A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

32

Chapter 32: The four squads discuss the battle plan.

That evening, in a deserted mountain in Chiba Prefecture.

"Phew... Phew... We've finally arrived..."

Fujiwara Chika leaned against a tree beside her, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, panting heavily and looking almost exhausted.

"I've told you before to exercise more often."

Seeing Fujiwara Chika's appearance, Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but frown slightly.

"Although you will also get a physical fitness improvement reward after clearing the dungeon, there is no harm in exercising. Besides, you are the kind of person who is on the heavier side."

"Huh? What are you saying?!"

When Kaguya Shinomiya said that she was rather fat, Chika Fujiwara blushed and retorted.

"I'm not fat at all, okay? I have a perfect figure!"

Hayasaka Ai glanced at Fujiwara Chika's chest and shook her head.

"Is it because one of your parts is in the way?"

"Well……"

Fujiwara Chika's pretty face flushed red from what she was being said, and she puffed out her cheeks in anger, muttering under her breath.

"Hmph, one flat-chested, the other a padded person, they're just jealous of me."

"Alright, let's not talk about these trivial things anymore."

Kaguya Shinomiya gazed at the path in the dark forest and spoke softly.

"If the guy I interrogated wasn't lying, the research base is located deep in this mountain. Let's find a safe place to rest for the night and then head into the mountain to search tomorrow morning..."

Just as Kaguya Shinomiya was speaking, a cheerful, energetic girl's voice suddenly came from behind the three of them.

Excuse me for interrupting.

Kaguya Shinomiya's pupils contracted in shock, and as she turned around, the long sword appeared in her hand.

She pointed the knife at the cute girl standing a few meters away from them, wearing a red sweater and blue skirt, a blue hat with cat ears and blue gloves, with a smile on her face and swaying slightly. A chill ran through her red eyes.

"Who are you? You approached us silently. What do you want?"

"I didn't intentionally try to hide my scent~"

Hat Mita replied with a smile.

"However, the fact that you didn't even detect my approach proves that the three of you are indeed very tired, unable to even maintain the most basic vigilance. Please rest assured, I have no hostility towards the three of you; I am also a player."

"Are you a player too?"

"correct."

Noticing the suspicious looks from Kaguya Shinomiya, Chika Fujiwara, and Ai Hayasaka, Hat Mita extended her right hand, and an inflatable toy hammer suddenly appeared in her hand, only to disappear again the next second.

"So, do you believe me now?"

Seeing this, Kaguya Shinomiya, Chika Fujiwara, and Ai Hayasaka all believed that Hat Mita was a player, since only a player could store and retrieve items from the void in this way.

Even so, Kaguya Shinomiya remained vigilant and spoke in a cold tone.

"You're a player? Then what's your purpose in approaching us alone?"

"Of course, it's for collaboration!"

Hat Mita smiled sweetly and spoke.

"Have you encountered the mobile forces of the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau before? If you have, you should understand that it is absolutely impossible for the three of you to break through the defenses of the research base and obtain the experimental data stored there."

Hayasaka Ai snorted softly upon hearing this and immediately denied it.

"But there are more than just the three of us who want to break into the research base, right? Since you are a player and you're here, doesn't that mean you also plan to break into the research base and obtain that research data?"

That's true.

Hat Mita seemed to have anticipated Hayasaka Ai's question, and without the slightest panic, she simply smiled and explained.

"However, it is difficult for different player teams to cooperate and they cannot fully trust each other. They are even wary of each other. Under such circumstances, they still have to break through the defenses of the research base, the mobile forces of the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau, and finally find the route to the location where the experimental data is stored and get there. Do you think it is possible to succeed? Or to put it another way, even if you succeed, can the three of you really survive the process?"

Faced with the question posed by Hat Mita, Kaguya Shinomiya and the others fell silent, unsure how to answer.

As the other party said, the players are not a monolithic group. Although they all share the same goal of clearing the level, it is impossible for them to truly cooperate with each other.

Cooperation? How to cooperate? The situation in this instance is quite clear: the player who successfully obtains the experimental data will definitely get the highest level reward. As for the other players, they may get some bonus points in the completion evaluation level for assisting in the attack, but it will definitely not be comparable to the reward for personally completing the objective.

Faced with the rewards for clearing a dungeon, even teammates in the same squad may not be trustworthy, let alone complete strangers.

If the attack on the research base is launched now, the probability of successfully completing the mission is extremely low; the greater probability is...

No player successfully obtained the experimental data. All players were trapped in this world and eventually died one by one under the attack of the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau or other official agencies and forces until they were all wiped out.

"You all seem quite intelligent; you must have already understood what I'm saying, right?"

Hat Mita deliberately gave Kaguya Shinomiya and the others some time to think before continuing to speak.

"Therefore, our player teams need to reach a consensus that cooperation is definitely impossible, but at the very least, we must not hinder each other."

After saying this, Hat Mita walked towards the dense forest on the side. Before entering the forest, she turned around and looked at the three girls, Shinomiya Kaguya, Fujiwara Chika, and Hayasaka Ai, who were still standing in the same place, and said with a smile.

"The choice is yours, but if you really want to pass the level, then follow along."

……

In the end, Kaguya Shinomiya and the others decided to listen to what Hat Mita had to say, so they followed her through the dense forest to a secluded clearing.

When they arrived, they saw two player teams already around the open space. One of them consisted of three male players, all around twenty years old. Although they looked tired, their clothes were neat and clean.

The other player team wasn't in such good shape.

The team consists of five people: three men and two women. The oldest man appears to be around forty years old, while the youngest male player looks like a college student or someone who has recently graduated.

The five players' clothes were stained with blood, and although they tried their best to hide it, Kaguya Shinomiya, who was good at reading people, could tell at a glance that the five players seemed to be in grief and sorrow, perhaps because their companions had sacrificed themselves on the way here.

Most players at this stage, even high-level players, do not have the defensive capabilities to withstand bullets. It is perfectly normal for them to die during the pursuit by the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau.

"OK~ Including this squad that just arrived, and my own squad, we now have four player squads!"

Upon hearing Hat Mita's words, the leader of the three-man male player team frowned and took two steps forward to inquire.

"All of our three squads are gathered here, but what about your squad? Why are you the only one showing up? Could it be..."

"you misunderstood."

Hat Mita first said this with a smile, but just when everyone thought she was going to patiently explain, they heard something unexpected.

"Although I invited your three teams to discuss this, you don't think that this means your three teams are on equal footing with my player team, do you?"

With a sweet and lovely smile on her face, Hat Mita glanced at the players, including Kaguya Shinomiya, Chika Fujiwara, and Ai Hayasaka, before slowly speaking.

"Don't misunderstand. The first of you arrived here only half an hour ago, while my team arrived eight hours ago, while it was still light."

"What……"

Upon hearing Hat Mita's words, the three player teams, including Kaguya Shinomiya and others, couldn't help but show expressions of disbelief.

The opposing team arrived at the mountain where the research base is located eight hours ago.

How can this be?

Eight hours... In other words, only four hours after entering the instance, her player team had already passed all the tests: "obtaining information about the research institute's location," "breaking through the demi-human countermeasures bureau's blockade," and "arriving in Chiba Prefecture."

If the arrival times differed by only half an hour or an hour, there might be a chance factor involved, but such a large difference could only mean one thing.

If what Hat Mita said is true, then her player squad is not only the strongest, but also...

They were several levels stronger than their own team.

"Looks like you all understand now~"

Looking at the expressions of the players, Hat Mita maintained her sweet and lovely smile, but the words she spoke made everyone present tremble involuntarily.

“You were the first three teams to arrive here after us, which is why we gave you the opportunity to discuss the battle plan together, but you…”

Hat Mita stuck out her tongue and made a cute face.

"You have no right to question us!"

33

Chapter 33 Cooperation in another sense.

Despite Hat Mita's blunt words, none of the three player teams present stood up to express their opposition or dissatisfaction.

The fact that they were able to get here in such a short time shows that everyone present is a high-level player with sufficient skill and intelligence.

Is what Hat Mita said true?

Actually, that's not important. When we arrived here, the other side did come looking for us. Regardless of how long it took for their team to arrive, it's certain that they arrived earlier than us.

and……

Daring to appear alone in front of other players' teams, is this seemingly cute and energetic girl really as harmless as she appears?

It is absolutely impossible.

Engaging in pointless arguments and offending the other party before the situation is even clear is something only a fool would do.

"In that case..."

At this moment, Kaguya Shinomiya slowly stepped forward a few steps, looked directly at Hat Mita standing there, and said calmly.

"Let's talk about what you... no, what you want to discuss with our three player teams."

"Yes, yes, everyone has traveled such a long way, they must be tired, so I'll keep it short~"

Hat Mita stopped smiling, looked at the three player teams around her, and slowly spoke.

“As everyone should know, it’s impossible for a player team like ours, who are complete strangers, to cooperate. We can’t trust each other, and if we were to act together, we’d even have to be on guard against each other. But, to break through the research base’s defenses, it’s highly unlikely that a single player team, even my team, could manage it. So…”

Hat Mita paused slightly before smiling and continuing.

"There is only one way for us to achieve a similar effect to cooperation without acting together, and that is to break through the research base's defenses at the same time from different directions."

"Hmm? This plan..."

All the players, including Kaguya Shinomiya, began to seriously consider Hat Mita's proposal.

To be honest, this is indeed the most feasible plan.

The research institute base is a large building covering an area of ​​more than ten square kilometers. At the same time, the breakthroughs started from four different directions, which means that after the successful breakthroughs, the four player teams will not meet each other, nor will they travel along the same route inside the research institute.

The different directions minimized the probability of them meeting each other, but because the attacks were launched at the same time, it meant that the four squads shared the responsibility of dispersing the defense of the research base, and there would be no situation where a player squad had to face the entire base defense force.

“Indeed… this plan is the most reasonable, but…”

Kaguya Shinomiya looked at Mita, the hat-wearing girl, and asked a question in a calm tone.

"Since it's four different directions, the defensive forces we'll face at the beginning will definitely be different as well. After all, the research base must have areas that are difficult to breach and areas with weak defenses. How should we allocate resources? And how can we ensure that our four teams will actually launch an attack at the same time, instead of someone having the idea of ​​letting other teams draw fire first so they can reap the benefits?"

Let me answer your second question first.

Although Hat Mita wasn't the brightest, it was clear that Asagiri had explained the specific plan to her before the discussion and had also informed her of the various questions the players might ask. She calmly replied.

"Twenty-four hours after we enter the instance, which is twelve hours from now, the research base will be attacked by an Ajin named Sato. His goal is to rescue an Ajin named Nagai Kei who is imprisoned there."

“Kei Nagai…I’ve heard of that name before.”

Not only Kaguya Shinomiya and her two teammates, but the other two player teams had obviously also gathered relevant information. Although they did not know that Kei Nagai was being held in the research institute base, there were indeed news reports online about the appearance of demi-humans. The news reports also stated that the demi-human whose identity was exposed was named Kei Nagai, and that he was originally a high school student.

But the name Sato... is somewhat unfamiliar. After all, Sato once raided a research institute and successfully rescued a demi-human who was being used as an experimental subject. In addition, his thoughts and actions are extremely extreme, so information about him is top secret. Only high-ranking officials in the demi-human countermeasures bureau, like the on-site commander that Asagiri and others killed, know about him.

"Sato is extremely capable in individual combat. After he forcibly breaks into the research base, most of the defense personnel will be drawn to him. However, his goal is to rescue Kei Nagai. After achieving this goal, he will leave. In other words, the time we have to break into the research base and obtain experimental data is limited."

Hat Mita glanced at the group of players around her and said with a smile.

"You are willing to risk a direct confrontation with the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau to forcibly leave the initial city where you entered the instance and come to the research base here, which shows that you are all players who want to get the highest level of completion rating and obtain the best rewards."

"The idea of ​​reaping the benefits without lifting a finger is certainly feasible, but I don't think anyone here is that foolish. Maybe if we're a few minutes late, other player teams will get the experimental data first and complete the level."

"Ultimately, we players are competitors, aren't we?"

Hearing Hat Mita's words, Kaguya Shinomiya wholeheartedly agreed.