The cleaning robots' chassis whirred madly, their omnidirectional wheels working in tandem with thin strip-like cleaning cloths to wipe the now drained floor spotless.
In the brief pauses between cleaning, these compact bodies demonstrated surprising power, suddenly slamming into the Powered Suits that towered over them.
The impacted Powered Suits only swayed slightly before violently swinging their metal bats, knocking the cleaning robots in front of them over with a single strike.
But new cleaning robots immediately rushed in to replace them, attacking from multiple angles, creating distractions from the sides, exploiting the blind spots in the Powered Suits' built-in cameras, effectively blocking the ones near the main entrance.
Although these Powered Suits were remotely controlled, unless manually overridden, they operated on preset functional programs.
Given their sheer numbers, manually controlling them one by one was practically impossible.
The initial plan was to leverage the asymmetric strategy of swarm tactics, but then more and more enemy Powered Suits reinforcements arrived. Fortunately, their side still held the numerical advantage.
Staring intently at the intensifying battlefield, Uiharu's face held a calmness belying her age, like a general directing a battle from afar.
Though, seemingly thinking of the other Judgment members at their posts, a trace of worry and unease flickered in her eyes.
The rain had stopped, but a fog had risen.
The dark clouds still hung in the sky, but their color had lightened considerably, and they no longer released any rain.
Uiharu's hands suddenly stilled, her eyes unconsciously darting to a spot not far away, her cherry-blossom pink lips parting slightly.
The grey mist surged like a herd of wild horses, churning and rolling, seeming to seek prey, devouring everything within sight.
In this semi-flooded environment, the fog displayed a startling aggressiveness, wrapping everyone caught within it in a thick, suffocating embrace.
"Hey, hey, can you hear me? Attention to that super cute flower-girl up ahead."
A voice—that of a certain bun-haired girl—sounded beside her, yet Uiharu looked around and saw no one.
This was because Natsume-san was using air vibrations to transmit her voice directly to Uiharu's location.
"Really now, what is Natsume-san saying," the 'flower-girl' murmured, momentarily stunned before a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, tinged with a hint of complaint.
"Uiharu-san, remember to recall the cleaning robots outside the main gate. I've thought of a way to deal with these Powered Suits."
As a certain someone wasn't equipped with an earpiece or similar communication tool, she naturally couldn't hear Uiharu-san's minor grumbling, and simply continued using the air to carry her words.
"I understand."
Uiharu nodded instinctively, not considering whether Natsume-san could hear her or not.
Lifting her head to look at the thick fog rolling towards them, Uiharu suddenly had an epiphany. She thought she understood Natsume-san's plan.
So Natsume-san planned to use the fog against the Powered Suits. It was a very clever move.
As expected of a Tokiwadai lady.
'If only Natsume-san were a bit more diligent, less of a glutton, and maybe swapped her hairstyle for something like princess curls, she'd fit my image of a proper young lady perfectly,' the flower-wearing girl, a fervent admirer of elite all-girls' schools, couldn't help but think.
Uiharu steadied herself, retreating outside the main gate at a jog while using her PDA to control the cleaning robots' movements.
The cleaning robots disengaged without hesitation. The moment the fog enveloped the area, they followed Uiharu's commands and pulled back to the entrance, quickly turning the gateway into a sea of machines.
Just as Uiharu reached the entrance, a certain bun-haired girl landed deftly on top of one of the cleaning robots, the wind-like wings behind her dissipating.
"Natsume-san, it's a relief to see you're alright."
Uiharu's face lit up with a hint of joy upon seeing Natsume Sonoko safe and sound.
"But where's Shirai-san?"
Glancing around, the flower-wearing girl grew somewhat worried again.
She remembered that Natsume-san and Shirai-san had been together.
"Don't worry. She's probably rescuing people right now," Natsume Sonoko said softly.
Standing atop the eighty-centimeter-tall cleaning robot gave Natsume-san a very different perspective from usual.
In fact, a certain bun-girl rather enjoyed sightseeing from atop the cleaning robots on many occasions.
The mist halted about ten meters from the main entrance, firmly trapping everything inside.
Now, almost the entire Research Exhibition venue was blanketed in a thick layer of fog, with only the areas around the five exits remaining clear for a short distance.
In this dense fog, the built-in cameras the Powered Suits used for orientation and target acquisition became utterly useless, causing them to spin around aimlessly like headless flies.
"Relax. Even if any get out, it'll only be a few stragglers," Natsume Sonoko said in a comforting tone, seeing that Uiharu beside her was still somewhat tense.
Unless an individual's combat ability reached a qualitative transformation, they couldn't handle numerous opponents—of course, freaks like Accelerator were the exception.
And when the goal wasn't annihilation but simply containment, Natsume-san seemed to have a particular talent.
After realizing this, Natsume Sonoko and Shirai-san had quickly switched tactics.
The two had devised a seemingly simple yet remarkably effective method: use the fog to cripple the Powered Suits' identification systems.
Natsume-san would use the mist to seal off the venue, while Shirai-san took the opportunity to evacuate everyone inside—not just the Judgment members and Kongou-senpai's group, but even the venue staff.
"Good thing these Powered Suits aren't equipped with infrared imagers, or this would be less effective," Natsume Sonoko muttered under her breath.
The original Powered Suits required pilots; after being modified for remote control, they became heavily reliant on their built-in functions.
Unlike standard thermal scopes, infrared imagers could directly observe the infrared rays emitted by objects.
They were unaffected by most weather, environments, or even buildings, but the resulting images were overly blurry.
While the machines might not accurately interpret these fuzzy images, the people remotely controlling the Powered Suits might still use them to find a way out.
Natsume-san's thermal perception, however, was more like a combination of both: it possessed the infrared imager's ability to see through obstructions, while also offering the clear, distinguishable visuals of a thermal scope.
"Perhaps they thought cameras were sufficient. A fog as low-visibility as the one you're creating, Natsume-san, is probably an exception to their planning," Uiharu mused from beside her.
"Uiharu, I just thought of something very important."
Frowning, Natsume-san suddenly turned her head, scrutinizing Uiharu's face intently.
"Has something else happened?" Uiharu-san asked, slightly taken aback.
"No, it's not that. Can you teach me how to control the cleaning robots with my phone? This is the request of a lifetime."
Gazing at the massive swarm of cleaning robots gathered at the entrance, a look of unmistakable envy abruptly flashed across Natsume-san's face.
'If I could learn Uiharu's method of controlling these cleaning robots, I could hail a ride home anytime, anywhere.'
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.