𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝
After taking a bath and falling sound asleep in bed, Chihaya woke up around evening.
The dream was a nightmare. She had seen in it the same sight of an All-Rounder’s head being blown off that she had seen last night.
Perhaps it was because she often used a rented All-Rounder.
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Despite being nocturnal and it being evening, Chihaya prepared breakfast and on a whim, looked up online news.
Sitting on the living room sofa, eating French toast, Chihaya scrolled through the computer screen.
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“T, There it is.”
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There was a brief article on a news site summarizing an incident within the New World Development Zone.
It was an article about an explosion accident involving Kaien Heavy Industries’ All-Rounder. The address of the incident matched her memory.
However, information was scarce. As it was treated as a mere accident, there was no additional information to be found.
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“Gunshots. . . . . .”
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The drunken woman had clearly said that she heard gunshots. Since the All-Rounder exploded and its head flew into the sky after her statement, the sequence didn’t seem like a mishearing.
However, the sober Chihaya had not heard any gunshots.
Chihaya recalled the drunken woman’s words.
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“Ninja=Sun, that’s a gun, right?”
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There’s an assault rifle for Actanoids called “Ninja=Sun.”
It’s an assault rifle created in the New World to attract other wild beasts with its silence. Its silence is highly rated by Actors.
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“. . . . . .Wait, could it be, a gunfight?”
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Actanoids are about the same size as people and can be powerful even in urban warfare.
However, a gunfight involving Actanoids in Japan would be a significant problem. It would make headlines and be heavily criticized nationwide.
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“Fu-he he, was it, was it covered up?”
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Shaking off her terrifying thoughts, Chihaya closed the online news and pretended she hadn’t seen it.
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“. . . . . .Gunfights don’t happen.”
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This is Japan, after all, she reassured herself, and focused on finishing her french toast.
She thought she might as well forget about that drunken woman.
After finishing her strangely timed breakfast, Chihaya shifted her thoughts.
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“Work. . . . . .”
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Chihaya opened Actor’s Quest’s request bulletin board on her smartphone.
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“Of course. . . . . .”
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She was disheartened seeing a line of combat requests on the bulletin board.
Despite avoiding combat requests, she kept getting caught up in battles. As a result, the bulletin board was still contaminated.
Nevertheless, thanks to survey requests, combat ones were only just over seventy percent. It was still a lot, but it was better to see non-combat requests listed as well.
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She quickly scrolled past the combat requests, ignoring them.
“Nothing good,” Chihaya muttered as she began searching on her computer with the request board open.
Among non-combat gathering or survey requests, there were also requests in dangerous areas where combat couldn’t be avoided. If you didn’t know the local creatures, you would be in serious trouble.
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“Huh?”
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While investigating the scene of a retrieval request for a wrecked mech, Chihaya was drawn to a video.
She often ended up on forums where Actors exchanged opinions, but it was her first time encountering a video.
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Apparently, it was a video posted by the private clan 『Intensive Hunting Club』, mainly active in hunting and wildlife research in the New World.
When she played it, suddenly, a tense voice came through.
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『The armor of the Psycholon has been penetrated. Set up a barrage and buy some time!』”
“『The Lannoid, three left. ――No, two!』”
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It seems to be combat footage.
That too, where the Intensive Hunting Club, possessing some of the top domestic power in guerrilla warfare and skirmishes, is being pushed back.
In the corner of the screen, an arrow was stuck in the waist of the Psycholon.
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Chihaya’s eyes widen.
This was the first time she had seen arrows flying in a battle in the New World. Moreover, it was powerful enough to penetrate the armor of a lightweight rounder type Psycholon.
Even sniper rifles can miss due to lag, so attacking with a bow and arrow is not just a whimsical idea. Furthermore, hitting the target requires an extraordinarily high skill level.
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She thought the creatures of the New World had fired the arrow, but apparently, the one fighting the Intensive Hunting Club in the footage is just a single Actanoid.
That Actanoid attacked the flank of the retreating Intensive Hunting Club’s unit.
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――With a sword.
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Chihaya doubts her eyes and rewinds the video.
Indeed, it was wielding a sword and attacking the unit. Moreover, it was unusually silent for an Actanoid, with no sounds of metal scraping or mechanical movement.
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It’s an entirely black-painted Actanoid. Its armor from shoulder to elbow resembles the contemporary sleeves found in Japanese armor, and there’s a similar grass skirt around its waist. Its head has a unique shape, imitating a fox face covered with a helmet.
The sword swung with mighty force crushes the leg of a retreating Psycholon in a single blow, and with a return stroke, forcibly cuts off the springboard legs of a Leaf Sprinter. It accomplished this while running through them, and the black-painted Actanoid disappeared into the forest.
Just then, arrows were fired from the forest, sticking into the device that was recording the footage.
The footage ended there.
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“. . . . . . S, Scary.”
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“Is that a notorious bandit Actor?” Chihaya shivers and further trembles as she reads the video description.
In the video description, a warning was written against the black Actanoid 『Renegade Warrior』 under the Intensive Hunting Club’s name.
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『To the Actor of the Order-series Actanoid 『Renegade Warrior』: We cannot overlook this unilateral attack. Unless compensation for the mecha and damages is paid, we, the Intensive Hunting Club, declare that we will destroy 『Renegade Warrior』 to prevent further harm. Furthermore, we will eliminate any Actanoid that interferes, without distinction.』
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It’s titled a warning, but it’s practically a declaration of war. Full-scale war at that. They must be very angry.
It’s a war between the Intensive Hunting Club and the Order-series Actanoid 『Renegade Warrior』, and furthermore, the forces supporting 『Renegade Warrior』. If individual Actor Chihaya gets involved, she won’t get off unscathed.
Of course, Chihaya has no intention of sticking her neck into such a dangerous place.
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“. . . . . .A, Aren’t there any good, non-dangerous requests?”
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What Chihaya found was a request for replacing solar power panels.
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