The lingering echo of gunshots still hummed in the cold air.
The eerie blue muzzle flash was seared onto Nyamu's retina, making her eyes sting.
She huddled in the shadows at the edge of the giant container, her heart pounding.
The smell of gunpowder, rust, and the sweet, metallic tang of golden liquid mixed into a nauseating stench, constantly assaulting her sensitive nose.
Fuuki… where was Fuuki?
Trembling, she cautiously peered out, looking down at the area that had been ravaged by the metal storm.
The reliable figure was nowhere to be seen.
There was only a puddle of dark red liquid, appearing especially viscous in the dim light, spreading across the concrete floor like spilled paint.
Several torn fragments of a black trench coat lay scattered within it, and nearby, the wall of the huge "Beast Refining Pool" container was riddled with gruesome bullet holes and scorch marks.
The rubber pipe connecting to the main hub pipeline was completely shattered, and viscous golden liquid was gushing out of the rupture, like pus and blood.
"...Dead?"
It was hard to imagine anyone surviving such a dense barrage.
This thought, like an ice pick, instantly pierced through Nyamu's last shred of courage.
That dependable teammate, who had been fearless amidst the terrifying horde of beasts, was just... gone?
"Sob...sob..." An uncontrollable whimper escaped her throat.
"There's another one here! Get her!" A rough, inhuman-accented English roar exploded above her.
Nyamu's head snapped up, her pupils contracting sharply.
Several tall figures leaped directly from the suspended scaffolding, their heavy military boots thudding on the ground.
They moved swiftly and with practiced precision, fanning out to surround her instantly, their dark muzzles locked on her.
Their dark digital camouflage combat uniforms and full-body cold armor were exactly what the soldiers who had just fired were wearing.
Nowhere to run!
"Meow—!" Nyamu shrieked, trying to retreat, but her feet tripped on scattered metal parts, sending her sprawling clumsily to the ground.
The next second, a tremendous force slammed her face down onto the rough, cold concrete, scraping her cheek.
A huge claw, covered in hard keratin and coarse gray fur, pressed down firmly on her nape, so strong that she could barely breathe.
Another claw roughly twisted her arms behind her back, and cold metal handcuffs clicked shut.
She was pinned to the ground, like prey awaiting slaughter.
"Tsk, little thing, quite good at hiding." A hoarse voice, with a distinct bird-like cadence, rang out.
The pressure on her nape eased slightly.
Nyamu struggled to turn her head, seeing the leading soldier remove his helmet.
What was revealed was a head covered in snowy white feathers, with a sharp, hooked beak.
A pair of cold, molten-gold-like eagle eyes looked down at her, with no human warmth in their depths, only the predatory scrutiny.
This was a "Bald Eagle" beast-human!
Beside him, the other soldiers also removed their helmets one by one.
Wolf snouts bared pale fangs, drooling; bear heads were covered in thick brown fur, nostrils flaring; horse faces were long and narrow, snorting roughly...
A series of twisted, grotesque faces, blending human and beast features, appeared in the dim light like specimens in a biological museum, exuding primal savagery.
This was a team of beast-humans!
"Speak! Intruder! Where are your accomplices? Who sent you? What is your objective?"
The Bald Eagle Captain rubbed his sharp beak, emitting a teeth-grinding "clack" sound.
Nyamu trembled like a leaf in the wind.
She was just a fourteen-and-a-half-year-old girl who ran from Kumamoto countryside to Tokyo to chase her dreams, only to be tricked into crippling debt!
Even if she had awakened her Stand and bore the title of "Working Warrior," even if she had sped through hordes of beasts, she had never truly faced such a blatant, direct threat of death.
Her teammate's "death" had also pulled away her last support.
The cruelty of reality was like a sledgehammer, instantly shattering all her courage and illusions.
Fear instantly overwhelmed the courage and reason in her heart.
"Waaah—please let me go!"
"I... I just accidentally got lost and came here! I'm really just a normal student! I don't know anything! Please let me go, meow!"
She cried so hard that snot bubbles appeared, her purple cat ears pressed tightly against her hair, and her tail curled into a ball, small, pitiful, and helpless.
"Nonsense!"
The Bald Eagle Captain suddenly leaned down, his sharp eagle beak almost poking Nyamu's face, his golden pupils full of scorn and insight.
"Although you're just a little girl, I can tell at a glance—you smell of gunpowder, you have the disheveled look of someone fleeing for their life, and you have... the eyes of a warrior pushed to the brink!"
"You are a warrior! There's no doubt about it!"
'This title even has a negative effect!' Nyamu wailed inwardly.
'FT! System! Please help me!'
'Why are you just watching! I'm going to be beaten to death, meow!'
Seeing the iron-clamp-like claw next to her about to fall on her, seeing the wolf-headed soldier nearby already showing a cruel, bloodthirsty grin, Nyamu felt unprecedented despair.
Physical torture? She dared not imagine how terrifying that would be!
"I'm not! I'm really not a warrior!"
She shrieked and struggled with her last ounce of strength, her voice distorted by fear.
"Then what are you?!" The Bald Eagle Captain's voice was full of impatient brutality.
"I... I am..."
Extreme fear, paradoxically, overloaded her brain in an instant, and a flash of astonishing wisdom, like lightning, cut through the chaos.
An absolutely safe, absolutely harmless, and perhaps even life-saving identity blurted out—
"I'm here to work! Yes! To work!"
The girl's voice, though tearful, was unusually loud and clear.
"I'm just a passing Working Girl! Don't arrest me, meow!"
The moment the words "to work" left her mouth!
Buzz—!
A faint glow, perceptible only to Nyamu, flashed across her.
In the corner of her vision, the silent blue panel suddenly refreshed:
[Title: Working Warrior]
[Status: I'm Here to Work! (Activated)]
[Effect: Your deeply ingrained working spirit is undeniable. All beings who witness you and hear your work declaration will instantly understand and deeply recognize—you are here to work! Unquestionably!]
Time froze for a second.
The claw on her nape visibly loosened.
The claw holding her arms behind her back also hesitated and relaxed its grip.
On the grotesque beast faces around her, the brutality and killing intent receded like a tide, replaced by a kind of... sudden realization?
Even a hint of "why didn't you say so sooner" relief?
The Bald Eagle Captain's molten-gold eagle eyes blinked, his sharp gaze sweeping over Nyamu several times, lingering for a moment on her uniform, which, though covered in dust and unknown stains, still clearly looked like some kind of work attire.
After a long moment, he straightened up, smoothed the feathers on his neck with a claw, and let out a short, guttural "gurgle" sound, like clearing his throat.
"That makes sense."
His voice was surprisingly much calmer, though his accent was still peculiar.
"You're the new person who was supposed to arrive today, right? Management informed us a temporary worker would be coming to help."
"Eh... Eh! Yes, yes, yes! That's right! It's me!"
Nyamu clutched at this lifeline, nodding frantically, her purple cat ears bobbing up and down, trying her best to put on the most innocent, most "I'm just a poor worker" expression.
"Good..." The Bald Eagle Captain seemed satisfied, waving his claw, "Release her. She's one of us."
"Yes, Captain!"
The wolf-headed soldier and the horse-faced soldier immediately let go, and even pulled Nyamu up from the ground.
Their movements were still rough, but the deadly killing intent was gone.
"Am I... saved?"
Nyamu's legs still felt weak, and her heart was still pounding, but the post-escape exhaustion made her almost collapse.
She quietly exhaled a murky breath, and just as she was about to straighten her back and show off her "professional Working Girl" demeanor—
Whoosh!
A thick, opaque burlap sack, smelling of mildew, was unceremoniously pulled over her head, instantly depriving her of all sight.
"Eh?! Wait—!" Nyamu's startled cry was muffled inside the sack.
"Since you're here, hurry up and get to work! The deadline is tight!" The Bald Eagle Captain's unquestionable voice rang out from outside.
"Jerry! Jimmy! Take her to the repair workshop! Be quick about it!"
"Roar! Sir, Yes Sir!" Two gruff voices responded; they were the wolf-headed and bear-headed soldiers who had just restrained her.
Immediately after, Nyamu felt her arms once again gripped by two powerful claws, and her feet lifted off the ground!
"And while you're at it, bring those two people we tied up yesterday too! The plan personally devised by 'Alpha Wolf' must not suffer any delays!"
"Roar! Understood!" Another voice replied.
"For Friends!"
The Bald Eagle Captain suddenly shouted a slogan with high fervor.
"Japari Forever!"
Jerry and Jimmy, who were holding Nyamu, immediately roared back with fanaticism, their voices making Nyamu's ears buzz inside the sack.
"Forever! Forever!"
The other beast-human soldiers also chanted in unison, their fanatical slogans echoing through the huge hub space, filled with a kind of religious, ritualistic frenzy.
Amidst this passionate yet unclear clamor, Yuutenji Nyamu, treated like bulky luggage, was roughly carried by two beast-headed soldiers, stumbling and staggering, away from the core area of the water supply hub, which was permeated with the smell of gunpowder, blood, and the sweet tang of golden liquid.
She could feel the ground under her feet change from cold concrete to soft earth, and then seemingly pass through some metal passage, the bumps and shakes making her stomach churn, leaving her completely disoriented.
"Where exactly... will I be taken?!"
The girl cried out in despair in the darkness and bumps, the sack cutting off light and most sounds, leaving only her own heavy breathing and the roaring of her pounding heart, along with the heavy footsteps of the two beast-human soldiers outside.
Just in this suffocating despair and confusion—
Ding!
A crisp system notification sound, like a heavenly melody.
Or rather, like a rope extended in despair, whether for salvation or a deeper pit, rang out in her mind.
A line of translucent blue text, ignoring the physical darkness, clearly appeared in her conscious vision:
[Side Quest Discovered: Cooperate with your colleagues to complete the maintenance of the Nightingale fighter jet!]
[Quest Description: The "colleagues" in the repair workshop need your help. Showcase your professional competence as a Working Warrior!]
[Quest Rewards: Debt Transfer (specific target), Mysterious Small Gift (helpful for current situation!).]
[Accept?]
Nyamu: "..."
"Rewards? In this hellhole?"
"Being carried by a bunch of beast-monsters to repair a fighter jet?"
"Me? I'm going to repair a fighter jet?"
Her numbness towards her unreliable Stand reached its peak at this moment.
It always popped out at the most inconvenient times, dangling incredible quests and rewards, then pushing her into a deeper pit.
But... this seemed to be the only light in the darkness? Even if it might be bait?
"Accept!"
Nyamu almost gritted her teeth, mentally stabbing down, figuring she might as well try anything!
[Quest Accepted. Wish you smooth work.] The system replied emotionlessly.
"...Smooth my foot! You tell me what the hell a 'Nightingale' fighter jet is! How could a delivery person like me possibly fix that thing?!"
Just then, the suffocating darkness and bumpy sensation that had enveloped her suddenly vanished.
Whoosh—!
The sack over her head was roughly yanked off.
Blinding, incredibly blinding sunlight, like countless golden needles, instantly pierced into her pupils, which had just adapted to the darkness!
"Ugh!" Nyamu cried out in pain, instinctively squeezing her eyes shut, tears uncontrollably welling up.
After several seconds, she finally managed to adapt to the light, opening her eyes, blurred with tears.
First to greet her eyes were the two beast-human soldiers holding her arms—Jerry and Jimmy.
They were staring at her with a look that was... well, probably "hurry up and get to work, don't dawdle."
Then, she saw her surroundings.
She seemed to be standing on an unusually open, flat concrete expanse.
At the edge of the open space, stood an extremely tall, arch-domed building, like a giant beast crouching—a massive repair workshop.
The steel framework of the workshop reflected a cold, hard sheen in the sunlight, and the huge sliding doors were open, revealing the deep space within.
But what truly made her breath catch was the direction she was being pulled, dragged by Jerry and Jimmy, towards the open workshop doors—in the incredibly spacious depths of that workshop, a dark gray steel giant bird was conspicuously parked.
Its streamlined fuselage exuded power, its huge twin vertical stabilizers like a shark's dorsal fin, and its wings swept back with sharp edges.
Even from a distance, and even though she knew nothing about military matters, she could feel the oppressive presence emanating from that fighter jet.
It sat there silently, like a sleeping, metallic beast of prey ready to tear through the sky at any moment.
"No way..."
Working Warrior Yuutenji Nyamu, looking at the fighter jet named "Nightingale," let out a groan from the depths of her soul.
Her second job as a worker was actually... repairing a fighter jet?!
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