episode_0043

“What happened?”

During the journey, all additionally discovered Nesys mechs were motionless, their systems powered down. It was like a colossal steel graveyard.

“The mechs are fine, but… what is this?” I didn’t let my guard down. My spine chilled at the thought of some pervert hiding in a cockpit, launching a sudden attack.

‘The cockpit hatch is open?’ That’s what I discovered after peering around for a while. The ladder was even lowered, as if someone had boarded or disembarked.

‘Are they sleeping inside, or what?’ Unable to suppress my uneasy curiosity, I climbed the ladder of the nearest mech and peered inside the cockpit.

“Ugh! Damn it…” A metallic smell that stung my nose and a gruesome sight made me instinctively curse and frown. A man, who appeared to be a Nesys Corporation mercenary, was dead, his head slumped onto the control panel. He was so grotesque that I couldn’t bear to look closely, but it seemed he’d died instantly, stabbed precisely in the neck and heart. With a single, clean strike.

“Haah, damn it. Who did this?” Did these mercenaries not just take it idly? No, this wasn’t mere resistance. Did they engage in close-quarters combat outside the mechs? There wasn’t just one suspicious point. Realizing intuitively that all the surrounding mechs were in the same state, goosebumps rose on my spine, and my body involuntarily tensed up. All Nesys pilots in this area had been killed using the same method.

‘Is it around here?’ Dutch’s last known location on the terminal was in this vicinity. The building entrance was half-destroyed by the explosion, and the inside was pitch black, without a single light. A sinister aura seemed to emanate from within.

I cautiously stepped inside, pistol aimed forward. Amidst the broken walls and scattered furniture, I faintly heard a sound, whether it was human groans or whispers, I couldn’t tell. The moment I gripped the doorknob of an inner room, which was relatively intact and presumed to be the target area, and kicked it open roughly—

*Whoosh!* With a sharp tearing sound, a silver flash shot directly at my face.

“What the…! Ugh!” I instinctively ducked, and a throwing knife grazed a few strands of my hair, then *thudded* deep into the wall behind me. If I had been a moment slower, or if it had been a little higher…

Before I could even straighten my posture, someone leaped out of the shadows. ‘A woman?’ She was a sharp-eyed woman with short, emerald-blue hair roughly swept back. Her tight black sleeveless training top perfectly revealed her firm, toned physique, and deep, old-looking scars were clearly visible on her forearms and various exposed parts of her body.

The woman instantly closed the distance, intending to subdue me. Her movements were as swift and precise as those of a trained assassin. Caught off guard by the surprise attack, I was pushed back, and only managed to resist by grabbing her wrists after hitting my back against the wall.

‘Damn it, how can a woman be this strong…!’ The grip strength transmitted through her wrists was unbelievably powerful. My gaze dropped to my pistol on the floor, and hers did the same. It was a hair-trigger situation.

“Noona! Stop! He’s the one who came to save us!” A familiar voice—it was Dutch. At his urgent shout, the woman’s ferocious movements abruptly halted. I didn’t miss that short opening, pushing her away and quickly picking up my pistol, resuming my stance.

The woman glared at me with a displeased expression, then turned her gaze to Dutch and said, “Dutch, is that true? And I’ve told you repeatedly. Don’t call me Noona; call me Hyung-nim.” Her voice was an attractive husky one, but the strength within it was no less than any man’s. The charisma that overwhelmed her opponent, from her gestures to her tone, made the honorific ‘Hyung-nim’ not awkward in the slightest.

“So-sorry, Hyung-nim,” Dutch replied in a meek voice.

“So, this guy saved us?” the woman asked, gesturing at me with her chin. Only then did she slightly lower her guard. I, too, felt relieved and looked around. The room was a mess. I saw several corpses of fallen mercenary members and Nesys soldiers. It seemed while I was engaging in combat outside, this ‘Hyung-nim’ woman had been desperately resisting inside.

“The mechs outside, too, surely…” I muttered to myself, recalling the gruesome state of those who had died outside, and she stared intently at me.

“What’s your name?”

“Are you asking for introductions? But isn’t it a bit rude not to reveal your own name first?” I retorted, not backing down.

“Tch, I’m Nix.” She clicked her tongue and spoke briefly.

‘Nix? I’ve never heard that name before.’ It wasn’t a name in my game knowledge. Is she an NPC, or a hidden named character?

“I’m Kang Jin-woo.”

“Kang Jin-woo, huh… Ha! Those Nesys bastards were desperately searching for your name. Is all this mess because of you, then, huh?” Nix crossed her arms, scrutinizing me from head to toe. If I rubbed her the wrong way, the knife tucked into her waist seemed ready to fly at my neck.

“Dutch! You two seem to know each other. Explain the situation. What happened to the Nesys guys, and who exactly is this guy?” Nix gestured at Dutch with her chin.

“Well, Hyung-nim. Where it all started was…” Dutch cautiously explained, step by step, from how we first met, while watching Nix’s expression. I could faintly see her expression growing increasingly stern.

After he finished explaining, Nix said coldly, “So, you accepted the request, then dragged your feet and messed things up, is that it?”

“Th-that’s how it seems, Hyung-nim? I was just trying to increase the success rate…” Nix’s eyebrow twitched at Dutch’s excuse.

“Hmph, this foolish pig. I knew it from the moment you started acting up about getting a good deal.” Her hand was already moving towards her waist.

“Ah, no, Hyung-nim! Let’s talk, let’s talk!” Dutch cried out, his face full of fear.

Nix ignored Dutch and turned to me, asking, “So, what’s next? Keep explaining. I understand you undertook the request in our mercenary group’s name. But why did the Nesys guys target us?” She shot me a piercing gaze, as if demanding an answer.

“In the process, I killed many of them,” I answered concisely.

“You didn’t do it alone, did you? Were you just a figurehead? Did you just sell our name?” Nix’s tone was still thorny.

“I did it alone.”

“…You did it all, alone?” Nix tilted her head as if unable to comprehend, then her gaze shifted to Dutch. Dutch, startled, cried out, “Th-that’s right, Hyung-nim! This crazy guy volunteered to handle everything himself! It’s not my fault!”

“I generally understand the situation,” Nix said, nodding. “The one who made the mess came to clean it up.”

“Dutch was the one who asked me to take the request on behalf of the mercenary group. If you think about it, isn’t his fault the biggest?” I subtly pointed at Dutch, and Nix replied nonchalantly.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

*Thwack!* No sooner had I finished speaking than Nix’s kick landed, sending Dutch tumbling across the floor.

“Squeal! Hyung-nim…” “Don’t make that sound, like a pig being slaughtered.”

“It seems the situation is over, then?” I asked, extending my hand to Nix for a handshake. Since the urgent matter was resolved, we needed to move to the next stage. Nix scoffed, not even looking at my outstretched hand.

“Yeah, the situation’s over. Our home base is wrecked, and you’re just going to take your money and leave, is that it? This is why these freelance mercenaries are such low-quality bastards.” Nix spat on the floor and glared. “Scumbags who’ll do anything for money. Am I wrong?”

“But you’re also a Hyung-nim of a mercenary group, aren’t you?” I retorted, my tone sarcastic. Her brow furrowed sharply at my words.

“I don’t go freeloading everywhere like a rat.”

“Same here. I know how to distinguish right from wrong.”

“Damn it, you won’t concede a single word.” Nix growled lowly.

I took a deep breath and changed the subject. “The mechs outside, the pilots were all dead inside their cockpits. Was that your doing?”

“Yeah, I did it. Why?” Nix answered nonchalantly.

Then Dutch interjected, “As expected of Hyung-nim! Wow! To survive being ganged up on at the forefront, I thought for sure you were dead!”

“You, shut up.” At Nix’s chilling remark, Dutch clamped his mouth shut. As her foot slightly lifted, Dutch automatically cowered and backed away.

Nix looked back at me and asked, “So, are you unhappy about it? Do you perhaps feel pity for those Nesys guys?”

“It’s not that. I have a bad history with them too. It’s just… it’s impressive. You mean you infiltrated them unarmed and assassinated the pilots without a mech?” My words were laced with genuine admiration.

“Ha! There’s nothing to gain by trying to impress me,” Nix scoffed.

Dutch, without thinking, interjected again. “As expected of Hyung-nim! Like a former soldier…!”

*Thwack!* “You’re always picking the stories I hate the most, aren’t you?” Nix’s kick landed squarely on Dutch’s side, and he tumbled to the floor with a *gasp*.

“Squeal!”

‘A former soldier?’ In this game’s world, regular armies had either collapsed or their influence was severely diminished. Interplanetary power struggles and resource wars were led by massive corporations, whose private armies or mercenary groups exercised actual military power. Corporations like Icarus and Nesys were prime examples.

My outstretched hand, offered for a handshake, hung awkwardly in the air.

“My hand’s going to fall off. Aren’t you going to take it?”

“Hmph, fine. At least we’ve escaped the immediate danger.” Nix reluctantly took my hand. But the moment our hands met, I was pulled by a powerful force, and my body fell downward.

‘This crazy bitch…!’

*Thud!* I hit the floor, and Nix was on top of me, gripping my collar.

“But don’t get the wrong idea. You caused this. Don’t forget it. You’d better abandon any thoughts of becoming friends with me. Got it?” Her black eyes radiated killing intent.

“I get it, so let go of my collar and calm down. And… more importantly, you’re too close, okay?” The atmosphere was serious, yet the heavy weight of her chest pressing against my body made me feel strangely uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but feel it, even in this situation.

“Disgusting,” Nix clicked her tongue, let go of my collar, and stood up.

“For now, let’s cooperate until we’re sure there are no more Nesys corporate stragglers.”

“Alright. Oh, and my friend prepared a transport ship. Will you take it?” With her base completely destroyed, it seemed difficult for her to rebuild anything here. The only advantage I had over her right now was money. And an overwhelmingly large amount of it. Thanks to the immense reward I received from Gideon at Icarus and the rewards from completing various quests, my account was overflowing with money.

“Transport ship?” Nix seemed conflicted for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

“……I’ll accept that favor.” Nix said resignedly, though reluctantly. Indeed, surviving here in this state would be akin to suicide. She likely found it hard to refuse my offer, considering the safety of her remaining mercenary members.

“Good. Then let’s start by clearing the area. There might still be some Nesys remnants lingering.”

I, Nix, and a few mobile mercenary members began to thoroughly search the surroundings. Fortunately, no more enemies were found.

“Looks clean,” Nix said, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“Then let’s wait at the rendezvous point for the transport ship.” I walked ahead. Nix instructed Dutch to gather the remaining members and follow, then walked closely beside me. She didn’t say a word the entire way.

Before long, we arrived at the location where the severely damaged Asura was parked. Traces of the fierce battle remained all over the mech. Nix briefly surveyed Asura’s condition, then scoffed and mocked, “Is this your mech? It’s completely wrecked.”

“Looks like your hideout is in the same condition.” Nix’s eyebrow twitched slightly at my retort, but she said nothing further, walking around Asura and examining its state.

That’s when it happened.

*Vwoom!* A massive roar echoed, and in the distance, several transport ships and dozens of mechs, seemingly more than fifty, moved together, acting as escorts.

“Wh-what’s that? Are those Nesys bastards? Have reinforcements already arrived?” Nix’s face turned ashen white. Her hand instinctively went to the knife at her waist. My heart also sank. If we had to fight an enemy force of that magnitude again…

‘Damn it… is this the end?’ The moment I looked up at the sky with a crestfallen expression, my terminal rang with an urgent call. It was Scarlet.

[Jin-woo! You’re safe, right? Please answer me!]

“Scarlet! What the hell have you done?” I unknowingly burst out.

[Haah! Thank goodness! You’re alive!]

Scarlet’s voice, full of relief, was the last thing before the communication cut off, and the colossal transport ships and mechs descended imposingly. They were heading directly towards us.

“They’re not enemies. They’re my comrades,” I said, trying to reassure Nix.

“What? You, what exactly are you?” Nix asked blankly, as if she couldn’t believe the sheer scale of it.

I grinned and replied, “I’ll tell you once we get closer.”

“Seriously…” She made a bewildered expression, as if recalling her earlier words, ‘You’d better abandon any thoughts of becoming friends with me.’ But somewhere in that expression, there seemed to be a faint hint of curiosity.