After Su Yuzu stepped out of the jeep.
On the screen, the analysis probability of the girl being Soga Yura plummeted from the remaining 21% directly to 0.
Although... saying this might be a bit excessive, Soga Yura's figure could already be considered one of Soga Yura's trademarks.
The girl who got out of the jeep, despite wearing a baseball cap, had short black hair that was clean and dashing. Her hands were stuffed into the pockets of her jeans, projecting an image so cool that even other girls would probably want to scream, "Big Sis, slay me!"
But... the girl's figure was truly excellent. Her proportions were perfect, as if sculpted by the heavens according to the golden ratio. She could be Soga Yuzu. She could be anyone else from the Soga family. But the one person she definitely could not be was Soga Yura.
Having alighted from the car, Su Yuzu surveyed the white barbican before her. Actually, the girl's figure hadn't been this fair and upright before. But... all of this changed after Su Yuzu obtained Mihou Sakai's "Perfect Execution".
She was trending towards perfection. Su Yuzu even had a feeling that Mihou Sakai's "Perfect Execution" was actually the most terrifying talent. Because... what that talent changed might not just be appearance and figure. It was everything.
Kujou Katora silently stood in front of Su Yuzu. Yuzu had gotten out of the car too quickly, and they currently had no way to confirm if this experimental park was safe. She had to protect Yuzu.
"No need to be so nervous." Su Yuzu gently held Kujou Katora's hand from behind.
She was already certain. This experimental park couldn't be the laboratory that created Zero. This was the "Night Outpost" familiar to Su Yuzu. The outpost responsible for resupply, adjustments, and providing direct buffs during the interception battle against the World Boss.
Of course... after players became familiar with Kujou Iruka's attack patterns, this outpost also became one of the bases directly abandoned by players pursuing speedruns.
Creak, creak, creak—
The gate leading to the inner city opened. The researcher known as Mi'ya led the jeep convoy to park, and then... a girl biting on a Pocky chocolate stick ran out of the experimental park in a frantic hurry.
"Welcome, welcome..." The girl tried somewhat eagerly to hold Su Yuzu's hand, but was blocked by Kujou Katora, who stiffly grabbed the hand the girl had extended toward Su Yuzu.
The girl's expression didn't show even a shred of awkwardness; she continued to smile and welcome them while shaking Kujou Katora's hand. "I am Dr. Mi'ya's assistant; you can call me Sylvia."
"You must be tired from the long journey. Please, everyone, rest well."
Sylvia gently extracted her hand from Kujou Katora's palm. This guy... her strength was terrifyingly great, pinching the girl's palm until it hurt. However, this also vaguely confirmed the conjecture in Sylvia's heart. This convoy... existed to protect Su Yuzu.
The girl could already mentally fill in the picture: the Young Miss of the Soga clan wanted to go out for a trip, and with the Soga clan's monstrous power, they forcibly compelled the combat personnel of the Fourth Action Division to accompany the girl on her scenic tour.
Only... Su Yuzu looked at the girl with a strange expression. In her heart, only one phrase remained: Unscrupulous Profiteer.
Just like how there is always a shop poster girl in the in-app purchase store of most mobile games, in the eroge Su Yuzu played before transmigrating, the store opened by "Epiphany Manufacture" also had an unscrupulous profiteer. It was Sylvia, standing right before her.
Assistant? What a joke. She was a little rich woman who had collected payment after payment from Su Yuzu. Who knows how much of the money she whaled into "Epiphany Manufacture" went directly into Sylvia's pocket.
Of course—having taken so much of Su Yuzu's money, Sylvia never failed to deliver the benefits she was supposed to give. Just like the unscrupulous merchant in a certain "I" Girl game.
As the poster girl of the eroge store, Sylvia... was also a character that could be captured. Su Yuzu was crystal clear about exactly which traits the girl possessed.
The danger level of this experimental park in Su Yuzu's mind dropped to almost the lowest point, but... the vigilance Su Yuzu should have, she would still maintain.
The people from the Fourth Action Division made minor adjustments within the experimental park. Meanwhile, Kujou Katora secretly manipulated her Hound of Blood to search for clues in the shadows.
Night was falling.
"There are no abnormalities here." Inside a clean and tidy room, Kujou Katora turned on a signal jamming device and looked at Su Yuzu. "This shouldn't be the laboratory we are looking for."
That report indicated that the Aberrant had undergone combat experiments. And it was a combat experiment conducted inside the laboratory. Wherever blood splashes, traces must be left behind. For a Blood Manipulation Esper like Kujou Katora, those traces had nowhere to hide.
But this experimental park had nothing. It was excessively clean.
In fact, when Hayabusa intentionally or unintentionally tried to ask what this laboratory researched, the attitude of that group of researchers immediately became fanatical. Without any concealment, they enthusiastically explained to Hayabusa the effects of the Catastrophe aura on agriculture and livestock.
One of the girls, who looked incredibly shy before, entered a fanatical state and even excitedly explained to Hayabusa the feasibility of taming man-eating plants that would only appear in doujins.
This was just the most normal laboratory possible.
And Su Yuzu... pulled Kujou Katora toward the rooftop. She gestured for Kujou Katora to look in the direction of the sea.
The pitch-black, deep sea surface was shrouded in a white fog that never dispersed year-round. The white fog rolled like a living creature, and pairs of dark golden vertical pupils were hidden behind the mist, coveting the living beings on the shore.
"Does Kujou-senpai remember the description in that report?" Su Yuzu guided Kujou Katora.
She recalled the words the little cat had typed on the tablet while curled up in her arms, remembering the laboratory's coordinates.
A night with brilliant starry skies, the sea surface tranquil and beautiful. Ripples reflecting the starlight.
That beautiful, painting-like scenery had given Zero a very strong impression.
Su Yuzu suddenly realized a very, very serious problem. On the oceans of this world... one cannot see the sea surface at night. The eternal white fog blockades the sea; it is fundamentally impossible to see a tranquil and beautiful scene of a brilliant starry night.
Then... did that mean the little cat was lying? Or was it that the researchers in that laboratory were just patronizing Zero, showing her a hologram?
No.
Su Yuzu looked at Kujou Katora. Kujou Katora gazed at the rolling white fog on the sea, and then suddenly reacted.
"A lake—"
"And it has to be a large enough lake."
"En." Su Yuzu nodded. "Coincidentally—there is such a lake within Chiba."
"Lake Kasumigaura."
"Located in the northeast of Chiba, near the border with Ibaraki."
Kujou Katora really wanted to tackle Su Yuzu right there and give the girl a kiss. In this situation where they had already set out and their tracks were beginning to be exposed, delaying for one more day could ruin everything. She suddenly felt that bringing Su Yuzu along wasn't a bad thing at all.
Of course—the premise was that she had to protect Su Yuzu well. Otherwise...
There was no otherwise. She would definitely protect Su Yuzu well, definitely.
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