NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 185: Everyone Has a Job to Do
"Lyle, you know what to do, right?" Natasha's hand remained on Sora's head, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Lyle.
"Fine…" Lyle glanced around, seeing no one coming to his defense. He hung his head dejectedly. "I'll go to time-out…"
Under the sympathetic gazes of the other children, Lyle trudged to a small room in the corner, opened the door, and closed himself inside.
"Kiana… I think this method…" Shu began, raising an eyebrow at Kiana.
But Kiana was already a step ahead. The moment Shu's eyebrow twitched, she launched herself at Mei, wailing dramatically.
"Mei! Don't put me in time-out! I won't do it again! I promise! And don't… don't make me skip dinner, too!"
Whoa, hold on. Skipping dinner was a bit much. That was bordering on child abuse. Even Natasha wouldn't go that far… right?
Shu shot Natasha a questioning look. She rolled her eyes in response. What? Do your intel reports paint me as some kind of tyrant?
Apparently not.
Shu looked away. Kiana, not having received any reassurance from Mei, looked utterly defeated.
"It's over… Mei's going to lock me up…" she mumbled, following Lyle's path towards the time-out room.
Why are you preemptively punishing yourself? Shu watched her, puzzled, then a thought struck him. His expression turned serious.
"Wait." He stopped Kiana, who looked back at him with immense relief. Shu! My hero! I knew you wouldn't let your teammate suffer!
"What did you do?" Shu asked sternly.
Kiana: "..." Thanks, Judge Shu. I take it back.
"Kiana left our other backpack of food on the train," Bronya interjected before Kiana could make her escape.
Shu's eyes widened. We had two backpacks of food? Wait… you didn't bring any food?! He felt a pang of guilt, which he quickly suppressed, fixing Kiana with a stern glare.
Feeling the weight of his gaze, Kiana hurried towards the time-out room, opened the door, and slipped inside under Natasha's bemused stare.
Seriously? Natasha thought. They're making themselves right at home. Well, I suppose it's a sign of trust.
Hanging her cloak on a nearby hook, Natasha rolled up her sleeves and looked at the others. "Shall I prepare dinner for you as well?"
"Yes, please. Thank you," Shu replied quickly. They had been so focused on their search that they hadn't scavenged for any food along the way. And ARC City seemed devoid of small stores, only empty supermarkets and closed convenience stores. If Natasha didn't feed them, they would have to go foraging in the dark. Only Kiana had eaten her fill at lunch; the rest had barely consumed enough to maintain their energy levels.
Natasha nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Mei, after a moment's hesitation, followed. "Miss Natasha, may I assist you?"
"You can cook? Perfect. I could use a hand." Natasha didn't refuse. Having someone watch her prepare the food was better than having them worry about her adding something… unpleasant.
"Um…" Sora had approached Bronya, her gaze fixed on Robot Mark II.
"Is this… Robot Mark II?" she asked hesitantly. Bronya glanced at Shu, then nodded.
"Yes," she replied, offering the robot to Sora. "But it seems to be broken. Can you fix it?"
Sora's face lit up. She instinctively reached out, then stopped, remembering her cast. She gently touched the robot.
"Sora can fix it… but… Sora has forgotten how."
"Robot Mark II knows how to fix itself, doesn't it?" Bronya said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
Sora nodded.
So, to fix Robot Mark II, we need the data it contains, and to access the data, we need to fix it… A perfect Catch-22.
What to do when faced with a problem? Pass it on to Otto! Bronya glanced at Shu, who nodded, earning him another eye-roll.
Bronya turned back to Sora, her expression carefully neutral, and began to chat. Talking to children was far easier than fighting Honkai beasts, and surrounded by so many kids, Bronya felt strangely at home.
Seeing that everyone was occupied, Shu breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his observation of the shelter. Apart from the off-limits room and the white lab coat, he hadn't found anything unusual. But he was still curious about the presence of weapons.
Natasha didn't strike him as an ordinary person. Her vigilance and demeanor suggested combat experience, even if she was just naturally gifted. And she wouldn't have ventured outside without some means of defense…
While the shelter didn't seem to house any large weaponry, she must have access to something, right? Small arms, at least? Information about Titan mechs or other heavy weapons would be even better.
I'll talk to her after dinner, he decided. The plan is to stay here for two days, then use this place as a staging ground to transport weapons and these poor children…
"Mister…"
Who the hell called me "mister"?! Shu's eyes widened. He looked down to see a small group of children gathered around his legs, boys and girls, making it difficult to pinpoint the culprit.
"Dummy! You're supposed to call him 'big brother'!" A girl punched a smaller boy, instantly revealing the offender.
The boy sniffled, looking up at Shu with wide eyes. "Oh. Hello, big brother."
Shu: "..." What am I supposed to say to that?
"Hello…" he replied, his lips twitching.