NIKKE, when the stars bloom

What should I do with D?

Thinking that his colleagues who had worked together for many years might be in danger, K only thought for a few blinks of an eye and then gritted his teeth and made a decision.

Yuni's abilities are not invincible.

A close enough distance, a relatively slow speed, and a field of vision that allows people to be seen are all essential.

As long as D can hold on, and use her speed advantage to make a detour, she might have a chance to break through Yuni's defense and force her way into the haunted house.

This is dangerous.

If there is any mistake, there will be no chance to escape.

……

……

"Please don't do such dangerous things again."

In the locker room, Mihala put away her anger, lowered her eyes, and stroked the axe mark on the palm of her man's right hand. Her gentle movements seemed as if she was afraid of damaging the exposed metal prosthesis.

"Mingming, just wait for me..."

"She didn't intend to attack me, but I needed self-defense as an excuse to subdue her, so I changed my plan at the last minute."

As Phoenix explained, he also lowered his head and looked at his palm.

Unlike Mihala, as the person involved, when he saw the simulated skin turned outward on the palm and the metal components inside, a trace of disgust suddenly appeared in his eyes.

The wound doesn't hurt.

Not only did it not hurt, but even the temperature of Mihala's fingers could not be felt.

It turns out that the hand I have now is not my own hand.

The indescribable feeling of separation made Phoenix's emotions uncontrollably chaotic, so much so that his breathing became heavier without him noticing.

"What's wrong? Is your throat uncomfortable?"

Noticing the commander's abnormality, Mihala's first reaction was that Phoenix's throat was injured by Nikki's forearm, so she quickly raised her hand and tried to touch it, wondering if there was any swelling or damage that was difficult to observe visually.

Unexpectedly, as soon as her fingers touched the man's neck, a big hand suddenly grabbed her palm.

"Huh...it's okay, it's okay."

The familiar warmth from his left hand instantly stabilized Phoenix's mood.

Until this moment, the man finally understood how Nikki felt when she was injured and discovered that her body was not real flesh and blood.

Extreme panic, self-doubt, cognitive confusion...

There is no such thing as the cyberpunk worldview where people turn a blind eye to prosthetics as a part of life.

Now he longs for companionship and hugs; longs for intimate skin contact; longs for all the evidence that he still has a body.

The almost insane mental needs and impulses quickly blended together and turned into a thread, forcing Phoenix to silently embrace Mihaela with one hand.

"Sorry, I don't have any other ideas, I just feel a little bit..."

Just when the man was about to make an excuse for his inexplicable behavior, the woman who put her cheek against his chest stopped him in time.

"It's ok."

Mihaela spoke softly, looking up at the commander's jawline, rarely blushing due to the intimate action.

"It doesn't matter how long you want to hold me. The feeling of loss will soon pass."

"……Thanks."

The man who received tacit consent and understanding slowly raised his right hand, wrapped it around Mihaela's waist, and gradually pulled her tightly into his arms.

……

……

"Miha~la~"

"Mi~ha~la~"

Holding K's collar with both hands, Yuni called out to her friend who had forgotten his friends for the sake of a better man, and swung her arms hard, throwing the Inquisition's running dog onto the toilet in the bathroom with a clang.

Boom!

Fortunately, the toilet was sturdy enough so it didn't crack on the spot when hit by K's head.

"Damn... little devil... wait for me, ugh——!"

Before she could finish her harsh words, the pain in her thigh made Nikki, who was not very good at controlling her mouth, twitch her lips and couldn't help but let out a soft cry.

She only knew that Yuni had the ability to paralyze others through the air, but how could she know what Yuni's real unique skill was?

"You, I clearly turned off the pain sensors... it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

"If you keep making noise, I'll whip you!"

Probably out of concern for Mihala and the commander's situation, Yuni raised her whip, pulled with both hands, and protested:

"If you are so afraid of pain, then you have to be as obedient as a dog, understand!"

"..."

Faced with Yuni's power, K was naturally very indignant, but she was paralyzed, and no matter how tough she was, she would only be whipped.

In this case, after much thought, I have no choice but to avoid the attack temporarily.

It's definitely not that she's scared!

On the other side, seeing that the lackey of the court had finally quieted down after drinking the penalty wine, Yuni nodded with satisfaction and touched the other's long gradient hair.

"Yeah, good dog."

　"..."

"You little bastard... you... ugh——!"

K, who couldn't control his temper, was about to start cursing when he heard the sound of whipping suddenly erupt in the temporarily empty women's bathroom.

Snapped!

……

The sudden sound of firecrackers in the earphone suddenly woke up Mihaela who was still immersed in happiness.

"Commander, it seems that Yuni has also caught the stalker."

And a stalker?

Phoenix raised his eyebrows in confusion. As far as he could remember, there seemed to be two members in the original plot. However, the other one did not appear in the card before he quit, so his presence was very weak.

Tsk, why does it feel like the game's plot hasn't even begun, but I've already messed up most of the prerequisites and characters that drive the plot?

"Then help me tie up that Nikki, and then you go help Yuni."

Someone who was too lazy to think about the original plot shook his head, feeling the sobriety returning to his mind, and said:

"She and I still have something to talk about."

"Understood, Commander."

Mihaela, who had also put her mind in order, returned to her working efficiency. She turned and walked to the dressing table, took out the pre-prepared restraints from her windbreaker, and tied up D, who was still in a coma, tightly.

Looking at the finished product, most likely it’s Yuni’s technique.

……

……

Two minutes later,

"Ha~ Mihala~"

In the bathroom that was forced to accommodate three people, Yuni pressed the corner of her mouth with her index finger with a sly smile, and reminded her good friend slyly:

"Your lipstick is smudged~"

"Eh?!"

Chapter 65: I was here first

Dirt and danger, ugliness and death, these are the eternal themes of the Outer Rim.

Even after living here for many years, the venomous snake still felt a deep-seated disgust for this land, just as it did at the beginning.

She hates every human being in the land, just as she hates the Big Three corporations.

If the citizens of the Ark only see Nikki as a mechanical tool, then most gangs in the Outer Rim see Nikki as a mobile bulletproof shield.

Everyone inside and outside the wall deliberately chose to forget the fact that Nikki was a human being in her lifetime.

Without comparison, there is no harm.

Whenever Viper thought of the ugly aspects of human nature that made her feel sick, the image of a certain unscrupulous commander would appear in her mind again.

This was the first man she had ever seen who treated mass-produced Nikki as a human being, or even as a vulnerable group.

What does he want?

Viper thought about it but couldn't find an answer, so he decided to use this help to get information from the woman named Rocograce.

……

……

Unpainted cement brick walls, relatively clean tables, chairs and benches, and turbid air mixed with the smell of cigarettes and alcohol.

This is a standard low-priced fast food restaurant in the Outer Rim. The bullet holes all over the walls seem like decorations, adding a touch of art to the monotonous restaurant décor.

But no matter how bad the dining environment is, the fast food restaurant is still so popular that all three floors are packed.

"Look, the Roco Grace you're looking for is the owner of this store."

At the entrance of the fast food restaurant, the news dealer wearing a gas mask and a Mohawk hairstyle looked at the woman not far from him and chuckled twice.

"Old rules, friendship price."

"Get it."

At the side, Viper reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a small iron can, and with a flick of his wrist, threw the can at the other person's chest.

Things like currency can be replaced by many other items in the Outer Zone.

Among them, the most common are various types of high-purity analgesics.

Of course, the powerful painkiller that Pepper gave someone was definitely not among them. That kind of high-end special-supply product, one injection of which was equivalent to two or three months' salary for a civilian in the Ark.

Unlike the cheap stuff that Viper got, it's not expensive when sold in some unscrupulous hospitals in Ark.

"I'm here to ask your manager, I have some raw meat on hand."

The bad woman who had been involved in both the black and white worlds for many years walked into the restaurant swiftly, raised her head to look at the surveillance camera at the corner of the door, and spoke bluntly.

"By the way, please pass on a message to Rocograce..."

……

……

"Humph! Men are just lame! They can't even walk when they see a pretty girl!!!"

On the fourth floor of the fast food restaurant, Anis pouted with a look of grievance and quickly packed her bags.

The so-called luggage is actually a bunch of junk food consisting of snacks, beer, and carbonated drinks.

Shila-

After stuffing the backpack as full as a middle-aged man's beer belly, the girl violently closed the zipper as if to vent her anger.

Then she turned around and rummaged through the drawer. After a while, she took out a box of washable hair dye from the bottles and jars.

She unscrewed the lid, put on rubber gloves and walked towards the bathroom. She scooped out large chunks of dye and smeared them on her chestnut hair.