NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

"run--!!!"

"A big one is coming!!!"

Chapter Three: The Vanguard Force That Shouldn't Exist

To be honest, Phoenix doesn't really want Lapi and the others to come to his side right now.

He had seen Anise's leg injury.

If the other party joins them, it will undoubtedly be adding insult to injury for the entire team.

But there was no way around it; one of Niki's core responsibilities was to protect the Commander.

Therefore, no matter how much he tried to persuade her, Lhapi resolutely led her members to the office building and successfully joined him.

Looking at the four women before him, each with their own unique charm, the man leaned against the table with mixed feelings, and said in a voice hoarse from dehydration and shouting:

"Commander of Unit 055-A... Phoenix. You are... cough, which unit are you from?"

"Vanguard, Commander."

The familiar tone, the familiar voice—Lavi was indeed still Lavi. She solemnly saluted the commander, then introduced herself:

“Lavi, captain of the vanguard.”

Vanguard?

Where did this vanguard come from? Shouldn't it be Unit 04-F?

For a moment, Phoenix thought he had misremembered the plot, but soon, an inspiration flashed into his mind like lightning.

If they did not exist, the vanguard would be forced to continue retreating north due to the wounded and the pursuit of Lecher.

However, there are also nearly twenty Lechers lurking in various corners to the north. If Lhapi and the others choose to move north, it would be equivalent to being surrounded by seventy or eighty Lechers.

Being surrounded by enemies in real life is a major taboo, let alone being surrounded in an urban warfare environment, where gunfire could be everywhere, and you might not even know how you died before you die.

Thinking of this, Phoenix's gaze shifted to Christine and Lorf, who had never appeared in the game's storyline.

they……

They will most likely perish during this retreat.

Only if they die, and the cause of death is unsatisfactory to the Ark's power structure, or even causes dissatisfaction among many, will Lapi and Anis be demoted to 04-F, a team that is obviously an ordinary squad.

It's important to understand that non-mass-produced Nikis are high-end and top-tier combatants for Ark, and they would never normally be deployed to ordinary squads for useless commanders to squander.

Even Marianne, who appears at the beginning of the story, is only responsible for transporting the "players" to the 04-F unit, whose commander has just died. She clearly belongs to a high-level unit—the Silver Lance Unit.

"It's an honor to meet you, Commander."

Just as someone was staring at the woman somewhat rudely, Christine met Phoenix's gaze with a confident smile and said, "I'm Christine, a scout from the vanguard."

On the other side, Lorf, who is nearly two meters tall and has a hot figure, also spoke up, not to be outdone.

"Pioneer Breaker, Lorf."

Phoenix nodded in response and gave Anise, who remained silent, a friendly smile.

"I'm so glad to meet you all here."

Unexpectedly, the chestnut-haired girl, who was usually very talkative, didn't say much this time. Instead, she stood behind Lhapi, intentionally or unintentionally blocking her injured right leg.

On the battlefield, Niki, whose mobility is severely impaired, is easily abandoned by the commander; this is a consensus among Niki.

Anise didn't want to be abandoned, nor did she want to be beheaded, nor did she want to die.

So she chose to shut her incessant chatter, trying to diminish her presence in the team.

Unfortunately, the girl was unaware of a serious problem, or perhaps she was simply not sensitive enough to this issue.

She never seriously considered what kind of attraction her sexy attire and broad chest held for the opposite sex.

If it weren't for the fact that one of the commanders was suffering from a splitting headache due to dehydration, and if it weren't for the fact that everyone was facing a life-or-death situation...

His tourmaline eyes, like those of Phoenix, would probably be drawn to Anise's voluptuous chest from time to time, like magnets.

"Have any of you been marked by Lecher?"

Setting aside unnecessary and temporarily irrelevant thoughts, the man took a deep breath and said hoarsely:

“I’m very familiar with this area. If you haven’t been marked by Lecher, I can take you to hide.”

"...Then why don't you hide yourself?"

As the saying goes, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature," and after hearing the commander's words, Anise immediately discovered the logical flaws in them.

If he was confident he could evade Lecher's search, why would this man hide in an unsafe office building?

"Because I've run out of supplies."

Phoenix staggered over to Lorf and said with a wry smile:

"After being dehydrated for a day and a half and engaging in high-intensity exercise, I probably won't survive until tomorrow if I don't replenish my fluids."

The original plan was to try my luck today and see if I could run into a transport plane or another commander's squad..."

After a pause, the man raised his hand and continued, "Lorf will carry me, Christine will carry Anise, and now move according to my instructions."

"By the way, Lhabi, you haven't answered my question yet."

“No members of the vanguard have been marked, Commander.” Lapi instinctively straightened his back. “I have informed the Ark intelligence department of your situation, and the operators are contacting the military for backup…”

"Understood. Let's go first. The situation is urgent. We can talk about the rescue efforts after we get away from Lecher."

As Phoenix spoke, he reached his forearm toward Lorf's neck, gesturing for her to be considerate of their height difference.

To everyone's surprise, the tall woman grinned, pulled the sling of her shotgun in front of her, and then lifted him up in a princess carry.

"If the commander has a dehydration headache, it will be more comfortable to hold him."

"..."

Feeling the wonderful waves from his left arm and the stability from his back and legs, Phoenix glanced helplessly at Lorf's spirited face and finally sighed.

"Everyone, follow my instructions and go down to the first floor."

"As you command, Commander."

"Commander, should we count down to three? Like in track and field?"

Amidst Labi's resounding response and Lorf's slightly excited teasing, Anise and Christine stared at each other's annoying faces, their expressions indescribably complex.

"Christine, the commander wants you to carry me," the chestnut-haired girl said reluctantly.

Upon hearing this, Christine gave a cold snort without any politeness, and then half-squatted down.

"Come up."

A few seconds later…

"Hey Anise! Can you please remove those grenades from your stomach?!"

"I'll take it apart again! I'll take it apart again! It's not like you're the only one feeling anxious!!!"

Chapter Four: The Great Spear

"Go down the stairs on your left."

dong dong dong dong-

"Go to the second basement level, the emergency exit door, and go inside."

dong dong dong dong-

"There are stairs ahead. Go up the stairs, return to the ground, and continue west."

dong dong dong dong-

……

……

With Phoenix's almost cheat-like navigation, the vanguard marched smoothly through several blocks.

During that time, they didn't encounter a single Lecher.

As the march continued, the astonishment of Rabi and his men towards Phoenix deepened.

This was hardly just giving directions. Several times they sensed that the commander had changed course at the last minute, using a roundabout method to continue evading Leitcher's pursuit.

Even the intelligence operators who were watching their route were speechless with shock.

Seeing that the expressions on the faces of the Lapi and the others were becoming increasingly strange, Phoenix certainly couldn't directly tell them things like, "This is my benefit from time travel," or "Actually, I have a two-dimensional radar and a three-dimensional map in my head."

He could only offer a weak explanation: "I've sniped a few Lechers to the north, so there aren't enough Lechers in this area to cover all the key intersections."

As a result, everyone's already strange expressions became even more awkward.

How many Lechers did you snipe?