NIKKE, when the stars bloom

"Everyone follow my command now and go down to the first floor."

"At your command, Commander."

"Would you like to count down to three, Commander? Like in track and field sports?"

Amid Rabbi's resounding response and Lolfe's slightly excited teasing, Anis and Christine stared at each other's annoying faces, their expressions complicated to the point of being difficult to describe.

"Christine, the commander asked you to carry me." The chestnut-haired girl said reluctantly.

After hearing this, Christine snorted coldly and then half squatted down.

"Come up."

A few seconds later…

"Hey Anis! Can you please remove those grenades from your stomach!!!"

"I'll tear it down again! I'll tear it down again! You're not the only one who's worried!!!"

Chapter 4 Big Gun

"Go down the stairs on your left."

dong dong dong dong-

"Go to the second floor underground, the emergency exit door, go inside."

dong dong dong dong-

"There is a staircase ahead. Go up the stairs, return to the ground, and continue walking west."

dong dong dong dong-

……

……

With Phoenix's navigation, which was comparable to cheating, the vanguard troops passed through several blocks unimpeded.

During this period, I didn't encounter a single Letcher.

As the march went on, Lavi and the others became more and more astonished at Phoenix.

How could this be just a simple guide? Several times, they could sense that the commander had temporarily changed direction, continuing to evade Letcher's pursuit in a roundabout way.

Even the intelligence operators who were watching their route were shocked and speechless.

Seeing that the faces of Lavi and the others were becoming more and more strange, Phoenix certainly couldn't just tell them, "This is the benefit of my time travel," or "In fact, I have a 2D radar and a 3D map in my head," and so on.

He could only give a far-fetched explanation: "I have sniped several Letchers in the north, so the number of Letchers in this area is not enough to cover all the key intersections."

As a result, everyone's already weird expressions became even more awkward.

How many Letchers were killed by sniping?

A commander sniped several Letchers? !

Even the mass-produced Nikki who had just arrived at the front line didn't dare to make such bold statements.

"Commander, although it is your credit that you led Nikki to complete the mission and commanded Nikki to kill Letcher, but... well... you just didn't brag very well."

Because the commander in front of her clearly asked Christine to retreat with him on her back, Anis, who had gradually relaxed, returned to her carefree nature and complained speechlessly:

"Don't tell others about it next time you meet them. It's easy for them to laugh at you behind your back."

After she finished speaking, she felt that saying this was somewhat disrespectful to the young commander, so she added a sentence for the first time.

"Well... I just feel that if I hear bad things about you from other people one day, it will be very difficult for me to deal with it."

Hearing her say this, the commander, who was lying in Lolfu's arms and playing the role of a delicate prince, didn't want to prove anything, but just responded honestly:

"Then I'll pay attention next time."

"Eh?"

The unexpected answer not only made Anis exclaim in surprise, but even the other three Nikkis subconsciously glanced at Phoenix because of his good temper.

Of course,

Because Lolfe was too close to the commander, she would be discovered no matter how she glanced, so she simply lowered her head and smiled brightly at the commander.

"If all commanders had personalities like the commander, we wouldn't have to worry so much."

"That's right. Compared to that stupid commander who keeps saying 'Let's charge for the central government~', our temporary commander is smarter. At least he's reliable when he's escaping... no, he's absolutely reliable when he's retreating!

Right, Rabbi~"

"..."

"Commander, the concentration of Elvira particles is increasing. If we continue forward, we may lose contact with the operator."

While Labi was communicating with the operator, he was also talking to the commander, and didn't want to pay any attention to Anis's chattering mouth.

Hearing that the concentration of Elvira particles was increasing, Phoenix didn't care much about whether he could contact the operator, but considering that the concentration of these interfering particles was sometimes proportional to the number of Letchers, he replied:

"Then let's just find a place to rest. This area is relatively safe for now."

After hearing this, the girls did not question the commander's judgment. They nodded and wanted to leave, but suddenly stopped one by one.

"what happened?"

Phoenix, who was just about to take a rest in Lolph's arms, keenly noticed that the atmosphere was wrong. He did not look at Rabi immediately, but raised his head to glance at Anis's expression.

Ok,

It's ugly.

It was as if someone had stolen a box of soda from her.

Not only that, Christine's expression was not good either, gloomy, as if ink was about to drip out. And Lolfe narrowed her eyes, her cheeks bulged, and she looked like she would spit out sweet words at any time.

Why do I feel that except for Lavi, the other three members of this team are potential traitors?

"Did your superiors assign you additional tasks?"

Phoenix asked dejectedly. He knew with his buttocks what kind of situation would cause Nikki's troops to fall into constipated silence.

"Operator, please inform the military. We have a commander who is dehydrated and a member of Nikki with an injured right leg. We may fail the additional mission due to personnel issues."

Rabi said this quite tactfully, but even so, the news from the operator was still not optimistic.

"These guys actually asked us to leave the commander and Anis behind to complete a bullshit reconnaissance mission?!!"

How could Rolfe, who had already gnashed her teeth, continue to endure after hearing the operator's reply? Her gray-black pupils turned into a creepy golden red at a speed visible to the naked eye as her anger surged.

"Time and again, it's been like this every time, but this time they don't even care about their own kind. Do these sissies who only know how to sign in the back dare to stay on the ground for two days?!!"

"Love, turn off your communication!" Christine shouted anxiously, "Do you want us to have our memories erased together?!"

"Tsk... so long-winded."

After hearing what "Bat" said, although Lolfu still bared her fangs and looked indignant, she didn't say anything more.

After all, she was still holding the commander, and she couldn't free her hands to turn off her tactical headset.

On the other hand, seeing that Lavi was still pondering over how to communicate with the military, Phoenix knew that it would be somewhat difficult for a soldier like her who strictly obeyed orders to negotiate with the Ark's top management.

So, he looked up at Lolph who was still humming, and said weakly:

"Love, can you lend me your headset? I want to talk to them."

"what?"

The giant girl, who had nowhere to vent her anger, regained her slightly ferocious expression in an instant after hearing the commander's words. She lowered her head obediently and tilted the ear with the headset towards the man in her arms.

"Here."

Phoenix carefully took off the headset, but did not put it on his head very carefully. Instead, he casually put one earphone into his ear and said:

"Hello, this is Commander Phoenix, the sole survivor of Team 055-A."

“Please inform Deputy Commander Anderson, Deputy Chief of Central Command, that Team 055-A encountered an unknown group of Letchers in Area K-8. There is a suspected Letcher production factory nearby. Since my coordinate machine was damaged in the battle, I cannot report the specific coordinates to my superiors.

I was already suffering from severe dehydration and could fall into a coma at any time.

I deeply regret not being able to serve Ark Central."

Operator: "...Wait...Wait a minute! Please stay awake! I will contact Deputy Commander Anderson right away!!!"

A moment later, amid four pairs of expectant eyes, a deep and experienced male voice was heard from the vanguard force's communication channel.

"Two minutes. I have a meeting to attend, Commander Phoenix."

"A Nikki support unit with medical Nikki and leg replacements, wartime command of the vanguard and support units, a week's worth of survival supplies for the commander, a sniper rifle, and a hundred rounds of heavy armor-piercing ammunition."

The man emphasized each word with his hoarse voice like gravel:

"Commander, I want a gun."

"Big gun."

Chapter 5: A Heaven-Defying Lineup

[Name: Phoenix]

【Sex: Male】

【Age: 26】

【Graduation School: Central Government Military Academy】

【Graduation age: 26】

【Graduation comprehensive score: 82.6 (disputed)】

【Graduation ranking: 5 (controversial)】

[Ability assessment: Possessing good shooting and sniping talents, having good overall control over local operations, strong vigilance, excellent adaptability, and good physical fitness.]

[Personality assessment: Demonstrated excellent calmness in stress resistance test, severe revengeful personality, high empathy...]

[Summary of strengths: Good at local command and operations. ]

[Summary of shortcomings: He shows obvious emotions towards Nikki, has a deeper social and political understanding, lacks dedication to the Ark, and shows a higher than average desire to pursue the opposite sex (possibly including Nikki).]

"This is the first time I've seen you read a graduation evaluation that means nothing, Anderson."

Central Command, Command Room 2.

A tall woman in a white military uniform, with purple eyes and long wavy hair stood opposite the deputy commander, with her hands clasped under her chest, staring at Anderson with her signature expression of owing him money, completely oblivious to the visual impact her actions would cause.

　"Since you can spare the time to do this kind of thing, it seems that the commander has quite good qualifications."

"No, I just find it interesting."

Anderson stood up straight, put the report on the table, and straightened it carefully. Then, he lowered his head and played with his military cufflinks as usual, saying:

"He said he wanted a sniper, a big one."

"Big sniper?"

After hearing this, Ingrid frowned and continued to ask: "It's just a sniper rifle. Is this a problem worth paying attention to?"

Before the meeting, the powerful CEO of Paradise could not understand what he said, so Anderson patiently continued to explain: "I just checked the information. Neither 055-A nor the Vanguard Force are equipped with snipers, and Phoenix's sniping performance is very good...

No, I think my expression is not accurate. If he were placed in the human army in the past, he might be a quasi-ace sniper."

After hearing the deputy commander's comments, Ingrid's expression showed a little surprise, as if she had heard something incredible.

"You mean, the anti-material sniper rifle that the commander requested from headquarters was reserved for his own use?"

"Maybe, Ingrid, do you also think he is a little special now?"

"..."

"If you don't mind, could you let me see his file?"