"Yah!" Facing the aggressively approaching Arahato, Yae Rin let out a short scream.
Her small pale face looked drained of color due to fright, appearing pitiful.
Arahato didn't pause out of pity. It leaned forward slightly during the charge, and its mechanical right arm, with a gentle movement inconsistent with its stout appearance, scooped Yae Rin up along with the wheelchair into its embrace.
With a sweep of its left arm, it gently pushed the "dumbfounded" Natasha aside, avoiding collision damage.
The whole process was smooth and flowing. From breaking in through the window to picking up the target, it took less than ten seconds.
"Open fire! Authorize the use of stronger firepower! Can't let it take the target!" The commander, seeing the target snatched, was furious and issued a new order.
Is there still law? Is there still justice?
Daring to snatch someone in front of his face today, dare to do it in the city center tomorrow—
More agents emerged from behind cover everywhere. Some hidden automatic defense weapons also lowered from the ceiling, their muzzles flashing red light.
But Arahato didn't linger in battle at all.
The moment it scooped up Yae Rin, all the main and auxiliary thrusters on its back and legs lit up. Azure particle streams erupted fiercely, forming strong thrust.
Holding Rin, it stomped fiercely on the ground and soared towards the hole in the glass dome it smashed through!
Shoulder armor opened again at this time, ejecting the last batch of smoke grenades and interference chaff, creating thick smoke below and interfering with locking.
Most of the bullets and energy beams shot from below were affected by the smoke and interference chaff. A few hit the thickened armor on Arahato's back, still failing to cause effective damage.
"Pursue! Notify air traffic control and ground support! Block surrounding airspace! It won't get far!" The commander's voice almost tore the communication channel apart.
However, after rushing out of the building, Arahato did not flee to high altitude.
Using the complex structure of the building itself and the dense urban building clusters nearby, it quickly lowered its altitude, almost hugging the walls of buildings. With extremely fast speed, it turned into a pre-planned narrow channel full of visual blind spots, its engine light also dimmed cooperatively to almost invisible.
When the official helicopters on standby nearby rushed to this airspace, only the huge glass hole and the mess and thick smoke in the venue below remained in visual range, as well as the exasperated shouts and inquiries from all parties in the communication channel.
Arahato, along with the "kidnapped" key case Yae Rin, like a ghost, tore an opening in the official defense line that was strictly waiting but caught off guard, and disappeared into the depths of the intricate steel jungle of Sapphire City.
Leaving the officials with only the shattered dome, the chaotic scene, the injured personnel hurt by scattered glass fragments and sonic boom in the chaos, and a huge question waiting to be answered.
What exactly is the purpose of Arahato, or the force behind it, snatching an ALS girl?
And the name "City of the Future," almost at the same time, emerged in the most prominent position in the minds of all relevant intelligence analysts.
The smoke had not dispersed, and sirens approached from far to near from all directions, gradually surrounding the block where the building was located.
On the edge of the rooftop of an inconspicuous office building two blocks away from the chaotic center, Yae Sakura stood quietly. The evening breeze ruffled her long pink-white hair but couldn't disperse the chill condensed between her brows.
Her gaze seemed to penetrate the obstruction of buildings, firmly locking on the direction where Arahato disappeared.
Joachim stood a few steps away from her. The tactical tablet screen in his hand flickered, receiving preliminary reports and chaotic scene images from different channels.
His expression was much calmer than Yae Sakura's, but his tightly pursed lips and slightly furrowed brows showed he wasn't completely relaxed.
"Too rough." Yae Sakura's voice broke the silence, cold as frost in late autumn. "That way of breaking in, those glass shards... Rin will be scared."
There was no questioning the necessity of the plan in her words, only instinctive heartache and dissatisfaction for the fright her sister might endure.
Perhaps deeper was her self-blame for having to let Yae Rin endure these.
Joachim's gaze didn't leave the tablet, explaining steadily: "It must be so, Miss Yae Sakura. What Arahato needs to leave behind is an image of a barbaric, overbearing 'robber' who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
"Only in this way can the anger and attention of all parties be instantly focused on the target of 'City of the Future,' confirming the motive of 'snatching core interests.'
"Gentle and reasonable ways cannot generate enough impact."
He paused and added, "As for the physical damage caused, all losses will be recorded on the public accounts of Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical. Essentially, it's internal friction from the left hand to the right hand, causing no extra waste of social resources.
"Chaos and panic are mostly limited to inside that venue, within a controllable range."
Yae Sakura was silent for a moment. The evening breeze seemed to blow away some of the fierce aura on her body.
She lowered her eyelids slightly, her voice carrying a trace of almost imperceptible fatigue and... powerlessness.
"I understand...
"Just... hope Rin won't have nightmares." She paused, her gaze cast into the darkness in the distance.
"At least... you can give her the best treatment. This is much more than what I can do..."
The complex emotions contained in this sentence made Joachim's heart sink slightly.
He heard Yae Sakura's unspoken words: her worry about her sister's condition, her helplessness about being unable to provide top medical conditions herself, and her complex feelings about having to rely on others, especially this kind of drastic power.
This was a sense of powerlessness mixed with gratitude and self-negation.
"Miss Yae Sakura," Joachim turned around, his tone gentle but firm, "you have done enough for Miss Rin. Without your protection and persistence, she might not have lasted until today.
"Treating diseases is within the scope of science and resources, while what you gave her is the belief to live and the warmth of family. This cannot be replaced by any technology... We are just doing our best."
He tried to comfort, but Yae Sakura just shook her head slightly without responding.
Some knots in the heart could not be easily untied by words.
Just then, the door to the rooftop entrance was fiercely pushed open, making a harsh sound.
Natasha walked in quickly. Her face was unusually gloomy. Her usually expressionless face was now clearly written with solemnity, lingering fear, and some premonition of something bad.
She didn't even look at Yae Sakura, walking straight to Joachim, her breathing slightly rapid.
"Joachim, something happened. Backstage—" She had just started her sentence.
Buzz—
The tactical tablet in Joachim's hand vibrated violently almost at the same time. A highest-priority encrypted communication request popped up forcibly. The identifier was impressively—
Kallen.