[Seven hours since the Great Corporate United attacked]

Ava's Grandpa—Richarde Andersson—walked along a hallway with three members of his First Squad following from behind.

Wearing a long-sleeved red shirt and black military pants, the old man with grizzled hair sauntered as he passed a few other people inside the base. He went up a metal staircase, his boots thudded against the steps and its sound echoed irrhythmically.

The first floor of this dome-shaped "secret base" housed the control room, a few armories, stores for basic supplies, and one room with restricted access. Only Richarde could enter this room, for the key to get inside was his iris—for the iris scanner locking the solid two-inch-thick metal door.

As an aside, the ground floor below had dozens of private rooms occupying most of the southern portion of the base, with a concatenation of hallways intersecting each other across every few meters. At the rear, aside from rooms intended for residency, was a parking area. A hemispheric space large enough to fit eight T-28 Super Heavy Tanks at most, albeit just barely.

"...Jessica?"

Richarde walked into the control room still with a few of his subordinates following obstinately behind him. He swept a gaze across the large lapis lazuli-colored room. It was repleted with a large curved monitor at the front and three sets of high-tech computers and its peripherals propped up at every side.

After some time, the old man's gaze fell on a blonde woman in a lab coat doing some paperwork at her computer desk.

"Jessica," repeated Richarde.

The blonde woman's head jerked and turned to look at the person calling her name. She hastily bowed in respect and went over to Richarde's side.

"I-Inghild reported to me just now, Sir," said Jessica.

Richarde nodded slightly. He then looked at the other members occupied with their work at their respective seats.

"Um... the little girl is your granddaughter, isn't she, Sir?" asked Jessica as her right thumb and index finger brushed against each other furtively.

"Yes. I'm planning to let her stay here for a while. Until we drive off the Great Corporate United from this island," said Richarde, his eyes were looking at a member behind him, "And that is our first and foremost objective for now. We can't complete our mission with this hurdle in our way."

"...But to complete the mission, we must..."

Jessica bit her lip when Richarde looked in her direction.

"The First, Second, and Third Squads were handed this mission by Her Majesty. It's only appropriate we carry it out to the best of our ability."

"But she's your granddaughter, Sir."

"...And?"

Richarde's stare halted Jessica's train of thoughts. She took a step back and held her right hand to her chest. The tall woman looked down for a few moments before she responded.

"The thing residing inside her. We don't know what it is until now, right, Sir? Even after what the girl did to the C.U soldiers back then, we can't really say that's the... peak of her capabilities. With this fact in mind, shouldn't we think first about our next move, especially anything involving her?"

"Hmm."

Richarde put a hand at his chin and narrowed his eyes.

"Ava's power is an x-factor no doubt. However, once we find her parents, we should be able to avoid any unknown risks. Isn't that right, Jessica?"

"Y-Yes."

"They should know more than we do. For the longest time, Ava's secret is stuck with them."

"Yeah. That's why you said you knew about the thing's existence, but, any information regarding it is pretty much a secret only known to the girl's parents."

"..."

Richarde drew his eyebrows together and turned around.

"Everything considered, our mission must be fulfilled," he said in a sharp tone.

"I-I know, Sir."

"Jessica," called Richarde.

"Yes?"

"...I need you to round up the citizens we rescued for me. I know they must have questions."

"Right away, Sir!"

In the parking area, a small group of the island's citizens was rounded up by Richarde's subordinates.

A group of fifteen with differing ages. Some of them who were older came up and flounced towards Richarde once he arrived.

"Richarde! What's the meaning of all this!? Why is this island being attacked all of a sudden!?"

"What's happening!? Since when you have this base?"

"...M-My daughter. Please find my daughter, Richarde!"

"Where's the island's governor at a time like this? Who are those soldiers attacking us anyway!?"

Richarde looked at each people spouting incessant complaints and requests and then he coughed. They fell silent once Richarde raised an arm in the air.

"...This base that's protecting us right now. It is always here, hidden far in the forest. The governor knows about this and it was due to his understanding that I could maintain this place as it is for the longest time."

The citizens listened intently as Richarde explained himself.

"We're on an active effort in finding more people out there and rescuing them. But the enemy's numbers are greater than ours, so the search is going a bit slower than expected. There's only so much we could do right now, so please, be patient."

"You said that this base has been here for a long time, but how can you build this thing anyway? You need a lot of funds to manage all this. I'm not talking a few thousand. This must have cost a fortune," spoke a woman.

"It's a secret... but with these circumstances, I guess it is not that of a secret anymore. As you can see, and maybe a few of you have figured this out—that I'm affiliated with a certain military company out there. I've been working as one of them for quite some time, and now, I have my own Squad."

"A-A military company?"

"Why did you hid this from us, Richarde!?"

A woman came up to Richarde and was about to grab onto his shirt's collar when a blonde man in his twenties stepped between the two of them.

"It's alright, Gawain," said Richarde.

Gawain stepped out of the way, and the woman glared at him. In the next moment, she stepped forward and stuck her head close to Richarde's.

"...It was a secret, Madam Martinsson. One I'd sworn secrecy to. If I revealed this base to everyone, to the island's citizens a while ago, then I would've lost my head. There was also a chance for our very safe haven here to be bombarded by missiles had I leaked it. And why is that? Because there's always a probability for someone on our side to spill the beans to the enemy. My choice to keep everything a secret up until now is the reason why we can even be talking like this, away from the bloodshed happening elsewhere," said Richarde in a casual tone.

"T-That's..."

The woman distanced herself from Richarde and the old man continued his explanation.

"Now, I'm sure all of you are anxious to know where did my subordinates came from. First of all, three Squads were sent to intercept the Great Corporate United by our military company. My First Squad is under me, while the Second and Third Squads have their own respective leaders. The Second and Third Squads are on a rescue mission right now while searching for the governor."

"...They're trying to save as many people as they can, right?" asked one of the civilians.

"Of course. Still, until we drive our enemy away from this island, we can't communicate with the outside. But that will not stop us from thwarting the enemy's plan nonetheless."

"They're interfering with our signals, isn't it?"

"That is without saying," interjected Gawain.

After Richarde had relayed what he had in mind and placated the civilians, they exited the parking area, whispering among each other. They went to their respective rooms, leaving Richarde along with a few of his subordinates. Little did those people knew that Gawain was watching them from behind until they disappeared through a sliding door.

Gawain, a member of Richarde's First Squad that served as one of his medics. His background and past forced him into his position right then. The man didn't have much to say to this. Rather, he found it interesting he had ended up the way he was.

"It's already evening. Gawain, go over to Ayesha's. She might need someone to take care of the kids while she's sprucing Ava."

"..."

Gawain nodded ever so slightly. His long blonde hair tied into a modest ponytail swayed when he walked towards the sliding door. Just as he was about to step through, Jessica popped out hurriedly. She bumped into Gawain and then took a few steps away from him tremulously, muttering silent apologies.

"..." Gawain merely stared at her before he continued making his way into the hallway, walking past Jessica.

"Gawain..." Jessica held up both hands to her chest as she looked at him with a sad countenance. She bit her lip, ignoring the fluttering heartbeat knocking against her chest, and then turned around to face Richarde.

"Sir!" she called.

"Hmm?"

Richarde looked behind him and tilted his head at Jessica. "What is it?"

"The Great Corporate United's forces... I'd just received a report that they'd occupied the northern part of the island. At this pace, they will be taking over in just a few days!"

"Hmm... Then have the Second and Third Squads send a few of their members to scout. I'm sure our enemy will have to resupply at some point before they continue their invasion. With how they bombarded the city in the northern parts, I'm sure they would stop their attack for a day after this."

"I'll request them to do so right away, Sir," said Jessica.

"I'm counting on you."

"Yes!"