Toys

"Hiss!" The sharp hiss of the Swift Beasts echoed in the room, piercing through the deafening gunfire and remaining distinctly clear.

One Swift Beast after another appeared in the corridor, charging towards the two of them.

Reno and Antonia stood side by side, their cannons erupting flames simultaneously.

The bullets elongated into streaks of light in the dark space, spitting onto the charging Swift Beasts, causing blood to splatter across the hall with each impact.

Despite falling down, they still maintained their charging stance, seemingly unaware of death. As they collapsed in a pool of blood, they still tried to extend their blade-like feet towards the two mech warriors, just to land a single strike.

The scene of blood and flying limbs brought immense psychological pressure, while the continuous stream of beasts added to the pressure of combat.

"My energy is running low!" Antonia shouted anxiously.

"I'm running low on ammo too!" Reno replied. "These damn things seem endless, how many did they stuff in here?"

"What do we do now?" Antonia hadn't realized it, but she was now relying heavily on Reno's judgment.

"We can't keep this up. If we don't kill them all before our ammo runs out, we'll die here!" Reno blasted a flurry of bullets, turning one charging Swift Beast into a sieve.

He paused for a moment and said, "We need to get out of here."

"I tried, the door won't open," Antonia replied, pointing in the direction they came from.

"Not that door," Reno responded.

"What?" Antonia was puzzled.

"The fourth door, the one we haven't opened yet," Reno said.

Antonia's eyes lit up. "The loot!"

"Exactly. They wouldn't put Swift Beasts and loot together. Those primitive and savage beasts would tear all the loot to shreds!"

"I'm starting to admire you, Shadow. Promise me one thing?" Antonia asked.

"What?"

"After the competition, tell me your real identity. I'd like to be friends with you."

"Alright." Reno fell silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Count to three, and we'll strengthen our firepower and rush together. One, two... three!"

Bright lights from their electron cannons and energy guns illuminated simultaneously. Two massive energy beams reduced the charging Swift Beasts to dust. Then, two missiles whistled into the corridor, exploding upon impact. Using missiles at such close range even affected them with the massive shockwave, causing a burst of light on their energy shields.

The faster Crimson Widow had already rushed to the fourth door. She opened it and rushed in, then turned back to shout at Reno, who was lagging behind, "Quick, come in! There are no Swift Beasts here!"

Reno fired two more shots into the corridor before running towards the door.

But just as he was about to reach it, a Swift Beast on the ground suddenly kicked him, causing him to stumble and fall.

He scrambled to his feet and ran towards the door, but at the same time, another Swift Beast appeared in the corridor. It saw Reno, let out a low growl, and pounced towards him.

"Quick!" Antonia yelled.

Reno sprinted with all his might, leaping towards the door, and tumbled inside.

Antonia swiftly closed the door, and just as it was about to shut completely, a blade-like foot extended from outside, getting stuck in the gap, preventing it from closing.

The Swift Beast outside pushed against the door with all its might, emitting a piercing howl.

"Help me!" Antonia shouted.

Reno ran over and extended the cannon through the gap, aiming directly at the head of the Swift Beast. "Goodbye, buddy."

Fire!

The ferocious firepower instantly tore apart the Swift Beast's skull, causing it to fall backward.

Antonia pushed the door shut with all her strength.

As the door locked shut, the banging outside subsided. Perhaps realizing they couldn't break through, the Swift Beasts finally gave up their attack.

Taking a deep breath, Antonia sat down weakly.

The fight had been short, but it had been incredibly intense for both of them.

Especially the sight of blood and flying flesh. For two individuals who were both new to the battlefield, it was quite overwhelming. During the fight, they hadn't felt much, but now that they had stopped, they suddenly felt nauseous.

It had to be admitted that they were indeed talented individuals. Some people might have already vomited, felt dizzy, or even lost their minds. But these two only breathed heavily for a moment, suppressing their discomfort.

The commotion outside quieted down. Perhaps realizing they couldn't break through the door, the Swift Beasts finally gave up their attack.

"How do we get out later?" Antonia turned to ask.

"We should first search for supplies. The organizers wouldn't release so many Swift Beasts without giving us any supplies. That would be letting us die. The Storm League can have accidents... but not murders."

He walked inside as he spoke.

After passing through another long corridor, they entered a spacious hall cluttered with various equipment and flying scraps of paper. It resembled a scene of impending doom, like a research facility hastily evacuated.

"Look!" Antonia's sharp eyes had already spotted a supply crate in one corner of the hall. It was indeed a resource supply crate.

Reno was right; there were supplies here after all.

Opening the crate revealed a medium-sized energy pack that could replenish ten percent of their energy, along with four boxes of ammunition.

Antonia immediately became excited. "You were right; there are supplies here. But it seems there's nothing else."

She had come here expecting to find something extra under the guise of "research facility," but if it was just a large supply, it was somewhat disappointing.

At least these supplies couldn't match the ones they had just consumed.

Reno felt guilty and didn't respond, merely searching for his objective.

Beyond the hall was a corridor leading to many rooms. Reno walked through, checking each room in search of his target. Unfortunately, he didn't find his target but stumbled upon another supply crate containing a small energy cell and three boxes of ammunition.

Continuing on, Reno saw a pink room that clearly resembled a little girl's bedroom.

His heart skipped a beat as he walked in and saw a teddy bear lying quietly on the bed.

Finally, he found it. Reno breathed a sigh of relief.

He picked up the teddy bear, wandered around for a bit, and then returned to the hall.

"Shadow, did you find anything?" Antonia asked as she saw him return.

"A small energy supply crate, one energy cell, and three boxes of ammo."

"That's not enough to cover our consumption. And I just checked; those Swift Beasts we fought earlier didn't even earn us any points. It's outrageous," Antonia complained.

Reno knew why; the points must have been converted into mission rewards. Otherwise, if those Swift Beasts counted for points, it would have been too easy.

But this also meant that Antonia had fought for him for nothing.

This made him feel a little embarrassed.

"Oh, by the way, did you find what you were looking for?" Antonia asked.

"Oh, yes, I did." Reno waved the teddy bear around and casually placed it in the mech's supply crate.

"A teddy bear?" Antonia was stunned. "You risked so much to break in here just for a teddy bear?"

"Well..." Reno hesitated.

But Antonia had already figured it out.

She looked at Reno and said slowly, "This is a mission, isn't it? You didn't come here for any benefits; you took on a mission?"

"Well, yes," Reno admitted, spreading his hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth..."

"You bastard!" Antonia stormed over, punching Reno.