The bunker felt smaller now.
Not physically—but emotionally.
The laughter from the tablet still echoed in everyone's ears, even though the screen had gone dark. No one spoke for several seconds. The hum of machinery and distant alarms filled the silence like a heartbeat that refused to calm.
A BSAA officer finally broke it.
"…We can't hack the missile...till now..."
Every head turned.
The officer swallowed and continued, fingers tapping nervously on a datapad. "We tried remote access, satellite override, even emergency backdoors. Neo-Umbrella locked it down completely. It's air-gapped."
Chris's jaw tightened. "So that's it?"
"No," the officer said quickly. "There's… something else."
He pulled up a holographic map.
A single structure glowed red.
A tall, isolated building on the outskirts of the city—reinforced, armored, ugly.
"The missile isn't controlled remotely," the officer explained. "Launch authorization is tied to this facility. Physical confirmation. Human-controlled."
Leon frowned. "…You're saying—"
"If we hijack the building," the officer finished, "we stop the launch."
The room went dead silent.
Doraemon replies. "That means direct infiltration."
"And heavy resistance," Helena added quietly.
Chris stared at the map for a long moment.
"…We don't need to hack the missile," he said at last. "We take the finger off the trigger."
Nobita felt the system pulse again.
23:12
His fingers curled slowly.
"…Then that's where we go," he said.
Chris nodded. "Two teams."
He pointed to the screen.
"One helicopter carries BSAA soldiers and our best hackers. They secure the control room."
Then he turned.
"The other carries us."
Leon stepped forward immediately. "I'm in."
"So am I," Helena said.
Chris looked at Nobita. "…You're the wildcard. Once we're inside, things won't stay normal."
Nobita didn't hesitate. "They never do."
Preparations moved fast after that.
Weapons were checked. Armor locked. Coordinates uploaded.
Two helicopters waited on the bunker's rooftop, rotors already spinning, whipping the air into violent spirals.
As Nobita stepped toward the second helicopter, a voice stopped him.
"Nobita."
He turned.
Shizuka stood there.
Still pale. Still injured.
But standing.
"No," Doraemon said instantly. "What are you doing here?."
Chris shook his head. "Shizuka, this isn't—"
"I know," she said calmly.
Too calmly.
Everyone froze.
She walked closer, each step careful, deliberate. Nobita felt his chest tighten.
"I want to go with you," Shizuka said.
Doraemon's eyes widened. "Shizuka, your condition—!"
She looked at him gently. "I know my condition."
Nobita stepped forward. "You can't. It's too dangerous."
She met his eyes.
"…That's why I should."
Silence fell again.
"I don't know how much time I have," Shizuka continued softly. "I don't know when my body will stop fighting. But I don't want to wait in a bed while everyone else risks their lives."
Her voice trembled—but she didn't stop.
"I want to see the sky again. I want to be there. With you...one...last time..."
Nobita shook his head. "Shizuka—please—"
She took his hands.
"If I turn," she said quietly, "you kill me."
The words hit harder than any explosion.
"No," Nobita whispered. "Don't say that."
She squeezed his hands tighter. "Promise me."
Leon looked away.
Helena swallowed hard.
Even Chris was silent.
Doraemon's fists clenched, trembling. "…Shizuka…"
She smiled at him. "I'm not afraid."
The system ticked again.
22:41
Nobita closed his eyes.
For a moment, he almost used it.
Rewrite Fate.
The notification burned in his vision.
But he didn't.
He opened his eyes and nodded once.
"…You're coming," he said hoarsely.
Doraemon gasped. "Nobita—!"
"But," Nobita continued, turning to everyone, "if anything happens—anything—you do what she said."
Shizuka smiled through tears.
"Thank you."
The rotors roared louder.
Chris spoke at last. "Then let's move."
They boarded the helicopter together.
As the doors slid shut and the aircraft lifted into the night sky, the city spread beneath them—broken, burning, waiting.
Above it all—
Something buzzed.
Far away.
Growing closer.
Nobita stared out the window, lightning faintly flickering around his fingers.
"Hold on," he whispered. "All of you."
The helicopters vanished into the dark.
And the countdown continued.
END OF CHAPTER