The shock only lasted for about a few seconds before Levin finally reacted. He stood up from his seat, starting to gear up and wear his military vest. He knew if this was a military, out of the three people, he was the only field operator here, so he needed to be the one who went to pick up Eggly.
Giving up on the robot eagle was also a no-question, since firstly, they still needed it to scout the area from their place easily and efficiently. Secondly, Levin also knew how much Chen Ze valued the robot, so even though this was not a part of the deal, having a favor to cash from the scientist would be a big deal in the future. Lastly, he somehow felt guilty since he was the one who brought up the food problem which made them do this, so he was at least responsible for Eggly's disappearance.
"Uncle, where are you going?" Mira followed him and stood up from her seat.
"I am going to get the eagle back," Levin answered without hesitation. Chen Ze who was still depressed over his baby's miserable fate snapped his head quickly, looking at him in disbelief. However, the soldier just ignored it and said, "You should've still had the last coordinate of the eagle before it got attacked, right? Do you have something to communicate with each other from afar? If so, can you guide me to that coordinate? I will investigate what happened over there and bring back your eagle."
"My friend!" Chen Ze bawled tearfully, grabbing Levin's shoulder firmly. Levin himself just looked at the scientist in disgust, especially at the exaggerated tears and the disgusting snot running out of his nose. However, it was clear that the scientist didn't care about his rude behavior. "You have to save my baby!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get that. Just… Get off of me, man. That is disgusting!"
"Y-Yeah… Yeah, sorry about that. It is just… Eggly is my first baby, and I cannot lose her just like that." Chen Ze explained, yet his expression was sheepish. Levin himself just rolled his eyes in exasperation, especially because this was the first time he heard about the eagle's gender. "Okay, wait here for a second. I have something that will help you." Right after that, he jumped off Levin's body instantly, rushing into one of the rooms in the building while leaving Levin and Mira alone there.
"Uncle…" Mira spoke hesitantly, gaining Levin's attention. "Can I… Can I join you?!" She raised her voice in the end.
Levin crooked one of his eyebrows slightly, not expecting the girl to ask so that she could join him. Well, in honestly, he should've expected that. Since he met with the girl two days ago, they had never been separated from each other for more than an hour, and for a girl at her age, having a pillar to stabilize herself was very important, and the thought of losing the pillar was probably the scariest thing in the world for her. Or, in other words, the girl had separation anxiety and was afraid that she would be left alone by Levin for this operation.
Looking at the anxiety building up in her eyes, Levin couldn't help but stop, pondering the possibility. Honestly, he didn't want the girl to join him. Not only because the danger was still unknown and things could escalate quickly at any time, but also because he wanted the girl to have a stable life as long as possible, and living with Chen Ze was definitely a good option for her.
However, the determination in her eyes shook Levin a bit. He knew that she wouldn't take a 'no' as an answer, and that was when he considered the pros and cons of her joining him.
'Well, she is an excellent healer, so I won't be too afraid to face any danger outside. Also, having a partner in the journey would also help keep my sanity. I will be crazy if I have to go alone to the forest right now.'
In the end, Levin just nodded shortly and said, "Go and prepare yourself. Don't bring too many things for the journey. Also, here, use this for when you need to defend yourself." He handed the girl his small dagger that he always used in a survival situation. Of course, knowing that he agreed to let her join, Mira squealed happily. She hadn't even proceeded with the fact that she was given a dagger as she leaped on him already, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you, Uncle Levin! Don't worry, I will not be a burden for you!" She said, determined.
"What are you talking about?" He snorted, flicking her forehead. "You are still ten years old, don't talk big like being a burden and being useful like that! Just eat more so that you can grow taller, okay?"
"What are you talking about, Uncle?! I am already tall for a kid my age!" She huffed, not happy with his words. Indeed, even though the girl was just below his shoulder in height, she should be taller compared to her peers. Still, Levin just found it amusing to tease her like that.
"So, are you done here? Can we start the rescue operation?" Chen Ze's voice snapped them from their conversation, and he didn't look happy for them to waste time like that. "Come on, we need to be quick! I don't know what will happen to my baby!"
Levin and Mira stared at each other for a second, confused about the scientist's sudden change of mood. It seemed that the eagle's disappearance really burdened his mind right now.
"So, what is the thing that going to help us?" Levin asked, curious.
With a proud smile on his face, Chen Ze pulled out a small robot with the shape of a mouse from his pocket, showing it off to the two people in front of him. Levin himself wasn't that impressed, but Mira who was weak against a cute thing like this squealed. "That is so cute!"
"This!" Chen Ze coughed, trying to go back to the topic. Mira felt her face flushed from the embarrassment as she lost control of herself. "This is Micey, my little tracker. Don't comment on her name!" He snapped at the deadpanned gaze he received from Levin. "Just like Eggly, Micey is also equipped with the best camera and connected to my device, so that I can use it to guide you. However, what is special about this Micey is the fact that it has a unique magnet that is the opposite of the magnet that I put on all of my robots so that it could track Eggly and my other babies no matter how far they are from me. This is the perfect tracker for my robot. Any question?"
Levin had a headache at the mumbo-jumbo scientific explanation he heard and just shook his head quickly. The only thing he caught was that this Micey was pretty much the same as Eggly, could replace Chen Ze physically with their presence. As for the other, he just decided to deal with it later when they were on the road. It seemed Mira also agreed with that decision as she also shook her head quickly.
"Well, good!" Chen Ze started controlling the mouse, letting it nod its head repeatedly. "Since you both are ready, let's start the rescue operation for Eggly! Come on, Soldiers! Follow me!"