"My dear Miss Sarah, behold — the Sacrifice Core!"
Hartman wasted no time with theatrics, producing the Sacrifice Core at once and displaying it for Sarah to see.
"Heh, you've truly gone to great lengths, Mr. Hartman. In that case, how could I possibly shortchange you on the reward we agreed upon beforehand?"
As she spoke, Sarah signaled a subordinate to bring forward a briefcase — the payment they had settled on earlier. Inside lay a brand-new ElixP07.
The moment he laid eyes on it, Hartman reached out, unable to contain himself.
This was what he wanted — this, exactly this!
There was greed in Hartman's gaze, and along with it, contempt for Sarah and the whole lot of The Exaltists and Rebel Soldiers.
Such a miraculous elixir, and all they wanted was to mass-produce soldiers that would obey orders flawlessly.
What a shameful waste of a treasure!
What did Fusion Soldiers even amount to? The true power of this elixir was that it let a person break past the limits of humanity — to achieve immortality! To transform a human into a fully sentient Sacrifice — was that not, in its own way, a form of eternal life?
It wasn't that Hartman had never considered simply studying the Sacrifice Core already in his possession, but in the end, after due consideration, he had chosen to abandon the idea.
The reason was simple: Ravenlock's current level of technology could not even begin to touch this thing.
It was like the relationship between raw material and a finished component. You may know that the component is made from the raw material, but that doesn't mean that seeing the raw material tells you how the component was made.
That being the case, it was better to honestly hand the thing over to Sarah — and pocket some benefits in exchange.
And along the way, dispose of that dear nephew of his.
Hartman intended, afterward, to study this elixir — to strip away every part of it he didn't need, and thereby produce a true elixir of immortality in the fullest sense!
As for outward appearance — to the strong, looks were the least important thing of all.
Yet just before his fingers could reach that elixir, Sarah snapped the briefcase shut once more.
"Mr. Hartman."
Sarah's soft, chiding tone dragged Hartman back to reality. He then reluctantly handed over the Core in his grasp, and only then did he receive the briefcase he'd been yearning for.
What a perfectly executed transaction this was!
Sarah had obtained the Core she wanted, and Hartman had gotten the Sacrifice Elixir he'd so longed for — a win-win for both parties!
That was how it should have gone....
"Lady Sarah! We're under attack! It's — it's the Defense Force!"
A subordinate suddenly burst into the tent, and every face present twisted with shock.
"What!? How is that possible!"
Sarah's expression was one of pure disbelief. How could the Defense Force have found this place so quickly?
At that thought, she pushed her way out the door, and what greeted her eyes was a sky filled with cannon fire and the clamor of slaughter erupting on all sides.
How was this possible! How could the Defense Force have come knocking so soon!
After all, the camp where the Rebel Soldiers were stationed lay deep within the Crete Hollow. Even if the enemy knew people were inside the Hollow, there was no way they could have found them without so much as a single trace to go on!
Unless every last one of the Rebel Soldiers was utterly useless!
But the time left for Sarah to ponder was already running short. Looking at the Defense Force troops bearing down on them — fierce and superbly equipped — her only choice now was to flee as fast as she could.
And so this red-clad woman, who moments ago had been masterminding a filthy deal from behind the scenes, gathered her subordinates at breakneck speed and fled the camp that was about to become a battlefield.
As for whether the remaining Rebel Soldiers lived or died — that was no longer any concern of hers.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Number 11 and Anby — leading their comrades-in-arms from the Scott Outpost in a ferocious assault on the rebel base — were feeling utterly exhilarated!
"We've finally caught these traitors!"
"Calm down, Number 11. Don't let your emotions get the better of you."
"Yes, Captain Anby."
Hearing that familiar reminder, and seeing that figure that seemed never to have changed, a smile curled at the corner of Number 11's lips.
She's back. The old captain is back.
The only pity was that Anby's return was merely temporary. She had already grown weary of days like these; this time was only to help her friends... and for the reward.
Twiggy had offered Anby a handsome reward to take part in this bandit-suppression operation.
It could not only pay off all of the Cunning Hares' current debts — it even came with a permanent membership card valid at all the major burger joints across New Eridu, granting fifty percent off every burger!
Fifty percent! That meant that from now on, Anby could buy one extra burger every single time!
At that thought, blazing flames rose in Anby's eyes — and roasting over those flames were batch after batch of fresh, piping-hot burgers.
Standing behind the two of them, Trigger watched this scene and couldn't help but sprout a whole head of exasperated lines.
'Anby, you have absolutely no right to be lecturing Number 11...'
But this little interlude among them was harmless enough. Compared to them, the far more important — and far more perilous — battlefield was not within the Hollow at all, but rather inside New Eridu....
---------------0-
City Hall, inside the mayor's office.
Bathed in the dim lamplight, Mayor Mayflower gazed at the names on his computer screen, one after another struck through, and a trace of weariness surfaced on his face.
He had labored diligently for this city, for the future of humanity, giving of himself in ways beyond counting.
And yet there were still so many parasites boring holes into this city and sucking its blood.
Even as the Defense Force encircled and wiped out the Rebel Soldiers, a battle that only Mayor Mayflower and his kind could involve themselves in was also unfolding within New Eridu.
Mayflower leaned back in his chair, his mood at this moment truly complicated beyond words.
He had known there were problems on the inside — he simply hadn't imagined there would be this many.
"The Defense Force, HAND, Public Security, City Hall — even within TOPS. This vast New Eridu is like one enormous sieve. Truly laughable."
Using the Sacrifice Core as bait, along with the trap meticulously arranged around it, Mayflower and his people had torn these vermin out by the roots.
"Haah, the work is going to pile up all over again after this."
Looking at this blood-soaked list, every name upon it was one Mayflower knew well — among them were even quite a few candidates he had thought highly of.
And in the wake of this great purge, the administrative affairs left to pile up would grow by geometric multiples.
Fortunately, the municipal elections happened to be underway at present, which meant a portion of people could be promoted up from below to fill the vacancies.
It was just — how long would it hold this time?
Mayflower knew all too well that greed was an eternal, unchanging aspect of human nature.
Once a person had tasted power, there would always be some who could no longer endure the pull of desire and went on to do things they should never have done.
The overwhelming majority of the people on this list were exactly like that.
Musing on this, Mayflower couldn't help but recall that figure who — though of a different race — nonetheless stood on humanity's side.
'This may be an uncertain factor, but at the very least, as things stand now, for New Eridu it is undoubtedly a good thing.'
Mayflower rubbed his eyes, then shut off the screen, and the lights in the room along with it.
Only the moonlight remained, filtering through the clouds beyond the window to shine into this office that symbolized power.
"The fighting in the Hollow should be nearly over by now."
Today, New Eridu remained as calm and peaceful as ever.
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