episode_0034

A BD store on a secluded street in Japantown.

From the outside, it looked like nothing special, but stepping inside revealed an unusually spacious interior, lined with countless pornographic films.

I picked one out and looked at the cover.

‘Ayakashi Kunoichi Captured by Zenotech: 24 Hours of Humiliating Conditioning?’

The cover showed a woman in a mesh-like outfit, plastered with cheap, fashionable cyberware that looked flashy but impractical, surrounded by burly men in Zenotech-like military uniforms.

Moreover, it was the kind of product that made me wonder if the creators weren’t afraid of being sued, given they had directly used a megacorp’s trademark.

“Is that your taste?”

“I’ve never tried bondage play, though.”

Since it wasn’t really my taste, I gave a middle finger and scoffed at the production company – which had probably already vanished due to a lawsuit or a cyborg ninja unit – then put it back on the shelf.

Besides that, I also saw concept porn like a cleaner being subjected to bio tentacles born from biological experiments, or a mercenary being used by an “Anal Man.”

Apparently, there’s nothing but porn.

“Both of you, stop gawking. The meeting place is inside.”

Anyway, though it appeared to be an ordinary porn BD shop, it was actually the hideout of a small gang.

And ahead of me, walking into the shop’s interior, were the white fox and black fox, the subjects of the deal, and the beginning of my first escort mission.

‘Scan the interior for any suspicious movement.’

[Hacking all cameras and scanners within the building to implement a 3D model.]

Simultaneously, as the cyberdeck began to operate, a slight warmth spread on one side of my head, and a holographic model, transparently displaying the entire interior of the 8-story building, appeared on my retina.

The three of us were walking on the first basement floor, and beyond a door, I could see one person who appeared to be the gang’s boss and a single bodyguard.

‘Everyone’s waiting on the first floor.’

The first floor and first basement floor were connected by a secret passage, similar to the vertical staff room passage in Luna’s bar, allowing for immediate entry at any time. On the first floor, men who appeared to be their gang members were waiting, each armed with a pistol.

I could feel their resolve to storm in and riddle everyone with bullets if a situation arose.

Although the K.I.T.S.U.N.E members were waiting outside, if a shootout began, what could those guys do, who had never even killed a person, let alone been in a gunfight?

This is what it means to enter the opponent’s home ground.

If things didn’t go well, I would have to be prepared to risk my life.

Of course, I was here to prevent such a thing.

‘If there’s any sign of a fight, lock the vertical passage entrance and cut all internal power.’

[Confirmed. Activating infrared night vision supported by combat optics in advance.]

This much preparation should be enough.

I only hope these foxes handle it well on their own so that I don’t have to use it.

‘No, wait. I should hope it doesn’t go well, shouldn’t I? I get paid more if there’s a fight.’

My thoughts as a human and as a mercenary began a mixed martial arts match within my brain.

***

‘Brutalism. A radical faction that deliberately treats hostile gang members brutally to deter any thoughts of interference.’

In Japantown, where Japanese gangs demanding things like finger-cutting or seppuku ran rampant, Brutalism wasn’t particularly special. However, the truly terrifying aspect was that they only left circumstantial evidence, leaving absolutely no concrete proof for the EPSB to intervene.

And Kana managed to obtain evidence of Brutalism’s crimes through an informant, a quasi-member of K.I.T.S.U.N.E (commonly referred to as “ordinary people who like foxes”).

The plan was to trade video evidence of their crimes to Brutalism, who pathologically disliked EPSB intervention, in exchange for influence over the streets.

‘If this succeeds, it will be easier to gradually increase our influence from now on.’

K.I.T.S.U.N.E’s sphere of influence was limited to a directly owned game center and a few shops in surrounding buildings.

As a minor organization, K.I.T.S.U.N.E’s profits would at least double if this deal succeeded!

Gently manipulating the nerves of her heavy tail, which extended from her tailbone, she made it sway, stopping in front of the door to the meeting room with a mix of excitement and anxiety.

She glanced back to see her sister Yuki, clinging to her arm, and the mercenary she had requested for escort.

A mercenary from Rune’s Bar, a renowned mercenary team based out of Centum Street, involved in major incidents occurring in Eclipse Point.

His youthful appearance, not much different from theirs, was unexpected, but his fame wouldn’t lie.

“I’m going in.”

“Anytime.”

The room they entered wasn’t so much a conference room as it was a room where a middle-aged man might spend his weekend scratching his belly, cradling beer and kibble while watching TV.

And sure enough, a man who seemed to be Brutalism’s boss had his feet up on the table in front of the sofa, idly flipping channels.

The TV was playing rather violent hardcore pornography, filling the room with groans and the sounds of flesh slapping.

“Oh, you’re finally here. I was so bored waiting, I almost called a whore to entertain myself. Arrogant bitches.”

“I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss, as if you’re so busy.”

Bald, the boss of Brutalism.

He had the appearance of someone in his late thirties with a short, shaved head. He nodded his chin, as if telling them to sit.

“By the way, I told you to bring only one person.”

“Yuki is a co-boss who leads the organization with me, and the escort is one person, as I said.”

“Bitches who don’t properly listen to promises are truly troublesome, aren’t they?”

Unnecessary nitpicking. It must be just a trick to demoralize them without revealing his own anxiety, especially since the key was on their side.

Kana and Yuki ignored him and sat on the opposite sofa. Bald’s bodyguard, who was standing behind him, glared and put a hand inside his jacket.

*Thump.*

“Tsk… why do these idiots have such a low threshold?”

And John Doe’s hand, which no one had noticed approaching, grabbed the wrist of Bald’s bodyguard, whose hand was still inside his jacket.

“Wha…! G-Gaaah!”

“Draw it, and I’ll kill you. Fighting here would be troublesome, so I’ll let it go this one time.”

A wrist folding in half from grip strength alone.

Then, as if stating the obvious, John Doe gave a softly uttered warning and released the bodyguard’s wrist. With a dumbfounded expression, he turned around and slowly walked to stand behind Kana and Yuki.

“And what kind of idiot plays porn during a negotiation? Are you trying to jerk off to it?”

*Crunch.* He lightly tapped the TV with his fist, and the screen completely shattered and crumbled.

Whether the operating system was completely destroyed, it turned off without even a static noise from the speakers.

“…”

“…”

Bald and his bodyguard, as if sensing something was terribly wrong, profusely sweated cold sweat and watched John Doe carefully, all their arrogant behavior from moments ago gone.

Even if they were inexperienced riff-raff with no real gang experience, they knew that someone capable of so violently subduing a situation was either a madman or a powerful individual confident in wiping everyone out.

They had initially ignored him, thinking he was just an escort from K.I.T.S.U.N.E, which was barely a gang and more like a gathering of delinquents. But looking closely, his equipment was extraordinary.

He wore a thick, heavy coat made of expensive fabric, feeling as if it had bulletproof plates inserted. His left hand resembled a gorilla arm, covered in a high-end artificial skin frame, and the shotgun belted to him was unmistakably military-grade.

Given his speed just now, he probably had speedware too.

“What are you looking at?”

Bald, still a gang leader despite his shortcomings, quickly made a judgment.

If he pulled any strange stunts, he’d be dead instantly!

Kana and Yuki momentarily stared at him with blank expressions, surprised by how quickly he had silenced the arrogant gangster. He responded with a wink.

The sisters met each other’s eyes and nodded, then, as planned, presented the video evidence and demanded an even larger area of influence than they had originally intended.

Bald’s face showed he wanted to overturn the whole thing, but pressed down by the escort standing firm behind them, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree to the negotiation.

An area nearly half of Brutalism’s sphere of influence.

Even roughly calculating, the money K.I.T.S.U.N.E would gain from acquiring influence over this area would amount to three times their current income.

To conclude such a one-sidedly beneficial deal so easily.

“Heh heh~ Good deal.”

“Don’t even set foot in our territory for the next two years.”

Bald, receiving the chipset containing the video from Kana, immediately crushed it and gnashed his teeth.

“Damn it… Where did that guy come from?”

Kana, though initially flustered, soon composed herself and scoffed at him, providing the answer.

“You’ve probably heard of him. Rune’s Bar. He’s famous, you know.”

“…Damn it.”

Leaving Bald, who had slumped his head down, Kana and Yuki, having gained everything they wanted, exited the pigsty they called a meeting room, taking their escort with them.

*Creak.* As the door closed, loud sounds came from inside.

-“Damn it!!! How did those dog-like bitches get in touch with such big shots!!!”

*Crash!* They heard Bald’s shouts, almost screams, filled with furious rage, and the sounds of him brutally beating his bodyguard, who, despite being a bodyguard, had frozen in fear and done nothing.

Of course, it had nothing to do with them.

***

‘Damn, making money is easy.’

Who would’ve thought he’d get so scared he’d give up everything, just because I shook his hand, suggesting we talk peacefully instead of drawing guns?

It was quite amusing that I had actually overestimated the level of these low-level gangsters, who weren’t even mid-tier.

‘Don’t waste resources unnecessarily, release control of the internal systems.’

[Confirmed.]

The 3D holographic model hovering before my eyes vanished, and the cyberdeck, which had been heating up from resource consumption, quickly returned to its normal temperature.

“Wow~ Things went well. What do you think, Kana? It was a good idea to call him, right~”

“Yeah. He was expensive, but we extracted nearly three times more than we originally planned.”

“You asked for three times the quote? You’re audacious…”

No matter how scared he was, I would’ve thought pushing that hard would get you shot, but maybe it was beginner’s luck.

“I also didn’t expect Bald to accept it so readily without even thinking of reducing the share. Perhaps he just hated dragging out the negotiation and being with us more.”

Worthless bastard.

I clicked my tongue at the bald man, who was still raging and shouting inside the room, then spat on the shop floor.

By the way, should I take a few porn DVDs?

I thought maybe it’d be okay to take some as a kind of trophy.

“Is the request over now?”

“I was hoping you’d stay longer… would that be possible?”

Kurokitsune asked carefully.

And anyway, if I didn’t have work, I was just an unemployed, jobless freelancer who only got beaten up at the gym with Luna.

“If you can pay the fee, there’s no reason it wouldn’t be possible. I didn’t think the escort mission would end in one day anyway.”

At my reply, Kurokitsune, unbefitting her appearance, meekly sighed as if relieved and wagged her tail.

But does even a tail attached with bio-parts wag when one feels good?

I felt a latent curiosity stir within me.

“Then let’s go back and party~ Hm?”

With a sudden jump, Shirokitsune clung to my back, urging me on with that stubbornly lingering scent of fruity alcohol.

Spending some time in Japantown didn’t seem so bad.

Upon our return, we partied with the K.I.T.S.U.N.E members.

It was a simple, light-hearted party, hardly a small gathering, with nearly twenty people drinking, playing games, and enjoying BDs.

We enjoyed the atmosphere, which felt more like a party among friends than a gang gathering, and drank heavily.

The next day, after drinking until I blacked out and waking up sprawled on the floor, rumors had already spread quickly: a mercenary from Rune’s Bar had joined K.I.T.S.U.N.E.