Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 2 2: The NIKKE Project

During their "bonding session," Andrew had been surprisingly forthcoming, telling Charon pretty much everything he needed to know.

In short–

Although both he and Andrew were technically new students at the military academy, their identities were anything but ordinary.

First of all, their age.

They were noticeably older than the other students. Judging by appearance, both were in their early twenties, whereas most of the others looked around seventeen or eighteen.

They were special admits.

Their academic records were held directly by the military, and they weren't originally part of the academy system.

In other words, they were more like privileged transfer students—receiving even better conditions than regular cadets.

Andrew ca from a rcenary background.

He hadn't received much formal education growing up. After the "alien" Raptures invaded, he had spent years fighting on the battlefield, gradually making a na for himself.

At so point, he caught the military's attention and was recruited as a special admit.

His purpose here was clear:

To cram military theory and knowledge in preparation for becoming a future commander of a soon-to-be-established unit.

As for Charon…

He had no idea.

His identity as a special admit had been fabricated by the system. All he knew was that, like Andrew, he had been enrolled as a commander candidate—and no one questioned it.

Andrew clearly had secrets. Charon could tell.

But they had only known each other for a few hours—no need to dig that deep just yet.

Besides…

Charon didn't even understand his own identity.

Why worry about soone else's secrets?

As neighbors in adjacent dorm rooms, they would have plenty of ti to get to know each other.

"Damn, this guy's heavier than he looks…"

Charon dragged the completely wasted Andrew back to the dorm entrance.

"Hey, Andy—where's your keycard?"

No response.

Without hesitation, Charon dropped him on the ground and gave him two sharp slaps.

"!!"

Andrew's eyes snapped open.

After catching a glimpse of Charon, he imdiately went limp again.

"In… my chest…"

After retrieving the keycard, Charon carried him into his room.

It was his first ti entering a fellow cadet's dorm.

Clearly, Andrew had been here longer—the room had a lived-in feel.

Charon even spotted a notebook secured with an electronic lock.

Usually, people used those to hide personal thoughts… or a diary.

…Wait, does this guy actually keep a diary?

Then again–

Not that strange.

Back in the shelter system, Charon had sothing similar—a private system log only he could access.

Keeping a diary wasn't about leaving sothing behind.

Nor was it about creating anything aningful.

There was only one reason:

To fight off loneliness.

Only by writing simple entries every day could he remind himself that he was still human Not just a loot–shoot–extract machine controlled by the system.

…He'd gone off track.

Charon tossed Andrew onto the bed, pulled the blanket over him, and casually placed the keycard on the table.

Then he quietly stepped out of the room…

and gently closed the door behind him.

I don't know how much ti passed, but the surrounding sounds gradually quieted down.

"…He's a good guy." Andrew slowly opened his eyes and murmured to himself.

Back in his room, Charon's mind was filled with the image he had just seen: a barcode-like scar on the back of Andrew's neck, which appeared to have been deliberately vandalized.

It seems this guy is indeed not simple either.

...

As the saying goes, n only need one common topic to beco friends, but when two people have a few more common topics, it's only a matter of ti before they beco brothers.

In the days that followed, the two of them were like normal military academy students, with a constant stream of complicated courses.

The Raptures' encroachnt on human territory has never stopped, and the human resistance forces have suffered repeated defeats. No matter what weapons the humans use, the Raptures can always "evolve" individuals that can counter them in a very short ti. Their evolution is exceptionally rapid, and judging from the current situation, it is not optimistic.

The military academy is now basically the last line of defense for humanity. Before these students go to the battlefield, there is no need to worry about their safety.

It was during this ti that Charon briefly experienced the life of an ordinary human being.

He felt incredibly relaxed, not having to scavenge everywhere, not having to fight AI opponents, and being able to communicate with people.

Of course, this does not an that he has completely left that world, because the "loot, fight and extract" chanism is still in effect here.

For example, he might occasionally see a resource box that he can see but others can't. Opening it doesn't an he can't get the loot, but considering that he has nowhere to sell the stolen goods and his backpack is only so big, he temporarily only gathers the things he can scavenge into the box closest to his dormitory, making it easier to access them.

He never forgot that his mission was to find an evacuation point, but he didn't know how long it would take.

After all, he still has exams to take.

Speaking of exams, Caron thought that Andrew, as a true special guest, must have so outstanding military skills, and he could even copy so howork. However, after receiving the exam results, the score was not only diocre, but also utterly disastrous.

Not to ntion compared to people of the sa age, even compared to other freshn who were admitted through the regular entrance exam, he is completely outclassed.

Let's not even talk about Charon, a complete military novice; it's astonishing that even a hands-on practitioner like Andrew could only get such a low score.

"This question is fucking stupid!"

Andrew burst into Charon's dormitory, startling Charon, who was idly browsing various information on the high-end computer provided by the school.

Seeing Andrew's furious expression, Charon knew what had happened.

"Alright, who made you look stupid this ti?"

Andrew slamd the answer sheet on Charon's table, pointed to a short-answer question about "suppression fire," and muttered to himself.

"'Please briefly describe the tactical significance of suppressive fire in an encounter'... The professor's comnt to was 'Lack of strategic vision, failure to consider teammates' advance.'" Andrew's face was filled with heartache at this evaluation.

"So what's your answer?" Charon asked, sowhat curious about what the kid had written.

"Asuicidal act that wastes bullets and exposes our position." Andrew slapped his thigh. "Do they even know how much an armor-piercing round costs against Lechner?! They actually want to use tens of thousands of dollars worth of bullets to shoot at thin air?! If they have so much money, why don't they just send in armored units? What's the point of having light infantry?! This is wasteful, utterly wasteful, bastards!"

Okay, I get it, rcenary mindset.

However, Andrew didn't really want to argue with the school; he was just looking for an excuse to vent. His real purpose was to hang out with his good buddies.

"What are you doing now?"

He casually put away the answer sheet and glanced at Charon's computer screen. When he saw the content on the screen, his pupils began to tremble.

Then he withdrew his gaze, let out a deep sigh, and patted Charon on the shoulder. Putting on a pained expression again, he said:

"Char, my man… I've got this mixer with the girls from the Air Force Academy these next few days—can't skip it. You know what my fiancée is like, so… I'll hand you this golden opportunity instead. Stop using girl groups to cope with your lonely ass."

By the way, this guy actually has a wife—or more precisely, a fiancée. They were childhood sweethearts who fought side by side on the battlefield.

Although they haven't officially gotten married yet, for them, marriage would only be an additional formality. The deep bond between them doesn't need such a title to exist.

However, his fiancée is currently living safely back in his hotown. Because of his position as a commander, she is protected by dedicated female bodyguards, and even in the event of a disaster, she has a reserved place in an evacuation shelter.

"…What the hell are you even talking about?"

Charon kicked Andrew without hesitation.

"Why don't you open your damn eyes and actually read what it says?"

Andrew's shin took a direct hit. He let out a yelp and limped closer to the screen, pushing up his flashy sunglasses.

"Flight instructor… Liliweiss? So she's not an idol after all."

In fact, Andrew's judgnt wasn't entirely unreasonable.

After all, the woman nad Liliweiss was far too photogenic. With a face like that showing up in a military academy, it wouldn't be strange to mistake her for an idol who had co to do so kind of charity performance.

"…Wait, flight instructor?"

Only then did Andrew realize sothing was off.

Normally, a soldier's official portrait wouldn't be displayed directly on the hopage of a website like this.

"Yeah. She was selected as the first experintal subject of the NIKKE Project."

Charon scrolled through the computer screen, not showing much surprise at the matter.

"Hmm... the rest of the comnts were full of praise and regret for her life."

During his ti at the military academy, he had already co to fully understand one thing:

This was not the tiline of his companion.

It was the world at the very beginning of everything.

Even the na "NIKKE" was being recorded in history for the very first ti in this world.