episode_0029

On the table, empty liquor bottles and glasses were scattered messily.

“So I, you know, with that bastard back then… *hiccup*.” Titan, slurring his words, rambled on with a story, whether a past heroic feat or a boast, before finally slamming his head onto the table.

Doctor, next to him, had long since collapsed and wasn’t even twitching.

‘Was there a setting about her being good at drinking?’

Yuna, who had consumed several bottles of strong liquor, was perfectly fine, not even a single cheek flushed.

She sipped the remaining liquor, smiling.

“I called Lazer, but he didn’t even show up.” Titan, who had been resting his head on the table, suddenly lifted his head and spoke.

“It’s because he’s upset he lost. *Tsk*, petty guy.” He slammed his head back onto the table.

Inwardly, it seemed he was disappointed that Lazer wasn’t there.

“We’re heading in first. We don’t have any missions for a while, so I guess we should rest well.” Titan gathered Doctor and left the lounge.

Now, only Yuna and I remained at the table.

Silence flowed.

“Shall we head in too, gradually?”

“Yes. It was a pleasant time.”

After getting up, we walked side-by-side.

As if displeased by my drunken staggering, Yuna supported me and cut across the artificial park, the quickest route to the dormitory.

“Oh.”

My stumbling foot caught on something, and I lost my balance.

Just as my body tilted forward and I was about to fall flat onto the ground, Yuna stretched out an arm to catch me.

But she, too, couldn’t bear my weight and lost her balance with me.

“Ugh.”

Perhaps thanks to the soft grass, it didn’t hurt.

Moreover, with me underneath, Yuna seemed to be largely unharmed.

“Are you okay?”

Whether due to my impaired perception from alcohol, for a few seconds, I couldn’t properly grasp what had touched my face.

I just had the foolish thought that something soft and warm was on my face.

“Why is your face so red?”

Yuna’s face had turned beet red up to her neck, and around us, I could hear the sounds of grass insects and a pounding heartbeat.

“Ah, it’s nothing. It’s just the alcohol suddenly hitting me.”

‘Wow.’

Only then did my gaze shift to what was pressed against my face.

Perhaps the black dress was cut quite low; at the soft curve, I unconsciously swallowed hard.

“Sorry.”

I apologized unconsciously and quickly sat up.

Then, Yuna, who had been frozen on top of me, also hurriedly got up and straightened her posture.

“Y-you can go in alone, right? I’ll go first. You go in carefully too.”

She stammered her words and quickly disappeared.

“Soft?”

I touched my face, recalling that sensation once more, and headed towards my dormitory.

As soon as I entered the room, I collapsed onto the bed.

********

The next morning, only a heavy silence hung in Lazer’s private room.

With hollow eyes, as if he hadn’t slept all night, he stared intensely at the damage report displayed on the holographic screen.

A gruesome sight: his left arm and right leg completely severed.

Repairs would undoubtedly require considerable time and expense.

‘What the hell is that guy?’

At first, it was bewilderment.

The fact that he had been defeated by a mere mass-produced training unit, and a mercenary of unknown origin at that, was unbelievable.

Next came anger.

But there were no signs of any modifications on the mass-produced training unit.

Now, with only questions remaining, he replayed the scene of his defeat all night but couldn’t find a clear answer.

*Ding-dong.*

He had been deep in thought.

A quiet chime, indicating a visitor, rang out.

“First thing in the morning, who is it?” He irritably granted access to the door.

The door opened, revealing an unexpected figure.

“To come personally, what brings you here, Director Vance?” Lazer greeted him with a bewildered expression.

“Your expression isn’t good. Is it because of yesterday’s incident?”

“I doubt you came to console me.”

“Actually, I was going to call you yesterday, but I got carried away investigating various things, and time just flew by.” Vance entered the room with a relaxed smile.

“That Kang Jin-woo fellow, he’s incredibly arrogant. He acts like he doesn’t even know the basics of simulated training; there was no need to mangle the unit like that, was there?” He poked at Lazer’s wound, observing his reaction.

“I could deal with him in other ways, you know.”

“I have no intention of doing such childish things.”

At the unexpected reply, Vance snorted.

“My direct subordinate, and an ace pilot at that, suffered such humiliation. How could I just stand by and watch?” He thought Lazer was being unnecessarily proud and tried to persuade him.

“Yesterday’s sparring match was a clear loss for me. There’s no room for excuses. Though I admit he went overboard.” He cleanly admitted his defeat and pointed to other data displayed on the screen.

That was the combat log from the Sector Echo-14 mission that his team, excluding himself, had performed yesterday.

“At first, I thought Yuna had done something to the Sparrow to mess with me, but that wasn’t it either.” He continued calmly.

“Although he disobeyed orders and acted on impulse…” He pointed a finger at the dark red unit from the Nemesis Corporation on the screen.

“What insane bastard would show such movements against an augmented human?”

Lazer let out a deep sigh, realizing the reason for the defeat he had suffered.

A simple difference in pilot skill.

That single phrase explained everything.

“That guy, he’s the real deal. I replayed the footage all night, and I had no choice but to admit it.” Lazer turned towards Vance.

“You’d better give up on the idea of using me to provoke him. Shouldn’t we rather put more effort into recruiting him?”

Vance was momentarily speechless at Lazer’s resolute attitude.

The unpleasant feeling that his plan had gone awry, and the fact that even the proud Lazer would say such a thing, made him reconsider Kang Jin-woo.

“Why speak so harshly? I was just trying to help.”

“…Then please leave me alone.”

Vance nodded and then left Lazer’s room.

Left alone, Lazer replayed Kang Jin-woo’s combat video once more.

“I’ll surpass you.”

As the door to Lazer’s private room closed silently, Vance paused in the hallway and let out a deep sigh.

Unexpected variables kept interfering with his smoothly flowing plans.

‘Everything I do seems to be getting stuck now.’

Even Lazer wasn’t moving as he intended.

He had dismissed it as a simple matter of pride and tried to exploit Lazer’s animosity towards Kang Jin-woo, but instead, Lazer was acknowledging his skill.

It was absurd.

“Kang Jin-woo.” Vance muttered the name quietly.

He had mobilized all his information networks throughout the night to search for his identity, but the result was “does not exist.”

Aside from a record of him recently joining the Chronos mercenary group, no other past activities could be found.

It was as if he had fallen directly from the sky.

“He’s a guy who reeks of something suspicious. Could he be a secret weapon Gideon has been secretly nurturing?”

It was a reasonable suspicion.

Gideon could certainly do that.

The possibility that he had brought in a powerful piece from outside to maintain his power and to check Vance, who might one day strike at him.

Vance clicked his tongue in displeasure.

He had thought everything was under his control, but the idea that Gideon was steadily preparing a counterattack in the shadows infuriated him.

His wrist terminal, as he walked down the hallway, vibrated quietly.

It was a notification that a new report had arrived.

He checked the report’s content without much expectation.

And his brow furrowed sharply.

[Report: Kang Jin-woo confirmed to have been granted temporary security clearance ‘Beta-3’ by Commander Gideon’s authority. Housing assignment within facilities and activity authorization granted under the designation of ‘Special Agent’ directly subordinate to the Commander.]

“This crazy bastard!”

He swore without realizing it.

It was effectively a declaration that Gideon was openly bringing Kang Jin-woo into his fold and protecting him.

Although it was a temporary clearance, Beta-3 meant the scope of accessible information and facilities was by no means narrow.

“Is he trying to completely disregard me?”

Vance’s eyes grew cold.

If Gideon was going to act like this, Vance had no reason to hesitate any longer.

Before colliding head-on, he had to drive a wedge between the two of them.

‘Is there a way to damage the relationship between those two?’

Vance’s mind began to race.

Should he use Kang Jin-woo’s unknown past?

Or should he use the peculiar energy manifesting from his unit as an excuse to brand him a dangerous individual?

A calculating smile appeared on Vance’s lips.

“Yuna! She could be a good bait.”

He already knew, through reports, of Yuna’s abnormal interest in Kang Jin-woo.

And also that Gideon’s affection for Yuna was special.

What if Kang Jin-woo tried to use Yuna, or if an inappropriate scandal erupted between the two of them?

Gideon’s trust would shatter instantly.

Vance manipulated his terminal again.

His fingers moved so fast they were a blur.

“Gather all of Kang Jin-woo and Yuna’s recent movements, communication logs, and even unofficial contacts. Don’t miss a single trivial detail.”

[Understood, Director-nim.]