NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 22
Completely unexpected situation.
Right before my eyes, Sarah was calmly wiping the blood off her dagger and looking around.
“Where are the other two?”
“Dad blew up the armory, so he’s probably heading to the escape point by now. We need to catch up quickly.”
He blew up the armory?
Well, I guess that makes sense.
“Escape point?”
“There were gaps between the barricades. We could enter and exit through there.”
Figures.
It’s probably a game mechanic that allows for such spaces, even in the most secure fortresses.
Like a loose vent.
Or maybe the makeshift walls set up to block corridors.
However, I’ve never seen my teammates use those infiltration routes before.
“What are you doing? Stop standing there and let’s go!”
“…You said the armory exploded, right?”
The fact that the warning alarms are still blaring means they haven’t fully dealt with the explosion’s aftermath.
So then…
– Creak, screech.
Under a sign marked “Sector 1,” I closed the valve and threw firewood into the burning flames.
I shoved it in until the fire was roaring so strong that flames were spilling out.
“What are you-”
“Alright, let’s go.”
The needle, which was already in the red zone, began to go wild.
As soon as Sarah exited the door, I followed her down the stairs, where steam began to billow from several valves.
An explosion will happen any moment now.
Which means it will be hard for them to confirm our disappearance—
“Shh!”
Sarah shoved me into the shadows and drew her dagger and a silenced pistol.
Aiming down the corridor—
“Team 1 moves to the boiler room! Max, Howard, you two to the medical bay!”
“Yes sir!”
“Once the target is secured, regroup at the rally point. Los, los, los!”
The boiler room, that’s where I was just a moment ago.
The medical bay… that’s Dieterich.
Damn it, Hans. Even in this situation, you’re deploying forces.
With our backs pressed against the wall, I could see the elite guard members rushing up the stairs.
Despite the armory explosion, they’re all armed with submachine guns.
“…They’ve gone. Let’s move.”
“Hold on, there’s someone we need to find.”
“Someone to find?”
“There’s a doctor in the medical bay the elite guard just headed to. Her name’s Dieterich.”
“You understand the risks of being here, right? If we’re caught even once, we’re all done for.”
“It’s not like I rigged the boiler out of ignorance. I have my reasons.”
Even if we are caught, Dieterich has the key to buy us time.
Three for me in this chaotic situation, two for Dieterich.
Is it even possible to deploy more forces than that?
“When the boiler explodes, some of the troops guarding the doctor will leave. We’ll watch for that moment.”
“…How do you know which way she’ll be taken?”
“I know the location of the medical bay. We’ll chase her from there.”
“Do we even need to rescue her?”
“A doctor. A real doctor who can treat people. Isn’t that reason enough?”
After hesitating, Sarah finally nodded.
“…If the situation gets too dangerous, we might not have a choice.”
“Thank you.”
“So, I guess I owe you another favor, huh?”
“Of course.”
We descended another flight of stairs and observed the rear maintenance corridor behind the wall.
We saw the elite guard pounding on the steel door.
“Frau Dieterich! You must evacuate immediately!”
“Yes, I know! I’ll just grab the essential medicines, then I’ll move.”
“Let us handle that, and you get out of there. We don’t know when the enemy might arrive—”
“Some medicine cannot be handled roughly! I’ll grab it myself.”
“…Damn it, open it.”
I’m not sure if I should admire her professionalism for insisting on securing the medicine, or if she’s stalling for time because of what I told her.
Eventually, Dieterich was roughly dragged out—
And she’s handcuffed?
Why the handcuffs?
“I can walk on my own! And bring the medicines too!”
“Frau—”
“I don’t want any of you blaming me for a lack of medicine if you get injured. At least bring everything on the table. Now.”
“…Howard, collect the medicine.”
“Yes.”
“Handle them carefully! And why the handcuffs!?”
“The Sturmbannführer gave an order.”
Is this a secure capture, or is there something else going on?
Either way, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is that there are only two guards keeping watch on this passage right now.
“Sarah.”
“I know. Let’s just keep watch from here.”
Crawling into the shadows, Sarah blended in so well that she almost disappeared.
Of course, all Omen family members have combat abilities—
—BOOM.
An unexpected explosion rocked the area.
From the distance came the sound of metal clattering against the ground.
“AAAAHHH!!!”
And familiar—the cries of someone burned by the boiler explosion.
The boiler finally gave out.
“What, what’s happening?”
“Howard, the medicine?”
“Not yet, they’re too scattered—”
“Damn it. I’ll check the situation and return. Protect the doctor.”
“Yes.”
Dieterich, who had been in the hallway, momentarily looked around nervously, then froze as if she’d spotted Sarah.
Whatever hand signals Sarah made, Dieterich nodded, then glanced around—
“Mr. Howard?”
“Yes, Frau Dieterich.”
“Could you grab the emergency kit on the shelf as well? If you don’t mind.”
“…Hmph, which one are you referring to?”
There was the sound of irritated footsteps two or three times.
Stepping aside to let Dieterich pass, the green-uniformed Sarah darted into the room—
Creating a scene that caused Dieterich to pale.
She quickly made her way through the shadows toward Dieterich.
“Shh.”
“…Xuan Woo?”
“I’ll unlock the handcuffs. Just give me a moment—”
“If you’re talking about the spare key, it’s right here.”
The key appeared when her clenched hand opened.
You did trust me.
“I had it ready as soon as I entered. Of course, it’s you.”
“You should thank the Omen family. Honestly, I didn’t expect things to go so quickly.”
“You didn’t?”
—Clink.
After unlocking the handcuffs and slipping them into her pocket, she glanced around the room, seeing Sarah roughly wiping blood from her face.
Unlike the gentle Dieterich, Sarah resembled a fierce wolf.
“—Thank you.”
“Greetings can come later. We should move now.”
Their first encounter wasn’t exactly warm.
“Scheiße…Boiler room, respond. Boiler room?”
—Static…
“Is 0032 secured? Boiler room!”
In the hallway, a soldier with a radio was seen, but before he could finish, his neck and chest were slashed open.
—Was this the same person who barely escaped death from the spider just days ago?
“This way.”
We continued moving low, and I saw flames shooting up from one section of the corridor.
Soldiers were hurriedly moving water buckets to try and douse the flames.
Elsewhere, the pipe I repaired not long ago was broken and rolling around.
Badly wounded soldiers were placed to one side, while national guard soldiers were arguing with elite guards who had pushed them back—
—Boom, boom, boom…
—Bang, bang, bang.
“What? Aren’t they on our side?”
The national guard soldiers were being massacred.
Now I notice, most of the armed personnel here are elite guards.
The national guards tried to hide and counterattack with their personal weapons, but their bullets bounced off the thick armor.
“…Damn, could it be…?”
—Bang, bang.
Gunshots rang out from behind as well.
Coming from the elite guard sector.
“Coup.”
Amidst this incomprehensible chaos, the situation in the corridor below was steadily coming under control.
Those who had surrendered with their hands up were gathered in one place.
For some reason, officers and soldiers moving with the elite guard were issued weapons and white armbands, and were quickly dispersing to various sections of the passage.
Hans’ mysterious plan seemed to be unfolding.
“Quickly, this way!”
We’d been crouching and moving for some time when, from the right, a loud noise drew our attention. Corpses were being cleared from a watchtower.
The area was covered in bodies and blood.
“Over here. You’ll need to squeeze into this duct. Take off the lab coat.”
“Will the outfit be too much trouble?”
“It’s a bit sharp inside. It might snag and slow you down.”
“Alright.”
Dieterich began squeezing into the narrow gap.
Despite the chaos we were trying to create and escape through, it was unexpected how much more chaotic it had become—
“Attention—halt!”
The loud voice made Sarah flinch.
The focus was on the numerous soldiers gathered below the watchtower.
“A situation report.”
And, that cold, familiar voice.
Hans Schultz.
“I’ve eliminated those instigating internal dissent in the chaos.”
“Some officers encountered unexpected accidents. Unfortunately… As for the technicians’ capture status?”
“The report hasn’t come in yet.”
Should I have Sarah take him out with a sniper shot?
Or should we just leave as-is?
“It’s your turn, Xuan Woo. Hurry.”
“…”
If we were to kill him, this would be the perfect opportunity.
Otherwise, we’d leave behind a potential threat but ensure our immediate safety for now…
“Hey! Who’s there-”
The moment I turned around, the sound of a pistol discharged.
A spotlight illuminated the scene instantly.
“Stop! Stop!”
And our eyes met.
Hans’ cold, piercing blue eyes.
“Ahh, Xuan Woo. Where are you rushing off to?”
Shit.
“Escapers, capture them!”