Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 87 87: Let Them See How Tenacious This Squad Really

Charon's explanation was completely objective, devoid of any personal emotion. Word by word, he told every Nikke present about the Central Governnt's true arrangents for the lee squad.

Rose wanted to stop him, but halfway through, she clenched her fists, shut her eyes, and silently turned away.

The other Nikkes–especially Scarlet–looked as though their entire worldview had collapsed.

At the beginning, they had been told that this squad existed because of Liliweiss's achievents in close combat. Not to replicate her exactly–after all, no one could ever truly reproduce Liliweiss–but to fight for humanity's survival, as an official unit whose purpose was nearly identical to the Goddess Squad's.

As long as they continued completing missions and achieving outstanding results, the governnt would invest more and more resources into them. Maybe, soday, they might even stand on the sa level as the Goddess Squad itself.

They had always known that dream was distant.

But they never imagined it was this unattainable.

In the ideal scenario, there had at least been a one-in-ten-thousand chance they could achieve it. But reality, cruel and bloody, told them the odds had always been an unquestionable zero.

No matter how hard they fought, in the end they were nothing more than insects raised in a jar–fodder ant to produce one final champion for the Goddess Squad.

And even if soone truly beca the last survivor… would she really be allowed to keep everything and beco a new Fairy Tale-class Nikke?

After all, the entire plan revolved around pushing them into constant life-and-death combat and crushing psychological pressure until they were reduced one by one. In that kind of situation, even if the final survivor avoided a Mind Switch, could her ntal state truly remain healthy?

Rather than spending resources treating psychological trauma, it would be easier to simply have the NIMPH transfer all her combat data and experience into a brand-new Fairy Tale-class Nikke.

That way, they could even save on treatnt costs.

And honestly… the governnt probably would do exactly that.

Drain every last bit of value from the lee squad, then discard them like garbage.

That was the Central Governnt.

Even Liliweiss herself had only survived because Charon forcefully kept her alive at the very brink of destruction–not because the governnt truly valued her.

Your achievents didn't matter.

Your usefulness didn't matter either.

The Central Governnt viewed things from a far broader perspective, though no one yet knew what their true goal actually was.

To put it bluntly, the lee squad project probably wasn't even an important part of their ultimate objective. It was rely one program ant to strengthen the Goddess Squad. Nothing more.

Charon said nothing further, allowing them ti to process everything. More importantly, he needed Rose to confirm the truth herself.

As the most influential person in the squad, whatever Charon intended to do required her cooperation.

Not long afterward, Rose returned.

She carried no weapon, but her fists were clenched so tightly they trembled. Clearly, she had already heard the truth directly from the lieutenant.

"Big sis…"

"Captain…"

No explanation was necessary. One look at Rose's expression told the others everything.

Her body swayed weakly as she walked over to Charon. One hand rested on his shoulder, while the other pressed gently against Scarlet's.

"Lieutenant… Scarlet… the lieutenant told to simply watch everyone die… and beco the last one left alive. If I do that, I'll receive a Fairy Tale-class body."

She practically forced the words out through gritted teeth.

A heavy shadow fell over every Nikke present.

When you struggle desperately for the sake of the people you want to protect, only to discover that those very people see you as nothing more than expendable material… honestly, not breaking down completely already counted as remarkable ntal strength.

The timing was perfect.

If they continued discussing this any longer, the ordinary Nikkes–whose ntal states were already unstable–would either suffer a complete breakdown and trigger a Mind Switch, or begin viewing Rose, the obvious "final survivor candidate," as an enemy.

Neither outco was sothing Charon wanted.

"That's why I'm here now."

Charon suddenly raised his voice several degrees, drawing everyone's attention toward him.

"I don't believe warriors who risk their lives for humanity deserve an ending like this."

"But if things continue like this, eventually we'll still…"

"Lieutenant… are you saying you want to oppose the Central Governnt?"

Scarlet's expression changed instantly. Her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Hold on. I never said that."

Charon understood Scarlet well. Honor was central to her identity, and protecting humanity was the foundation of her existence. Even if her own survival was at stake, harming humanity itself was still sothing she could never accept.

"Listen carefully," Charon said. "This entire plan has one obvious flaw."

"A flaw?"

Every Nikke focused on him.

"The whole strategy depends on overwhelming pressure, ntal collapse, and combat attrition reducing your numbers until only one remains."

He paused.

"But what if that pressure simply… never reaches the breaking point to begin with?"

"Please explain more clearly."

A faint trace of hope appeared in Rose's eyes. Right now, Charon was practically their only lifeline. She might have understood his implication, but the others clearly had not.

Scarlet suddenly felt mildly insulted for so reason, though she had no proof.

"I'm a wilderness survival expert."

Charon pointed at himself.

"The reason I approached your squad in the first place was because I intended to travel sowhere."

He unfolded a map and pointed toward a location roughly another dozen kiloters deeper into enemy territory.

"And within this entire area–"

He drew a large circle around every route the squad had traveled so far.

"–I can find every abandoned supply cache that still exists. So? The food tasted pretty good, didn't it?"

The Nikkes all nodded.

The food Charon provided tasted even better than what normal humans currently ate. By human standards, those were luxury canned goods–products that could no longer even be purchased.

Especially the fruit cans.

Fruit preserves had stopped being produced more than ten years ago.

"And that's only food."

Charon's expression grew serious.

"Tell –your goal is to destroy Raptures, correct?"

Every Nikke nodded again.

"Then as long as sothing helps you kill Raptures more effectively, any thod is acceptable… so long as you do not betray humanity. Correct?"

Another round of nods.

"In that case, regarding replacent body parts…"

Charon began speaking with complete seriousness despite obviously making it up on the spot.

"A certain acquaintance once taught that even Rapture components can be repurposed for repairs."

Silence filled the room.

"Since the people above never intended for us to survive anyway, then we'll survive out of pure spite. Even if we have to use everything available to us, we'll keep this entire squad alive."

"To hell with their plan."

"We'll show them just how tenacious this squad really is."

Rose's eyes lit up.

As for Charon, he found himself genuinely excited to see what kind of change a squad that existed outside everyone's expectations might bring to this world.