Chapter 127: Landing.

“Long time no see, Mirko. I think the last time we saw each other was at the Ranking meeting.” Mandalay responded to Mirko’s greeting with a smile, without stopping her steps for a moment. “Umu.” The rabbit heroine nodded in greeting and then looked at each member of the Pussycats team, who greeted her with a smile, until lastly, she saw a curious young man with black hair and blue eyes wearing a simple black sports outfit, having a cat—whose fur matched his own black hair and blue eyes—resting on his shoulder. “Why did you bring a student?” Mirko asked somewhat bluntly, to which Mandalay responded in a clear tone of voice. “He’s Kai. He’s with us for his apprenticeship, and Principal Nezu gave his approval for him to join this mission. And you don’t have to worry about his skill—he’s considerably stronger than your average hero. Furthermore, He’s been training with us for many years, so his skill level in forests and similar environments is on par with ours.” “Oh? Considerably stronger than the average hero? That’s interesting.” Mirko remarked with evident interest in her tone as she eyed the blue-eyed boy like a predator, who seemed to be studying her with a smile. This prompted her to ask cheerfully. “Kid, what do you say we test our strengths a bit?” “Hehe, I was just about to ask you the same. Fighting you must be interesting.” Kai commented with a smile full of excitement, causing Shino and Ryuko to turn toward him with clear concern on their faces. Mirko, meanwhile, burst out laughing cheerfully and then spoke with evident enthusiasm. “Hahahaha, I like your attitude, kid. Let’s fight!” “Sure.” Kai replied with an equally eager smile, but at that moment Mandalay spoke firmly. “This isn’t a good time. We’re in the middle of an important mission that requires our full attention.” “Tch, Mandalay’s right. Let’s leave it for after we’re done here.” Mirko clicked her tongue in slight annoyance and said this while looking at Kai, who nodded, visibly disappointed. “I guess that’s fine.” Meanwhile, Shino and Ryuko did not look too happy about the sudden development between their boyfriend and the rabbit heroine. They weren’t especially jealous—if they were, their shared relationship wouldn’t have even started in the first place—but somehow, they could feel that Kai and Mirko were clicking, which made them feel uncomfortable. It felt as though Kai were flirting with her, and given Mirko’s personality, that wasn’t too far from the truth. Even though it was really uncomfortable to see Kai and Mirko looking at each other like that, Shino and Ryuko quickly started to breathe deeply to calm themselves and keep their emotions under control. After all, this wasn’t the right time. Besides, they were sure that Kai wasn’t flirting, nor did he have any intention of doing so, since if the person were a man, he would do exactly the same—and his request for a duel with All Might was proof of that. Quickly, the group entered the building, where they were escorted by two officers to what appeared to be a meeting room—a large wooden table surrounded by chairs, various screens on the walls. There, a young, tall man with short black hair stood, wearing what seemed to be a detective’s uniform, who, upon seeing them arrive, greeted them quickly and courteously. “Hello, everyone. Thank you for responding so quickly to the call. Today, I’ll be in charge of informing you about all the details of the mission and assisting you as much as possible.” “We’re always ready to serve, Detective Tsukauchi. But let’s hear the details first.” After everyone quickly greeted him and took a seat, Mandalay spoke in a serious tone. “Of course, that’s the most important part.” Tsukauchi replied seriously as he picked up a remote control from the table to turn on the screens. They showed data, maps, and aerial images of an island, and he went on to explain. “In this case, the objective is to search for and rescue a group of twelve scientists who are in a fixed research base on an uninhabited, wooded island about 300 kilometers off the coast. If possible, we also need to retrieve the data stored in the research base to understand the entire event. “As far as our information goes, early this morning, the scientists sent a report warning of signs of unusual geological phenomena: sudden low-intensity seismic activity and heat emissions in specific areas that did not match any known volcanic activity in the region. “But a few hours ago, communication with them was completely lost, and the last message they sent was a distress signal, along with the voice of one of the scientists shouting about the existence of ‘monsters’ that were attacking them. It’s strange because the island supposedly had no large predators, let alone something that could be considered a ‘monster’. “In addition, the area is experiencing earthquakes of up to intensity 4 on the Richter scale, and there’s some kind of electromagnetic interference preventing communication, which really limits our options. So, we can only rely on heroes experienced in forests and rescues. Also, given the strange report of ‘monsters’, we requested the support of a combat-oriented hero.” (The geography of this world is really different from what I remember from my time as Daniel. Japan shouldn’t have uninhabited islands that big. But oh well, there are even more absurd things out there, so I’d better not overthink it…) While the man explained, Kai studied one of the island maps, which showed several marked points of different colors indicating the heat spots and the seismic activity, among other important data, including the total area of the island, about 24 kilometers across. “How complicated is the terrain?” Mandalay asked, pointing at the red-marked areas on the map, to which Tsukauchi quickly replied after zooming in on the map with the help of the remote control. “Dense, rugged, and covered in vegetation. The heat emissions and tremors seem to be concentrated in these areas.” Tsukauchi indicated the points on the map displayed on the screen with a laser pointer. At that moment, Chatora asked in a serious tone. “How is the civilian extraction planned?” “Due to the conditions on the island, we’ll be using rescue helicopters equipped with electromagnetic shields. They’ll pass through the area every hour, as we can’t guarantee continuous communication. Keep that in mind. “Also, two support vessels are currently leaving the port. They’ll be positioned a few kilometers away from the island, in a safe zone, with medical and communications teams on board. However, it will take them about three hours to arrive.” Tsukauchi explained, pointing on the map to where the ships would be. At that moment, Mirko asked, arms crossed. “Any information about those ‘monsters’?” “Unfortunately, no. Before communications were cut, nothing like that was reported. And as I mentioned, the island had no large predators.”  Tsukauchi explained, resting his arms on the table. Mirko nodded seriously, and they proceeded with more questions. After a few minutes, the detective replied to a radio call and then spoke in a serious tone. “The helicopter that’ll take you there is ready and equipped. It’s time to go.” ““““Understood.”””” All the heroes replied in unison and then left the building quickly, heading to a helipad at the base where an imposing tactical helicopter awaited them. They boarded swiftly, guided by some police officers, and took off toward the island in question. About an hour later, the helicopter began its descent onto a beach of white sand covered by a dense forest. In various parts of the area, thick columns of smoke and scorched zones could be seen. At that moment, one of the police officers began to speak over the communications system in a serious tone. “Landing is impossible—the island is shaking.” [Don’t worry, we’ll jump.] Mandalay replied in a serious tone using her telepathy, and everyone else nodded. They were already wearing gas masks. The officer responded firmly. “Understood. We’ll leave it in your hands.” Quickly, the helicopter descended to hover just a few meters above the terrifyingly shifting ground. As the heroes and Kai unbuckled their safety harnesses, the police officers accompanying them threw two metal cases onto the beach, immediately followed by the heroes leaping down and landing gracefully on the ground, as if the tremors beneath them didn’t affect them in the slightest. After a few signals from the police officers in the helicopter, it rose into the air and flew away from the island. At that moment, Mirko turned to the others and spoke in a serious tone, full of eagerness for action. “I’ll go off on my own. I’ll scout the area a bit, look for any trace of monsters, and we can meet up back here.” “Wait, Mirko.”  Mandalay quickly spoke to stop the rabbit heroine, who was about to leap away using her powerful legs. Mirko turned to look at her questioningly, so Mandalay quickly added while pointing at Kai next to her. "Kai has the ability to sense everything happening around him, including living beings, and you already know Ragdoll's quirk. It's faster if they scout the area first and create an updated map of the situation before we split up. In the meantime, we could set up a small operations base while the support vessels arrive." “Can you really do that, kid?” Mirko asked, a bit curious, looking at Kai, who casually nodded while frowning in the direction of the forest. “Yes, I can. But more importantly, the forest is saturated with extreme electromagnetic radiation, so our only method of communication will be telepathy. I’m not sure how possible it’ll be to use electronic devices inside.” “Is it that bad?” Ryuko asked, somewhat worried, as she looked at Kai. Instead of answering, he took out his phone and turned it on while showing it to the heroes, then moved closer to the forest. As he neared the forest, Kai’s phone began to flicker furiously before shutting off completely when he was barely a meter away from entering. At that moment, he turned to the heroes and spoke seriously. “It’s fried. Although this is a good-quality device, and it’ll come back on after a while, using technology in there isn’t viable.” The heroes’ expressions visibly hardened upon seeing the fried phone. Kai walked back to them while explaining, as the island’s tremors subsided—though, for now, they all decided not to pay attention to that. “The same goes for the Pussycats’ devices. They have high-level shielding against electromagnetic pulses, which keeps them from getting shut down like my phone, but communication is impossible. So, they can only rely on a more limited local AI. Also, I don’t know how well-shielded the gear they gave us is, so we need to check it first.” “That makes establishing a base of operations extremely important. The helicopters will pass by every hour, so we need to get the scientists to a safe, clear area for extraction.” Chatora commented in a serious tone while looking at the other heroes, who nodded firmly. At that moment, Mandalay looked at Kai and spoke. “Kai, thank you for the warning. This information is very important, but we still need exploration. Could you please do an initial reconnaissance together with Ragdoll?” “Let’s go, Kai.” Tomoko commented in a serious tone as she looked at Kai with some concern. However, to her surprise, the blue-eyed boy simply nodded with a serious expression. “Sure.” “Then we’re counting on you. I’ll send a telepathic message every five minutes to check the situation and keep us all in contact.” Mandalay spoke seriously as she looked at Kai and Tomoko, who nodded in agreement. Quickly, Kai and Tomoko went into the forest, which brought small smiles of pride to the faces of Shino, Ryuko, and Chatora. Initially, they had thought Kai would refuse or at least complain, but seeing him head out so seriously filled them with a huge sense of happiness and pride, because he was taking helping others seriously. At that moment, Mirko asked with a slightly dissatisfied tone. “So I should just wait here until they get back?” “That’s best. I know you like action and working solo, but this is a critical situation, and we have to take every precaution. Kai and Ragdoll have specialized exploration, search, and tracking abilities, so it’s better for them to do the initial survey. Meanwhile, we have to set up a temporary operations base so we can coordinate and ensure easy extraction.” Mandalay explained while looking at Mirko, who could only nod in agreement. “I guess you’re right. Let’s do this quickly.” While Mirko and the Pussycats worked on setting up a base of operations, Kai and Tomoko were moving through the forest with incredible ease and speed. However, curiously, the blue-eyed boy still had his brow furrowed, his gaze distant, deeply lost in thought. [Sage, are you really not detecting anything strange about me?] Kai asked his reliable fairy assistant, who flew at his side, through their mental connection. She quickly replied in a serious tone. [No, Master. You’re just experiencing a slight case of anxiety, but other than that, there’s nothing out of the ordinary.] [But why am I feeling anxious? And why right when I arrived on this island? Something really strange is happening here. Is the family okay?] Kai asked, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Sage answered after her wings lit up in various colors for an instant. [Everyone’s physical condition is perfect. I also checked the cameras, the virtual assistants, the security systems—everything. Nothing out of the ordinary is happening, Master.] […] Ever since Kai set foot on the island, a bizarre feeling had overwhelmed him. Suddenly, his heart rate had sped up, and his mind had sharpened greatly, as if he were facing a huge threat. To the point where he thought the helicopter might crash or something like that, so he even used his future sight. But nothing happened—they arrived at the island without any problems. Still, the feeling hadn’t gone away; in fact, it might have gotten worse. (Something is going on, I’m sure of it. But what could it be…? Is it on this island, or is it something else I’m overlooking…?) 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