Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

The night had deepened.

A pitch-black truck silently drove onto the street, quickly stopping outside the Quantum Research Institute. Immediately, soldiers wearing bulletproof vests stepped down from the vehicle, weapons in hand, and gathered outside the institute.

Soon, several soldiers arrived at the entrance, taking out explosives and swiftly attaching them to the door before pressing the button.

”Boom!!”

With the sound of the explosion, the institute’s main door was instantly blown to pieces. Seeing this, a man with tattoos on his face, dressed in a white lab coat, let out a cold chuckle.

”This is nothing. Seize the institute for me!”

”Yes!”

Upon hearing the man’s command, the soldiers immediately charged towards the institute. However, just as they were about to cross the door’s wreckage and storm inside...

”—————!!”

A transparent azure barrier suddenly appeared, like a wall blocking the soldiers’ path, and caught off guard, they ran headlong into it.

”What’s going on?”

Seeing this, the tattooed man showed an annoyed expression.

”Weren’t we told the institute’s power supply had been completely cut off?”

”Yes, it has been completely cut!”

”So they’ve activated the backup power? Doesn’t matter, just blow through the wall directly!”

”Yes!”

Following the tattooed man’s order, soldiers quickly moved to the other side of the wall and began installing bombs again. But just as they took out the explosives and were about to place them on the wall, suddenly...

”Boom!!”

”Waa!!!”

The wall of the institute exploded outward from within, and those soldiers screamed as they were blasted away. Witnessing this scene, the others were equally shocked and quickly turned towards the breach.

”Look, just like I said, these guys would definitely try to plant bombs here.”

”What do you mean like you said? How will we explain to Mr. Fang Zheng when he returns?”

”Don’t worry, it’s fine. By the time he returns, all you need to do is transform into my appearance and entice Mr. Fang Zheng a bit, and everything will be settled!”

”Uh... how do you know that?”

”I’m not an idiot, you really underestimate me. But... hehe, since Mr. Fang Zheng accepted you, that means he likes me too, right? The result doesn’t look too bad...”

”Wait, what are you planning?”

”Hehe, guess!”

As their conversation unfolded, two figures appeared from within, and seeing them, the leading soldier immediately gave a command.

”Open fire!!”

”Ratatatatatata!!!”

Gunfire erupted, and countless bullets instantly rained down towards the two figures. But in the next moment, one of the figures shifted, her hair spreading like wings and transforming into a shield in front of them, completely blocking the bullets.

”Ugh... Use grenade launchers!!”

Seeing those wing-like shields, the soldiers once again changed weapons, picking up grenade launchers to launch a new offensive. However, even amidst the intense explosions, those wings remained unmoved, showing no signs of damage.

”Switch to tear gas!”

”Yes!”

Just as the soldiers prepared to fire tear gas, the wings suddenly spread open, and several micro rocketry projectiles shot out from the gaps, hitting the crowd directly.

”Boom!!”

Accompanied by a violent explosion and shockwave, the soldiers at the front staggered and fell to the ground in confusion.

”How was that?”

At this moment, the wings slowly unfolded, revealing Riko Mine and Frenda standing within. Frenda proudly raised her head, flaunting the miniature rockets in her hand.

”These are my newly developed prototypes, way more practical than tear gas. Next time you go to work, no matter how many opponents there are, just blow them up with this and they’ll all go down, without worrying about casualties. How great is that?”

”Frenda, that’s not elegant at all...”

Hearing Frenda’s boasting, Riko helplessly pressed her forehead. How could a phantom thief stoop to acting like a bandit?

Oh well, but for now...

”...We should first get rid of these uninvited intruders cleanly!”

”Hmph.”

Seeing the imposing duo, the tattooed man revealed an icy smile.

”Ability users, huh? But that’s within my expectations. Use that.”

”Yes!”

”———————!!!”

The piercing sound rang out, and with this sound, Frenda and Riko’s expressions changed slightly.

”This, this is......”

”What is this.........!? It’s as if it’s drilling directly into the brain......!”

Riko and Frenda hadn’t participated in the previous incident, so they didn’t know about the existence of the AIM interference device. Not to mention that the interference device these soldiers had taken out now was vastly different from the one used by the Armed Powerless Group when they attacked the ability users. In terms of power and effectiveness, it was incomparable to the sound truck used then.

”Kill them.”

With the tattooed man’s command, the soldiers raised their guns again, targeting the two.

”Oh......this is bad......”

”I told you, this isn’t the time to show off......”

Riko wanted to invoke her ability, but couldn’t due to the AIM interference device. She could only watch helplessly as the soldiers fired at them again......

”Bang bang bang!”

”Oh great Earth Mother Goddess, please grant us glory, protect the lost lambs———Holy Shield!”

Just as the soldiers fired, a golden barrier suddenly appeared, shielding the two and blocking the incoming bullets.

”What’s going on?”

Seeing this, the tattooed man finally showed a look of panic.

”Could it be an ability user? No, if it’s an ability user, they should be interfered with by the AIM interference device, unable to use abilities at all!”

And at this moment......

”Al. Shuma!”

With a crisp chant, hissing ice shards flew out, directly striking the machine emitting the AIM interference field, piercing it instantly and turning it into a pile of scrap. The piercing sound disappeared along with it.

”Attack immediately, quickly, with all your might!”

At this point, the tattooed man’s face no longer had the confident expression he had before. He shouted loudly again. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

The howling cold wind swept across the plaza, ice appeared suddenly, mixing with snowflakes exploding everywhere. At the same time, the roaring storm turned into a tornado, rising from the ground, instantly blowing the soldiers ahead away. Seeing this, the soldiers in driver armor tried to stop it, but a pitch-black massive iron ball flew out suddenly, knocking them down like bowling pins.

”I didn’t expect someone would actually attack the research institute.”

Emilia, dressed in pajamas, lowered her hand and frowned at the crowd in front of her. Beside her, the Priestess of the Goddess sighed.

”I heard the Knight is currently implementing reforms here, which might touch some interests. It’s not surprising someone would come looking for trouble......”

”So it’s my turn now, right?”

Megumin, energized, raised the Magic Wand in her hand.

”What’s so great about these people? Watch me use Burst Magic ooh ooh......!”

However, Megumin’s words were interrupted as Ais covered her mouth and silently dragged her away.

”Get them!”

The tattooed man’s face was gloomy, but he didn’t retreat; this was their final battle. Whether they won or lost, they had only one path left.

With the tattooed man’s command, the door of the large truck’s container opened immediately, and hundreds of machine dogs dashed out, surrounding the entire research institute. Seeing this, Riko and Frenda were serious, the Priestess of the Goddess silently picked up the wand in her hand, and Ais drew the Longsword from her waist.

Emilia raised her hands, cold winds howled around her, though Parker’s ”work hours” were over, as a Spirit User, she still had combat capabilities.

On Emilia’s sides, Rem and Ram also walked over; Ram tightly held a whirlwind in her hand, while Rem carried a giant iron ball.

Only Megumin stood at the back, hopping up and down in search of an opportunity to Release Burst Magic......which was definitely not feasible.

After all, the area in front of the research institute was this small; releasing a Burst Magic would probably raze the entire research institute and surrounding structures to the ground.

The confrontation lasted less than a second; the next moment, as the machine dogs leaped forward, gunfire rang out.

The battle finally began.

”Someone’s infiltrating the research institute?”

Fang Zheng walked out of the elevator, face darkened, Kurumi beside him, also not looking well. You must know that preventing such incidents was Kurumi’s responsibility. Although as a clone in this world, she didn’t possess her original capability to use Chronos to slice herself, she had just left the research institute, and it was attacked shortly after, which to Kurumi felt like being slapped in the face.

”Yes.”

Reiji, hidden on the rooftop, nodded, then looked down again. As a sniper, Reiji was on guard twenty-four hours a day, which is why she was the first to discover the intruders and promptly alerted Ram and the others.

”I have locked the commander currently; a tattooed man in his thirties or forties.”

She spoke while aiming at him.

”Should I kill him?”

”Hmm......”

”Mr. Fang Zheng, please leave this to me.”

Kurumi couldn’t hold back at this moment. She was here partly to escape her original and other clones, but also to prove her own capability. You must know that whether original or clone, Kurumi was a very proud person, and she couldn’t bear this kind of direct affront.

”I’ll leave it to you then.”

Fang Zheng glanced at Kurumi and nodded.

”I’ll go find the little ones; it seems they’ve gotten into trouble again.”