High School Soldier
Congratulations on a new life

A few minutes after the helicopter flew, it appeared drizzling and suddenly getting heavier. It rained down outside. There was no nervous expression on Nio's face, yet Zefanya with agitated eyes repeatedly stared at Nio's expression. Inside the helicopter, the quiet atmosphere was more disturbing than the heavy rain with the dark sky outside.

Underneath the helicopter is a destination area, the former Colomadu sugar factory that was destroyed after the war. Ruins of buildings far from the main settlement can be a safe hideout for groups of thugs armed by certain parties. Nio decided to stand up, and walked to the side door. Because the Zefanya do not like city battles, where many high-rise buildings where snipers and snipers, as well as anti-personnel missile operators are scattered. He feels ‘target’ Nio has that kind of ability.

Nio stared at the location point Sonia had sent him. However, since the point was sent out a few minutes ago, it is possible that the target has moved away from their previous position.

As the helicopter approached the former sugar factory building, Nio spotted a small ground-based radar. The 406-32 companies should have had access to the radar, but they said they did not find the target as Nio intended. In fact, if Company 406-32 wants, they can detect personnel targets from a distance of 200 kilometers.

“What is the drone for here?” ask the helicopter pilot.

Nio looked at the flying object in front of the pilot-appointed helicopter. He narrowed his left eye, and let out his head after opening a bit of the side door. About ten meters ahead, Nio spotted an object with four propellers and something triangular in shape on it, like a radar system on an early warning plane.

“Drone special..” Nio tries to remember the name of the unmanned device the military used to detect targets remotely or mess with radio and radar signals. “Sial, they turned out to be using a radar signal shredder. We better go after that thing.”

“You know what it is?” ask pilots.

“Ya,” replied Nio. “It should be used to detect enemy aircraft or drones. But, the triangular object on it can function to disrupt radar capabilities. That's why we don't get the current location of target.”

After all, Nio knew why Company 406-32 could not receive messages from radar.

The target might use drones to keep an eye on the surrounding area, and deter parties who have their hunting intent like Nio. Can mess up the radar capabilities, they are quite smart for a group of people working for a party that has been tagged in ‘special search list’. If caught, Nio was sure the party protecting Bacem Village could be punished like a traitor.

“What will we do?” the pilot hesitated.

“Lower altitude, and reduce the speed a little to follow the thing,” replied Nio.

Shortly after hearing the pilot do Nio's suggestion, Zefanya heard the sound of the side door opening loudly as the helicopter flew to the side and lowered its altitude. The incoming rainwater made his face wet and uncomfortable. “What happened?” zefanya asked, but there was no Nio in the cabin that surprised her.

“The side door was forcefully opened, Lettu Nio did it,” replied the pilot.

“Nio? Have we reached our destination? What is he trying to do?” as Zefanya wondered inwardly, she suddenly felt uneasy, and her face paled. “Wait, Nio!” Zefanya.

By the time he shouted, it was too late to prevent Nio. The man plunged down using a vinyl rope that Zefanya did not know when he had installed. Seeing Nio further away as he plunged into the ruined factory area, Zefanya was almost sitting limp.

Aiming to reduce the ability of early warning drone operators to detect the presence of targets, Nio decides to get off the helicopter after putting on a vinyl rope and wearing gloves he found on a bench during the flight and installing it unnoticed by Zefanya and the pilot. He believes Squadron 11/Serbu will do the Fast Roping exercise before Company 406-32 asks them to deliver the helicopter.

(olog note: Fast Roping is a method of getting off quickly using a rope from a helicopter. By using these techniques, the troop drop will be faster and more precise.)

Nio's goal is to knock out the flying object, although the possibility of him being found remains. Plunging down from a height of 40 meters using one hand was not a cool act, and Nio thought of nothing but broken bones and died. The rope was wet from the rain, and the gloves he was wearing did not hold too much heat due to friction and caused his palms to peel off but were not so severe as to make him unable to grip the gun.

Targeting an unmanned aircraft, Nio needed to shoot a total of 10 bullets to bring him down. Nio changes the magazines on his gun, and Zefanya sees the drone crash into the former factory area, just a few meters near Nio.

“Lower our altitude,” Zefanya said to the pilot. “Quick!” after forcing the pilot to do his wish, Zefanya looked around and held onto the vinyl rope installed by Nio. He had no time to think. Since the side door opens and the wind affects the balance of the helicopter, it's a situation that is not suitable for parachuting.

Now, Zefanya dangles by holding on to the vinyl rope. Moreover, the vinyl rope was too terrible for the parachuting operation, should he use rappelling rope. The line between life and death was almost invisible, and Zefanya was dizzy when she looked down.

“I've done it, so I'm as crazy as Nio,” Zefanya thought. He prayed to the God he believed in, and gripped tightly on the rope with both hands and feet, then went down.

However, the strong winds that hit him made the balance of Zefanya disturbed. By the time he realized what had happened, it was already too late. He was free-falling at an alarming speed. “It's easy, and I won't die just from falling from this height,” he murmured. Zefanya plans to let the tree impede its speed.

His Zefanya forced his brain to function at a high speed, making him feel that time was slowing down a bit. After hitting the tree branch, Zefanya turned over and pointed her legs to the ground. Soon after, Zefanya landed. He felt a tremor all the way to his organs. After standing staggered like he was thrown, he lay on his back in the mud water.

Inhaling and exhaling heavily to regain consciousness, Zefanya was finally able to sit down and spit out the soil and pebbles that entered her mouth. He was unable to stand up before his head that felt like it was spinning back to normal. After his consciousness fully returned, Zefanya tried to stand up and felt pain all over his body. He descended from a height of about 20 meters lower than Nio did. When he remembered that humans were still spared from death if they fell from a height of 20 meters, but Nio plunged using a rope from a height of 40 meters. So, Zefanya found it strange why she and Nio were still alive.

As Zefanya realizes she has not moved from where she stands, she wonders where is Nio's position, “Nio.... where is she?”

As she walks in search of her lover, Zefanya walks inside the former sugar factory area. Heavy rain soaked his head, and his vision blurred from the water. Other than being uncomfortable as her wet hair covered her gaze, her clothes felt heavy as it permeated the water. No matter the cold she felt, she continued walking until Nio was found.

Behind the rubble of the building, there were gunshots and fighting. As Zefanya passed through the barrier, propping herself up on the iron pillar, she saw the fight that was happening before her eyes.

The fighting party was a drone armed with a 9mm mitraliur gun, with a barrage of gunfire raining down on Nio nonstop. The weapon was like having an unlimited supply of ammunition, considering its size did not exceed that of a child's bicycle. As Zefanya imagined, the ‘impor’ weapon will be reduced in capability than the original variant, but does not eliminate the main threat of the weapon.

However, Nio's only eyes were staring at the unmanned aircraft armed like a cold-blooded beast. Dodging the shots skillfully, Nio quickly hid behind the wreckage, then dashed down the drone and shot it until the bullets on his gun ran out. The shot was only aimed at a mitraliur gun belonging to an unmanned aircraft, thus eliminating the fighting ability of the weapon. The drone flew uncontrollably, spinning several times before hitting the ground. Sparks of mud as the drone crashed into Zefanya.

Not only did Nio damage the weapon on the drone, he also managed to shoot it down. The guy wins against the machine. “I didn't know they had an armed aerial drone. There was a chance they still had another,” Nio spoke like that, as if aware of Zefanya's whereabouts.

Zefanya heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Don't be too careless, Nio. I thought I was as crazy as you.” Zefanya stopped saying as Nio approached and grabbed her.

“Do you hurt?” Nio asked softly, not as usual.

“He-hey, ask yourself that. I'm fine, although a little dizzy after plunging from a height of 20 meters. Need preparation like facing the angel of death while following the way you plunge fast, you know!”

Nio immediately grabbed Zefaya's two hands, and looked at her blood-soaked palm.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Zefanya tried to stop Nio, and of course failed.

“Do not pretend to be strong. What do you think of when you decide to jump fast without using gloves?”

Looking at the distressed Zefanya after she asked, Nio walked over to the aerial drone chunk. He was not satisfied with his fight against the machine. After several minutes of encountering the object, the imported weapon was not as strong as he had expected. Like the information he obtained, in the arms purchase transaction agreement, the manufacturer can reduce the original ability of the weapon ordered by prospective operators, so that it is slightly below the military property of the producer's home country. But, once the product is received, the operator is free to modify the purchased weapon.

"There's a coat of arms?” mummy Nio.

As the protectors of a group sheltering from the country that was hunting them, the Bacem Village Protector most likely obtained weapons purchased or donations from abroad. It made countries upgrade their status to ‘Special Search List’.

The sound of rain during a gloomy afternoon caused the hatred for Nio to grow even bigger. He showed a cold look at the metal he defeated a few minutes ago. He didn't care what people said later. He just wants to do ‘work’, and finish it as soon as possible to resume other pending work.

Nio turned his body to look around. There was no sign of anyone in this place, although the presence of foreign weapons in this garrison would invite Company 406-32. The injuries after the fight made him uncomfortable.

Then, Nio heard the sound of laughter and someone's speech, “As I expected, Nio..”.

“Who?!” as Nio turned to the source of the voice, a beautiful female face approached him. Then, the woman's right hand gripped her face before Nio avoided her.

Although Nio was trying to break away, but the woman threw him down strongly and smashed into the rubble with frightening force. Nio was unable to stop his body when it was thrown, and stopped after his back hit the concrete wall. He felt heat and pain radiate throughout the body, and his vision faded as his consciousness slowly disappeared.

“Nio!” Zefanya.

“I found you, ugly!” hearing the female voice, Zefanya reflexively rolled to the side. Several slashes split through the air, with the possibility of Zefanya's head and body parts being cut off if it was hit by the attack so that Zefanya's face turned pale. Edelweis appeared with both hands clasping two swords, taking a stance as if wanting a fight with Zefanya.

Nio stood with a stone, glaring at the man who entered in one of the ‘target’ with his left eye, “Darsono!”

Darsono spoke, “Although the government tried to hunt down all fugitives who harmed Indonesia in the previous war, they still have bad intentions behind it. They hunt down anyone who has nothing to do with previous failed projects. I do this to protect the existence of people who are loyal to my family. They want people who ‘hunt’ them immediately cleared.”

Nio no matter whether what Darsono said was the man's goal to protect his family or his followers, he just wanted to settle his grudge. He held the handle of his gun, and walked back a few steps.

“Are you expecting help to come? You shouldn't have expected much. We've finished off everything that's trying to help you.”

“We?” Nio began to understand that there are still many ‘target’ that he must take care of besides Bacem Village, founder of the Strong Medicine project, and Darsono.

Nio saw Darsono's clothes and Edelweis getting splashed with blood, with several armed aerial drones like the one Nio had tampered with moments ago flying over them. Nio showed a daunted expression, and raised his gun and shot.

However, Darsono did not dodge at all. Edelweis quickly stood in front of the man, and held back the pace of the bullets with his body. The absence of blood or sick expressions coming out of the woman made Nio confident Edelweis was one of the subjects of the Super Army project although there were signs the woman had not completely lost her human side.

Nio dashed towards the two of them, and jumped up to do a twisting kick. All he did was kick by concentrating all his strength on his right foot. However, before reaching Edelweis, Darsono pulled the pistol and knife from his sheath, and stabbed Nio's shoulder followed by three shots.

Nio groaning. Resisting the intense pain on her shoulder, she fell down. Something was blocking him, the ruins were hindering his backward movement.

Darsono walked slowly, and deliberately pressed on Nio's wound with his foot. Then, suddenly a kick with great force threw Nio and made Nio's body hit the rock. Blood gushed from his head and mouth, his skin was torn apart, and his bones creaked as if they had shattered everything. Nio felt his body shatter, yet he had yet to fully faint.

As Nio groaned, and almost gave up on the pain he was getting, he finally understood. What Darsono and Edelweis are doing is a way to fight off potentially threatening parties to the safety of those who pay them to protect.

Suddenly the pressure slowly reduced, Nio knelt down after spewing out a mouthful of blood.

“Oh, you're alive. It really is like an undead that is hard to kill,” said Darsono.

Nio's gaze blurred, and his head hurt. He felt like he could be destroyed at any moment. He had seen how strong Darsono and his servants were. In addition to the huge difference between the combat capabilities of Nio, Edelweis, and Darsono, the Zefanya has yet to fully recover. Nio's brain calmly devised the most sensible strategy, and he set his eyes on Zefanya then shouted, “Zefanya, run!”

Zefanya widened her eyes and shook her head, “No!”

Seeing Edelweis preparing to fight with Zefanya, Nio opened a shot that landed in front of Zefanya's feet. The girl reflexively jumped backwards.

Nio made a signal with his eyes, asking Zefanya to bring help to this place.

Zefanya disappeared, away from the fight scene with a sad expression on her face.

“Master, the ugly ran away! I want to chase and kill him!” said Edelweis, whose duel was cancelled.

“No. If they call for help, it will trouble us. We'll get this job done now.”

Edelweis glared at Nio, and suddenly the woman disappeared from his sight. However, a few seconds later, he felt his stomach being pierced by something. Two sword blades poked out, piercing through his stomach from behind.

“Very weak! You are so weak! Very weak! Weak base!” Edelweis.

Blood came back out of Nio's mouth. With great difficulty, Nio elbowed Edelweis' stomach and fled. While running, he fired a shot from his gun. Every shot he made, the entire wound on his body created a pain that upset the balance. Nio gritted his teeth while running, shooting without aiming at a clear target.

While pressing down on his injured stomach, Nio passed through the ruins of the building, and arrived in the open. His sight was blurry, and the rain had not stopped even though it was getting darker.

In front of him was a river with a torrent, with a fast stream that was impossible to swim past. Turning slowly, he looked at Edelweis and Darsono.

Darsono pointed his gun at Nio, yet he stared at him with trepidation. Nio closed his eyes.

“Everything, I'm sorry,” Nio said inwardly.

“There are last words, prospective sister-in-law who immediately got the title of deceased?” darsono asked with a mocking expression.

“You... will die with me,” replied Nio.

“Happy new life..” after saying that, Darsono shot to the chest, abdomen, thighs of Nio.

Nio's eyes clearly showed an expression of regret, and the blood flowing from each bullet pierced through his body.

Nio's body plunged down and struck the water, the torrential current of the flooded river carrying him away at high speed.