RedMoon

About ten minutes later, we arrived at an aircraft—it seemed this was the evacuation plan. “How is it?” my rescuer asked a female fox who had just appeared. She was carrying a massive portable terminal and wasn’t wearing black gear, so I boldly guessed she might be a technical contractor. “It’s the real deal,” she said, pushing up her glasses. Her olive-colored eyes immediately caught my attention. “The modifications you requested have already been written, but I’ll need at least

We will see Zorro's choice at the end of this chapter. True bionic eyes won’t be developed until a thousand years later, during Richter’s era. However, in this time period, the herbivores do have the technology needed to repair Zorro’s eyes. Just as Zorro’s mother mentioned earlier, the Federation (still just a loose government at this stage) has already decided to monopolize that technology. So there is no real hope of restoring the function of Zorro’s lost eyes. Of course, if Zorro decides to return home, Alonso could petition the Council to request treatment for his son. But that will depend on the choice Zorro is about to make.

The golden retriever nemesis is still breathing — he just lost consciousness. This rescue operation didn’t cause any casualties. Normally, the Three Musketeers prioritize incapacitating people rather than killing them. The rehabilitation process will be a long one, but in the end, everyone will make it through!

The physical damage to their eyes was too severe, and the technology capable of repairing it had left along with the herbivores. From now on, they would have to live with it. It would take them a long time to undergo rehabilitation and gradually adapt to their new condition. As the golden retriever who first interrogated Zorro had said, he didn’t dare inform Smith. But the Count always had his ways of finding things out... Because the fire fox’s fur color was particularly striking—much redder compared to ordinary foxes—they were able to roughly confirm Zorro’s identity after he had been "bathed." Still, they didn’t particularly care about who Zorro was, or whether he truly had any connection to Smith. Until they clearly understood why that circuit board had appeared here, any action that might draw Smith’s attention would only result in a miserable death for themselves. Thus, they had no objection to simply letting Zorro disappear. I've been trying hard not to fridge characters or anything like that, but it's hard for me to imagine this path turning out any other way. Still, as you said, Zorro will stay true to what he believes in and turn what should have been into reality.

It could indeed be called dawn. Before the next real challenge arrives, Zorro will have a long time to rest.

A flash of silver— I swung my sword to deflect the incoming attack, seized the opening, and pressed forward to disarm my opponent. "Wow, you're getting better and better, Zorro," Leo said, rubbing his right paw. He lifted his mask and bent down to pick up the rapier I had knocked out of his grasp. "Took you long enough to notice!" I tried not to sound too smug as I took off my own mask. Leo seemed amused by my reaction. As he straightened up, a silver object slipped from the pocke

The golden retrievers would try to save Edwin, since he was currently the only one who might know the answers they needed. Meanwhile, Smith's wrath was extremely, extremely dangerous. Yes, Zorro and Edwin had been under surveillance the whole time. However, based on his experience, Edwin roughly knew how loud they could talk without being overheard.

Everyone is deeply scarred by it...

In the haze of half-sleep, I heard the sound of something colliding. "Leo?" I sat up and rubbed my eyes. My blurry vision slowly began to clear. "Go back to sleep, Zorro," Leo said, and only then did I locate him—dressed head to toe in black gear, with only his eyes showing. "Why are you dressed like that?" I fumbled around for a moment before finally finding my terminal under the pillow and checking the time—it was three in the morning. "Mission," Leo replied curtly, stuffin

Sorry... We'll have two more extreme situations coming up. But once we get through these two days, things will get a lot easier.

The crystal chandelier hanging high from the ornate ceiling cast a hazy yet glaring light, making the metal cutlery and porcelain dishes gleam brilliantly. “Please pass the mashed potatoes, thanks,” I said to Leo, making sure the dish had only butter. “Sure you don’t want a bit of gravy?” Leo didn’t let go as I tried to take the plate, speaking in a teasing tone while throwing a meaningful glance at the round tureen filled with brown sauce. “You know, one upside of war is the steady su

Yes, most of the time, torture only leads the subject to say anything, including nonsense. So when real answers are needed, torture is an act that provides no help whatsoever. Yet some people still believe that harsh methods can help them obtain the truth. This leans more toward ritualistic superstition. Yes, Alonso (Zorro's and Leo's father) deeply regrets the things he has done and hopes that his children can stay far away from all this madness. I agree. Being unique and exceptional enough often leads to being misunderstood and standing apart from the crowd. Thus, loneliness is often an inevitable step on the path to greatness.

We might have to wait until Zorro finishes telling the story before the rescue takes place. I don’t mean to keep everyone on edge, but some things are meant to happen.

Things always get worse before they get better—we’re close to reaching the turning point. We just have to endure a few of the most painful moments. Granted, it will take something extraordinary to save them, but I promise the story won’t end in this dreadful state.

“…The temperature dropped quickly after the sun went down that day. And since our fur was completely soaked, it didn’t take long before we started shivering from the cold.” I couldn’t stop trembling, and with my teeth chattering nonstop, speaking clearly was difficult—but I did my best. “When I couldn’t walk any farther, Leo carried me on his back. I can still remember the warmth from his body spreading to the skin on my chest through our contact.” Porthos had me sit on his lap, keeping me

Athos I panted heavily, coughing a few times to spit out the bits of grass I’d swallowed while rolling on the ground. Athos, who was still pinning me down, was also drenched in sweat—but he looked so damn pleased with himself. He always got what he wanted—so no matter how unwilling I was, I shut my mouth, lifted my snout, and exposed my throat. Athos gave a soft snort, then stood up and reached out his right paw to me. “Less brute force, more brains, Porthos.” "Next t

Yeah, history just keeps repeating itself. Maybe one day, we’ll have the courage to break the cycle.

Well...

By the time they threw me back behind the bars, the spotted dog was already awake, curled up in the corner like a bundle of misery. I pushed myself upright with a struggle, careful to avoid any sudden movement that might tug at my throbbing ribs or worsen the nausea that was only just beginning to subside. Lightly brushing my limbs through my fur, I checked for anything that felt broken. “Damn it...” I muttered under my breath as fresh blood dripped from the tip of my muzzle onto

Yes, exactly. These two scenes are both crucial for deducing what the truth really is!

Alright, I think I understand a bit better now—it's more about the dissonance between the expectations set up in the story and the actual direction it takes, right?

Thank you—that really is the effect I planned and tried to convey. But I believe there’s always room for improvement, so I’ll look into whether there’s any way to refine it further.

Thank you for your feedback—I’ll look into whether there’s anything I might have overlooked, or if there’s a way to make it flow more smoothly. Thanks again! Well… everyone can be right in some way. But I believe it's important not to judge an entire group based on the worst individuals—even if that's really difficult, even if there are many of them, and even if they truly are terrible.

This is probably one of the most important questions in the story, so I’m afraid I can’t explain it just yet—you’ll have to keep reading. But what had been planted on Zorro was a circuit board; his interrogator showed him a photo and asked him to identify it. This is one very reasonable explanation.

Yes, the entire next chapter might be a bit heavy.