• "…Crazy woman. Seriously… sitting there with the newbie behind her, doing that.""Strictly speaking, isn’t it Logan’s fault for bringing us to danger close?"

• "Who the hell is hanging around the impact point while the shells are still falling!?"

• Hahahahahahahaha

• "But honestly, the shark was surrounded by so many enemies, it was a bit hard to get out of there hahaha."

• "Polar Bear looks cute when she’s angry hahaha."

• "This is insane, hahahahaha."

• "But honestly, it’s understandable hahaha."

 

Logan’s words were right, and the shark’s actions… were they correct?

Anyway, we had Harmony—streaming, a fantastic source of intelligence—and while other users cheerfully advanced, crushing everything in front of them, we went through a brief moment of disbelief as we watched the stream.

Now that I think about it, I had seen something like this before. There was a robot in a future-battle royale game that shot a rope like that from its hands to swing around... I don’t know if Lorentina was inspired by that, but it was still incredible.

Dice and Kato’s jaws dropped, and they instinctively covered their mouths. Dice was one thing, but Kato covered his mouth with both hands. What should I say? It made me think that avatars might influence the humanization of characters.

Anyway,

• "So, aside from those two, no one’s actually entered the factory yet, right?"

• "That’s right."

• "All those unmanned drones and ITV-like things must have come out from there, and if we don’t act now, won’t those two get crushed under the enemy corpses?"

• "…It’s not impossible."

 

As he said.

For now, Harmony and Lorentina… despite how it happened, managed to survive. Whatever acrobatics they had to do, they could explain that after the game stream was over.

However, aside from that, the important thing was post-processing. Lorentina’s bike had crashed into the back wall of the factory platform, and the wall collapsed. Unless those two found an exit, they would have to stay there.

The factory was capable of spawning hundreds of enemy vehicles every hour. Even if the two had absurd combat power for humans, if they stayed there without moving, they would eventually be overwhelmed.

Whether by their own volition or not, once the dam was broken, they had to provide follow-up support.

Though it was hard to say, Dice and Kato didn’t have much of a say in this operation.

The shark and green cat rescue operation was automatically initiated.

• "I’ve called the vehicle. To save time, there’s no need to retrace the path we came from. Let’s move as fast as we can."

• "Who’s handling the infiltration team?"

• "All four of us are going. I’ve called a Humvee with no gear attached for the fastest possible deployment. We may not be able to breach the factory wall with just our firepower, though."

• "Let’s shoot once with the fortress cannon."

• "If Dagger hadn’t pulled out, that might have been a good idea."

 

That was right.

We could have asked what the hell we were doing firing thermite rounds just now, but at that moment, Dagger and Laser were still controlling the surrounding area, which made it possible. On the other hand, right now, it wasn’t the same. The moment we shot, well, who knows. Something might fly back.

Maybe something like Mav’s ion cannon.

If that hit the main cannon, it would definitely get destroyed. Moreover, there was a high chance that the ammo depot would explode as well. Considering these weapon bases could later serve as entry points for more of our forces, there was no need for reckless actions.

So, what could we do?

But there was still a way.

• "…We’ll take Rain with us."

• "What?"

• "I told Rain to be ready to step in anytime before Logan arrives. It’s better than wasting the fortress cannon on a single use."

• ???????????

• "?? : We’ll use ‘Rain’ here."

• "You crazy bastard hahaha."

• "They’ve really lost it hahaha."

• "But when you think about it, it might be the best choice hahaha."

 

Everyone—viewers, Logan, Dice, Kato—was wide-eyed, but in the midst of shock, they all nodded. It wasn’t such a bad condition after all.

Even though I said we’d bring Rain, I never said "only we will go." This raid was a participation-type raid, and if it was for rescue or reinforcement, it was better to call as many people as we could.

At this point, I was a streamer who was almost number 1 in Tricky’s leaderboard—though Harmony had taken the top spot—number 2. Even if only 1 in 100 from the same session participated, that would still be 19,000 viewers.

It didn’t matter if I didn’t specifically announce it as a stream participation. The odds of someone randomly joining our session weren’t zero unless I specifically blocked it, and that could happen anytime unless I prevented it.

This time, I was planning to use that.

Eventually, we boarded the Humvee that arrived remotely, confirmed that the tow missile-like zipline launcher was functioning properly, and opened the gate.

About 3 kilometers away, the distant factory platform appeared as a dot, and we continued driving. In the meantime, we hadn’t moved far, but the ground started to show signs of being scorched and melted.

Maybe it had been a minute, and suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind.

• "Juuuuin—!"

• "…Rain!?"

• "Why the hell are you riding a four-wheeled bike out of all vehicles…!"

• "I didn’t have anything else! Right now—"

 

At the same time, I turned my head back.

When Logan also turned his head, we saw… a scene purely connected by vehicles, like a tsunami. Literally, hundreds of vehicles were following behind Rain. That’s why Rain, who was responsible for one part of the base operations, was riding the four-wheeled bike.

Various kinds of vehicles, weapons, paint jobs, and avatars.

It looked more like a mix between a cute military biker gang and a girl-power militia than an Icarus operator, with horrific hybrid visuals approaching our vehicle, and when they reached us, the windows were rolled down, revealing all sorts of cute girl graffiti.

• "Teacher! We’re here!"

• "I want to be on stream too!"

• "…I’m seriously losing my mind. But that’s exactly why it’s so reliable."

• Hahahahahahahaha

• "Why are they so neon-colored hahaha."

• "I think I saw this in an old AOS game skin hahaha."

• "This is really dizzying hahahahahaha."

• "Is that even a combat vehicle or a performance bus hahaha."

 

Well, whatever. As long as the result is good, it doesn’t matter.

Eventually, Rain tossed the four-wheeled bike and climbed onto the Humvee, and as we started getting a good look at the factory platform coming into view, Rain added:

• "So, Boss, why did you call me here today? To break the wall?"

• "That’s part of it, but the real reason is something else."

 

At the same time, I sent data to Rain.

Lorentina and Harmony weren’t just spending time alive; they had established the best possible defenses and figured out how the factory modules were functioning. So, before communications were cut off, they had transmitted the internal structure data to us.

Each module had its own energy source to form an electromagnet, powering the factory and deploying unmanned drones, missiles, and lasers to intercept the shadows.

Some parts of the factory platform could be freely modified, assembled, and produced, with internal power sources enabling this.

This meant one thing:

• "We need to destroy at least 50 platforms in 14 days, but if there’s still no progress after 3 days… we’ll need to push up the schedule. We’re going to create a mobile forward base with a large railgun."

• "…A mobile forward base with a railgun? You mean that railgun…"

• "You’re right, Rain."

 

We planned to turn the factory platform itself into a giant railgun for Rain.

Rain’s expression became subtle upon hearing that outrageous plan, but we had had enough fun for now. It was time to get serious.

Rain marked the strike point and added:

• "Let’s go."

• "…Yeah, this is what a boss is about."

• "This is what a boss does" means "someone who always does insane things."

• "It’s not even a big deal anymore, huh hahaha."

• "It’s so funny that Rain just follows along without hesitation hahaha."

• "Railgun! Railgun! Railgun! Railgun!"

• "Wow, this is really cool hahahahaha."

 

Clang!

For a moment, it seemed like all the light around us was gathering onto the Humvee, then the top frame of the Humvee collapsed as Rain’s tail launched the railgun, hitting the factory platform at nearly 10 km per second.

The shield, which had been partially restored, shattered like glass, and the round, heated by air friction, reached unimaginable temperatures as it shredded the factory’s walls and flew into the sky, disappearing.

As everyone watched in stunned silence, I fortunately still had a functional zipline launcher and adjusted it to hang on the wall.

• "Let’s go."

 

The heavy rope was firmly secured.

At that moment, I wrapped Rain tightly with my tail, and the rope’s tension could hold up to 1 ton.

As Rain was quickly pulled away from the vehicle, she screamed, eyes wide.

• "Wh-what is this?!"

• "Hey, don’t shake! We’re gonna fall!"

 

Living point: Rain somehow fears heights.

Thus, the first factory raid began with a bizarre spectacle.

Boom!

• "Oh, mother of…!"

• "The thermite cattle gun… this is a pretty useful piece of equipment. It can pierce through armored vehicles, so it’s quite convenient for handling situations like this, but we can’t spend the whole day wandering around the factory. Do we have enough ammo?"

• "We’ve been solving most of the engagements with skills. We’ve barely used any ammo since the start, so we’ve got about 300 rounds left… still good for now."

• "Alright. If the situation turns bad, we can always escape, so don’t worry too much."

• "Wow, it can pierce through armored vehicles, hahahaha."

• "Please… This is a gun game…"

• "We’re making some adorable little moves on the factory platform hahahaha."

• "Wait, this is a place where hundreds of people are supposed to be making a base, right? Hahahaha."

• "Just my honest opinion) I feel like they could break it even with just two people…"

 

Meanwhile, a few hundred meters away from the factory block, Harmony, with a half-destroyed anchor rope coiled behind her, followed closely behind Lorentina. Shark, meanwhile, was checking his surroundings while retracting the temporary cattle gun—more familiar as a "file bunker" in slang.

The factory’s interior, an inconvenient maze, was too narrow even for humanoids to move freely. As Harmony melted away the walls with the oxidizer she brought, Lorentina, in the meantime, erased every path and obstacle in their way, ensuring the area was cleared.

Their destination was none other than the factory’s power supply source.

• "We must have passed the missile platform area earlier, but strangely, nothing’s there now… they must have moved it on purpose. Clever bastards."

• "We’ve been raiding enemy weapons for so long, raining down hell on their heads. It was probably about time they learned to adapt, right?"

• "It’s not wrong, but it makes me even angrier."

 

Harmony muttered that as she swung the wrecking ball. Her thoughts weren’t voiced but spun around in her mind. Soon, it became a bitter taste that slid down her throat as she carefully loaded more oxidizer into the chemical shooter.

However, just as she was about to fire it straight ahead, Lorentina suddenly stopped in her tracks.

No sound, but Lorentina spoke.

• "I hear something."

• "Something? What do you mean?"

• "…If I had known this would happen, I should’ve been running pulse scans periodically."

 

It might have sounded like just some random mumbling, but Harmony understood exactly what she meant.

Just recently, they had been able to perform pulse scans and send some rough structural data to Logan’s team. But as time passed and the factory’s shield activated again, communication was abruptly cut off.

That’s why they had been extra cautious while moving through, but it seemed something was happening outside or below them.

Still, Shark added continuously.

• "If you underestimate how impressive the actions of the newbie and Polar Bear are, this is what happens."

• "So, what do we do to join up? Honestly, I still don’t hear anything…"

• "Well, it’s simple."

• "Huh, what?"

• "What kind of wrecking ball head are you talking about?"

• "Fact: These people have crazy physical abilities, even taking on 3 against 4 thousand."

• "Is this even possible for a human?"

• Screeeech!

 

As Harmony slyly took the rope and anchor from her back, she tried to wedge the spearhead into a crack in the wall, but failed. Annoyed, she put all her strength into forcing it in.

The thick piece of metal half-crumpled and was firmly wedged into the wall. Lorentina then instructed Harmony to fire all the oxidizer on the ground.

Harmony obediently followed, and soon the ground began to emit a horrible noise as it bubbled up. Toxic gas filled the entire space, but the two continued to observe as the ground lowered beneath them. How long had it been?

• Boom!

• "…Ah, below…!"

• "The party’s already started down there."

 

Light filtered in, and an ear-splitting noise continued without end.

Dozens of UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles) filled the gaps, humanoids weaving between them, and from far away, the shadows slowly advanced.

This was the opposite of the narrow paths Harmony and Lorentina had passed through earlier. It looked like a storage hangar filled with junk.

Lorentina, who had been scanning the area, spoke.

• "It’ll take them about 5 minutes to get here. Harmony, you stay here and wait. When the situation looks right, climb down using the rope."

• "I think I already know what Lorentina plans to do, so I won’t ask."

• "Haha."

• Clank!

 

At the same time, Shark pulled out five special smoke grenades from her pouch and threw them haphazardly around.

• "Of course."

• "Hahaha, they’re doing something suspicious again!!!"

• "This is insane hahaha!"

• "I think that drop is at least 10 meters—yet they’re jumping straight down hahaha!"

• "What the hell? The armored vehicle folded!"

• "What are they even doing?!"

• Whoosh!

 

With a slight wind noise, Lorentina leaped down to the ground. Harmony didn’t miss the sight of the thermite cattle gun heating up in her right hand.

As they landed, there was a moment of silence, but that quickly turned into an explosion. Chaos and confusion spread through the Artemis forces, and Harmony, with eyes half-clouded, muttered:

• "Even though they’re just punching bags, Artemis is still pretty pathetic."

 

No matter how the millions of viewers reacted to that comment, Harmony, like Lorentina, took grenades from her pouch and started throwing them around.

Explosions went off from all sides, and the shadows that were gradually closing in on Artemis, while Shark darted in between, taking down enemies.

It was utter chaos.