Ch.1111. Punk City and the Human Boy

The combat power of the Horde was overwhelming.

The gorilla’s plasma cutter, which had been slicing police officers in half, aimed for the Horde operator’s lips but was blocked by a magic barrier.

The gorilla’s sturdy arm, which had been tearing cars in half, was cut off at the three-finger mark by what appeared to be a tanker operator.

The gorilla raised its magical tattoos to maximum output, but a silence field descended upon it, rendering it powerless.

The police special operations division, Horde—the highest level tactical unit.

Each member was a disaster that could not be resisted.

Once the Horde arrived, the situation was as good as resolved.

Amon put down his weapon and slumped to the ground.

The surviving police officers also lowered their weapons like Amon.

Despite the gorilla still being intact, they felt reassured because they knew how overwhelming the Horde’s combat power was.

The Horde, in Amon’s words, were “achievement-hunting veterans.”

They were a breed that had to maintain a zero percent mortality rate and zero percent property damage rate from the moment they arrived on scene.

Not out of any sense of duty, but for the simple reason that bonuses were awarded based on achievement rates.

That’s why the Horde’s suppression was extremely compulsive.

Force fields were deployed as if they wouldn’t allow even a stray bullet to harm victims, and there was even a barrier specialist to prepare for any self-destruction attempts.

There was even a thought-reading mystic to anticipate any traps.

It was literally perfection incarnate.

‘To break through the Horde, you’d need a megacorp chairman’s personal bodyguard, or a top security department head… or maybe <that long thing>…’

As his thoughts reached that point, Amon’s brain started working.

Old habits die hard—the gamer’s instinct to calculate odds kicked in.

He first imagined his combat power when he had obtained ‘that long thing.’

At that time, he had annihilated a Horde battalion and faced off against two megacorps simultaneously.

And the ending he ultimately achieved was a bad ending.

An ending called catastrophe.

‘Obviously, I’m not going to do that long thing in this lifetime.’

Based on the Horde’s combat patterns he had learned while playing with ‘that long thing,’ Amon considered how far he could go with his current abilities.

‘First, I need to take out the netwalker.’

In the Horde’s rear, there exists a hacker who connects their minds like a hive mind.

Besides connecting minds, this hacker also hacks CCTV to cover blind spots, opens locked doors, and freezes enemy communications, exerting an overwhelming presence from the rear.

Therefore, as long as the netwalker is alive, it would be too difficult for Amon to face the Horde.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, he knew exactly how to neutralize the netwalker.

First, destroy the special router on the aircraft to weaken the communication signal strength, then obtain a terminal and attempt a reverse hack.

Of course, Amon didn’t have reverse hacking skills, but he knew the police security codes.

After isolating the netwalker with administrator privileges, they would no longer be able to influence the battlefield.

‘Then even the mighty Horde would be flustered.’

When their shared consciousness suddenly disconnects, they couldn’t help but be confused.

During that time, Amon would infiltrate the aerial vehicle.

It was within jumping distance from a nearby building’s window.

If the sniper manual hadn’t changed, there would be a barrier specialist nearby.

If he could ambush the two from behind while they were confused by the communication cut…

‘Yeah right.’

He’d get counter-ambushed.

The Horde weren’t idiots.

Just because they were in the rear didn’t mean they were weak enough to be taken down by the current Amon.

The sniper role was never weak in close combat.

Their bodies, trained for sniping, had enough combat power to make mincemeat of mediocre opponents.

What about the barrier specialist?

Probably one straight punch from the barrier specialist would kill Amon before he could even react.

That’s how vast the skill gap was between Amon and the Horde.

‘Conclusion: Can’t win.’

There was no way.

No matter how experienced a player he was, there were limits to control.

Unless he had a fully developed character and sufficient preparation time, the current Amon had no chance against the Horde.

As he was thinking this, Amon’s vision rippled slightly.

Simultaneously, the inside of his brain tingled.

A sensation he’d never felt before.

But somehow, he felt like he knew the cause.

‘Right. There would be a mystic too.’

Amon finally remembered the existence of the mystic.

As if confirming his answer, a “ding!” sound rang in his head.

Amon’s response to the mystic’s service was—

“Shit.”

A curse.

However, this wasn’t directed at the mystic who had read his mind.

The curse was directed at himself.

Cold sweat ran down Amon’s spine.

‘This damn gamer brain!’

What luxury was he indulging in, calculating how to take down the Horde right in front of them when they were already on edge?

Especially with a mystic present, how would they view Amon?

‘You should have just stood by with your gun at the terror suppression site, Amon!!’

All kinds of thoughts flooded Amon’s mind.

His consciousness split into multiple parts, engaging in a heated dialogue.

Should I apologize now?

But would they accept my apology?

Still, they’re mind readers, wouldn’t they know if my apology is sincere?

Before that, can they execute me just for thinking? Just for thoughts…

Oh, right. This is cyberpunk.

Wait, wait.

They read my thoughts?

How much did they read?

Did they read my past life knowledge too?

Does that mean they’re reading my current thoughts too?

But my past life knowledge includes Pentagon secrets!

Oh, I’m doomed….

Amon squeezed his eyes shut.

He tried to control the overflowing thoughts, but it was impossible.

Just like how one can’t help but think of a pink elephant when told not to, humans weren’t creatures capable of controlling their thoughts.

‘This is why I hate mystics.’

Depending on the mystic’s skill, the ability to read uncontrollable thoughts was the strongest weapon in this age where information was crucial.

Various countermeasures had been developed in response, but Amon had never prepared for this.

‘I’m finished….’

To think that the world’s secrets would be revealed for such a ridiculous reason.

Amon apologized to the Goddess in advance for the global chaos that would soon follow.

He waited for the Horde’s execution like a death row inmate awaiting his sentence.

Whether it was the CIA, the police department, or the Pentagon.

The future of being dragged somewhere was terrifying.

Just as they finished analyzing the gorilla’s body, one of the operators approached Amon and the inspector.

He introduced himself in a low voice mixed with mechanical sounds.

“Hello there. I’m the team leader of HOD Team 14. I’d like to thank you for your cooperation, but due to regulations, I can’t reveal my real name. I hope you understand.”

Amon nodded forcibly, hiding his anxiety in a corner of his heart.

The low voice hammered into Amon’s ears.

“It was an interesting strategy. Destroying the router, neutralizing the netwalker, then targeting the sniper in the flying vehicle. A really good approach.”

‘This is driving me crazy.’

“I just heard from our mystic that you thought ‘this is driving me crazy.'”

‘Oh, Lord.’

“Seeing you seek God in this situation, you must be a deeply religious friend.”

‘I’m sorry. I just can’t control my past life knowledge.’

“Thoughts can’t be controlled by nature.”

‘All of America’s top secrets must have been read… I’m doomed.’

“What do you mean by ‘doomed’?”

‘…?’

A question mark appeared above Amon’s head after hearing the team leader’s last words.

Suddenly, things weren’t adding up.

Just to be sure, Amon thought of various things.

Starting with thoughts from this world, to knowledge from his past life.

In case the team leader didn’t react, he also thought about the terrible bad ending of this world,

The police department’s confidential documents where the Horde belonged,

And even the world’s most terrible information contamination tactical nuke, ‘HAL-KAS.’

‘Cough!’

The tactical nuke’s power was so strong.

Strong enough to affect even Amon, the caster.

But the team leader in front of him just blinked, not moving a muscle.

Seeing the reaction, Amon was convinced.

‘They can’t read past life knowledge.’

It seemed that all thoughts related to it were naturally edited or censored when read.

The tactical nuke was also knowledge he had seen on a forum in his past life, so the team leader couldn’t read it and remained indifferent.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

‘The Goddess is omnipotent.’

Would she have sent him down to the underworld without preparing for this?

There was no way a mere human mystic could penetrate the protection bestowed by Her.

Only then did Amon feel relieved and recall his past life memories.

‘Hallelujah. I always worship You, Goddess.’

Amon began to worship the Goddess.

For the team leader, who was editing and peering into Amon’s mind, it was disconcerting to see Amon suddenly praising the Goddess without context.

Seriously, he was starting to think Amon’s mental state might be more dangerous than the now-dead gorilla.

The team leader took a step back, distancing himself from Amon.

Meanwhile, Amon recalled the situation he was in.

‘Right. Past life is past life, and the Horde is the Horde.’

The fact that he had been calculating how to kill the Horde hadn’t disappeared.

Cold sweat once again dampened Amon’s back.

Amon rolled his eyes, choosing his words carefully.

With the thought that a sincere apology might be forgiven.

Seeing Amon like this, the team leader—

“Pfft!”

Finally couldn’t hold back his laughter.

While Amon couldn’t keep up with the team leader’s change, the team leader patted Amon’s shoulder and said,

“When we’re on site, kids like you are common. All teenagers do that. When they see us working, they wonder how they would fight, what they would do. It’s not just kids, mercenaries do it too. Even the police officers behind you are thinking the same thing.”

“….”

“I was just teasing you a bit, so don’t worry. There’s no way we can’t distinguish between killing intent and competitive spirit.”

The team leader patted Amon’s shoulder good-naturedly.

A heartwarming scene of an adult comforting a teenager unfolded.

The police officers, knowing this was the Horde’s way of joking, watched the scene warmly.

But Amon was the only one in this place who couldn’t let go of his tension.

‘What are these killing machines saying?’

Amon automatically recalled the Horde’s settings.

Behind these good-natured people, there was no sense of justice.

They had no sense of being the people’s staff or any sense of mission.

Logically, the Horde could never be normal beings.

With this much power, why weren’t they employed as mercenaries, corporate agents, or government operatives instead of being in a police special forces unit?

The work was more demanding than elsewhere, but the compensation was much less. Why were they still here?

There was only one reason.

‘To legally kill people.’

Trigger happy, murderous impulses, violent tendencies, memory voyeurism, sadism, etc.

They were humans faithful to their twisted desires.

They simply knew that if they lived faithfully to their desires, they would inevitably die young, so they stayed in the Horde where they could legally kill people.

Not enough money?

Doesn’t matter.

More work?

Even better!

Zero percent mortality rate?

It’s satisfying to achieve goals while working!

The Horde was a team created by the police department by somehow selecting people with such tendencies.

Of course, this fact was a secret to ordinary citizens, and externally, the Horde was just an elite special forces team that remained in the police due to their strong sense of service.

An ordinary citizen might not know, but Amon, who knew this setting, couldn’t trust the team leader patting his shoulder.

These killing machines could suddenly turn and blow Amon’s head off, and it wouldn’t be strange.

Since this thought was related to his past life memory, it seemed the team leader couldn’t read it, as he continued to laugh heartily while talking to Amon.

But even so, when Amon didn’t let go of his tension, the team leader scratched his cheek and pointed in one direction.

“Well, we’re not arresting you. If we did, your girlfriend wouldn’t let me off easy, would she?”

Girlfriend?

At the team leader’s words, Amon looked in the direction he was pointing.

In that direction, Sonia was glaring at the team leader, looking extremely displeased.

According to the team leader, she had become like that because she thought the Horde was trying to arrest Amon. (It was certain because the mystic had read it.)

The team leader decided to end his conversation with Amon, showing his disgust.

He pushed Amon’s back towards Sonia.

“Whew, this is too burdensome for me. Go comfort your girlfriend.”

Leaving only those words, the team leader left.

Left behind, Amon awkwardly approached Sonia.

As Amon got closer, Sonia’s face brightened proportionally.

And when Amon arrived right in front of her, her arm entwined with his.

Being that close, Sonia’s face returned to normal.

She hugged Amon’s arm tightly as if she would never let go, checking his condition.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Just a scratch.”

“What was that about the Horde trying to arrest you?”

“It was a joke, just a joke.”

“Phew…”

Only then did Sonia feel relieved.

The faint killing intent that had been felt from behind her back disappeared, and only the usual Sonia remained in its place.

Bright, cheerful, and kind to everyone despite not talking much.

Amon stroked Sonia’s head as they left the scene.

***

Afterwards, the two left the horrific scene and headed to a new bus stop that could take them to the orphanage.

On the way, Amon belatedly remembered the old man.

“How’s the elderly man?”

“He received a blood transfusion and is much better. Fortunately, there was no organ damage. He just had chronic fatigue and became anemic, which made him drowsy.”

“That’s a relief.”

The more positive news was that the old man was insured.

Thanks to that, he wouldn’t have to worry about dying again due to money after nearly dying once.

For now, the outcome of this incident was the best result for Amon and Sonia.

Not entirely satisfactory, but an acceptable result as the two chatted warmly.

Before they knew it, they had gotten off the bus and were walking towards the orphanage.

Normally, Sonia would have constantly pestered Amon in a cheerful atmosphere on the way, but today she was unusually quiet.

‘Did I worry her too much…’

Amon kept glancing at her, inwardly fidgeting.

His arm, which Sonia was hugging tightly as if she would never let go, was starting to go numb, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask her to let go.

When he turned to her to ask her to let go because his arm was unbearably numb, Sonia was silently looking up at him with her arm still linked with his.

“What?”

“N-nothing.”

Finding it strange that he couldn’t speak while making eye contact, Amon continued walking.

Meanwhile, on the way to the orphanage, Sonia looked up at Amon’s face and fell into thought.

The small wound on his cheek.

It was a wound he got from rolling on the ground while fighting the gorilla.

Seeing that wound, Sonia slightly bit her lower lip without Amon noticing.

‘Because I’m weak…’

Today, when she had to leave Amon alone, she realized.

She was too weak.

If she could have taken down the gorilla by herself, there would have been no need to put Amon in danger.

Being good at handling recoil was a talent that meant nothing in this harsh world.

She needed more strength to protect Amon.

‘And that Horde…’

When the Horde seemed to be trying to arrest Amon, Sonia’s mind went blank like a sheet of paper.

Fortunately, it was just a joke, but the lingering emptiness that settled in her heart was too intense to be just the aftermath of a joke.

‘Not enough.’

There were too many beings the current her couldn’t defeat.

She couldn’t defeat the police, the gorilla, or the Horde.

This way, she couldn’t protect Amon.

In this wicked world, she couldn’t protect Amon.

She thought about how long it would take to become strong enough to defeat at least a Horde platoon.

‘It would probably take several decades.’

Maybe even a lifetime.

But that didn’t matter.

Amon had said that a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, no matter how long it takes.

If protecting Amon was delayed, she would have to continuously become stronger, even if it was for revenge.

‘I’ll show them what happens when they mishandle a gun.’

If she were to take revenge, how should she do it?

First, annihilate the team that framed him.

If there was someone who ordered Amon’s arrest, deal with that person too.

If by any chance he went to prison, don’t spare the judge who passed the sentence.

As her thoughts reached that point, Sonia’s eyes sank deeper.

But the negative thoughts didn’t deepen any further.

When she felt Amon’s warmth in her hand, the negative thoughts melted away like snow.

‘No. This isn’t what Amon would want.’

Amon was kind.

The Amon that Sonia knew would be heartbroken if he found out that Sonia had changed because of him.

That was something Sonia never wanted either.

To like someone means to respect them that much.

Forcing her feelings would only be selfishness.

She respected Amon, so she shook off the negative thoughts.

Instead, she filled the empty space with thoughts of peaceful and happy daily life with Amon.

‘Yes. This is what Amon would want too.’

On the way to the orphanage.

That day’s incident left a big mark on a young girl’s heart.

Not just on her, but on Amon and the city as well.

The families of the dead citizens wailed, but the indifferent city did not show them sympathy.

More precisely, it turned a blind eye.

Sympathy would lead to expenditure in the name of compensation, so they treated it only as a tragic accident.

If it had been election season, they could have hoped for at least hypocrisy, but this period was not election season, and so the bereaved families had to bury their sorrow deep in their hearts amidst indifference.

Time flowed indifferently through an incident where everyone gained unspeakable wounds and scars.

And soon, Christmas Eve approached.