episode_0004

A week had passed since the bioware was forcefully inserted into my body.

They say it usually takes a fair amount of time to adapt to the sensation of moving foreign metal when first installing cyberware that replaces parts of the body, but perhaps because it was expensive bioware, I could move it as if it were my original body almost immediately.

Rather, I felt a significant increase in my strength and reaction speed, which made life more fulfilling, and I understood why people were so enthusiastic about body modifications.

‘Should I get synthetic artificial lungs and enhanced stomach procedures later?’

As I waited in the abandoned parking lot Luna had designated, lost in such thoughts, the sound of a vehicle engine reached me from afar.

In the darkness illuminated only by the neon signs, a special vehicle, clearly subjected to high-level modifications, approached the desolate, abandoned parking lot without even its headlights on, showing no signs of human presence.

Its exterior was covered in bulletproof armor capable of easily blocking assault rifles, and its windows were thickly coated, obscuring the interior.

The vehicle, a modified 6-seater pickup truck manufactured by Weber Development, smoothly glided to a stop before me.

Click. The lock disengaged, and the door opened.

“How have you been? Your muscle fibers aren’t filling with air, and your joints aren’t giving out, are they?”

“Don’t say such scary things the moment you see me. Anyway, did what I ordered arrive?”

“You’re such a pervert…”

Inside, Luna, with healthy-looking dark skin, greeted me.

I was happy to see Luna too, but putting everything else aside, I got into the bulletproof vehicle she was in and closed the door.

Inside the vehicle, there were three other people besides Luna and me.

“Are these your teammates?”

“That’s right.”

A man was in the driver’s seat, toying with a panel connected to the vehicle instead of a steering wheel, figuring out how to operate it as he guided the vehicle onto the road.

“You must be the rookie our leader mentioned, right? I’m Jay Q, the team’s Decker and Rigger.”

“I don’t know what role I’ll have, but for now, I’m John Doe, who’ll be working with you.”

John Doe. It’s originally a name like Hong Gil-dong, used for an unidentified person, but since my real name was Dojun, and everyone mistook “Jun Doe” for “John Doe,” I just introduce myself that way.

“So you don’t want to tell us your name?”

“No, it’s the name registered in the Eclipse Point population registry.”

When I directly transmitted my identification code, Jay Q burst out laughing, as if finding it hilarious.

“Hahaha! So there really was someone using a name like that. Ah, my bad. I’m not trying to make fun of you, I just truly couldn’t imagine it.”

“There are plenty of guys walking around with fiber optics embedded in their heads and LED parade lights constantly attached, so I don’t see why I should be ridiculed for my name.”

“Ah, I said I’m sorry.”

Jay Q was a hybrid runner, engaging in high-dimensional electronic warfare using a cyberdeck and controlling vehicles and drones.

Since there were plenty of people who could just shoot guns and swing plasma blade katanas around, I’d heard that technical specialists like him were quite valuable resources, both in the mercenary industry and from the perspective of corporations.

Whoosh—

Next to Jay Q, who had a rather lively personality, in the passenger seat was a fellow passenger whose appearance was quite grim, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female.

They wore a black robe that seemed to melt into the darkness, a suit plastered with equipment whose purpose and use were unknown, and from the gas mask-integrated visor that completely concealed their face, came a harsh hissing breath.

“This is Raleigh. They’re not much of a talker, but they’re a skilled sniper.”

“I see.”

Hiss—

I wondered if they weren’t talking because it was hard to breathe with the gas mask on, but I decided to let it go.

And finally…

“Oh. Nice to meet you, O-ni Chan. I am called Maid-o Guy.”

“Shit.”

I had been trying to ignore it, but the thick “O-ni Chan” pronunciation, like creeping chaos, burrowed in, and even though I had grown stronger, I couldn’t help but suffer internal damage.

As if playing a joke, a bald, muscular man in burly sunglasses was wearing a maid outfit and a hairband, carrying a large-caliber assault rifle.

The maid outfit screamed as if it would burst from his bulging muscles, and the thick, hairy legs extending from beneath the skirt were fatally shocking.

“This is Blake, our team’s Strong Soloist. He might look a bit funny, but his skills are solid, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Hey, Luna. You should speak clearly. He’s not just a bit funny, he’s freaking hilarious.”

“Hey, Motherfucker. Do not disregard the Maid-o.”

“‘Maid’ is English, you idiot.”

As if substituting for laughter, the magnificent Maid pointed the muzzle of his assault rifle at Jay Q’s head, who was making a squealing sound by slamming on the brakes, producing a series of screeches, squeal, squeal, squeal, squeal.

“Is this really going to be okay…?”

“Because you might be anxious. Even I, who’s retired, am coming along, aren’t I?”

“That’s truly reassuring…”

Somehow, Luna’s face seemed annoying, but I sank into the seat, wishing for the job to end quickly.

***

The Nexus Block, the central district of Eclipse Point, was a place I originally would have had no business visiting.

It was a wealthy district, alongside Japan Town in the Lower City, and for a Lower City area, it was considered well-protected by the EPSB.

Of course, that was only “for a Lower City area.”

It merely meant there were no entrenched gangs here, and petty criminals were apprehended immediately.

The security was such that powerful gangs were ready to rush in without hesitation if there was any money to be made, which was probably why Japan gangs wearing polyethylene haori were openly walking around.

Otherwise, perhaps the EPSB was intentionally leaving that gang, Neo Shinsengumi, alone.

“There are so many. I think I see about twenty of them.”

“Can you break through?”

“I’ll try, but don’t expect too much.”

As Jay Q manipulated the panel connected to his cyberdeck, the vehicle’s gears shifted instantly, and it began to accelerate rapidly.

Vroooom—

As the engine pulled the heavily armored vehicle, a roaring scream echoed through the entrance to the darkened Nexus Block, and only then did the Neo Shinsengumi, realizing the vehicle’s charge, fire their guns and push concrete barricades to block the road.

Ding-ding-ding—!

Lead bullets, deflected by the bulletproof plating, ricocheted with sparks, and each time a large-caliber round struck the bulletproof glass, cracks spread like a spiderweb, crack— crack—.

“Do these bastards even know how much it costs to install bulletproof glass?!”

Thump! Like a game of chicken, a Neo Shinsengumi member wearing a transparent polyethylene haori kept firing until the very end, only to be run over, his entire body twisted as he was sent flying. Despite the road being blocked by a barricade, the car didn’t slow down, causing the other gang members to throw themselves sideways and roll, seemingly flustered.

And then the car crashed into the barricade!

Crash! My body lifted briefly from the massive impact, then fell back down due to gravity, slamming into various parts of the vehicle.

“Uwaaaah!!!”

My vision spun, and Luna’s ridiculously huge breasts fell onto my body.

As my face buried deep into her chest, a subtly alluring scent, a mix of faint sweat and feminine skin, struck my senses.

“Grab your guns! The car flipped over!”

“I wonder if my neck isn’t broken…”

The seats seemed to be facing the sky, so it appeared the car had rolled several times.

Raleigh was the first to regain composure, aiming their high-velocity electromagnetic induction sniper rifle at the window and pulling the trigger.

Unlike conventional firearms, with a hum indicating power supply, an explosive sound burst forth, and an unseen projectile easily pierced the bulletproof glass, causing the head of an approaching Neo Shinsengumi member to vanish.

Without realizing its head was gone, it took a few more steps before collapsing to the ground, no longer moving.

Whoosh—

Once again, with that unique sound from the gas mask, Raleigh’s body vanished.

I blinked, and suddenly, the door was open, and three Neo Shinsengumi members lay with their hearts pierced.

Perhaps there was some cooldown, as Raleigh, who had instantly killed four people, paused briefly to catch their breath.

“Snap out of it! The car flipped, so we have to go in on foot now. Let’s shoot all those ignorant yellow monkeys and go to the client!”

Luna shouted at me, throwing a coat and a shotgun my way.

“It’ll block most bullets! Run!”

“Uh. Oh.”

Then, as Luna immediately dashed out of the car, I also rushed out and ran, dazed.

Blake was a step behind Raleigh but still emptied a magazine from his assault rifle coolly, then drew the monomolecular blade katana from his back and charged towards the Neo Shinsengumi.

The Japan-style dressed gang and the Maid with a katana clashed. Blake skillfully parried the katana thrusting from the front, then smoothly twisted his arm, severing the gang member’s neck.

Splatter!

A fountain of blood erupted, and droplets of blood rained down onto the floor.

Behind that, dots appeared on the foreheads of the plasma samurai who rushed in simultaneously.

Tat-tat-tat-tat! Small flying drones fired bullets that hit their foreheads, and perhaps because they also had bulletproof implants, their heads merely recoiled, but they weren’t instantly killed.

“Fucking Japanese Samurai! This is what happens when you challenge the Maid-o!”

As the monomolecular blade danced, showcasing divine swordsmanship, the momentarily stunned Neo Shinsengumi were dismembered into arms, legs, torsos, and heads, painting blood graffiti on the building walls.

In the midst of a battlefield where people died with every blink of an eye.

Although I was armed with subdermal bulletproof layers, a bulletproof coat, and a shotgun, I was closer to a mere background prop than an active participant.

Thinking that I wanted to quickly escape this space, filled with the mingled stench of sickening blood, gunpowder smoke, and burning protein, I began to run, following Luna.

“Stop!”

Just then, a hidden Neo Shinsengumi member lunged at Luna, who had run ahead, leaving the others behind, thrusting a chilling plasma blade towards her.

“Goddammit! Get lost!”

I immediately sped up and pulled the shotgun’s trigger, aiming at the jaw of the guy who was raising his katana above his head, ready to strike down.

Bang! True to the satisfying sound of the shot, the head of the obstacle blocking my path exploded, scattering fragments for several meters.

The Neo Shinsengumi member fell backward, still in the posture of having raised his katana.

Thump! Thump! I killed a person! I, who had never even killed an animal in a world where not even animals roamed, let alone people!

As I held my wildly beating heart, Luna patted my shoulder, pat-pat, and gave a thumbs-up.

“Excellent? That was good cover.”

“Ha… haha… I’m kind of awesome by nature.”

I finally realized that I had truly stepped into the world of mercenaries.