level_act12side_09_beg

Status?

Going well. I'm almost to the dining room.

Roger.

We meet again, Miss Ch'en.

You should have stayed in bed.

I wish I could've done that. I also wish that, when I opened my eyes again, all of this would've been over, win or lose.

Too bad. I couldn't.

You can't beat me.

I'm really glad that I identified you two as my greatest foes right at the beginning... We wouldn't have made it this far otherwise.

You... You don't seem like those maniacs out there. Why are you doing this?

Let me tell you how I truly feel, now that it's come to this.

Ms. Candela once said that her father, a former mayor of this city, was a useless piece of trash who, propped up by the Leithanian government, could do nothing but take bribes.

Before the outraged citizens could kick his office's door in, he fled the country with his wife and daughter.

Although her father was a piece of trash through and through, as the daughter of the scumbag, she followed her father first to Kazimierz, then to Victoria.

Through her father, she learned all the ways that wealth could be used. She learned the very meaning of wealth.

Then, she came back to the city and became its mayor.

At a time when the resistance was nothing but a huge failure, the city found itself producing the finest liquor, coffee, and confectionaries.

Dossoles tequila can even be found in Leithanien and Columbia.

And while the Leithanians and Columbians were bickering at each other, the city transformed into a vacation hotspot of choice among the elite of both sides.

They had no choice but to follow Ms. Candela's rule: You may never fight here.

And it's not military might or prowess that makes them willingly follow this rule. It's wealth, entertainment, and all the luxuries this place has to offer.

It's the city's colorful facade.

I know that's not how I should see all this.

But I can't keep myself from thinking this way—

From a certain point of view, and all things considered, perhaps Ms. Candela loves this country far more than my father.

All he is doing is blindly chasing this construct of a country. He wants a country called Bolívar.

Its borders were defined when it was still a colony. Its citizens are those who have always lived on these lands.

What comes next? How will this country take on the Columbians and Leithanians in this conflict? How will it continue to develop as a country?

He doesn't know. He doesn't actually know what kind of a country Bolívar is.

But Ms. Candela found a path forward. She found meaning in its existence, and she plans to make that meaning a reality.

That's a load of shit.

It's better than having nothing but empty promises, no?

In that case, why help your father?

From the moment I was born, I've watched my father toil away amid the flames of war. I've watched him go from a spirited man to a quiet one.

I know what kind of person my father is. He's not like those men who chose to give in to the modern world.

Even though working under Ms. Candela put these thoughts in my head, that doesn't mean I will betray my father.

But I also cannot deny that these thoughts are getting stronger and stronger. So much that I'm slowly starting to consider the other possibilities there are.

That's why this operation is something like a crossroads for me.

I will wholeheartedly help my father in his cause. If he succeeds, then I will continue to help him.

If he fails, then I will accept my change of heart and become Ms. Candela's supporter.

Of course, if I die—

That just means I'm gonna be dead, haha.

But now is not the time for all of this to end. Not just yet.

That's why I can't let you through.

In that case... we've got nothing to say to each other.

Right, it's been a pleasure, Miss Ch'en.

If we'd met under any other circumstance, I would have loved to give you and Miss Lin a proper tour of the city.

I'll pass.

I thought you'd say that.

B Team, send a few men my way.

What's up?

You know that team that did really well in the championship, LUNG wRATh? Seems like their girl Ch'en is still putting up a fight.

The whole ship's our people, and all the other contestants are here. How is she putting up a fight?

Apparently she took Ernesto out.

Then she's been running up and down the ship, and now the captain's personally going after her.

Heh, that's something, and here I brushed it off when Ernesto told us not to underestimate them.

Hm? Speaking of, where's the other girl, Lin?

I don't see her among the hostages.

Who knows. Probably jumped off the ship.

You called?

Lin Yühsia leaps down from the ceiling above, swiftly dispatching them with two quick chops.

Quick! Surround her!

(Hui-chieh makes good distractions. There's not too many of them here.)

(Let's get this over with quickly.)

Surrounded by the guards in the room, Lin Yühsia leans forward slightly and dashes.

She rams her knee into the first guard's stomach, sending him flying into a second guard. The two violently crash into a pillar, incapacitating them and almost knocking the pillar over.

The third guard is about to attack with his weapon, but then notices the two streams of blood gushing out of his arm. He screams and falls to his knees, before a single chop turns everything around him black.

The fourth and fifth guards attempt to attack her together, only for Lin Yühsia to kick an entire dining table toward them, tableware included. They crash to the ground before they can react.

Correctly deducing the severity of the situation, the sixth man picks up his comms in an attempt to relay the information, only to find it puffing up smoke. The next moment, he finds himself flying through the air; his body draws an elegant arc before falling into the sea.

Lin Yühsia is particularly skilled in close quarters combat, and she takes full advantage of this in the cramped dining room, dispatching the hostage guards in a flash.

The hostages, in other words the dignitaries kidnapped by the captain and the contestants who got dragged into the mess, are all trembling in the corner, gawking at her in surprise.

Come with me if you want to live.

How are we supposed to escape?! The whole ship's full of Pancho's men!

You two.

Eeep—

Stop embarrassing yourself. Stand up.

Miss Lin, we'll do what you say.

I'll be the point guard. The rest of you, take care of the bigwigs.

Got it.

Now, then...

Damn... am I too late...?

Ernesto said you'd be here. Looks like he was right.

(Ernesto... Hui-chieh took him out, but he figured the situation right after he came to?)

(He's a capable man. What a shame.)

(Still, I didn't expect to run into this little girl again.)

Little girl, you shouldn't have thrown yourself into this mess.

My name is Rafaela. I'm not a little girl.

I may be adopted, but I'm Papa's daughter, so this is exactly the mess I should be in.

Mi hermano called you a good person. Why are you standing in our way?

Do you think what you're doing is right?

I'm not so sure, but Hermano and Papa said the city's a bad place, and I take their word for it.

You should form your own opinions, little girl. Sometimes, your elders need your help.

They have experience, and they can be quite insistent on following that experience.

When it comes time for you to take over, you can't always do as they did in the past.

You need to use your own reason to break away from their old ways. You need to think about what only you can do.

I don't understand.

It's okay, but you should try to remember this.

Okay, I still have something else to take care of, so it's time for you to be good and go to bed now, little girl.

(Grr, how dare that Lin Yühsia hang up on me. Now I can't reach her. What the hell is she doing?!)

Lin Yühsia, what are you even doing? I heard you rescued the hostages like twenty minutes ago, and now most of their men are coming after you.

I know. I'm not with the hostages right now. My guess is they've gotten out.

What are you...

Trust me. Come to the basement. Together, we'll...

Ch'en puts her phone down and turns around in an instant. Pancho and his men are standing not too far away.

I've heard stories of what an impressive man the Chief of Lungmen Wei Yenwu is.

You may be no less formidable, but neither of you have a clear head, and he sent you two nonetheless.

Looks like Wei Yenwu is no more impressive than Candela.

You...

You people see nothing but money. There is nothing but leisure on your mind. I can't wait to slaughter all of you.

I don't know what Lungmen is like, but ever since I was born, there's been blood gushing out of Bolívar's veins.

Who doesn't want to shake hands and live in happiness? But none of us here can do that.

Let me tell you this. It doesn't matter how much blood we spill. This city sucks far more blood in a single day!

Alright, I've had enough of your games.

Give it up, or this is where you die.

(Why are you doing this? Do you really think this is right, in spite of how much more blood you'll spill?)

(None of those questions matter to him...)

(In his eyes, I'm the one who's disrupting his plans, and besides—)

(I can't argue with him.)

(Not because I regret what I've done.)

(In fact, it's because I do agree with him, now that I understand his motives.)

(Even if I disagree with his methods.)

(But I don't understand Bolívar well enough, and I don't understand war well enough. I can't come up with a better solution.)

(That's why I can't argue with him.)

(That's why I can't draw my blade.)

(Chi Xiao definitely won't accept me as I am now. I can tell.)

(In that case, there's only one thing I can do—)

Ch'en slowly lifts her gun.

So you have chosen death.

Likewise, Pancho slowly lifts the anchor in his hands.

Right at that moment—

Jump, Hui-chieh.

With no time to think, Ch'en leaps off the deck of the ship.

Lin Yühsia is waiting underneath with a boat.

Gah, after them!