NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

Ok,

A little tired.

[Anik, put on a movie.]

Chapter Twenty-Five: Retrial

"The 307th hour has already broken the record, boss."

In the Level 1 solitary confinement monitoring room, prison guard Worth leaned back in his chair, his small eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, exuding an aura of utter despair.

"This guy didn't say a word from beginning to end. I seriously doubt he can last another 300 hours, which means we'll have to continue working three shifts for 12 days."

"Boss, if he doesn't confess soon, the three of us might confess first."

Worth gave a pitiful report on his work, and the thought of having to spend several more hours spacing out made him want to cry, his lips twitching as he looked as aggrieved as a child.

According to regulations, Level 1 confinement must ensure that the indoor environment is completely dark, so it is impossible to install night vision surveillance.

Therefore, there are no ordinary surveillance cameras in the monitoring room. Voss can only listen to the prisoners' heartbeats and breathing while observing and recording their various physical data.

If it's only two or three days, you can grit your teeth and endure it.

For thirteen days in a row, he could only sit in the monitoring room for eight hours each day, staring blankly at the monitoring data. To put it bluntly, Worth felt that he wasn't a monitor at all; he was just a prisoner in the monitoring room keeping this guy company in solitary confinement.

too painful.

It was so painful!

"Boss, how about we switch to six shifts?! Please!! I'll treat you to the hottest brothel in the outer district!!!"

……

……

"In the 360th hour, the director of the rehabilitation center told me that their monitors were forced to switch from a three-shift system to a two-hour shift system because they could not bear the mental pressure."

As for Phoenix, he hasn't said a word so far.

"...Ingrid, his current condition is probably no longer suitable for joining the Ark."

At headquarters, Vice Commander Anderson wore a stern face, looking quite unhappy.

"It is impossible for someone who has been in Level 1 confinement for more than 300 hours not to harbor resentment towards the high-ranking officials involved in the sentencing... I personally believe it is impossible."

"..."

Ingrid neither denied nor agreed with Anderson's words; she merely glanced casually at the documents on the table and changed the subject:

"You've seen the results of the K-sector mission over the past two weeks. A total of seven Nikki squads were dispatched, three were completely wiped out, and four were severely wounded. Even our company's special forces couldn't force their way into the K-sector with the ammunition capacity of a single transport plane."

Anderson, you should know better than me that those old-fashioned guys will never let us organize a large-scale Nikki force on the ground.

The only one who can sneak into Sector K to check Lecher's information right now is that guy who's still breaking records in the solitary confinement room.

I suggest applying to Anick for a retrial.

"...Yes, but he cannot be unique."

After closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, Anderson arrived at his answer.

"At the very least, we can't let him realize that he's unique in the Ark. We need another candidate, a commander who can also complete various high-difficulty tasks."

"You have this candidate in mind?"

"...It will happen."

Seeing Anderson's ambiguous and unwilling-to-speaking demeanor, business tycoon Ingrid naturally refrained from pressing for the identity of the person chosen, and instead abruptly stated:

"I'll go and tell Mastinder to come over."

"he?"

Under the vice commander's questioning gaze, the woman glanced sideways and explained helplessly:

“I had people interview Phoenix’s friends, and they said… he’s been a fan of Warren ever since he met him.”

"Warrenbauer? Who is Warrenbauer? A leader of some school of thought? Or the leader of some opposition party?"

Ingrid: "..."

"She is Niki, an idol and rapper under Mastin."

Anderson: "..."

……

……

"Tsk, can deserters please not eat in the canteen? Don't spoil other people's appetites."

"That means it's excessive for one person to occupy an entire long table."

"That's what immoral people are like; they live more comfortably than us."

In the dining hall at night, Christine ate her dinner quietly, her posture elegant and composed, completely ignoring the whispers of Niki around her.

Firstly, she had become accustomed to these slanderous remarks and no longer pondered the complex question of why Niki and her friends still oppressed each other.

Secondly, since that mission half a month ago, she realized that not everyone was so disgusting. At least, there was one ruthless commander who truly treated them as his own lives.

Three times...

Clang——!

A plate was slammed onto the table opposite Christine, filled with lifelike meat dishes made by Poppett.

"I have to say you have a really good temper. If it were me, I would have given them a good beating."

With a loud voice and a bold tone, Christine didn't even need to look up to know who it was.

"Could you be a little gentler next time? When I was chatting with the commander, he told me that he likes to eat quietly."

"...Huh?! I'm telling you, don't lie to me! My darling is that kind of quiet, gentle guy? No, impossible! I don't believe it! This isn't true! This doesn't fit my darling's fierce persona!"

Wolfe sat down while making a fuss, and just as she picked up a piece of the simulated steak, intending to eat it, the black and red figure she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye forced her to stop eating.

"Lavi?!"

The tall woman turned her head and saw Labi's familiar, serious face, and immediately grinned happily.

"Don't tell me you're the only one out of us who went on a mission."

"Lolf, Christine, it's been a long time."

Perhaps infected by Lorf's smile, Labi couldn't help but reveal a gentle smile as well.

“I haven’t been on a mission, but I feel it should be soon. I received a notification this morning that the three of us will form a unit again, but it’s not a high-ranking one; it’s a numbered unit, numbered 04-F.”

"Numbered units?"

Upon hearing these four words, the two women who were eating and preparing to eat immediately perked up, their four eyes fixed on Lhabi with a kind of hopeful expectation.

Code-named units may not need commanders, but numbered units must have one.

"As before, I will take on the temporary command role."

As soon as she finished speaking, the women rolled their eyes and continued to prepare to eat.

Lapi, being quite perceptive, was well aware of what her two teammates were hoping for. So, she gently placed the plate next to Lorf, sat down, and added:

“I got some information about the commander from our boss.”

Swah——

The two pairs of eyes met again in response.

"The commander has been suspended."

"Suspension?"

"ha--???"

Despite both being concerned about the commander's well-being, Lorf and Christine displayed drastically different attitudes towards this earth-shattering news.

The former was so disappointed that it seemed as if even his ears had collapsed.

The latter, though disappointed, also showed a clear sense of relief.

It's better that he's suspended.

With his exceptional abilities, if he doesn't suspend his duties, he'll likely spend more time on the ground than on the Ark.

"And then, Lhabi."

Christine was more concerned about someone else's situation than the distraught Rolf.

"Any other news?"

"Ah."

Lapi's idea seems to have something in common with Christine's.

"Don't worry too much. It's said that the higher-ups re-evaluated the commander's case, taking into account his mental health."

The end result is that Tetra's CEO will recruit commanders through special recruitment and conduct comprehensive psychological assessments of them through social work.