NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

laugh--

Suddenly, the automatic door of the classroom made the sound of its rollers moving.

As the door panel slowly and unhurriedly disappeared into the gap between the layers, Phoenix, who had been searching all along, and Maricana, who was looking back at the classroom, once again looked at each other.

　Self-blame, sorrow, weakness, cowardice...

Compared to her helplessness in the office earlier, Maruchana's pitiful appearance at this moment unintentionally made someone's heart clench and tighten.

"Instructor..."

Perhaps realizing that her demeanor was not as assertive as usual, the teacher quickly composed herself, like a deer spotting a hunter in the forest. In a panic, she braced herself against the windowsill with one hand, landed on her feet, and jumped back to the classroom floor.

On the other side, Phoenix strolled into the room, casually picked a desk, sat down, composed himself, and said softly:

"Are you still worried about Nadja and Tia?"

It's not as dangerous as you think. My team has twelve people, so even if we really fight Lecher, it's safer than a typical three- or four-person team.

"Do not……"

The man's words of comfort were clearly not on the same wavelength as the woman's dejected mood, but it was precisely this somewhat clumsy and slow-witted concern that successfully amplified Maricana's guilt.

The teacher's crescent-shaped eyelashes trembled slightly, and in front of the instructor, she seemed like a student who had done something wrong, softly recounting the mistakes she had made.

"I...I'm just sorry for what I thought before."

"Ok?"

Under Phoenix's bewildered gaze, Maricana quietly clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and made up her mind to confess:

"...When you said 'death,' my first concern wasn't your safety. I...I'm sorry for having such a selfish thought, Instructor."

Disregarding their own safety? A selfish thought.

Phoenix, who instantly understood the other person's meaning based on the context of the two sentences, could not be described as awkward, but rather strangely unusual.

We're all traitors, but I feel like I'm the least proactive one among them.

Look at them, they're single-mindedly focused on how to overthrow the ark.

Do you want to be free?

Knowing that he would be staying in the outer area for a while, he felt it was necessary to take care of everything before leaving.

So, the lieutenant got up and walked towards the teacher's seat, saying as he went:

"The process of bypassing NIMPH restrictions is too painful, and there are individual limitations. If you are willing, I can help you remove NIMPH directly."

"Eh?"

When Ji Sheng first heard that NIMPH could be lifted, even the mentally strong Maruchana couldn't escape the moment of mental blankness.

"You...you can deactivate...NIMPH???"

"Ah."

The shameless lieutenant extended his right hand and carefully took the woman's left hand in his palm. "At the latest, I will be secretly exiled to the outer edge of the region the day after tomorrow. You have at most a day and a half to consider it."

"Of course, if you'd like, I can help you undo it right now."

"..."

Feeling the cold, hard touch of the hand, even knowing it was just the instructor's prosthetic limb, Maruchana was still disturbed by the other's proactive and intimate gesture.

"……OK."

A blush crept onto her cheeks without her realizing it. The teacher raised a hand to brush a strand of hair from her temple and asked nervously, "Um... can the life-related cybernetic body be removed? Or does it have to be replaced with a combat cybernetic body?"

"the same."

Having explained the principle countless times, Phoenix briefly described the deactivation mechanism, and then said: "I need to cut open the skin to inject the virus into the prosthetic body, which will then enter the central nervous system and tamper with the ownership of NIMPH."

The erosion process can cause some degree of confusion, and a brief period of unconsciousness may occur after the erosion ends. Don't be afraid if you experience these symptoms.

"Believe me."

After speaking, with Phoenix's permission, Anik controlled the nanomaterial to drill into Maruchana's sleeve, made a small cut on her wrist, and then skillfully implanted the virus into Nikki's body.

"Is this the end?"

After waiting a few minutes, the expected commotion didn't happen, and even the pain of the so-called "cutting the skin" was negligible. Maruchana felt as if nothing had happened and was about to express her doubts...

suddenly!

The feeling of fainting was like a demon's successfully executed contract, instantly stripping Maruchana of control over her body with irresistible force.

Phoenix did not expect the corrosive virus to invade this rebellious teacher so quickly!

The woman's eyes turned crimson in the blink of an eye, and her body swayed as if about to collapse.

In a moment of urgency, the lieutenant had no choice but to step forward and hug the other person, then quickly place them on the desk closest to them.

Fortunately, Maruchana, like Yuni, was accustomed to using a prosthetic body, and was only 20-30% heavier than a human of the same size.

Otherwise, Phoenix, with his human body, really wouldn't be able to lift her.

"Teach, teach, teach... officials, officials, officials..."

On the table, Maruchana, whose language module was mostly malfunctioning, grasped Phoenix's right hand in a daze and said with difficulty but stubbornness:

"Please...please...please...make sure...protect yourself..."

"……Um."

……

……

People's physical constitutions are different from one another.

The constitutions of different Nikis are also different.

Maricana's physique not only refreshed Phoenix's understanding, but also successfully updated Anick's database.

Invasion time: 4 minutes and 52 seconds; NIMPH privilege transfer time: 8 seconds; Coma time: 12 minutes and 6 seconds...

In the words of artificial intelligence, given Maruchana's current state, if she continues to stay in this affiliated high school and endure endless mental torture, she will likely undergo a severe mental transformation within a few years, eventually becoming a madwoman named Niki waiting to be destroyed.

Fortunately, on their way to madness, they were stopped by a passing commander surnamed Fei...

……

"Is this what the body looks like after NIMPH is removed?"

The teacher, who had already woken up from her desk, stared intently at someone. Her thoughts, no longer under her control, began to conjure up all sorts of illegal, disorderly, and law-defying ideas.

However, Maruchana quickly suppressed these thoughts due to her concern for the students.

She turned around and rushed to the window, peering out to see the students on the playground. She watched as the children went from studying to playing around, and felt no anger whatsoever.

In the past, even if she didn't want to be angry, NIMPH would force her to experience "the anger of a teacher" through a pre-set procedure.

Now, this kind of thing can actually stop happening.

The excitement, exhilaration, and joy of being reborn...

Hatred, resentment, and desire for revenge towards the Ark...

Extreme emotions surged like a tsunami over Maruchana's mental walls, urging the woman to turn around and look at the instructor watching her from behind.

flutter--!

Unable to suppress her impulse and desire any longer, the teacher, eager to share the joy of the moment, threw herself into someone's arms without warning, draping her arms over the man's shoulders and pressing her face against his chest.

Tears silently soaked his military uniform.

In my ears, I heard the grievances that Maruchana had accumulated over the years of oppression.

"We...we are human beings too..."

With sobs, she broke into a series of sobs, recounting the pain that belonged to Niki.

"Why did they treat us like this... They have mothers too... They have daughters too... Why did they treat us like this..."

Perhaps moved by Maricana's weeping, Phoenix instinctively embraced the woman in his arms, stroking her back and hair.

There were no words spoken; they simply let the teacher from the MMR affiliated high school vent his emotions.

for a long time……

Perhaps exhausted from crying, Maruchana, having finally vented all her negative emotions, stopped "questioning" her instructor and instead quietly closed her eyes, greedily plundering the indescribable sense of security from the man's embrace.

No wonder,

No wonder Mihara and Marian always thought about those things after being separated from their instructors for a few days.

"The central government... wants to exile you to the outer regions?"

Since they'd already been hugging for so long, the teacher wasn't embarrassed at all. She casually adjusted her hugging position and continued to lean against Phoenix's chest, murmuring:

"If a mission is carried out on the ground from the outer edge of the region, then all the merits will not be recognized by the Central Committee."

This way, they don't have to worry about your combat achievements being too high, thus creating personal influence in Ark City. They can then feel comfortable letting you frequently carry out missions and exploit your value.

Ok……