NIKKE, when the stars bloom

After hearing the word "go home", the girl hiding in the man's arms gradually calmed down from her fear, even though she was still not conscious.

She closed her eyes and kept repeating the word "instructor", as if this word could bring her a strong sense of security.

A few minutes later...

Maybe it was the side effects of removing NIMPH that started to take effect, or maybe it was just that being in someone's arms was really comfortable, but the girl buried her head in Phoenix's chest and simply fell asleep.

……

……

"You can undo the erosion."

By the time Sabol and Ning Ya fell asleep, Yinhua's face was as cold as a frozen pond.

"Do you know what this means?"

"It means that once the news is exposed, Ark will send assassins to shoot me in the head at any time."

Hearing Yinhua's question, Phoenix looked for suitable parts for repair according to Anik's request, and answered Yinhua's question indifferently. By the way, he glared at a few lively ghost girls, signaling them not to block his sight.

"Commander! Come and take a look. Balara's leg model should be the same as that of Neia~"

"Don't listen to that idiot, Commander. There have been reports that my leg model will be upgraded during my service. It is definitely useless now."

"Well, maybe it can be used as long as the interface is the same. The conditions here are so bad, it's good that they can move."

Just when the ghost sisters were giving Phoenix bad advice one by one, Yinhua's loud questioning sounded again, like a whistle, and everyone quieted down in an instant.

"You can tell Ingrid, she'll be willing to help you save more Nikkis!"

"That's not right. Why should I trust a chaebol CEO?"

After moving the suspected viable Nikki prosthesis to an open area and getting everything ready, Phoenix turned to look at Yinhua's slightly sad and disappointed eyes, and explained helplessly:

"You may not know that Ark sent two people from the Inquisition to trouble me not long ago."

"D?"

When Yinhua heard the word "court", a hint of surprise suddenly flashed across his eyes.

"Are the people from the Dangerous Seat Unit targeting you?"

"How can you, who works on the ground every day, know about them? Tsk, it seems that the Inquisition is not a secret organization."

Phoenix curled his lips and continued, "According to what D and I talked about, most people in the Ark don't really care about counterattacking the surface. They care more about the social stability of the Ark.

As for the method of removing the erosion, I did it based on removing the NIMPH in Nikki's brain. You should know what this means to the Ark."

“…Remove NIMPH?!”

Phoenix's words finally made Yinhua's eyes widen slightly.

It turns out that the essence of eliminating erosion is to eliminate NIMPH?

No wonder...

No wonder he didn't trust Fang Ark, nor did he trust Ingrid, whom he introduced to him.

"You! Why did you tell us about this?!" The black-haired girl looked at someone in astonishment, and then subconsciously turned her head to look at Diesel who was also shocked.

What will she do?

There were two people present who knew the truth. If Diesel decided to report it to her superiors, even if she deliberately wrote a false report, she would not be able to cover up for this third-rate man.

However, before Yinhua had time to end her mental struggle, and before Diesel could recover from his shock, she heard Phoenix answer Yinhua's question with a chuckle.

"Because you saved my life."

"Ladies, you don't want the people you saved to be shot to death underground by some guys from the Ark, right?"

Yinhua: “…”

Diesel: “…”

After hearing Phoenix's teasing, the two Nikkis, who couldn't find a reason for the time being, looked at each other tacitly and felt that the reason the commander gave them was unexpectedly good.

Given that leaking the news that "the commander can lift NIMPH" would put the commander's life in danger.

Therefore, based on the NIMPH regulation of "protecting the commander", they had sufficient authority to lie protectively about the Ark when writing their reports.

Besides, Phoenix was right.

How could the commander whom they had spent so much energy and risked their lives to rescue from Letcher be assassinated because of the selfish desires of some bastards in the Ark?

"commander……"

Upon learning that Phoenix had the ability to remove NIMPH, Diesel suddenly had a terrible and selfish idea.

If only her NIMPH restrictions could be lifted...

The terrorist who blew up the train; the bomber who caused her to transform into Nikki from a near-death state; the murderer who killed her brother and hundreds of passengers.

Can she kill the other person with her own hands without any obstacles?

Thinking of this, Diesel, who was influenced by the desire for revenge, suddenly said with a sincere look:

"Commander! If you don't trust us, you can remove NIMPH for us. That way, we will have no reason to betray you."

Yinhua: “???”

The black-haired girl's feeling at this moment was as shocking as the first time she saw Xiaocao speak human language.

Diesel...

Does this woman want to listen to what she is saying?

No reason to betray the commander? What kind of crazy oath of allegiance is this?

Do you want to start a new rebellion? ? ?

Chapter 106: If you can rebel, why run away?

The pressure shifted to Yinhua as Diesel jumped Zhong at the beginning.

The conductor's words were like a letter of surrender, pushing the ace commander of Pure Land into the fire pit.

Originally...

Everyone is nice to each other, says some trustworthy words to each other, and then coordinates their testimonies, and the matter can be easily gotten away with.

The results of it?

Diesel chose to offer his loyalty to the commander.

There were only two people present.

One has shown his loyalty, what do you want the other to do?

Or, join Phoenix.

Or, default to being hostile to Phoenix.

There is no third redundant option.

At least from Yinhua's perspective, with Diesel's behavior as a precedent, no matter what she says now, it will not be as real as saying "I will go with you".

When it comes to a matter of life and death like starting a new business, anything that is not absolute loyalty will be regarded as disloyalty.

"..."

Yinhua, who had not shown any hesitation for many years, was struggling violently in her mind at this moment, making it impossible for her to give an answer quickly.

however……

Diesel, who was not very good either in terms of scheming or politics, did not realize the shock and confusion her words brought to her teammates.

same,

Phoenix, who was preparing to perform surgery on Sabol, Ningya and Marian, did not have the energy to delve into Diesel's words.

Right now, the most important thing for a commander to do is to restore the mobility of the wounded and then take everyone out of Area H alive.

……

……

"how do you feel?"

In the colorless operating room, Yinhua, who had been reborn, lay on the operating table, listening to questions from the woman beside him.

"..."

no answer.

Or perhaps, simple silence is Yinhua's best answer to himself after becoming Nikki.

The remaining memories mocked all her efforts.

The vivid explosions, screams, and pain interweave into a sad melody in my mind.

A war without glory; a team without trust; a death without meaning.

The twenty-six mass-produced Nikkis, not trusting the rookie commander's temporary orders, chose to fight on their own on the grounds that they "had no command authority", and were eventually killed by a Letcher unit.

Unfortunately, she, the new commander, was buried in the rubble, and was later rescued by reinforcements.

If she hadn't been forced by her first-place scores in all subjects to award her the first-ranked graduation medal,

If the media had not taken advantage of her female identity to promote the idea that young women could also dedicate themselves to the Ark.

Maybe...

There won’t even be a so-called follow-up rescue force.

"Your surgery on Nikki was successful. This newly developed prosthetic body from Pure Land is highly compatible with your brain. The comprehensive level of various actual data is 97.55% of the theoretical value."

Ingrid's words did not stop because of the girl's silence.

“I will build a unit codenamed Nikki with you as the core and you will be in charge of the command. Unless otherwise specified, the commander has no right to issue any orders to you.

The central government's orders must also be approved by me and I will convey them to you."

"..."

Still silent.

But after a moment of silence this time, Yinhua, who had broken free from his memories, chose to speak.

"Am I the only one left?"

"……Yes."

This extremely simple word means that all 26 soldiers and four commanders were killed.

It's true, she is the only one left alive.

why?

Nikki, who used to be a commander, looked at the pale ceiling dejectedly, and her thoughts once again swam back to the sea of ​​shattered memories.

As the CEO, Ingrid naturally doesn't have the patience to waste her precious time on a Nikki.

Yinhua’s prosthetic body’s adaptability is indeed gratifyingly high, but Pure Land is not without other backup candidates for captain.

"Tell me your answer, Nikki."

……

……

"Remove my NIMPH."

The memories of many years ago faded away, and the black-haired girl's thoughts returned to the present. She stared at Phoenix's back and whispered her answer and conditions.

"Promise me that Ingrid can't die."

These two irrelevant words made Diesel next to him tilt his head and put on a silly expression as if he was completely confused.

As the perpetrator, she had no idea what kind of chain reaction her act of betrayal had triggered.

What is Yinhua talking about?