Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 85 85: The Early Signs of Mind Switch

Over the past few days, the lee squad's mission count had practically reached a new high.

Every morning they had to set out before dawn, and only after nightfall could they finally return to base. Under that kind of pressure, both physical exhaustion and ntal strain accumulated faster and faster.

Logically speaking, with the slow food supply and the shortage of repair parts, there should have already been casualties by now–or at the very least, actual Mind Switch cases.

But they weren't completely without salvation.

The Nikkes Charon had saved from certain death, along with the large amount of food gathered during the scavenging runs, beca a temporary emotional lifeline for them.

So far, the lee squad only had wounded mbers–no deaths yet.

The fact that everyone was still alive, combined with the knowledge that there was still delicious food waiting for them, was enough to hold their minds together for now. As long as they could look forward to eating sothing good, and as long as the worst possible outco seed to be rely getting sent back to rest, the buildup of ntal pressure slowed down significantly.

Still, those were internal problems.

The obvious external problem was this:

The Raptures were becoming stronger. Much stronger.

It had already reached the point where even Scarlet and Rose could no longer solve everything with swordsmanship alone. Many tis, the two of them could barely handle their own fronts, while the rest of the squad could only fend for themselves.

Liliweiss could wipe out every Rapture within a hundred-ter radius in a single strike.

They could not.

They had to cut them down one by one, limited to the range their blades could physically reach. So once the number of Raptures piled high enough, injuries beca inevitable.

...

"Bomb installation complete. Detonation in three minutes. All personnel–retreat imdiately!"

Rose finished setting the last explosive with practiced efficiency and instantly issued the order over the comms.

Several fresh wounds had appeared on her body as well–injuries sustained while protecting her squad mbers from incoming Rapture attacks.

The sa problem remained:

Rose and Scarlet were powerful, yes, but the others were clearly no longer able to keep up with them.

Almost imdiately, one of the Nikke's scream burst through the comms.

"T-This is bad, Captain! She's shaking! S-She can't move!"

Shaking?

A warning sign of Mind Switch from overwhelming stress?!

Rose instantly reached a conclusion.

Whether it truly was Mind Switch or not didn't matter anymore–they had to evacuate her imdiately. Whether through food, comfort, or anything else, they needed to calm her down first.

"Get her out of there! Preserving her life takes priority over everything else!"

"Y-Yes!"

Thankfully, Rose had secretly brought chocolate and canned fruit with her. She planned to give them to the girl imdiately.

Food like this–food that had been difficult to obtain even before the war–could noticeably reduce stress and stimulate dopamine release, temporarily soothing emotions that were on the verge of exploding.

But Rose also knew this was only treating the symptoms, not the cause.

The reason it still worked was because they weren't used to eating such things. Once they beca accustod to it, if the situation kept worsening like this, then no amount of comfort food would matter anymore.

Anyone destined for Mind Switch would still eventually reach that point.

At that mont, Rose's gaze shifted toward the corner of her vision.

Scarlet–who should have already retreated–was still crouched there, completely motionless.

"Scarlet?! What are you still doing?! Run!"

"You go first," Scarlet replied with difficulty as she turned toward her sister, fear visible in her eyes. "One of my legs won't move, you–"

"A body malfunction… right now of all tis?!"

Rose imdiately abandoned every other thought.

If it had been herself, she would have ordered everyone else to retreat first.

But if the one saying those words was her little sister, then that was a completely different matter.

She dashed toward Scarlet.

Her sword left her hand in a blur, instantly piercing the core of a Rapture aiming at Scarlet through the opening in the structure.

The next second, Rose had already hoisted Scarlet onto her shoulder.

"Hehe… good thing lee-type equipnt is lighter than mass-production models. Otherwise your big sister probably wouldn't even be able to carry you."

Rose joked lightly while carrying Scarlet and sprinting toward the exit.

"D-Don't joke around at a ti like this!!"

Being bounced around over Rose's shoulder, Scarlet panicked.

"Put down first! You can't fight while carrying !"

"Forget fighting," Rose replied with a blink. "I already threw away my sword just now."

"So now all I can do is run."

The truth was simple:

If she hadn't thrown her sword earlier, Scarlet would almost certainly have been hit.

Maybe it wouldn't have killed her–but in monts like that, a big sister's body always moved faster than her brain.

"Just what are you thinking?!"

Scarlet was genuinely helpless now.

"Then use mine!"

"Scarlet's sword is too light for . I probably–"

Sensing the signs of her sister about to explode in frustration, Rose wisely shut her mouth and obediently took Scarlet's blade instead.

It really was light.

As for the quality…

Well, it was usable.

"Scarlet," Rose suddenly said while running, "this is probably your first ti seeing this perspective, right?"

"What perspective?" Scarlet asked casually while still fiddling with her useless leg.

"A first-person view of how your big sister fights."

Rose's voice remained gentle, but her sword showed no rcy.

Every Rapture they encountered along the way was practically cut down in a single strike.

She claid she wasn't used to the weapon, yet her mastery over it was hardly inferior to Scarlet's own. In fact, she was wielding it with only one hand.

Once again, Scarlet witnessed just how monstrously strong her sister truly was.

Finally, after a dangerous but successful escape, Rose burst out of the building.

The others had already gathered outside.

Among them was the Nikke who had supposedly been on the verge of Mind Switch earlier.

But at the mont, she was happily chewing on dark chocolate, unconsciously wearing an expression of pure bliss. It seed sweets had temporarily suppressed her ntal collapse.

The mont they saw Rose carrying Scarlet out, the others hurried over.

But when Rose assud they had co to check on them, the first thing they asked was:

"Captain, did you see the Lieutenant?! H-He wasn't at the designated support position!"

She sounded seconds away from crying.

"I didn't–wait. You an the Lieutenant is still inside?!"

Rose instantly felt her scalp go numb.

Losing her sword at worst ant writing a report.

Losing the Lieutenant could an losing her head.

And more importantly…

She genuinely didn't want anything to happen to him.

Without hesitation, she gently set Scarlet down and imdiately turned toward the building.

There was still one minute left before detonation.

If she moved fast enough, she might still make it.

But just as Rose took her first step, rapid footsteps suddenly echoed nearby.

A figure burst out from another side of the structure at full speed–

and even finished with a sliding stop directly in front of the Nikkes.

What shocked Rose the most, however, was what he carried in his hand.

Her sword.

[No flowers are red for ten days(Fleetly Fading)].

"L-Lieutenant?!"

Rose stared blankly at Charon.

She wanted to be angry.

But she couldn't.

As a Nikke, she wasn't even truly allowed to get angry at a human officer.

Yet for so reason, seeing her recovered sword in his hand made her nose sting slightly.

After piecing together certain truths, Charon's actions felt even more precious to her than before.

Especially because–

he was human.

"Sorry, Rose," Charon laughed awkwardly. "I just thought it'd be a sha to leave such a good sword behind."

It really had been reckless.

But he didn't care.

Because he hadn't been doing nothing all this ti.

Over the past several days, he had constantly monitored the Nikkes' physical conditions, stepping in whenever sothing went wrong.

If Rose hadn't been nearby earlier–

then he would've been the one carrying Scarlet out.

As for the governnt's warning?

He couldn't care less.