Chapter 128: Ch 128: One and half day left

Rin had hoped that the monster could keep some of its memories. That way, questioning it would actually mean something.

However, the monster in front of Rin was falling apart in its desperation to reach him. It was clawing desperately at its surroundings to get to Rin.

Rin knew that obsessive gaze of the monster looking at him and he knew how to use it well. So he brought the core out from his inventory and held it out in the open.

The monster’s gaze locked onto the core held in Rin’s hand and it stopped moving.

"This could be dangerous. We should keep our distance-"

"Defense unit, get ready to bring the shield up. In 3...2...1...now!"

The monster’s limbs collided with the invisible walls, forcing it back into confinement. The second wave of potions was released, rendering the monster unconscious.

"There was no trace of human intelligence left in that monstrous husk. I don’t know whether I should pity it or feel relieved that our opponent no longer possesses human intelligence."

[Please allow this system to clarify, Rookie. This system told you that the boss would not retain any human intelligence. To hope for anything more is a risk you chose to take yourself..]

There was no hesitation in that analysis. The only thing it was capable of giving was the cold, hard truth. But it did not sit well with Rin.

"So even hoping is useless now?"

The lack of an answer was the system’s way of silently saying yes. But Rin had not expected anything less from a being like the system.

Not that this was over by any means. The monster would not remain restrained forever and they only have a limited amount of firepower left.

As such, it would be foolish of Rin to assume they could protect the core forever. But the system surely won’t give humans such a difficult task this early? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Especially not one where humans were supposed to have an advantage.

"Rin, are you alright? Just how strong was that last attack? Our shields nearly collapsed. We somehow managed to recover in the end, but we likely won’t be able to take another attack head-on. So what are we going to do now?"

Right...that was a huge question.

What were the conditions of this task again? A three-day limit to prevent the boss from retrieving its egg and hatching it. How long did it take to hatch the egg?

That information was never made public. But if Rin somehow obtained that information, it would become easier for him to plan things out.

[What a loophole you’ve thought of, Rookie. We cannot give out such information to ordinary people because of punishment, but Rookie is a member of our workforce. Hence, he’s qualified to know the incubation period.]

[The core egg takes 24 hours to hatch.]

Twenty-four hours. That meant that as long as they could take the core back before that time, they would be safe.

Or rather, if they could delay the monster by one day, their victory would be guaranteed.

[Ah~Our Rookie is a cruel and heartless one. Let this system tell you the story of your poor unfortunate senior.]

[All she wanted to do was further her field of research when all of a sudden, she committed a taboo and became a calamity. But not all hope was lost. Suddenly, she gained a last ray of hope]

[She was told that if she was able to substitute herself with another calamity’s core, she would be free to return. And so began her frantic chase, filled with hope and desperation.]

[What would you have done if you had been in her place, Rookie?]

"Honestly, I would have blamed everything on a useless senior like yourself and dragged you down with me for not stopping me. Don’t corporations like to punish everyone involved?"

Rin spoke with a crooked smile.

[Rookie, this system has no intention of committing double suicide with you. This system will cut ties with you first. Or better yet, tie you up in a empty room where you won’t be able to do anything stupid.]

Rin felt a shiver go down his spine at the suspiciously familiar message on his screen.

"Have you been taking lessons from Shelly?"

[This system may or may not have been influenced.]

Well, that seemed awkward. But this brought Rin’s attention back on what was important at the moment... and there was something pinching his side hard.

"Tsk, I cannot find anything wrong with you. Just where is your focus? What did you even do to end up like this?"

Reina had been shaking Rin for some time before he snapped back to reality and decided to pay attention to her.

The monster had been struggling this entire time and had already broken through. through the paralysis twice in order to get to Rin. And each time, the defense team had been able to get her under control. But they had made little progress.

But it was only a matter of time before the monster broke free.

"Reina, there has been a change in our plans. How much potion supply do we have remaining? Can we hold on for a day and a half?"

"Seeing how we initially prepared for 3 days, I think we can manage a day and a half even if the monster gets annoying. But can you share what the new plan is?"

Reina asked in a worried voice. He could already see the doubt in her eyes which felt unfair. Rin had not even told her about the plan yet.

But she would see his way soon enough.

"I am going to let the monster have the core. According to my information, it’ll need 24 hours to hatch. So as long as we can delay it until the last day, it’ll be our win."

Reina fell silent at his confirmation. He could see her calculating the odds of winning this bet before she nodded in agreement.

"If your information is correct, then this is the best course of action."

Rin breathed a sigh of relief at Reina’s agreement. With that, the biggest obstacle was gone.

But he should have known better than to expect things to go smoothly, especially when the system was involved.

"M-Miss Reina, Boss, we are picking up massive signal fluctuations. They’re coming from...underground?"

"Tsk, the swarm is finally here. The swarm must have tracked the main body to this location."

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