Mihara turned her head to the young, tearful Nikke beside her. Her voice was soft, filled with a resigned gentleness.
"This is just how it is, Yuni. From the moment we were created, our fate was never ours to control."
Yuni's tears streamed down her cheeks in an unrelenting flow, her sobs carrying a sorrowful despair. She mumbled to herself as if seeking solace.
"But… but what about me? What will happen to me?"
Her reddened eyes and tear-streaked face made her look like a cornered, helpless creature, lost and terrified.
Suddenly, as if a thought had sparked in her mind, she turned desperately toward Mo Chen.
"Commander, Commander, please… please help us! You can do something, I know you can! Whatever it takes, I'll do it! Anything! Please, just help us!"
"Help me… please…"
Her tears flowed uncontrollably as she clung to her plea, as though grasping at the last shred of hope.
"Yuni, don't put the Commander in such a difficult position," Mihara interjected gently, her tone filled with both love and finality.
"We were the ones who made mistakes. Being punished for them is only right."
She looked into Yuni's eyes with a calm sadness.
"So… let it end here, okay? You understand that, don't you?"
Yuni fell silent, her expression hollow. She seemed like a lifeless puppet, her empty gaze fixed on nothing, though her tears continued to stream down without pause.
A long silence followed.
"Will you remember me, Mihara?"
"Probably not. If we're scrapped, we might never meet again."
"I... I don't want to be separated from you, Mihara…"
The damp, cold air of the prison was saturated with despair, a chilling stillness that weighed heavy.
"If you don't want your memories wiped or face destruction, there is another way."
Mo Chen's calm voice cut through the gloom, making Yuni freeze. She turned her tear-streaked face to him, desperation lighting up her reddened eyes.
"What is it? Whatever it is, if it means I can stay with Mihara, I'll do anything!"
"Anything?"
Mo Chen smiled, his tone carrying an edge of intrigue.
"Anything at all?"
"Yuni!" Mihara tried to stop her, sensing danger from the man's calculating gaze.
But Yuni was too desperate to notice. She nodded vigorously, her voice trembling but resolute.
"Anything! No matter how much, no matter what, I'll do it!"
Mo Chen crouched in front of her, his fingers lightly pinching her soft cheek, his smile deep and unfathomable.
"That's good to hear."
Thanks to his manipulation of the Raptures using the Punishing Virus, Mo Chen didn't need to be on the front lines to monitor Syuen.
Since being abandoned on the battlefield, Syuen had been running aimlessly, seemingly searching for help.
What she didn't know, however, was that the area she had been left in was an old battlefield, scorched into desolation by both time and recent fighting.
Among the endless corpses and debris, Syuen cowered behind a crumbling wall, trembling like a frightened bird.
Gone was the pristine, well-groomed image she had when she first arrived. Her face was smudged with dirt, her once-luxurious clothes tattered and unrecognizable, ripped in places by jagged obstacles she had stumbled over.
One of her shoes was missing, and her formerly pristine white socks were now filthy.
Her complexion was ashen, lips dry and cracked, her eyes rimmed red with exhaustion and fear. Clutching an empty rifle to her chest like a lifeline, she huddled in desperation.
She had tried everything: sending distress signals to the Ark, issuing orders to her private troops…
But her cries for help vanished into silence, leaving her stranded as though on an island completely cut off from the world.
Her tears wouldn't stop.
Regret clawed at her mind like a relentless beast.
Would anyone come to save her?
Suddenly, a low hum pierced the silence.
"Buzz-buzz-buzz—!"
The ominous drone sent a chill down her spine.
Syuen's eyes widened in terror, her face drained of what little color remained.
Meanwhile, back at the outpost, an alarm blared loudly.
It was the signal of an enemy attack.
"Nikke squads are attacking the outpost! Approximately three teams, identified as part of Syuen's forces from Missilis. The frontlines are already engaged!"
Rapi's urgent report snapped Mo Chen out of his thoughts.
His expression hardened as his mind raced.
"Deploy the combat units to intercept. Remember, try to subdue them and disarm without killing. If they refuse to comply…"
As Mo Chen was issuing his orders, an angry voice suddenly erupted over the communicator.
"What the hell is wrong with you!"
It was Eunhwa, her tone filled with fury.
"Why is it always you causing trouble? Are you a disaster magnet? This is driving me crazy! When will you give me some peace for once?!"
"Those idiots dare attack the place I'm staying? Do they have a death wish?!"
"Tell me! Was this your doing? If I find out you're behind this, you're dead meat!"
"Bang! Bang! Boom!"
Gunfire and explosions erupted in the background, and then the signal cut off abruptly.
Mo Chen was dumbfounded.
He suddenly remembered that the area currently under attack happened to be where Eunhwa's special operations unit was stationed…
This misunderstanding was going to be big.
Eunhwa's temper wasn't great to begin with, and her mood had been worse than ever after he outmaneuvered her repeatedly these past few days.
And now, some clueless squad dared to attack her unit?
Her anger must have skyrocketed.
The Nikke troops Syuen brought along were personal escorts, moderately skilled but not elite forces like the top-tier Matis units. Naturally, they couldn't hold a candle to the elite troops of Elysion's strongest squad.
Especially since Eunhwa had greatly improved her tactical prowess after losing over a hundred training matches to Mo Chen.
Split encirclements, pincer movements, feints, and ambushes—Eunhwa deployed these strategies with precision, leaving Syuen's reinforcements utterly disoriented.
Under her command, her unit became an unstoppable force. Within just ten minutes, they had routed Syuen's forces, ending the "rebellion."
Mo Chen had thought it would take much more effort to resolve the situation.
But before he could even step in, the battle was over.
Watching the rapid developments and Eunhwa's adept use of tactical maneuvers, Mo Chen couldn't help but admire her ability to learn.
In just a few days, she had already mastered these strategies to a commendable level.
Thanks to her leadership, not only did her unit achieve total victory with zero casualties, but none of Syuen's rebelling Nikke were killed either—all were subdued without loss of life.