Fate Arknights: Shirou Emiya Chapter 253 253: The Exercise Begins

The rules of the exercise were quite simple. The mbers of Penguin Logistics would act as criminals who had attacked Lungn and were now on the run.

Since it was a planned assault, the Penguin Logistics side was fully equipped and even had access to a hidden base.

Only Penguin Logistics knew the location of the base, so if Texas could shake off the Lungn Guard Departnt's pursuit, they could enter the base to rest and replenish equipnt and fuel.

There were three victory conditions: survive for twelve hours, escape Lungn, or eliminate more than ninety percent of the Guard Departnt personnel participating in the exercise.

The failure conditions were also straightforward: being captured or being hit in a vital area would count as elimination.

Vital areas included the head and torso. Depending on the location of a hit to the torso, failure to treat it in ti would result in elimination after a set period.

A direct hit to the chest ant imdiate elimination.

Other than that, there were the usual safety reminders: avoid causing large-scale destruction and do not harm civilians.

As for the Guard Departnt… they had a large number of personnel, and they could also use drones, surveillance caras, and other equipnt.

This put Penguin Logistics at a significant disadvantage, but with Yith present, give him so ti and he could hack those systems.

Of course, after that, the sa thod could not be used to hack into the Guard Departnt's systems again.

After all, once the Guard Departnt beca aware of vulnerabilities in their system, they would certainly fix them.

For Yith, however, it did not matter. In hei eyes as long as sothing was connected to a network, the Guard Departnt's defenses were practically nonexistent.

And besides… Shirou was there.

Although he was heavily restricted in long-range attacks, Shirou had just tested firing a suction-cup arrow he projected, and the range still looked quite impressive.

This was practically a guaranteed win. If they did not overwhelm the Guard Departnt completely, it would count as a loss for them.

After the rules were explained by Black Steel International's Black Snake and Franka, the Penguin Logistics team set off first in their vehicle.

Both sides had their own communication channels, while the referees could connect to both, listen in, and communicate with each side.

Of course, this was mainly for announcing eliminations.

"So that is how it works… I was wondering how they would determine eliminations."

Looking at the cara installed inside the car, Shirou, seated in the front passenger seat, spoke.

"Of course they would set that up. Lungn has put in a lot of effort for this exercise. How could they possibly overlook sothing so basic?"

Croissant, sitting in the back seat, replied.

With prize money and vacation ti on the line, Croissant was taking this very seriously.

With prize money, she could restock goods. With vacation ti, she could set up more stalls.

She could already see her prosperous future.

"Co on, Bread Hero! You can do it!"

"..."

Shirou understood all that, but hearing it from Croissant made him feel as though he was being treated like an idiot.

Forget it. Better to focus on the exercise for now. He could deal with her later.

Thanks to Exusiai's reminder, Shirou now understood his role in this exercise. It was nothing bad, and he would not have to do anything against his conscience, so he was happy to help.

Besides, shooting people with suction-cup arrows sounded rather novel.

At the mont, Shirou was holding one of the suction-cup arrows he had seen at the gathering point earlier. Naturally, the one in his hand was projected, and he was making so adjustnts to it.

The modifications were aid at improving shooting performance, reducing lethality, and making the suction cup stick more effectively.

Influenced by the others, Shirou found himself getting a bit playful, wanting to enjoy the exercise.

Of course, he was not as ruthless as so of them. At most, he would shoot a modified suction-cup arrow straight at soone's forehead.

Just thinking about it felt amusing.

"The Guard Departnt has started moving. Be careful. You do not have to completely crush them, but at least do not get eliminated too early. Otherwise, I have no idea how much the boss will deduct from your pay."

While the group was chatting in the car, Yith's voice ca through the communicator.

"Understood!"

They replied in unison.

Their escape strategy was simple. Escaping Lungn was imdiately ruled out. While it would be the fastest way to end the exercise, all exits were surely heavily guarded.

Unless Shirou set the heavily guraded exists on fireworks. Forcing their way through would lead to a crushing defeat.

After all, elimination was not self-determined. One careless mont and a single hit would result in forced elimination.

Even Shirou was no exception. The defensive advantages provided by his reinforcent magecraft were practically nonexistent here.

In simple terms, reckless charging was not an option.

Therefore, the best strategy was to stall until ti ran out. The next best option was to gradually wear down the Guard Departnt using large quantities of stink bombs.

"Croissant! Sora! Let tell you! Just pull this and throw it, and that is all. It is completely safe and will not hurt anyone!"

In the back seat, Exusiai was instructing the others on how to use the stink bombs.

Unlike standard Originium explosives, these contained no Originium components. They relied purely on the expansion effect produced by mixing certain substances together, causing them to burst.

Naturally, their explosive power was far weaker than normal explosives. While Exusiai could enhance them further, she had no intention of doing so this ti.

After all, the real essence of these bombs lay in what was inside them.

"…I have a feeling you all are definitely going to be rembered by the Guard Departnt after this."

Seeing the three people in the back getting more and more excited, Shirou could not help but remind them.

"It is fine, it is fine. We have always been on their radar anyway. This does not make much difference."

Exusiai responded with a completely unconcerned expression.

Penguin Logistics had long been on the Guard Departnt's watch list.

And with Shirou, soone the Guard Departnt was already keeping an eye on, their threat level had only gone up another notch.

If they had not recently reduced their street racing, fighting, and "accidentally" blowing things up in Lungn, they would probably have to report to the Guard Departnt every day and write statents until they missed dinner.

A warrior may be killed, but never humiliated. No one could stop them from eating dinner.

No one.

Unless Shirou, their chef, decided to go on strike himself.

"Alright then."

Seeing Exusiai's carefree attitude, Shirou chose not to say anything further.

At least he had tried. When facing the Guard Departnt later, it would not be as awkward.

"Shirou, keep an eye on the road. Exusiai, you too."

Texas, who was driving, gave instructions, getting everyone to focus instead of chatting.

She had a feeling that if they kept talking, Shirou might actually switch sides.

A little joking was fine, but if it went too far, Shirou might not be able to accept it.

After all, his moral boundaries were not as flexible as theirs.

That said, this was also one of Shirou's strengths. Compared to the rest of Penguin Logistics, his actions were much more predictable.

"Got it."

Upon receiving Texas's instructions, Shirou imdiately shifted his attention outside.

Unlike before, the streets were now crowded and it required him to put in more effort to filter out useful information.

For now, their vehicle was strictly following traffic rules. The Guard Departnt would first need to locate them before taking further action.

As long as they did not make any conspicuous moves to alert the Guard Departnt, they could delay things for quite so ti.

If they could reach the base during this window, things would beco much easier.

Of course, it would not be that simple. The Guard Departnt would likely use special thods to establish a periter first and then gradually tighten the net.

Ten minutes after Yith reported that the Guard Departnt had begun moving, Shirou had already seen several drones and patrol vehicles passing by them.

Much faster than expected.

"Tch, that is way too fast, is it not? We are still stuck in traffic!"

Watching the Guard Departnt vehicles speed past with their lights on, Croissant could not help but complain.

After all, ordinary citizens would always give way to them.

"So what do we do? Once they set up the periter, we probably will not even last until noon, right?"

Sora, who had done so howork on this, understood what the Guard Departnt would do next.

If they had no further plans, they might as well start thinking about what to eat for lunch.

Co to think of it… there was no food in the car. There was so water, but not much.

That ant they would have to find a way to get food, or they would go hungry for the entire day.

After realizing this, Sora shared the grim news with the others.

"This is bad… Shirou, did you not make lunchboxes? Why did you not bring them into the car?"

Hearing Sora, Exusiai imdiately climbed up to check the back. Aside from a pile of equipnt, she did not see the sandwich lunches Shirou had woken up early to prepare.

"The organizers took them in advance. They said they needed to leave so openings for the Guard Departnt."

Only after they ntioned it did Shirou rember.

It was not entirely his fault for forgetting. After that, he had been busy with other things, and the pile of explosives in the car had given him a headache, so it slipped his mind.

"That is way too much!"

Hearing Shirou's explanation, the anger level of the four people in the car shot up instantly.

If they got caught early, the lunchboxes would be useless anyway, Shirou could just cook a fresh al for them.

If they waited until the exercise ended, the sandwiches would probably have gone bad. To avoid waste, Shirou had the organizers send them to Chen, Hoshiguma, and Swire.

After all, the Guard Departnt, being the visible side, could easily find food at any ti. In contrast, if Penguin Logistics dared to show themselves to buy food while acting as fugitives, they would imdiately be surrounded.

On the bright side, at least the organizers had not cut off their water supply. Going without food was manageable, but no water would be truly unbearable.

"There should be food at the base… so we need to find a way to get past the Guard Departnt's periter and reach it first. It will also be easier to defend there."

After calmly analyzing the situation, Texas proposed her plan.

Their initial objective had always been to head toward the base. It had more equipnt and natural defensive advantages.

Although they were not particularly skilled at defensive battles, they did not have the luxury to choose right now.

Even though it was just an exercise, she did not want to lose.

Aside from the rewards from their boss, she mainly wanted to vent so frustration.

The Guard Departnt was the main reason Shirou had such a heavy workload.

And she had not forgotten that Swire had once tried to poach Shirou to join the Guard Departnt.

And she had even tried to poach him right in front of them!

That was a provocation! She rembered it very clearly!

So there was no way they could lose this exercise. Even if they were about to lose, she would grab Exusiai's specially made explosives and charge in just to disgust the other side one last ti!

Although the cleanup afterward might be troubleso especially her tail, that part could be left to Shirou.

Ever since the last ti she had asked Shirou for help, Texas had often gone to him to tidy up her tail. Shirou's technique had also beco more and more skillful; apparently, he had even looked up related materials.

"Then it is settled."

After hearing Texas's proposal, no one else in the car objected.

After all, everyone lacked experience in this kind of situation. Their usual activities were nothing more than small-scale scuffles.

For Shirou, being chased like this was sothing he had never even considered before.

On top of that, he had no experience in formulating such tactics, so he chose to follow their lead.

Right now, he was simply an efficient weapon that would strike wherever they pointed.

With their general plan decided, Texas imdiately drove into a narrow alley.

Although this increased the risk of exposure, it at least gave them a chance to avoid being surrounded by the Guard Departnt.

Once surrounded, it would be a guaranteed loss for them.

"Hey! Got you!"

anwhile, at the Guard Departnt's command center.

The squad led by Swire used surveillance caras and drones to identify several vehicles taking unusual routes. As expected, she managed to lock onto a few suspicious targets.

By analyzing their routes, she quickly pinpointed the vehicle carrying Penguin Logistics.

After sending the information to Chen, Swire ordered her team to keep a close watch on the vehicle while she personally led a group to move out.

At this mont, Penguin Logistics was being treated as a group of dangerous criminals. Moreover, Lungn's higher-ups were surely watching this exercise, which was why Swire imdiately passed the intelligence to Chen.

Even if this were not an exercise, she would still notify that "rice noodle dragon." Although she wanted to push Chen out of her position, she would never let her own subordinates take unnecessary risks.

Safety ca first. And if she could push that "useless dragon" down within a reasonable safety margin, would that not prove she was more capable?

"The Guard Departnt has already located you. I recomnd increasing speed."

Yith's voice ca through again, he had hacked into the Guard Departnt's communication channel and was issuing a warning.

Compared to surveillance systems that required constant human operation, communication systems were easier to infiltrate, so he had started there, quietly listening in.

Give him just a few more minutes, and he would be able to hack into the Guard Departnt's surveillance systems for a short period as well.