Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 95 95: Let’s Go Catch Some Raptures

Today's work was simply to inspect the entire laboratory.

For the Nikkes, that was easy enough, but if Charon wanted to go deeper inside, he still had to wear a gas mask–just in case.

Surprisingly though, according to the scanners, the air inside was actually fine. No toxic gases whatsoever. Still, until the ventilation system was completely repaired, the masks stayed on.

After confirming there were no imdiate threats, everyone split up and began a near hardcore-level inspection of the power grid, water supply, drainage, ventilation shafts, and every other system.

For the Nikkes, this knowledge existed inside their brains through NIMPH implantation.

But it was like taking an open-book exam–they still had to search through their mories to find the relevant information.

Charon, anwhile?

He actually understood this stuff.

"The generator system…" he muttered while standing before several exposed walls with peeled wiring. "Looks like it's mostly just aging circuitry. No obvious external damage."

"Lieutenant, can you locate the generator itself?" Rose raised her hand. "We possess basic chanical maintenance knowledge."

"If it's only wiring degradation, then that's easy." She shrugged. "We can just go catch a few Raptures and rip their cables out for replacents."

Raptures might be humanity's enemies, but the materials they were made from were absurdly practical.

Their parts were resistant to heat, cold, corrosion–built to function in every environnt imaginable.

In other words:

Perfect industrial material.

"Unfortunately," Charon said while pointing toward a tightly sealed shaft nearby, "I already checked. This leads to the deepest section of the lab. The generator's down there."

"And for the record–it's a geothermal power generator. We don't currently have the technology to repair sothing like that."

A normal diesel generator? Sure, he could probably fix one himself.

A large-scale geothermal plant?

…Yeah, leave that to specialists.

"At least for now," he added.

"So my suggestion is…"

His expression stayed completely blank.

"…let's use Rapture cores as power sources instead."

"Excellent idea," Rose imdiately agreed.

"Count in," Scarlet cracked her knuckles.

"Rose, take three people with you. No need for anything too strong–Master-class cores will suffice. But because we'll be experinting with serial connections, bring back several of them. Today's mission area should have enough targets."

Rose departed imdiately.

Up until recently, the lee squad had been far too obsessed with close combat to fully utilize their greatest advantages:

Their lightweight fras compared to standard Nikkes, and their superior martial skill.

Once they combined those advantages with firearms…

Close range for blades.

Long range for guns.

That was how their capabilities truly shined.

So of them had even started wielding weapons stolen directly from Raptures.

As Charon judged it, Rose only needed three unrestricted swordmasters to tear through the mission zone.

As for Scarlet, Charon kept her with the remaining personnel to repair the water supply system, unclog drainage tunnels, and clean the ventilation ducts.

The water source itself wasn't an issue. Any facility using geothermal energy naturally had access to massive underground rivers. All Charon really needed to do was clean decades of mineral buildup from the pipes and repair the filtration systems.

That work had to be done alongside the drainage network.

Otherwise?

The entire laboratory would beco an indoor flood disaster.

Fortunately, things proceeded smoothly.

Which proved one thing:

If sothing hadn't been destroyed by outside force, many systems only needed minor repairs before becoming operational again.

Rose's team returned around dusk carrying over a dozen intact Master-class Rapture cores, along with piles of Rapture wiring.

At that point, the personnel staying behind in the lab finally stopped working for the day.

After all, everyone had been busy since morning.

It was ti to rest.

After storing the collected materials safely away, Charon led the squad back toward base.

There was no helping it–this would be a long-term project.

And it absolutely had to remain hidden.

The laboratory couldn't be discovered.

Charon also needed Abe's assistance. Repairing a geothermal generator without her knowledge was impossible.

And although using Rapture cores as power sources wasn't difficult to imagine, those cores were notoriously unstable–especially when linked together in series.

Back at the base, Rose submitted the mission report to Barnes as usual.

Unexpectedly, Barnes didn't criticize anything this ti.

Instead, he awkwardly declared:

"I've managed to request a new batch of supplies. You–you've all been doing fairly well recently, so… you should feel grateful while using them!"

…?

Did the sun rise in the west today?

Anyone with half a brain knew Barnes couldn't authorize sothing like this himself.

Which ant the Central Governnt had given permission.

Could it be–

If Scarlet had heard those words, she probably would've believed the governnt had finally acknowledged their efforts.

But Rose wasn't Scarlet.

She never believed the governnt would recognize them that easily.

Just as Charon had once said:

None of them truly mattered.

Not the lee squad.

Not even Barnes himself.

The mont the lee unit failed to replicate Liliweiss's overwhelming combat results…

They had beco irrelevant.

Instead of sharing the news with everyone imdiately, Rose quietly edited a private ssage and sent it directly to Charon.

Thankfully, he wasn't inside the training grounds at the mont.

Rose understood her own limits.

She possessed cleverness.

But when it ca to decisions that truly mattered…

They needed the lieutenant.

Whether the others realized it or not, Rose knew the truth:

She, her sister Scarlet, and the entire squad…

No longer had any real choices left.

The road ahead had narrowed to only one possible path.

...

[You've got to be kidding . You're discussing sothing like this over satellite communication?!]

Abe's voice sounded like she was seconds away from dying from stress.

Her mood was terrible.

Because whenever Charon called, it always ant trouble.

First he wanted information about the lee squad.

Now he was asking how to generate electricity using Rapture cores.

Was she supposed to be so kind of encyclopedia?

…Even though she actually knew the answer.

Before that woman–Karen–had disappeared, she'd left Abe several files.

Among them were research docunts about Raptures.

And it was obvious Karen had been studying them for a very long ti.

Liliweiss's legendary battle?

That had rely been one failed attempt among many.

As for where Karen currently was…

Nobody knew.

But with her abilities, changing identities and disappearing completely was child's play.

If she didn't want to be found, nobody would ever locate her.

Those files included detailed Rapture dissection records.

Yes.

Dissection.

Not dismantling.

That was the exact terminology used.

Although the files only docunted a single Ego-class Rapture in extre detail, Abe assud the military possessed similar material–just nowhere near Karen's level of depth.

That woman had been frighteningly serious about Rapture research.

Among those docunts were notes about stabilizing unstable Rapture cores for energy production, as well as thods for safely extracting the stabilizing components.

Abe had no idea why Karen had entrusted those docunts to her.

But now that they were suddenly becoming useful…

It irritated her imnsely.

[I'm hanging up.]

Abe imdiately terminated the call.

Ten seconds later, an encrypted ssage arrived in Charon's inbox.

Inside were:

The tools required for extraction

Detailed instructions

And a final warning that the dismantling process absolutely required Abe's live supervision.