Ch.144The Second Twilight of the Idols – Atlas of Detroit (2)

Gardner’s Smogpiercer cuts across the city. Neither renegades, regulars, nor extras appeared. This was likely because Polaris’s vehicle was following right behind.

Even if extras become regulars, even if renegades succeed in their revenge, everything becomes meaningless if they themselves die. Renegades are practical people. They have no spare lives to sacrifice for the organization.

A school of sharks that they cannot see quietly follows the vehicle. These were forces deployed by those hoping for Polaris’s successful performance and their investments in T Entertainment to pay off. Normally, it would be better not to have them around.

However, Polaris had allowed them to follow. Despite their different organizations and disciplines, she felt they weren’t a liability as long as she could control them, regardless of their numbers.

They didn’t have to drive far from the company building to reach the concert hall built by Heroism & Hope. From a distance, it looked like a massive snow globe erected in this gloomy, dreary city.

Moving closer, one could see its crystalline, irregular surfaces beautifully refracting light in unpredictable patterns. It was a place without a single security vulnerability planted by the company.

There were no buildings near the concert hall. Usually, holographic gardens floated around it, but even those were turned off during performances, creating a vast open field. A perfect hunting ground for snipers.

Even if one wanted to deal with the snipers first, the light emitted by the dome was problematic. It sparkled so erratically that it was difficult to even look directly at the concert hall—the Hope Globe—during performances.

But there was no real issue. Not only was the open field surrounding the Hope Globe empty, but even the buildings encircling the area were Heroism & Hope’s set buildings, with not a single person living in them.

As insiders of T Entertainment and H Entertainment, Gardner and Polaris could enter without being stopped.

Only the displays inside the concert hall, dyed the same color as Polaris’s dress, rippled quietly. Even seeing the empty concert hall was a privilege.

Polaris moved to rehearse, while Gardner headed toward the outer perimeter of the Hope Globe. The dome’s exterior was completely sealed off from the outside. Even the ventilation ducts ran underground.

Additionally, the building’s outer walls were made of material that couldn’t be penetrated even by paparazzi’s high-powered sniper rifles. Gardner was satisfied with Polaris’s safety, but Arthur worried about Serena and Chris who would be outside the globe.

It was unclear how skilled the paparazzi was as a sniper, but regardless of skill, the only targets available would be the three people outside.

Having clear priorities helped. Arthur himself, wearing Gardner’s shell, was unlikely to be the primary target.

The paparazzi might have developed an interest in Gardner after their two meetings, but Serena remained the paparazzi’s main adversary. Gardner slightly nodded, making it obvious he was communicating, and said:

“H Entertainment security team, this is Gardner. Do you have any location information on the paparazzi?”

“No, sir! We’ve even scanned the company-designated surveillance-free zones, but it seems they’re likely mixed in with the external crowd. They won’t infiltrate inside.”

“Understood. Check the buildings set up to block snipers too. I assume security teams are positioned on each rooftop?”

“Of course! T Entertainment has also dispatched forces, so the perimeter security is definitely solid!”

Gardner’s biggest concern was the suspicious activity among the regular criminals. The city’s surveillance network vaguely showed regulars communicating with each other using extras.

Today was when all the DPD regulars and Gardner himself would gather. It was the day with the most “escape tickets”—or what they believed to be escape tickets—available. Security was also at its tightest.

They were criminals after all. It was obvious they had no intention of targeting Polaris, but rather planned to use others as shields and put bullets in the more vulnerable DPD regulars.

If not that, they might have a deal with the paparazzi, Arthur quietly thought. The paparazzi was an external criminal who could leave the city anytime. They didn’t need an escape ticket.

‘Help me snipe Serena, and I’ll give you an escape ticket.’ A seemingly plausible deal. It would sound even more convincing to criminals who wouldn’t move to save each other’s lives.

While Gardner focused on security, Polaris’s rehearsal performance began. Her voice, perfectly connected to the concert hall, spread naturally throughout the venue without echoing.

Neither Gardner nor Arthur knew much about music. They could interpret lyrics but found it difficult to feel them. Though they weren’t equally ignorant.

This emotionless Gardner wouldn’t understand at all, but Arthur could at least hear her voice and understand why she was T Entertainment’s main source of income.

When performing, Polaris shone as brightly as her name. She was beautiful. She knew how to command the stage with the charisma unique to those who could produce beast-like sounds.

She had joy. Joy in making others happy. If she could do it through singing, she would sing; if through leadership abilities, she would lead.

So Arthur had reduced the risk level inside the concert hall to minimum. Not only was infiltration unlikely, but even if someone did infiltrate… honestly, it would be fine even if all the regulars and extras gathered there.

After one song ended, Polaris—now wearing a genuinely happy smile rather than a well-crafted one—called for Gardner. She had no idea she was actually calling Arthur.

Though the stage was taller than a person’s height, Gardner leapt onto it as easily as stepping over a low ledge. Polaris, who had broken a slight sweat, whispered:

“Will today’s performance be peaceful, Gardner?”

“I don’t recall you asking me to wish you luck for the performance.”

“Still! How did it sound to you? A successful performance is just as important as a peaceful one. Oh, right. Gardner is a character who doesn’t understand music, isn’t he?”

Arthur easily dodged the bait she was obviously throwing. It was acceptable to talk about the gimmick, but not about its contents.

Knowing the details of a gimmick could lead to identifying the person inside it. Especially in a situation like with Polaris, who was already catching on.

“Discussing it separately would also violate the contract.”

“You’re so thorough. Still, it’s only natural to want to know more about someone you’re attracted to.”

“I’ve already wished you luck on that matter.”

Was this why she made him follow her to the rehearsal? Perhaps she wanted to show him herself at work.

He had something he needed to say, but right now only Gardner, not Arthur Murphy, should be present here, so Arthur couldn’t say what he as Arthur needed to say. He let it pass with a sigh.

The rehearsal continued without security issues. Heroism & Hope’s security team reported to Gardner, who was managing the Smogpiercer. He was now being treated completely like the head of security.

“Ah, Gardner. Reporting in! One criminal attempting infiltration has been eliminated!”

“You’ve added my name to the reporting chain? How about explaining how this guy tried to ruin the garden?”

“Yes, sir! An external terrorist with explosives hacked into the snipers’ computational assistance devices and attempted to infiltrate! We tracked the access attempt location and eliminated him from another sniper position!”

Just an idiot who died trying to secretly plant a bomb in a concert hall heavily protected by two mega-corporations. Still, if he had explosives, some follow-up was needed.

Gardner and Arthur worried most about the explosives, and secondly about whether the fool’s blood, brain matter, and gray matter had dirtied the entrance. That was all.

“Playing with fire is always the work of idiots. What about the explosives he had?”

“The bomb disposal team has retrieved them! No problems!”

“Acknowledged. Raise the alert level. Even though the attempt failed, we don’t know the exact purpose. They might have been trying to gather information that way.”

The possibility that this was bait or a probe was much higher than the possibility that someone actually believed they could instantly hack and disable a mega-corporation’s security team’s computational assistance devices and infiltrate.

His nerves were on edge. Honestly, Gardner himself—Arthur himself—was someone who could escape danger and survive even without being on high alert. But he couldn’t do that when he had to protect others.

More time passed, and after Polaris’s final rehearsal stage ended, she returned to the waiting room. Gardner, who didn’t need to provide close protection at the moment, remained in the concert hall.

Two security team members from Heroism & Hope approached Gardner in the audience seats, carrying a large box between them. After setting down the heavy box, they gave a brief salute.

“Ah, this is support equipment from the higher-ups! The ammunition boxes are coming later, carried by staff in power suits!”

“Wonder what requires power suits.”

Arthur briefly lowered his head and opened the delivered box. Inside was an old multi-barreled machine gun typically mounted on helicopters. Six chrome-plated barrels gleamed lazily.

Gardner lifted the gun with ease. It weighed about twice as much as the grenade rifle Arthur used.

The H Entertainment security staff were slightly shocked to see Gardner checking the machine gun, twirling it in one hand.

Not extreme shock. In their minds, Gardner was already the kind of person who could do such things.

But even they held their breath when they saw Gardner lift and carry the ammunition boxes containing eight thousand rounds.

Arthur, somewhat accustomed to such displays, briefly sent current through the battery-packed machine gun. After seeing the barrels begin to rotate, he stopped the current.

He had glimpsed it a few times but never fired such a gun in real life. Fortunately, Chance displayed reference images in Arthur’s field of vision at the right moment. With sixteen thousand rounds, he could only fire for 4 minutes.

Looking at other images… it was a gun often featured in 90s action movies that K had mentioned, from a hundred years ago. Perhaps it wasn’t strange to give such an item to Gardner.

Gardner, quietly examining the gun and considering the possibility that it was a Heroism & Hope custom item, asked:

“So, with two boxes, how long can I fire?”

“Ah, if you reduce the firing rate to 1,600 rounds per minute, you should be able to fire for 10 minutes with two boxes! It’s additional heavy weapon support due to the suspicious movements of regulars and extras today!”

So I have to provide fire support myself too. Arthur muttered inwardly. Even this was ultimately entertainment. Still, isn’t it somewhat random? Gardner, whose main weapon is a sword, suddenly wielding this.

Maybe it’s just about looking cool, or perhaps because they saw him using a rifle last time. At the very least, Officer Ryland had never used such a machine gun. Arthur was certain of that.

Gardner picked up the additionally supported heavy weapon and left the audience seats before spectators entered. He loaded the ammunition into the Smogpiercer and went outside the globe. The ground exit was for staff only.

Serena and Robringer—to Arthur, Serena and Chris—were already outside waiting for him. Arthur spoke only through the communication channel without vocalizing:

‘What did I tell you? Gardner is barely a second-rate, third-rate hero at best.’

With those words, he displayed the machine gun he’d been given. Seeing him lift it with one hand without any enhancement suit, Serena made a slightly exasperated expression before returning a smile.

Enhanced bodies were both good and bad for her. They were the beginning of everything, and something that continued to write the current story. Arthur decided to exercise restraint.

“That seems to be the case. It looks like audience entry is starting…”

As the three spoke in casual voices, filming drones began approaching them. Eight each for Gardner and Serena, six for Robringer. Audience entry must have begun.

Seeing this, Serena immediately switched to her broadcast voice. It sounded like she was trying to imitate Polaris—a voice that didn’t match her normally somewhat husky tone at all.

The script naturally appeared before his eyes. It stated that since Gardner had offered to teach Serena last time, the two had grown somewhat closer, and Serena had become a bit more flexible.

“Our work begins too. Robringer, let’s go support the security team. Gardner… I don’t have command authority over you. Please carry out your duties freely.”

“You’ve become more fitting as a gardener, Serena Vanderbilt. Today for the garden.”

“Today for Detroit!”

After each stating what they desired, Gardner and Serena parted ways. Despite containing two three-hundred-kilogram ammunition boxes, the Smogpiercer ran as if no weight had been added.

Today, the people of Detroit would probably regret having only one body. With Polaris inside the concert hall and the stories of the three protagonists outside, there was too much to see.

While the inside of the concert hall was filled with Polaris’s voice, outside only occasional sniper fire could be heard. There had been no major movements yet.

As Gardner circled around the Hope Globe—now a perfect open field with even the holographic gardens turned off—he received a support request from the H Entertainment security team.

“Gardner! This is sniper position 3! Regulars with extras in front are approaching from a distance! Since we don’t know what they’re planning to do, we request heavy weapon support!”

A parade, huh. Looks like receiving the machine gun support was fortunate. The Smogpiercer headed toward sniper position 3 that appeared in Gardner’s field of vision. He drove out from what had become a wasteland-like holographic garden.

At sniper position 3, instead of sniper shots, the sound of designated marksman rifles with scopes could be heard. Gardner slightly tilted his head and murmured into the communication channel. Not to the H Entertainment security team.

It was directed at forces deployed by private equity funds that had invested in Talent & Tradition. Since they weren’t official partners, they couldn’t enter the interior and would be outside, so they could arrive there faster.

“This is Gardner, in charge of Polaris’s security. Since your companies aren’t partners, I assume you’re waiting outside the Hope Globe perimeter.”

“This is Jeok Sang-ari of the representative mercenary company among 17 hired by the investment agencies. Does that pose a risk to Polaris’s safety?”

“Do you think news of gunfire directed at the Hope Globe won’t affect stock prices? I’ll give you location information, so start defending the stock price. Don’t get too close to those criminals.”

He clicked his tongue at Gardner’s rude attitude but had no choice but to agree. What Gardner said was exactly what they needed to do right now.