NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

Therefore, the only option is to stall for time. If they encounter a bad guy, they will alert their companions in the shed to quickly move the man to another location.

Where is Watson?

With Nikki's help, Phoenix, clutching his head, slowly sat up and asked weakly:

"And that woman, tsk..."

The lymph fluid inside Phoenix's ear shifted and moved due to the change in the center of gravity, once again tormenting his senses.

"...I'll have to get some stun grenades for self-defense in the future."

Regarding this illegal topic, the two mass-produced Nikis sincerely wanted to remind the well-meaning citizens in front of them that if they were caught illegally collecting such items, they would definitely be detained in a rehabilitation center.

But before they could speak, Phoenix preemptively repeated the question he had just asked.

"You still haven't told me how things are going with Watson and that woman."

“We don’t know Mr. Watson’s condition, but we can assure you that Mr. Watson will be safe and sound when we leave the factory,” Nikki said on the left.

Nikki, on the right, added, "The lady left; she had something she wanted us to pass on to you."

"Okay, just say it."

"Yes."

Niki naturally straightened up and began to report the "deal" they had made with the woman fifteen minutes earlier.

……

……

"Wow~? You're back pretty quickly tonight, Viper."

In a secluded, abandoned house on the outer edge of the district, a woman with a cigarette dangling from her lips glanced listlessly at her strategist.

—The woman who took off her robe after entering the room.

"I'm having a really lucky day, Krau." Viper smiled sweetly and tugged at the fabric that was tightening around her chest.

"I met a really interesting man. Although we're heading to different destinations, there's a stretch of road we can travel together on."

"Oh~"

Krau responded listlessly, flipped open his lighter, and aimed the orange flame at the cigarette that could not actually be lit.

Seeing that this wretched woman wasn't responding to her, the viper pouted in annoyance and continued speaking on its own:

"This is really fun!"

"In order to investigate Nikki's combat records, that man chased her all the way to Watson's territory, taught everyone a lesson, and also released Nikki, whom Watson had taken in."

As it turned out, I happened to arrive nearby at that time. He probably had spies stationed around the factory, so he knew that I was about to enter the factory through the west gate.

Then, he hid by the doorframe of the west gate, planning to ambush me from behind when I pushed the door open. *Pfft*

The result... pfft~~

Cough—

So I threw a stun grenade inside.

Seeing the snake talking to itself with a silly, innocent smile, Krau, annoyed by the noise, took two steps to the side, intending to pour himself a glass of cheap whiskey to pass the boring night.

"Hey~ Klau, I bet that guy's a commander~" Viper continued, ignoring whether the boring woman was even listening to him or not:

"So, besides a few commanders, there must be no one else who cares about Niki's combat record, right?"

So, I gave Watson information about his supplier, that old guy Patwin, and also included a lead on how to track down Niki's combat records.

Do you think he might surprise us?

“I don’t want to pay attention to your impromptu tricks,” Claudio replied expressionlessly, downing half a glass of whiskey in one gulp.

"As long as it doesn't affect the plan, you can do whatever you want, you don't need to report the details to me."

"Got it~"

The sweet strategist rolled her eyes adorably and strode towards her room.

"Then I'm going to find a man tomorrow!"

Click!

The door, adorned with a pink plush toy, slammed shut.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Bachelors

The nights in the suburbs of Ark are quiet, boring, and full of dangers.

If the humans in the outer perimeter are likened to ferocious jackals, then the inhabitants of the Ark's suburbs are like wild dogs.

Despite being quite timid, she always tries to take advantage of things she shouldn't.

For example, Arnold was pinned to the trash can lid by Phoenix because of a thousand dollars.

He didn't understand how the other party discovered him; he only knew that he had been terribly deceived.

"That woman told me that all I had to do was keep an eye on you for 22 hours and send her your location every half hour, and she would give me a thousand yuan as a reward."

The moment after making intimate contact with the trash can lid, Arnold didn't even need Phoenix to ask; he immediately blurted out all the information he knew.

“Brother, she only gave me a thousand, so I thought it was just an ordinary stalking job. I had no idea you were so ruthless. I was wrong, brother. Please be magnanimous and let me off the hook.”

Phoenix, on the other hand, was quite polite. Seeing the young man's emaciated appearance, he didn't seem like a high-paid professional, so he released his grip, took two steps back, and asked:

"How did she ask you to contact her?"

"How else can we contact each other? We can only do it by phone."

Arno, with a bitter face, pulled out his black cell phone from his pocket.

"This phone isn't mine. The password is 520521. Just open the contact information and you'll see 'blah blah'. There's only one contact in there."

As he spoke, he tried to hand the phone to Phoenix, but unexpectedly, the phone suddenly burst into a small spark, followed by the unpleasant smell of burning chips.

"Here……"

Seeing this, Arno's face paled slightly. Fearing the other party might misunderstand that he was playing a trick on him, he quickly said:

"I know a very skilled repairman, I can..."

"Okay, I know you didn't detonate it."

Seeing the smoking phone, Phoenix waved his hand with a headache. "This phone is most likely being monitored in real time. After the other party heard that you were going to give me the phone, they activated the destruction device. It's probably beyond repair. You can leave now."

"Thank you, brother, thank you."

When Arno heard that the man was going to let him go, there was no reason for him not to run. He put his phone on the trash can lid, thanked him several times, and then jogged out of the alley.

Phoenix was left standing alone, lost in thought.

[Anik, how's your search going? Is there any information about Patwin and Cole on the public internet?]

[The investigation is still ongoing. There are too many people with the same name as Cole. There are fewer people with the name Patwin, but they are all ordinary account names. We haven't found any reliable news or comments yet.]

After reporting her work progress, Anik began to ramble on about her views on the matter.

Since you've already seen through that woman's plan to use you to get rid of Patwin and Cole, why are you still going along with her wishes?

You can report it to the relevant departments and let them handle it. If you think they will protect each other, you can also choose to hand it over to the newspaper.

While the sale of Niki and the leaking of combat records do occur covertly from time to time, if they are exposed, Ark Central will definitely conduct a thorough investigation to save face and maintain credibility.

Artificial intelligence is very simple; she just wants to run away, and any action that does not increase the success rate of her escape is meaningless to her.

Not to mention Phoenix's dealings with those dangerous outer zone elements. In Anick's eyes, this wasn't just a waste of time, but rather a dangerous game of arrest.

Where do you think would be a better place to put those five Nikis?

However, Phoenix ignored Anick's questions and continued to obstinately consider the future lives of the five mass-produced Nikis.

【…】

Such behavior undoubtedly angered Anick, who was determined to leave the Ark. To express his anger and resistance, the artificial intelligence in his mind closed countless page windows that were searching for information on the public network in front of someone.

Unfortunately, she encountered Phoenix.

A petty person who is good at judging situations and doesn't like to indulge others' temper.

"It's actually fine for the five of you to live in the suburbs of Ark, right?" Seeing that Anick didn't list any solutions, Phoenix turned around indifferently and looked at the five mass-produced Nikis waiting for him not far away.

"The biggest problem is that humans will make demands that you can't refuse."

After hearing what he said, the five girls exchanged glances for a few seconds and finally nodded in agreement with Phoenix's guess.

It's ironic that for Niki, who protects humanity, it wasn't just Letcher who frequently put their lives in danger...

There are also humans.