"You guys received the mail too?"

There were not many roads leading to the simulated street, and there was only one entrance open to the students. Cha Na and his group of six bumped into the other students in the class on their way. None of them were wearing a combat suit. It was obvious that they had received the notice during their lunch break. Since they could not gather any additional information from their discussion, they had no choice but to follow the original plan and head to the destination.

"Speaking of which … the place we were supposed to visit this afternoon wasn't the simulated street, right?"

Midaya, who had been deep in thought since he received the mail, muttered to himself.

Setsuna also remembered when he said that. "Considering the physical strength and fitness of the off-campus students, there shouldn't be a simulated battlefield in the original area."

"Yeah, that's what I remember too."

He said with a serious expression. "So, is Mr. Aizawa the kind of person who would change his plan at the last minute?"

That was hard to say.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Kota Aizawa was a person who valued rationality. He would never change his plan for no reason. However, in the current situation, "Mr. Aizawa wanted to play with the students on a whim" was the easiest explanation they could think of. After all, it was sudden, and the word "sudden" was never a good sign in the world of Heroes.

"Maybe he just wants to train our ability to deal with sudden situations," Hong said in a low voice.

This was indeed an acceptable explanation, but the sense of danger still did not completely fade away. They could only accurately judge the situation when they reached the place. Everyone stopped their meaningless discussion and quickened their pace.

SimCity, street area, entrance.

"… The smell of gasoline."

Just as they stepped into the target area, Obstacle made a judgment. Erlang decisively inserted the earphone cable into the ground and identified the direction in a moment. "Over there!"

Her voice was a little tense, but there was no need for her to explain further. The closer they were to the target, the clearer the cries and cries for help. Since when did Sunyoung have a professional hostage character?

Setsuna had a premonition that gradually expanded in her heart. She could not help but use Warp and arrived at the destination in two teleports.

"…!"

That was a scene that could not be imagined even in a dream.

"What … this is!"

Iida, who arrived later, could not help but exclaim in surprise.

The simulated street, which was usually filled with high-rise buildings, was forcibly swept into a wide open space by an external force. In the middle of the open space was a giant pit with a radius of more than ten meters. The liquid in the pit was the source of the smell of gasoline itself. But that was not important.

Setsuna subconsciously took a step back.

"… that can't be."

In the middle of the pit, there was a small open space that looked like an apple core that had been eaten clean. There was an iron cage that could not be described as huge.

....

.....

Green Valley was the first to shout. There was no lack of shock and anxiety in his voice, which flashed through Cha Na's mind like a bolt of lightning. His premonition was confirmed. The reality was so cruel that it was like a satire — those in the cage were undoubtedly the parents who had come to visit the school.

...................

His ears were filled with the cries for help from his parents, the shouts from his classmates, and the gradually increasing heartbeat in his body.

["Dad …!"]

Her breathing became rapid. Her eyes were about to be covered by the burning red in her memory. She hurriedly shook her head, trying to force the image out of her mind.

(No, no, it won't happen again.)

She repeated this sentence over and over again to herself. She raised her head with difficulty.

(If it's just a rescue drill!

It's just —)

... In the middle of the cage, there was a person who stood like a towering iron pole. The parents avoided him. His whole body was covered with a black hood. Even his face was covered with a black mask. He was an ominous person.

(— Villain.)

Before the person spoke the first sentence, she came to a conclusion.

"Hello, heroes and elites with a bright future ahead of you."

A cold mechanical synthesized voice flowed out of the person's mouth. It was smooth and lifeless. "Welcome to the stage of the blood sacrifice."

(It's useless.)

(No matter how elegant the words are, this fact will not change.)

She clenched her cold palm.

(That's a villain.)

"Student Qianqi," While the others were trying to talk to her, Green Valley whispered her name, "If you want to contact a teacher from here to the school district …"

"It's useless to try to escape or contact them."

As if the little scheme in the corner was ridiculous, the mechanical voice slyly interrupted, "Any attempt to escape or contact them will lead to the death of the people closest to you. Don't forget that I have hostages in my hands. Whether it's the kid over there with electricity or the little girl who can teleport."

"Ah."

He seemed to be amused again. He said in a voice that seemed to enjoy other people's pain, "But the little girl over here can try to escape?

If you're the one who leaves, I'll randomly choose someone from here to kill. It might even be a relative of the guy you don't like … Huh? "

Only he knew how much malice was contained in the last sentence. For a moment, everyone present subconsciously glanced at the person who was hinted at.

"You bastard …!!"

The angry voice was obviously not directed at Setsuna. The palm of Bao Hao's hand exploded uncontrollably. "Die now."

"Is this really okay?" The black figure seemed to be implying something. Everyone knew who was standing on the other side of the line of sight.

Bao Hao's movement to rush over stopped. He had never been so aggrieved in his life. "Damn it, stinky old woman, don't be taken away so easily!"

"Didn't I tell you many times not to call me a stinky old woman!!!"

Bao Hao's mother, who was the hostage, did not show any weakness. She roared back aggressively. "As a hero, you're better than making a scene —"

Her voice stopped abruptly.

She found that there was an extra person beside her.

"22.757 meters," Setsuna's voice was as cold as if she had just been fished out of an ice cave. "It took some time to estimate the distance. I'm sorry to trouble you with this kind of farce to attract attention … But since I'm already here."

(If I'm wearing combat equipment, a steel needle should have taken care of me by now.)

She silently blamed herself for not being considerate. Her cold fingers quietly wrapped around the forearm of the man in front of her.

"Goodbye, Mr. Hijacker."

(The distance is more than 30 meters, gravity is at its limit. It's a piece of cake for two people to move. As long as you return to the position of the whole class …!)

(The … position …?)

(…?!)

Before she could understand the situation in front of her, the cold synthetic voice full of leisure sounded again.

"Can't move … right?"

He was even a little proud of himself. "I've studied every single one of you thoroughly. I'm afraid the 'elites' will never understand to what extent we mortals can achieve through hard work.

No, not only you, the whole society and even the whole world won't see it because this society is sick. It's sick to pursue things that shouldn't be pursued — "

His voice gradually became sharper. Through the mask, she could feel the fanaticism in his eyes. Setsuna instinctively felt danger, but before she had time to take the next step, the man threw out a little light from the black robe wrapped around his body.

(… Fire?)

(Match …?)

(… Wait a minute, the one in the pit …!)

The fire surrounding the cage soared into the sky. The parents, who were leaning against the edge of the cage and extending their arms to ask for help, instantly retreated. The heat that hit them in the face was almost enough to evaporate their rationality. In an instant, they raised their heads to look at the man who was laughing wildly.

"What's wrong, elite little girl!

Isn't your personality very good?!

How much time do we have before the fire burns this cage?

Ah … But with your personality, you can at least save two people, right?

I'll give you a chance. Take two people away, and I'll kill the rest. "

He seemed to be a little pitiful and a little interested as he lowered his head.

[There seems to be a trace of pity in the man's numb eyes.]

"Who do you choose?"

["Go and reunite with your parents."]

(— — Ah ah.)

Her vision was burning red.

(Here it comes again, this kind of thing.)

"This, we should let the younger one go first, right?"

As if they couldn't bear to see the villain make things difficult for a middle school girl, there was an adult voice in the group of parents. "Let this child take the young lady with him first …?"

(You know that if you become a hero, you're destined to meet her again.)

"We're all adults here, what's the difference in age?!"

The young female voice said anxiously, "Let's start with the elders. You all have children to take care of, right?"

(Then why … did I still come …)

["I also received an admission notice!

I'll go tell mom and dad first. See you at school! "]

(— — Hyōka Erlang.)

["It's not that often, but I have quite a lot of siblings, so it's not that little."]

(— — Bombardment Scorch.)

["I wrote twelve pages!

But I can't write enough words of gratitude to my parents … "]

(— — Tenya Iida.)

Setsuna twitched unnaturally.

(Me.)

["Setsuna."]

(Probably just hoping.)

["Although she's very gentle and easy to talk to, she's actually not that easy to get close to."]

(In this world.)

["Is she the type who will take the initiative to show kindness to others, but doesn't accept kindness from others?"]

(— — Don't appear again, someone like me!!!!)

When she closed her eyes, she could see the lively and vivid faces, the shy and complacent expressions when talking about family, the kindness shown to a classmate who always kept a distance from others, and her, who was only one step away from that kindness, but couldn't get close no matter what.

(Any family in this world that is about to be broken in front of my eyes.)

She tightened her grip on the man's forearm to the extent that she felt pain.

(— — I want to protect you all.)

"Indeed, if it's a specified distance, I can't move you."

Her green eyes were filled with fire.

"But anyway, there's only fire around. It doesn't matter where we move, right?"

"If one time doesn't work, we'll do it again. Don't think about getting rid of me, come with me —"