You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 32: Oh... There's Something I Forgot to Tell Hiroki…

“Team A, report your status.”

“This is Team A. We’ve successfully infiltrated the facility using the hidden staircase. Currently executing our search. Haven’t found the target yet.”

“Understood, other teams haven’t found it either. Continue your search.”

“Roger.”

Communicating with the teachers outside was the responsibility of Jack Brown, the leader of Team A.

Currently, Shiori, Meryl, Jack, Anna, and four other combatants remained in one room.

“Alan, haven’t found it yet?”

“Not yet, the facility is too vast. Even with my clairvoyance, it’s taking time.”

Alan, the boy called out, was a combatant with the ability of clairvoyance, searching for the objective location with his power.

“It seems hard to find.”

“If it were easy, we wouldn’t be struggling.”

Meryl muttered her dissatisfaction with the progress of the work. Naturally, they were using English due to the mission.

“I want to go home.”

Anna joined the conversation.

“Me too. This place is detestable for combatants like us.”

“Then, we need to finish this quickly.”

The three expressed their desire to conclude this mission swiftly and turned their attention back to Alan…

“Multiple enemies! They’re heading this way.”

“!?”

Upon Alan’s report, everyone in the room gripped their weapons tighter.

“Those aren’t humans. They’re soldiers. Eight soldier spiders confirmed. Likely, they also possess clairvoyance.”

Following the report, Jack quickly communicated with the outside.

“This is Team A! Soldiers spotted inside the facility! Engaging in combat now!”

“Understood. We have a report as well. Currently experiencing signal interference. From now on, disregard communication commands and prioritize on-site instructions.”

“Roger!”

Jack turned off the communicator and issued orders to everyone present.

“We’ve been located by the enemy. Engaging in combat now. The target is soldier spiders. Stay alert.”

“It has appeared, as expected.”

At the police headquarters in Whale City, combat school affiliates who had moved from the airport were talking with police officers present.

“The soldier series, huh? They’re using that detestable weapon again.”

“The last time the soldier series was confirmed was during the conflicts of various countries two years ago.”

“Yes, that time, the WDC sold them to the anti-government side, exacerbating the conflict. Then, the government requested support from the combat schools to suppress it.”

As combat school affiliates conversed, the police officers struggled to keep up. Noticing this, one teacher approached the police officers.

“I’m sorry. You weren’t well-informed about the WDC and the soldier series.”

“Yes, could you please enlighten us since the government has kept that information under wraps?”

“Of course. This time, with support from the police organization, the government and combat school sides have agreed to share information. I’ll display the details on the monitor now.”

A teacher operated the computer, projecting several photos on the room’s monitor.

They depicted lumps of iron dyed black, resembling natural creatures like spiders, ants, and turtles.

“Is this a robot?”

“Exactly. But it’s not just filled with machinery.”

“What do you mean?”

“Each of these weapons is equipped with an artificially created brain.”

The police officers’ faces froze at those words. The explanation continued.

“The soldier series connects the brains of combatants to the weapons’ brains via wireless. This allows the soldier series to use the abilities of those combatants.”

“So, the combatants are controlling the soldier series?”

“No, those combatants are victims. WDC uses inhumane methods to produce the soldier series.”

“Inhumane methods?”

Frowning, the teacher began to explain.

“This might be disturbing, but WDC extracts brains from abducted combatants and stores them. These brains are connected to soldiers that are far away from the storage device.”

“Brains removed from their bodies?”

“Yes, the brains are connected to a storage device, which fits inside a large truck. WDC has sold many of these to various organizations.”

Hearing about the mission’s circumstances caused some police officers to turn pale.

“And this mission’s primary objective is to either recover or destroy a particular brain.”

The teacher displayed a young girl on the monitor.

“Her name is Airi Edelman, eight years old. A recently discovered combatant with the ability of ‘Harmony Operation.’ If her ability is installed in the soldier series, the worst weapon could be completed.”

“Excuse me! Is anyone there? Someone’s been left behind!”

A boy was shouting with all his might in front of a door that wouldn’t open. Naturally, it was Hiroki trapped in the elevator.

(No response…)

Fifteen minutes had passed since he was trapped. The outside world had gone silent, and Hiroki was feeling the solitude.

He illuminated the cramped space with his smartphone’s light, trying to stay calm.

But this calm wouldn’t last.

(What if there’s a fire…)

The anxiety born from not knowing the situation outside was growing.

(Will I be steamed? Roasted? Cooked to perfection? Will the juices flow when bitten into?…)

“No way I’m letting that happen!”

Hiroki’s actions, fueled by his explosion of anxiety, were swift.

He opened his briefcase, spreading its contents on the floor.

He changed into a black combat suit and inserted a pistol and magazines into his pouch and holster. Then, he transformed the weapon, E, in his right hand.

(This is an emergency! I’ve done nothing wrong! The ones at fault are the security guards who haven’t come to rescue me!)

Blaming others, Hiroki then violently struck the elevator’s control panel with E.

Bang! Clank! The surface panel fell off, revealing a deep hole intertwined with cords.

(If it’s a power outage, it should work if I can get electricity to it.)

Hiroki’s plan was simple.

He held E in his right hand, aiming for the panel. A plethora of cords were exposed by removing the panel.

“Haruna! I’m trusting in the quality of your weapon!”

Shouting the name of a girl not present, he forcefully inserted E into the hole.

E was originally thought to produce only as much voltage as a stun gun, but Hiroki was betting on Haruna’s sense.

It was a Piko Piko Hammer, modified under various suggestions, now equipped with many functions, including launching balls among other things.

Certainly, she wouldn’t have stopped there. She hadn’t explained about the output of electricity.

Hiroki was betting on that possibility.

And as a result…

Zzzzzzzt!

“AAaaahh!?”

Sparks flying from the hole scorched Hiroki’s cheek, and he instinctively released E from his hand.

E, now detached from his hand, continued to crackle, possibly discharging electricity.

Then, the elevator’s light came on, and the room shook significantly, descending.

(Yes! It worked!)

Hiroki’s face was filled with joy.

The elevator moving meant it was set to stop at a certain floor, and it was only natural for the doors to open upon arrival.

He looked at the floor indicator above the door. The light finally displayed the first floor…

(Basement level one… Huh?)

The elevator continued its faint vibration downward.

There was a parking lot on the basement level one, and no floors below it.

(Why is it still moving…)

The elevator, carrying the boy, continued to descend without stopping.