A single-player post-apocalyptic game, but with an all-female teammate mod.

Her emerald green pupils completely lost their color, turning into a chilling crimson.

“Apollo…”

With that whisper, the pale pink wings suddenly spread out backward, then folded inward.

In an instant, the wings transformed into streams of light, and the original soft pink was replaced by a deep, sharp sky blue, with the edges of each wing seemingly capable of cutting through space.

call out--!

Not just one, but a dense array of missile launch ports opened on the hovering device behind her.

The next second, dozens of white streaks of light ripped through the sky, and energy blasts known as Artemis flew toward Aono and his group.

They did not pursue straight-line speed, but instead drew strange serpentine trajectories in the air, blocking all evasive angles for Aono and the others.

But it doesn't matter, since they couldn't avoid it anyway.

"Get away from the stone tablet; it seems like we're her target!"

Aono shouted a reminder, then quickly pulled Coco and Dudu behind him.

Facing Icarus, their fighting ability was practically nonexistent.

"You all go and provide close protection for Lan Yu and the others."

After giving the order, Aono raised his alloy battle axe to block in front of him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The next second, a series of explosions erupted in front of him.

Unlike the physical impact of previous missiles, this energy erosion burned the alloy tomahawk like sulfuric acid.

"Tsk, miscalculation. Looks like we'll need to prepare more main weapons in the future."

Aono gritted his teeth, withstood the initial attack, and quickly reunited with the Kage and Tsunade.

"The BOSS's attacks are too strong; we can't withstand them. We must take the initiative."

"Ah."

Shadow glanced at the dents on the naginata, a hint of heartache flashing in her purple eyes.

Tsunade asked hesitantly, "Aono-kun, is this BOSS a human... or a machine?"

"..."

Aono glanced at the blonde, busty female ninja and knew what she was worried about.

Although it was painful to lose a powerful fighter at this time, he still truthfully said, "They are no different from humans, and they should bleed when injured."

If Tsunade's hemophobia were to flare up during a battle, it could lead to even more dangerous situations.

Tsunade's body visibly stiffened for a moment, but she didn't immediately say she wanted to quit.

"Don't force yourself. You and Coco go protect Lan Yu and the others."

Tsunade clenched her fists, which had become somewhat limp, and her lips moved as she softly uttered two words.

"Feel sorry."

After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the stone tablet.

While Aono and his group readjusted their strategy, Icarus did not press his advantage.

She simply hovered there silently, her red eyes mechanically scanning the battlefield, as if waiting for orders.

Suddenly, she raised one hand, fingers spread, and pointed it at the three women who were concentrating on analyzing the core.

Aono was shocked. The attack was clearly aimed at them just now, so why did it suddenly change?

The strategy of luring the BOSS away is clearly not going to work; the only option left is to take the initiative.

It's impossible to passively take a beating.

He didn't come here to get beaten up after all the hard work and training.

Even a level 25 BOSS, with his current strength, is not someone he can't afford to challenge.

"Shadow, it's us fighting side by side again."

Aono chuckled softly, recalling the scene of facing the giant mycelium zombie with Kage.

The purple-haired mature woman brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and a captivating smile appeared on her exquisite and perfect face.

"Ah."

The next second, the two figures vanished into thin air, leaving only two surging ripples on the metal ground that resembled a lake.

Ten meters is just a thought away for them.

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, the shadows point to the left, while the green field points to the right.

On the left, the blade of the naginata trailed a raging blue-purple lightning serpent.

On the right, the alloy battle axe sliced ​​through the sky, creating a sonic boom visible to the naked eye.

Two deadly beams of light drew intersecting arcs of death in the air, viciously slashing at the slender pink figure!

Almost at the same moment, the light at the tip of Icarus' raised finger reached its peak.

A dark red beam of light, much thicker and more refined than the previous missile, tore through the air and headed straight for Asagi's back.

Icarus's reaction was faster than the limits of common sense.

Just as the dark red beam of light was about to burst forth, her empty, emerald-green pupils shifted slightly, locking onto the two incoming killing intents before the attack could even begin.

"High-speed target detected."

As the calm electronic voice rang out, she flipped her raised right wrist, and a honeycomb-shaped energy shield materialized out of thin air in her palm.

“Aegis”.

Clang!

Aono's alloy battle axe, imbued with immense force, slammed into the light shield. Instead of the clang of metal against metal, it produced a piercing, sharp sound like shattering glass.

A terrifying recoil force traveled through the axe handle, and Qingye felt his hands go numb. He used the force to flip backward, his feet creating ripples on the metallic mirror-like ground.

On the other side, the blue-purple lightning bolts whipped up by the Shadow's naginata struck the edge of the light shield, but failed to break through its defenses.

The lightning was reflected by the energy shield, transforming into a violent torrent of lightning that splashed in all directions.

"invalid."

Icarus stated the result calmly.

She didn't even turn around; the finger pointing at Lan Yuqiancong remained firmly in place.

Aono's heart sank; this boss's strength was absurd.

Is this the strength of a humanoid, and anime-style, beautiful girl boss...?

"Shadow! Stop her attack first."

Aono adjusted his mindset and charged forward again.

Shadow's figure blurred in the air, turning into a purplish-black afterimage. The naginata in his hand transformed into countless blade shadows, specifically targeting the hand that Icarus was using to launch the attack.

However, the sky-blue wings behind Icarus only trembled slightly.

The space around Aegis's shield seemed to distort for a moment, and Shadow's attack seemed to sink into a quagmire, its speed suddenly decreasing.

Immediately afterwards, an invisible repulsive force erupted, directly blasting Ying and his sword away.

boom.

The shadow slammed heavily onto the ground, and the light of the naginata in its hand dimmed considerably.

At the same time, the light at Icarus's fingertips finally reached its critical point.

"Apollo...launch..."

Om-!

The dark red beam of light appeared behind Asagi Aoba as if it had teleported.

The speed was too fast; Aono was already very close, but he missed by a hair's breadth.

If this attack lands, not only will Aoba Asagi be pierced through, but the entire stone tablet will likely be pierced as well.

At this moment, a slender figure, who seemed hesitant, suddenly rushed over from the side and blocked the path that the red energy beam was bound to take.

It was Tsunade who had returned to the stone tablet to assist in the defense.

"drink!"

boom--!

With a loud thud, Icarus's attack was forcibly deflected by half an inch.

The aftershocks, originally aimed at Asagi's back, grazed past her shoulder.

However, although Tsunade blocked the fatal attack, Aiba Asagi, who was focused on inputting code, was still seriously injured.

Caught off guard, she let out a muffled groan, feeling as if a giant elephant had trampled her shoulder. Her vision went black, and she caught a sweet, metallic smell in her nostrils before collapsing limply backward.

"Asagi!" Dudu exclaimed, quickly reaching out to support her limp body and laying her flat on the ground.

Aono finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Aiba Asagi was out of danger.

But it quickly tensed up again.

He subconsciously glanced at the progress bar on the blank stone tablet.

The boss battle did not fail despite Aiba Asagi's unconsciousness.

The wordless stone tablet still emitted a faint glow, and although the progress bar of the program intrusion paused, it did not disappear.

Thinking of the wordless stone tablet that had just been hit by the energy beam but remained unharmed, Aono fully understood the rules of this level.

The radish they need to protect is not the stone tablet, but the three people: Asagi, Uiharu Kazari, and Nymph.

Furthermore, it's not necessary for all three to be completely unharmed.

The fact that Aiba Asagi fell into a coma did not affect the progress of Uiharu Kazari and Nymph.

The progress bar speed has just decreased by one-third.

In other words, this boss battle is not a tower defense battle with a fixed time limit.

If Asagi, Setsuna, and Nymph are all present and work together efficiently, they only need to hold out for fifteen minutes.

Each missing person will extend the time by fifteen minutes.

Even if they had only brought one "programmer" to take on the challenge from the beginning, it wouldn't have been impossible.

However, the required time may be extended to forty-five minutes or even longer.

This is a challenge whose difficulty is dynamically adjusted based on player behavior.

The fewer the participants, the longer it takes, and the greater the challenge.

"Tsunade! Heal Aiba and restore her consciousness and mobility as soon as possible."

A thought flashed through his mind, and Aono decisively rushed forward again, his alloy battle axe colliding with Icarus's wings once more, bursting into a string of dazzling sparks.

From this moment forward, we must ensure that Icarus is no longer able to attack Uiharu Shiori and Nymph.

"I... will try my best."

Tsunade took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in her heart, and walked toward the unconscious Aiba Asagi with her eyes closed.

Aiba Asagi's injuries were minor to her medical ninjutsu; if it weren't for her hemophobia, she was confident she could heal her completely within a minute.

Now...

The only recourse is to rely on intuition and experience to treat it gradually.

Once the bleeding stops and the wound has mostly healed, try to see if better treatment is possible.

Tsunade almost touched Aiba Asagi's side with her eyes closed.

When her fingertips touched the charred fabric on the other person's shoulder, she trembled almost imperceptibly.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the bloody smell that made her scalp crawl.

With swift hand seals, emerald green light surged from his palms, covering Lan Yuqian's wound.