asirpa is still a key asset to solving the code, as proven by warrant officer kikuta. his objective looks like to get asirpa to give tsurumi clues to the whereabouts of the gold to speed up central's capture. i think what's strange (?) is that he appeals to her to give up on the hunt entirely. but that may not be the case, central would probably want to avoid fighting a race war against the ainu.

asirpa reaffirming her "obligation" to the fate of the ainu felt like a nice touch. the fact that she didn't even reconsider when kikuta warned her that the people around will die as a result of her staying in the gold hunt shows that she's already considered the weight of the situation before her and determined that her cause is of a much higher priority than the casualties that follow in her wake. might come back to bite her in the ass though, if ever this story continues with her "leading" an uprising. (maybe we'll get a reaffirmation of her stance on killing in the next chapter with jack the ripper hot on her heels. will she get the chance to kill him before he goes for her throat?)

ogata still talks about hanazawa like he's actually there. he's def gone delusional as a result of his deep seated guilt. it's not even just fever dreams anymore. (maybe hanazawa's "ghost"'ll make another appearance when he encounters asirpa again?) i honestly wanna see vasily make it out alive in this battle. he has no contribution to the plot afterwards (yet), but one can dream.

the sniper battle's prob on hold, though. since the focus of next chapter will be sugimoto's surprise encounter with another character (ogata perhaps?) and asirpa vs jack the ripper. who knows if koito, tsukishima and nikaidou will still be soaking in sapporo beer from the floor by that time. usami's still chasing former head jailer kadokura (poor thing, hope he makes it out in one piece) hijikata's group's main objective is getting to jack the ripper but by the looks of it (he's deep within the factory), they won't make it in time to prevent asirpa getting grappled. kikuta may have the best chance of getting to her first (ion know, i'm not sure where everyone else is in the brewery.)

almost everyone is inside the factory now, the only thing illuminating their paths is the moonlight. it's a free-for-all. question now is, who gets to asirpa first? there's no guarantee whoever gets to asirpa first is going to be the one to get jack the ripper's skin, though. either way, there'll certainly be players dead by the time it's over. question is, who's time is up?