Ch.235Jagang Ducheon (3)

# BANG BANG BANG!

“What’s that sound?”

“It’s the police.”

You can tell just from the knocking sound.

It was a kind of warning. A message to open the door and come out before they resort to more aggressive measures.

Bruce was a criminal. He had killed several promising scientists and went around inciting people, claiming the world would soon end. He was also involved with gangs and drug cartels.

BANG BANG BANG!

Pina whimpered at the thunderous sound that came again.

“Bruce Izoff, we know you’re in there. If you surrender now, we’ll consider it as a mitigating factor in your sentencing, so come out quietly!”

“Not a particularly attractive offer.”

Even with a reduced sentence, it would still be life imprisonment. Not much better than being arrested.

“W-what should we do, Doctor?”

“Did they think I would just quietly let myself be caught?”

Bruce took out a small syringe from his lab coat pocket. He drew the injection and plunged it straight into his forearm.

“Hoo, hahaha! The Aether is rising!”

A metallic taste filled his mouth. Pain that felt like it was tearing his body apart raced through his limbs. The pain ravaged his torso.

But he didn’t care. It was a hundred, a thousand times better than being captured.

CRASH——!!

Skipping the final warning, the police burst in. But by then, Bruce and Pina had long since teleported to their original base.

Upon arrival, Bruce vomited blood from his nose and mouth. Using a dead constellation meant he had to expel death blood. It was a kind of price to pay.

“Uweeeck.”

“Doctor, are you alright?”

“Do I look alright to you?!”

“Heeeng.”

Pina supported Bruce and moved him to the bedroom.

Built 500 meters underground, this secret base was Bruce’s private hideout that had never allowed anyone else’s entry. He wouldn’t be able to teleport for a while, but they wouldn’t be exposed to danger either.

As Bruce rested, he pondered.

Strange.

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

“…I definitely moved without being detected.”

The police couldn’t have come to such a remote place. Even though the influence of the Aether Belt had been reapplied, this was a frontier planet. They would barely have enough manpower to care about urban security.

Yet the cops came straight to the remote location. As if they knew Bruce was there.

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe… there was a tracking device on the tablet I brought?”

“Come to think of it?”

That would make sense.

“Hmm.”

His thoughts changed.

Eidel von Rheinland. He knows about Bruce’s existence. He also considers him a threat and has prepared everything in advance.

“Seems like he’s targeted me and come all the way down here.”

“Why would he do that to you, Doctor?”

“Because he thinks he’s better than me. Such arrogance!”

Bruce was somewhat famous in the southern border region. It was known among those in the know that he harmed scientists who were superior to him. Eidel would surely know this too.

So he must have acted first before he himself became a victim.

“Just my luck, just my rotten luck!”

Bruce got up, trembling as he swallowed his nosebleed.

“What are you going to do?”

“Eidel von Rheinland… I’d like to pick him out specifically and kill him.”

“Is that possible?”

Unfortunately, there weren’t many methods available.

“The Rheinlands are a prestigious medical family. They absorbed most of Adelbein’s shares after their downfall. In terms of pure power, they’re almost on par with the Stranovs!”

Pina’s concerns were valid. Targeting one of the top ten families meant it would be difficult to preserve one’s life.

The scientists Bruce had been jealous of until now were all from modest backgrounds. This time was different, and he felt it keenly from the start.

“I guess I’ll have to hire a gang…”

“We don’t have money.”

“I have plenty of inventions made from scrap.”

“Would those people appreciate your inventions, Doctor?”

“Pina, are you saying my inventions are worthless?!”

Pina stammered nervously.

“N-no, that’s not it… I’m just saying those people have strange eyes and might not recognize the true value of your inventions. Hehe.”

“Hmm, that’s a fair point. How could those idiots who can’t even do calculus be interested in my profound artifacts?”

Having dealt with various illegal cartels that ruled Delaus in the past, he knew well.

What gangs want are mainly three things.

Firearms, drugs, and adult android modules.

“Sigh, I guess there’s no choice but to produce garbage for a while…”

He lacked materials for drugs, and firearms were made by everyone so they wouldn’t accept anything but exceptional quality. Bruce’s only option was modules.

“Let’s see…”

Bruce’s lips curled up as he checked the storage.

Fortunately, there was plenty of inventory they would like.

***

Contrary to his expectations, things didn’t go smoothly.

In front of Bruce, who brought fourth-generation android sex modules and software, Johnson, the leader of Delaware’s biggest gangsters, clicked his tongue.

“Izoff, sorry but we’re overflowing with fourth-gen. No matter how much I play with them, my dick won’t get hard anymore.”

“Erectile dysfunction?”

CLICK!

A gun barrel was pressed against his forehead.

“Do you want to die?”

“I was just concerned. Wondering if I should give you some medicine.”

“You’re such a slippery bastard.”

Johnson lowered his gun. The law is far, but fists are near. Bruce pressed his lips together and made a slimy expression.

“So, you’re saying you won’t take modules anymore. What does that mean?”

“I’m saying I’m sick of them. Think about it. Only guys who’ve just started having sex enjoy prostitutes; if you’ve experienced women, you get bored quickly. Ah, maybe you don’t know since you’re a virgin?”

For a moment, a vein popped on his forehead, but he held back.

He didn’t care how the gang treated him. As long as he could send Eidel von Rheinland to hell, that was all that mattered.

“So, you won’t buy it?”

“If you want to sell fourth-gen or below, look elsewhere. Or…”

“Or?”

“Bring a fifth-generation android.”

Bruce clicked his tongue.

“Do you know how expensive fifth-gen is? Compared to fourth-gen, the price difference is astronomical!”

“But it’s worth it, right? I heard the skin and touch feel just like a real human, and the learning level is on a different dimension. They can even learn complex emotions like love-hate and reverence on their own.”

“That’s true.”

“Then you could make a cute maid who usually acts prickly but secretly gives you a hand job when you’re asleep, right? Kya, just thinking about it makes my pants bulge!”

Bruce cursed Johnson inwardly. What a vulgar bastard. It’s because of this that he can’t escape his bottom-feeding life.

“Fine. I’ll try to get one if I can.”

“Yeah, give it a shot. If I’m satisfied after trying it, we might take care of that Rheinland guy for you. Honestly, what’s a top ten family to us?”

Though he spoke such inadequate words, his skills were real. The organization he commanded handled numerous murder contracts.

As Bruce left the gang’s hideout, he spoke with Pina.

“Doctor, where are we going to get a fifth-generation android?”

“We don’t need to get one.”

“What?”

“We just need to steal one.”

Pina put her hand to her mouth and trembled.

“You’re not thinking of targeting that Rheinland person’s personal android, are you?”

“Are you stupid?! If I could do that, I might as well kill Rheinland directly——!!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Pina bowed her head.

Whoosh, the desert wind passed by, caressing her windbreaker.

“They say fifth-generation androids are almost like humans. So isn’t it the opposite?”

“What?”

“Can’t we just disguise a human as an android?”

Pina’s mouth fell open. Just then, Bruce was passing by a red-light district. His gaze turned to a prostitute with a good figure.

“Hmm.”

It was time for a change in perspective.

“Oh, wow.”

Pina saw many things in a few days. But she didn’t object. She didn’t think about robotics principles either.

This planet was too corrupt to think about rules and procedures. If there was one thing Pina had learned, it was that the frontier world was bitter even for androids.

“Is this enough?”

Thud.

Bruce brought a woman with an HCI to Johnson.

“Is this the fifth-generation android? Not a prostitute?”

“See for yourself.”

“…It must be. There’s a subtle silicon feel to the face. I know these things well from feeling women’s tits.”

“I’ll give you a wireless charger for free, so charge it once a week.”

Johnson fondled Bruce’s masterpiece and appreciated the moans. He smiled with satisfaction.

“Good, I’ll handle it as promised.”

***

One month after becoming an official graduate student.

With the Darwin forces’ movements slowing down, the researchers seemed to relax a bit.

“Our predictions were mostly wrong.”

“That’s fortunate. My wife’s birthday was this month, and I was anxious thinking the foreign gods might invade.”

“Still, we shouldn’t let our guard down yet.”

The researchers’ reactions varied. But they could roughly be divided into two groups: those who were relieved and those who were still worried.

I was naturally in the latter group.

The later the timing, the larger the invasion scale will be. The foreign god we’ll face this time is like that.

She never underestimates war. She’ll try to mobilize as many troops as possible.

CLASH!

Just then, lightning struck right in front of me.

Two cadets with Plasma Swords were crossing blades. Starlight flowed like waves. The flow of Aether circled the world.

WHOOSH!

A girl swings her sword. Her opponent blocks that path. The plasma from the two girls created a repulsive force. I could feel the hot heat on my skin.

Their confrontation intensifies. However, the exchange was one-sided. The attacks from the girl with golden ponytail increased in tempo.

CLANG, CLANG, CLAAANG——!!

Her hands move as fast as a tiger, and her feet intertwine like a snake.

SLASH!

Finally, the match was decided.

Unable to withstand the pressure of the sword, the opponent collapsed.

“Winner! Rustila von Rheinland!”

OOOOOOH!

I slightly covered my ears at the cheering.

Rustila, who had subdued her opponent in sword training, wiped away her sweat. She looked at me and waved. Following that, the cadets’ gazes turned to me.

“Wow, the head of the Rheinland family is here?”

“I heard he’s only focused on research, but he’s actually devoted to his wife.”

I laughed with a “hehe.”

There were two main reasons why I, who usually don’t leave the lab, was out getting some fresh air today.

First, today is the last day of the Military Department’s southern training.

Second, to make myself a target for assassins.

The second one is particularly important. If I stay in the lab, I’m more likely to be assassinated immediately. At least in an open space like this…

CLICK.

Just then, I feel the heavy sensation of metal at my waist.

No doubt about it. It’s a gun.

And at that, an old-fashioned firearm rarely used in this era. It must be an outdated revolver that’s only distributed on frontier planets.

“…Eidel von Rheinland.”

As if confirming that prediction, a man’s voice pierced my ear.