On the screen, one could see a petite figure around 1.5 meter in height standing in the center of a crater. She had a large green raincoat that has a pair of rabbit ears to go along with it. She looked like a character someone meticulously drew for a work of art.
She's the spirit that had appeared this time, a loli character.
An alarm rang and all the Ratatoskr personnel took note of it.
"Commander, it's the AST, they are there!"
Lights in the sky, incoming AST members, flew towards Hermit who is still in the crater. When they confirmed visuals of their target, they raised the guns that came with their mecha suit.
They shot rounds of munition at the petite figure in the crater.
The petite figure emerged from the salvo relatively unharmed. She got out of AST's encirclement but they still fired at her as they chased her down.
The sound of explosions came through the screen as Hermit did her best to dodge the missiles and bullets.
Wu Yan felt a wave of seething anger boiling up within him, the sight of that tiny figure escaping from ruthless attacks irked him the wrong way. His anger took the heat out of the control room, everyone shivered.
Wu Yan felt his respect for AST dropping by the second. She's a spirit and they are just doing what they are ordered to do but to raise a gun against such a little kid. Wu Yan can't approve of AST's action.
Kotori felt the pressure leaking out of Wu Yan and she called him, she wanted him to calm down. If he kept his pressure up, everyone in the control center would collapse.
"Squad leader!"
Yatsuki Tatsuwa grabbed Wu Yan's shoulder, an impressive feat considering that Wu Yan's pressure, tiny as it may be, is enough to immobilize adults. He can see why Kotori chose him as his assistant.
This is probably the result of his combat training, Wu Yan's a field operative, as his assistant, naturally, he would need to be able to put up a fight whenever the situation calls for it.
Wu Yan regained his composure when the two of them called out to him. He inhaled deeply, it took a lot for him to calm down.
"Kotori!"
Wu Yan turned towards Kotori with a serious look.
"Give me the order! I am going to bring her back no matter what!"
Kotori smiled. She didn't beam widely but everyone knew she's overjoyed.
"That's my Onii-san!"
Kotori stood up, it's surprising how capable she looked as a leader even if she had a petite figure. Nobody thought about questioning her authority.
"Everyone! Get ready for the first stage of the operation!"
"Affirmative!"
Their blood started boiling after seeing how hyped the brother and sister pair looked. If their leaders are going at it at full force they don't have any excuse to slack off.
The mood in this room hit an all-time high.
Kotori turned towards Tatsuwa.
"You are in charge of helping Shido, got that?"
"Yes, commander!"
Tatsuwa ran out of the control center, Wu Yan had already made his exit.
Kotori glanced over everyone and she grinned at the screen. Her eyes look like they are on fire.
"Well, let our date begin!"
===
Tengu city, near the entrance of a commercial building…
Two figures appeared out of nowhere. They looked at the towering building in front of them. They scanned their surroundings, it's very quiet here but they both knew one wrong move and this quiet place will go up in flames.
"Is the loli here?"
Wu Yan asked Tatsuwa while rubbing his chin.
"Erm…"
Tatsuwa didn't comment on Wu Yan's loli statement. He answered the question.
"It's what I got from the intel department, Hermit is definitely in the area. The AST members are also lurking around on standby orders. They probably don't want to damage this area even if it means exposing Hermit. The reconstruction work and the finance involved would not be worth the effort."
"That's oddly realistic of them…"
Wu Yan reached out before continuing.
"The stuff I ordered?"
"I-I brought it…"
Tatsuwa stuttered but he handed over the lollipop anyway. He placed the lollipop gently in Wu Yan's hand while spotting a helpless expression.
He examined the candy in his hand before leaving a comment for Tatsuwa.
"You seemed well-versed in this kind of thing, don't tell me you do this kind of thing on a regular basis?"
Tatsuwa almost smashed his head against a nearby wall.
"Squad leader, that's not funny."
Wu Yan clicked his tongue.
"I am just complimenting you, this is a critical soft skill for any reasonable gentleman in the 21st century, there's a bright future ahead for you…"
Tatsuwa helplessly laughed.
"Squad leader, are you really going to use a lollipop on a spirit?"
"Yatsuki, you still have much to learn…"
He slapped Yatsuki's shoulder. He explained it to him as if it's scientific knowledge.
"When dealing with lolis, make sure to keep your lollipop handy, they are infinitely effective against them."
"Is that true?"
Tatsuwa still had his doubts but since his squad leader said so reckoned that it would be better to just observe for himself.
"I wish you well…"
"Well, you will see…"
A figure flew his way into the building, leaving behind a "girl" who is wondering whether lollipops truly had such magical properties.
Wu Yan pressed a button on his communication device.
"Kotori, I need the location of Hermit."
Kotori replied.
"She's a floor above you."
"One more floor huh?"
He stared at a doorway.
"That's the one?"
"Yeap, go through there!"
Yatsuki's voice came through the communication device.
"Squad leader, the AST members aren't on the move but be swift, there are no guarantees that they will stay on standby."
Wu Yan nodded and he replied in the affirmative. He pushed the door in front of him and he entered into what appears to be a large room with poor lighting conditions.