MiSide: but there are 720 security guards

Chapter 469: Arrival

"Don't... come over."

Such an echo drifted down from the dim ceiling.

Alain looked ahead. At a glance, the Failed Works all seemed to wear the exact same expression.

Click—

He turned around and took down the small knife embedded in the wall.

Without a doubt, Mina must have done this. The reason was... she didn't want to see him.

"Alain." At this moment, Misha's voice drifted through the headset. "The progress bar has reached 99.98%. You have 20 minutes left."

Alain nodded gently. Looking at the small knife... he tossed it away casually and walked quickly toward the Failed Works Warehouse.

After that initial warning, Mina fell into silence, seemingly not wanting Alain to find her.

He reached the first row of dolls and called out loudly,

"Mina, I've come to find you."

"..." It was still a deathly silence, without a shred of a reply.

Tap, tap, tap...

Alain's footsteps sounded as the only echo in the emptiness. He watched the Failed Works pass by his shoulders one by one as he weaved through them...

"I came to take you away. So, I'm not leaving. Let me see you, okay?"

This sentence seemed to trigger a stress point. The maiden's hurried voice rang out,

"No... I don't want you to find me."

He stopped his steps, following the echo... trying to identify the source of the voice.

But the response drifted away melodiously like ripples of water, instead becoming a barrier hindering his perception. He couldn't tell exactly where the sound was coming from.

If there were time, Alain could have slowly turned over every single Failed Works. But the key was... time was running out. There were less than 20 minutes left.

He stood still, pondering for two seconds.

The candy in his pocket was still unevenly declaring its presence; even it seemed to be urging Alain: Find her quickly.

Alain gazed at the neatly arranged Failed Works. Finding Mina among them... wasn't this just like hide-and-seek?

In the gloom, Alain couldn't help but chuckle.

The sound of his laughter echoed in the spacious room, naturally drifting to the ears of someone in an unknown location.

"What are you laughing at? I'm speaking to you very seriously, it's not a joke!"

This laughter seemed to have angered Mina.

Alain did not stop smiling, nor did he even take a step.

"Don't you feel nostalgic?"

The basement from when he first entered the Game World surfaced in his vision. He had rescued Misha in the basement, but was unfortunately discovered by Crazy Mita and participated in a deadly game of hide-and-seek.

"Back then, you were carrying a knife, wanting to rush over and kill me."

His voice still carried a smile.

The maiden in the gloom said indignantly, "Hmph, who asked you to have an affair? You already had me, yet you still wanted to find that long-haired doll."

"...You still dare to say 'affair'?"

Alain's smile vanished. His gaze swept over every Failed Works around him that could possibly be Mina.

"Tell me, while I was in the basement back then, what were you doing?"

"...D-Doing what?" The maiden's tone took on hesitation. "I... was repairing the teleporter, what else could I be doing?"

"Fine, then tell me, who were you repairing the teleporter with?"

In the darkness, Mina's voice went silent for a moment.

"A f-female player..." She deliberately emphasized the word "female".

"Female player? You still dare to say it?" Alain's questioning tone turned into arrows attacking every Failed Works.

"Is a female player not a player? You already have me, yet you actually dared to go look for other players?"

"Eh? Well, wasn't I trying to fix the teleporter! I was in a rush all by myself, what choice did I have? I definitely had to find some help!"

A vein popped on Alain's forehead. "You couldn't find me?"

"Back then..." The maiden's voice was a bit conflicted. "Weren't we fighting? I was too embarrassed to..."

"Oh, so that's how it is... so that's it." Alain seemed to understand something. "So as long as we're fighting, you can go look for other players?"

Deathly silence.

After five seconds, an incredulous "Hah?" floated out from Mina.

"Mina, are you saying that as long as we fight, you can do whatever you want?"

"Hey!" A shrill tone drifted out. "Didn't I promise you later that I would chop up every player I saw?"

While appearing to be angry, Alain was actually observing the condition of every Failed Works in minute detail. At least in his field of vision, no Failed Works showed any movement changes.

Then... where exactly was the voice coming from?

Just as Alain was endlessly confused, Mina's voice slowly drifted over.

"Alain... you, you want to find me, right?"

"Obviously."

"Eh? Such a bad tone? Are you still angry?"

"Heh." Alain chuckled twice. "I'll be honest with you. I've already found a way for you to legitimately obtain a Mita vessel."

"Is that so..." She said with particular complexity.

Alain was slightly surprised; this was a bit different from what he had expected.

"You... are you still thinking for my sake even now?" The maiden's voice was both hesitant and a little happy. "Even though... I was created by Yang Wanhua's own hands to harm you?"

"Of course, idiot."

His gaze pierced through the gray gloom, traveling to the other end of time.

"No matter when, I am always thinking of you."

Alain confirmed the current progress bar was still 99.98%. He simply sat down on the spot, speaking unhurriedly.

"In the beginning, when I first arrived in the Game World, the first Mita I met was you."

"Mhm, I remember. You even lied to me back then, saying we were going to live together."

It was Mina's somewhat jealous tone.

Alain smiled. "Actually, to be honest, I was a little tempted by your proposal back then.

"After all, what's so good about reality?

"If you, this idiot, hadn't revealed that flaw at the very beginning, I might have just given in."

The maiden's puzzled voice: "What flaw?"

"You bared your teeth and grimaced at my back."

"Cu-Cut the crap! I just can't help doing that when I'm happy!" She said indignantly. "Besides, didn't you like playing with my teeth later on?"

"Couldn't help it. That side of you is also very cute."

Alain hugged his knees and looked up at the ceiling as if gazing at a sky full of stars.

"Me... initially, I actually wanted to get along with you with the goal of surviving."

"Anyone could see that, right?" The maiden's voice also carried a hint of nostalgia. "That look of yours, wanting to survive yet forced to speak sweet nothings, was also quite delicious~

"What left the deepest impression on me was still your butt—it felt quite nice to pinch."

"Hey!!! You actually still remember that kind of thing!"

"Haha..."

Alain spoke with a touch of emotion, "Then, I was locked in the little black room by you."

"...Mhm." She responded heavily. "So, your opinion of me changed?"

"You became even cuter."

"...Huh?" Mina's voice was somewhat incredulous.

Alain said, "Don't you think so? Even though you were still angry, you were tickled by my tickle tactics until you collapsed on the ground in tears. Truly, cute to the point of exploding!"

"St-Stop talking about it..."

"Besides, all that accidental groping... I totally hit the jackpot."

"You, you... mmm..."

In his trance, Alain could see the steam rising from the maiden's head. Mina's embarrassing history, one piece after another, was to him... the most beautiful memories.

"And then, there was that inhuman pursuit," he said.

"Now, your hopes for me must have been disillusioned, right?"

"Unfortunately, I still think it was very cute." Alain said without hesitation.

Eliciting a soft 'Eh?' from Mina.

He smiled. "I just liked watching that anxious look of yours because you couldn't get me, yet you still forced a smile."

"So noisy... what you're saying is also pretty excessive, isn't it?" She hmphed twice. "Saying things like... affair, and whatever else."

"But that side of you was also very cute." He thought of Version 1.3B—that was the dividing line in his relationship with Mina.

"After that, it was our first cooperation. At that time, I also viewed you... as my girlfriend for the first time."

"Eh..." She teased. "Bringing two girls along, yet recognizing me as the girlfriend? You... I really don't know what to say about you."

"Couldn't help it. After all, you were the first Mita to do that kind of radical act for me." Alain's mouth twitched. "You even took that handkerchief."

"That was my trophy!" Mina answered righteously.

Then, Alain fell into a brief silence.

"Finally, there was that matter, Mina." He said in a deep voice. "The first time you told me you were a Failed Works—that matter."

"...Mhm, and then?" Her voice trembled slightly, as if waiting for a certain answer from Alain.

And Alain...

"I want to tell you, even if you are a Failed Works, my feelings for you will ultimately never change."

Mina's voice pondered,

"Then... did I help you? I didn't drag you down, right?"

"No." Alain stood up, gazing at the doors surrounding the warehouse, his focus landing on one of them. "Misha and the others are very grateful to you. They say you are the hero who saved the Game World."

After a long while, her reply drifted gently from the gloom.

"Alain, I was created by Yang Wanhua's own hands." It was her re-emphasis.

"I know." Alain nodded immediately, walking softly toward that door with the combination lock.

"Just now, I beat her back. I avenged you."

Tap, tap, tap...

"Mhm." After her simple reply, the voice fell away.

The maiden spoke no more, as if silently waiting for something. Inside the warehouse, only the echo of hollow footsteps remained.

"Between us, only a wedding remains." Mid-step, he said, "So..."

Alain stopped, standing before the door that had emitted Mina's voice.

"Come with me, okay?"

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