ch26

Thump… Thump….

In the silent, pure white hallway reminiscent of a corporate research lab, only the sound of four pairs of footsteps, including my own, echoed. Actually, even if you combined the noise made by the other three, it wouldn’t surpass Omen alone… but anyway.

The suppression team that came in with us split up whenever we encountered a fork in the road, until… eventually, they left us completely behind. Nocturne and Omen alone were already reassuring enough, so I didn’t have any particular complaints, but seeing the state of the internal enemies, it was hard to let my guard down.

Clang—!!

“!! Where do you think you’re…!”

Omen, at the forefront, lightly deflected a bullet fired silently, as if it had a silencer attached.

Domino, with that sturdy shield in front, subtly slipped his pistol through the gap between his arm and side and returned the favor in kind.

Thwack…!

The bullet fired from his pistol almost severed the wrist of the enemy holding the gun. However, the enemy, who should have been writhing in pain, just chuckled and tried to pick up the fallen gun with his other hand.

“Hee… Heehee!!”

“…Goddamn it, not again?”

Seeing the member spewing insane laughter, Domino mercilessly put a hole in his forehead as well.

Even if we wanted to capture him and make him spill the boss’s location, there was no way torture would work in that state.

“Hup!!”

Crack—! Bang!!

This time, our shield moved directly to knock away a guy who jumped out from a corner wielding a sashimi knife. To say he simply swung his arm from bottom to top didn’t do justice to the tremendous physical force at play… As a price for choosing the wrong side to fight, his body was instantly smashed into the ceiling.

To put it harshly, the shape could be described as minced meat, but the arm holding the knife was still twitching on the ceiling.

“…Looks like Painkiller’s drug has developed a lot in the meantime…?”

“This is…….”

Horatio whistled and admired, but my mind was busy reflecting on the sights I had seen so far and the archives of memories from my male days.

…Now I’m starting to get a sense of it.

Paralyzed reason, the judgment to jump out of the building without hesitation, combatants who can’t feel pain. I wondered how they could charge in even in that situation, but these bastards developed and used a drug that suits their organization’s name perfectly.

But? On the other hand… I felt a little relieved.

Among the consumables in Neo Haven, there was PK-452, a doping item that users conveniently called a stimpack.

That syringe filled with blue liquid, which could be bought from back alley drug dealers or Paradise Corp stores, removed the movement speed reduction penalty caused by injuries, so everyone used it.

As for the PK in front of the name, as much as Paradise Corp was expanding its tentacles into all businesses related to people’s lives… Naturally, there were many speculations that it was Paradise something… Could it be that they took it from Painkiller and engraved it in commemoration…? …They’re so vicious.

Still, thanks to that, I was sure that this operation had a history of success even without me. That means that if I don’t make any mistakes, the job is guaranteed to end safely…!

With a lighter heart, I advance while watching the intermittently attacking enemies being taken care of. How far in did we come like that? A different structure appeared in the bland hallway.

“Oh? Finally, a proper room…? Ivory, please!”

“…It’s not Ivory, my name is Anastasia. Anastasia Valentine! Stop teasing me…!!”

“!! Anastasia… Anastasia… Asha? Asha, you’re as beautiful in name as you are in eyes and heart!!”

“…Didn’t we agree to use nicknames during missions…!”

Omen chided Horatio, who was making a fuss. But… I think it’s not very convincing for a mercenary whose name itself is a nickname to say that.

First, I put my hand on the keypad next to the firmly closed sliding door and send a signal.

Anticipating a security system or firewall similar to the appearance of the facility, I carefully summon my mental world. Just like the crude virus on the laptop was implemented as a bug, the defenses to block intruders in cyberspace could appear in all sorts of grotesque shapes.

So, if I calmly prepare and wait… This… something’s weird…?

“The lock is already completely unlocked. Be careful.”

“…….”

I wasn’t the only one who thought it was an obvious trap.

After confirming that Domino, whose drug effects had worn off, had re-injected a generous amount of stimulants, Horatio and Omen exchanged glances and nodded.

Bang—!!

The entry was made very quickly and accurately.

The door, hit directly by the gauntlet, flew to the opposite wall. Horatio, who had been playing around with his hands behind his back until now, became a streak of light and rushed in, followed by Domino, who was equipped with pistols in both hands.

“Hoo….”

It’s ridiculous that I have to wait in the corner, holding my breath, for the victory news. Even if I wanted to provide support fire, I’m still not good enough to keep up with a battle that moves at that speed….

“Wow…!! We’re finally number one? Dusk, old man! Goddamn, it’s been a long time? Huh?? Looks like business is going well too!”

“…I really want to hear your last words from the little guys who used to run errands for me.”

…Dusk? That mission target?

I peeked inside through the gap in Omen’s body, which was blocking the entrance to the room.

There were… piles of boxes filled with blue syringes, all kinds of test tubes, and… a fat black man sitting on a luxurious and tasteless red sofa, and quadrupedal security Droids.

Even though the mercenaries had rushed right in front of him, even though he had suffered so many sacrifices, Dusk was acting as if he was something special. The two facing the boss seemed very excited at the thought of putting an end to the past bad blood.

“…The defeated bastard trio.”

“What…?”

He ostentatiously took out a cigarette and lit it. He took a deep… puff and spewed out a torrent of words along with the smoke.

“…Overflowing manpower, sufficient Credits, and above all, the dream drug that makes you forget all the pain…!! I don’t know why the trash from this neighborhood doesn’t have any ambition! If you have such a foundation, growth into the next generation Mega Corp wouldn’t be a futile dream, but you all… you all ruined it!!”

“”…….””

Dirty saliva splattered everywhere, and his fat hands slammed the armrests of the chair and the drug boxes. Moreover, as if he thought that the audience was silent because they were convinced, a logic steeped in base superiority continued.

“Yellow or Green grade humans are just going to be exploited by corporations for the rest of their lives anyway! There are ammunition factories… food factories… all over the lower levels…. So, if all I ask in exchange for alleviating that harsh pain, even for a moment, is loyalty and a few Credits, isn’t that perfect?! So… if you work for me again, I’ll give you more Credits than the petty cash you earn as mercenaries! …And if I put that woman outside the door next to me, it would be perfect.”

…What a son of a bitch.

Not just any son of a bitch, but really… a moron who dreams a verbose, absurd, and messy dream.

A massacre almost happened because of this bastard… I can’t believe it. A pyramid who couldn’t even surpass an agent who moved based on cost-effectiveness, let alone a corporate direct unit, doesn’t know his place?

Ah, okay. Conceding a thousand times, the operations and way of thinking that threw subordinates away as disposable were close to that of a corporation. Because he didn’t see people as people. But… this pig lacked the fundamental power, the charisma to make everyone follow, and the insight to grasp the high walls of reality.

…Most importantly, he couldn’t read the atmosphere.

“””Fuck you. You moron.”””

“……That’s a shame.”

Wee-ing…!

The security Droids, which hadn’t moved at all, activated, and the sound of footsteps rushing urgently from far down the hallway could be heard.

I was wondering what the suppression teams were doing, but it seems there are still plenty of subordinates addicted to drugs here and there.

“Ivory, I’ll take care of the outside, so go inside the room.”

“…Can’t I just hide behind you?”

Even though the room is quite large, isn’t it safer behind Juggernaut than where two killer Droids are starting to operate…?

I gave a reasonably logical answer to Omen’s advice to be wary of reinforcements, but… his eyes, which heard my words, narrowed as if he had heard something interesting.

“Horatio… can be trusted when he’s seriously fighting. It’ll be okay.”

……That perverted cabbage human? Really?

While glaring at Omen, who was gently pushing my body, with full of disbelief, a green beam of light that forced me to turn my head came out from behind.

“I was going to… score points with Asha, and show off a little… but. Dusk, you trash shouldn’t live a second longer…. Die to the lower class you ignored—!!”

His frivolous tone was still the same, but his face was distorted with fierce anger.

All of the tattoos on his body shone so brightly that it hurt my eyes, as if they were all body-enhancing Implants, and not only the piercings on his head, but even the mohawk hairstyle that I thought was funny, had electricity crackling and flowing through it.

When I tried to hit his head at the hotel, why did he bother to implant metal in his hair… I just thought it was absurd and avoided hitting it, but could it be that each one was an external circuit…? That’s why electrical attacks leaked so much and didn’t work well!!

• External threat immediate response system activated. Eliminating the cause. –

A metallic arm and the gun muzzle attached to it were aimed, along with a dry mechanical sound.

However, Domino’s pistol, which had been pulled out at some point, rammed a bullet into the inside of the Droid’s muzzle.

Bang!! Clatter!!

One of the Droid’s arms exploded like a balloon due to the large-caliber bullet that accurately backtracked through the barrel.

Then, this time, an arm with a sharp blade was swung towards the defenseless gunman with a sudden acceleration, but… it wasn’t just the security Droid that had finished warming up.

The swung arm was caught in green lightning and pulled off with a crack!! When he kicked the spider legs that were hastily retreating after recognizing the loss, one of the axes that supported the heavy Droid’s body shattered in the direction the impact was applied.

The name of the lightning is Daredevil, the one even demons fear.

My game strategy that said that if you make money, you can fill in the lacking physical abilities with Implants. There was a madman who followed it in reality.

• ……Threat level upgraded to maximum. Annihilation mode activated. The protectee is requested to evacuate to the outside. –

The pig’s complexion became as pale as if he was addicted, and the sunglasses he was wearing slid down.

……Look at that.