NoveLight ™
"I almost died about six times over there. If you hadn't wrapped your tail around my waist, I would've been thrown off the bike. I was wondering how you'd have the energy to provide fire support, but suddenly, you started firing lasers from there…"
"Ugh..."
"..."
"Also, when we went down the road occupied by our allies, you suddenly fired a grenade launcher and lasers at a closed gate, and then just blasted through it. I almost had my neck snapped... but why are you all looking like that?"
Heh-heh-heh.
It sounded like there was nothing unusual about what was said, but Olivia’s lips were uncontrollably curling upward. On the other side, Lorentina and Logan were pulling faces as if they were close to exploding, and Shark was groaning, lying on the bed.
Operation Wasted Silver, the factory raid. Unlike Lorentina and Logan, who found it difficult to match timing with the youngest due to their professional commitments, Olivia had unlimited free time once her personal tasks were completed. In other words, she had gone to have some fun with Eugene.
Moreover, Eugene, who now had 15 editors, was able to edit the legendary moments from the stream within a day and post them on the "YourSpace" channel, making it a fantastic weapon to tease Shark and the Polar Bear.
And after a while…
Shark was the first to explode.
"This, this… damn, if only I had a long arm that could reach Manhattan, I would've choked you right now."
"But that’s impossible. Don’t take your anger out on me, hurry up and match your timing with the youngest."
"...I’m actually more curious about how this ridiculously huge platform is being moved. What the hell happened for this to happen?"
"Ah, that."
The explanation wasn’t that difficult.
However, that didn’t mean everyone wasn’t surprised. Despite the simple explanation, what Artemis had done surpassed conventional understanding. The idea of moving a gigantic platform, weighing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of tons, using magnetic levitation was something that, under normal circumstances, would have been impossible.
Still, Artemis had done it, and Lorentina and Logan replayed the trailer video uploaded by Icarus, trying to calculate in their heads if this could actually work.
The following words came next.
"It was crazier than I imagined. But I like it."
"...I knew it."
"Though I’ve had a lot of fun with the youngest, with something like this, I’m curious to check it out myself. Usually, when does the youngest start streaming? I’ll contact them on a day off."
"Tomorrow is Friday. I think it’s a good time to do it. I’ll be busy, so you guys should go instead. The youngest will probably love seeing you all."
"I guess I should send a text message now."
Olivia’s eyes caught the sight of Shark’s fingers quickly moving.
With a hum, Olivia’s phone vibrated in her hands. The message from Lorentina appeared in the "Manifesters" chat room, and a number decreased as the youngest’s reply quickly came through.
It read as follows:
At the same time, another figure appeared next to Olivia.
In an instant, she began to take the form of a woman, but a long snake tail started to extend from her lower back. As her facial features formed, the person in question spoke up.
"There's no way older sisters would sit quietly and watch something so fun. I didn’t expect you to discuss it individually instead of contacting me first."
"...Don’t use the word 'older sister.' It makes my ears itch."
"Well, it’s more like a check-in than a discussion. Whether it’s me, Logan, Olivia, or the youngest, once something like this is set up, we have to say something about what we’ve been up to."
"I guess that’s true."
Eugene, who had been listening, casually nodded and sat down in a chair.
The explanation about the factory raid continued briefly. Most of the details were already in the raid trailer, but the people gathered here, Eugene’s acquaintances, had already watched the broadcast from the previous day and the edited videos. Naturally, the topic shifted.
They started talking about the changes in the dynamics of the raid that had started to shift subtly since yesterday, but the conversation wasn’t particularly positive.
"By the way, do you know, Youngest? Since the video went up yesterday, it seems like the rotation isn’t going too well…"
"Ah, that..."
Eugene smiled wryly and popped up the screen. Several sessions appeared, showing images of small wheels, sleek fragments, and other debris scattered around the factory. It was clear. The bike Eugene had been riding caused quite a stir.
Logan, seeing this, burst out laughing.
"If bike handling were easy, everyone would be riding them. There are only slight advantages, like a restricted firing angle and better maneuverability compared to other vehicles, but that’s about it. You must have really been advertising it."
"It’s the first day, so I wanted to see how the raid works and packed in all the things I wanted to try. I’ve never ridden it that openly before, but since it worked out, I went for it."
"You say that, but since even the New Youngest is throwing in their two cents, that means the impact was quite big. Have you even logged into the game since yesterday? If you go in, the Mecha Youngest might start complaining."
"...I guess that’s possible."
Indeed, it was true.
Moreover, considering Eugene’s path through life, including her time in the game Glory and Honor — where the "Assassin" class was based on her movements and gameplay — it was no surprise that she would stir up a storm in any game.
Eugene sat on the sofa, turned on the screen, and quickly checked how things had changed compared to yesterday. Of course, there was no need to explain much more, as it was following the expected pattern that Lorentina and her acquaintances had predicted.
But that didn’t mean the situation was completely falling apart. Even though the bike had become the third option, the merits of bulky armored vehicles or tanks hadn’t diminished in the slightest. In fact, the real impact on the battlefield would come from retaking armed bases.
"That said, I don’t think you two would stop riding bikes."
"Yeah, of course. Logan’s probably going to bail, so I’ll ride it. I’ve been stuck at the base lately with all these things going on, and I’ve been feeling frustrated. If nothing major happens, I’ll have Harmony ride with me."
"...I’ll pass on that to Mina."
"I’ll say it myself, don’t worry about it. Polar Bear, are you planning to stick with Dice?"
"We’ll see how things go."
I wondered if Mina and Yerin knew that their fate was being decided here.
Eugene, deep in thought, smiled bitterly as the two manifesters continued to analyze the map, images, and what they should do next.
The question came quickly.
"Has anyone been inside the factory yet?"
"Not yet. We’ve tried attacking a few times, but the factory platform is surrounded by shields. Personally, I think the best way to handle it is to retake control of the autonomous weaponry at the armed bases and then shoot at the platform’s shields to bring them down."
"Hmm. So, it’s not quite time to mess around with vehicles yet."
Lorentina, who had been fiddling with Icarus International’s vehicle tuning function, added.
"Well, arguing about a game that hasn’t even started yet is meaningless. After a quick nap, the youngest will probably start streaming around the same time. Let’s check it out then."
"Same here. I’m not planning any surprises, so when you meet your disciples, just tell them. They should at least have time to prepare."
"Ugh, if you say you're coming, the others already know, so it’s no surprise."
"...Damn, fine. Why do you like surprises so much?"
Logan grumbled and left with Lorentina. Olivia, too, made a simple farewell before she faded into the darkness, ending the session.
Eugene, who had been watching, let out a small laugh and soon disappeared as well.
How much time passed after that…
"Ugh."
"Sssss, Polar Bear!!"
"It's been a while, you little brat. How have you been?"
"See, this is why no one can stop the surprises."
Lorentina and Logan.
Biam Party Training.
"Yeah, so we all thought it would end quickly since they were moving at 5 km/h, but that wasn’t the case."
"I hear they made several routes to avoid bottlenecks, then distributed the factory modules. When we take the armed base, the reset will happen. If the speed increases, there’s also the chance of being intercepted by our own missiles."
"Well, I guess they came up with that reason. The real reason is probably... so the users can enjoy the content longer."
"That’s true."
Lorentina’s sharp words hit right on target.
Well, if these mid-to-large scale contents end in just about three days, I’d be quite disappointed as well. The organic raid, with infiltration, chase, vehicle combat, and rush modes all packed together, was something you couldn’t easily find anywhere else.
Although, strictly speaking, calling it a chase was a bit of a stretch. The factory platform was so slow, only moving about 5 km per day.
But there were almost 500-meter intervals between the platforms, and if we didn’t stop the drones coming out from them, those robots would rush straight to the armed bases. After that, it’s obvious what would happen. The users attacking the base would get buried in a mountain of machines and be turned into Heinz ketchup.
It wasn’t strictly a chase, but it did create a need to actively use vehicles.
"So, what do I need to bring? A parachute?"
"Motion sickness pills... just kidding, but ideally, a setup that maximizes offensive skills. Oxidizers, sticky bombs, mines, and directional EMPs are perfect for dealing with Artemis drones and are easy to use on a bike."
"Ah, I thought you were going to say I should take a sniper rifle like Olivia did yesterday."
"Something that makes an adult man’s upper body shake with every shot? Not even joking."
Vroom!
Even though I wasn’t riding it myself, the air itself felt like it was shaking with the heavy vibrations. But in contrast, the bike was eerily quiet. A large, empty bike approached us.
It had a slightly different look than before, now more shark-like than snake-like. It was incredible how just adjusting the position of the parts gave it such a look.
Lorentina continued her explanation.
"Even though the Youngest has managed to make the New Youngest useful, I’m not going to ask them to do the impossible. If they tried shooting a .50 caliber on this shaky bike, they’d probably be thrown off."
"Without a gun, I feel like I might fly off anyway... Eek!"
"I knew you’d say that, New Youngest. Next time, stop whining and get on the bike first."
"Okay, I won’t do it again! Waaah!"
Boom!
Harmony, almost like being dragged by an old man with a sack, was forcibly put on the backseat and disappeared into the distance.
The monster bike, with a 0-100 km/h in just two seconds, had most of its safety features removed, and only the superhuman senses of Manifesters and the precise control techniques that Icarus Gear could provide could handle it.
Olivia didn’t worry too much since she, too, was a Manifester and had been on missions with me before. She knew exactly what would happen in situations like this... but...
"Well, just think of it as riding a roller coaster for 30 minutes straight."
"...Isn’t someone screaming from far away, Eugene?"
"Well, I guess so..."
Boom!
At that moment, Logan slammed a thick ballistic shield onto the floor, and with a heavy breath, he spoke.