"Kyoko! Kyoko! Kyoko! Your next main quest is coming. Get ready to welcome a surprise."
The System Girl was online again.
Unfortunately, what she brought was the very last thing Kyoko wanted to see.
A quest. A main quest, no less.
If it was one of those run-all-over-the-map missions, then how was she supposed to deal with that out here in the backwoods? If she were still a lone wolf, it would not matter. But the problem was, she was not alone anymore.
If she left, then what about the girls back home?
"My life has only just settled down," Takashiro Kyoko grumbled. "And now there's already a new quest here to bother me? Are you really not going to let me enjoy my nice, leisurely apocalypse life?"
The System Girl was immediately offended.
Is that any way to talk to someone when you need a favor? Earlier, when it was time to draw from the gacha, Kyoko had known exactly how to behave. And now she was using that tone?
Honestly, Takashiro Kyoko had clearly never experienced what it was like for a system to actually target someone.
"Don't you start picking fights with me!" the System snapped. "I've bent over backwards for you! I've kept your little end-of-the-world life sweet and cozy, and now I'm lining up missions for you so you can help me get home, and somehow that's wrong?!"
She unloaded on Kyoko without holding back.
Kyoko, meanwhile, immediately switched to soothing the little ancestor.
"Oh, come on, System Sis, why are you getting mad at me?" she said, clasping her hands in front of her chest and bobbing them up and down in a ridiculous little plea. "My bad, okay? I'll go to work and earn you your ticket home."
"Nope. You are not getting off that easily this time."
The System's attitude was firm, completely unmoved by Kyoko's clumsy act.
"System Sis, please forgive me. Be magnanimous. I really won't do it again."
Kyoko knew her system's personality well enough.
The System Girl hated force, but had a soft spot for people who caved fast and apologized properly. As long as Kyoko admitted fault enthusiastically, the System would cool off on her own soon enough.
And, as expected, that was exactly what happened.
"All right. I'm not going to stay mad at an idiot forever," the System said. "Get ready to head out. I could assign the mission at any moment."
"Wait, I really do have to go out?"
"As if I'd joke about that. My missions aren't randomly generated, you know. I'm constantly monitoring things that have already happened, things happening right now, and things that could happen in the future across all regions. Only when I find an event suitable for helping you grow stronger do I package it into a quest for you. I treat you so well, and you're still unsatisfied. Greedy little thing."
"I don't really have any other way to repay you," Kyoko said. "So from now on, send me more missions. I'll clear more of them and help you get back to your full state sooner."
"…Idiot."
The System scolded her, but Kyoko barely noticed anymore, because at that very moment, a plane suddenly appeared on her live map, closing in on the shelter.
It was now less than five kilometers away.
Kyoko's heart shot straight into her throat.
What the hell was this?
Official military? Civilians? Friendlies? Neutral? Hostile?
The lights outside were still on, too. At that distance, they were practically a beacon. Shutting them off now would already be too late.
Kyoko rushed back into the house and immediately told the others to hide. At the same time, she pulled out the M2014 electromagnetic Gauss rifle from her personal space, ready to fight at any moment.
"System, don't tell me this is the surprise you were talking about!"
"Heehee. What do you think?"
The System would not say, and was actually laughing.
That probably meant it was not something outright dangerous.
Standing out on the terrace, Kyoko finally let herself relax a little.
Behind the scenes, though, the System Girl was laughing so hard she was nearly losing it.
That's what you get for making me mad. Just you wait. The second you see who's coming, you're going to explode.
The System's eyes shone with pure auntie-level delight. What was about to happen was going to be spectacular. If she had the ability later, she was absolutely going to step in herself.
Hahaha.
Meanwhile, poor Takashiro Kyoko was still completely in the dark, with no idea what kind of catastrophic life development was about to fall on her head.
On the other side, inside the helicopter, the people aboard still had not noticed that there was a hidden little haven nestled among these mountains.
A mature woman with a beautiful figure, dressed in a white lab coat, let out a weary sigh.
She held the pendant hanging at her chest in one hand. Her face looked drawn, and the corners of her eyes were slightly red.
That woman was none other than Kono Chiyo, Takashiro Kyoko's guardian.
In her own mind, she thought of herself as Kyoko's stepmother—or perhaps something else.
To Kyoko, she was more like an older sister.
This golden-haired woman's eyes were dull with exhaustion.
The previous night, she had been overjoyed.
The instant she got approval, Kono Chiyo had finished her preparations at top speed. She had not even been willing to wait a single night. That very afternoon, she boarded a helicopter bound for Fukushima.
After arriving that night, she had gone straight to the place where Kyoko had lived before.
She had a perfectly valid reason for going. Not long ago, a fighter jet had killed a rare Lord-class infected there.
"Just wait for me, Kyoko. I'm coming to bring you home."
Deep down, Chiyo had already prepared herself for the possibility that her little girl had become infected.
Alive or dead, she needed to see her.
As long as the person still existed, then even if Kyoko had been infected, Chiyo was not afraid. As someone studying the Sumero Virus, she believed the virus was reversible. True, the original host's memories might be wiped in the process—but if Kyoko herself still remained, that was enough.
After all, in blood and in appearance, she would still remain inseparably connected to Senpai.
But when Chiyo arrived at Kyoko's old home, she was stunned.
The battle there had clearly been ferocious.
The veteran former U.S. Marine sniper Helena Bernard, now part of Special Section A Team and assigned to protect Chiyo on this mission, had told her:
"Commissioner, there are signs of a large-scale firefight here. And the surrounding…"
Before she could finish, Kono Chiyo cut her off.
"I know."
Then she waved impatiently.
"Package up the remains of that Lord-class infected. You all get started on that. Helena, come with me."
"Understood."
The rest obeyed. Weapons in hand, Helena followed Chiyo to the apartment building where Kyoko had once lived.
The blackened walls, the shattered metal netting, the craters left by explosives, the corpses strewn everywhere, the shell casings scattered across the ground, and the handmade traps all screamed the same thing.
The stairs were ruined.
And there, hanging in midair, was the rope ladder.
Without a word, Kono Chiyo started climbing. Helena had no choice but to follow.
Kyoko, this was you, wasn't it? I knew you could survive.
Watching those defenses, Chiyo felt certain.
The setup reached exactly to the fifteenth floor, and every trace in the area pointed straight to her adopted daughter's handiwork.
Kyoko really was alive.
That thought filled Chiyo with joy.
But no one appeared along the way, and that left a sliver of unease buried in her happiness.
At last she reached the familiar door.
Chiyo immediately pulled out her key.
The door opened.
Inside, however, the place was utterly empty.
Her arm fell limp.
She walked into the room.
If there was no one waiting for her inside, then this was just a room now. How could a place still be called home if the people you longed for were gone?
Helena, who had already seen the truth, spoke up.
"Commissioner, whoever survived here was no ordinary person. Judging by the density of corpses alone, there had to have been at least a thousand infected in this building. The heating system here is also impressively clever. But the traces are old. In other words, the survivors most likely left quite some time ago. Commissioner… this is your home, isn't it? Please…"
Chiyo was still staring blankly when one of A Team's members suddenly came running over.
"They're telling us from upstairs that we need to leave immediately. If we don't move now, it'll be too late."
Why? Why? Kyoko—where are you?
That was where the memory ended.
Back in the present, Helena's voice pulled Chiyo out of her thoughts.
She remembered she was still aboard the helicopter.
"Commissioner, look. There are lights in the mountains. There may be civilians there. Should we investigate?"
Chiyo replied flatly, all life gone from her voice, "Coming here was your suggestion in the first place. Just be careful."
Far below on the ground, Kyoko was also watching the helicopter.
No matter how much she guessed, she would never imagine that her guardian was the one sitting inside.
Takashiro Kyoko and her guardian were heading straight toward each other from opposite directions.
And the System Girl was enjoying every second of the show.
Heehee.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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