𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔: 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
Chihaya was staring intently at her bankbook.
Having heavily damaged the All-Rounder, Chihaya had to pay for the repairs and suffered a significant deficit.
It was particularly painful as she had already spent a considerable amount on moving expenses and deposit fees.
At the very least, she wanted to recover the heavily damaged All-Rounder, so she immediately launched a counterattack with a rental unit. However, the battlefield units had already been recovered by other groups such as the Order Actor or the Morinomiya Garage-based Kaien Squad.
Chihaya closed her bankbook and collapsed on her bed.
ㅤ
“Oh, I have no money. . . . . .”
ㅤ
To be precise, she did have enough for this year’s rent, but the amount seemed too scant to pursue her career as an Actor . The fact that over half of her savings, which had exceeded $6,800, was gone put significant psychological pressure on her.
Feeling a sense of urgency, Chihaya began searching for job requests on her smartphone.
ㅤ
“Fu-he he, there’s a bit more available…”
ㅤ
There were slightly more non-combat requests.
Due to damaging her own mech and fulfilling a crepe herb delivery request, her priority for combat-related tasks had decreased.
However, considering the long distances involved, most of the requests required extensive travel. The further she had to go, the longer it took, so the rewards tended to be higher.
ㅤ
Chihaya, who wanted to earn money, was grateful for the job postings.
She scrolled through the screen, carefully considering each request.
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“. . . . . .There are a lot of recovery requests?”
ㅤ
There were an unusually high number of requests for the recovery or escort of severely damaged, moderately damaged, or isolated Actanoids.
The locations covered a wide range. From the foothills of Shizuhara Mountain in the east to the Hai-ju Mountain Range in the west. There were many remote, unexplored areas with dense forest. Even with an Actanoid’s legs, it would take three days in a straight line, or more than ten days considering the terrain.
Some requests mentioned that the Actanoids had been taken down by New World’s animals, but most didn’t include the reason for the heavy damage.
ㅤ
“Could it be the Actanoids taken down by the Renegade Warrior?”
ㅤ
The Order-series Actanoids have been the talk of the town lately, with various forces seeking to capture or destroy them.
If the Renegade Warrior had defeated these Actanoids, they could provide clues to his current location. That might be why the requesters didn’t write the reason for the heavy damage.
ㅤ
Chihaya began to ponder, comparing the request details and rewards.
In the end, Chihaya had not encountered the Renegade Warrior. She had seen battle footage but never actually fought him.
Her perception was that she had been defeated without any resistance by the Trigger Happy during her last mission. She was unaware that there were only a handful of Actors who had managed to damage the Trigger Happy.
ㅤ
“I don’t want to fight, but. . . . . .”
ㅤ
Frankly, she needed money. Her eyes were dazzled by the reward money, which had increased by about twenty percent.
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“Well, I don’t necessarily have to fight. . . . . .I can retreat. . . . . .I need the money. . . . . .um.”
ㅤ
The indecisive Chihaya continued to fret on her bed.
With clever planning, she could handle multiple requests at once. She could choose a request where damaged units were clustered in the same area, recover any heavily damaged units found along the way, and send discovery reports, coordinates, and photographs via message. She could expect to accomplish the requests even post hoc.
ㅤ
After agonizing for an hour, Chihaya finally decided to accept the recovery requests.
However, Chihaya was vaguely aware that she tended to get drawn into battles. She began making efforts to gather information to avoid combat as much as possible.
The first site she opened was the homepage of the Intensive Hunting Club.
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“. . . . . . It was there.”
ㅤ
Finding the information she was looking for, Chihaya shows a faint smile.
The Intensive Hunting Club has vowed to subdue the Renegade Warrior, announcing their intent to eliminate any obstructing Actanoids. Therefore, it’s only logical to release information to ensure that unrelated Actanoids don’t encounter the battlefield.
ㅤ
The page that Chihaya opened contained the location where the Intensive Hunting Club found the 『Renegade Warrior』.
With the last update two hours ago, the discovery location of the 『Renegade Warrior』 is more than two hundred kilometers away from the Spear Mountain Range, the relevant area that Chihaya has her eyes on. Previous discovery locations also show it moving away from the Spear Mountain Range towards the Hai-ju Mountain Range.
In other words, the 『Renegade Warrior』 is not in the relevant area.
ㅤ
The recovery target that Chihaya has her eyes on is also not the Renegade Warrior but rather destroyed by wild animals. The Spear Mountain Range has poor signal conditions, and taking Lannoid-type with you to improve them is the norm. As a result, many requests for the recovery of high-value Lannoid-type bodies have been found.
They are in a buried treasure state.
ㅤ
The obstacle is the signal condition.
However, the All-Rounder that Chihaya always uses was manufactured at the beginning of the New World’s development. Originally designed to function to some extent even in poor signal conditions for introducing into the New World without any signals, this design is still the reason why it is used in the New World’s development.
Although she can’t be overly confident, there are Lannoid-type on the scene, so she can directly operate them and have them assist with communication.
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With that decision made, Chihaya quickly accepts the request and borrows an All-Rounder.
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“. . . . . .But, I should be prepared for combat.”
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Up until now, she has been caught in combat in places where she thought there would be no fighting. Chihaya has become unable to feel at ease with only preliminary information.
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“Uh, a large backpack, and more grenades, and I want dust grenades, and time-limited ones, oh, and wires. . . . . .”
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Chihaya, who intends to recover all the Actanoids she finds, borrows a large amount of wire, spare batteries, and a trolley.
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“Hm? Balloon type, dummy grenades? Oh, ohh. . . . . .This too.”
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She buys three packs of dummy grenades, which expand to look like real grenades when the string is pulled, causing a chemical reaction inside that generates gas.
If she can’t carry all the bodies she finds, she can hide them somewhere and use these dummy grenades to set up a wire trap. No one will be able to touch them.
ㅤ
Having thought of such a cunning idea, Chihaya accesses the rental All-Rounder.
She even scrutinizes the maintenance condition and actual behavior of the rental All-Rounder, something she usually doesn’t care about. As she is going to a place with bad signal conditions, it’s an absolute condition that it doesn’t behave strangely.
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“O, Okay, this time I’m going to make money. . . . . .Ah, I should bring my wallet.”
ㅤ
If she returns safely, she’ll have some delicious food delivered.
With this modest ambition in her heart, Chihaya places her wallet under the Actar Room monitor and deploys the All-Rounder.
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