side, while the other hand grabbed me under the chin, holding my neck.

To be precise, saying he squeezed might have been an exaggeration due to the sudden physical contact that caught me off guard.

Considering the price and quality of the parts that made up his body, he could easily output two or three times that of Zero. If he hadn’t finely controlled his strength, there would have been no sound of air leaking out, and this time it would truly have been a situation of “Thank you for fitting into the story of Anastasia~”.

Bent slightly at the waist, Leonar carefully sent some kind of text message through the channel he had established before the operation, ensuring that as little weight and force as possible were applied to his hand resting on my abdomen, waist, collarbone, and carotid artery.

[Just a moment, forgive my rudeness. I’ll pretend to kill you while stalling for time. At least that bastard believes so.]

“…”

My efforts to be understanding shrank in an instant.

If I had been reassured thinking something must be going on up until just now, I felt a cold sweat trickling down my back after hearing such an alarming explanation…

No, what the hell does “pretending to kill” even mean? That’s terrifying! Hey, you!!

[If you want to know more, I can explain later. For now, just know that the peace negotiations have broken down. It looks like… you’ve gone through quite a lot yourself, so I assume you have no objections to the fact that you need to escape.]

‘…Even if it means killing all of them.’

Seeing the quake in my pupils and focus, Leonar hurriedly added a few explanations and comments filled with a sticky desire.

I felt foolish for worrying that my nostalgia for my old workplace or the slightly grim situation was dampening my motivation… or possibly changing my resolution.

Having lost consciousness, I could sense that my heart was leaning more towards revenge, closer to “settling the score,” than reclaiming my original goal of returning to my body…?

“I know it’s a time of nostalgia, but shouldn’t you wrap things up quickly? Otherwise, she’ll wake up soon and make a fuss… ah, damn it. It’s too late.”

“Leo…? Leonar!? Honey! Do you even know how much I’ve missed you?!”

The sharp voice I had just heard in virtual space transformed into a playful and flirtatious melody. Of course, someone had to have made a saying similar to “women’s transformations are innocent,” but I didn’t think that granted a pardon for dual personalities.

Anyway, the man urged me, while Electra seemed so excited to see Leonar after several years that she shot up from her seat as if to throw her chair back.

It was obvious that if I got any closer, I would be strangled to death, so I wasn’t allowed to maintain eye contact with him while remaining dazed; it seemed I needed a more ingenious plan or a plausible excuse.

So, what’s the next plan? Don’t hold back; I’m ready to hear anything you want to say. If you have any immediate solutions, I’m willing to follow you without complaint!

[So, do you have a hidden trump card or anything? If so, now would be the perfect time to pull it out.]

‘…What?’

Calmly, I glared at him as if he was demanding something strange, as if pulling out a hidden item.

Why are you asking me this? Didn’t you come here because you had some answers? …Hey, wait!!

[Hmm, too bad. I thought you would be hiding something more dangerous… Well, it can’t be helped. We’ll just have to fight in a somewhat violent and primitive manner! You take care of your own dodges!]

“Dodges? Where did that come from…! Wah!?”

*Smack!!*

Gently, yet applying enough force to keep me as far away as possible.

As I was thrown toward the corner desk, I turned and gleefully smacked Electra’s jaw with the back of my hand, who was rushing at me with a dazed expression. The fluidity of those actions was honestly worthy of high praise.

However, although I couldn’t see it closely as I flew through the air like a remote control thrown from the sofa, it was clear that the male-female pair from Exatech were extremely displeased with what he just did.

“……………….Huh?”

“What the f**k, boss?! Leo, are you out of your mind?!”

“Ha! Rather, thank me for patiently listening to your bullsh*t, Gibson…!! It seems you think I was reckless, but if we had attacked with a strong resolve from the start, this place would already be in ashes! Be grateful!”

Bam—!

By now, the handgun I had drawn was firing at the man called Gibson, but he quickly noticed he was screwed and had already hidden behind thick surgical equipment.

The other person, however, didn’t react as quickly.

“………”

Tears streamed down his cheeks, and several of his teeth were broken, blood trickling down his lips.

Was it the first time being hit like this? Or was it difficult to accept that the one who hit him was the Leonar he had longed for?

With a dazed expression, the revolting jaw aligned with her, Leonar’s gun was aimed at Electra.

I wanted to simply say they were finally paying for their sins, but she wore such a visibly hurt expression that the situation felt rather strange. Hmm.

“…Leonar? Honey?? Why, why…?”

“After ruining a person’s life to this extent. Who the hell is your honey? You and I have never even officially married… What kind of madwoman are you, Condamner?”

Electra sobbed as if she were the tragic heroine of a sorrowful romance story.

Of course, Leonar, who had to play the role of her male counterpart in that story, showed unmistakable signs of being fed up with her, which she likely hadn’t realized, despite her complaints highlighting her grievances.

At least there was one piece of good news: the seemingly everlasting parallel line was finally approaching its end?

The aimed gun glimmered coldly.

With just one bullet left until this exhausting bond was severed, a dramatic situation where pulling the trigger would end everything.

Leonar, without so much as a typical farewell, moved his finger as if to express his resolved state of mind…

*Pfft—!!*

“Ugh!?”

“All troops…! Eliminate the intruders!! Destroy any unmoving droids in advance! And all defense personnel, head to the first mixing room! The boss has been attacked!!”

I didn’t even know what that was used for, having barely survived, but anyway.

Gibson, who thrust an electrode with blue sparks into Leonar’s back, used the opportunity when his joints were stiffened to pull Electra’s wrist, yanking her away from the danger of death.

Having no time to fix her disheveled hair like someone possessed by a lingering spirit, while being dragged away helplessly, Electra, with dead eyes showing through her disordered hair, looked right at me and whispered in a chilling tone.

“………So it was you…? You vixen.”

“!!”

A chill ran through my entire body. Why is she suddenly acting like this towards me?!

Even amidst the overwhelming pressure that made all the fine hairs on my body stand on end, I moved my hands busily without pause.

What? Shouldn’t I have stepped up to support Leonar if I wanted to prevent this situation? What was I doing while a fierce emotional battle was happening there?

You think I was standing around wasting precious time like a noble? No, I didn’t just stand there; you see, I was very busy!

Games typically return seized equipment and belongings nicely when a kidnapping event ends, or they create separate sections to retrieve them.

In movies, protagonists often easily collect their displayed weapons while escaping.

So why was I thoroughly searched and robbed of everything from my handgun to portable hacking terminals, not to mention even a single cheap candy, which left me rummaging through all the drawers and desks without knowing where any of it was kept?

I wanted to complain about this urgently. Really.

“Ah…! Finally found it!”

“Ugh… Did you recover your belongings? If you’re okay, I hope you can start getting back into position to provide combat support!”

“Sorry! I’m not crazy enough to stick to a computer as soon as I stand up in the enemy camp! I need at least some minimal means of defense!!”

I shouted back at Leonar, who was urging me to shift gears, and literally threw myself into cover beneath the relatively sturdy central computer desk where Electra had been seated.

Why? Because the troops that had been on standby flocked in response to Gibson’s communication, turning the room into a fiery hell.

*Bam bam bam bam!!*

*Crash, clang…! Clang!!*

“Crazy, hell…!! Leonar! Don’t touch the automated turrets unless it’s a real emergency! I’ll hack them right now!”

“I understand. However, I’ll do my best to block this entrance, so could you provide support for our isolated droid unit from up top? If they’re annihilated, escaping will become a serious issue!”

I wanted to incredulously respond, “Is this even the basement?” but my voice was drowned out by intensified suppressive fire.

Every sort of chemical vial and flask exploded like fireworks, facilities were destroyed, and bullets ricocheted everywhere. The shards of glass raining down caused me to instinctively flinch.

For now, I had failed to silence the enemy’s ringleader by a hair’s breadth. It was a disappointing failure, but it couldn’t be helped.

Missing out on this opportunity means that currently, Leonar is blocking the only exit, engaging in a physical fight, so I have to work hard to turn the unfavorable situation around… No, I must turn it around. Surely, he came down here believing in that potential.

One fortunate aspect was that this time the conflict wasn’t about wasting effort in a head-on confrontation from the outside, but rather an internal degradation strategy.

Besides, with the diversion signal being my area of expertise and without a pointless memory contest with Exatech engineers, I could project influence over a much wider range.

In the midst of the battlefield, where bullets were flying through the gap I couldn’t block.

I really didn’t want to describe it this way, but I curled up like a girl, reducing the hit surface area as much as possible, concentrating to restore all electronic signals that had been lying dormant in the background.

“……Huh?”

I was exposed to an overwhelming surge of connection requests, easily fifty times greater than expected.

Thanks to that, it took longer to see the updated real-time notification within the laboratory network stating, “We are simultaneously under heavy attack from the north and south. Requesting support at headquarters!” from the perspective of the enemies; it could only be described as an absurd tragedy.