episode_0014

A piercing shriek—

Ear-splitting tinnitus randomly gouged through my mind, accompanied by a disgusting foreign sensation, as if two iron rods were jammed into my brain and stirred around.

Feeling as if something was continuously draining from my body, let alone any strength, I lay sprawled on the port’s cement floor, gazing at the wreckage of the completely exploded transport vehicle.

The civilian-grade cyberware, disguised as military-grade, had now turned into complete scrap metal, and the corpses of the corporate soldiers lay facing me, their agonizing faces revealed through their shattered visors.

‘Fuck… My body won’t move…’

Was this how I was going to die so absurdly? The thought that I shouldn’t have become a mercenary only now crossed my mind, as I forced my eyelids to blink, wiping my retinas to clear my blurry vision.

The combat assistance program corrected my vision, and things improved, at least a little.

Hellstream and the Rossboard Gang Alliance were still fighting to kill each other, even though the transport vehicle had already been destroyed, and the port was still thick with acrid gunpowder and the metallic scent of blood.

It would probably linger long after this war ended.

-“Trauma Team arrived. Commencing threat neutralization.”

-“Fuck! Who called Trauma Team here?! Shoot! Just shoot!”

The people eligible for insurance claims were already dead, but the Trauma Team, clad in white military exoskeletons, arrived a step too late, and the sound of them slaughtering the gangs with overwhelming firepower from the port entrance could be heard.

‘Fucking bastards… Why couldn’t they have come sooner…’

How good would it have been if they had arrived before the transport vehicle was utterly destroyed by high-explosive ordnance?

Since the cyberware was completely obliterated, that Hellstream leader ‘Tin Can’ would surely be tearing his hair out and wailing, but combining what the platoon leader said with the situation inside, this ‘black case’ must be the real deal anyway.

If I can just deliver what’s in my possession, the corporation’s wrath won’t be unleashed upon Rossboard.

Those Hellstream tin cans should be thanking me.

[Software Update 0.12%…]

There was something strange floating in front of my eyes, but it must just be time for the combat assistance program’s remote update. I felt my vision dimming again and lost consciousness.

***

Trauma Team defines a threat to an insured client as any armed entity above a certain level within a 100-meter radius. Therefore, the targets of the Trauma Team that appeared at Rossboard Port currently include not only the Rossboard Gang Alliance, who were trying to raid the already exploded transport vehicle, but also Hellstream.

“What a dog-shit situation..!!”

Rossboard Port had become a three-way battle due to the sudden intrusion of Trauma Team. The port’s sky was covered by various news agency drones, documenting a war of a scale unseen in Eclipse Point for years.

Live broadcasts of the gang war at Rossboard Port were advertised on free channels, and Eclipse Point’s paid news channel revenue surged by 1,352% compared to the previous day. Furthermore, lottery channels quickly started sports betting on which faction would win, along with explanations of the factions, and newspapers friendly to specific corporations zoomed in on the cyberware products of their respective companies worn by the active combatants for product placement, while Trauma Team’s overwhelming performance caused a flood of inquiries about insurance consultations.

It was a world where someone else’s life-or-death struggle became another’s profit.

Hellstream’s leader, Ricardo “Bello” Sanchez, ground his chrome-replaced teeth in this situation.

“Boss! If we stay like this, the Enforcers will come!”

“I know! Damn it, it’s like they only thought about saving money because we were helping with the escort, sending only useless corporate soldiers, and now the truck is completely wrecked… This is utterly screwed!”

From the start, it’s impossible for eight soldiers to cover the transport of such expensive goods. They must have sent such a bare-bones setup, intending to save money to the extreme, knowing Hellstream would have no choice but to help.

“No choice. Everyone, withdraw!”

Ricardo’s command was received on the linked Hellstream common channel, and dozens of chrome-enhanced troops scattered in perfect unison, attempting to exit Rossboard Port.

With the gang alliance currently caught by Trauma Team, now was the best opportune moment to escape this battlefield. It was fortunate that the sacrifices of their families had stopped at around a dozen, but Ricardo, unable to predict the repercussions of this incident, found himself clutching his chrome head, which was incapable of headaches.

Then, the young man who had come from the central district came to mind.

“Oh, right. Didn’t that guy come along here too? I saw him flying around a few minutes ago, but where is he?”

Ricardo looked around for the young man named John Doe, who had shown an impressive performance by instantly blowing up dozens of gang members with a precious smash grenade.

Although he wasn’t family, he was a newcomer they had just met, yet he had jumped into the battlefield to help their family, and his perfect handling of chrome was appealing.

If Hellstream endured, he could be treated as an honorary family member even if he didn’t formally join.

*Whirring* His ‘El Spartan’ Regina eye quickly scanned the battlefield, searching Ricardo’s facial database and selecting the individual matching John Doe.

And he found him, collapsed beside the transport vehicle, which was exploding and spewing flames and black smoke.

Checking vital signs. Alive.

“Damn!”

Ricardo tore off the bulletproof makeshift wall he had set up, covered himself like a shield, and immediately ran towards him.

He had sustained severe burns on areas not covered by chrome enhancements, but it seemed his internal organs weren’t heavily damaged due to internal protective plating.

However, he appeared to have severe concussion and was unconscious.

“Boss! Get out of here quickly!”

“You go first! I’ll save this guy and then go!”

“Damn it… Just don’t die and come back!”

As even the last remaining family member, who had been providing cover, ran to exit the battlefield, a rain of bullets, intensifying as if racing towards the end, grazed Ricardo’s chrome in several places.

This much wasn’t a problem, but in a battlefield where even high-level, heavily chromed Ricardo was threatened by the types of bullets flying, there was no time to hesitate.

In Ricardo’s ‘El Spartan’ Regina eye, a sewer manhole, located on the side of a path made from abandoned, neglected, and oxidized cargo containers, was reflected.

***

Various urban legends exist about Eclipse Point’s sewers.

Well, there are rumors, like the extension of a foolish treasure hunt, about hidden chipsets containing enormous amounts of electronic credits left behind by legendary mercenaries who once operated in Eclipse Point.

Or the quite realistic rumors about grotesque bioweapons, born from genetic modifications created and then discarded by megacorps, living in groups.

An immense number of urban legends, like the one about white alligators living there.

This indirectly indicates that hardly anyone knows proper information about the interior of the sewers.

Ughhh…!!!

Forget about those rumors; the sewers are just incredibly disgusting, incredibly dirty, and incredibly smelly.

It couldn’t be anything else, as it was a place where millions of people’s domestic wastewater and corporate waste gathered.

Guhhh…!!!

“Hahaha! It’s much more comfortable if you have some kind of sensory filter installed, friend!”

“Fuck..! It’s so..! Ughhh…!!!”

Regardless of whether I could move or not, the stench of the sewers was truly magnificent in its ability to force my body upright.

It was so strong that it permeated my skin and even made the digesting food in my stomach smell like shit.

Only after retching everything out did I feel ‘a little’ better, and carefully avoided breathing through my nose as much as possible, looking at the Hellstream leader ‘Tin Can’.

“So… this is why I’m in this fucked-up place…”

“Should I have just left you there?”

“Not that, but thinking this shitty smell will cling to my body for weeks, even after washing, it almost makes me think it would be better to just die.”

I’ll probably be banned from Luna’s shop until the smell fades.

I guess I should look for a power cleaner for showers or something.

[Software Update 1.45%…]

Given that this hologram box, which won’t disappear from my sight, is still there, it seems I haven’t fallen to hell yet.

Not that it was a relief.

“…So, what happened with the war?”

“Trauma Team arrived, and the truck we were supposed to protect exploded and vanished, so we just let them fight amongst themselves and ran. Now we’re going to be hunted by the corporation, so why would we keep fighting there for someone else’s benefit?”

It seems what I saw before losing consciousness wasn’t just my imagination. It would be best if the transport vehicle exploding was just my imagination, but at least I survived, so that’s enough. Though that ‘Tin Can’ who has to lead Hellstream was staring blankly into the air with his mechanical eyes, looking conflicted.

“Haha. You should be thanking me. You know?”

“Want to become an honorary family member?”

“What’s that? Anyway, listen. Actually, the information about moving expensive cyberware was just to hide something that needed to be transported more discreetly.”

“What did you say?”

The ‘Tin Can’ showed a reaction that seemed to reveal surprising emotion despite its mechanical face.

“I heard this information from those soldiers who are no longer in this world, so it’s probably true. Plus, I went inside the truck myself.”

“You disappeared after suddenly using a smash grenade, and you were inside there? That’s surprising.”

“Anyway, listen to this audio file.”

When I played the audio contract for the ‘Tin Can’ named Ricardo “Bello” Sanchez, he crossed his arms, looking intrigued.

“They’re suddenly offering military-grade cyberware? Suspicious.”

“More importantly, they’re saying to secure the ‘black case,’ no matter what happens to the cyberware.”

It’s clearly stating that it’s far more valuable than ‘mere’ military-grade cyberware.

In reality, there wasn’t any military-grade cyberware inside, so it might have just been a scam, but even civilian-grade cyberware isn’t cheap, so it must mean it’s more precious than all that cyberware combined, even to a money-crazed corporation.

“The corporation’s goal is this black case, so if it can be properly delivered, it means the corporation won’t specifically target Rossboard.”

“Oh! Friend, I believed in you from the start! Damn it!”

As if seeing a way out, the cheering Ricardo ‘Tin Can’ grabbed my hand and shook it wildly up and down.

My strength wasn’t weak, but I couldn’t possibly overcome the strength of someone modified with chrome, so my arm swayed limply like a branch.

“Anyway, if only I have this…”

I took out the black cuboid box from my pocket, which was called the ‘black case’.

More accurately, it *had been* a cuboid box.

The black case that the platoon leader had confidently blabbered about having nine-layer security was completely crushed into powder.

“Uh.”

“Oh, fuck.”

The red glow in Ricardo ‘Tin Can’s eyes must have been my imagination.