NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 48: Extraction - 48
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Tempo's POV - approaching Lanzhou
"The LZ is hot. Two of you will swap out with our high-priority target and Sakura," I said over comms, receiving an update from Rupture just moments ago.
Explosions lit up the terrain ahead as one of my Raptor girl escort went ahead and already engaging the enemy, tearing through the surface. At this point, it was like a game of whack-a-mole—every time we took one out, more subterranean vehicles emerged from below, not sure how much more they can throw at us though as their probably ran out at some point.
"Whew, I was hoping to see some action," one of my combat-model crew members remarked, eager for a fight.
"Sakura's a support model, right? Maybe I should replace her?" one of the two support models aboard my ship suggested.
"Go ahead," I confirmed. "We're doing a hot drop—clear the LZ, get two personnel onboard, then exfil immediately, oh don't forgot resources transfer for Rupture." I repeated the plan for clarity as another missile streaked skyward.
Down below, Rupture was speeding toward the LZ on her bike, weaving through the chaos. I adjusted my altitude and initiated a rapid descent from 3,000 meters. The Raptor escorting me dived even faster, unleashing precise laser fire to clear the landing zone. Her twin graviton laser cannons carved through enemy units as she hovered just above the ground.
BOOM!
The Raptors' laser cannons ripped into the surfacing subterranean vehicles. I materialized my laser Gatling cannon, joining the assault as I descended further, preparing for touchdown.
Spring's POV
"We're going to switch transports soon," Saku—no, Mom—said. I nodded, holding her hand as she lifted me off her lap and gently set me down beside her.
"So… I tried to rig something up, and hopefully, it'll work," Mom said as she crouched down to my eye level. I tilted my head, confused.
'Okay?' 'Not much info to go on.' 'Maybe something to stop the headache?' 'Makes sense, since we're switching places again.'
"I… is it to help with the headache?" I asked.
She smiled. "Yes, dear. Now, this is going to feel a little weird, but trust me," Mom reassured me, taking both my hands.
Her black liquid began pooling out, spreading over my body.
I… I didn't sense any killing intent. Sure, I could never really read Mom's thoughts, but this wasn't dangerous. My tattered rags slowly dissolved, replaced by… something metallic?
'It actually feels nice?' 'No threat detected.' 'Seems fine.' 'it feels warm like mom.'
Sakura's POV
Thanks to the power armor designed by the Commander, it's perfect for what I'm about to do. The power cell cost quite a bit of resources, and I've nearly run dry on my own storage. Thankfully, Rupture, being a mini-submarine, had more resources than me—though even she's running low now. Not that it matters much, since the dropship will be arriving soon with additional supplies.
Still, it's a good thing this armor has an assist system. I need to strap a large backpack onto Spring, but she won't feel the weight since I've rerouted most of the power to fuel the overlapping protective layer covering her body, along with joint assist mechanisms to help manage the load.
I glanced at the girl who was now my daughter. Clad in the knight power armor with a massive backpack on her back, she looked… imposing. The power cells would last only two hours—far less than normal operation time. I had outfitted the knight power armor to default sizing, meaning she currently stood taller than me. The suit itself was 2.5 meters in height by default.
Hopefully, that would be enough to get her extracted back to the Shinano.
"How do you feel?" I asked, still holding both of her hands to keep her steady.
"Weird…" she answered, her voice slightly muffled by the helmet's sensor slits.
"Just hang tight. This should help protect you against those mind assaults," I reassured her.
She glanced around inside her helmet. To be fair, I couldn't see her face at all right now.
"Okay… don't let go of my hand, okay?" I said.
She nodded hesitantly. "Y-yes… M-Mom."
I smiled at her.
"Tempo has touched down. Resource transfer in progress—completion in twenty seconds," Rupture's voice echoed through the hull.
I turned to Spring and led her toward the submarine hatch.
"I'm ready…" she said, looking up at me.
I opened the hatch, and as we stepped through, we returned to normal size in real space. I held onto Spring's hand firmly.
Ahead of me, I spotted who I assumed was Tempo—her unique rocket legs were unmistakable. I nodded toward her and reached out, touching her as the world around us shifted.
In an instant, we were inside Tempo's hull.
Spring materialized behind me.
"There, we've switched places," I said, helping her sit down in one of the dropship's chairs. Given her current size in the power armor, she looked massive compared to the seat, that only design to carry T-Dolls.
"It still feels weird… like I saw the sun, and then suddenly, I didn't," she murmured, adjusting to the abrupt transition.
I felt the dropship begin to lift off.
"You'll get to see more of the sun soon… actually, maybe," I added, realizing that our destination was Shinano, who would likely initiate a dive for camouflage soon, disappearing beneath the sea.
"Well, hello there, little one," a voice suddenly said, startling Spring.
She immediately grabbed onto me, clutching my arm. I turned toward the source of the voice.
Ah, right—I had forgotten that Tempo had a crew of six T-Dolls, Rupture did borrows 2 so only 4 left.
"Don't worry, they're friendly," I reassured her as the T-Doll who had spoken raised a hand and waved.
"Yeah, don't worry, we'll protect you," another one chimed in. "Anyway, name's Melon—support model," she introduced herself with a friendly smile.
"Support model?" Spring echoed, tilting her head.
The others looked at me for me to explain to her.
"Well, they're similar to me in that they can build things," I explained, summoning a pool of nanoswarms in my palm to demonstrate.
"Ahh…" Spring hesitated. "H-Hi?" she greeted, looking at Melon warily.
Melon, in turn, replicated my action, summoning her own nanoswarms. But instead of simply demonstrating their function, she crafted a Rubik's Cube in her hand.
Spring tilted her head even further in curiosity, her helmet shifting slightly as she did.
"That's called a Rubik's Cube," I explained. "The goal is to rotate its faces until each side is a single color." as Melon hover the Rubik's cube to Spring's hand as she grab it.
Spring stared at it for a moment. Her power armor gloves would take some getting used to, but at least she could still interact with objects.
I made a mental note—I needed to design a better suit for her. This one was meant for human soldiers, not her.
("We'll see you soon. Heading east to reach the river, then the ocean.") Rupture's voice came through my comms.
("Understood. See you soon,") I responded.
I felt a tug on my hand and turned to see Spring reaching out toward me.
"Yes, dear?" I asked.
She extended her armored hand—I smiled, realizing she wanted me to hold it.
Of course, her actual hand was buried deep within the suit, nowhere near the outer metal shell. But if it brought her comfort, I would do my best. I gently grasped the armored gauntlet, squeezing lightly.
I looked across the cabin at three other T-Dolls, who were sitting on the opposite side of the wall, while another was to my right. It was time for introductions.
"This is Spring—my daughter," I announced with a warm smile.
I was fairly certain they'd either accept this without issue… or freak out internally at the idea that I had just adopted Libra, the strongest psychic, I mean who wouldn't want to adopt her.
Not that it mattered.
I would make sure she was loved.
She wouldn't be as powerful as the Libra they feared, but at least she would be herself.
I held her armored hand a little tighter.
"Can I ask the range of the mind assaults?" one of the T-Dolls asked, glancing toward Spring. "She seems uncomfortable in the armor."
I nodded. "Unknown… but assuming at least five kilometers."
"That should be easy, then," another voice spoke—this time, it echoed through the dropship's hull.
Tempo.
"My ship is actually orbit-worthy," she remarked. "Being inspired by dropships, after all. I can set my altitude to around six kilometers to keep your daughter safe… if that's the case." Her tone carried a teasing lilt.
'Like really? You wouldn't have considered adopting her yourself if you saw the way she looked when you first found her?' I thought sarcastically.
"Let me know when we reach that altitude," I said.
"Anyway, introductions," Tempo continued, her voice resonating throughout the hull. "I'm your transport—Tempo. Nice to meet you, Spring."
One by one, the other T-Dolls started introducing themselves after her.
0800
Aqua's POV - Tokyo, Japan
I managed to condense a seven-hour-long explanation into just an hour and a half. Yunru excused herself, wanting to explore Tokyo, and I let her go while Nightshade and Melody followed her. I almost forgot she just arrive here yesterday and she never been outside exploring on her own... Well, anyway, I checked the construction progress using my nanoswarms.
As expected, the chrono replicators I ordered to be built underground are complete. They've already started their first overlap, which will finish in about seven hours. After that, in roughly sixteen hours, my resource generation will skyrocket—enough to produce practically anything I want to do for this Verse.
Now, time for my third retrofit. I also needed to integrate everything I had built so far and work on the Orbital Shipyard... yeah, those too.
Actually, before I move on to my third retrofit, I should finish designing the destroyer-class warship first. Having an airborne staging ground would be far more useful. These girls would also be space-capable.
Since cost wasn't an issue, I needed to define the destroyer's role: Anti-fighter capabilities, Air and Orbital superiority, Squadron carrier functions, Fighter operations.
I wanted a ship about 500 meters long, 350 meters wide, and 250 meters tall—which was creeping into cruiser territory. But since no standardized classifications existed here yet, I could set the ranges myself.
This destroyer-class vessel would serve as the primary operation platform across the entire solar system.
…Actually, now I remember why I hadn't started on this yet—FTL technology.
The research was still ongoing. I had reshuffled a few projects, and while the Spy Satellite program was completed after I finished the Artemis blueprint, the research speed still lagged behind my ability to blueprint an entire space station.
So, I prioritized Artificial Gravity next. I wanted proper stabilization equipment with one-way gravity fields inside enclosed spaces—no need for bulky centrifuge rings just to simulate gravity.
As for the Fusion Power Cell, that was technically a favor for Sakura. Also, yeah… we had Libra now. Actually, I should probably start calling her Spring. Hopefully, with Sakura's help, she could get her childhood back.
[Research boxes #1 'High capacity fusion power cell' Estimated time: 1 week]
[Research box #2: 'Counter-Intelligence' Estimated time: 1 week]
[Research box #3: 'Artificial gravity' Estimated time: 4 months]
[Research boxes #4–16 'Chrono warp' – finished]
Alright, another project finished. Now for something I'd been putting off for a while—one I was genuinely curious about.
I reassigned Research Boxes 4 to 8 to speed up the High-Capacity Fusion Power Cell project. That should significantly help Spring. She wasn't exactly a powerhouse in combat, but did I really need her to be?
More importantly, I needed to make sure Yuri couldn't bioengineer her further and amplify her psychic abilities. In the long run, that would force him to find a new candidate or do it himself, which to be fair If I let him go ahead with his Omega devices which I won't let him.
With that done, I assigned the remaining research boxes to analyze Union Core, which, is my brain, it time I need to know how it even work.
[Research boxes #1, 4-8 'High capacity fusion power cell' Estimated time: 8 hours]
[Research box #3: 'Artificial gravity' Estimated time: 4 months]
[Research boxes #9–16 'Union core' – Estimated time: 1 year]
A full year to understand Union Core, huh? Not that I could speed it up much—I barely understood how it worked myself.
I glanced at Helena, who was sitting further to my left, next to Amy, both of them looking bored.
"Helena, can you help with integrating the Bio-Lock system into the Knight Power Armor project?" I asked.
"Okay, Master," she replied without hesitation as she will up her designer app.
"Amy, try to set up a wargame with Helena's help," I added before turning my attention to the other girls in the room. "I need a support model willing to help test out the new units."
One of them raised her hand.
"Name?" I asked.
"Onion, Commander," she replied.
I nodded. "Alright, come over. Amy is going to test how the new power armor units designed for humans will perform in a simulation first."
I turned back to Amy. "You're free to decide how the wargame plays out... but I wouldn't recommend pitting them against the Abyssals just yet."
Amy nodded before hesitating for a moment. "How about starting with a basic squad scenario first?" she asked, glancing at Helena and then back at me.
"You're going to be the one teaching them, so all numbers and procedures are up to you," I said.
"Alright, then... a squad of four," Amy decided.
"Let's test how the power armor handles weapons first," she added, looking at Helena.
The large screen in front of us shifted to the testing phase—an open flat surface, where Allied soldiers lined up and fired at a Knight Power Armor unit.
Helena began listing off the damage reports as the test progressed:
Machine pistol – bounced off.
Machine gun – bounced off.
Sniper rifle – impact detected, minor paint damage.
Rocket launcher – minor damage to joint areas, minimal damage to armor, minimal damage to shielded equipment.
Amy observed the results carefully as Helena continued the analysis.
Meanwhile, I had my own experiment to conduct. I needed to figure out how scaling Chrono Shift (Warp) technology worked.
The Paradox Engine could deploy forces across most of the planet using just a single Chronosphere. With how rapid the deployments were, I had to wonder—just how far could I push my version?
Amy's POV
"So... she noticed?" I asked, glancing at Aqua-chan, who was now focused on her own project.
"Probably," Helena replied. "At least we have something to do now. It's better than the old days when she'd spend hours on end making blueprints. Honestly, if Master wanted to, she'd probably be lying in bed designing things right now."
"Well, I already know most of the Knight Power Armor specs, so let's figure out how to test it in a wargame," I said.
"Eh.. you and me not playing that much.. so both of us don't have preference on map pick" Helena answer.. as I look over at Orion.. "Well you pick then" I said..
Helena nodded. "Alright then, Amy-chan, got any map recommendations?"
"Eh… neither of us plays much, so we don't really have a preference," Helena admitted. I turned toward Orion instead.
"You pick, then," I said.
Aqua-chan had just randomly assigned a support model for the match, which wasn't too bad. At least she hadn't said ranked wargame, I don't think I got it in me to fight other players. Based on Mental Omega, the game this was apparently modeled after, there was no Abyssal faction in the original game so yeah no bs units other the pre existing one.
So yes, we had an actual game—based on Mental Omega, but more advanced. I think it plays closer to C&C Generals in terms of gameplay and maps, but with Mental Omega units.
"Would Island Paradise work?" Orion suggested.
A gimmick mission—essentially a timed defense mission. The defending side gets one MCV, while the attackers have four resource pools to call in reinforcements per wave. There are four waves in total.
In practice, the first wave is the hardest to survive. The second wave hits the hardest, as the attacker can contain MCV on the 2nd wave. If I don't clear the second wave fast enough, the third and fourth waves will stack, making things even worse.
I rub my head a bit... "Aqua-chan didn't make a full on tech development for this faction yet.." I said.. "Can I supplement them with Pacific Front tech?" I ask back.. as most time you pick a sub factions, you get only that subfactions tech.. and yeah this power armor is beyond to pacific fronts one...
I rubbed my head. "...Aqua-chan hasn't fully developed the tech tree for this faction yet," I muttered. "Can I supplement them with Pacific Front tech?"
Normally, when you pick a subfaction, you only get that subfaction's tech tree. But this power armor was beyond even the Pacific Front's standard.
"Sure," Orion shrugged. "The price gonna be costly anyway."
I turned to Helena. "Do we need a special building for this?"
Helena did some quick calculations. "Yeah, a support building with nanoswarm deployers… Wait, isn't there a Supply Depot that Master designed a while back?"
"Oh no… if you add that in, can I use Iron Curtain?" Orion asked. "I'm pretty sure even Apocalypse Tanks would struggle against structures that have self-healing."
I blinked. Right—Orion was playing as Russia. That made sense.
"Eh, two Iron Curtains should be enough, right?" I said.
"Separate cooldowns?" Orion asked.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Alright then."
Helena adjusted the in-game costs. "Okay, here's the balance update: Knight Power Armor is $600—more than the Knightframe from Foehn. Supply Depot costs the same as a Refinery at $2,000. Supply Depot can only be built after a Refinery is completed. That's about it."
"Well map set, 5 mins before first wave" Helena said as the holographic map in the middle of the room shift.. it is island paradise map, basically city block down south that lead to mountain and cliff near top still there like 8 places for attackers to land.
I sighed. I forgot how expensive everything Aqua made was. Seriously, when you convert her designs into game terms, the costs are insane.
"Alright, map set. Five minutes until the first wave," Helena announced.
The holographic map in the center of the room shifted, revealing Island Paradise. The lower section was a city block, leading up to mountains and cliffs at the top. There were about eight landing points for attackers.
("Establishing Battlefield Control, Stand by") The voice line play in to my comms.
I exhaled slowly. "Well... looks like I'm stuck with an infantry-heavy composition this time, as I need to test out Knight units."
The only real threat should be Tesla Tanks. Anyway, I'll just set up the basics first.
I might not have Aqua-chan's skills in RTS, but I've got part of her memory enough to at least know the fundamentals, even if I'm not a master strategist like she is.
(Author's note: I'm not that great, but I made it through mental omega campaign 3.3)
0800
Spring's POV - Arctic Ocean
I'm sitting on the upper deck… right at the edge of the ship. Behind me, there are some kind of rails? Not sure what they're for, but I see a few other girls around, so it should be safe… probably.
I look out at the endless blue in front of me. The sun is kinda low, and its light reflects off the… the blue thingy?
Oh! The sea. Now I remember. That's what Mama calls this big water place.
I don't need to wear that protective armor Mama made for me anymore, so the cold air feels nice.
'Blue all around…' 'Calm…' 'No bad thoughts, no scary things!' 'Oh! Mama's over there!'
I turn to the right and spot Mama. A big smile spreads across my face as she looks at me.
"It's time to head inside. Shinano's about to dive," Mama says, crouching down and holding out her hand. "I might find a good spot for you to watch the dive."
I reach up and grab her hand, and she gently pulls me to my feet.
"So, how does it feel sitting by the sea?" Mama asks as we start walking.
"It's blue… calm… and there's lots of sun," I answer.
Mama chuckles softly and pats my head. Her hand is warm.
"You'll get to see more of it once we return to Japan," she says.
I nod. Her touch makes me feel safe.
'Agree.' 'Should we tell Mama more about our power?' 'Mama has the anti-mind thingy, so she can help, right?' 'Didn't she already see it before?'
"Okay…" I mumble, still thinking about it.
Mama leads me inside. We go through lots of corridors and down some stairs. Along the way, I see other girls in the hallways. Mama greets them as we pass.
I also see those crazy girls Mama told me about. She said they're Raptors… a fighter jet?
'What's a fighter jet?' 'Flying girls?' 'Don't know.' 'Me neither.'
I don't really know what a fighter jet is, but these girls never stop moving. They do everything super fast. Good thing they talk normally—if they spoke as fast as they moved, I wouldn't understand them at all, not that I understand them much already.
We go down a few more stairs and enter a big room… but it has sunlight? And a view of the outside? There's a chair in the middle, and another girl standing next to the chair with something attached to her back.
'Pillows?' 'No, I don't think they're pillows.' 'Then what are they?' 'Dunno…'
Pillows? I tilt my head, confused. Mama squeezes my hand gently to remind me she's still here.
"Ah, it seems we have a guest," the brown-haired girl says. She turns back toward the chair… Actually, there are nine more white pillows coming out of the chair. As it slowly spins around, I see another girl—this one has white hair, and… ears? On top of her head? And her pillows—wait…
"Hello there, Spring. Welcome aboard my ship," she says, standing up and walking toward me.
I flinch a little. She's tall… and her white thingies spread outward like they're alive.
"Don't worry, she's not going to hurt you," Mama reassures me, still holding my hand.
The tall girl smiles and crouches down to my eye level.
"You'll need to get her up to speed and healed soon, right?" she asks Mama.
"Yeah. I'll start on that soon after you dive," Mama replies. Then she looks at me. "This here is Lady Shinano."
"Nice to meet you," Lady Shinano says. She then points toward another girl standing near the chair. "That's my assistant, Tsuna."
Before I can say anything, Shinano spreads her arms wide.
"Anyway, perfect timing! I'm about to dive, so take a look around."
I blink and looking around in place. The sun, the sky, the water outside the room—
'We're still inside the room.' 'At least our senses say so.' 'Something's bouncing back… so it's some kind of projection?' 'It's moving!'
I look at the walls. The water outside is slowly rising. The floor beneath my feet turns into… water? But it's solid? Everything starts moving downward. The ceiling gets covered by water as we submerge, and the light reflecting off the surface gives the room a strange, calm glow.
I keep staring up as the light fades… until I feel something soft rubbing against my face.
A fluffy pillow?
"Hehe, sorry," Shinano giggles. "If you want, you can hug my tail, you know."
Her fluffy thing—tail?—is right in front of me. I look up at Mama. She smiles and nods.
Well… okay.
I hug the fluffy tail.
'It's so soft…' '…Bliss.' 'What does that word even mean?' 'It means feeling good.'
I sink into it, nuzzling the softness, until Mama gently pulls me away and pats my head.
"Well, she's a child… with a teenager's age," Shinano comments.
"Mostly because of her captors," Mama replies. "But yeah, I'll fix that."
Shinano nods.
"Anyway, why don't we go take a bath, Spring?" Mama asks, saying my name.
I tilt my head. "What's a bath?"
Mama chuckles. "Well, why not find out? I'll be with you."
She leads me out of the room.
"Bye-bye~! Come see me if you want, Spring!" Shinano waves as we leave.
As we walk, I look up at Mama.
"Mama… can I have something fluffy too?" I ask.
'Tails?' 'Pillow?' 'Fluffy clothes?' 'More tails?'
Mama sighs a little. Eh? Is she mad?
"Well, sure, I can get you a tail," she says. Her voice isn't angry—just… annoyed? "But for now, let's go take a bath, okay?"