Andrew was completely unfazed by Ann's concerns.
"How to win? That's a problem for them to worry about. As for the medical pods, don't worry, I have my ways."
With Andrew's assurance, Ann fell silent. She just quietly pressed a few buttons, and as the medical pod activated, the unique fluid immersing Soldier 11 began to drain away.
With a mechanical hum, the glass cover slid open, and the Soldier 11 lying inside was completely released.
Knowing her role was over, Ann lowered her head, found a random corner to sit down in, and waited for the final outcome to arrive.
Later on, she would also serve as the primary witness for the Public Security's investigation.
After all, in this research institute, the high-ranking staff involved in its dark side had been completely denied the possibility of interrogation thanks to Andrew's perfect stealth techniques.
While this reduced the chance of Andrew being exposed, it also made the subsequent Public Security investigation incredibly difficult.
As it happened, the list in Andrew's hands perfectly matched the names of the research institute's key leaders. After all, it was impossible to climb to a high position in a place like this with clean hands.
Without subjects to interrogate, a single piece of intelligence provided by Andrew might not be enough to secure a conviction. But with Ann as a witness, Public Security's case would surely be much, much easier to close.
As he lifted Soldier 11 out of the chamber, Andrew accidentally touched the medical pod, and a system prompt popped up that made him pause.
[Acquire item?]
[Yes] [No]
?
This thing... counts as Ann item to be acquired?
How do you even acquire it?
Does it count as ownerless because no one's watching?
So if I acquire it, is it finders keepers?
After a brief brainstorm, Andrew gently tapped 'Yes.' With a flash of white light, the entire medical pod vanished on the spot. In Andrew's inventory, a '1' appeared over Ann item slot.
The white number '1' in the bottom right of the item slot indicated that he hadn't reached the storage limit for this item, which made Andrew instinctively lean back.
A medical pod bigger than me, and I can just... stash it away?
But then Andrew remembered pulling out Large Barrel Bombs bigger than himself back in the world of Monster Hunter, and he relaxed.
It was one of the few useful aspects of his system, so maybe it was okay for it to be a bit overpowered?
"Well, I reckon nobody wants these anyway!"
He quickly stashed away the medical pods one by one. After the twelfth one went into his item pouch, Andrew finally hit the storage limit. This perfect score put him in a great mood.
Originally, Andrew had planned to use the powerful life force contained in his recovery potions to improve the clones' constitutions, but being able to swipe the medical pods directly was definitely better.
This provided a safety net for each of the clones.
Watching from a distance as Andrew made twelve medical pods vanish right before her eyes, Ann couldn't help but stare, her eyes wide with disbelief.
She had initially assumed Andrew's organization possessed some method to adjust the clones' bodies, but the means he just demonstrated were completely beyond her imagination.
She couldn't comprehend what kind of technique could make something so large simply disappear.
Ann couldn't resist quietly approaching one of the spots where a medical pod used to be, waving her hand back and forth over the platform where only the base remained.
She didn't touch anything. The space above the base was empty. The disappearance of the medical pod was no illusion.
It was Ann ability so miraculous it was like magic, yet from Andrew's effortless demeanor, it didn't seem to cost him anything at all.
This made Ann believe in Andrew's words even more.
After all, with methods like these, having the eradication of all Hollows as their organization's goal didn't seem so strange anymore.
Just then, Belle, who had been watching the monitors, suddenly sent a communication.
"Andrew! The army outside has started advancing toward the institute's entrance!"
Leaving through the ventilation ducts again without a guide was clearly no longer feasible, not that Andrew had any intention of doing so.
He was planning on going outside to have a nice, long 'chat' with that army anyway.
Noticing that Andrew had no intention of taking her with him, Anby tugged on his cloak again and said:
"I can go with you."
But Andrew had no intention of letting the Silver Squad follow him into danger.
Fighting people and fighting Ethereals were two completely different concepts.
"No. I went through all this trouble to save you, I can't have you getting hurt over something like this."
Although Anby's face remained expressionless, her eyes couldn't hide her worry.
To most people, there would be no difference, but for Andrew, even though they hadn't known each other long, he could already read her emotions from the subtle changes in her expression.
He ruffled Anby's hair and said lightly:
"Don't worry, they can't hurt me."
Seeing Belle, who had already gathered her things, come over as well, Andrew cut her off before she could speak:
"If we don't deal with those guys outside, this whole operation might get classified as a terrorist attack, you know? Besides, I'm the one who called Zhu Yuan here."
After all, he couldn't legally convict these people himself; on paper, their business was completely legitimate.
And mere intelligence could be buried with bribes. The best way to solidify the case was to bring it all into the light before the other side could react.
That way, no matter what happened, Aegis Umbrella couldn't flip the script and play the victim.
Since Public Security had to get involved anyway, it was better for Zhu Yuan to get the credit than some stranger.
Zhu Yuan was his friend, after all. Having spent some time with her, Andrew felt her character was completely reliable, but he couldn't say the same for any other random officer.
Besides, his earlier phone call was just his word against theirs; it was almost impossible to get Public Security to mobilize on a large scale based on that alone.
So, knowing Zhu Yuan's personality, she would definitely come alone even without backup, and Qingyi would most likely follow her out of concern.
With the army guarding the entrance, she would be in danger whether she tried to force her way in or sneak past them.
Andrew didn't want to see his friends get hurt because of him.
But to his surprise, Belle just huffed and said:
"Who's trying to stop you? I don't believe for a second you'd get into trouble over a small scene like this."
She pulled a bomb out of her Bangboo backpack, brandished it fiercely, and declared:
"I'm going with you!"
As a Bangboo, Eous was small, and it was unlikely anyone would make a Bangboo their primary target.
Most importantly, a Bangboo couldn't be in any mortal danger.
He had a feeling that even if he refused, Belle, as his Proxy, wouldn't possibly let him go alone, so he might as well agree.
Besides, if she was with him, he could protect her if any real danger arose.
"Alright. This is the finale."
-
Hello! Walnut here! Or... Miku Dayo in this case heheh...
Unfortunately, I had 2 stories deleted from my main account, "Walnut-chan," and I decided to post them here on this other account... I'm counting on your support to recover what we've lost!
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