episode_0031

“Are you perhaps talking about Lazer? I’ve seen them meet privately sometimes.”

I had no idea there was a connection between Lazer and Vance that I didn’t know about.

Rather than showing confusion, I nodded silently, as if it was all intentional.

It was information I stumbled upon, but there was no reason not to use it.

“Vance won’t suspect Lazer approaching him as much.”

“That guy is arrogant and believes he controls everything. If Lazer offers information, he’ll find it hard to resist the temptation, even if he’s suspicious.”

“But will Lazer really help? He’s a teammate, but a man whose true intentions are hard to read….”

Yuna cautiously opened her mouth.

“Even though he has a difficult personality, he’s not someone who harbors bad intentions.”

Gideon said with a voice full of conviction.

“Let’s elaborate on the plan. What fake information, when, and how will we leak it? And what are each of our roles?”

The most enticing bait for Vance was, as expected, information related to the Genesis Seed.

With Doctor’s help, we decided to fabricate fake data and communication logs stating that Commander Gideon was secretly trying to smuggle the Genesis Seed’s core sample out.

And that, in the process, the security system would be temporarily deactivated.

Late in the afternoon, I visited Lazer’s private room.

“Kang Jin-woo. A lot of people are looking for me today.”

It was a complaining tone, but the grumbling from our first meeting was gone.

“I have something to talk about.”

“I’ve already heard about that. Commander Gideon contacted me, along with the data file that Doctor fabricated.”

Lazer sat comfortably on the sofa, drank an energy drink, and sighed while looking at a holographic screen.

“What were you thinking, making the mech look like that? You’re rough, probably because you’re from Chronos mercenaries.”

“You provoked me first, though.”

Lazer glanced over and chuckled.

“You’re right about that.”

His calm reaction, different from what I expected, made me feel strange.

I thought he’d curse at me and tell me to get lost as soon as we met, but things seemed to be going better than expected.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll do it. I don’t really like that Vance guy.”

His answer was surprisingly quick.

It seemed he had already made up his mind after receiving Gideon’s contact.

“But there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

“Your piloting skills. You have to tell me your secret. No matter how I think about it, there’s no explanation.”

“There’s nothing to call a secret.”

Lazer crushed the empty energy drink can with one hand and threw it into the trash can.

“Everyone who goes against you probably thinks the same thing. Is this guy experiencing time slower? Don’t dismiss it as mere skill or talent.”

Lazer’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Unless you’re some psychic with secret experiments, like in urban legends.”

Then he ruffled his hair as if wondering what he was saying.

“Damn it, I’m thinking like Doctor.”

“If it’s talent, then it’s talent, I guess.”

He furrowed his brows at my reply.

“If your body was as heavy as Titan’s, maybe. I don’t know how you endure that acceleration.”

“If you want, I can spar with you anytime. If you keep practicing, you’ll realize something too.”

“Arrogant bastard.”

Lazer bowed his head deeply, then nodded.

“Alright, you don’t want to tell me, right? Yeah, I didn’t expect much.”

As if he was done talking, he gestured to me.

“You can go now. I’ll make sure to deliver this information.”

“Can I trust you?”

“What do you take me for?”

“I’ll trust you.”

“Yeah, now get out.”

********

Late at night, in Director Vance’s office, overlooking the brilliant night view of the Icarus Far East Branch.

He was staring at a data pad, seemingly lost in thought.

Just then, a discreet call came through on his communication channel.

The caller was Lazer.

A faint smile appeared on Vance’s lips.

“Of course. You wouldn’t just stand by after suffering such humiliation, would you?”

A moment later, Lazer entered Vance’s office.

On his face, determination was subtly mixed with forced anger and a sense of betrayal.

“Director-nim, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, what is it? Your expression isn’t good. You seem troubled.”

Lazer clenched his fists and spoke.

“Commander Gideon is trying to completely push me out. That bastard Kang Jin-woo….”

After suppressing his anger, he continued to explain.

“Since that incident with him, he’s been ignoring me. He even tried to hold me accountable, using my mistake as an excuse.”

He spun tales that Vance would enjoy.

“I’ve accidentally obtained some information.”

As if making a great decision, he offered the data chip Doctor fabricated to Vance.

“What is this?”

“Commander Gideon is trying to smuggle the core sample of the Genesis Seed project out. This is the evidence.”

Vance took the data chip and immediately checked its contents.

He watched with interest, but it soon turned into deep suspicion.

“Why did you bring me this information? Something I didn’t even order? We’re not that close, are we?”

As if he’d been waiting for this, Lazer cried out in an agitated voice.

“Because I want revenge! He humiliated me and cast me aside. And that Kang Jin-woo! I want to crush him with my own hands.”

Vance formed a satisfied smile at the agitated atmosphere.

‘Yes. Your rotten personality is helping me out.’

“If you implant the project’s core sample into my mech, I’ll gladly help you.”

Vance watched Lazer silently, recalling conversations they’d had privately in the past.

Lazer had implicitly revealed his ambition for power, strong pride, and desire to succeed.

It was clear he had been abandoned by the Commander, was losing his way, and intended to switch allegiances.

‘If this information is true, it’s an opportunity to keep Gideon in check and get my hands on the Genesis Seed.’

Vance couldn’t completely shake off his suspicion, but this was too good an opportunity.

All the circumstances aligned too perfectly to simply send him away.

“Understood. We’ll prioritize your mech for the project, and I’ll give you a chance to get revenge on Kang Jin-woo.”

“Thank you!”

“However, I’ll need to confirm if this information is truly accurate myself. Until then, don’t act rashly and wait.”

“Understood, Director-nim.”

As Lazer left the office and the door closed, Vance let out a deep sigh.

“Should I really trust that guy? I’ll have to confirm it myself first.”

Vance stood up and headed to his personal high-security terminal inside the room.

It was equipment of a different caliber than a regular work terminal, allowing direct access to Icarus’s top-tier information network.

His fingers moved quickly over the keyboard.

Based on the core of the information Lazer provided, he began to delve in intensively.

Bypassing several layers of firewalls and encrypted nodes, he finally reached near the target server node.

A place where Commander Gideon’s unofficial command logs and detailed security logs for a specific area were presumed to be stored.

“Found it.”

He quickly scanned the recent command logs and security logs.

And his eyes widened.

At the specific time indicated in the information Lazer had delivered, there really was a record of the security level in that area being temporarily lowered by Gideon’s direct authority.

“This is truly real.”

Of course, these records were perfectly fabricated data planted by Doctor.

A precisely designed trap, anticipating Vance’s access and intended to turn his suspicion into certainty.

The moment Vance accessed it, his system access records and entire search history would begin to be transmitted via a separate path.

“Gideon, you finally showed a weakness. You must have gotten impatient after that last mission, huh? But trying to steal the project like this is just… pathetic.”

A greedy smile spread across his lips.

Vance immediately connected a secure communication line.

“Change of plans. I’ve obtained good information. Check the content I sent you. I cross-referenced it myself, so it’s reliable.”

He paused for a moment, then added,

“He tried to leak information, so there will be no issue if you arrest him immediately. I’ll take full responsibility, so proceed.”

**********

“He bit right away.”

Everyone was gathered in Commander Gideon’s office.

“Vance accessed the server node we lured him to and viewed your unofficial command logs, Commander-nim.”

Then, he tapped the keyboard a few more times and brought up a new window.

“And while he was connected, the tracking packet we embedded in his personal security network activated. We’ve secured his current location, recent communication logs, and even part of his financial transactions.”

“Excellent, Aris.”

Gideon exclaimed, sounding satisfied.

“It’s nothing special. I’m currently backing up the evidence of him trying to get you into trouble, Commander-nim.”

Unknown coding languages flowed across the screen, and Doctor wore a wicked smile.

“Please bear with us tonight. Continue to intercept Vance’s communications and track his movements in real-time. Also, block all external communications in that area and ensure that no emergency situations are reported to the Icarus security system until our operation is complete.”

“Understood, Commander-nim.”

And the next day.

Vance led his troops and arrived at the location of the fake information, but the surroundings were silent as a tomb.

“This can’t be right? I couldn’t have confused the morning and afternoon times.”

Vance, looking flustered, searched for the information he had organized.

At that moment, armed soldiers surrounded them, completing a standoff.

“Wha… What?!”

Vance exclaimed, looking bewildered.

Gideon slowly walked from among the troops.

“Director Vance.”

“Gideon! What is the meaning of this?!”

“What meaning? We are arresting a criminal who, blinded by power and greed, tried to sell out the corporation.”

“Don’t spout nonsense without evidence.”

Gideon took a step closer with a relaxed smile.

“It’s already too late. Give up, alright? I’ve already compiled information about you collaborating with the Genesis corporation to frame our elite pilots and reported it to higher-ups.”

“Wha… What?! All those records should have been discarded!”

“They remained on the server, you see.”

Doctor said, looking tired, and behind him stood Titan, Yuna, and Lazer.

“So that bastard is why my Atlas ended up like that!”

“We almost all died.”

“That’s how it went!”

Lazer grinned, looking at Vance.

“La-Lazer, no, were you all in on it together?!”

“If it weren’t for this friend, we would all have been eliminated by your plan.”

Kang Jin-woo, standing leisurely beside Gideon, smiled.