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“Yeah, I made a big slip of the tongue at our first meeting… Miss, you’re being too harsh! Is it okay to treat your team leader like this?”

“…I’m not even a team member yet, and stop calling me ‘Miss’ all the time.”

“Then at least tell me your name, Noona!!”

I didn’t mean it in a way that implied I was older, I was just indirectly expressing how disgusted I was, but this self-centered mercenary seemed genuinely happy about the situation. I don’t know how a team led by such a hooligan exists, even if they’re recruiting people on the spot.

“…Ivory.”

“That’s Noona’s code name… right…? It could just be a coincidence…! Ivory Noona! Please take good care of me on this mission!!”

“Haaa…….”

I pick up a french fry from the plate in front of me to replenish my empty stomach and lost energy.

Hmm. I don’t know if it’s real potato, but it’s crispy and salty, so it’s pretty good.

The table is full of room service food that I didn’t even ask for. Horatio says he didn’t order it either, and that the broker in a black suit who’s been anxiously guarding room 804’s door is providing the service on his own.

Generous pay and lavish treatment. A broker who fawns over the hired help instead of fighting for dominance?

“…This is too kind, isn’t it?”

“See! Noona thinks so too, right…? Hey, Domino! What do you think?”

…Click!

Horatio’s gaze, for the first time in almost ten minutes, turned to someone other than me.

Domino, a skinny man who had been lying on the bed, silently opening and closing a jackknife, without showing any interest in the decent quality food.

He glanced sideways at the broker, who was fidgeting, and offered his opinion in a low voice.

“…Sometimes there are brokers who neglect shell company requests thrown at them by Mega Corp, and then frantically look for people when the completion date is near. It’s a waste of commission to give to a guy who can’t even do his job… but opportunities to run a scam like this aren’t common.”

“Kuh…!! We’ve caught a big fish after a long time…!”

“Oh……?”

The gaunt face and dark circles that I didn’t trust even a moment ago suddenly took on a different meaning. Calmness and objectivity that exuded the aura of a hidden expert? …Please tell me you’re the real team leader.

“…Cough.”

“Huh?”

Still sizzling cube steak, fried rice with rice grains that are somehow square, glossy pasta, and so on. Believing in hopeful observations, I was enjoying the free food little by little when I choked.

I covered my mouth with one hand and reached for the drink bottle across from me… but a hand moved faster and kindly opened the lid and handed me the bottle.

“Here you go, Ivory Noona!”

“…Thank you.”

Maybe it’s not the broker who’s being so attentive, but this man named Horatio’s attitude. I’m suspicious of the basis for him running to someone who publicly humiliated him.

…Did they mess with my brain instead of my Cyberware?

Beep beep! Beep beep!!

“…Huh?”

“…Oh dear, what’s wrong… Did he finally give up on his perfectionism….”

A loud alarm goes off from the laptop on the corner of the bed and the Cyberware embedded in our bodies. 3:30 PM, deadline.

“This fucking… fucking! Shit……!!”

The broker, with all exposed skin except for the parts covered by his neat suit and large sunglasses turning bright red, stomped over to the laptop.

After his fingers danced busily on the keyboard for a while, a call was connected to an unknown person.

• …Why did you call me for nothing? –

The thick voice is impressive. This one also showed more qualities of a team leader than the cabbage.

“For nothing?! Everyone, especially Omen, is waiting eagerly for you!!”

• Not everyone, just Daredevil and Nocturne. The hacker who was supposed to fill the vacant spot didn’t come after all, did he? So there’s no need to bother going up. It’s a waste of time and energy. …Even talking to a newbie like you is a serious waste. –

“”……?””

The bewildered eyes of the people around me focused on me. It feels strange to be observed suddenly while I was comfortably snacking.

…Why. I’m the Network Hacker who applied. What.

“…The hacker is already here and comfortably eating, so please come up quickly…!! I’ll even overlook the late penalty!”

• ……How is that even possible? I’ve been monitoring all entrants in the lobby for at least half a day…? –

The gazes gather again at the Omen’s dumbfounded reply. I won’t be able to eat like this.

“…She came by the stairs.”

“She used the stairs instead of the elevator. Now that your curiosity is satisfied, can we gather so we can talk about work…?”

• I said I monitored all entrants, so what does that have to do with it…!! …No, I’ll go see for myself. If you’re lying, I’ll fold you in half…! –

Click! The call was cut off.

The broker was relieved, Domino was engrossed in his hand tricks again. Horatio was still looking at me with a beaming expression. I hope… being folded in half isn’t about me.

Somehow, I lost my appetite, so I put down my fork and knife and waited quietly for the man called Omen.

1 minute… 2 minutes…. As he said he was in the lobby until just now, the expectation that he would come soon was right.

Thump thump—!!

The room shook as if there was an earthquake, and the broker, who rushed out, opened the door without much checking, he was so impatient.

Finally, the face of the fourth team member, Omen… was not visible at all. All that was visible was a massive lower body and a burly upper body. He’s a giant to the point where the Black Society’s thugs would look like dwarves.

The entrance wasn’t wide enough, let alone tall enough, so he grumbled.

“…A hotel with a long history, my ass. No consideration for guests.”

Thud…!!

Omen lowered his head and tilted his upper body to pass through the entrance, then carefully examined the room.

“Oh…….”

‘Laws or rules established by corporations would not dare to be uttered in front of this human tank.’

This is the description of the Juggernaut’s characteristics displayed in the game. The body, filled with enhanced muscles and bones, was not obese. Rather, it was so mesmerizing to look at because it was pulsating with the ultimate beauty and irresistible energy completed in a completely different sense from my body.

A neat skinhead and a suit that looked like it would explode at any moment. Despite being indoors, the mask on his mouth, equipped to maintain that massive body, had nutrient ampoules plugged into it.

And that human weapon was busy looking down at me with one eye raised.

Tap! Tap tap… tap tap tap….

“…….”

“Hoo……….”

The silence is too heavy.

All I can hear is Omen’s breathing and the broker organizing data. It would be nice if Horatio said something, but he was looking at Omen with an uncharacteristically sparkling eye.

“…You’re really small. Is that why I missed you?”

“…No, I was already staying here, so I just came…?”

I almost automatically added, ‘I’m really sorry for making you go through all that trouble…!’

……Let’s not be intimidated for no reason. If even one of the skin, clothes, or equipment is not prepared with insulation measures, there is always a slight chance of winning in a close-quarters situation. If you want to show off your strength….

Thump…!

“!!”

Omen lightly pushed the chair away with one hand and squatted on the floor. I think it’s cheating that he’s still taller than me sitting in a chair even though he’s bending over on the bare floor.

“…You hacked the request details and took a seat at the hotel in advance to rest. Your equipment is clean too… I like it! It’s been a while since I’ve met a decent Network Hacker.”

Huh…? The grim atmosphere is dispelled at once and becomes friendly. Or maybe I was mistaken from the beginning.

“Kiyaaa…! That Omen… unlike how he looks, he has an accurate eye! To recognize Ivory Noona’s true worth right away?! Isn’t she the one who single-handedly neutralized this Daredevil?! Huh?”

“Ivory…? …I haven’t heard that nickname before. But apart from you being an idiot, I’m relieved that your work is reliable. And she’s an acquaintance… so I’m a little less worried about being stabbed in the back.”

“…Idiot? This guy is praising me, but his way of speaking is really….”

“I felt deep malice in the words before that. If you feel wronged, go look in the mirror.”

Omen took off his mask with a click and tilted the plate to pour the food into his mouth.

Domino… has now closed his eyes completely, and Horatio is growling that he’s not an idiot.

The three of them, excluding the alienated, cowering broker, seem quite familiar with this scene.

…With a feeling of disbelief, I accessed the hacker community and used the search engine to its fullest to check a few words.

Daredevil Horatio… Nocturne Domino… and Omen.

There was no need to even classify the information that appeared. They all had something in common.

[ Why does Daredevil’s team always have their hacker replaced? Is it some kind of magic hole that disappears when you enter? ]

[ LOL I’m telling you about the time I cut in line at a pharmacy after going outside for the first time in a while and Nocturne chopped off my finger. Why is this guy in a slum pharmacy at this hour…. ]

[ Is it true that Omen turned his team’s hacker into a kind of meatball? Why is a guy like that still working as a mercenary?? ]

[ That’s what happens when the hacker keeps taking ‘tips’ without permission during the compensation distribution process, so if you don’t know, just shut up. There are a lot of guys who think our industry’s unwritten rules also apply when working with mercenaries. ]

“Ugh….”

A flood of damage cases from net junkies and hackers whose sense of reality has dulled poured out.

If the rumors have spread this far, I can understand why they couldn’t find a hacker. No matter how clear the cause and effect is, they wouldn’t want to face such obviously dangerous people….

But it doesn’t matter to someone like me who is desperate for money and somehow managed to get the first button of the relationship right. I’ll have to check the intentions of the suspiciously friendly Horatio later….

Tap…!

“…Okay. The other three have been hired…. Hacker Miss? Can you tell me your Black Market ID? You didn’t write it down separately in the application message….”

…Ah. That’s right.

“Please make one for me.”

“……What?”

The broker’s face, which had been relieved, hardens like stone.

It’s a somewhat… no, a very brazen act, but it can’t be helped. Since my hacking method is very unique, I don’t know how traces will be left, so it’s right to follow the system as much as possible for things that can be solved or obtained through regular routes.

“This is my first time on Harvest Planet, so I don’t have anything other than citizenship, so please create a Black Market ID for me too. …Take the commission as you please.”

“…And the Market ID is common to all Metropolis!! I clearly wrote that I would only hire skilled hackers?! Damn it, it’s one mountain after another, what kind of trick is this…?”

“…….”

Even though the expression is rough, he’s not wrong. The hacker community in this city has no reason to trust me, who is on the first day of joining, has a clean list of completed requests, and has no Black Market ID.

…So what. If you don’t like it, go find someone else!

“Then at least you have experience in other related fields…? A specialty…???”

“Uh… I have some unspeakable experience related to Mega Corp, and I can do Abyss Dive too.”

“Shit, your bluffing is world-class!! Have you been getting away with everything with that pretty face of yours?!”

I answered as best as I could, but I was cut off so decisively.

The reward allocated to the hacker alone was almost ten million Credits, so I really wanted to get the job if possible… but with the broker holding all the power until hiring, there was nothing I could do.

I should just think I got a free meal and look for another opportunity.

Thwack!

Crack…!

But then, a hand with an impressive green tattoo on the back grabbed the broker’s jaw, who had been flapping his gums.

“…How many teeth would our broker need to have replanted before he speaks nicely…? Huh?? Does the talent Daredevil vouches for look like shit to you? Huh? Or else….”

Daredevil Horatio forcibly pulled the struggling broker right up to his face.

“Could it be that… you think I look like shit?”