"That guy is already dead."
Lin Lan, using his Elemental Vision, gazed at the center of the explosion ahead, where even the sea of fire had been blasted open.
He signaled for his shipgirls to cease fire.
However, while his shipgirls halted their attacks, the relentless gunfire did not stop.
"Ratatatatata..."
The war machines of the Battleaxe Military Industry beside them continued to pour bullets toward the spot where the Natlan Extremist had perished, as if they hadn't heard Lin Lan's order.
"What the hell are these guys doing?"
Agir looked at Lin Lan with confusion, puzzled as to why the Battleaxe soldiers kept wasting ammunition even after the enemy had disappeared.
"Let them vent for a while," Lin Lan replied.
"People suppress their fear for too long in life-and-death situations. If they don't let it out, they'll go crazy."
He didn't stop the Battleaxe mecha pilots, merely offering Agir an explanation.
His real concern was why these enemies, who should have been in Higashiyun City, had appeared in this mirrored sea domain.
Finally, after the barrels of many mechas' rotary cannons had overheated and turned red, the Battleaxe soldiers ceased fire.
Then, all the mechas knelt down. One by one, the pilots in black combat uniforms jumped out, assembled into formation, and kneeled before Lin Lan, shouting in unison:
"Commander, you are our savior! We really, really..."
Before they could finish, many pilots had already lost control of their emotions, collapsing to the ground in sobs.
The leader of these Battleaxe pilots was a short-haired woman wearing a beret—the same pilot who had warned Lin Lan about the Extremist earlier.
"Enough with the pleasantries. You're from Battleaxe's forces in Huaiwu City, right? When did you get to this godforsaken place? What happened to the city?"
Lin Lan's goal was the destruction of the Battleaxe Military Industry as a corporation, not the elimination of its lowest-ranking workers.
As long as they obeyed and quit Battleaxe once they got out, he had no reason to go on a killing spree.
Hearing the young naval commander's question, the kneeling Battleaxe pilots looked at each other but seemed at a loss for where to begin.
"Ah, Commander, let me explain," their female squad leader finally spoke, slowly standing up, her face pale as she looked at Lin Lan.
"Everything started when our general manager was threatened by the Sirens..."
…
At the heart of the mirrored sea domain's Huaiwu City lay an open plaza that once served as a public square.
Despite the surrounding buildings being engulfed in a raging inferno, not a single flame touched the plaza itself.
Dozens of Siren Heavy Cruiser Enforcers (Type II), their hulls glowing with eerie blue patterns, hovered at low altitude around the plaza, patrolling.
These short-haired Siren enforcers, sneering in amusement, occasionally opened fire, blasting armored soldiers who charged out from the flames into bloody fragments.
"Hahaha, Compiler, did you see that? The mental memories of these test subjects are absolutely fascinating!"
"Humans slaughter their own unarmed kind with even greater efficiency than we do!"
A girl's cheerful laughter rang out from the center of the plaza, as if she had just witnessed the most amusing spectacle.
A lively girl with white hair tied into a long ponytail, golden eyes, and a sailor uniform stood alone in the empty plaza.
She persistently tried to chat with a small white-haired, golden-eyed little girl beside her—who was absorbed in operating a complex mechanical system embedded in a massive ship rig.
This barefoot, gothic-style-dressed little girl, surrounded by an enormous deep-sea construct, showed no expression as she methodically manipulated the intricate machinery.
If Lin Lan were here, he would recognize them at a glance.
The high-ranking Siren, Purifier.
And another high-ranking Siren—Compiler.
Unlike the chatty and energetic Purifier, Compiler remained silent, her expression devoid of emotion.
"Hey, Compiler! Don't ignore me! I'm so bored!"
Purifier continued trying to engage her companion, undeterred by her indifference.
Finally, as if worn down by Purifier's chatter, Compiler slowly closed her operating system and raised her head to look at her overly talkative companion.
"If you're so bored, go play with those 'intruders.' I'm busy recording data for this experiment site. Your pointless noise reduces my work efficiency by 26%."
There was a deep sense of helplessness in Compiler's tone.
Controlling such a vast micro-layered mixture was already pushing her limits.
And on top of that, the higher-ups had dumped the mirrored sea domain's control onto her as well, making her workload utterly overwhelming.
So why was this chatterbox in charge of this experiment site instead of the quiet and reliable Tester?
Sigh...
"You know what, you're right! Why don't I go have some fun with them?"
Purifier clapped her forehead as if suddenly enlightened and was about to step into the sea of flames—only to be blocked by a mechanical tentacle that shot up from the ground.
"Don't cause too much commotion," Compiler warned.
"If you wake the test subjects and give me unnecessary extra work, I'll upload all your past records of secretly aiding the enemy to the main system."
"Huh?! When did I ever aid the enemy?!"
Purifier stiffened, her ponytail practically standing on end from the shock.
That accusation was not something she could afford to take lightly—getting caught meant losing her head.
Not that losing a few heads mattered much to her, of course.
But how did Compiler know about the things she had secretly done behind the main system's back?
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. I'm getting back to work."
"You damn riddler! Explain yourself—"
Purifier turned toward Compiler, unwilling to let the matter drop, but before she could finish speaking—
Smack!
A forceful impact sent her flying, vanishing from sight in an instant.
Several Enforcer patrol units on the plaza's edge looked up, sensing something unusual.
A white streak shot across the sky above them like a meteor.
The sneers on their faces grew even wider.
"You actually whipped me with a tentacle?! Compiler! I'm not letting this go! Not letting it gooooo—!"
Purifier's furious screams grew fainter as she vanished into the inferno.
Compiler let out a deep sigh and reactivated her operating system.
She hadn't originally known just how closely Purifier had been working with those experimental subjects.
But now...
"Sigh, more and more problems... I just want to go back and rest."
A rare trace of fatigue crossed the cold, doll-like face of the small little girl.
She glanced up at the empty sky before lowering her head and resuming her rapid inputs.
As she reached the final command, her slender fingers hesitated over the key, as if uncertain.
"This is the true path of the Sirens... to correct Zero's mistakes in the Arbiter Project."
Taking a deep breath, as if making a final decision, Compiler solemnly pressed the key.
At that moment, the clear sky above them suddenly shifted.
A massive, fully-formed black hole, crackling with violet energy, began to materialize.
From its depths, a dark, crystalline dust poured forth, spreading like a black snowfall over the entire plaza.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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