Know Your Place, Vermin!
"Wahahaha! Did you see that? Did you see?! I did it—!"
Following his shout, several humans emerged from the tightly enclosed armored vehicles.
They all appeared to be the commanders from Ark 86.
Lin Ao, gleefully slapping the back of a man whose face looked like a rat’s, presumably his adjutant, spoke while admiring the massive wreckage of the Leviathan as if it were a trophy.
"Kuh—! Look at this incredible size! I wonder how big this thing's Core is? Hey! Contact headquarters! Tell them that I, the great Lin Ao, have hunted a named Astral!! Take photos too!"
The hyper-excited man marched across the battlefield, huffing and puffing.
As he passed me, he bumped his shoulder against mine.
An apology? An excuse?
There was none.
It was utter disregard, as if he were passing a telephone pole or a pebble on the side of the road.
No, it seemed that my very existence wasn't even in his line of sight to begin with.
"...Hah."
I was so flabbergasted that I couldn't even manage a hollow laugh.
He breaks into someone's home with a cannon, releases those abominable monsters into our front yard, and now what?
Not only does he try to take credit for a battle my girls barely won by shedding their flesh and blood, but he acts as if the spoils are his own?
This went beyond brazenness; it was a matter of a deficit in intelligence.
"Hey! You lot over there, what are you doing?! Get over here and clean this up!!"
Where Lin Ao pointed were Compass, Sherpa, and the ECHOs of Ark 86 who had been fighting a fierce battle until moments ago.
Though they looked visibly exhausted, they began to move with stiff expressions, reacting reflexively to the command of their superior, Lin Ao.
"Huh? These things are acting out. Can't you hear my order?!"
Apparently dissatisfied with the ECHOs' sluggish response, Lin Ao scowled and strode toward them.
He stopped in front of Compass, who was standing at the front, limping from her injuries.
"Ah, look at this bitch. You're the ECHO who dared to disobey my order to flee and fought on your own, right?"
"I am sorry, Platoon Leader. But the situation was..."
"Since when does a piece of scrap metal dare to talk back?!"
Slap—!
A sharp cracking sound pierced the silence of the battlefield.
Lin Ao had struck Compass across the cheek with the back of his hand with all his might.
From the impact, Compass, whose legs were already weak, tumbled to the ground without even being able to scream.
"L-Leader—!"
Sherpa, who had been following behind, turned pale and rushed forward to embrace Compass.
Compass's eyes shook violently as she clutched her red, swollen cheek.
"What's with you? These tin cans dare not recognize their master...!"
Lin Ao had lost it.
He ruthlessly raised his combat boot toward the fallen Compass and Sherpa, who was trying to support her.
He intended to crush the faces of both ECHOs right then and there.
"..."
At that moment, I heard something snap in my head.
To be honest, I did try to hold back here.
Even though that guy is one of the worst, most cancer-inducing characters in the game, in this world, he is strictly a commander of another Ark and a human survivor in a ruined world.
As shitty as it was, I intended to end this by extracting information through dialogue or demanding compensation for this incident.
But... that bastard had crossed the line.
And he crossed it pretty fucking hard.
"Hey…"
At my cold voice, Lin Ao paused and looked back.
Then, he let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd.
His face, as he looked at me, was full of irritation and ridicule.
"Ha! What did you just say?"
"..."
"Listen, you backwater commander. It seems you don't grasp the situation. Do you even know who I am?"
Lin Ao tilted his chin up and puffed out his chest arrogantly.
"I am the direct descendant of the Lin family that rules Ark 86 and the next Fleet Commander, the great Lin Ao. I don't know what kind of stray bone you are, but..."
"I am the Fleet Commander of Ark 69. You pathetic little commander-wannabe piece of shit."
Lin Ao's eyebrow twitched at my words.
"...What?"
"So you're the commander, eh? What a fucking joke! You're just a lowly platoon leader. And it seems you're the one who hasn't grasped the situation. You dragged that fucking monster into our Ark's territory, caused a ruckus, and dared to break the Ark's barrier? And you still have the audacity to bark like a fucking dog at my face!!!"
"What? Is this bastard actually insane..."
Lin Ao's face turned red and purple.
He looked as if he couldn't believe there was someone who dared to lecture him, a direct descendant and heir of the Lin family.
He reached into his coat. It was clear he was trying to pull out a pistol.
Click.
But before Lin Ao could draw the gun, a cold, heavy metallic sensation touched his temple.
Simultaneously, a soft yet spine-chilling voice drifted from behind him.
"Do not move."
"...Eh?"
Lin Ao froze in place.
Madeline, wearing a maid outfit with a short skirt, was standing behind him—though when she had gotten behind him, no one knew.
The image of her usually smiling warmly and smelling of freshly baked bread was gone.
Her eyes, dull and cold like a dead fish, wore an expression like a doll stripped of all emotions.
The cold muzzle of the large-caliber pistol in Madeline's hand was grinding mercilessly against Lin Ao's skull.
Click.
The sound of the hammer being cocked sounded exceptionally loud.
"Our Commander is speaking to you."
Madeline then brought her lips close to Lin Ao's ear.
It was a whisper as sweet as honey, yet as brutal as if it were coming from the bottom of hell.
"If you flap your mouth unnecessarily or so much as twitch a finger... I'll blow your head off right here, Mr. Human Commander, okay?"
The Bread Garden Squad.
On the surface, they are in charge of logistics and cooking for the Ark, but their essence is the assassination and protection of key figures within the Ark.
And they are a special-purpose unit that cleans up rebels and impure elements who endanger the Ark.
Naturally, her ferocious killing intent was not something a pathetic loser like Lin Ao could handle.
"H-Hieek—!"
Under Madeline's chilling bloodlust, Lin Ao gaped and looked at me.
Did he finally realize that this wasn't a fucking game that he could take leisurely?
His pupils quaked like an earthquake.
"Y-You... Get this thing away! H-H-How dare you! To the heir of the Lin family...! Do you think my father will just stand by?!"
"..."
Even in that state, his mouth kept moving, flapping until the end.
I smirked and handed the White Tiger I was holding to Noah, who was standing beside me. Then, I slowly approached Lin Ao, stopping right in front of his face.
"I don't really care who your father is."
"What?"
"For now, you're going to get hit."
Then, I raised my left hand, the mechanical prosthetic.
"It's going to hurt a bit—no, a lot. Grit your teeth, okay?"
CRACK—!
Crunch.
With a gruesome sound, Lin Ao's bridge of the nose collapsed, and his body spun half a turn in the air before slamming into the ground.
He tumbled, unable to even scream properly, foaming at the mouth with blood.
"P-Platoon Leader!"
"N-No! You crazy bastard!!"
At my sudden action, the humans from Ark 86 behind him were horrified and tried to rush forward. But the ECHOs of our Ark were faster.
Click! Click!
Pomen's minigun and Helena's shotgun were aimed directly at their heads.
"Whoa, whoa. Don't move, humans."
"ECHOs are restricted from directly attacking humans, but the orders of the Fleet Commander, the overall head of the Ark, can override such directives quite easily."
"C-Commander—! T-That young brat is really the Fleet Commander?!"
"Shut your mouths and back off if you don't want air holes in your heads from a shotgun."
As Pomen growled with a twisted smirk, the human commanders froze in place.
"Ugh, uuuugh..."
Lin Ao, collapsed on the ground, spat out bloody phlegm and lifted his head, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
He looked around with eyes full of venom.
"W-What are you doing! Attack! Kill that bastard! Shoot him—! You tin cans!!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs at the ECHOs of Ark 86 in a fit of rage. At that command, a few ECHOs flinched and tried to raise their weapons.
"Do not move."
However, my low, heavy voice instantly drowned out Lin Ao's tantrum.
"Arva."
"Yes, Commander."
"The humans here and the ECHOs of Ark 86. Disarm them all. If anyone resists, kill them on the spot."
"Understood."
At my command, the ECHOs of Ark 86 dropped their weapons on the ground without hesitation. With that, the situation was completely concluded.
"And that bastard..."
I pointed with my chin toward Lin Ao, who was foaming at the mouth.
"Throw him in the armored vehicle with the humans we took prisoner."
"Do you intend to send them back to Ark 86?"
At Arva's question, I tilted my head.
"Send them back? No. We need to be compensated several times over for the damage we received; why would I release the hostages?"
"Then...?"
"Destroy the drive system of the armored vehicle they're in so it can't move. Let's let them rot inside the safe armored vehicle they love so much."
I added, looking at Moi, who was standing next to me.
"Moi."
"Yes, Commander."
"Once they're all stuffed into the vehicle, weld the hatch shut with your sear-blade so they can't open it."
"Whoaa... R-Really?"
"Yeah. But we need them to be able to breathe to negotiate... so poke a few holes just big enough for a finger to fit through, so air can still circulate inside."
"Understood, Commander! I'll weld it very securely!"
As soon as my order fell, Arva and Helena dragged Lin Ao and his lackeys away like luggage.
"Let go—! Let go of me?! Do you know who I am?!"
Even as he was thrown into the armored vehicle, Lin Ao's screams of rage were utterly pathetic. He was a hideous piece of work until the very end.
"..."
Once the noisy people disappeared, a quiet silence returned to the battlefield.
I straightened my disheveled clothes and looked back. There stood Compass and Sherpa, staring up at me blankly.
After looking at them for a moment, I quietly reached out my hand toward Compass and Sherpa.
"Get up."
"...Thank you, Commander."
Compass, who had been dazed, took my hand and stood up, bowing deeply to me.
Sherpa did the same.
Was it because she saw Lin Ao, who had been an object of terror to the point of giving her trauma, crumble at my hand?
She was looking at me with tears welling up in her eyes.
In that gaze, something blind and deep was laid bare, going beyond simple affection.
After watching them for a while, I shifted my gaze to the mass-produced ECHOs standing blankly.
Covered in dust and injured here and there, they looked anxious.
They were tools discarded by Lin Ao, but in my eyes, they were precious resources and subjects to be protected.
"Clean up the battlefield, and Arva will lead the ECHOs of Ark 86. First, bring the C-008 girls. Quickly build a temporary shelter for them to stay in."
"The wounded..."
"It'll be hard to perform actual repairs with the facilities we have left in the base. For now, release all the supplies we have so we can at least provide first aid."
At my instruction, the eyes of the Ark 86 ECHOs widened.
"And Lena, Madeline."
"Yes, Commander."
"You two take the V-60 squad and two Mercury Howls, return to the Ark immediately, and bring back as much food as possible. Everything you have."
"Yes! Understood!!"
Madeline, understanding the meaning, smiled brightly and saluted.
As the commotion in Hongwei-7 came to an end, the hellish day began to set.
And at that time.
"...Say that again."
Along with Lin Xiaolin's voice, which had become as cold as a winter storm, the fountain pen she was holding snapped in two.