Ch.71[Chapter 71] Operation: S.P.Y

“Why did you suddenly put on fox ears?”

“Well, my father told me to become a fox…”

“Correction. Saying you’re like a fox doesn’t mean become a fox.”

“Clarification. Saying ‘fox’ doesn’t literally mean become a fox, but to become cunning like a fox.”

“Ugh…”

Sir Dominic asked Hime about her sudden impulsive behavior.

Hime had only been following her father’s words, but after hearing the two Zeros’ explanation, she realized she had misunderstood and acted incorrectly.

Tzsuki, with a reddened face, was banging her head against the wall, paying the price for her misunderstanding.

“So, if we clear this event stage, we get a skin?”

“With mount equipment too?”

Meanwhile, Dr. Banshee and Phantom were able to get detailed explanations about the stage rewards from the coders.

“To be precise, it’s drawn by lottery among those who clear the stage…”

“We’re concerned there might be leftover inventory.”

The coders explained kindly with bright smiles across their faces.

Seeing these questions, they were certain these people would play their masterpiece.

They were running their happiness circuits at maximum capacity.

“By the way, seeing how you say ‘Operation: S.P.Y’ with pauses, what does that acronym stand for?”

Sir Dominica, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, immediately asked when the question came to mind.

“It’s exactly as you say.”

The coder wearing multiple stacked hats answered.

“Steam Punk Yeomans. It’s an expansion of a new world setting.”

“It’s also an acronym for ‘Susanghaljungdoro Perzuneun Yivent’ (Suspiciously Generous Event). Shortened to S.P.Y. It was the temporary name we first gave it.”

“…Wouldn’t that abbreviate to ‘S.P.E’?”

“The team leader who planned the event is from a rural area. He pronounced it something like ‘Ssang-hal jeung-do-ro Pa-ju-neun I-ben-teu.'”

The coders scraped together all available information to keep the gathered people interested.

“So, would you like to try our event stage?”

“We’re giving away so much! It’s so fun!”

The coder in bunny girl costume and the one wearing multiple hats struck ridiculous poses, showing their determination to succeed in their sales pitch.

“…Since they’re going this far, should we give it a try?”

Phantom, who had the softest heart, asked the gathered people.

“We came here to experience the event stage in the first place.”

“That’s right. The general election event was a bit much.”

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica expressed their agreement.

“Father said it’s good to experience event stages at least once.”

“Hmm.”

Hime and Tzsuki, having recovered from their confusion, also agreed.

The Zeros would follow the doctors’ decisions anyway, so it was as good as everyone accepting.

“Really? No changing your minds?”

“No quitting halfway and cursing us?”

The coders cheered and shouted with joy.

Their creation was that precious to them.

“We’ll send you to the event stage right away. It’ll definitely be fun. Of course it will. Look who made it.”

“It’s still a pilot project so the content might be a bit sparse, but you’ll definitely enjoy it.”

The coder with the hat opened a window in mid-air, manipulated something, and a portal appeared before them.

Intricate gears rotated around its edges, with steam occasionally puffing out from brass pipes.

“Follow me! First participants of the event stage, enter!”

The coder in bunny girl costume hopped like a rabbit into the portal.

No, the portal moved and swallowed the four pairs of people.

Without time to prepare, Sir Dominic felt a strange, undulating sensation as he floated through the portal.

How much time had passed?

Finally, Sir Dominic reached the end of the portal and set foot on solid ground.

Looking around, he saw that the others had arrived at similar times, all standing on the ground after crossing the portal.

Except for Dr. Banshee and Phantom. They tripped over a rock and fell as soon as they exited the portal.

The coders deliberately ignored Banshee and Phantom’s mishap and welcomed everyone to the stage with cheerful voices.

“Welcome! To the world of Operation: S.P.Y!”

“From now on, you’ll be solving a major story in this steampunk world setting.”

The coders, holding hands and raising them to the sky, continued.

“From now on, you’ll be divided into two groups for your activities.”

“One group will exercise direct force. And the other group will need to succeed in an infiltration mission.”

“A massive scale connecting outside and inside! A fun structure that requires cooperation!”

The two coders, unable to contain their excitement, held each other’s hands and performed waltz steps.

“The story is simple. You’ll become Luddytants and overthrow the Steam Empire ruled by the dictator M.A.N.I.A.C.”

“Can M.A.N.I.A.C, with his malfunctioning circuits, stop you? Can you overthrow this dictatorship and open a new world?”

“Ah, isn’t it exciting just thinking about it?”

“Truly, 13 writers are still being confin— I mean, working hard for this scenario!”

The coders, now completely excited, spoke without even paying attention to Sir Dominic’s party.

Then, Dr. Banshee and Phantom tilted their heads and asked.

“Luddytants? Is that related to the Luddite movement?”

“I guess it’s combined with ‘resistance’?”

“Ah, I love it when people find the pieces we’ve hidden.”

“I know. It really feels like they appreciate our hard work.”

The two coders pulled handkerchiefs from their pockets and wiped away tears of emotion.

“Isn’t the name clever? Being able to use ‘spy’ for an infiltration mission.”

The coder in bunny girl costume said.

“So, when do we start? It sounds fun, but the explanation is too vague. I think it would be faster to learn as we go.”

Sir Dominica grumbled.

Sir Dominic didn’t express it outwardly, but he inwardly agreed with Sir Dominica.

“…Is that so. Alright. Let’s start right away.”

“Ah. Since it’s a pilot project, the teams will be decided randomly. Good luck everyone.”

The coders, dejected that their ambitious explanation hadn’t been well-received, assigned people to each team.

Sir Dominic was the first.

Arriving in a new space, Sir Dominic landed on a luxurious velvet sofa.

“Where is this?”

Rising from the sofa, Sir Dominic looked around.

The space was filled with brass objects and portraits of high-ranking officials with eyes weary from life but smiling mouths.

After checking the door in the wall, Sir Dominic approached it and tried turning the handle.

Whether the door wasn’t meant to open yet or couldn’t be opened at all, it didn’t budge.

“This seems to be a waiting room.”

Sir Dominic recalled the space where people were made to wait when entering Area 3.

This seemed to be a similar space.

Just then, someone fell onto the velvet sofa behind him.

Not one person, but one person and one entity.

“Ugh, couldn’t they send us to new locations more stably?”

“New location entry. Scanning surroundings.”

A boy with short, curly brown hair and emerald eyes.

A crescent-shaped metal body with a large jewel-like lens.

Phantom and the parallel world Zero.

Soon a new figure appeared, who, seeing Phantom still unable to get off the sofa, twisted his body and landed beside the sofa.

A light metal helmet and two swords.

The wandering swordsman Tzsuki had also joined Sir Dominic’s team.

Then the rest must be on the opposite side.

While thinking this, the door that had definitely been locked opened, and the coder in bunny girl costume appeared.

“Team assignments are complete. Now I’ll tell you what your team needs to do.”

The coder, smiling brightly as if her previous dejection had been a lie, explained the mission.

“From now on, you need to create chaos outside. The other team needs a gap to infiltrate the empire’s center, the dictator’s residence.”

“The dictator will surely send troops to subdue you. You need to fight those troops until the other team completes their mission and escapes.”

“You’ll enjoy it. We’ve put in various gimmicks. For your side and the opposing side.”

“Since it’s your first time, here’s a hint: almost everything around you can be interacted with. Use them well.”

“That concludes the briefing. Ah, would anyone like to get more into the mood? We can lend you clothes that match the world setting.”

Sir Dominic’s team looked at each other blankly.

Right. Since they’d decided to enjoy the event, getting more into the mood would be good.

Sir Dominic, Tzsuki, Phantom, and the parallel world Zero almost simultaneously looked at the coder and nodded.

A moment later, Sir Dominic’s team gathered back in the waiting room, now dressed in attire fitting the steampunk world setting.