"Hey Alice. Is everything still alright?"

Alice looked down at her silver bracelet. Jeff's concerned voice could be heard from this accessory item.

"Ummuu..." Alice whimpered as she looked around.

Many months had passed. Alice never expected to be back here again.

It's the same abandoned riverside factories. It's the same fogged up warm weather.

Yet, she was alone this time.

This time, Alice knew exactly where she ranked in terms of battle prowess. D-rank.

In other words, any B-rank could beat 100 of her combined.

Yet, by the looks of it, there were many A-ranks sent here to hunt her down.

Hearing the nearing motor sounds, Alice panted for breath. The girl's eyes started to water up.

At this moment, she looked rather helpless.

"Alice? You there?"

"Y-Yes. I-I-I..." Alice carefully moved through the empty front court. Step by step, she headed towards the factory's large overhead door.

It's been only a few months. Yet, grass had already grown to 4 feet tall through the cracked cement ground.

"Just to confirm, you have arrived the storage?"

"Y-Yes?" Alice finally reached the door. Looking up, there was a camera looking down at her now.

"Good. I have a present for you. It should be warming up right now." Jeff's voice sounded a little relieved.

"O-Ok?" Alice sounded like she was about to cry. Looking back to the other side of the front court, a trail of jeeps had just passed through the front gates.

GrrrrhMmmmm...

Under a loud mechanical groan, the overhead door gradually lifted.

Inside that factory, passing through an empty entrance area, the silhouettes of various mechanical equipments could be seen.

Pssss...

A loud piston sound.

The dusty floor at the empty entrance area slid open. Inside this circular shaft, one after another, lights popped on.

Under the reflection of these lights, a robotic head was lifted up from this shaft. Then its body, legs, feet...

Alice looked up at this mech. It had to be at least 5 meters high. The girl was only as tall as this thing's knees.

The mech was built like a large human. Got human-like hands and legs, as well as human proportions.

Smooth armor plates painted a magenta color. Its cockpit sat at its chest area. A large gem stone on its forehead, looking like a crown. A round shield in one hand. A rocket launcher tube in the other.

At this moment, large cables were connected to this mech's back.

Atlas' armor had a rugged industrial feel to it, prioritizing functionality over everything.

In comparison, this mech looked much more aesthetically pleasing. In some sense, it looked more like an artsy toy than a topnotch weapon.

Looking up at this big boy, Alice walked past the overhead door.

"Happy early anniversary." Jeff spoke with a calming voice.

Pam!

This mech's eyes started to emit a soft white light. The stripes on this armor started to glow.

Raising its head up, this mech scanned around. Taking two steps forward, the cables on this thing popped off and retracted down the shaft.

Clun...

The Mech took a knee in front of Alice. Its cockpit entrance popped open.

Alice widened her eyes at this gift. "F-For me?"

The girl's shoulders dropped a little. It's as if her sense of security had returned to her.

Wearing a smile, Alice seemed to really appreciate this gift, even without knowing what this mech was capable of.

Well, got to admit, this mech did look rather pretty, and big, and sturdy.

"Yep. I thought we could go out and hunt sometimes. Might be fun. But you know... Things happen." Jeff sighed.

"Yep..." Alice nodded.

"Where are you Jeff? Is everything fine with you?" Alice sounded concerned again.

A pause of silence...

"I'm heading back to the sanctuary right now. There is potentially trouble." Jeff's voice sounded serious again. "But if you need me... Tell me. I'll be there."

Hearing this, Alice smiled like her life was complete or something.

Yet, loud engine sounds broke the couple's conversation.

Clunk!

A jeep knocked over Alice's motorcycle.

Forming an arc, the jeeps stopped by the factory entrance. One after another, the headlights shut off. Fellas in sanctuary armor quickly jumped out of their vehicles.

8 Jeeps. 33 fellas. 3 S-rank squad leaders in colored armor. 30 A-rank squad members in grey armor.

Locking their gazes onto Alice, these guys carelessly barged into this factory. To be honest, at this moment, these guys looked more like aggressive gangs than a military unit.

However, as they got closer, they finally saw Alice clearly.

In an instance, the arrogant aura surrounding these guys disappeared. Stopping one after another, they became rather hesitant and awkward.

Putting on smiles, they tried to look polite and pleasing.

"However, I doubt you'll need me though." Jeff continued talking.

"You can fight at S-rank for an hour in this thing. Most S-ranks can only last 5 minutes max. Also, this mech, it can soak up around 50 S-rank hits before breaking. You should be able to gravely injure an S-rank with a single blow."

"Also, in case you are still having trouble, you can go into SS-rank mode for 5 minutes."

"There's about 1,000 rounds of mana projectiles to clear out the small guys. A flamethrower in case it's a swarm type enemy. Anyways, there's a range of toys good for specific scenarios."

"So if Atlas just sent normal task force teams for you, you should be able to whoop their asses."

Alice looked at those task force members with a polite smile.

Those fellas awkwardly stood at the entrance. They looked rather uncertain of what to do next now.

"Oh also. If that still does not work out. And the enemies are not from the sanctuary." Jeff continued. "You can always threaten them with guaranteed mutual destruction. There is a nuclear warhead buried 10 meters beneath you."

"W-Wh-WHAT?!" Alice bent down a little. She looked like she was weak at her knees.

The task force fellas: ?!!!!

"Yeah. You know. Nukes. BOOooom. Makes mushroom clouds."

"Where did you get a nuke?!" Alice rose her voice.

"Well. I was flying around, and I happened to detect a missile silo. And nobody was inside. So you know."

"JEFF! S-S-So y-y-you just brought a nuke BACK?!" Alice's voice became higher pitched. She sounded like she's on the verge of a scream.

Those task force fellas fanatically nodded. By the looks of it, they firmly agreed with Alice.

"Alice? Alice. Listen to me. Free nuke. Free. Who can turn down a free nuke?"

"A-Are y-you going to d-detonate it?" Alice panted. The girl looked down at the ground with widened eyes. She was about to lose it.

"You think I'm a rocket scientist? I don't know how to detonate a nuke. It's not like you can just hit it really hard, and it explodes... right?"

Alice: ...

"Erhm." A squad leader coughed.

"Wait... Who's there?"

"It's the task force squads." Alice replied

"Ooooookay... Alice?"

"Yes?"

"Is this on speakers?"

"M-Maybe."

"And they are here to bring you back to the sanctuary?"

Alice looked at the task force squads.

The task force members looked at their squad leaders.

The squad leaders looked at each other.

"I think so?" Alice replied in uncertainty.

"Ok. Alright. So you guys can hear me."

"Y-Yes sir." Those guys became tense and stood taller.

"Good. Listen up."

Jeff started to speak slowly and clearly. "If you touch my girl, I will find you, your family, and your family's family. Two can play this game. You hear me?"

"S-Sorry sir." A squad leader jumped in. The squad leaders exchanged eye contacts. Then they nodded at each other.

"Actually, on second thought, we'll back out on this one." One squad leader firmly nodded as he said this.

Hearing this decision, these fellas slowly backed out of the factory.

"Good."

"Sorry to bother you." A squad leader apologetically nodded at Alice.

"No problem." Jeff replied.

"You have a good day sir." Another squad leader bowed.

"You have a good day as well." Jeff quickly replied.

Leaving a nod, these guys all streamed out the factory. Jumping into their jeeps, leaving no hesitation, they drove off.

In a moment, the motor sounds distanced off.

"Your man has some influence here eh?" Jeff chuckled over the bracelet.

"Jeff..." Alice kneeled onto the ground and slumped. She still looked a little startled.

"This is Jeff speaking."

"I hate you..." Alice whimpered like she was about to cry.

"I love you too..."

A moment of silence...

"So is this robot expensive?" Alice looked up at the mech. Her breathing paced a little.

"Is it expensive..." Jeff paused in thought for a moment. "I don't think anyone else in Berrystone can afford it."

"I provided basically all the materials. And I happened to have a friend who knows how to build mechs. A friend who doesn't take external orders... So yeah... But don't worry about it, those materials are useless to me now anyways."

"Ok, I'm almost there."

"Oh boy. Ok. If you need me... Give me a call." Jeff's voice turned into a serious grumble.

At the same time...

The stream of jeeps headed down the empty foggy road.

Suddenly, a human figure appeared in their headlights.