NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

Phoenix, who had prepared his speech in advance, smiled kindly at the girl, and then, without giving her a chance to continue, walked straight into the narrow passage marked with the number one sequence.

"Okay, okay."

The short-haired girl pursed her lips awkwardly after being rejected by the man, but her friends who were in the same group quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Lily, it's okay. The seven of us can try to visit this haunted house. At worst, there will be one unlucky guy without a companion."

In the group, a tall boy joked, his eyes involuntarily glancing at the icy beauty in the corner.

"I checked the guides, and the staff at this haunted house dynamically adjust the difficulty and horror level based on the number of people in each area."

The fastest speedrun record was broken by a two-person team, then by a three-person team, and then by a solo run.

There are seven of us here, and the most reasonable division would be 2-2-3.

The tall boy thought his suggestion was flawless, unaware that the other six people present had already discerned his cunning scheme.

Soon, several disdainful glances from his friends fell upon him without any politeness.

The person involved was also thick-skinned; seeing that his purpose had been easily seen through by his friends, he simply smiled and turned away without changing his expression...

"I don't like teamwork."

D, who had no desire to associate with ordinary people, followed Phoenix's example and expressed his desire to solo the game.

However, even after she said those words, the boy still walked forward unwillingly, seemingly wanting to make one last struggle and attempt.

Unfortunately, he was facing the dangerous captain of the tribunal's squad, Niki, a killer.

Then she said this:

"Could you please move aside? My boyfriend just entered the number one sequence, and I need to go find him now."

Um... I just wanted to make a little joke, actually... there isn't a 59th chapter.

I was just using a joke to hint at getting to base...

_ (: 3 "∠) _

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Chapter Sixty-Two: Does this even need confirmation?

This world must be crazy.

When Jones heard the icy beauty in front of him admit that the lone wolf was her boyfriend, he truly felt the absurdity of reality.

That kind of rotten man...

He left his beautiful girlfriend alone in a haunted house just to pay for a meal, and then her younger sister insisted on going back to find her, even paying him extra.

It's so fantastical, like a lowly storyline from a third-rate online novel.

"Um... it's not right for him to leave you here alone."

Jones wanted to say something more. Although her words had the air of trying to steal someone else's partner, they also contained a goodwill to some extent. After all, it was the woman who would suffer if she were with that kind of scumbag.

"..."

Faced with the kindness of passersby, D didn't know how to respond, so he could only maintain his feigned indifference and silently walk towards the number one sequence passage without looking back.

To be fair, her aura of being unapproachable does resemble that of a woman sulking during a fight with her boyfriend.

……

……

[They've caught up; give her a permanent marker.]

Upon entering the first sequence passage, Phoenix waited for a while at the corner of the passage before continuing forward when he saw Nikki walking towards him.

He was well aware of his purpose in coming here—to identify the stalker's appearance, not to actively seek trouble with him.

Now that he's met his targets, he should slip away...

"Stop. I know your abilities, and I know you can sense me."

"?"

Just as Phoenix was about to leave, an unexpectedly indifferent remark behind him made him subconsciously slow down.

Are all the Ark's scouts so direct after failing to catch up with their targets?

Isn't this business a bit...?

“Danger Squad Nikki, codename D, as required by the Tribunal, I will be observing your behavior for at least one week.”

A straightforward self-introduction successfully dissuaded Phoenix from forcing him to leave.

Now that the other party has revealed their hand, it would be inappropriate for him to continue pretending to be ignorant.

"Observe what?"

Someone had only asked the question as a formality, hoping to start a conversation. To everyone's surprise, Niki actually answered his question quite frankly.

"I need to confirm whether you will threaten the social stability of the Ark, or the safety of human lives."

Ah? ? ?

Does this need further confirmation?

Phoenix, with a keen sense of self-awareness, blinked and thought to himself:

It seems that this so-called court doesn't have much information about him; it appears that they only know that his perception abilities are abnormal.

"Would you mind revealing your confirmation criteria?" Phoenix asked as he turned and walked deeper into the passage.

……

The dense array of yellow seals reflected a faint shimmer in the dim, cold light, and the artificial bloodstains, mixed with rust and the stench of blood, rode the cold wind into the player's nostrils.

This level of atmosphere creation was, at best, child's play in the eyes of Phoenix and D, and its terror level was far less than that of the city ruins on the ground at night.

“There are microphones everywhere in the haunted house, so we’ll probably have to keep our voices down for the rest of our conversation.”

"Talk? You've got it wrong, I didn't come here to talk to you."

Walking up behind Target 505, D coldly and bluntly reminded him, "I'm here to confirm whether you still have any reason to live."

"I'm curious, do all of you who do the dirty work speak so arrogantly?" Phoenix wasn't angry at all, and even had the leisure to joke:

"What if we need to work together again in the future? Wouldn't it be awkward to meet again?"

Seeing that Target No. 505 seemed unaware of the seriousness of the problem, D's already indifferent expression became even colder.

"The Inquisition will not cooperate with any force; we are only responsible for protecting the interests of humanity and the Ark."

……

……

drip-

At the exit of the seventeenth haunted house, after hearing two electronic voices through his earpiece, Mihara's usual gentle demeanor vanished, his face darkening as he instructed his companion:

"Yuni, you stay here. I'm going to the haunted house to meet up with the Commander!"

"Ok!"

The little girl nodded obediently, sat on the bench, waved her little hand at Mihara who was about to leave, and then, like a child, lowered her head and started playing with the handheld game console in her hand.

Pat, pat—

Amidst the clicking and clattering of buttons, a series of real-time video feeds zoomed in and out, all reflected in Yuni's eyes.

"Found one."

In just over ten seconds, the former member of the security guard, a pink-haired girl with pigtails, fixed her slightly constricted pupils on a corner of the surveillance screen.

A flirtatious young woman with hair that had gradually turned from black to white, wearing headphones, was seen returning from the fifth floor to the fourth floor as if she were looking for a shop, intentionally or unintentionally moving towards the haunted house.

"If your acting isn't good, don't try to stalk others."

Yuni swayed her legs back and forth, her eyes narrowing adorably like crescent moons.

"Ha~ How stupid~"

……

……

"I'm asking you, do you consider yourself kind? 505."

"How am I supposed to answer that?"

In a secluded staff changing room in the haunted house, Phoenix chuckled, turned his head, and scratched the skin behind his ear with his right index finger.

"What if my definition of kindness is different from yours? Wouldn't I be a bad person in your eyes?"

"..."

This philosophically insightful answer plunged Captain Dangerous, who was already prone to self-reflection, into a long period of contemplation.