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The Jaxcalibur Squad took out the anti-corrosion injectors and energy gel they had prepared in advance and handed them out. Nicole stared at the premium-grade item in her hand, momentarily stunned.
"Black-market middlemen really are loaded..." she exclaimed. "This is a high-potency anti-corrosion drug still in the testing phase. They can even get their hands on this?" She flicked open the ampoule with her thumb and drank it down.
"Ugh... so bitter..." Nekomata's face twisted into a knot as she turned toward Anby. "How do you still not have any expression? Is it not gross to you?"
"Compared to the concoction you made last time when you mixed several drinks into my soda as a prank, this is acceptable," the white-haired girl replied flatly. She only frowned slightly before tilting her head back and drinking it all.
"You guys are pretty close," Jax-03 remarked, his tone faintly sour. Wearing masks as they were, even eating and drinking required slipping supplies through the opening beneath the hood. Unlike the Cunning Hares, who could openly appear anywhere, the Jaxcalibur Squad had to conceal their identities most of the time. Once exposed, they'd be hunted—by enemies or even their own.
"Don't just hand it out to yourselves—give me one too." Gotthardt extended his siege claw toward Jaxcalibur-01, who was distributing the energy gel.
Jaxcalibur-01 was clearly caught off guard. When preparing supplies, no one had thought to include rations for engineering machinery. And that superalloy claw, built to crush Ethereals, didn't exactly look suited to holding a packet of energy gel.
"I'll handle it." Ignis tapped the Leviathan Dreadnought's armor, and the old veteran opened the sarcophagus hatch.
The Son of Vulkan twisted off the cap and handed the gel over.
"I'm not so old that I need a junior to open my bottle caps," the veteran said as he took it from the Salamander's hand and tasted it. "Not bad. A bit bland, though."
Gotthardt sucked the energy gel flat in one pull, tossed the empty packaging aside, and sealed the sarcophagus armor once more.
"He's seriously injured..." Jaxcalibur-01 muttered as he ate his own ration.
"Those are marks of honor—medals of a veteran," the Dreadnought replied, patting its own armor with its right hand.
Compared to all this, Ignis was more concerned about Jane Doe. It hadn't been many days since they last met, yet she hadn't been informed about this operation. If they really did run into each other and things turned violent, let's hope she doesn't get caught in the crossfire.
As his thoughts drifted, Ignis glanced at the Leviathan Dreadnought's four thermal laser cannons, unease creeping in. Given Jane Doe's capabilities, she should—maybe—probably—more or less—be able to dodge firepower coverage... right?
That rat was fast. The first time they met, he'd even suffered a small loss, ending up with several cuts on his body.
"Once you're rested, prepare to move out." Gotthardt saw that everyone had finished their emergency rations and issued the order. "My servo-skull has detected more active targets approaching. If we don't want another fight, we should leave immediately."
As everyone rose to their feet, Ignis let out a quiet sigh. "Everyone, a friend of mine—the informant who provided this coordinate—should be on the other side right now."
"She's a female Rat Thiren. Extremely fast. Be careful not to injure her by mistake. Her code name is Jane Doe. If you spot her, tell her that Ignis has come to fulfill his promise."
"Female?" The most shocked of all was Billy. "You mean the one you had me drive you out to meet privately before?"
"My little brother," the Leviathan Dreadnought's head-mounted optics turned toward him, the gaze putting immense pressure on the Son of Vulkan. "When we get back, you'd better tell me that story in detail."
"Alright, let's move." Nicole clapped her hands, steering the conversation back to the mission. "Hollow Zero isn't an amusement park. We might not last long in here. Let's deal with Razor quickly. Anything else can wait until we're out."
Following Eous through the rift was deeply uncomfortable, the sensation of weightlessness making even the Leviathan Dreadnought nearly lose its footing.
"Alright. According to plan, I'll stop here and wait for your signal," the old veteran said, concealing his mechanical body within the shadows of a building as he eyed the commercial center some distance away.
Thankfully, the power system had already been replaced. If it were still running on the old reactor, the Mountain Lion Gang on the other side would have heard the thunderous noise long ago.
"Understood." Jaxcalibur-01 nodded. "If we fire three signal flares, it means we've successfully seized control of the tactical mech and are ready to attack. Two flares mean partial control—fire support required. One flare means—"
"I know. A frontal assault," Gotthardt replied, carefully lowering the output of his vox array. "That's what I'm best at—and the simplest for me."
"Then what about us..." Nicole asked, looking at the Jaxcalibur Squad and Ignis as they prepared to depart.
"This phase requires professionals," Ignis said. "We may encounter mutated enemies. If one's mental fortitude isn't strong enough, corruption can spread." He knelt on one knee and placed a hand on Nicole's shoulder. "I don't want the Cunning Hares exposed to that danger."
"So, we just wait around?" Nekomata stepped forward. "I can move silently too. Infiltration isn't a problem for me."
"Ladies, please," the old veteran interjected immediately. "Trust my battle-brother. Your equipment and training truly aren't sufficient for what comes next."
"But—" Nicole tried again, only for the Dreadnought to extend its iron claw and gently cover her.
"If you absolutely must send one of you, then it can only be the white-haired one."
At Gotthardt's words, Billy shook his head and swaggered forward, spinning his twin revolvers with flashy flourishes.
"Knew it'd come down to me in the end," the robot said, slicking back his hair and striking a pose.
"No. Not you," the old veteran replied, instantly breaking Billy's stance. "That girl will do. Your firepower is too weak. Against those mutated creatures, you'd be nearly useless. Frankly, this is the first time I've seen a Man of Iron with firepower this lacking."
"I told you to bring my shotgun," Ignis said, patting Billy's shoulder again. "Watch Nicole and Nekomata. Don't let them sneak after us."
Among the Cunning Hares, there were only two with white hair. With Billy excluded, that left only Anby.
"Anby!" Nicole shouted toward her from behind the iron barricade. "Take care of—just don't let him do anything stupid!"
The white-haired girl looked back and nodded firmly. "I'll do my best..."
"Go, my brother," Gotthardt said. "The Emperor watches over you. Take care of yourself—and these mortals as well."
With the old veteran's blessing, the team set off. When they were less than five hundred meters from the commercial complex, the Jaxcalibur Squad halted. One unmanned cargo vehicle opened its bay, releasing a swarm of small drones. Squad Jax-05 activated his terminal and began directing the drone swarm, assigning objectives.
Due to unstable Ether radiation within the Hollow, even with anti-interference modules installed, the drones couldn't maintain effective real-time transmission. The footage returning to the terminal was fragmented and delayed. Fortunately, this had been anticipated. Pre-programmed commands took over, and the swarm dispersed according to plan toward their respective targets.
"If you're willing to grant me access..." Phaethon suggested while watching the drone signals repeatedly cut out. "I can act as a communication relay. Don't worry—I have no interest in your technology. Or rather, it's far too outdated."
Though it was true, Jax-05's expression darkened. His specialty was already hard to fully leverage inside a Hollow, and this operation placed him at the very center of everything. Reconnaissance, target acquisition, electronic warfare—none of it worked without a solid communications environment.
He could only look to his captain. Jaxcalibur-01 nodded, signaling him to open permissions to the Proxy.
"He can pull off zero-latency communications inside and outside a Hollow. Compared to him, our tech looks like something monkeys would use." Jaxcalibur-01 mocked himself dryly.
For Phaethon, though, even if they had refused to open permissions for secrecy's sake, he would have quietly had Fairy breach their system anyway and establish a reliable communication channel.
"This is going to jack up the electricity bill..." Belle's voice echoed inside Ignis's helmet. "Remember to reimburse me!"
With stable communications secured, the drone swarm released by Jaxcalibur Squad Jax-05 began reconnaissance around the commercial complex. One major advantage of small drones was their excellent mobility; combined with near-silent operation, they quickly screened nearby enemies.
The opposing force had only set up a single guard post at the main entrance of the commercial complex—five men paired with two Guardian mechs. In addition, a patrol unit composed of one Guardian mech and a Sweeper bipedal mech continuously circled the perimeter roads. Several concealed lookout posts were positioned on the upper levels of the complex.
Jax-03 and Jax-04 had already gone off to find suitable sniper nests. That loudmouthed guy insisted on hugging every member before departure, but only Eous agreed. Just as he was about to lament everyone's coldness, Jax-04—at No. 1's signal—locked him in a chokehold and dragged him away.
"They seem like a pretty tight-knit team," Phaethon remarked as he watched the two enter a nearby building, barely suppressing a laugh.
"Found it. They hid the tactical mechs directly in the underground parking—levels B1 and B2," Jax-05 sighed. "Child's play. There's a guard team at the garage entrance, but it's outside the main gate's line of sight."
Jax-05's terminal immediately projected a schematic. The garage entrance lay to the right of the complex's main doors. Being an underground garage, the Mountain Lion Gang members guarding it were completely outside the view of the main gate sentries. The only ones who could see them were the hidden lookouts on the building façade and the passing autonomous mech patrol.
"I've got eyes on the ones you mentioned," Jax-03's voice came through. "Range is a bit long, and the wind's pretty strong. Give me a moment—I need to recalibrate my ballistic computer."
"Can you seize control of the patrol unit?" Jaxcalibur-01 watched the patrol icons moving across the schematic. "Try the boss's backdoor program—see if it still works."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the Salamander. "So those are the mutants you mentioned? They really do look strange."
Guarding the garage entrance was a squad of severely mutated humans, not yet fully transformed into Bloodletters. Their bodies were abnormally tall and powerful, and their crude, self-made armor had fused directly with their flesh. One of them had even grown an extra crimson left arm, tipped with reflective claws.
Each of them bore marks of Khorne and Chaos, seemingly branded on with red-hot irons. Around those symbols, veins and muscles bulged unnaturally, grotesquely mismatched with their original human forms.
"These are relatively early-stage—but still extremely dangerous," Ignis shook his head. "They're highly resistant to ranged firepower. Your shots may take many hits to bring them down. Once engaged, avoid close combat—they're far more agile than they look."
"I've spotted a gun emplacement hidden in the shadows. Don't worry—I'll take out its operator," Jax-03 whistled lightly. "I've marked all targets. Jax-05, have your little eyes confirm."
"Patrol unit control seized," Jax-05 reported. "The two Guardians at the main gate are also under control. Captain, we're clear to move."
"Jax-06, with me." Jaxcalibur-01 issued orders immediately, then turned to the Salamander. "Ignis, Miss Anby?"
The two members of the Cunning Hares were already combat-ready—or rather, they'd been waiting for the signal all along. Following Jax-05's guidance, the assault team advanced in short bursts. Meanwhile, Jax-03 kept murmuring updates as enemy sentries were eliminated. In just three minutes, the four-person assault unit reached a corner only two hundred meters from the garage entrance.
"The patrol unit is about to pass. Captain, should I have them engage, or—" Jax-05 asked over comms.
"Let them pass. Once we've seized command of all tactical mechs, we strike together." Jaxcalibur-01 then checked with Jax-03. "All eyes cleared?"
"Hold on—the gun emplacement isn't down yet. All other eyes are closed," Jax-03 replied.
Moments later, the Salamander's Fire-Sight picked up several faint gunshots. Special subsonic rounds pierced through glass, killing the gun crew hidden in the first-floor shadows that had been covering the garage entrance.
"All eyes neutralized. Only the final team remains," Jax-03 reported. "I'll keep watch in case anything else stirs."
As soon as Jaxcalibur-01 raised his hand, Ignis and Anby surged forward.
Two hundred meters—
For a Space Marine, it was nothing at all.
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