The moment 'Time Slow' ended, the conjured spears were launched at the figures approaching Bronya
*Swish*
While they had about 300m between each other, the enemies sensed the dangers and tried avoiding them. But they realized that the spears blocked all their paths of retreat, leaving them no choice but to confront it
Uesugi used [Focus] throughout the process, during Time Slow, he felt its effect more vividly as his thought process became enhanced. The feeling of Honkai Energy and instinct allowed him to create an undodgeable attack
The enemies took out their weapons, the skinny figure held a sword and tried to parry the incoming spear, the bulky figure took out a greatsword, planning on destroying the spear while the last one jumped back and launched arrows toward the projectile
'It seems like a well-formed team, I thought the mastermind was some mad scientist doing his experiments?'. He thought while he was heading to Bronya's side to join her
Despite being able to follow up on his attack, he prioritized her safety as she seemed like a magnet that attracts enemies
Seeing her exhausted, Uesugi asked, "Shall we retreat or continue fighting".
Looking around, he only saw remnants of zombies remaining. Bronya only struggled against the normal zombies that outnumbered her, but for Frosty Liches and Dead Silence, she was their nemesis.
"Retreat out of the enemy sight and find out their objective and person behind them" Panting slightly, Bronya said as she lay on Project Bunny 19C.
Nodding in acceptance, he made it seem like he was exhausted and created a screen cover of snow by blasting the ground.
It took a bit of effort since the area was just a large plain without a mountain in sight. Uesugi began carrying Bronya since Project Bunny 19C didn't have much mobility
Activating the flight function of his Battlesuit, the wings on his back were spread revealing a pair of dragon-like wings.
"Hang on tight". Uesugi said before he flew to the distant plains when the enemies dealt with the projectiles and were approaching quickly
"Mmmh", Bronya hummed in affirmation as she rode him like a stead. When Uesugi took flight, she had to lean and hang onto his shoulders to not fall off from him
Their purpose was not to escape from the enemies but to extract information from them. If they're professionals then torture would be impossible, Bronya thought. While Uesugi believed that the mastermind wouldn't expose themselves so easily if this was a story
Each having their thoughts, Uesugi flew at a speed where he was slightly faster than them as he put a distance of 70m between them
While his mental perception radius couldn't reach that distance, if it's only a straight line then he can expand it.
"The kids are trickier than we thought, we're commandment-level figures under the 'Supreme' meaning they're close or are at Lieutenant Soldiers". The one carrying the bow said as they traced Uesugi's figure in the sky
"Humph, we merely let our guards down, otherwise if they met my sword then they'd be killed in one strike". Snorting in anger, the bulky figure said but he recognized their potential
"We shouldn't let them reach Chita City, even if we will struggle to escape if we're deeply inside it, and the footage we saw, do you have confidence in dealing with it?" The skinny figure asked
Silence appeared between them as they thought hard about their chances. Uesugi recalled that there was a humanoid monster in the city and realized that his current strength was weaker than he thought
'The pursuer's strengths are within my boundaries but if they send more reinforcements then things would get annoying.' Thinking shortly before he thought about option 3 relating to Bronya
'I should help Bronya improve before thinking anymore, if I had Kevin Kaslana's strength then a Judgment of Shamash would have decimated the enemies, mastermind or not.' Uesugi jokingly thought as he soon found mountain ranges in sight.
Putting his acting skills on stage, he boosted his speed beyond the pursuer's perception who could only run and watch them hopelessly.
"It's his last burst, we must find them before they escape". Glancing at each other, they scattered to find Uesugi and Bronya who they believed were to be on their last breath.
*****
"Dr. Brain has ordered us to go at coordinate [#$% *^% #@!] and eliminate the living beings within a km radius". Tracing behind the footsteps of the pursuers, a pair of hooded figures walked slowly in the snow
However, they left no trace on the snow like ghosts in the wakening
One of them paused and began emitting a formless pressure that spread in the direction of their destination. A mental map was formed as he projected his findings on their watch
Surprisingly, the map covered a km, meaning the person's mental powers were stronger than Uesugi's by a long shot.
"Found them, there's a pair and a group in pursuit, who do we kill first". The voice was soft but filled with viciousness.
"Whoever we see first," Lackadaisically, the partner said as the pair continued walking slowly towards the mountain ranges
Meanwhile, Uesugi Shuu and Bronya Zaychik set a campfire and boiled the snow in a container using CAS-X Saints as an emitter
While it could not eject fire directly, it increased the particles movements to manifest fire
As they sat in silence, Bronya brought out her laptop and started playing her games
Even Uesugi thought she had nerves of steel
No one started a conversation when they consumed the food and water.
While they got closer in battle, both sides didn't peer into each other's privacy as they deemed hesitant to the others space
Uesugi Shuu recollected himself from his thoughts and began contemplating on his faults
His lack of cautiousness was indeed something to fix, but he needed to improve his and Bronya's ability before reaching Chita
Instinctively, he believes that Chita will they truly know the people attacking them. He could not sense the two parties after him but a sense of dread arose from his soul
Despite his reluctance, he decided to rely on the system, precisely the Talent Awakening Chance LvL 10.
'Accept'
Uesugi waited for something to appear like a roulette or cards. But instead, he got a raffle ticket
'... The system surpasses ones imagination once again.' seeing the instructions on the ticket saying 'Rip to gain', he went into action
*Tear*
The ticket gradually turned into light and dissipated into dandelions that flowed into his forehead
It was then that a refreshing feeling arose from him, seemingly trying to liberate his soul as he accidentally let out a groan of relief
Unknowingly, Bronya stared at him weirdly, shifting her body away from Uesugi Shuu
She couldn't see the lights integrating with Uesugi and thought he was an adolescent child under puberty
If Uesugi heard her thoughts, he'd cough out blood. He is over 20 years old counting his previous life
When the last remnants of light entered his forehead. Suddenly, a wave of pain assaulted him unaware
"Arrgghh"
Letting out a constrained scream, he began gritting his teeth, causing a flow of blood to drop from his mouth
Shocked by the contrasting change in him, Bronya placed her laptop gently before rushing to his side
"Shuu, are you alright, what's happening to you", she shot quickly trying to get answers
Slowly opening his bloodshot eyes he shakingly said, "Don~ worry, I'm... Fine". But he fell down as felt a new sensation arising
Ants seemed to crawl into his body as he began scratching his skin hard.
The sight was terrible as marks of blood were seen. His body recovered quickly since he didn't use his supernatural strength
While Bronya was anxious about Uesugi's condition, he didn't reveal anything as she was left with nothing to help with
In the cave was left with a shaking man trying to resist the pain and urges, and a petite girl who frowned constantly at him.
Time passed by as the morning shine fell, replaced with a glittering moon that covered their shadows
Uesugi slept like a log as his body was covered in blood, fainting right after the process was done.
Bronya stayed up for surveillance, she received prior training and had no trouble staying up for the night
Staring at the stars, her mind wandered from the encounter of Uesugi to the identity of Maxim. It felt like the appearance of the man behind her will change her whole life
Even though she was merely 10, she matured more earlier than many kids because of her environment
The concept of love may be foreign to her but she was not ignorant about it's presence. When Uesugi looked at her, it felt like she meant a lot to him
Wondering if she was thinking too much into it, Bronya heard a groan as the tattered figure placed his hands on his forehead before getting up
"Ouch", staring at his body, he couldn't help but smile wryly as he turned towards Bronya and said, "I'm taking a shower but if there's any problem, scream".
Saying that, he left without waiting for a reply as he couldn't handle the sticky feeling of his clothes
While there were no ponds nearby, Uesugi can control the snow with Honkai Energy like Bronya does with her cannons and use CAS-X Saints to turn it into water
Bronya glanced at his back before retracting it, her current priority was finishing the HOMU game in front of her