Running out of time

"Wait, commander. What if he made a mess?!" So said Miss Programmer. Her reaction was understandable.

"I already made a decision. If everything goes wrong, blame me instead!"

"B-but…"

"No buts. We're running out of time. Work on it right away." After saying that, Commander Beth looked at Cross. "Show me what you've got, kiddo. I hope you don't disappoint me…"

This was a big decision. She knew that it wasn't right. But even if she chose to decline his offer of help, the outcome was already a predetermined failure in the first place. Right, they would not make it in time regardless, so why not gamble on that little chance, right? Perhaps this young man was not just all talk.

Honestly, as she looked at the young man she could not say that he was capable of programming work, but Beth still chose to believe in him, or it was better to say that she had no other choice but to believe in him.

Cross smiled lightly. "Yeah, let me."

Beth was taken aback at his casual response. She could not sense an ounce of worry from him. Either this young man was confident of his skill or just an overconfident lad.

Miss Programmer just sighed inwardly. She looked at Cross and said, "Just follow my instructions, okay?"

"….."

Cross didn't reply. Instead, he asked, "Can I use my own setup?"

"What?"

Miss Programmer looked stunned. And there was a frown on her face.

The setup he mentioned was a computer program also known as Helper AI. Everyone, especially the programmers, could build their own setup to help them in various cases. Mostly in programming cases. However, changing the already functional setup to a new one was time-consuming.

That's why…

"No you can't! You see we are running out of time. What are you thinking? Also, do you think our Setup is an old version? We're using the Meta Parallel Pro of the latest version."

Hearing that, Cross remained nonchalant.

"I see. So if it's not time-consuming, it'll be fine, am I right?" He said.

Wha-?!

Miss Programmer was even more stunned. She thought, 'Does this guy know what he was talking about?'

Even Commander Beth standing behind them wondered what Cross meant. She wondered if she made the right decision. But still, there was no going back now.

"I see. If you think your setup is more comfortable for you to use than ours, then I allow it—"

"Commander—?" Miss Programmer looked like she had something she wanted to say, but stopped right after seeing the raised hand of Commander Beth.

"Just that, if it took more than 5 minutes to prepare, sorry but we're running out of time, so I cannot allow it," the commander added.

Hearing that, Miss Programmer looked relieved as she even let out a sigh of relief.

"You heard the commander, so you can't—" Cross didn't allow her to finish her words. He said in haste, "I heard her clearly. That's why I can…"

Eh?

Miss Programmer gawked. Perhaps this person didn't understand what he was talking about. There's no way preparing a new setup took less than five minutes. Also, even if by some miracle it happens, they only have 5 minutes at most to work on the reprogramming. So, how could they complete the reprogramming in that very little time? Even the densest person in the academy could eventually understand that no?

As she said the last line, Scarlet, who was heading toward the Arena suddenly sneezed.

Achoo!

She rubbed her nose.

Kush kush…

"Scarlet, do you have a cold?" Her pink-haired friend asked in haste.

"No, I don't think so," replied Scarlet.

"That's why you should not stay long in the bath!"

"….."

Scarlet chose to not say a word this time.

"We're finally here," announced the green-haired friend of Scarlet.

A towering coliseum was standing right in front of the group. Many other people were walking around them. All of them were heading to the entrance. But, upon seeing Scarlet's group, many of them stopped and called them, trying to get their attention, especially Scarlet's. As if a group of idols graced them.

"Let's go," Scarlet suggested.

"That's right, let's go."

The group then continued.

…

At the same time, inside Felomina's office in the Support Department Headquarters, Felomina looked at the person that was sitting on the sofa in front of Sheha.

"She's the one I told you about, Vice Commander Sheha. Her name is…"

"Yeah, I know her. She's Noir of the Rin Family, right? They're one of the Blue Delta Clan."

Such a huge name would not come unnoticed by Sheha's scoop of knowledge.

"That's right, that's why I shouldn't be here. If I fail to join the Mech Soldier Department, I'm sure my family will disown me. Our family is one of the inheritors of the hero's legacy who fought in the frontline a decade ago, so there's no way for us to just stand by as supporters," said Noir as she knitted her brows.

After the first wave of War, in which the mysterious Dark Reaper appeared, some small skirmishes were still happening at that time. Some brave families stood up to lead various missions and defend their hometown. Later, those families became popular and rose to power.

Presently, those families became the top families in the federation. And they were treated as heroes' descendants.

Looking at Noir, she looked dedicated to joining the Mech Soldier Department. And hearing her, Sheha could not find any faults in her. Most of those families in the clans truly trained their descendants as warriors.

So, joining the Mech Soldier Department was their best outcome. Especially the Blue Delta Clan which is one of the leading clans in the federation.

Those at the top didn't want their peers to outclass them. That's why no matter what happens, their descendants must follow a route with the best possible outcome. And that was the reason why most of them chose to be in the Mech Soldier Department, because only there could they show their warrior talent.

Sheha looked at Felomina. Her gaze was easy to read through.

Felomina let a sigh escape her mouth and handed an envelope to Sheha.

Sheha took it and opened it. Inside, she saw some papers.

"Those are some of the reports from the Mech Soldier Department. They are the reports about her behavior in the past few days."

Hearing that, Noir remained nonchalant. Her goal was clear and still the same.

Sheha took one of the papers and read it in silence. However, after a couple of stanzas, she gawked at what she had read.

"Eh?"

"See? That's the reason why the Mech Soldier Department banned her from joining them," said Felomina as she looked like someone who suddenly had a headache.

"Not only did she cause an injury to a comrade but also destroy one of their mechs?!" Sheha exclaimed in disbelief. "And constantly causing trouble to others?" She added with her eyes turning wide.

Sheha looked like her eyes lost all color as she put down the papers on the table. She also unnoticeably placed Cross ID and recommendation letters on top of them.

"Wait, Vice Commander Sheha, what are those…?"

Felomina suddenly asked.

Eh?

Sheha looked at Felomina in confusion. "Wha… what?"

"That object in your hand."

Noir also looked at the object that was under Vice Commander Sheha's palm and was on top of the papers.

No matter how she looked at it, it looked like an ID card.