The Old Factory District.
In the wreckage of shattered ruins, an anchor—like a pillar holding up the sky—stood perfectly upright, impaled into the earth.
Swarms of small Angels prowled nearby, instinctively guarding it. Mixed among them was a heavy-spine Angel—
"Ornate Kentoron," a non-standard variant of the spike Angel.
Sometimes it would abandon energy attacks and fight in melee with its tail.
Not only did it have higher resistance to physical damage, it could also thrust Originium pillars up from beneath a target's feet to strike. If anyone got too close, it would summon pillars around itself as protection.
Its fighting style looked vaguely similar to the Administrator's… but in truth, the difference between them was night and day.
With Perlica's support, the Administrator cleanly took it down on the spot.
As for Hao Fan—the designated "guide"—he was skulking in a corner, keeping his profile low, terrified of attracting an Angel's attention.
Because he was, in the most literal sense, a genuine weakling. He had basically zero self-protection capability.
Any random Angel could slam into his fragile body and instantly turn it into a life-or-death situation.
Of course, it wasn't like he did nothing.
That stupid "whoever I glare at gets hiccups" ability was unexpectedly perfect for disrupting enemies.
For example: just as the heavy-spine Angel tried to summon a stone pillar, it suddenly started hiccuping nonstop—exposing openings everywhere.
So, just like with the horned Angel earlier, the Administrator seized the opening and finished it off with ease.
And then she couldn't resist a jab:
"That wasn't Originium Arts, was it? I don't get how you did it, but it feels… really dumb."
"Mind your business. This is when you're supposed to say 'thank you'!"
Hao Fan shot back—then casually pulled out a one-yuan coin and flicked it onto the ground in front of her.
This time it wasn't an accident.
It was deliberate.
But the Administrator didn't seem bothered. Instead, she bent down, picked it up, and studied the coin with curiosity.
Her instincts told her his pockets were empty.
So where, exactly, was all this "coin tossing" coming from?
She couldn't figure it out.
This guy really was a weirdo.
And yet… she still didn't dislike him.
Because unlike everyone else, this suspicious hooded man didn't look at her with that strange expectation people reserved for "legendary figures."
So when she was with him, she felt relaxed.
She didn't have to worry that her amnesiac self might disappoint anyone's hopes.
She liked that.
Perlica, meanwhile, stood before the anchor—the root of the Hub District Base's crisis—quietly examining it.
"This is the anchor… but the core isn't here."
After careful observation, she made the correct call.
She'd already explained it back at the Central Control Tower: the anchor's weakness was its fragile core. Destroy it, and the massive structure would collapse.
The Administrator noticed a crimson halo pulsing around the anchor's midsection and asked:
"Should we destroy that glowing structure?"
Perlica shook her head.
"No. That's just a normal operational response… The anchor is embedded underground. The core must be even deeper."
"I've seen the Hub District Base's structural diagram. Beneath the Old Factory District, there should be a navigable underground area."
"If the structure is stable, we can go straight there and destroy the anchor's core."
"Come on, Administrator—this should be the way."
Perlica scanned the surrounding ruins and quickly confirmed the route.
Hao Fan agreed.
"Yeah. This route really does lead to the underground laboratory… One warning: we're going to run into enemies."
He glanced down at the red dots on his game map, paused, and added:
"Not Angels. Humans."
…
The underground laboratory.
Inside the silent facility, red lights blinked—like an alarm signal.
Several bodies wearing strange masks lay near the stairwell, suggesting a fierce fight had erupted here not long ago.
"Landsplitters?"
Perlica recognized the intruders and frowned slightly.
"What are they doing here?"
At this timing, masked bandits infiltrating the Hub District Base was not a coincidence.
And that mysterious Doctor—how could he have detected the situation here in advance?
Some kind of Originium Arts?
But he wasn't emitting any Originium energy…
Perlica fell into thought, but didn't slow her pace.
As they descended, the number of corpses increased.
Some were Landsplitters. Some were security personnel.
At the bottom of the stairs, they found several surviving Landsplitters trying to force open the sealed laboratory door.
"Who's there?!"
Hearing footsteps, the Landsplitters snapped into alert mode and raised their cleavers.
But they were only bottom-tier fodder—Bone-Grinding Marauders—and completely outclassed by the Administrator. She wiped them out quickly.
Then, with her access privileges, she opened the underground lab's door from the terminal.
Beyond it stood the anchor itself—having pierced the ceiling and stabbed straight down into the laboratory.
"Look—Administrator, there!"
Perlica spotted the core: a glowing red sphere.
And in the corner beside it, there was someone else—
A plump Liberi man with the head of an owl, cowering in fear.
He hugged his head with trembling hands, clearly thinking the Landsplitters had broken in again.
But when he saw who it really was, his face lit up with relief.
"Finally—someone! Supervisor Perlica, the anchor! Hit the anchor!"
He pointed toward the core—apparently the first to identify the weakness.
But the moment the door opened, the Administrator had already rushed forward without hesitation and smashed the fragile core with her weapon.
RUMBLE—
In the next instant, as the core shattered, the hundred-meter anchor's entire structure disintegrated on the spot.
The spectacle was visible across the Hub District Base, and everyone realized the number of Angels would no longer keep increasing.
Meaning: the crisis was effectively resolved.
However, the fight inside the underground laboratory wasn't over yet.
"Damn—someone's blocking the door!"
Hao Fan—who'd been hiding in the back—suddenly bolted into the lab, like he'd just run into something terrifying.
Then, under the Administrator's tense gaze, a tall, heavily-built Landsplitter armed unit strode into the lab, dragging a heavy cleaving axe in one hand.
He planted himself in the doorway—blocking the only exit.
The Bone-Grinding Executioner.
His physical power surpassed most Landsplitters. He could flip an armored vehicle bare-handed, even smash fortifications with ease.
No question: this one was dangerous.
The fight was about to explode.
"ROAR!!"
-------
Promotion Valentine's Month Sale: 20% off for 7 days. Apply now!
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (123 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (72 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (92 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (93 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (75 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (115 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (105 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (105 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (42 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty…then Who Am I? (50 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (47 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (47 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (50 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (52 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it