NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

On the shelves.

I originally planned to finish NIKKE's book in 500,000 words, intending to treat it as a practice work.

When I actually started writing, I discovered a serious problem: I'd already written 130,000 words, and I'd only just begun...

Ah—is this what harem novels are like?

It's really hard to write...

I feel that starting with explicit sex within two or three chapters after the initial encounter doesn't fit my reading habits...

They are very persistent in building up emotional progression.

Hopefully, this will allow readers who haven't played the game to have a clearer understanding of the various female characters.

As for the positions in the harem, there probably won't be too many...

……

……

I just checked the harem guide, and I take back what I said. The harem I wanted to write myself would have a whopping twenty-one members (that's how men talk).

Who knows how things will develop as I write while the official characters are being released?

sky……

Assuming each character has 50,000 words, wouldn't that mean I'd have to write at least a million words? (I really should reduce the number of harem characters...)

Oh right,

I might add some unofficial backgrounds and backstories to the characters later (since the official sources don't write them, I'll reluctantly create some alternate settings).

Please forgive me.

……

Ah! There's more!

Although I can write dark and tragic stories, my original intention in starting this book was to write a heartwarming story, so I won't add any extra darkness or tragedy. If it's an officially defined dark and tragic story, then let the protagonist go and smash it to pieces; I won't go into further detail here.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Life Should Be a Verb

In terms of perceiving the attraction of the opposite sex, this person's emotional intelligence is actually not bad. At least he can be sure of one thing: the reason why Mihara had an ambiguous attitude towards him before was largely based on the word "gratitude".

It's perfectly normal to feel grateful for getting them out of that brat Shuen's clutches.

However, perhaps it was because they didn't know how to repay the favor.

With no money and his life at stake, Mihara had no choice but to desperately seek opportunities to stuff her tofu into his mouth.

This kind of "I save your life, but you think I'm just after your body" behavior is not a good experience for Phoenix, and it's not even very tempting.

It has to be something like, "I saved your life, and you're after me."

The latter's power is like that of a howitzer compared to a 9mm pistol bullet; their lethality is on completely different levels.

For example, now.

After a serious conversation about "life," Phoenix clearly sensed a change in Mihara's gaze and expression.

It was no longer that deliberate attempt to ingratiate itself, but rather replaced by something subtle...

Burning sensation?

bulibuli! m-boer~

Just as a certain commander, who was suspected of being a hypocrite, was feeling uneasy being stared at by his own Nikki, the barrage of message notifications perfectly eased the tense atmosphere.

As Phoenix pulled out his phone and looked down, his previously chaotic thoughts immediately cleared.

Anyone who sees Anderson's bitter and resentful profile picture would probably feel the same way.

Anderson: Come to my office after you finish eating.

How did he know he was eating?

As Phoenix unlocked the screen with his fingerprint, he typed a reply while asking, puzzled:

"Mihara, did you just report to Vice Commander Anderson that I was eating?"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing the commander's question, Mihara's intense gaze shifted, and she turned to look at Yuni.

With just a glance, the two shook their heads in unison, indicating that they had not received any message from the deputy commander.

“I see…” Phoenix responded.

In her mind's eye, Anik, who was still using computing power to enjoy ice cream, was unwilling, but as an artificial intelligence, she was clear about the situation and immediately put all her computing power into scanning, trying to find the surveillance personnel in the mind map.

The other person shouldn't have been too far away from me before I entered the hotel, otherwise, given the traffic on Royal Avenue, he could have lost me by just turning two corners.

Okay, I'll head to Anderson's office right now. See if you can find out who's monitoring me.

What if the other person leaves after confirming you're going to the office?

Having probably already committed all the idiotic acts he could think of, Anik now offers a remarkably insightful suggestion.

It's not impossible, but there's no rush to catch him today. I can just take tonight off and go out with him for a couple of rounds of ghost-catching tomorrow.

Phoenix swallowed the last half-scoop of ice cream in his paper cup, stood up, and said to Mihara and the other man without any hesitation:

"Lieutenant Commander Anderson is looking for me. Let's go there now."

"Yes, Commander."

"Ok!"

……

……

"report!"

At the central command post, Phoenix entered Anderson's office and gave him a quick salute.

Having attended military academy for a year, his salute was indeed dignified and solemn.

"You're looking for me?"

"Hmm, I had to call you over so late at night, thank you for your trouble." Anderson, sitting behind his desk, nodded calmly. "I called you over to talk to you about things in the K region."

"Region K?"

Upon hearing that damned regional code, Phoenix immediately suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow and stated frankly:

"My surveillance period has only lasted a few days, is that alright?"

"No, I'm not asking you to go now."

Anderson was somewhat relieved to see that this person's ideological awareness was surprisingly good, and touched his cufflinks.

So what if you have a bad temper?

Such courage—not even flinching at the prospect of a high-risk mission—is rare to find on Arknights.

"There are many people watching you now. No matter how much resources I mobilize, I can only shorten your surveillance period to about a month at most."

The main reason I called you here is to explain two things to you.

As he spoke, Anderson gently waved his left hand, and the 3D projection immediately conjured up a file and a list of Niki's names.

"The first thing I need you to take charge of is a new recruit. The training will take place at the MMR affiliated academy founded by Missilis. As for her information, I will send it to your commander system later."

The second thing is that this list of Niki's is a list of calls to be made to you by the three major companies after discussions.

Don't get me wrong, not all the people on the list, including Niki, will obey your orders.

Suppose you are tasked with investigating the truth that Lecher is trying to hide in Region K, and you have to choose a team from a list. Which team would you choose?

"You want me to arrange the team members in advance?"

After hearing his leader's words, Phoenix, who had never expected things to turn out this way, genuinely showed a surprised expression.

This involves training new recruits and preparing the queue list a month in advance. If he didn't know the general plot, he probably would have thought that Ark was preparing to go toe-to-toe with Lecher.

"How many people do you plan to form for Niki?"

"Lavi, Christine, and Lorf, the three of us work together quite well, and Lavi is capable of temporarily serving as the deputy commander."

Mihara and Yuni, those two Nikkis who were monitoring me, their ability to shut down Lecher's senses is perfect for infiltration.

Finally, I'll need two machine gunners as backup. Hmm... if Emma can't leave her unit for me, then Marian and Diesel will do. Didn't the vice commander say I was going to train a new recruit? I'll take Diesel with me while I'm at it; I'll train her too.”

"Oh?"

Phoenix's answer, given without even a second thought, truly caught Anderson off guard.

"Are you sure you want to finalize all the personnel so soon?"