Gun of Ashes

The head felt as if it had been filled with lead, with intense pain reverberating in the mind, like a sharp blade repeatedly slicing through the nerves.

Joey sat on the stretcher, wanting to clutch his head to ease the pain, but now he was wearing a straitjacket, unable to move freely.

The effects of the potion still lingered, his consciousness was groggy, seemingly about to fall asleep at any moment, yet simultaneously, with the infusion of the Florun Potion, his body began to revive, his heart pounding fiercely and rapidly like an overloaded machine, perhaps on the verge of bursting apart the next instant.

This was the side effect of the potion, placing great strain on the human body, and this was after deterioration; the initial Rangers faced even worse side effects.

”Stay awake!”

Someone forcefully slapped Joey’s face, his vision gradually cleared; it was Red Falcon.

”What’s happening?”

”No time to explain this nonsense to you, just get up quickly!”

As Red Falcon spoke, he unfastened the straitjacket and strapped the Geiger Counter to Joey’s chest, its ticking sound accompanying the activation.

”You still have erosion on you... never mind, no need to worry about that now, we’re all contaminated by the erosion.”

”What happened?”

Joey’s current state was wretched, dulled by the burden on his body, yet his consciousness was continually clearing due to the potion.

His whole body felt somewhat feverish, a normal response as the potion roused his body’s survival instincts. This feeling was terrible, as if he might suddenly die the next second.

”Many things... but for now, you just need to know we need you, or we wouldn’t have captured you.”

Red Falcon hefted Joey up; dragging this on would only worsen the situation. The survivors had to muster all their strength to carve a path to the lift area amid the onslaught of Demons. Only by seizing the Armor of Original Sin docked there could they find a glimmer of hope in the current desperate situation.

”Though by regulation you should be off duty recuperating, fighting Demons always has some unforeseen events, right? Just consider it overtime.”

Red Falcon advanced, carrying Joey. His body needed some time to regain sensation, but there was no time to let him recuperate now.

”However, make an effort, after all, only by surviving can you earn overtime pay, otherwise, dead is dead.”

Not sure whether to comfort himself or imply he was unpredictable, Red Falcon continued.

”Ah, we absolutely cannot die here, this damned place is Black Mountain Hospital, not far from here is the cemetery!”

Finally, he dropped Joey to the ground, where a group had gathered, seemingly the only combat force left, among them were Eve and Owes, two children who appeared as if recently reprimanded, their expressions uniformly blank and sullen.

”Wait for me here, your consciousness isn’t clear yet, shortly you just need to follow my instructions, understood?” Red Falcon said.

”You?” Joey held his head with one hand, propping himself up to kneel with the other, ”Entrust my life to you? Are you serious, Red Falcon?”

Within the Purification Mechanism’s damned corporate culture, these people were not very afraid of dying. From Joey’s perspective, everyone had different values, soldiers had the value of soldiers, commanders had the value of commanders. He was not afraid of death, but afraid of dying in vain, especially under Red Falcon’s lead.

Red Falcon couldn’t bother with him this time; despite his foul-mouthed words, his expression was more earnest than anyone else’s.

Swift had already been injured, Joey’s state was unstable, Arthur was the commander, it was not his role to be on the front line; ruling out options, effectively only Red Falcon, Bluebird, and Blue Jade, with the ordinary soldiers, could fight now.

That is to say, Red Falcon, the Knights who resisted the erosion of Demons, would be the vanguard, only they could maintain rational combat in such harsh conditions, only this way could a path to the lift area be opened.

All those capable of fighting had gathered by the makeshift defensive line; gunfire was relentless, the soldiers’ ammunition was nearly depleted, their time was running out.

”Actually, the plan isn’t complicated, kill all those Demons, reach the lift area, and return to the surface.”

Arthur spoke to the others standing by the defensive line.

”Who will pilot that Armor?” Swift asked; none of the Upper-Rank Knights present had experience piloting the Armor of Original Sin.

”That’s not your concern.”

Arthur replied, unwilling to divulge these matters; otherwise, considering their viewpoint, commanders were deemed superior to the Knights, so the Armor should be piloted by them.

Blue Jade, who was aware, remained silent, just as Arthur indicated that the Upper-Rank Knights’ resistance was insufficient against the First Generation Armor’s erosion, only Arthur could achieve this.

”What about the patients?” Joey asked.

”We can’t take them, and the erosion pressure in the research zone will intensify, they’ll only become monsters like Demons...” Arthur said.

”Execute all the patients on-site?” Blue Jade proposed.

This was a correct, even somewhat humane decision; these patients had no hope of escape, rather than facing the fear of Demons, it might be better to kill them here.

However, due to such seemingly ”correct” reasons, the psychological burden from the slaughter would significantly affect everyone, each wore expressions of repression and faint fear, their rational barriers teetering precariously.