The Red Dragon Emperor

Finally, Asuna silently released his right hand.The liberated Kikuoka exhaled a long breath as if he was almost sitting on the floor, and Asuna stepped back weakly.Rinko immediately hurriedly rushed over to support Asuna's back.

"Don't worry, it must be fine. Kirito-kun will definitely come back to you"

"...Well, I will. I'm sorry...I was confused for a while."

The sound of manually opening the automatic door made the once-relieved air tense again.The one who rushed into the room was the first-class Marine Lieutenant Zhongxi.

"Report! It has been confirmed that the first and second pressure barriers are completely closed, and all non-combatants have also retreated to the bow block!"

"Kikuoka walked forward while adjusting the collar of his Hawaiian shirt, then nodded: "Thank you.How long can the partition last?"

"Yes……

Although it depends on what equipment those guys bring, the partition cannot be destroyed with light weapons.It takes at least eight hours to cut with tools such as circular saws.Of course there is also the possibility of using explosives to destroy...

But they should not do it.Because near the central partition..."

"There is a LightCubeCluster.

...Okay, let's sort out the situation.Lieutenant Nakanishi, please report the casualties."

"Yes. Three researchers from the private project team received minor injuries and are currently receiving treatment in the infirmary at the bow of the ship. The Self-Defense Force fighters were seriously injured and two slightly injured. They are also receiving treatment, but there is no life-threatening condition. There were six personnel capable of fighting, including the two with minor injuries."

"Under such a powerful fire attack, it can only be said that it is a fluke that there is no dead person...Then, report the damage to the hull next."

"The control room at the bottom of the dock is already riddled with holes. It is impossible to close it from a distance.

Although the passage from the dock to the main control room is the same, it should only be considered minor damage.

The most serious thing is that the main power cable is cut... Although the power itself is stably supplied to various places by the secondary cable, the propeller will not operate unless the control system is restarted."

"It's like a turtle without fins, and is the abdomen bitten by a shark?"

"Yes. All blocks from No. 1 to No. 12 of the lower shaft and the ship bottom dock are all occupied."

"Are the main control room, the first STL room, and the nuclear reactor all occupied? The unfortunate thing is that... the purpose of those guys is not to destroy.

The question now is... Who are those guys... Higa, what do you think?"

The topic was suddenly thrown on himself, and after Higa blinked several times, he finally allowed the brain that still had the aftermath to work again.

"Ah~ this, um..."

Higa Ken made a meaningless groan while turning to the console, and then operated the mouse with his right hand to call the video footage of the surveillance camera inside the ship to the big screen on the front.

Although the opened video window was dark and unclear, he adjusted the brightness and contrast after pausing in an appropriate place.As a result, there were multiple figures moving in the passageway inside the ship in a posture of bending forward.

They wore all-black combat uniforms, the upper part of their faces was covered under helmets with multifunctional goggles, and they held threatening assault rifles in their hands.

"...As you can see on the screen, neither the head nor the body has any national flags or identification marks.

The color and shape of the equipment are not like the regular army of any country.The rifle in his hand looks like Steyr, and this mass-produced firearm is quite common...

The only thing he knows is that, judging from the average physique, they should not be Asian.

Another thing that can be confirmed... is that these guys know about the existence of ProjectAlicization."

Kikugang nodded and said

"Well, it should be so right. Because after they broke in from the bottom dock, they rushed to the main control room without hesitation. Their purpose is to capture STL technology... No, it should be said to capture the real bottom Bottom-up artificial intelligence "ALICE"."

"Fortunately, there is time to lock down the main control room. This will prevent them from directly manipulating the UnderWorld than physically destroying the console. Not only can they not intervene in the simulation, nor can they eject the light quantum cube that holds "Alice" from the cluster."

Higa Ken breathed a sigh of relief, so that everyone's research results and Kirito's safety were guaranteed.

"But we can't do it, too?" Ju Gang frowned.

"Yes. This sub-control room can't operate with administrator authority either. Neither the main control nor the sub-controller can eject the light cube cluster of "Alice" through external operations.

But Boss Chrysanthemum... This means that we have already won, right?Those guys can't get close to the cluster either in material or intelligence. They only need to wait for the guarding Aegis ship to send reinforcements to invade again. Those guys are really cool."

Higaken said with a relaxed face.

"Although I don't know what you mean by turning over your cool...but here is the problem."

As Erzuo, Kikugang was keenly aware of what the Asahi’s deviating course and mercenary attack were definitely not a coincidence. Considering the ability to drive the self-defense ship, it is not impossible to have a high-level government behind the scenes.

"How about it, did "Asahi" take action?"

"Yes...about this...

The Yokosuka Fleet Command issued an order to Asahi to keep the current distance on standby.The command seems to have judged us as hostages by the attackers."

"Why... what is a hostage? Didn't all the crew on the ship retreat to the pressure barrier?" Higajian's jaw collapsed.

"Those guys all covered in darkness, I'm afraid there is a communication channel with the upper level of the Self-Defense Forces. Nagato is away from Ocean Turtle at 8 o'clock this morning, six hours earlier than the time when those guys broke in. The upper level should wait for those guys to take away Only after the light cube of Silk will issue an order to attack Nagato. Of course, there will still be a time limit..."

"In other words, those guys are not ordinary terrorists. That would be bad...If the other party also has an expert, you might notice the secret technique of recovering Alice..."

"Do you operate from inside Underworld... Those guys control the first STL room, and you can also perform pop-up operations from the virtual console set in Underworld..."

"What will happen to that operation?"

Higa took action to answer Rinko's question: "The target's light cube will be taken out of the light cube cluster located in the center of the main axis, and then transported to any control room via an air pipe. There is also a takeout port there."

He pointed his finger at the quadrangular window in the corner of the console table top, and then moved his gaze to the door set on the deep wall..

A small metal plate is screwed on the aluminum alloy door.The words engraved on the sign are "Second STL Room".

There are two STLs on the other side of the door ─ ─ "Soultranslator".In one of them, a young man lay, and next to him was nurse Anqi and second-class Lu Cao.

383. Reality Trend 2

Kikuoka, who turned his gaze back, said in a heavy tone while embracing his chest with his hands, "So, I can only trust him with the last hope. Higa...How is Kirito-kun's situation? "

Hearing the slight inhalation sound, Higa Ken moved his gaze to meet Yuuki Asuna, who was still looking straight here even under the support of Rinko.

Higa hesitated what to do. She seemed to be Kirito, who was Kirito's girlfriend, explaining the status quo.But immediately a hoarse but firm voice came into his ears.

"It doesn't matter to me, please tell me the truth."

After taking a deep breath and exhaling, Higa nodded.

"Describe in one sentence...that is...I don't understand what the situation is..."

After changing his tone of voice, Higa controlled the mouse again.