Chapter 106: Guess

Inside a building…

“Commander…”

Yonomori Nami, dressed in a tight-fitting combat suit, appeared before Masaki Hinaki.

The last rays of the setting sun had completely sunk below the ground.

As far as the eye could see, without the aid of lights, there was only pitch-black darkness.

Of course, this was nothing for an Agent, but for ordinary people like them, it was the biggest obstacle.

Without night vision devices, they were no different from being blind.

But at the same time, the same applied to the man Masaki Hinaki was targeting.

Yonomori Nami was carrying firearms, a zip line, communication equipment, lighting, and auxiliary signal markers… and so on.

It was a very complete, standard special combat loadout.

Unlike Yonomori Nami’s standard-issue equipment, which was similar to the special combat gear of the Special Disaster Division, Masaki Hinaki was still in her military uniform, not even having taken off her military cap.

The most conspicuous equipment on her were two pistols.

But those who knew her would know that her boots were specially made, and she had straps tied around her sleeves, waist, and both thighs, where her other weapons were hidden.

Although there had always been some controversy, this was her combat style.

Masaki Hinaki was already in her twenties, but her appearance was still no different from that of a middle school student.

The first impression she gave was no different from that of a weak little girl.

But this did not mean that her combat ability was poor.

On the contrary, she was exceptionally strong in close-quarters combat and marksmanship.

“Mmm.”

Masaki Hinaki glanced at Yonomori Nami and started walking.

Yonomori Nami quickly followed.

“Um… Commander…”

Yonomori Nami asked with some hesitation, “Ephnel still doesn’t know what’s happening here. If your guess is correct, then Ephnel’s side will definitely be ambushed by the enemy as well. Is it really okay for us to just let it be?”

“I’ve already sent people over, but as you know, it still takes time for us to send a message now. I don’t think it will be of much use anymore.”

There was no expression on Masaki Hinaki’s face as she simply analyzed the current situation.

“But you should rest assured. You know her better than I do, and you know her abilities. Only with her there can I be at ease. I specifically dispatched Ephnel here for this very reason.”

Ephnel was called the “Chief” of the Seikyo City Agents, and this was no exaggeration.

In fact, compared to Canary and the other Agents, Ephnel’s actual combat power could be described as “abnormal.”

Whether in terms of physical strength, reaction speed, energy utilization rate, or sustained combat time, Ephnel was one of a kind.

Ephnel had a level of combat power far exceeding that of others, and she could do things that others could not.

For Masaki Hinaki, Ephnel was the “ace.”

Playing this card meant betting most of the chances of victory on her.

This was Masaki Hinaki’s trust in Ephnel.

“If the other party is foolish enough to encounter her, then I can only wish him good luck.”

Hearing Masaki Hinaki say so, although Yonomori Nami was still a little worried, she couldn’t say much more.

Indeed, even if they sent someone to leave here now to inform the people outside to support Ephnel, it would be too late.

Compared to considering the situation over there, they should now focus on the person who was suspected to be from the Apostles.

The air fell silent, with only the sound of their footsteps.

“How are Canary’s injuries?”

Suddenly, Yonomori Nami heard Masaki Hinaki’s voice in the quiet air.

She looked at the superior who was a head shorter than her, thought for a moment, and replied, “With an Agent’s physical constitution, Canary will be fine, but her current injuries are no longer suitable for continuing the mission.”

“Mmm…”

Masaki Hinaki nodded and said again, “Do you think that man had a chance to kill Canary, or at least a chance to seriously injure her, so why did he run away?”

Hearing Masaki Hinaki’s question, Yonomori Nami’s feet didn’t stop, but she hesitated for a moment.

“Because… he was afraid of Canary’s dying counter-attack?”

From the perspective of the enemy’s commander, trading the life of an ordinary person for the life or serious injury of an enemy Agent was undoubtedly a very cost-effective tactic.

But for that man, it was clearly not the case.

If he was afraid of death, then facing an Agent who still had the strength for one last fight, running away was the most prudent choice.

“I don’t think so.”

Masaki Hinaki said.

…

“Or rather, he left a trap, and his escape was actually to deliberately lure Canary to chase him and then lead her into a trap to counter and eliminate her?”

Yonomori Nami guessed again, but was immediately refuted by Masaki Hinaki.

“Then, what if Canary didn’t follow his escape route, but chose to find another way? Or what if Canary had no intention of pursuing, or sent someone else to pursue?”

For an Agent, there was no such thing as a “route.”

In battle, they would only consider the most advantageous or convenient route forward.

Often, in order to maintain a wide field of view, they would advance by leaping over buildings.

In that case, many traps would not be effective against Agents, and the area where traps needed to be set would become ridiculously large.

Such a huge project was not something one person could do.

Yonomori Nami had been thinking about Ephnel all along and was absent-minded.

Masaki Hinaki’s question had really stumped her.

“I believe the reason he chose to run away is because he had no reason to fight.”

“Reason to fight?”

“That’s right. Actions are all for a certain purpose. In other words, to obtain something, to achieve something. The reason that man ambushed Canary was nothing more than fear of his identity being exposed. Although he had disguised his identity at the time, once he was sent to the shelter, his disguised identity might have problems. To avoid that, he chose to strike first.”

Masaki Hinaki said.

“From beginning to end, his behavior pattern should be biased towards ‘self-preservation.’ Otherwise, his most logical course of action would be to find an opportunity to ambush Canary, such as sniping, or actively appearing in front of Canary to gain her trust with a prepared excuse, and then taking the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, instead of putting himself in such a passive state.”

At that time, Canary hadn’t completely trusted his words.

Faced with an Agent’s powerful reaction ability, it could be said that if the Erosion Organism hadn’t appeared at that time and attracted most of Canary’s attention, he would have had no chance of a successful attack at all.

“‘Self-preservation’ is his reason. But continuing to fight Canary would undoubtedly put him at risk. He judged that it was not worth it and did not meet his expectations, so he ran away. But, at this time, you probably have a question, right?—Why, after doing all this, did he let go of a very important combatant on the opposing side? Even if just a few more shots could have seriously injured Canary again, he didn’t do something so simple, but instead focused on escaping?”

Masaki Hinaki smiled coldly.

“Of course, there may be other reasons, but my guess is—his mission here was purely to stall for time.”

“Stall for time…”

Yonomori Nami pondered for a moment, feeling a belated chill at Masaki Hinaki’s words.

…