1126 hours, 18 June 0145...
We arrived at the safe zone and quickly unloaded our goods, the clanking of the items echoing in the tent. After Axel rang up the Osprey to take us back to HQ, he informed us that the ride would arrive around 10 minutes from now on.
It surprised me to find the tent was cooler than I had thought it would be, with a refreshing smell of fresh air. Axel's hammer unleashed a frigid gust of wind, which brushed against our faces with its freeze element, causing the tent to feel cooler than I had anticipated.
While we waited for the ride home to come, we played dominoes, the sound of the domino tiles clattering on the small table filling the room.
We had been playing the game for ten minutes, and we could hear laughter echoing through the room as Axel was dominating the entire game.
She then dropped the Dominos' tiles and sank into the softness of the carpet, as her frustration grew with every loss after the game.
"Dear God! Axel, you are too good at this game!"
A smug smirk spread across Axel's face, and his left eyebrow arched in arrogance.
"You're not cool enough to defeat me, are you now?"
I gestured towards the grinning Axel and playfully challenged him.
"Admit it, you're just using one percent of your true skills, right?"
He emitted a joyous giggle before answering with confidence as he pointed himself with a thumb.
"Now you know to never mess with me in the domino international competition."
I glanced at my phone to check the time, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. Despite the long, overdue ride, the only sound audible was the wind.
"By the way, it has already been 10 minutes, but I can't even hear any jet engines nearby. Can you call the ride again?"
Axel nodded once as he got outside, held his Walkie-Talkie to his lips, and contacted the Osprey pilot once more. As he called the pilot, I had a conversation with Christine.
"By the way, Christine. Did you believe anything about superstition? And did you have your own?"
She answered as she stared out at the grass that was glinting from each blade of grass.
"I had one. I used to think that whenever I saw leaves falling from a tree, each person died."
I heard the quiet rustle of the dead leaf as it floated down above the green grass outside of the tent. I took advantage of this opportunity, gesturing to the dead leaf, and gave it a shot.
"Look, there's a falling leaf. That means someone must be dead, right?"
Christine couldn't help but giggle softly when she heard my words. She then replied, her voice soft but firm.
"It might be. But superstitions will always be superstitions. And it's up to you if you want to believe it or not."
I noticed the glimmer of Christine's green ring on her left finger and felt curious about its significance.
"That's a gorgeous color. Why are you wearing that green ring on your left finger? Do you have a fiancé?"
As she spoke, her eyes softened in fondness, and she beamed with pride as she showed off her ring.
"No. This is my mother's ring. She gave me this ring as a sign of her affection. And I used it because I loved it."
All I could manage was nodding in understanding, and no words came from my mouth for the second time.
While Christine and I conversed, Axel's voice suddenly cut through the air, jolting us both.
"What? Oh… alright. I'll report to you later on."
Unable to contain my curiosity, I stepped out of the tent and queried.
"What's wrong, Axel?"
But as he glanced at me, he answered with a furrowed brow and a concerned tone.
"This is bad. The ride was in some trouble when something interrupted their signal. And they will delay their arrival for some more time."
We were aghast when we heard the harrowing news that the ride was in disarray. I then inquired, my voice wavering with worry.
"What kind of problem? Didn't they inform you at all?"
But as he briefly glanced away to think of an answer, he suddenly glanced at me back and answered with a hint of confusion.
"I don't know. But they've assured me they'll come here sooner despite the problem."
Suddenly, the sound of his walkie-talkie rang out of Axel's. He heard the call and reluctantly picked up the receiver.
"Hold on! This is Axel from Black Vulture; report!"
Axel cranked up the volume on the walkie-talkie so we could make out the pilot's words. However, the pilot responded with a buzzing voice.
"*bzzzz* we're sorry that bzzzz we're keeping you bzzzz waiting... bzzzz unfortunately, our signal bzzz is bzzzz interrupted by bzzzzz some- bzzzzz."
Axel shouted into his walkie-talkie, his voice strained with anxiety.
"Sir! Can you hear me? Sir! Can you hear me?"
As he was in a panicked state after our ride, he glanced at us with his usual worry.
"What should we do? Our ride is in danger!"
I looked down and thought about the problem, hoping to discern any sign that would lead me to an answer. But as something reminded me of the problem I had experienced before, Christine's sudden words cut through the silence and startled all of us after she snapped a finger.
"I knew it!"
Axel then quickly glanced at Christine with a question.
"What do you know?"
She spoke with her hands, gesticulating wildly as she explained.
"I've heard the scorching virus can interrupt and jam any signal. Similar to Dr. Hubert's previous lecture, this virus falls under the category of an all-invading virus.
As the sudden revelation popped into my head, I exclaimed out loud about the perpetrator of the problem.
"Of course, that stupid Radogaan is still out there!"
Despite Red Cheetah's best efforts to hunt Radogaan, a faint roar in the distance indicated its survival. With that, Axel then pointed out the faint roar.
"Wait, isn't Red Cheetah still taking care of that monster?"
But all of a sudden, our communications channels crackled as Vladimir's voice came through with a distress call as we answered it.
"This is operator Vladimir and Vanessa reporting to the Black Vulture Squadron!"
"Go ahead!"
And then Vanessa explained the situation.
"We've detected a hefty amount of a scorching virus that's interrupting your ride's signal. It originated from the Radogaan, the infected monster you fought earlier on. And be careful not to make any nearby contact when fighting that monster."
I inquired about the Red Cheetah, and I could sense their trepidation in the air.
"Can you inform us about Red Cheetah's condition?"
With a firm voice, Vladimir put forth the current information in a slightly worried tone.
"Unfortunately, Radogaan's tail tips injured Scott's left waist. It looks like the virus is scorching through his body slowly. If you don't take immediate action, he will become infected."
We were all aghast after hearing about Scott's life-threatening condition. I asserted myself and made my feelings known to everyone.
"See that?! That's why we had to kill that monster earlier by ourselves, before those Red Cheetah assholes stole our jobs and wound themselves!"
But Axel sternly cautioned against any reckless actions that could endanger me.
"I know! But how can we defeat that enraged monster when the scorching virus buffs his power?"
I retorted with a scoff and a fiery response.
"Don't worry, guys, we're the new types. This means the Authonoids possess a higher level of resilience than the latter."
But then Axel asserted himself as his tone got sharper.
"But that doesn't guarantee our safety after the mission! Being an Authonoid is a matter of life and death!"
"Are you trying to die like an idiot? Don't you realize you almost died being stabbed by her last day and nearly perished because of Radogaan's tail sweep before?"
His monotonous preaching about life and death drove me to the brink of rage. I moved closer to Axel's face and spoke firmly.
"So what's the deal with that, huh?! I'd rather die standing than live kneeling for your bullshit order of nothing!"
Operator Vladimir's voice remained a calming presence amid the chaos, attempting to quell our internal conflict.
"Guys! This isn't the time to argue! Fortunately, Commander Katoki gave you full approval to slay that monster. However, we will give you a backup force whenever things go south. How's about that?"
Vanessa suddenly spoke up, her voice quivering with panic and a hurry.
"Oh no, this is bad! Scott's infection rate is almost reaching a critical level, and the Red Cheetah's team is in massive danger! Guys, you need to rescue them quickly!"
I remained still, my heart pounding in my chest as I remembered the countless times they had prevented me from succeeding. Although this time they were permitting me to proceed quickly, I doubt they will unexpectedly pull me back before I attain my goal.
But as I remained silent, both Vladimir and Vanessa queried me with their anxious queries, hoping that I could give them a slight answer.
"What about you, Black Vulture leader?"
"Tsuyuki, are you muted?"
I uttered a weary sigh of exasperation as I asserted my frustration while entering the tent to pick up my weapons.
"What's the point if you continuously tell us to achieve the goal, only to suddenly cockblock me?"
There was an awkward silence between all of us. But all Vladimir could do was awkwardly chuckle while briefly responding.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Because you guys always stopped us last time, I'd rather do everything by myself. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."
It confused both Vladimir and Vanessa, as she couldn't help but express her confusion and worry.
"Please don't put your life in danger again, Black Vulture leader! Don't you realize you're almost dead because of her stab?"
But I remained defiant, speaking loudly in warning despite their anxiousness.
"If you tolerate everything, you stand up for nothing! And if you no longer take the chance that exists in front of you, you don't deserve to live longer!"
I severed my connection with Vladimir and Vanessa on the communications channel.
"Wait, Tsuyuki! Tsuyuki!"
I heard Vladimir's voice after I disconnected my communications channel with a brief beep.
I stepped into the dark forest entrance. As the shadows danced around me, I put on my EarPods, where the same previous rock breakbeat music helped to quench my anxiety as I faced the battle.
Axel's words reached me from behind, tinged with irritation at my nonchalant demeanor.
"Tsuyuki, don't you realize you're always plunging yourself into the abyss and foolishly thinking you could get out alive?"
Halting my step at the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet, I glanced over my shoulder and sneered softly in response.
"It's alright..."
"I never die."
As the beats dropped into the main beats, I felt my heart pounding in time with the music. I moved with a speed that felt like lightning, my heart pounding in my chest as I raced to rescue Red Cheetah and fight the Radogaan.
Despite their reluctance, I felt the thrill of them both running with me as soon as I took off.