𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑: 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐭
Looking down at the Wagawa upstream mountain range from the Actanoid 『Wild Blanket』 floating in the night sky, the Actor, Hachigi, had a frown between his brows.
He was supposed to have prepared by getting ahead to trap the Bomber and drive him into a corner.
However, the All-Rounder operated by Bomber was running around the snowfields and forest without resistance, escaping Hachigi’s grasp.
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“Strange.”
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The All-Rounder’s movements are too amateurish. Moreover, the armament doesn’t seem to have been prepared for Actanoid combat; it’s lightly equipped.
It doesn’t seem like the same person who invited him with a public contract.
The fact that he was carrying a compressed hydrogen cylinder unprotected also bothered him. Had he not thought at all that he would be attacked?
The sense of incongruity was strong, but that’s why Hachigi kept telling himself to be careful.
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As long as the Wild Blanket is in the air, the All-Rounder cannot attack them. Surrounding it with drones and shooting would be the end of it.
Just move according to plan.
Hachigi talks to a subordinate who operates the drones via voice chat.
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“Have you found him yet?”
“Not yet. It’s nighttime, after all. However, we are tightening the encirclement, and Unison’s guys are also reinforcing their defenses, so they won’t come here. We can crush them.”
“Of course. But be careful. That Bomber has taken down three of our machines. Although the snow is packed and cannot create a snow cloud, radio interference may occur if snow falls from the sky.”
“I understand. This forest is tricky enough as it is.”
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It was good that it rained for a short time the day before.
The target All-Rounder is darting around restlessly, but with the Wild Blanket having already spread water over a wide area and thanks to the rain, the snow is hard
The All-Rounder is trapped.
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Just after Hachigi checked the remaining fuel of the Wild Blanket’s thrusters, a gunshot echoed from the forest.
Hachigi, who looked at the monitor immediately, saw a muzzle flash captured in the images shared by one of the drones and smiled knowingly.
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“Hah, the bastard is getting impatient and showing his tail!”
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Bomber, judging that the All-Rounder was trapped, must have fired at the Wild Blanket in the sky in desperation. The bullet didn’t reach, but the intention was clear.
Hachigi’s subordinates, operating four drones, all head toward the location of the muzzle flash.
To maintain the radio situation, Hachigi also moves the Wild Blanket.
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Changing the angle of the Wild Blanket’s rear thruster, he glides over the snowy field. The altitude drops slightly, but he continues to maintain a height unreachable by the All-Rounder’s gun.
Communication arrived that the four drones had reached the vicinity of the location where the muzzle flash was confirmed.
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“Surround it and crush it. Don’t spare the bullets. Destroy it for sure.”
“Understood.”
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With the guns mounted on the drones, they have to get relatively close to pierce the All-Rounder’s armor. However, if they close in from all four directions, the All-Rounder should be unable to cope.
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“There are wires strung up.”
“Small tricks. They won’t be obstacles against the drones.”
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As reported by his subordinates, the shared images show wires here and there between the trees.
Hovering the Wild Blanket near the scene of the muzzle flash, Hachigi searches for the All-Rounder through the gaps in the trees.
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Hachigi’s subordinates, operating the drones, found the target first.
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“We found him!”
“Shoot, shoot!”
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Immediately, countless gunshots began to echo from the forest.
He had won, Hachigi was sure of it, when it happened.
With a roar, the ground rose up in front of the Wild Blanket, hovering in the air.
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Unable to take evasive action, Hachigi was momentarily stunned as the Wild Blanket was swallowed by the ground, but noticing that the Wild Blanket’s instruments were still functioning, he realized what had happened.
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“Did he bury the compressed hydrogen cylinder in the snow and detonate it?”
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In gunfire, snow smoke doesn’t rise. So, he detonated and forcibly excavated. The drones that were swallowed by a large amount of snow and debris have all lost communication, all four of them.
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“. . . . . .I can understand, but did you have to go that far?”
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If it’s hiding the transported goods, he gets it. If he sends the location information to the client later, he should receive some kind of reward.
But using it for blasting, embezzling? It will lead to compensation, and his reputation will also suffer.
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“Ha ha, what a bunch of amateur Actors. Your funds will be unrecoverable if the All-Rounder is broken? That’s convenient.”
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Hachigi lands the Wild Blanket on the ground. The springboard legs perfectly absorb the landing shock, and the deployed thrusters fold back onto its back.
The Wild Blanket can’t fire in the air. Because of the risk of falling when handling a gun with a large recoil as it would affect posture control.
But with the current situation, the chance of victory is more than enough.
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Hachigi draws the Wild Blanket’s main weapon, the large-caliber handgun 『Rock Driller』, and aims it into the cloud of snow.
At this distance, he can shoot through the All-Rounder’s armor with a piercing bullet. By reallocating the memory used for drone assistance to various apps for improving posture control and accuracy, he prepares for a sure hit.
The end for that person will be when this snow cloud clears.
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If the All-Rounder has been blown away by the hydrogen explosion, that’s fine. If it has survived, destroy the stubborn survivor.
Immediately after, the All-Rounder bursts out from the cloud of snow.
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“――What?”
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The Wild Blanket should have been completely hidden in the snow cloud. Why was it discovered first?
No, that’s not the point.
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Controlled by various AIs onboard, the Wild Blanket fires before Hachigi can operate it. However, the bullet is easily caught.
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――By the corpse of a fern-legged scorpion that the All-Rounder uses as a shield.
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There’s no way the Bomber, who was continuously chased by drones and didn’t fire a single shot to avoid revealing his position, had time to hunt down a fern-legged scorpion.
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“Where the hell did you pick that up?!”
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He pulls the trigger in rapid succession while making the Wild Blanket run backward.
The springboard legs of the Wild Blanket are not suited for reverse running, and it only slightly delays the time before being caught by the All-Rounder.
Every piercing bullet fired in the few seconds bought is caught by the corpse of the fern-legged scorpion, failing to take down the All-Rounder.
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The All-Rounder aims a charge gun, Breakthrough, at the Wild Blanket.
A countless number of bullets fired in full-auto mode easily pierce the Wild Blanket’s armor, riddling it with holes.
The Wild Blanket, lightened for flight, is ungainly danced by the shock of being shot. The violence is shown by the shaking of the image displayed on the monitor in front of Hachigi.
The unstable view suddenly ends, and the words 『NO SIGNAL』 are displayed.
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Hachigi tears at his hair.
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“So that’s the Bomber. . . . . .Crazy.”
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