Goki certainly knew Gni, not only knew her, but was also deeply impressed.
It wasn't just because this Nona gave him a passionate, loveless kiss the first time they met, but because of her extremely high appearance rate in the game.
As Rhodes Island's sole designated utility Operator, even though this little mouse was only a four-star character in the game, Goki would always bring her along, whether for clearing main story stages or event stages.
There was no other reason, simply because… Gni was just too useful!
Low deployment cost, an invincibility shield with several times her HP, and a redeployment time of only a dozen seconds—if the invincible Sister 42 could have such a fast deployment time, that would be great!
From when he first started playing the game, after the reliable Saria was bound by a Sarkaz Caster's Originium Arts for a dozen seconds, Goki understood the meaning of a fast-redeploy Operator.
Of course, they are cannon f—ahem, Operators who attract attacks for other Operators, confronting powerful enemy attacks with courage and strength, the most indispensable Operators of Rhodes Island!
Whether it was Faust's critical purple arrows, the Black Snake's casually thrown true damage ignites, or those explosive drone pigeons carrying bombs, Operator Gni could effortlessly… be dealt with by them.
Although the pros could withdraw Gni before she was hit, Goki, a distracted and clumsy Doctor, didn't have time to save those few deployment points, so Gni falling was a common occurrence!
Moreover, as the most common four-star character in public recruitment, serving as both a fast-redeploy and a specialist Operator, Operator Gni was also an important source of Goki's yellow tickets; he relied on her for monthly freebies!
Regarding this Operator, even though it was just a game, Goki still held great respect for this hardworking Sister Gni.
Similarly, Goki also knew that this little mouse, who kissed him the first time they met in reality just like in the game, hadn't been telling the truth earlier.
About five kilometers from the industrial zone, in a narrow residential alley, only a sliver of morning sunlight shone through, illuminating two men in black robes amidst piles of debris and trash.
Their figures were dim and hard to distinguish, appearing exceptionally mysterious.
"Sorry for the trouble, sir."
However, this mystery didn't last long, as one of the black-robed men removed his hood, revealing the face of a rather handsome, sunny young man.
He was a Kuranta in his early twenties, with short golden hair a shade lighter than Margaret's, and a youthful, somewhat delicate appearance that fit the "puppy" description on Earth.
A kind and approachable smile appeared on his face, and the moment he saw Goki and Skadi, he immediately removed his hood, adopting a humble and polite expression.
"This person is a slave who escaped from us. She is a legitimate slave laborer with a legal slave number. She refused discipline and tried to escape. Thank you for helping me catch her. Please return her to us—smoke?"
Skillfully pulling out a pack of expensive cigarettes, the young man was utterly deferential to Goki.
One look, and you knew he did this often.
The other black-clad man's face remained hidden in the shadows; he was the one who had just unleashed Originium Arts.
One was responsible for socializing, the other acted as a thug; they cooperated tacitly.
As soon as these words were spoken, Gni, who was being held by Skadi, immediately tensed up—this was indeed the truth.
Kazimierz Knights crack down on domestic slave-catching, but the Commercial Federation welcomes imported slave laborers. Both sides have their bottom lines, and neither can completely override the other—how can mechanical workers be as cheap as slaves?
If it were just that, Gni's return would be perfectly justified and even legally protected.
However, these two men in front of her were executioners who killed without batting an eye. She had seen many slaves, caught with her, dragged out with shriveled bodies, clearly drained of blood.
"Don't listen to their nonsense! These two are bounty hunters illegally capturing slaves in the city! I warn you, this is Kawalerielki, and it's still during the competition. Security Knights are strict, and foreign travelers are all registered—if you don't want trouble, stay away from me!"
But Cenomi absolutely dared not expose the truth that these two were murderers.
Those people's Originium Arts were unprecedented. The two people beside her, judging by their race, clothing, and accent, were definitely foreign tourists and certainly had no combat power. Cenomi herself only had rudimentary skills, only good at escaping. If it came to a real fight, she would surely die.
Although she had been captured young and wandered for a long time, Cenomi's hatred was always directed only at those slave traders and bounty hunters. She was unwilling to drag strangers into this, only wanting to use foreign tourists to make these bastards wary of causing trouble, thereby temporarily retreating.
If not… [Then I'll just have to let you, this stinky man, have your way! Hiss, my tongue hurts so much, I even bit my gums just now!]
Held in Skadi's arms, Cenomi seized every opportunity to calm her heartbeat and regain her strength—she didn't expect the two tourists to help her much, but even gaining some rest time would be enough.
After all—mice are creatures best at escaping!
[But the kiss was definitely for nothing—never mind, even if he can stall for a few minutes, that's good!]
"Hahaha, every escaping slave says that, but you can recognize them just by looking at the barcode on their shoulder, and you can even find the owner's information with an app—sorry, sir, for letting you see such an embarrassing scene—you're a foreigner, perhaps you don't know, our actions are protected by Kazimierz law, even Security Knights would approve of what we do?"
Seeing Goki unmoved, the young man immediately put away his lighter and cigarettes, and instead pulled out an exquisite pendant.
"This goes exceptionally well with your girlfriend. Our useless selves interrupted your wonderful trip, so please accept this as our apology to you both?"
The young Kuranta's movements were exceptionally practiced. Compared to Chiarne, who liked to exert pressure and act superior, he was clearly more suited to be a public relations person.
"…Hmm, do you always like to carry strange little pendants in your pocket? How interesting, it seems you guys always do this?"
You don't hit a smiling face; this young man was so polite, Goki couldn't bring himself to be harsh. He reached out his hand, seemingly intending to take the pendant.
"Yes, yes, there are always those audacious slaves who want to escape from us, their owners who have paid money—and many tourists treat this as an opportunity to be a hero saving a beauty, ultimately forcing us to resort to legal weapons."
Seeing that the other party was easy to talk to, the young black-robed man breathed a sigh of relief and handed the small ornament to Goki.
[It's over, the kiss was really for nothing. Am I really that uncharming?]
And seeing that Goki had no intention of saying more, Cenomi immediately knew the negotiation had failed. She instinctively tried to break free, but was surprised to find that no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free at all.
At the same time, she felt a surge of Skadi's… well, assets on her back.
[No, this guy's girlfriend… seems to really be more 'well-endowed' than me.]
Feeling the size that was considerably larger than her own, Cenomi felt a strange sense of defeat.
However, what Cenomi didn't expect was that Goki didn't take the exquisite souvenir. Instead, he reached out and grabbed the black-robed man's collar.
"You keep saying 'slave, slave' all the time, and it really annoys me, a person born under the red flag—can you explain to me where the smell of blood on you came from?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Skadi immediately hugged Cenomi tightly, taking a few steps back, widening the distance between her and Goki, to prevent this unfamiliar woman from ambushing Goki again.
"Sniff sniff~"
At the same time, Skadi warily looked at the two people who had come chasing "Gni," twitched her small nose, and whispered to Goki in a low voice.
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