---o---
[A smiley face mask lies nearby, its smile seemingly mocking your negligence.]
[The Blessed Berries have been stolen.]
Looking at the text on the light screen, the faint, relaxed smile on Natasha's lips instantly froze.
Stolen... what happened?!
How could the Blessed Berries have been stolen so suddenly?
Only Ron and I know about the secret room in the clinic. For the sake of these berries, my simulated self didn't even leave the clinic...
Thinking carefully, Natasha's eyes narrowed, and a cold sweat broke out on her skin.
She clicked the screen, controlling her simulated character to search the clinic thoroughly, hoping to find any trace of the person who had stolen the berries.
A new line of text appeared on the screen:
[You attempt to search the clinic for related clues, but apart from that smiley face mask, you find nothing.]
[It lies quietly on the floor, the curve of the smile drawn on it seemingly mocking your dereliction of duty.]
[You cautiously pick up the smiley face mask. There is nothing special about the mask itself, but beneath it, you discover a neatly folded piece of letter paper.]
[Opening the letter, you see some strange words written in an inscrutable tone:]
["If a gun appears in the first act of a play, it must go off by the third..."]
["What symbolizes the existence of life, and what resists the illusory nothingness of this world?"]
["As the lead actors on this grand stage, you ought to provide an answer."]
["Where the gun's bullet will be fired will change based on your answer."]
["Please remember—'The greater the joy that reflects the dignity of humanity, the more exquisite that joy is.'"]
["I hope you can make this story progress in a more interesting fashion... Until this story becomes dull and tasteless, the center of the stage belongs only to you."]
A play? A story? A stage?
What was all this about... The Overworld and Underworld had been sealed for over a decade. No one in the Underworld could watch plays, something only the nobles of the Overworld could afford.
Natasha looked at the vague text on the screen, unable to decipher its metaphors, and felt a wave of helplessness.
If she knew what this person wanted, it would be one thing, but instead, they had left such a baffling riddle. It was impossible to tell what they were planning to do...
And yet, their skill was unbelievably high—who could infiltrate her clinic's secret room without a sound, deliberately leave a mask to mock her, and then leave with the Blessed Berries just as silently?
After developing the complete "Snowstorm Immunity," Natasha had taken a great leap forward on the Path of The Abundance. Her strength in this simulation was no longer on the same level as in reality...
She was certain that no one in the Underworld could have deceived her so easily.
Who was this thief who had stolen the Blessed Berries, and how were they able to do it...
Theoretically, apart from Ron, it should be impossible for anyone to come and go from her clinic as they pleased, as if it were their own backyard, without her noticing a single thing...
Thinking this, Natasha felt a headache coming on.
Ron had just instructed her to protect these Blessed Berries, and yet, no sooner had he left Boulder Town than the berries were stolen by some thief who had popped out of nowhere.
According to Ron's predictions, if the existence of these berries was truly exposed, a riot would break out in the entire Underworld... This was something she could never accept.
No, I must nip this in the bud. I have to retrieve those Blessed Berries...
With this thought, Natasha clicked the screen. The text disappeared, and a new choice popped up:
[Faced with the stolen Blessed Berries and the note left by the masked thief, you are deeply worried about the potential incidents the berries might cause.]
[Faced with the current situation, you decide to—]
[1. Pursue with all your might.
You will immediately order the members of Wildfire to conduct a large-scale search of the entire Boulder Town, using all their strength to turn over every corner of the town to find the thief who dared to steal the Blessed Berries.
Choosing this option will put the Wildfire organization into a state of mobilization. Wildfire's administrative efficiency will be reduced by 50%, the probability of finding the stolen berries will be greatly increased, and the citizens will become suspicious due to Wildfire's massive mobilization.]
[2. Act covertly.
You know that all information about the Blessed Berries must absolutely not be exposed. You will adhere to Ron's philosophy, doing your best to maintain secrecy while ordering the most trusted team in Wildfire to secretly search for the berries.
Choosing this option, Wildfire's administrative efficiency will not be reduced, the probability of finding the stolen berries will be slightly increased, and the citizens will not notice that anything has happened.]
[3. Stand down.
You know that you have completely messed up this time. The situation after losing the Blessed Berries is not something you can handle alone. Ron is about to return from Rivet Town; perhaps you should seek his opinion.
Choosing this option, you will not issue any orders to Wildfire. The Blessed Berries will not be found, and the citizens will not notice what has happened.
Furthermore, after choosing this option, you will not receive any new choices until Ron returns to Boulder Town.]
Looking at the three options, Natasha became thoughtful.
Although her instinct was to eliminate any potential trouble in its infancy and do everything possible to retrieve the berries...
The negative effects of the first option were simply too numerous.
Natasha didn't want to pay such a high price to get the berries back—
After all, if the thief didn't publicize the matter, but the secret was leaked because she ordered so many Wildfire members to search for them, then the loss would far outweigh the gain.
It was better to choose the second option.
Although Natasha also wanted to wait for Ron's return and let him handle the matter, which would surely be more reliable, simply waiting was not a solution...
It was better to first dispatch a secret team to privately search for the fiend who stole the berries, and at the same time, await Ron's return.
After all, although the chance of finding the berries with the second option was slim, it was better than nothing. There was still a possibility.
Even the slightest possibility was a hope that could not be abandoned.
With this in mind, Natasha clicked on the second option.
The choice box on the screen faded, and new text appeared:
[You have selected a loyal and elite Wildfire team, ordering them to search for the Blessed Berries in secret.]
[As a dark and cold subterranean world, berries are almost completely foreign to the Underworld. If they were to appear somewhere, it would surely cause a huge stir.]
[However, if the thief who stole the berries lies low and keeps them well hidden, then it is almost impossible to find them.]
[But you cannot change the fact that the berries were stolen. You can only hope that things will develop in a positive direction.]
---o---
[You followed Ron deep into the Fragmentum and successfully defeated Fragmentum Creation x10086]
[Your combat experience has increased. You have progressed further on your Path.]
[Similarly, Ron's combat experience has greatly increased, Ron's command experience has greatly increased, and Ron has progressed further on his Path.]
Looking at the text on the screen, Seele felt a great weight lift from her heart, all her worries vanishing.
Initially, when she first followed Ron to Rivet Town, she had been against charging in with the entire army.
After all, just because she could run around Rivet Town alone to bring back supplies for Natasha didn't mean the entire Pioneer Group could do the same.
But Ron had taught her a valuable lesson... He had shown Seele with undeniable facts that under his command, even a group of this size could easily weave through the dense swarm of Fragmentum creations and find a way to avoid them.
And then, they could easily build defensive fortifications under the assault of the creations, using the orphanage as a springboard to gradually push the front line and eliminate the dense horde, one by one...
Looking at the panoramic map on the screen, the whole of Rivet Town was no longer a sea of red light with countless deep-red dots scurrying about.
Now, almost the entire map was bathed in blue light. Only in the corners were there a few stray remnants that hadn't been cleared, glowing with a dim red light, stubbornly holding onto a tiny, rice-grain-sized territory.
And this meager resistance was nothing before the Pioneer Group...
As those territories were consumed by the blue light bit by bit, the panoramic map on the screen finally reached its last scene—the entire map was completely occupied by blue, without a single speck of red remaining.
The text on the screen faded, and a new scene appeared:
Standing on the highest hill in Rivet Town, the pioneers stood with some excitement in the courtyard of the orphanage.
Each of them bore injuries, large and small. The wounds were varied, almost all inflicted by Fragmentum creations. The chaotic Imaginary energy upon them sought to invade the pioneers' bodies, but it was repelled by the effects of "Snowstorm Immunity," kept at bay.
And besides these wounded pioneers, there were several who lay on simple stretchers, their eyes permanently closed, their breathing ceased—the fallen...
"Snowstorm Immunity" could make a person immune to the snowstorm and the Fragmentum, but it was far from making them invulnerable.
But even so, their eyes still shone with joy, and smiles had already touched their lips.
These casualties were not heavy... They had successfully reclaimed Rivet Town, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the Underworld.
This was a great victory. They were already beginning to imagine how the citizens of Boulder Town would welcome them, the heroes, upon their triumphant return.
But as Ron looked at them, there was not a trace of joy on his face. Instead, he was silent for a moment, then broke the joyous atmosphere with an extremely solemn tone, questioning the pioneers:
"This war to reclaim Rivet Town, did we win?"
Someone looked up at Ron in confusion, not understanding why his tone was so serious, or why he was asking such an obvious question.
He turned to look at the freshly cleared streets below the hill, at this now-empty corner of the Fragmentum, and said hesitantly:
"I guess we won... right?"
"No. We lost."
Ron cut him off without hesitation and even emphasized it again:
"We lost. Badly."
"The Fragmentum corrosion in Rivet Town is indeed severe, but the training and resources you have received are more than enough to match these enemies..."
"We seized the best position in this town, we had the strongest defensive line, we advanced the war in the safest way possible..."
"But we still lost our comrades, our brothers-in-arms."
Ron sighed, a hint of bleakness in his voice.
"It's natural to be happy after successfully reclaiming Rivet Town... but you must absolutely not let the joy go to your heads."
"How many towns has the Fragmentum swallowed? We are now just barely surviving, cooped up underground in Belobog. How can we be so overjoyed that we forget ourselves after reclaiming just one small town?"
"You shouldn't be this happy... Don't forget, these honors are not just the result of your own efforts; they were bought with the lives of your comrades. If you had been stronger, could you have saved them from danger?"
Hearing this, the group, who had been somewhat carried away by the success of taking Rivet Town, fell silent. The smiles on their faces were wiped away, and a heavy feeling settled in everyone's heart.
Perhaps they were not directly responsible for their comrades' deaths, but they had to admit that if they had been stronger, perhaps those fallen pioneers might have had a chance to live...
Seeing that the group had begun to reflect, Ron nodded in satisfaction, his tone finally softening.
"Remember the sacrifices of your comrades well. From now on, you must remember that each of you carries the lives of your comrades on your shoulders..."
"They sacrificed themselves so that you could live, so you must live well and not betray their sacrifice."
"In the future expeditions, I do not want to see this situation happen again."
"The Pioneer Group can brave the snowstorm for the future, but they absolutely must not die before the dawn arrives... Every single one of you should come home safe!"
The scene on the light screen faded.
New text appeared in its place:
[Under Ron's reprimand, the pioneers have engaged in a period of reflection.]
[The cohesion of the Pioneer Group has greatly increased. The morale of the pioneers has been boosted.]
[Under Ron's leadership, you have scavenged Rivet Town and are returning triumphantly with a heavy load of supplies.]