Chapter 1 Legacy World 8.2 Mission Mamba

"Leader Angie, feeling better?" Four young men in the same uniform as her surrounded her bed. All of them had decent looks and moderate builds.

"Mm." Angie sat up and swung her foot off the bed to talk to them properly. "I can join you all for lighter training tomorrow."

Their faces lit up like golden retrievers.

"We got so worried when that porcupine appeared beneath you out of nowhere!"

"Ya, you've been having real bad luck recently."

"And there's that upcoming mission..."

"That's going to be our most dangerous mission..."

"I'm not looking forward to it. I don't have much confidence."

"What're you guys so worried about? I may have bad luck but haven't you guys been saving my ass each time?" She lifted an eyebrow slightly and grinned a little. "I have a very reliable team."

They looked at her with slight astonishment, then at each other, then back at her again. Suddenly, they jumped at her.

"I knew you were down in the dumps about something!"

"So glad to see our Leader back!"

"Okay, okay, knock it off." She pushed them back all at once. Knowing her real strength hidden behind her slender build, they were not surprised.

"Talking about Operation Black, I'm planning to withdraw our names. I'm clearly not fit enough for that anyway."

"You got a medical certificate for that?" One of them asked.

"I don't intend to get one. I'll offer us up for a different mission instead."

"But won't the reassignment be more dangerous? As a punishment?" Another one questioned.

Angie nodded. "So, I'll leave it up to you to decide. Who's willing to follow me and risk it?"

The four boys exchanged worried glances, then breathed in deep and puffed up their chests. "We'll follow you to the death. We trust in you, team leader Angie."

Angie smiled. She had already liked this team based on the original soul's memories. As much as she did not want to endanger their lives for her sake, she really needed all the time and support she could get to thwart her death flag. Suspecting that the original soul died in this upcoming mission, this was the closest to the original soul's demise she had ever transmigrated into.

"Go do what you have to. I'll handle it now."

"Yes, sir!" They said cheerfully then scooted off.

On her way out of the bunk, she stared at the two most attractive and attention grabbing characters in the bunk. Elias wore a teasing grin as he talked to Valerie, who lightly punched him shoulder in response to something he said. The way Elias looked at Valerie put a sour taste in Angie's mouth. Her gaze turned sharp, then she turned away, not wanting to witness such a scene any further. /Who'd expect that I would share the same legal father as the female lead?/

"Elias? What's wrong?"

Elias tore his gaze away from the door to look at Valerie. "It's nothing." He rapped her forehead. "Let's go, before all the others flood the toilet. Or you could stay like that till-"

"No way." Valerie cut him off and left the room.

Elias followed close behind her, taking one last look in the opposite direction. /I swear someone was looking at me. Who was it? What does he want?/

Meanwhile, Angie's request was being processed by the administration office.

"Perfect. Now we have someone for Mission Mamba." The soldier in charge of handling her request remarked unenthusiastically.

"No one else signed up?"

The soldier snorted. "Read the details and you'll know why." He slid a paper file to her.

Angie scanned through the printed words. "Why's this even made a mission?" The danger far outweighed the benefits.

"Stupid question. Luxury items are still necessary to keep some people happy. But I can't say I don't understand your feelings." He shrugged with a smirk.

"And it's just two weeks later?" Angie frowned. She did not gain much time.

"It's too late to rescind your request. You'd just get assigned to something else."

"I wasn't planning to." She said through gritted teeth. She grumbled her thanks, then returned to the bunk.

On her way back, she adjusted her plans to fit the timeline. She scoffed at herself quietly. /So much for getting used to resting. Now I have no time to./ Booster shots, regenerative potions, food, and most importantly recipes and blueprints. There were a lot to gather and she had to strategically get some each day.

[There're surveillance cameras everywhere, especially around the places you need to go. Only the bunks and toilets do not have them. I can handle those, though.] BaoBao dutifully reported.

/There's also patrol./

[You still have your invisibility ring.] He reminded.

/We'll move at night./

Because she was so deep in thought, she did not notice that Elias and Valerie were just returning to the bunk as well.

"Yo, Angie! How're you already up and about? You okay now?"

Angie froze at the doorstep at Elias' greeting. The original soul's memories told her that this was Elias' usual self. It was not like he took special notice of her.

She turned and gave him a small nod without making eye contact, then headed to her bed. Angie thought herself fortunate that the original soul was not close to anyone. Her teammates were the only ones she was the friendliest with. Even so, they knew that she valued her space and privacy, so they did not dare to be too clingy or probe too much. This meant that it would not be odd for her to treat him coldly.

Without speaking another word to anyone, she slept with her back facing the door.

Elias curiously looked at Angie's back for a while. /So she's still not well?/ However, his attention was quickly stolen back by Valerie.

[Angie. Angie.] BaoBao's call woke her up. [Everyone's asleep now.]

Angie put on her invisibility ring, then slunk out of bed. She bunched up one side of her blanket in a way that roughly resembled a body, before leaving the bunk barefooted.

Despite sliding the door open as quietly as possible, the more alert ones in the bunk woke up, including Elias. However, seeing an empty doorway then watching the door close by itself, spooked them. Thinking that they had witnessed a strange haunting, they remained in bed, pretending like they had not seen anything.

Angie casually strolled past those on patrol. /This is a little nostalgic./

BaoBao giggled. [Now I know how nostalgia feels. It was just you and me too. Stealing things in the dark. Slinking past everyone, except that you're REALLY invisible now.] He giggled again.

Angie smiled. /We've come a long way since then.../

[Mmhm!]

/But this is still just the beginning, isn't it?/

[Mm...] BaoBao's enthusiasm dropped.

/Hm? Tired of working with me already?/

[No! No! Of course not! I'd love to work with you forever! But! But...!]

/Sorry, sorry, my bad. I'm the one who wishes to end this and return to my world. I know how you feel... I'll miss you too./

[Angie...]

/So let's just enjoy our time together. It's okay if this is just the beginning, you know? I'm in no rush./

BaoBao's heart warmed so much that it brought tears to his eyes. He knew better than to believe her words. She had thought of her family countless times, using them as a motivator. However, he also knew that Angie was no liar. So, she must have said it for his sake. [Mm!]

Angie first went to the dreadful clinic. Although there was no one in the clinic, unpleasant memories were still triggered. Memories that were both hers and not, and that raised her ire. Not wanting to spend another second in here if she did not need to, she swiftly rummaged through the entire place, locating all the things that she needed. During her search, she found the log that she had also been looking for.

/The doctors take stock of everything, every single day. They even have to provide a reason for its use. I can't take anything now./ She cursed silently. This meant that she had to come back on the final day. Her plans were also thwarted. She left with the hope that not everything required such strict stock taking.

The more places she searched, the more her hopes were dashed. Everything was monitored closely and strictly. Down to how much food was given to each soldier. /Who'd review all these anyway?/

Just then, BaoBao alerted her to the arrival of two soldiers. [Eh?! Is that Conrad? The male lead? He's with someone else. That symbol... He should be a section commander. It looks like they're coming to this room.]

/So not everyone has the same schedule... That makes sense./ Angie decided to stay and watch what they were up to.

When the two men appeared, Angie immediately confirmed the male lead's identity. /He definitely has the presence for it./ Angie also immediately recognised Conrad's companion, thanks to the original soul's memories. /BaoBao, that's OUR section commander./

They approached the log that Angie had just gone through. Unexpectedly, she got the answer to her earlier question.

"Reduce the portion for these soldiers. Increase for these." Conrad ordered while gesturing to the list.

/What?/ The original soul had not been that attentive to realise that everyone was given unequal portions.

At the same time, BaoBao exclaimed in shock and frustration. [WHAAAAAT?! How dare he!]

Before Angie needed to ask the reason for BaoBao's outburst, the companion revealed it. "Um, excuse me, I understand the drop for Angie Dawson, but why the increase for Valerie Banks? Valerie hasn't been outstanding."

Conrad's piercing gaze shifted to his companion. His companion gulped in reflex, but stayed firm.

"She shows promise."

Angie gritted her teeth. So, that was another nail in the coffin for her. She could understand his judgement based on her performance in recent practices and missions, but he was clearly biased towards Valerie. /So this was another way of protecting her./

Her section commander did not dare to question Conrad's judgement any further. So, he stayed mum.

She waited for them to leave before leaving the room as well.

Her final stop was the research lab. It had the heaviest patrol and most surveillance cameras. She waited for the coast to clear before she opened the door. Not having a lot of time left before she could return, she swept through the area and found various things that were more valuable than those in the clinic. However, she never knew these existed. /Are these reserved for those in power or something?/

She also found the research documents that she wanted to study. However, she got interrupted before she could begin. [The scientists are back!]

/At this time? Doesn't seem like just a visit./ She quickly put the documents back and exited the room upon BaoBao's cue.

When she passed by the group of scientists, she noted how fresh and alert they looked. /So they start their day this early./

Angie reviewed her plans, again, on her way back to her bunk. /It seems like I can only study. I'll grab whatever I can on the final night./

When she returned to the bunk, she woke the same few up, but they stayed completely still this time, with only their eyes glued on the door. This made BaoBao burst into laughter. [They're going to be haunted for two weeks! I wonder if they'll start losing sleep because of this!]