The basement was abuzz with activity as everyone gathered around, some of them welcomed Ayame and had a short conversation with her while others remained focused on their own tasks.
Kiri cleaned her Katana with a piece of cloth beside Eru, who was still wiping the barrel of her sniper rifle.
Kurumi did rollovers with her butterfly knife beside Tsukasa and Rika, who were chit chatting with each other.
Ririka just sat on the couch alone.
Despite being in a game world, it seemed that cliques still existed within this group.
Despite how few people were in this room, some of them still even formed their own groups.
Chatter filled the room like a classroom full of students. The hum of conversation filled Ayame's ears from every direction.
While she stood in the center, her gaze fixed on Eri.
Suddenly, all the lights in the room went out. Everyone fell silent and looked towards the front.
In the darkness, five computer monitors flickered to life, casting a soft glow throughout the room.
Rika stepped forward and opened a metal door beside the wardrobe.
Behind the door was a server rack that housed all the necessary equipment to power the PCs.
With a few button presses, she brought the graphic cards that powered each computer to life.
Meanwhile, Eri placed her laptop on her desk and connected it to a projector.
The lens on the projector slowly glowed, projecting its light onto the white wall behind her.
As she finished loading the necessary software, a 3D model of their high school building appeared before them.
Eri made her way to the third PC and pressed a button on the keyboard.
The 3D map on the laptop screen zoomed in on the dormitory area, along with the few thousand students through X-Ray that were inside them.
Right now, the reflection of the projector was shot right into the white wall.
Eri grabbed a stick with a hook on its end from the bottom of her table and stuck it to the little handle fixed on the ceiling.
She then pulled the stick down, collapsing the cloth screen that perfectly aligned with the dimensions of the projector.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“Why do you need 5 PCs for a 3D map model?”
Ayame was taken aback.
“It's a hi-poly model. We can't afford NASA's PC, man.”
Eri briefly answered.
“Damn…”
Ayame sighed in fascination.
Eri stood tall and confident, her bright hair falling in loose waves around her face as she walked back to the projector.
Projected on the wall behind her was a stunningly detailed 3D model of the high school above them, except it was in grayscale.
As she dragged the cursor to a specific spot in the dormitory area, the reflected screen in front of her reflected the same image, accentuating the location.
Then she shifted the location far enough from the school, then zoomed out to bird's view.
With a pencil in hand, she circled the spot.
Ayame screamed inside her mind as she saw Eri drawing on the fabric.
“Intelligence told me that recent enemy operations are building 4 conning towers armed with air defense and RPGs 7.6 miles Northwest from our grounds.”
Eri explained.
“What an unstrategic location to place such shit…”
Tsukasa sighed.
“They are building it for snipers in the future. Moreover, Marika has tons of soldiers, there's nothing she can't do…”
Eri replied.
“But with RPGs and air defense around, UAV can't be used.”
Ririka said.
“We don't need UAVs. We won't see them and they won't see us.”
Eri answered, then looked at Ayame.
“We'll let you participate in our first grand operation. Code Name: Implosion.”
“Man…this is not a joke…”
Ririka mumbled while scratching her chin.
“Implosion…”
Ayame lifted her head and imagined what Eri said; A submarine imploding inside the depths of the sea within seconds.
“We'll demolish all the dormitories as the mobs are resting.”
Eri explained, then Ayame quickly cut her words.
“Destroy dormitories?!! Isn't that going to affect our merit and make us the bad guys in this game?!”
Ayame screamed restlessly at Eri.
“I've totally lost faith in you guys. You're just a bunch of war criminals!”
Tsukasa immediately shoved the scabbard of her Katana into Ayame's cheeks.
“Watch your filthy mouth, kid! That's an insult to Eri! I'll have you take it back!”
“Why should I?! It's against the morals of this world, right?!”
Ayame answered, her voice changed as her cheeks were pressed even harder.
“We have to destroy them to prevent them from watching us fighting, because the enemies that we are going to fight are unregistered mobs! And besides, they keep spawning with no limits. We have to eliminate some of them to prevent this world from lagging!”
Ririka explained to him.
“Do they even cause lags?”
Kurumi asked, furrowing her brows.
“I'm pretty sure they do, eventually,”
Ririka replied, scratching her chin again.
Suddenly, from behind Tsukasa, Rika pulled her shirt and dragged her away from Ayame. Tsukasa struggled to let go.
“But destroying all the dormitories…?!”
Ayame exclaimed, filled with restless doubt.
“Yes, we will literally tear down every single dormitory!”
Eri declared with optimism.
“The world refreshes every 00:00 AM in game time, so there's no need to worry.”
As Eri answered Ayame, Rika and Tsukasa wrestled each other on the wall, pushing each other to the wall while Tsukasa used the sheathed Katana to hold her back.
Both were panting and grunting.
“Everyone has their assigned location,”
Eri continued, pointing to the school's outdoor stairs that had balconies.
“Snipers will be stationed here.”
“Roger.”
Eru answered her.
“Tsukasa, Rika, Ririka, I entrust you guys to handle the demolition of those buildings.”
Eri said, directing her attention to the three of them.
Tsukasa and Rika immediately stopped pushing each other and stared at Eri.
“And for you, Ayame, I'll give you an easy task,”
Eri said, pointing to a bridge connecting the high school to the indoor court.
“Your job is simply to scout this bridge and disrupt the enemy's movements if they come near you.”
“...I see…”
Ayame answered hesitantly.
Ririka's hand slid in from the left, giving her a flare gun with the flare shell already loaded inside.
“Fire 3 rounds of a gunshot or fire this flare into the sky to request reinforcement.”
Ayame's gaze fell onto the gun clasped in her hands.
It was sleek and black, with a barrel that glistened in the dim light. She studied it carefully, flipping the gun to the left and to the right, before giving a slight nod in understanding.
“Kurumi, you'll demolish the conning towers. I'll leave it to your solution.”
Eri talked to Kurumi.
Kurumi nodded with a hum as she flipped her butterfly knife, retracting the blade, then placed it into her skirt.
“Kiri, when Ayame sends a distress signal, you'll be the one to reinforce.”
“Understood.”
Kiri sheathed one of her two Katanas and placed it on the couch beside another one.
“Handler told me this afternoon that Marika’s soldiers will approach our school in the Northwest. By 8 PM, they should be 4 miles from here.”
Eri exclaimed.