Ch.136Born for the First Time! (5)

#136

Today was the day Dexter was supposed to teach Judy how to exercise, but for some reason, Dexter had been pushed to the sidelines.

“Don’t move anymore!”

“Kyahahaha!”

Aisha, who had initially been awkward around Judy, was now excitedly running around following her.

Even the weak and frail Judy had improved her stamina through her recent consistent exercise.

Dexter watched contentedly as she kept up with Aisha’s boundless childlike energy, both of them happily chasing and evading each other.

‘It’s not like I’m a father with a daughter or something.’

While Dexter was lost in these thoughts, Aisha, breathing heavily, plopped down next to him.

“Aren’t you going to play with us, oppa?”

“You two are having fun by yourselves, so why bother?”

“You’re like an old man.”

“I am an old man, aren’t I?”

“Tch.”

As Aisha leaned against Dexter to catch her breath, Judy brought over two cold water bottles with condensation on them.

“Shall we rest a bit and then play again?”

Judy said to Aisha as she opened the bottle cap for her. Aisha smiled brightly and replied.

“Okay.”

Judy seemed a bit tired too, as she sat down next to Aisha and took a sip of water.

“Looks like we don’t need to exercise today.”

“What? Why not exercise?”

“Playing with her will probably drain all your energy.”

Dexter said, pointing at Aisha. Judy laughed lightly and replied.

“Kids certainly do have a lot of stamina, don’t they? But I thought my endurance had improved compared to before.”

At Judy’s words, Dexter looked over her arms and legs.

She definitely had more flesh and muscle than before, and she seemed firmer.

“That’s true. But even people who’ve exercised for a long time find it hard to keep up with kids. They’re all over the place, you know.”

“But she’s so cute, isn’t she?”

Judy said as she took out a handkerchief from her workout clothes pocket and wiped the water Aisha had spilled.

“You should drink slowly.”

“Okay.”

After this, Judy and Aisha played a few more times.

Eventually, Aisha, exhausted from running around excitedly since morning, ended up lying down with her head on Judy’s lap and falling asleep.

“What should I do? I feel bad about this.”

“It’s fine. I’m actually grateful.”

“Huh? Grateful?”

“I reeeally love kids!”

“I thought you might, but that much?”

“Yes, I’m telling you. Kids are so adorable.”

Judy not only looked young, but her hobbies and talents all had a pastoral feel that didn’t match her appearance.

‘Come to think of it, she preferred old jazz over lively or loud songs. Ah, is that why she doesn’t have many close friends?’

It made sense since Judy didn’t drink much and wasn’t particularly fond of partying.

“It’s good that you like her.”

“Of course. How wonderful would it be to have a daughter like Aisha.”

With those words, Dexter glanced at his wristwatch with a light smile.

There wasn’t much time left until lunch.

‘It would be perfect to just have lunch together and then leave.’

“Let’s go. It seems like a good time for lunch now.”

“But Aisha is still sleeping…”

“She’s a heavy sleeper, so it’s fine.”

With those words, Dexter lifted Aisha up, and Judy looked at him with a disappointed face.

“Are you that disappointed?”

Dexter looked at Judy’s face with a smirk, and she nodded vigorously.

“Well, I guess we should meet again before Aisha goes home.”

“Really?”

“She seems to like you too.”

If Aisha were really his cousin, it would be different, but she’s a resident of a planet several light-years away from Earth.

If they part now, who knows when they’ll meet again.

Completely unaware of this fact, Judy beamed at Dexter’s kindness.

“That would be great! When, when would be good?”

“I think we can set it for the next holiday.”

“Next holiday… sounds good.”

Having received confirmation that they would meet again, Judy was all smiles.

* * *

The gaming console Polytech and Orbis, the company that develops games for Polytech, are located in Silicon Valley, California.

Particularly, the Orbis office wasn’t just a small two or three-story building, but a structure so tall that one had to tilt their head back to see the top.

Given that many of America’s leading IT companies are gathered in Silicon Valley, it was likely that anyone would have heard of a company based there at least once.

“But for a company with such a tall building, why haven’t I heard of it until now?”

Jesse said, staring intently at the Orbis building.

Jesse, Himena, and Dexter were having drinks at a café in front of the Orbis building.

The three were in the middle of a light rehearsal before infiltration.

“It’s because we’re outsiders to the gaming world. I heard that anyone who’s played games would definitely know about it.”

“What’s the game called?”

“The Watcher, I think? Something like that.”

“What does it watch?”

“It’s about seeing monsters that humans can’t see. It’s a fantasy game centered around a man who defeats these monsters and a woman he protects.”

“Hmm, I think I might have heard of it?”

When Jesse responded indifferently to Himena’s explanation, Himena nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know much about games either, hehe.”

Himena took out several documents and spread them on the table.

“Orbis is a game company famous for the Watcher series, and they released the third installment this month, which is quite popular in the gaming industry. It’s likely to be named Game of the Year (GOTY).”

“According to this document, it seems they’ve been showing strange movements for the past three years.”

Dexter said, pointing to a section of the document.

“That’s right. There was a sudden change in management, and there are stories of a large influx of funds from unknown sources. And it seems the development of Polytech started around that time.”

“Three years ago, huh.”

“This is just external information, so we’ll have to find out more detailed information from the inside.”

Himena said with a shrug.

“Since we don’t know how the situation might change, there’s no script. If we just memorize a script, we won’t be able to respond to immediate situations.”

“So, like last time, we’re on our own?”

“No! We completely failed last time by being unprepared like that. So, I’ve set a basic route.”

Himena pulled out a paper that looked lighter and thinner than the other documents.

“The paper material looks a bit different.”

“It dissolves instantly the moment it gets wet.”

Himena said, pushing away the cup on the table.

On the paper were the names of Jesse, Himena, and Dexter, along with their assigned tasks and precautions listed at length.

“First, me. I’ll be the one entering Orbis’s intranet server room to steal the data. Like Dexter, I’ll enter the company as a private security consultant from ‘NetWatch Security’.”

“A security consultant, and then?”

“This time, I won’t waste time and will head straight to the server room to work. OSA’s intelligence department has discovered a flaw in the Varuna system, and we’re planning to exploit it.”

“A flaw? How?”

In response to Jesse’s question, Himena looked at Dexter and said.

“I’m planning to use the method Dexter employed last time.”

“What method did Dexter use?”

“Oh, I see what you mean. It’s nothing special. It’s a strategy of creating a distraction elsewhere and using that opportunity to infiltrate or escape. Classic, but effective.”

Jesse nodded at Dexter’s additional explanation, and Himena continued.

“You’ll be a security consultant like me. This time, your role is to divert attention, but you’ll also need to gather necessary information as needed. I’ll let you know what information to gather along the way.”

“Diversion and information gathering… got it.”

Himena then explained Jesse’s role, which was the last one.

“Jesse, you’re the backup in case one of us runs into trouble, but you also have one of the most important roles.”

“What is it?”

“Maintaining communication with Subtron.”

Jesse made a strange face as if he had heard something odd.

“Subtron? That old robot-like thing that makes clanking noises inside headquarters?”

Jesse, who commuted to OSA, had seen Subtron before.

He had occasionally seen maintenance staff and engineers from the maintenance department opening up its back panel for servicing.

“That’s right. Subtron’s specs are impressive. After talking to the Science and Technology Department, they said Subtron’s qubit CPU can disrupt some functions of the Varuna system.”

“Hmm, I understand, but why do I need to maintain communication with Subtron?”

“Probably because our communication will be cut off or weakened the moment we enter the Orbis building. Even if we turn on the radio signal amplifier, it’s unlikely to reach Subtron.”

“Ah, so I’m to act as a relay for your signals?”

“Yes. And it’s also your job to prevent the tracking of the disruption signal that Subtron will emit. They say there’s a high possibility that the Varuna system will try to track the disruption signal.”

Jesse’s face turned pale as he realized he had more to do than expected.

“But, but I’m not even good with computers?”

“Come on, did you think I wouldn’t know that? Subtron will handle all of that, so Jesse just needs to do what Subtron asks.”

“Well, that’s a relief…”

After sharing a few more precautions, Himena distributed small wireless earphones to the two.

“You’ve already seen this, but Jesse, this is your first time, right?”

“I can tell it’s an earphone, but do I just wear it?”

“Yes. It can catch all the conversations between us. It also has location tracking and other features, so we can respond immediately if any problems arise.”

After saying that, Himena looked at Dexter and Jesse alternately.

“This is the Special Investigation Team’s first mission. Of course, Pink Industries was just a rehearsal. Ah, honestly, being the operation leader makes me nervous. I’m a bit worried if I can do well…”

Dexter looked at Himena’s hands as she spoke.

Himena was tightly gripping her interlocked fingers.

“What a silly thing to say.”

Dexter chuckled and placed his hand on Himena’s, saying.

“It’s your plan, so of course it will go well.”

“That’s right. How could a plan made by Himena fail?”

Jesse also placed his hand on top of Dexter’s and spoke, making Himena smile brightly.

“Thank you for believing in me.”

Dexter, seeing this, fiddled with Himena’s hand.

“But… the most important thing is the escape.”

“Right.”

“How do we escape?”

“There are five escape routes, from A to E.”

“Five? What’s A?”

In response to Jesse’s question, Himena pursed her lips and said.

“Umm… Assuming we’ve got the data without being detected, we exit through the main entrance.”

“Then what’s E?”

Himena looked around and then spoke in a quieter voice.

“Jesse contacts Subtron, and then an OSA unmanned drone with a bomb is attached to the outside of the server room and detonated. Once an exit is created, Dexter and I will deploy parachutes to escape.”

Dexter looked at Himena with a disgruntled expression and said.

“Well, I’d prefer not to use E if possible.”

“Me too…”

Himena sighed deeply and continued.

“So, our goal is to enter quietly and leave quietly without bloodshed. Got it?”

“I really hope so.”

“…Both of you, don’t get hurt.”

Jesse said, holding Himena and Dexter’s hands.

The three nodded and left the café with determined expressions.

Now it was time to begin.