Ch.2Final Work Log – A Very Minor Rule Violation (2)

After disconnecting from Stephanet, I immediately access the security line connected to nearby security team members. I could just talk directly, but if I wanted to use Stephanet flexibly, it was better to connect to the line.

Whoever was beyond that corridor, their goal was to overload our communications and quietly sneak into the research wing. Thanks to remembering one troublesome colleague, I was able to anticipate their plan somewhat in advance.

I didn’t need to guess their objective. Either they were environmental extremists coming to release bioweapons from the A3 Biology Laboratory, or corporate spies pretending to be such… That’s something to consider after capturing them.

I take a deep breath. Perhaps due to the excessive communication traffic within the company, there was significant noise and interference even on the security channel. The same level of confusion and static must be churning in the employees’ minds as well. I needed to speak.

“Shepherd One, this is Shepherd Six. Would it be better if I provided a brief situation report?”

The security channel buzzed with activity, but that was due to the high volume of communications from those handling the incident in the employee wing. There was no anxious whispering on our security channel. Anxiety is an emotion that breeds inefficiency.

“Shepherd Six. Finally connected. You’re the one who reported this, and right now we can’t send reports up to the Shepherd and back down. You brief and command. Temporary command authority granted. Confirm.”

Shepherd was the call sign for the security team leader. As soon as his voice command ended, I heard a request to accept command authority, and I raised my finger over the virtual confirmation window to confirm.

The sound of me taking another deep breath apparently went through the microphone.

“Shepherd Six, Shepherd Six. Relax. You’re a good employee. A good security team member.”

The pressure dissolved in the trust conveyed by those words. With that trust, I vocalized what I had organized in my mind.

“Security Division 4, Shepherd Six reporting. Currently, eleven terrorists are waiting inside the employee corridor. It seems their intention is to draw attention with the employee wing terror attack that’s triggering the current alarm, then infiltrate the research wing. The A3 Biology Laboratory containment door…”

“It was sealed with the alarm! Same for the other research wings!”

At least it would take those guys quite some time to break through our Security Division 4 and then breach the research wing’s containment doors.

I was worried that the alarm might alert them to our response, but from their perspective, even the alarm was part of their plan.

Then the terrorists would… likely wait for the moment when the security division guarding the research wing entrance had reduced numbers after dispatching personnel to deal with the employee wing terror attack. They would wait a bit longer.

They wouldn’t consider the possibility of us striking first.

There were five locations connected to the employee corridor where they were hiding. That’s a decent number for an employee corridor.

Although it was called an employee corridor, it was actually a passage that allowed security team members with guns to move around the company without making other regular employees uncomfortable with their firearms.

If we spread out and pushed in simultaneously from four entrances… no, that wouldn’t work. There’s a risk of crossfire, and moving around the company in small groups in this situation could make us suspicious to other security team members.

I briefly display the entrance map on my screen and scan it visually. If we close off corridors leading to entrances 1, 3, and 4, then from this entrance 5 to entrance 2 would be a straight line.

“I’ll block security staff corridors 1, 3, and 4 to make the corridor a straight line, then drive the enemy infiltration team toward entrance 2. After that, if we also seal entrance 2, we should be able to capture them cleanly. Stephanet, turn off all the emergency lights in the employee corridor and then seal entrances 1, 3, and 4.”

It was a textbook, basic tactic. I wasn’t someone with exceptional tactical insight. I only had enough ability to execute what I’d been taught, and I was well aware of that fact.

Without needing my order, everyone activated the infrared vision function in their artificial eyes. We gathered at the employee entrance, which was as wide as a two-lane road, in front of the research wing entrance that was about the size of a small neighborhood.

I grip the end of the barrel cover with one hand and prepare to enter. After taking another deep breath, I speak.

“Neutralize them as much as possible but don’t kill them. They’ll have more information about this incident than the ones creating a diversion outside, and we’ll send them to the information processing team to scrape everything out of their cerebral matter.”

Muted voices of confirmation sound through the security channel. I briefly look toward the section chief. Sensing that I was about to return command authority, he shakes his head. He meant for me to see it through to the end.

“Shepherd Four. Prepare to open the door. I’ll take point for entry. Stephanet, start sealing entrance 2 the moment the first shot is fired.”

“Understood, Shepherd Six. You’re clear to enter.”

Through the infrared vision overlaid on the door, I could see shallow ripples. Whatever was inside, they were at least human.

A moment of silence begins. Shepherd Four extends three fingers and folds them one by one. Three, two, one… and as the last finger folds, the reader by the door scans his employee badge and the door opens with a clean sound.

I could have asked Stephanet to open it, but when AI opens doors, warning lights flash first to prevent accidents, so having a person open it directly was much quieter and cleaner.

Silhouettes with completely human forms began to appear in my vision. If they had cybernetic implants, those parts would appear as slightly darker shapes in the infrared vision, but the infrared showed their entire bodies.

They were Purists, who often take strange pride in having completely unmodified bodies. That meant they wouldn’t have even minimal life support systems, so capturing them alive would require extra effort.

The one wearing Francis’s security team uniform raises his gun first. He was slow. Definitely Purists without any enhancements.

I put one bullet in his wrist where there was no protection, and another in his thigh where his loose pants were flapping. Thanks to the noise cancellation function, I couldn’t hear his screams.

They did have pistols or crude homemade firearms, but their armament was too weak for an infiltration team.

Wouldn’t it be better to give proper weapons to the infiltration team even if they threw the others outside as cannon fodder?

Well, if they were capable of thinking that far, they wouldn’t have broken into a mega-corporation… especially Belwether, a defense contractor.

Purists are weak to pain. It was easy enough to neutralize them with single shots to the knees, making them writhe on the floor.

But those eleven weren’t scattering to escape—they were gathering in one place.

They seemed to be protecting someone. If they had a secret weapon but weren’t enhanced humans covered in implants, it was obvious what it would be. A mutant. The section chief at the rear with a sniper rifle must have sensed the same thing and shouted.

“There’s a mutant in the middle! Take care of that one first. Don’t let the witch live!”

Ten meat shields and one mutant. They hadn’t come completely unprepared. As we cleared away the meat shields in front with bullets, the woman between them bulged her eyes and spat out a phrase as if reciting an incantation.

“No, everyone stop.”

Strangely, my movement wasn’t impaired. I was about to pause in case it was a mutant that could cause hallucinations, when my duty assistance AI began outputting emotionlessly. I suppressed a laugh.

“Visual neural system disruption signal has been blocked by your visor. Eliminate the target.”

Belwether is quite farsighted. The expression of the woman who had extended her hand turned to terror. I pulled the trigger. I pressed down on the recoil with the hand gripping the barrel cover. That was the extent of my sentiment.

Now the mutant was no longer a threat. The source of her mental interference ability—her eyes—had been neutralized.

When even their last resort was neutralized by a layer of coating applied to Belwether’s standard-issue helmets, only then did the terrorists begin to flee in panic. Their screams were consumed by the noise cancellation function.

I aim for their hamstrings and pull the trigger. I step on and crush wrists that are crawling on the floor trying to grab guns.

Of the eleven, only two were killed—the one wearing Francis’s uniform and the mutant. I switch the control lever to safety and speak.

“Situation resolved. Shepherd One, please report to the Shepherd. Tell him we’ve captured all the infiltrators and will send them to the information processing team to scrape everything out of their heads. These guys, that is…”

I grab one of them who’s lying face down on the floor with a bullet in his knee, and turn his body over. I grab his employee uniform shirt and tear it open on both sides.

Underneath was a t-shirt with an organization name. Either they weren’t afraid of being discovered or they were the stupidest terrorists in this city.

“They seem to be from ‘Natural Humans are Beautiful.’ That looks like their organization name. There’s also a possibility it’s a false flag. We don’t have room in this city for idiots who send in infiltration teams wearing t-shirts with their organization name.”

But the terrorist in my grip snorted. As if finding my words hilarious, he grinned and then looked me straight in the eyes.

He had the expression of someone who had been waiting to deliver the only counter-punch possible after being completely subdued.

“Infiltration team? We’re the rescue team, you sheep-skewer bastard. The infiltration team would have been inside since early evening. If I’d known this would happen, I would have brought more kids…”

After stabilizing my fist with the anti-tremor function, I brought down my carbon fiber-reinforced fist on his face. After confirming his nose bridge was crushed, I turned around.

Beyond the security staff entrance we had come through, the A3 Biology Laboratory’s containment door was opening. Something that shouldn’t be opening yet was already opening. There wouldn’t be time to report to the Shepherd.

If what comes out of there is the real infiltration team, they’ll have proper firepower. When did they get in there? Did they disguise themselves as researchers from the beginning? There was no way to know how many there were.

Seeing my expression contort with confusion, the section chief raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk and said:

“Return command authority, Shepherd Six. I’ll leave the terrorist rescue team to you, but let me claim my share too.”

“Ah, yes. Command authority returned. Voice confirmation. Returned.”

There was about a 2-minute window before the containment door would fully open. Leaving the already neutralized and disarmed terrorists locked in the security staff corridor, our entire Security Division 4 headed to the corridor in front of the A3 Biology Research Wing.

An unpleasant smell of blood came through the opening door. We had already failed our security duty. After all, we had failed to protect the scientists who were likely the source of that blood smell. So we at least needed to handle the aftermath properly.

But engaging in a firefight in an open corridor without cover was inefficient and dangerous. The section chief surely knew this too. He replaces the magazine in his sniper rifle and calls Stephanet.

“Stephanet, set up five barriers at every second number starting from A corridor 139, and five more starting from 338. Also request backup from the Shepherd, and check what’s currently in the A3 Biology Lab. If there’s a possibility of escape, relay it to all of Division 4, understand? Good.”

Now only he could hear Stephanet’s voice. But it didn’t take long to figure out what his order meant.

With the smooth sound of mechanical motors operating, temporary barriers began to rise from the corridor floor, which had seemed to be divided like tiles. This was something I’d never seen before despite working here.

The section chief was a sniper. He had even replaced one eye with a sniper-specific artificial eye, and the gun he used was closer to a designated marksman rifle. Moreover, the rear would be best for assessing the situation and giving directions.

After swallowing my tension and fear with another deep breath, I spoke.

“May I take point? A3 was my assigned area, and Shepherd Seven who shared the assignment isn’t here right now. I’d be the best person to check if any researchers survived and might run out.”

And… if I wanted to avoid thinking that this incident happened because I had overlooked minor violations, taking point would make me feel most at ease. The section chief let out a hollow laugh.

“Hey, Shepherd Six. Are you aiming for the youngest section chief position? But… you have a point. Shepherd Six takes point. We’ve received a response to our backup request. The Border Collie guys from Perimeter Security Division 2 are coming. We just need to hold out until then!”

The fact that even the perimeter security guards were coming meant this situation was bigger than expected.

Thinking that if they called themselves a rescue team, the ten who snuck in here might actually be the ones who were thrown away, I squeezed myself into a temporary barrier with a direct view of the A3 Biology Laboratory’s containment door, which was all too familiar.

The tension rises endlessly. I feel my breathing becoming increasingly rapid, and I slow my breath again following the pace of the breathing assistance guide that my AI has begun to output. I unlock the control lever all the way to automatic.

With my shoulder switched to allow maximum concealment behind the barrier, I wait for the containment door to fully open.

This was neither quite the everyday routine of a defense contractor’s security team, nor was it particularly rare.

But then, from inside the half-opened containment door came an inhuman howl. It was made by a human but wasn’t a human voice.

Whatever was making that howl was… too bizarre to be human. It was the sound of scratching one’s throat until it bled.

The volume of the voice wasn’t normal either. It was too loud to be made by a human. Stephanet’s voice rang in my head, as if trying to quell my anxiety.

“Security Division 4, I’ve received data from the research team. What’s currently in the A3 Biology Research Wing is an experimental subject for performance improvement of the Posthuman IV enhanced body. The records were cut off during experiments to enhance regenerative abilities.”

The Posthuman series was Belwether’s flagship enhanced body model. Eyes that didn’t need aiming assistance, combat endurance that formed a membrane as soon as a wound appeared, and superhuman physical abilities.

I had seen advertisements countless times claiming that anyone could become a superhuman soldier just by inserting their brain into that enhanced body.

“From what’s marked as ‘scheduled for disposal,’ it seems they were planning to extract just the brain to preserve the experimental subject while disposing of the body, but it appears to have escaped. Don’t stop firing until it’s completely neutralized. The regenerative enhancement experiment itself seems to have been successful.”

Quiet confirmations came from all directions. Something that is human but not human will emerge. If the regenerative ability has begun to see even aging as damage to be regenerated, a horrific flesh monster will emerge.

The section chief’s voice came through the security channel. Despite the considerable distance between us, his voice was clear.

“Shepherd Six, have you used your issued flash grenades?”

“No, sir. I’m still carrying them connected in pairs as per the manual. Should I use them?”

“I’ll have to tell the other bastards to learn from you… Throw them in as soon as the containment door fully opens.”

The double containment door was now about two-thirds open. At that moment, a hand that was too large and sharp-tipped to be human—like that of a gigantism patient—shot out from inside the containment door past the iron bars and shook them. I couldn’t tell what they had created.

His voice seemed to be trying to say something, but even his vocal cord tears were apparently considered wounds to be treated, and it quickly turned into howling. If I threw the flash grenade now, it might get caught on the bars.

The containment door takes quite a while to open, but the barred gate opens instantly. With my rifle slung by its strap, I hold only the flash grenade and wait. Meanwhile, the experimental subject inside brings its face to the bars.

Under the red light appeared a face that seemed to have melted and stuck together… yet still retained a human form in a horrific way. No intelligence could be felt from that face. It was filled only with hatred for the red light flashing from the ceiling.

While what was once called “he” was shaking the bars, the containment door fully opened and the barred gate was instantly sucked into the wall as if being absorbed.

His hand that had been attached to the barred gate was also pulled toward the wall and crushed, but it immediately began to regenerate while writhing. That… is not normal.

Seeing this, I immediately threw the flash grenade into the containment door. The virtual aiming line showed where the grenade would land based on the force in my arm, so choosing the landing spot was easy.

But the Posthuman IV enhanced body was more impressive than we thought. No, its movements were too bizarre to be the performance of a normal enhanced body.

In the brief moment between the flash grenade bouncing once on the ground and detonating, it had already rushed up to me.

Its disproportionately elongated hands looked just like forelegs, and it took less than a second for it to plant those limbs on the ground and leap forward until its face was visible just fifteen centimeters away.

I should keep holding my gun. At this close range, I could pour bullets into it on full automatic without even aiming.

I tried to lower my hand to the rifle slung on my shoulder strap, but before I could lower my hand, its enlarged foreleg pierced through the temporary barrier. Not just the barrier.

There was the smell of blood in the breath I exhaled from the pressure. I tried to inhale, but I could feel the air leaving my lungs without entering. My heart was beating irregularly, off-beat. It felt like my chest had been pierced.

The voice in my head was so loud it felt like my skull would vibrate. It was probably the duty assistance AI.

“Life support system activating. Administering painkillers and preservation fluid. Stay alert. If there is no additional damage, you can maintain activity for about 3 minutes. Move to a safe…”

I might have been able to go if my chest wasn’t impaled by the bioengineered monstrosity’s claw. Fortunately, as the painkillers kicked in and blue preservation fluid began to flow through my head instead of blood, my body started moving again.

It was opening and closing its mouth as if mocking me, or perhaps trying to speak somehow. No voice came out. Even its eyes were repeatedly being covered by flesh and then barely managing to open their eyelids.

Strength finally returned to my limp hand. The preservation fluid was somehow maintaining my motor abilities in place of the blood that my heart should be pumping throughout my body. I pull out a grenade from my waist.

I remove the safety pin using the ring at my waist, and with my clenched fist, I shoved it into its mouth.

I did feel something sharp pressing against me, but thanks to the high-concentration painkillers injected from the device at the back of my neck, I couldn’t feel anything. I pulled my arm out. It seems I left my hand inside.

The painkillers made my head dizzy, bringing only a sense of unreality and haziness. It began to choke, not knowing what it had swallowed, and around the fourth or fifth choke… it exploded.

Of course, since it still had me impaled on its claw, my head jerked back significantly and the surrounding scenery momentarily receded.

After that, I couldn’t clearly feel anything. I vaguely sensed it writhing in pain, trying to remove my body that wouldn’t come off its claw.

Ah, one more thing. I think I cursed about how the Border Collies and the response team are always the quickest to leave work. Maybe I just thought that, though.

My eyes didn’t close, but my vision instantly darkened like a building’s lights during a power failure. Had the 3 minutes passed? Even my sense of time sank into the darkness of my mind, like a display that had been turned off.