"The samurai died. The most dramatic moment must be chosen. ”

—The last words of the late Silver Hound before the explosion of a low-yield nuclear bomb at the center of Syria's fourth-level invasion in 2034

***

"We need your help to build an air defense system," Simmons said.

I raised an eyebrow at him, but the man didn't even blink an eye. Finally, I cut off eye contact and looked at him as some of the security guards were reconstructing the place where I had just passed the barricade.

"Can you IT personnel restore the air defense system?" I asked.

"I did. We sent two up. They're dead. ”

I felt my nose wrinkle in disgust. "Are there any more aliens upstairs?" I asked.

"There are more aliens. Models have started to flock to the city. If we leave now, we're not just going to face some of the bigger flyers, we're going to face a big bunch of those little things," he said. "If we can get AA to work, it's at least a distraction." He put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me aside as several survivors walked by, their wheels looking like they had been ripped off the chassis of the hovercraft.

The older man reached into one of the pockets of his vest and pulled out a small mobile phone, a peculiar mobile phone with a holographic projector. He fiddled around for a moment, then projected a 3D map of New Montreal.

He pointed to a building, a little shorter than the surrounding buildings, but still quite tall. "That's us," he said. Then he pointed to somewhere ten blocks away, where buildings were starting to lose some of their height. "I sent some boys up with rangefinders. This is more or less where the front line is located. If we move straight south, we will cross the army about fifteen blocks. Not too far, a kilometer, maybe a kilometer and a half. ”

"How big is the invasion?" I asked.

Based on the time after the start, the landing site of the main three-dimensional and the location of the armed forces on the map, my analogue suggests a five-kilometer-wide circle.

I touched my ears with my hands. "So, five kilometers in diameter, that's, uh, thirty square kilometers?"

... My vanguard is not good at math. This is a humiliating thing. The surface area of a circle can be calculated by multiplying pi by the square of the radius.

"I don't need to know how to do math," I said. "I need answers."

AI sighed inwardly.

It covers an area of about twenty square kilometers. Since you don't seem to care about math, I guess you have to use large integers. Would you rather accept a multiple of five, or should I stick to a multiple of ten for you?

I rolled my eyes. "Well, it's pretty big, but it's not that big, and we're not at the very center yet." I rubbed my neck. "We turned on the anti-aircraft guns, distracted the local beasts, and started running, hoping that we would be able to run a few kilometers without turning into a xenomorph chow chow."

"The terrain makes things a little more complicated," Simmons said. "We can't rush straight to the nearest military position. But we might be able to get there in two or even three minutes of flight. There is very little traffic. ”

So far, the plan has gone well. There's just one very big, very obvious problem. "So when I turn on the AAs, they open forever, right?"

"That's right."

"That means we have to leave on the spot."

Simmons nodded.

"So how the fuck am I going to get out?" I asked.

The man shifted, this time not looking me in the eye. "You're a smart girl, I'm sure you'll understand."

"Are you sending me to death?" I asked.

"I'm sending you to save all these people," he said, pointing to the parking lot. As far as the eye can see, children are loaded onto buses, adults are throwing things from hovertrucks to reduce weight, and some are handing out makeshift weapons such as sticks and metal rods.

My gaze fell on Lucy's familiar figure in the distance behind me. She smiled, proudly, while making frantic gestures in the air around her, and at the end her hands always jerked down to make sure her crutches didn't fall. Cute and impulsive girl, hah.

Mary was right in front of her, listening intently, but her face flushed. Lucy undoubtedly pushes the boundaries that girls think are acceptable.

"Will you send me alone?" I asked.

"Can you handle it alone?" He asked. "The last three people I sent, as a group, they reached the top floor, but didn't reach the platform until one of them said something about the birds. They disappeared after that. ”

I didn't stare at anything. "I'm going to say goodbye to the kittens," I said.

I rubbed shoulders with Simmons, and he grabbed my stump. "Are you going to do it?" He asked.

"Yes, I will do it. Touch me one more time and I'll ...... I don't know, shoot you where, ha. ”

He let go. "Thank you. Please contact me when you go and I'll make sure everyone is ready to go. ”

"Yes," I said. As I walked towards Lucy, my steps felt a little strange.

There's no need to worry so much. The plan you make has an above-average chance of success. And you are my vanguard. I'll make sure you're ready for a field fight. I'm sure you'll survive.

"I am encouraged by your confidence," I told Miaris.

I did try.

I found Lucy and accidentally interrupted the story she was telling, which I thought was the first time we were caught doing something we shouldn't have done. "Cats?" She asked. "I like your jacket—"

I hugged her with one arm and buried my head in the crook of her neck. "Give me a minute, please," I said.

Lucy, even Lucy, hugged back.