"It sounded like Rope said Officer Chen would still need some time to get here."
After roughly understanding Yith's overall strategy, Shirou added that piece of information.
"That is under normal circumstances. With you involved, and with that little Cautus having been put in danger, Officer Chen will definitely bring a smaller team and move ahead of the main force... Just follow the drone. I am taking you on a detour."
As he explained, Yith guided Shirou forward with one of his drones.
Simply letting Shirou charge straight in would have worked.
However, Yith's professional pride would not allow him to be that careless unless he was too busy to spare the attention.
At the moment, he had some free time.
So he might as well help Shirou out.
And perhaps teach him a little more tactical thinking while he was at it.
Otherwise, the man would keep defaulting to the same solution: grab a gun, a sword, or a bow and charge directly into the enemy headquarters.
Although, admittedly, that approach was extremely effective.
"Got it. Oh, right! Can you track Rope's location? If you can, check whether she is safe."
Nodding, Shirou followed behind the drone while asking Yith to send another one to verify Rope's situation.
"That little rabbit knows a thing or two about hiding. I would not be able to find her anytime soon."
Yith had heard plenty about Rope over the years.
After all, they both worked in intelligence-related fields.
Their paths crossed from time to time, even if Yith rarely showed himself directly and usually only knew where the information had originated.
The fact that Rope had survived and continued working in the slums for so long already spoke volumes about her abilities.
"That is good... What should I do next?"
Hearing Yith's response, Shirou finally relaxed.
If Yith could locate Rope, then her safety could be monitored at all times.
If he could not find her, that was fine too.
It meant she was hiding exceptionally well.
In Shirou's eyes, Yith was already remarkably skilled in this area.
If even he could not find Rope, then she was probably perfectly safe.
With that concern settled, Shirou moved on to the next question.
"The easiest option is to find a tall building and have you set up with a bow. Aside from a few blind spots in your field of vision, there are practically no downsides.
"The second option is to walk straight into their headquarters with your guns. That one is more exhausting, but it gives you greater flexibility.
"Personally, I recommend the first choice. Once the Guard Department arrives, you can always switch weapons and join the advance."
Now fully focused on work, Yith considered Shirou's situation and presented two options, strongly favoring one of them.
"Then I will go with your recommendation. Charging in after the enemy already knows they are being hunted sounds like it would turn into a difficult fight."
Shirou did not argue and he naturally followed Yith's reasoning.
Over the years, Yith had frequently thrown hypothetical scenarios at him and asked him to analyze them.
By now, thinking this way had become second nature.
"Correct."
At that moment, Yith felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Like watching a child finally grow up.
Under the drone's guidance, Shirou arrived at the rooftop of a high-rise building.
How did he get up there?
Just as Yith had mentioned earlier, most of the buildings in this district were little more than ruins.
Whenever he encountered a locked door, he kicked it open.
When a path was blocked, he either jumped across the gap or used a grappling line.
It was troublesome, but eventually Yith guided him safely to the roof.
"Why did you not pick that building over there? It is even taller."
Once he reached the rooftop, Shirou immediately projected a longbow and arrows.
After quickly surveying the surroundings, he spotted another building behind them that was clearly taller and seemed like a superior sniping position.
"That building has been abandoned for much longer. I estimate the force generated when you draw your bow might cause part of it to collapse. This one is slightly safer."
Since he had already surveyed the area, Yith knew exactly which building Shirou was referring to.
The difference in height was not significant.
The real issue was structural integrity.
If too much force or vibration was applied, the other building might simply come crashing down.
Granted, the height itself was nothing compared to some of Shirou's previous experiences involving absurd drops from extreme altitudes.
But falling alongside tons of concrete and steel was another matter entirely.
Landing safely was one thing.
Being buried beneath a collapsing building was another.
The former depended on technique and the latter was a direct test of physical durability.
Yith was not questioning Shirou's physical strength after reinforcing himself with magecraft.
The problem was that the enhancement was specialized rather than universal.
Impact forces.
Crushing pressure.
Steel beams piercing through rubble.
All of those were hazards associated with a building collapse.
Rather than wondering whether Shirou could survive such dangers, it was far easier to eliminate the possibility entirely.
"Hm... That building really does look like it could collapse at any moment. So all those ruins we passed earlier were caused by buildings falling down?"
Only after hearing Yith's explanation did Shirou recall the numerous piles of rubble scattered throughout the district.
He had assumed they were simply leftover construction debris.
Now it seemed entirely possible they were the remains of collapsed buildings.
"Exactly," Yith replied.
"That really is pretty bad... No wonder nobody wants to live here. But if the area is this dangerous, why were so many large buildings constructed in the first place? And does Lungmen not do anything about it?"
Looking away from the distant structure, Shirou finally understood why the district was so sparsely populated.
Seeing the danger with his own eyes was far more convincing than all the explanations Yith had given earlier.
Still, one question lingered in his mind.
If buildings in this district could collapse so easily, why had so many of them been built here in the first place?
Compared to the skyscrapers of central Lungmen, ten-story buildings were insignificant.
But they were still impressively tall structures.
"After all, mobile cities are built upon massive mechanical systems, and machinery ages over time. On top of that, the prosperity of this district was founded on a large amount of illegal activity, so Lungmen has little interest in investing resources into rebuilding it."
With just a few words, Yith shattered Shirou's somewhat idealistic assumptions.
"That is really a shame."
Shirou understood that reality as well.
Still, as he said, he could not help feeling a little regretful about it.
Whether this area was developed or not would not fundamentally improve the situation in Lungmen's slums.
He was simply lamenting the fact that all these existing resources had to sit here unused.
It felt wasteful.
At the same time, he understood why things were the way they were.
Other people did not need to spend their lives risking death here like the criminals before him.
After all, safety was one of humanity's most basic needs.
"Focus on the battlefield. I will warn you through the communicator about anything outside your field of view. Right now, you can either stop them from planting more traps or start detonating some of the existing ones to reduce the difficulty of the upcoming fight."
Once Shirou was in position, Yith fully shifted into work mode.
"...It is surprisingly quiet."
Without Yith actively chatting with him, Shirou suddenly felt that the surroundings were almost too quiet.
It had been a long time since he experienced silence like this.
Even Lungmen at night was usually filled with the sounds of traffic.
Unlike now.
Aside from the occasional wind, all he could hear was the beating of his own heart.
Placing an arrow on the bowstring and drawing it to its full length, Shirou aimed at an apparently empty patch of ground.
Then he released.
He remembered clearly that location was one link in a chain of connected traps.
The arrow streaked through the air, leaving behind a long crimson trail.
The moment it struck the ground, the buried explosives detonated.
The sound of the explosion became the opening bell of the battle.
Almost immediately, large numbers of people rushed out and took up positions.
"There are more of them than I expected."
Watching through the drones' cameras, Yith remarked.
"There really are. And quite a few familiar faces too. If this operation succeeds, everyone in the Guard Department should be able to enjoy their holiday break without worries."
Unlike Yith, Shirou's attention was focused elsewhere.
Most of the people below were familiar to him.
Their faces appeared regularly on Guard Department wanted posters.
As someone who occasionally worked for the Guard Department, Shirou often flipped through those posters whenever he had free time.
As Swire liked to say:
"With eyesight as good as yours, it would be a waste not to memorize a few faces. Maybe you will randomly spot a wanted criminal while walking down the street."
Unfortunately, Shirou almost never found any of them during normal daily life.
After all, he could hardly spend his entire day staring suspiciously at every passerby.
That would make him look like the criminal.
Still, the effort was paying off now.
Was not this a whole crowd of wanted criminals standing right in front of him?
Anyone who made it onto Lungmen's wanted list was no ordinary offender.
Naturally, Shirou gave them special treatment.
And what form did that special treatment take?
Projected arrows, of course.
Not many.
Just two or three more than everyone else received.
Most of the arrows pierced through calves or feet, pinning their targets to the ground and preventing escape.
At the moment, the enemy had not yet figured out what was happening.
That was why Shirou could calmly continue sniping at his leisure.
Once they realized something was wrong and started taking cover behind buildings and barricades, attacking them would become much more difficult.
If he had enough time, Shirou could slowly eliminate the entire group.
But some people would inevitably escape through blind spots.
That was the drawback of long-range precision sniping.
Of course, they first had to identify the sniper's location before they could even begin planning an escape.
And Officer Chen was already on her way.
These people did not have much time left.
"They have given up trying to locate you. Part of the group is preparing to make a stand inside, while the others are planning to escape during the confusion. I will use drones to track the areas hidden from your view. You can handle everything else."
After a lengthy period of sniping, Yith updated Shirou on the battlefield situation and assigned a new division of responsibilities.
Working with Shirou had one major advantage:
It was easy.
The man's firepower was excessive enough that there was a tremendous margin for error.
"That was fast. There are still quite a few traps left to deal with..."
Upon hearing the report, Shirou's first reaction was surprise.
These people had given up far too quickly.
How had they already moved on to the next phase after only a few minutes?
Originally, he had planned to dismantle traps while casually picking off enemies.
Now he would have to prioritize stopping the escapees.
Dealing with fleeing criminals while simultaneously neutralizing traps added a considerable amount of pressure.
He had to prevent chain explosions from flattening the district.
At the same time, he had to incapacitate suspects without killing them.
With so many restrictions in place, Shirou had no choice but to work harder.
Or...
Maybe he could let one of his coworkers work harder instead?
"Enough. Do not make it sound like I am exploiting you. I will use the drones to disarm the traps. You just need to provide cover whenever necessary."
The moment Yith heard Shirou's tone, he immediately understood what the younger man was thinking.
The kid had definitely been corrupted by the rest of Penguin Logistics.
The old Shirou would have tried to shoulder every responsibility himself and solve every problem alone.
The current Shirou, however, was willing to hand off tasks he disliked or was not particularly skilled at, allowing him to focus on what he did best.
Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing...
Well, there were arguments for both sides.