episode_0057

“Cog7…no, Kang Jin-woo! Please, please, just spare my life…gasp!”

Suddenly, a hoarse voice burst from Bulldog’s mouth.

He barely managed to lift his head and glare at me.

“You left the mercenary group…because you coveted my position…and were preparing a rebellion, weren’t you?!”

He coughed and vomited blood.

Even in his last moments, he couldn’t acknowledge his own wrongdoings and resented me.

“This is what you brought upon yourself.”

There wasn’t a trace of sympathy in my voice.

“Didn’t you treat mercenaries as replaceable parts, to be swapped out at any time?”

“Don’t you understand that’s the meaning of your existence!!”

Bulldog screamed as if in a frenzy. His eyes gleamed with madness.

“Mercenaries are just consumables! If it weren’t for me, you would have starved to death on the streets long ago! Ungrateful wretches who don’t know grace…!”

“What nonsense about grace!”

A young, blond-haired man clutching the bars of the adjacent cell shouted in a voice filled with rage.

“If you had treated us like humans, it wouldn’t have come to this, you son of a bitch!”

“Do you have any last words, Bulldog?”

“You…you will surely…! Nesis Corporation won’t stand by…!”

Before his curse could even finish, I plunged the knife deep.

Bulldog’s body convulsed violently for a moment, then slumped, turning into a cold corpse.

Warm blood soaked his uniform and flowed onto the floor.

“Jinwoo! Are you okay?!”

Along with the sound of hurried footsteps descending the stairs, Scarlet appeared.

In her hand was an energy rifle that still seemed warm, and behind her, several armed Chronos mercenaries followed, maintaining a state of alert.

Scarlet glanced back and forth between Bulldog’s corpse on the floor and the blood-stained knife in my hand, then approached me with a calm expression.

“…Is it over?”

“Yes. For now.”

[You have fulfilled the special conditions for the Data Ghost skill.]

As I activated the skill, it began to erase all digital traces around me.

One of the Internal Army mercenaries muttered in a voice mixed with admiration and awe, as if in disbelief.

“Good heavens…to think you’d take care of Bulldog and his elite direct unit…all by yourself.”

At his words, the other mercenaries also nodded in agreement.

“As soon as we sent the signal that an uprising was being prepared inside, you smashed through the outer defense lines and entered, as if you were waiting.”

“It was as if…a demon, no, a god of war had descended.”

Their praises were a bit exaggerated, but they were heartfelt.

After everything was settled, I stood facing Foreman Han-nim, who slowly walked out from inside the cell.

“I sent a message to tell you to be careful…I truly didn’t expect you to come.”

Foreman Han-nim opened his parched lips and spoke with difficulty.

“How could I just leave you? And…thanks to your message, I learned a lot.”

I gave a small bow of thanks for his sincere concern.

“Then…the other mercenaries inside the base…you took care of all of them…?”

Foreman Han-nim asked cautiously, wondering if there had been unnecessary casualties.

I swept my gaze over the Internal Army mercenaries and continued.

“Before attacking the base, I sent a communication to state my intentions.”

The rules of engagement and communication numbers I learned from Nix certainly helped.

“In the process of neutralizing the outer defense system and Bulldog’s main direct unit, the Internal Army responded, allowing us to quickly sort out the situation.”

I paused to catch my breath.

“Casualties did occur during the engagement. However, I…tried my best to only subdue them.”

Scarlet, standing next to me, nodded slightly.

Foreman Han-nim listened to my explanation, and just like the Internal Army mercenaries earlier, he wore an expression of disbelief mixed with admiration.

“You alone…fought against Bulldog’s personal guard and the base’s defense system? Those damn bastards were so relentless and numerous…”

His voice contained not just admiration, but even awe.

He patted my shoulder and continued.

“I thought you’d become something great ever since you left Chronos…but I didn’t realize it would be to this extent. Truly…amazing.”

At his praise, I gave an awkward smile and shook my head.

“For now…we should go outside and assess the situation more thoroughly.”

I said, looking around.

Scarlet and the Internal Army mercenaries nodded and gripped their weapons more firmly.

We exited the underground cell and headed to the surface.

As expected, the inside of the base was a wreck.

Black smoke rose everywhere, and the wreckage of destroyed machines and traces of battle were scattered about.

The Internal Army secured key facilities and attended to the wounded, quickly taking control of the situation.

“Kang Jin-woo-ssi, Scarlet-ssi! This way!”

A person who appeared to be a commander among the Internal Army mercenaries spotted us, approached, and saluted.

“Currently, all remaining forces directly under Bulldog within the base have been subdued.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

I replied briefly and turned to Foreman Han-nim.

He still had a complicated expression on his face.

“Now, can we hear the full story?”

We found a relatively safe spot in a corner of the command center.

Foreman Han-nim swallowed dryly and slowly began to speak.

“A representative from Nesis Corporation came seeking information about you. They even presented records showing you were once part of our mercenary group.”

At Foreman Han-nim’s words, I frowned.

I hadn’t expected those Nesis bastards to figure out my identity so quickly and accurately.

“Bulldog initially jumped and denied everything, but it seems those Nesis bastards made an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

His explanation wasn’t largely different from what I had expected, but hearing it directly made my anger surge even more.

Bulldog was the kind of person who would casually sell out his comrades for his own gain.

‘He deserved to die. Even if it hadn’t been me, he might have been killed by the Internal Army.’

“In that process, mercenaries who were discontent with Bulldog’s methods gradually began to harbor resentment.”

“So you had a plan.”

“The plan was for the next day, but who knew you would come? And all by yourself, at that, taking down Bulldog’s direct unit…”

“If it’s alright…would you like to come with me to Terminus Station?”

“Terminus…?”

Foreman Han-nim asked back.

“Yes. You could start a new life there. Of course, it’s by no means a safe or peaceful place.”

I spoke with sincerity.

I hoped they would escape this tiresome place and find new hope.

“Even an old engineer like me…would I be alright?”

Foreman Han-nim asked in a trembling voice.

“Of course.”

Foreman Han-nim looked at me silently for a long time.

His eyes seemed to well up.

“…I’ll go. If I’m with you…I feel like I can go anywhere.”

“One problem remains to be dealt with. The remnants of Bulldog’s direct unit who remained loyal to the very end.”

The Internal Army commander, who had been waiting for the conversation to finish from a distance, spoke.

“They’ve all been subdued and are temporarily detained…how would you like to deal with them?”

Bulldog’s direct unit would have been those who most actively participated in his wicked deeds or blindly pledged loyalty.

“Give them a choice.”

At my answer, not only the commander but also Scarlet and Foreman Han-nim, who were beside me, showed surprised expressions.

“They are already neutralized. There’s a possibility they were also deceived by Bulldog or had no choice but to follow him.”

The commander seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then, perhaps reading my sincerity in my gaze, he bowed deeply.

“Understood. I will convey that. Thank you for your wise judgment.”

He immediately gave new orders to his subordinates, and my message was conveyed to the remnants of Bulldog’s forces who were being detained.

Some of them still showed hostility and resisted, but most realized that everything was already over and accepted my proposal in despair and resignation.

The mercenaries who had once suffered under Bulldog’s tyranny were now at a crossroads, needing to choose their own futures.

Some left this place without hesitation to seek new lives.

Others remained, deciding to lend their strength to rebuilding a new mercenary group, centered around the Internal Army commander.

“The Chronos mercenary group led by Bulldog is gone, but we will leave this place and rebuild it again.”

“It would be good if you came to Terminus with us.”

“…A mercenary has a mercenary’s life, after all.”

“Lastly, I’d like to hear your name. I was only briefly with the Chronos mercenary group, so there aren’t many people I know.”

“It’s Kiryu.”

I clasped hands with Kiryu.

“Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

Foreman Han-nim, along with Milo and Leo and a few others, decided to head to Terminus with me.

After finishing all preparations to leave, we gathered in front of the military-grade high-speed transport ship that Kaien had lent us.

The transport ship had already started its engines and was ready for takeoff.

Scarlet was securely fastening her Red Spider in the cargo hold.

“Are we really leaving now?”

His eyes held a mix of regret and anticipation for a new beginning.

“Don’t be too regretful, Foreman Han-nim. There will be many more new and interesting things at Terminus.”

I lightly patted his shoulder and said.

“Is that so. If it’s your word, I’ll believe it.”

Foreman Han-nim gave a wry smile and walked towards the transport ship’s ramp.

After confirming that everyone had boarded, Scarlet and I also got onto the transport ship last.

‘Kiryu.’

Until the transport ship’s ramp door closed, Kiryu saluted and gazed at me.

“Someday, I will repay this grace.”

Thump!

The ramp door closed, and the transport ship lifted off the ground.