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

Page 100

The three player teams present had gone through countless hardships to get here. Who would be willing to hand over the experimental data that represented the highest level of completion evaluation and the most valuable completion reward to someone else?

To avoid facing fewer enemies and thus delay or even lose the opportunity to obtain experimental data is not a wise choice.

Ultimately, which player standing here right now wouldn't dare to face the risks?

"As for the first question..."

Hat Mita said with a smile.

"The Ajin Countermeasures Bureau is quite wary of Sato, and the research institute is also holding Nagai Kei captive. Once they discover his intrusion, they will inevitably reduce most of their defenses. It doesn't really matter which direction they break through from. However, this discussion was proposed by my team, so let's choose the frontal direction with the strongest defenses and the most vigilance, which is the south side of the research base."

Upon hearing Hat Mita's words, Kaguya Shinomiya and Ai Hayasaka exchanged a glance, both sharing the same thought.

The team this cute girl belongs to must be very strong and confident, as they actually volunteered to break through from the main entrance.

"Then we want to go to the west."

"We're to the north."

Upon hearing that the leaders of the two player teams had spoken first and chosen the direction of the breakthrough, Kaguya Shinomiya didn't say much, only calmly remarked.

"Then let's break through from the east."

"OK~ Everyone here is reasonable~"

Hat Mita raised her hand and clapped, but none of the players present echoed her. After all, in such a serious, even slightly heavy atmosphere, clapping to celebrate seemed too frivolous.

Just as Hat Mita was feeling a little embarrassed, she heard a round of applause, followed by cheers.

"Okay~"

Kaguya Shinomiya and Ai Hayasaka turned around and saw Chika Fujiwara with a cute and innocent smile, clapping her hands like Mita the Hat, and even letting out a cute cheer.

"You... I really don't know what to say..."

Even the aloof Kaguya Shinomiya couldn't help but be speechless at the abstract nature of Chika Fujiwara.

"Thanks for your support!"

Mita the Hat and Chika Fujiwara somehow clicked. She said this with a smile, then turned and went into the dense forest. A little while later, she came out carrying a large plastic bag.

"This is food and bottled water, a free gift for you. After all, if you don't recover properly, you'll die too quickly during tomorrow's attack, and there will be no one to share the firepower with us."

……

After receiving the supplies from Hat Mita and re-entering the dense forest, Kaguya Shinomiya looked down at the rice ball in her hand and muttered to herself.

"What kind of team is that girl in...? She doesn't seem like a team leader. How could she come up with such a plan and even share food and water with the other players, making such a rational and wise decision...? What kind of person is she..."

"They must be a really capable person."

Fujiwara Chika took a big bite of her rice ball, her face beaming with the same happy expression as Iwanaga Kotoko, with a few grains of rice stuck to the corners of her mouth, and even their lines were almost identical.

"Mmm~ The rice ball is so delicious, I feel so happy~"

"Just eat it."

Hearing Kaguya Shinomiya's helpless remark, Chika Fujiwara did not respond. Although she had a simple and cute smile on her face, her eyes revealed a thoughtful look as she thought to herself.

Of the first four player teams to arrive here... Utsunomiya wasn't among them.

Did he not enter this instance? Or was he not actually a player, and his perception was wrong?

Or...

That cute girl with teardrop makeup and an overly cheerful personality is actually a member of Utsunomiya's group?

"Are we launching the attack tomorrow...?"

Fujiwara Chika ate the entire rice ball in big mouthfuls, let out a satisfied sigh, and then smiled and muttered to herself.

"I can't wait!"

34

Chapter 34 The Beginning of the War.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain forest, inside a tent.

Asagiri, Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato were all crammed into one tent. The space was naturally a bit cramped, but there was nothing that could be done about it. After all, Megumi Kato had only brought back one simple tent, so everyone had to squeeze in together.

"Chika and the others... actually entered this instance too..."

Asuna Yuuki sat there, a complex look in her eyes. She pursed her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but remained silent for a moment.

Are you worried about the three of them?

Kotoko Iwanaga immediately saw through Asuna Yuuki's thoughts and spoke with a smile.

"There's no need for that. Kaguya Shinomiya, Chika Fujiwara, and Ai Hayasaka, whom we haven't had much contact with, have all entered the instance at this time and become one of the first four player teams to arrive here. This proves that they have already made the right decisions as players. They don't need our help, and we have no obligation to help them."

"Yes, I know."

Although Asuna Yuuki is a kind and gentle person, she is definitely not the kind of fool who is overflowing with a saintly heart.

Fujiwara Chika is indeed her good friend, but Asagiri, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi are the three teammates who are most important to her and whom she must protect.

All Yuuki Asuna could do was to do her best to ensure that her team could obtain the experimental data stored in the research base as quickly as possible. Once the objective was achieved, all the surviving players would be able to clear the game, including Fujiwara Chika and her two companions.

"but……"

Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri with a slight hint of doubt.

"Do we need to break in from the front gate? Although with the Phantom's capabilities, we can certainly infiltrate silently, it's still the most difficult and dangerous route, isn't it?"

"If you only look at the surface, that might indeed be the case."

Asagiri nodded first, then changed the subject.

"However, since we all know that this is the riskiest route, Sato is unlikely to choose this route to break through. This means that we are the least likely of the four player teams to suddenly run into him."

"So it was to avoid Sato? Hmm..."

Kotoko Iwanaga thought about it seriously for a while, then hesitated.

"But is it really necessary? With our strength, dealing with him shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Killing him once or twice would be easy."

Asagiri explained in a calm tone.

"But given Sato's individual combat capabilities, coupled with his immortality, it would be difficult even for us to incapacitate him without killing him outright. And don't forget, if Sato is truly like Crazy Mita, having gained system recognition, then even if he hasn't officially become a player, he must already know something about players. Given that guy's personality, he wouldn't easily launch this war without thorough preparation."

"So...we should try to avoid him?"

"Hmm? We should avoid him?"

Upon hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's words, Asagiri revealed a smile and spoke with great confidence.

"I'm just being cautious and considering the efficiency of our operation, so I don't want him to interfere with us. If we really run into him at the research institute base... then I'll have to kill Sato while I'm still drinking wine."

Seeing Asagiri's imposing and confident demeanor, and hearing his impassioned war declaration, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but complain.

"Why are you like a diode... You were so careful and thorough when making plans, but now you're acting crazy... Your mood swings are too fast!"

Asagiri shrugged and replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Isn't this normal? For a player like me who mainly enjoys the fun, a perfect speedrun is indeed very rewarding, but if I can't complete the speedrun, I don't mind just starting to have a good time killing. As for the obstacles in our way, we can just eliminate them all."

"That's true. Although we should try to avoid fighting, we can't back down if we have to fight."

Asuna Yuuki first agreed, then asked curiously.

"But are four player teams enough? More players will arrive later, shouldn't we discuss the battle plan with them?"

"unnecessary."

Asagiri waved her hand and said with a light laugh.

"Even if a rabble without strength participates in the battle plan, it will only be a hindrance to the strong player teams. Moreover, those players who arrived here exhausted have not had enough rest time. Even if they participate in the attack, they can only become cannon fodder to divert our attention. Don't worry about these things. For the sake of tomorrow's battle, let's go to sleep and rest early."

"Wuhu, time for bed~"

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Kotoko Iwanaga's face lit up with inexplicable excitement, and she cheered joyfully.

"I want to sleep next to the Leader!"

"Were you doing that so you could sleep? I'm too embarrassed to call you out on it."

Yuuki Asuna blushed slightly and stole a glance at Kato Megumi. She thought that since the other party already knew, she might as well stop hiding it and speak frankly.

"Putting aside the fact that the four of us are sleeping in one tent, we're going to fight tomorrow. What if you... what if you exhaust yourself tonight and it affects your performance tomorrow?"

Kotoko Iwanaga pouted, dissatisfied.

"I just want to be close to him, to have him hold me while I sleep, what are you thinking?"

"hehe."

Asuna Yuuki didn't believe Kotoko Iwanaga's nonsense at all, and said firmly.

"No, if you really had that kind of self-control, you wouldn't be yourself, absolutely not!"

Kotoko Iwanaga frowned slightly, her expression displeased.

"By the same token, I don't trust your self-control either, so you can't sleep next to him, right?"

"whispering sound……"

Faced with Kotoko Iwanaga's counter-argument of using the same tactics against her, Asuna Yuuki was somewhat speechless. In the end, the two of them turned their gazes to Megumi Kato, who was sitting there obediently and silently, like a transparent person.

"Eh? Me?"

Noticing the gazes directed at her by Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga, Megumi Kato paused for a moment.

What's going on?

She didn't say anything, so how did she manage to arrange the bed for me out of nowhere?

"Phantom, I believe in you."

Asuna Yuuki reached out and patted Megumi Kato on the shoulder, saying this gently, and Kotoko Iwanaga nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, that's settled then. The Leader will sleep on the outermost side, and you'll sleep next to him. That should be fine."

"It's good that you both believe in me, but..."

Kato Megumi raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, looked at Asagiri sitting there, and asked in a calm tone.

"Leader, you have no objections?"

Without hesitation, Asagiri resolutely blocked the railway.

"I have no opinion."

Kato Megumi nodded obediently and said softly.

"OK then."

……

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit basement.

"Sato, are we really going to launch an attack tomorrow?"

Hearing the question from the young man behind him, the man who was fiddling with gun parts on the metal table and wearing a green beret turned around and raised his hand to pull the brim of his hat down.

Although he had a pair of seemingly kind, squinty eyes and a half-smile on his face, he gave people a strange sense of unease, as if the person standing in front of them was not human, but some kind of bloodthirsty beast.

"Tanaka-kun, it has to be tomorrow."

Sato checked the magazine of the gun in his hand while speaking in a calm voice with a smile.

“I understand that the sudden increase in the defenses of the research base has caused you some concerns, but my plan has its reasons. You just need to trust and follow me.”

"I see."

Tanaka Koji nodded first, then looked at the black mobile force combat uniform hanging on the wall, his face showing admiration and worship.

"But you even managed to get your hands on something like this... As long as I wear this combat suit, I don't have to worry about being hit by tranquilizer guns or stun guns."

"A tranquilizer gun? A stun gun?"

Sato revealed a kind smile, and his previously smiling, narrow eyes slowly opened. In stark contrast to his smile, his eyes gleamed with a chillingly fierce light.

"I prepared this system not to deal with the Demi-human Countermeasures Bureau. In the end, they are just fragile humans. The targets I want to hunt down are..."