LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 376
The clear purple sky heralded a new morning in the Karnak Archipelago.
I made my way to the beach alongside the other Violets.
Today was the day we had all been eagerly anticipating.
“Finally, it’s here!”
“The vaccine!”
Our outskirts were fairly peaceful. Monsters, strange phenomena, and hostile entities were mostly confined deep within the Red Zone.
According to our Violets’ speculation, it seemed the outskirts had received less erosion from the Red Zone.
Of course, it remained true that strange satellite signals couldn’t reach us from above.
“So, planes don’t come here for deep reconnaissance!”
I heard they could at least pass by the vicinity. In fact, the Scholarship Officer and some friends had flown in to meet us.
But venturing in deeply was impossible.
Whenever aerial reconnaissance was attempted, communications would cut off, and there were too many cases of disappearing within the bizarre phenomena.
“Thanks to that, it seems the Foundation folks can’t find us either. The Red Zone is our shield!”
Just as Unit 4521 said, the satellites couldn’t observe the Red Zone.
The only way to learn more about the internal situation was to set foot within it. So, our fairly large Violet villages had become makeshift hideouts.
Both planes and cargo ships avoided this route, as there was no reason to get close enough to perform reconnaissance.
“That means, the self-determination of our Violet nation has become easier.”
The Karnak Archipelago is situated quite centrally on the world map.
The long distance is a drawback, but one day we’ll install an airport and build a port to enhance accessibility.
While splashing around at the beach, Unit 5621 suddenly shouted as if struck by a thought.
“Right! We need to establish a port, someday!”
Tragically, our civilization in this uncharted territory still hadn’t progressed beyond the medieval era.
We relied on preserved food stacked in our inventory for meals, and all our buildings were made from dirt, stone, and wood from the Red Zone.
While sturdy, our lives were severely lacking in terms of plumbing and electricity, causing great inconvenience.
If we only had construction machinery and supplies, we could modernize right away.
“If we just teach those Foundation folks a lesson, they’d focus more on conquering the Red Zone!”
“Exactly! The road to industrialization is open for us!”
With this singular hope, we waited by the beach, gazing steadily towards the horizon.
The plan was simple. After receiving the vaccine, we would apply the status to the blueprint, creating healthy immune Violets within ourselves.
With no dock available, all we could do was wait endlessly.
Soon, a plane would come flying in, drop off our cargo, and leave hurriedly.
At last, what we had been waiting for appeared beyond the horizon. The airship approached slowly, carefully dropping off the cargo before vanishing away.
Inside were supplies for us, the Violets.
As I hurriedly transferred them to the inventory before mutating, I scanned the cargo for something more important.
And I finally found it—a thick, white refrigerated case sitting in the corner.
“It’s finally here!”
When Unit 5621 cautiously opened the box, a swirl of white, cold mist rushed out.
Amidst it, shining syringes and vials revealed themselves.
We carefully read the included instructions before following them to extract the drugs from the vials using the syringe.
Now, only one thing remained.
“Okay, who’s going to take it?”
“Should we give it to Unit 1?”
After a moment of thought, I decided to administer it to the closest Unit 6433.
“I am the immune Violet!”
After all, the purpose was to copy the state of the vaccinated Violet and reflect it onto the blueprint.
Verification could wait for the other research team members who would come to the Red Zone with equipment, so it was best to proceed step by step.
After giving the injection, I focused my mind deeply. As the ceiling turned pitch dark, the stars descended like threads towards the ground, and the network’s weaver began to engage.
The blueprint spread wide once more, and fragments of consciousness scattered and merged repeatedly.
On the opposite side lay Unit 6433, resting peacefully.
Amidst the waves and flows of Ether rushing in, a new blueprint began to weave itself into shining threads.
-Clang!
With a clean metallic sound that slid smoothly, the completed blueprint dropped beneath the weaver.
The moment I held the blueprint, I instinctively sensed it.
Maintaining a similar feeling, yet constantly altering the intensity and flow of the Ether’s waves.
I was sure of it.
“This will work!”
**
The sweltering heat of August lay over the slum. The Rumyx Foundation’s mobile unit was patrolling the alleys.
They had a simpler crew than usual, and understandably so.
Their recent task had merely been to eliminate the occasionally appearing Ariel familiars.
“Caw! I’m dying!”
-Bang!
With a sharp gunshot, a crow plummeted from the sky, flapping about before crashing to the ground.
Another tainted familiar was erased from existence.
Yet, the agents wore expressions devoid of any excitement.
Everything was returning to normal.
“Isn’t it safe to say the terrorists are all over now?”
“Yeah, right. There’s nothing but these beasts left…”
One agent remarked in a relaxed tone, and a sense of emptiness began to creep among the field agents.
Those legendary terrorists, once formidable enough to topple a clan, had vanished at some point.
The secret weapon unveiled by high officials and the laboratory had vaporized those relentless foes in one go.
It made all the risks and sacrifices seem trivial.
Sensing something amiss, the team leader shot a sharp look at his subordinates and warned in a low voice.
“Don’t let your guard down! Don’t relax until we’ve confirmed the situation is fully under control. We still haven’t captured their key leaders.”
Under the boss’s reproach, the agents went silent.
Indeed, that group of terrorist girls wasn’t composed merely of clones.
The remarkable combat power and unique abilities wielded by their leaders were quite threatening. Their level was beyond imagination.
Analysts from the Foundation and Arshite had cautiously speculated whether they might actually be the real leaders behind the Ariel Group.
Because of this, agents were always prepared to activate emergency protocols at any moment.
Once danger was detected, most assets, including Hellman, would be aggressively deployed through the Convergence Corridor.
“And it seems they’re dismissing these beasts, thinking they’ve caught a few times already. We haven’t hunted them all yet, got it?”
The team leader ended his speech by stamping hard on the crow’s corpse that lay on the ground.
Already, the Board of Directors had issued an evaluation of ‘Top Priority Extermination Target’ concerning this unexpected variable.
They were wary of these mutant animals, perhaps even more so than any human accomplices or leaders.
“Well, they did talk like people…”
In the agents’ minds lingered the vivid memories of the horrific incident that occurred late at night after the pesticide operation.
The rebellion of experimental animals, a scene straight out of a third-rate movie, had unfolded in reality.
To make matters worse, those familiars, which seemed immune to the virus, helped the test subjects overthrow the laboratory and set it ablaze.
Who would have imagined that?
“Do you think those little bastards can talk like those in the video?”
“Didn’t you hear the screams earlier? They were shouting like mad, claiming they were dying.”
Due to the Foundation’s departmental secrecy, the field operations team hadn’t received detailed information.
Yet, rumors of widespread upheaval within various research departments had subtly spread through acquaintances and colleagues.
“Anyway, remember that even if they might seem clumsy, they’re beasts with human-level intelligence. Don’t underestimate them like mere monsters; casualties can still happen. Got it?”
“Yes!”
As the agents collected the crow’s carcass and resumed their street patrol, they found it comparatively easy to locate these beasts from the Foundation’s perspective.
As if seeking revenge for their master, they would lie in wait and rush in ferociously at any opportunity.
Such foolish actions, indeed.
Just like this.
“Uugh! Die! Long live Ariel!”
As the Foundation agents moved, a monkey that had been hiding on the roof of a row house suddenly revealed itself.
Clutching a bomb, the monkey charged in with wild abandon.
-Zing!
However, unfortunately for the monkey, it couldn’t fulfill its leader’s vengeance.
A robot, waiting in the background, quickly aimed its gun, and a thunderous roar echoed three times.
The large-caliber bullets split the air, and the monkey’s remains splattered like a burst tomato upon the ground.
Brushing fried remnants off his clothes, one of the agents grumbled.
“Tch, just a little guy.”
Yet, today was turning out to be quite fruitful. The frequency of resistant beasts appearing was gradually decreasing. The Control Algorithm sent signals suggesting they would soon be exterminated.
The team leader frowned, contemplating these tiresome creatures.
What kind of strange magical power could be bestowing intelligence even upon beasts, surpassing mere mental erosion?
“Alright, let’s call it a day and start the exchange. Move to the designated area and hand over the baton!”
At last, feeling a sense of relief that their schedule was coming to an end, the agents hastily prepared to withdraw.
Moving with light, refreshing steps, drones and robots trailed behind them.
By September, perhaps this situation would reach a conclusion and fall into a lull.
No one spoke it aloud, but all were thinking the same thing in the Rumyx Foundation.
-Swish!
Just then, a peculiar noise brushed past from somewhere.
“…?”
One agent scanned the surroundings with a puzzled expression.
Neither the drones, the robots, nor the other comrades noticed. However, the gut feeling honed from years of field experience alerted him to something odd.
Once more, an extremely subtle noise brushed against his ears.
-Swish!
“What’s that sound…”
The agent glanced around with a tense gaze but saw nothing notable. The same reconnaissance team, the robots, and citizens watching from afar with fearful eyes.
In a fleeting moment, a mischievous-faced girl with red eyes peered at him from behind a wall and a tree, grinning charmingly, but vanished in an instant.
Or perhaps she had never truly been there. The illusion faded quickly from his mind.
“What are you doing? Hurry up!”
At the urging of a colleague, any lingering doubts faded from the agent’s head.
After finishing their shift, the vehicle carrying them disappeared over the road.
“Hehe!”
A childlike giggle echoed from the air.
The hazy outlines of mischief-makers, apparent little girls, peeked in the direction the vehicle had vanished.
The Foundation remained unaware.
Even if they had known, there was little they could do.
Thus gradually, the invisible giggles, little troubles, luminous red eyes, and playful golden reflections reminiscent of swaying wheat began to infiltrate the crevices of the city.
Inside the purified Convergence Space, trampled by dropping Hellman, strange laughter began to echo.
“Hehe!”
“…Didn’t everyone hear that?”
The Containment Enforcement Members following the remnants of the Ariel Group in the Convergence Space looked at their colleague with bewildered expressions.
“What? Did someone eat my leftover cake?”
“Uh? That can’t be! I didn’t touch it!”
In the private lounge of the Foundation’s airstrip, staff were engaged in a heated debate about the whereabouts of suddenly disappeared food, while a girl huddled in a corner, cramming cake into her mouth with cream smeared all over her face.
Strangely, no one noticed her.
It was perhaps due to her cleverly hidden presence.
“It’s delicious! Hehe!”
“Hey! Unit 5814! Don’t steal that! You’ll get caught!”
Unit 5814, upset by the teasing from the network, puffed her cheeks and sulked.
After hastily brushing cake crumbs off her clothes, the little Violet donned a disguise and calmly walked out amidst the crowd.
She slinked through shadows and boxes, gradually sneaking into the open ramp of an airship.
One, then two—to transport aircraft and large attack airships.
At first cautiously, then with bold steps.
“Wow! An airship! I’m flying!”
The ramp of the airship closed.
Without knowing what lay hidden inside, the airship took off, leaving a blue trail from its engine like a tail, soaring into the sky.
What would happen next, only time would tell.