episode_0049

Heat shimmered intensely from the scorching, desolate land, blurring vision, completely evaporating the frost that had fallen overnight, and threatening to erase all life from the surface.

Sweat poured down just from standing there. Feeling the sunlight filter faintly through the broken roof, I was once again reminded of how pleasant Eclipse Point had been to live in.

“There are people who live in a place like this? They must all be out of their minds…”

“That’s just how nomads are.”

Wade and Patton, who had decided to join me, were also sweating profusely as they maintained their respective weapons.

Once we approached Eclipse Point, a battle with Fifty Star was inevitable, as they would surely have heard the news of us breaking out to the Out Point.

“It’s true that the extreme weather is particularly severe here… but I heard Oregon and Washington are covered in snow all year round.”

“It’d be easier to live there.”

“Your hands would be frozen, you wouldn’t even be able to hold a knife.”

Could there be any other place besides Eclipse Point where mercenaries could run wild to this extent?

It’s not that mercenaries or gangsters don’t exist elsewhere, but without the EPSB being in such a state, which should be serving as public authority, and without the mega-corporations pulling off outlandish stunts due to loose regulations, it would be hard to thrive this much.

If I hadn’t been living in Eclipse Point, I probably wouldn’t have been a mercenary; I would have been a manual laborer.

“By the way, I didn’t know you were that unknown person from Rune’s Bar. I never expected to get involved with such a bigshot.”

“I haven’t even been in the mercenary business for a year yet, you know?”

Not even a year, not even half a year.

Wade, who was wiping his katana, looked at me with a face that said I was talking nonsense.

“It doesn’t really have much to do with how long you’ve been active. In the end, mercenaries are all about results, and while Rune’s Bar was already a big organization, your name has been raising enough hell to match it.”

“The conflict with the Neo Shinsengumi in Nexus Block, the assassination of the super serial killer Bram Stoker in Tonyboni, changing the power dynamics of Japan Town, and a considerable number of other violent incidents.”

They knew my actions so well, it made me wonder, *Are these guys my stalkers?*

At least it was a relief they didn’t know about me getting into the K&H transport truck in Rossboard.

“Come to think of it, lately I’ve been playing around without any regard for my life.”

I’ve caused kidnappings in broad daylight, hijacked a hijacked plane, and even put on a public bomb disposal show.

Wade and Patton stared at me as if asking if I called *that* playing, but I, having loaded my shotgun and filled my ammunition belt, ignored the two who hadn’t finished their maintenance and stood up.

I walked over to the Extreme Military transport truck, which had already been shut down, where drug mama’s boy Aaron and Kathleen were.

The two were painting to erase the logo, and Martina was helping them.

“Are we ready to leave?”

“The others aren’t finished yet. But was there a reason to bring out such a flashy vehicle?”

Corporate transport vehicles usually stand out a lot.

Of course, they appear occasionally, but they represent the value of the goods inside, so those looking for opportunities are bound to cling to them.

If a large organization like Fifty Star is after it, as they are now, it would be even easier to track.

“There’s a separate reason for that.”

Kathleen put down the paint can she was holding and walked to the entrance of the transport truck’s trailer as if to show me, unlocking the door.

From the multi-layered secured door, the locks clicked open, revealing the interior.

The vehicle’s interior, somehow filled with devices resembling operating tables and high-tech equipment, looked less like it was transporting something and more like an operating room had been moved directly inside.

The coffin-like capsule in the center, where a person would lie, and the equipment above it, had the Cerberus that Aaron was holding attached.

“This is…”

“It’s the only Cerberus implantation equipment. Since there’s no proper implantation manual, even if they had Cerberus, they couldn’t use it. So, what they’re after are these two.”

Indeed, no matter how amazing a cyberware is, if engineers don’t know how to implant it, isn’t it just a white elephant?

Furthermore, since the developer, Extreme Military, was hastily forced to shut down, if this disappears, it would be no different from losing the key to the 6th generation operating system.

To see something on the verge of becoming lost media, what an honor.

“Hmm…”

I tapped the wall and shook the equipment, checking if it was properly secured.

As expected, a corporation is a corporation, I suppose.

It was well-protected, seemingly designed not to break even if it were jostled roughly.

“Oh, Mom. I’m done.”

As I was laying out plans for our dash to Eclipse Point, breaking through Fifty Star’s pursuit, Aaron announced that the painting was finished.

I hoped we could shake them off with that.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

***

The two vehicles drove across the parched wasteland, kicking up dust clouds.

Ahead was a van, and behind it, a massive transport vehicle, its original affiliation unknown due to the fresh paint.

After a discussion, Wade, Patton, and I decided that Wade and Patton, who were not suitable for escorting, would drive my van, while I would get into the truck and focus on protecting Kathleen and Aaron.

Of course, I would jump out once combat began, but since it was a corporate truck, it boasted a high level of defense. Furthermore, they wouldn’t be able to use overly aggressive weapons since their objective was to recover the contents, so it shouldn’t be too dangerous.

And wasn’t Martina there too?

When it comes to deterrent power against modern people heavily augmented with cyberware, none of us could match Martina.

‘That’s obvious.’

‘She gets irritating when she boasts…’

Even a little praise made her puff up with satisfaction. No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like the terrifying mega-corp AI she was, but rather like the consciousness of a Little Vampire had awakened within her.

While listening to the surprising story that Aaron, who kept glancing at Martina from the back seat, had actually never done drugs and was merely an extremely unsociable type who couldn’t sleep, I sat in the passenger seat and scanned the surroundings for any approaching threats.

And even after driving for a long time, not a single rat was seen. It was remarkably peaceful for being chased by Fifty Star in a hellish Out Point.

In the end, we returned to the gateway to Eclipse Point without incident, had our identities checked, and successfully entered the Golden Arches.

“So, Luna, right? She implanted something in my body without anesthesia, and I almost died from the shock, seriously!”

“For cyberware that needs to interact with nerves, it’s safer to use light anesthesia to monitor reactions, but that was quite severe.”

“Right? Still, I’m grateful she helped a rock-bottom unemployed person become a mercenary.”

To the extent that they were chattering about personal stories, as a courtesy to the driver.

“Mr. John seems to really like that Luna person.”

“Mm. Yes. I do.”

I gave an awkward laugh.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“No, she’s not. She’s a good friend, and a friend who’s helped me a lot.”

I like Luna who greets me with a smile when I visit the bar, I like Luna who gets excited and sparkles when she works, and I like Luna who, though embarrassed, goes along with it when I playfully incite her to do something naughty.

If Luna were to propose marriage, I’d probably immediately start thinking about booking a wedding hall, but for now, we’re just friends.

“Friends, huh. That’s good too.”

Kathleen, with a quiet face that rarely showed emotion, seemed to be reminiscing about something before nodding.

“Then, do you have a separate lover?”

“Hmm…”

It’s ambiguous if you call them lovers.

Mason, my personal techie who freeloads at the bar, and Emily, the passionate reporter from TNEP, were sex partners. And the fox sisters who, even last night, were with Collection and urging me to come again soon, seemed similar, but we weren’t officially dating.

If anything, it was closer to a master-servant relationship in bed.

Not to mention Martina, who used to live in my head and became a houseguest.

Raleigh didn’t seem to particularly dislike me, but she was so mechanical and cold in her dealings with people that she was somewhere between a colleague and a friend.

“I don’t have a girlfriend I’m officially dating right now.”

“You’re cute-looking, what a waste.”

“Haha… I’m at an age where I get called ‘Mister’ now, so ‘cute’ isn’t really fitting.”

As I drove through the abandoned streets, being treated like a baby – a sensation that made me tingle uncontrollably deep inside, even though I’d heard it yesterday and again today – a danger registered in my senses.

‘What was that?’

Although I hadn’t properly perceived it, based on that intuition, I immediately lunged, pulling Kathleen into an embrace, and sharply turned the steering wheel.

My hands were full of something soft, but there was no time to care about that. *BOOM!!!* The spot we would have been passing if I hadn’t swerved exploded, sending asphalt fragments flying everywhere!

*SCREEEEECH!!!* Long tire marks were left on the road, and due to the centrifugal force from the sharp turn, the inside of the vehicle became a chaotic mess.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Wrapped around Kathleen, who was driving, my head repeatedly slammed around, but thankfully, my skull was reinforced, so it seemed I hadn’t suffered a concussion or intracranial hemorrhage.

*HISS-* The tires sizzled from friction heat, and as the vibrations finally subsided, I gripped my head and looked out the window with an annoyed gaze.

On the terrace of a abandoned building, I saw a son of a bitch carrying an anti-tank rocket.

No, to be precise, *sons of bitches*.

“Ugh… ughhh, ugh… a, a bomb…”

“Are you alright, John?”

“I’m fine. Keep your head down so your face isn’t visible, and don’t come out.”

I should have contacted them beforehand.

Shaking off a bit of regret, I stood in front of the crazy bastards wearing striped jackets with fifty stars on a blue background, who had been hiding like scavengers and were now revealing themselves, along with Wade and Patton emerging from the van.