We were in the parking lot below the Desert Dream casino.

The outside had been ravaged by the bombs, but we had already escaped from below a casino during the gel attack. We searched around and found what we were looking for: a secret underground pa.s.sageway protected by a thick metal door, perhaps meant for transporting money or as an escape route if robbers showed up.

"Looks like the damage really didn't reach down here."

We could not bring Anastasia out onto the b.u.mpy rubble so soon after surgery, but I also would have been worried if we left her in the half-collapsed underground parking lot. On that front, the underground pa.s.sageway looked like it would protect her from the incendiary bombs and from being buried alive. Plus, the door was airtight, so it didn't seem any surviving gels got in.

"Anastasia, stay here. We'll be right back."

"Be quick. I might email you for no real reason, but don't laugh, okay?"

"Also, I brought a huge bottle I found in one of the cars. It's still sealed, so it should be safe to drink. You need water, right?"

"Gla.s.s Gazer, hm? That's kind of hard. I prefer my water a little softer."

I could only really tell the difference between tap water and mineral water, so I wasn't sure what that meant. Erika could be picky about tea, so she might understand.

Even in the sealed underground pa.s.sageway, I could contact Maxwell back in j.a.pan, so it seemed to have a decent wireless setup. They may have laid out metal tape along the walls to pick up the signal from the surface, like someone extending their TV antenna line into their house. It made sense since this was a secret underground pa.s.sageway. If they couldn't know what was going on outside, they could open the door right into an ambush.

"Maxwell, change the door lock's number once we leave."

"Sure. Being overprotective is probably about right given the situation."

With that exchange, we returned to h.e.l.lish Las Vegas.

The wind seemed to broil my entire face.

It was supposedly pretty late at night, but the sky was even more orange than before. That showed just how thoroughly the city had been burned.

Where were the gels? How far had the bombing gone? Overlooking the answers to those questions could get us all wiped out at once.

"Ayumi, be careful."

"Y'know, Onii-chan, I'm not stupid enough to burn myself here."

"Not that. I think Satori-kun is worried about unexploded ordnance buried in the rubble with this citywide fireworks parade underway."

"Fuguu!?"

But there were some elite military observers somewhere in Las Vegas. They would be blending into the background even with all the gels and incendiary bombs everywhere.

"Nn, hh…"

That was when the Cla.s.s Rep groaned while Erika carried her on her back.

"Good morning, Cla.s.s Rep. Although it's not morning. And this burning h.e.l.lscape is hardly my idea of good."

"Eh? Eh? Satori-kun? Uheh!? Wait, what is going on!?"

The Cla.s.s Rep cried out like she had entered cold sleep to see what things were like a millennium into the future and awoke to find civilization had returned to the stone age. It was a natural reaction and it cleansed my heart. The Cla.s.s Rep really was the best. She had a way of calming me. She was so cute I just wanted to do a little dance.

"Fuguu. More importantly, Onii-chan, how are you going to find these professional observers? They're probably the kind of person who would stay still for three full days in the jungle with a sniper rifle and a diaper if you told them to wait there."

"Maxwell, can you access real-time satellite footage? A civilian satellite service is fine."

"I could not earlier, but now I can access it quite smoothly."

"Oh?" said Erika. "I would have thought the military would throw their weight around and cut off all access to things like that."

"They must want images of their bombing of justice slaying the evil Archenemy gels. Enough so that they're willing to set up a mirror site. More importantly, Maxwell, footage from above speeds things up. Compare the timing of the bombing with the images and search for a spot that hasn't had a single bomb dropped on it. That's where the observers will have their bunker."

"a.n.a.lyzing… The results are not promising. Finding a specific location would be difficult. However, there does seem to be a blank area slowly moving with the storm of bombs, like the eye of a hurricane."

"Hmm. So they're staying on the move instead of using a fixed bunker? Okay, Maxwell. That eye of the storm is where the observers are. Calculate out a predicted route so we can lie in wait and contact them."

"Sure. However, these are elites, so there is a very high risk of them breaking through even if you know their location."

"I know that."

The military was a phrase I really only heard in movies and I had no idea what kind of equipment they would have in reality. At the very least, I knew stuffing manga magazines below my clothes wouldn't be enough.

"Anyway, let's go. Erika, Ayumi, and Cla.s.s Rep too."

"Fine, but will you explain what's going on while we move!?"

We started walking through rubble-strewn Las Vegas as the Cla.s.s Rep raised her voice to yell.

The first wave of bombing must have been complete because they did not seem to be dropping bombs like crazy anymore. I could see several silhouettes in a V-shape flying through the burning night sky and they were dropping bombs every so often, but the intensity had clearly dropped.

"Wait, are you serious…!?"

When she heard the situation, the Cla.s.s Rep crossed a pile of rubble blocking the way and viewed the transformed cityscape. I couldn't blame her. Anyone would be at a loss of words after being dragged into this ma.s.sive farce. And there was some monumental idiot who had caused all of this.

"Satori-kun, a lull in the bombing isn't necessarily a good thing. It might mean the military is moving to the next phase of their operation."

"I know. They might send in a largescale ground unit that will pry open the door to Anastasia's underground pa.s.sageway, or they might withdraw the observers. Either way, this is a race against time."

Fortunately, we had Maxwell to navigate us to our destination, so we didn't have to worry about wandering in circles through the razed city.

"Warning: you are 400 meters from your target. That is barely within range of the standard a.s.sault rifle. Even with the intense flames in the area, you should be cautious about using your smartphone's backlight. Be careful."

Maxwell's support was crucial, so I covered as much of the screen with my palm as I could and crouched down on the spot.

Upwind and downwind…probably didn't matter. With all the blazes started by the incendiary bombs, the air was expanding and sending burning winds blowing every which way. Even a trained police dog would only detect a scorched smell.

"A-are you going to keep going, Onii-chan?"

Ayumi sounded a little frightened.

400 meters. I looked across the burned city and a half-collapsed theater was the only real option for the observers. Las Vegas was known for its casinos, but it was also counted as a holy ground for movies.

No matter how much I squinted, I could not see anyone there.

Could they see us?

Were we already in their sights?

I felt like I was in the middle of a jungle minefield. While staying absolutely still, I spoke to my smartphone.

"Maxwell."

"Sure."

"The bombers and the observers must be linked somehow to make sure they don't bomb their own people. Can you figure out how?"

"As far as I can tell by switching camera modes, they are not using IR reflective tape. I have detected an EM signal sent from the surface once every 5 seconds. It is likely relaying their position on an online map."

"Those observers are more careless than I expected. Maxwell, let's rewrite their map. We'll lure them out below the bombs."

"No. This is the world's strongest air force. I am not powerful enough to break in."

"Don't be so sure. Anastasia."

"Nweh? What? What? Do you need something, Truth?"

She may have no longer cared about being called Maiden or a hacker. My persistence had paid off.

"You mentioned hacking into a military missile silo earlier, right? All the way to Phase 2. If that wasn't a bluff, then I need your help."

"Who do you think I am? If not for the manual key in the way, I could have dropped a nuke from a bomber."

Erika and Ayumi exchanged a glance.

It was exactly those bombers which were flying around overhead.

"I want to cut off the link between bombers and observers to lure out the observers hiding in the background. Can you think of a way to mess with their map?"

"I see. How far away are you? You can use tethering, right? If your smartphone's signal is in range of the target, you can do some fun things."

"No," said Maxwell. "Based on the scale of the satellite images, the bombers are remaining at an alt.i.tude of greater than 9000 meters. They have nearly 10,000 meters of vertical distance plus the horizontal distance you have to worry about. A mobile-standard signal cannot cover that distance. And forcing off the limiters greatly increases the risk of damaging the hardware."

"Not that. We're about 400 meters from the observers. Targeting them should be fine."

Anastasia sounded exasperated too.

"Again, can't you just use feet or miles?"

"Look up the conversion yourself."

"Fine. But in that case, let's rewrite the map of the nearby observers. The large communicator one of them is probably wearing on their back is one thing, but their handheld devices are probably normal Pearphones or Bioroids in shock-resistant cases. They truly believe they're untouchable as long as they have a contract with a major company that runs ads on TV, no matter how many times we hackers try to warn them."

"Anyway, can you handle the observers' map?"

"Yes. Even if they're in a safe place, they'll panic and get out of there if they don't know that. Let me sync with your phone and then give me a 30 second countdown. Your cute hound will drive the hares out from the bushes, so keep your eyes open and pay careful attention, Truth."

We had pulled the trigger of zeroes and ones.

It really was like wild birds taking flight from a tall thicket. Those men in black night camo had so perfectly blended into the background, but it was almost amusing how readily they appeared now. They had made their mistake.

"Ha ha! Of all things, they're using the Winners Phones that are affected by every virus in the world!? I mean, the base OS itself is often called an official virus that steals your personal info!!"

"Do you have a grudge against Winners or something!?"

"The tracing program I was writing was just about killed when they swapped out my entire OS without asking! Winners can go to h.e.l.l! Intellectual property is a valuable resource, you know!?"

But I did not have time to listen to someone's one-sided grudge. And unfortunately, I doubted anyone was going to accept hacking tools as intellectual property.

"Gh."

It happened suddenly.

An unbelievably powerful impact hit my hips from the side. I seriously thought my entire body had been bent into a sideways V-shape. It took me a while to realize that idiot Ayumi had used her zombie strength to tackle me.

"Bh!?"

Something flashed in the distance and wind roared right by my face. Then I heard a dry sound hit my eardrums.

A gunshot!? They suddenly shot at us!!

My vision blurred so much I thought my neck was going to snap, but I just barely managed to see Erika leap the other way with the Cla.s.s Rep in her arms.

Both pairs escaped the bullets by hiding behind rubble.

But it wasn't over yet. They put infiltration and stealth above all else. If they had fired a shot, it meant they were going to silence us through death no matter what it took.

"What do you think they'll do next?"

"They failed at 400 meters. That's all this means, Onii-chan. So they'll adjust their a.s.sumptions and move close enough to finish us off for sure."

I was j.a.panese through and through, so I honestly wasn't too familiar with gunfights. I did have a disaster environment simulator that could reproduce anything, but while I had tried out UFOs and giant robots, I hadn't done much with FPSs where macho men ran around with lots of firepower.

But there was one thing I understood.

A professional treated a firefight like a chess problem. They would move their pieces on the board to ensure they could finish off the enemy no matter where they fled. Once they had taken their positions, there was no turning things around. We had to do something before that happened.

That meant there was a deadline that meant game over if they reached it.

But an amateur like me had no idea where that was.

300 meters?

200 meters?

100 meters?

Or 0 meters???

Then my entire vision greatly changed.

It felt like having a black shadow arrive from the upper left.

At the same time, Ayumi's outlines blurred. Everyone had to be within 100cm of each other, but we could not see each other even as those two crashed into each other.

But the observers had moved in to attack at point-blank range. This was no accident. Their chess problem was already complete. At this rate, Ayumi and Erika would be defeated sooner or later!

"(Maxwell, I'm going to make a request so search for one of these in the nearby area!)"

"Sure. But what will you use it for?"

"(I don't have time to explain. Just give me online control and translate my lines into Englis.h.!.+)"

I then held the smartphone to my mouth like a bus tour guide's boxy microphone.

" 'The bombs! They're about to fall from the sky!!' "

At the same time, Ayumi was slammed back-first into the ground with a dull sound. That zombie had killed so many Bright Cross combat members in the simulator, but the man did it so easily. Erika was busy protecting the Cla.s.s Rep, so she couldn't have helped. If I had been two seconds slower, that large man's hand-axe-sized combat knife would have slit my little sister's throat.

But the man stopped moving and looked over.

And just before that silver glint was thrust out toward me, I shouted again.

" 'You know we rewrote your maps, don't you!? Well, now you're in the lethal range! Too bad!!' "

The man said something. But d.a.m.n, I couldn't make out the rapid-fire English. And I hadn't ordered Maxwell to translate the other person's voice.

But the look on his face and in his eyes was enough: You couldn't possibly break through a military data link. An amateur couldn't rewrite that.

Or something along those lines.

But his vehement denial meant he could not entirely cast aside his doubts. That fear was what I needed.

So I used my empty hand to point straight up and said one more thing.

" 'Then don't complain to me when your allies' bombs. .h.i.t you.' "

Just then, an incredibly thick flash of light and burst of noise wiped out everyone's senses.

Nothing happened for a while.

Only a strange sense of floating enveloped me.

"Kh…"

That first groan had to be from the Cla.s.s Rep. Yes, other than me who knew what was coming, she would have taken the least damage.

After all, she was a combat amateur and wouldn't be able to imagine what kind of damage an aerial bomb would do.

"Wh-what happened, Satori-kun?"

"Feeling a headache and some nausea? If you're fine, then help me out. I want to tie up all of the observers while they're collapsed."

I tossed her a torn power cable I found nearby and I twisted back the combat knife man's hands and bound them.

"Have you ever heard there's a way to kill someone by firing a blank?"

"Press the gun against a bound person's head and make sure to take your time and show them what you're doing. Then pull the trigger and the close-range noise and light will make them think they've been shot and they'll die from shock."

"Th-then that wasn't a bomb…?"

"Sure," said Maxwell. "Las Vegas's resorts hold a fireworks parade every day. There were some program-controlled and electronically-fired fireworks in the rubble, so I took control of them and detonated them under the observers' feet."

"The psychological effect was even greater for professionals who know just how frightening bombs are. That's why ignorant high schoolers like us could recover so much faster."

That said, I hadn't expected it to take out Erika and Ayumi quite so well. They looked cute lying dazed on the ground, but it worried me about the path they had walked in the past.

"Truth, have you finally expanded your repertoire to include the paranormal? Are you going to make something float without touching it next?"

"Your country really does love those glowing swords. Oh, but more importantly. Erika, Ayumi! Just get up already!! It would devastate the reputation of the undead if a trick like that stops your heart!"

The two of them groaned and stirred on the filthy ground like they had a hangover. I was a little afraid to tell them the truth. They would probably get mad at me for not telling them beforehand.

Anyway.

We had safely captured the military observers and we had the large radio they used. That gave us a connection back to their boss in that frightening Area 51. If we got Anastasia's help to contact that boss while pretending to be the observers, we could make a high-level targeted email attack.

"Maxwell, you take care of the connection. Anastasia, how about it? Can you get started?"

"Wait, wait, please wait. I'm restoring the past 50 report files found in the internal memory and going over them with a text disguise program that determines the author's writing quirks. We need to really sound like them if we want to fool this VIP."

"Thanks."

I couldn't even order a pizza over the phone here, so a long email full of military jargon and codes was out of the question.

"Okay! That should be enough learning. Let's get started, Truth. Let's disguise ourselves as an observer report and swipe all the cla.s.sified data in the heart of Area 51. We might find some alien autopsy footage."

"I'm not sure what the difference between an Archenemy and an alien is, so can I even laugh at that joke?"

That produced a dramatic reaction of "My, my" and "Fuguu!!" from my beautiful sisters, so they apparently did not want to be in the same category as aliens. Even Anastasia puffed out her cheeks on the other end of the call.

"…You'd better remember you said that, Truth."

"It's way too hard to figure out what Archenemies will like or not! But we can do this intercultural exchange later, so let's get started."

"Yes. It's time to show you what a hacker of justice can do."

Once we went for it, it was almost easy.

How long had they been acc.u.mulating and hiding these? The ma.s.sive number of files stockpiled in Area 51 pa.s.sed through a foreign server and reached a throwaway free storage account.

"It would take decades to look through all of this properly…" I said.

"That was so easy it was boring," added Anastasia. "I suppose the preparations really are the best part of a festival."

The military would probably cry if they heard that. Because in a lot of cases, lives were literally at risk if those secrets got out.

Now, then.

"Maxwell. We don't have time to look at it all, so search for the necessary terms."

"Sure."

"Eh? You can give your program instructions that vague?" asked Anastasia.

Heh. The processor speed wasn't all that mattered with a computer.

"First, I will search for information on the individual this targeted email attack was sent to. James w.i.l.l.y-w.i.l.l.y. s.e.x: Male. Age: 52. He is commander of the US Air Force Nevada Airbase and his rank is colonel. I am gathering all doc.u.ments closely related to him."

"Also grab the ones on the gels. They might have some other official name, though."

"54 doc.u.ments found. Development Codename: Slave X. To summarize, the Archenemy Shoggoths that were discovered in the remains of an Antarctic crater were chemically and surgically altered to create them. To restrain their violence, their thought bridge was physically severed so they would specialize in simple reactions. They seek only their predatory cycle of leaping toward any motion in the dust of the air, so they are an immortal soldier with no risk of rebellion."

That was not a fun thing to hear.

An Archenemy had been artificially turned into a weapon. It was all for the humans' benefit. It was a lot like altering someone's brain to keep them from thinking.

…After everything that happened, I couldn't exactly become unconditional friends with them, but in a way, the gels were victims too.

"Plus, I have found some information useful to us," said Maxwell.

"What is it?"

"After the gels consume their prey, the victim can be retrieved within 72 hours. It seems it would be possible to save the eaten people. It may look like they are being completely dissolved and absorbed, but the person and the gel can be separated if more than 9.5 Gs of gravitational energy are applied with a centrifuge."

"R-really!?" said Anastasia. "Then it's possible to save everyone! They aren't dead!! That's great, Truth! You really are insanely cool in everything you do!"

I could not exactly celebrate that.

The Area 51 researchers had gone so far as to rob the Archenemies of their ability to think, so why would they leave a chance of rescue in there?

…To eliminate the guilt for whoever was using them.

This meant they weren't killing anyone, only neutralizing them. Being eaten by the gels was not a guaranteed death because they could just be placed inside a centrifuge. That "excuse" must have made the trigger feel a whole lot lighter. Even if they knew deep in their hearts that their higher ups never intended to order that re-separation.

"Any connection to my stepmom? To Amatsu Yurina?"

"No. There are no related files."

"Then what about a reason or benefit for an Archenemy to attack other Archenemies?"

"It seems there is more than one faction of Archenemies. There seems to be a group that is less than fond of the group setting up their base in Las Vegas, ruling the city with Mephistopheles, and indirectly manipulating the economy to construct a safe zone for themselves."

"But who?" asked Anastasia. "They're Archenemies too, aren't they? We're willing to accept any of our fellow Archenemies."

"Maxwell."

"Sure. The term Absolute Noah appears quite frequently."

That term had also made an appearance in that incident set in an abandoned hospital. Some horrific Calamity was about to hit the earth, so that group was planning to escape to somewhere before it happened. In a way, they were believers in an apocalypse of their own invention. But only a few thousand of the 7 billion on the planet could receive their salvation. The rest could only be saved as genetic samples kept in cold storage.

"Absolute Noah should not be interested in increasing their status on the earth," said Maxwell. "Since they have already been chosen as one of the few VIPS with a spot on that 'ark', they should already have all the connections they need. And whether it is true or not, they are convinced civilization and society will collapse before long, so I do not see why they feel any reason to build new connections."

"It felt like they were a mixed group of humans and Archenemies, didn't it?" I said.

"Sure. There is a good chance that they let the out-of-control Bright Cross continue functioning because they hoped that mixture of fear and negotiation could bring the world's undead and immortals into line."

"That must be why they didn't like the Las Vegas group using up so much of the overall Archenemy resources on things here. It was a way of unifying Archenemy thought. And even if they obeyed, who knows if they would even get a spot on the ark."

"W-we don't want their help!" said Anastasia.

I could see why she would be angry.

"But if data on Absolute Noah was hidden on a cla.s.sified Area 51 server, do they have a connection to the US Air Force?"

"Sure, there are several sh.e.l.l corporations in between, but James w.i.l.l.y-w.i.l.l.y's computer was used to transfer money to and exchange cla.s.sified information with Absolute Noah. The user's iris was used for pa.s.sword authentication. Based on the footage from the web camera used for that, no one was impersonating him or physically threatening him. It was definitely him using his computer of his own free will."

That meant Area 51 had acted on a request from Absolute Noah when they attacked Las Vegas with the gels and stealth bombers. He was probably told he would lose his ticket and be left behind during the Calamity otherwise.

There was a concept known as civilian control. The actual soldiers were not allowed to use their weapons without permission. So the real suspicion had to be placed on the congress that gave the go sign. They had apparently given up on fighting the Calamity and were desperate to earn a ticket for that ark. Just how far had the corruption spread below the surface?

"What does it say about Absolute Noah? You said there wasn't anything about my stepmom, but does it give the names of any other members or the source of their funding?"

"Sure. Area 51 was no more than an external group and it does not seem the administration of Absolute Noah itself was directly involved."

"The world's most mysterious military base was treated like a p.a.w.n?" said Anastasia. "This Absolute Noah group is something else."

"But there is another doc.u.ment that included the term Absolute Noah."

"Yeah?"

We were calling it an ark, but we didn't really know what Absolute Noah was. It could be a giant underground nuclear shelter, a megafloat city on the ocean, or a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p meant to leave the planet.

At any rate, Maxwell answered me.

"Sure. There is a pin labeled Absolute Noah 04 at the bottom of the Hoover Dam, that valuable water reservoir for the desert city of Las Vegas."

This technically isn't part of Area 51's jurisdiction, but I will file a report anyway.

Some people occasionally approach the bottom of the dam out of curiosity, but the secret there is protected by placing labels on the stairs and then ending their social life or physical life depending on how close they got.

But going too far would actually gather attention, so caution is required. Avoid using guns if at all possible and choose natural but certain methods such as rattlesnake venom.

We are working with people who we could stand to have indebted to us.

Weighing the pros and the cons and, if the pros win out, cooperating with whoever it might be is the capitalist way of thinking. As a member of the United States, it is your duty to remain faithful to profit above all else. As the Cold War proved, the world's #2 justice and below are no more than convenient villains. So our United States must always remain the strongest and #1 justice and money is the power we need to ensure that. Reject that and your justice will be far too fragile. A claim made without being heard is at best a stepping stone for someone else.

But continue working with the CIA on the intelligence front. If feigning obedience is not enough to get what we want, we must use brute force or trickery to steal it. That's the American way.