episode_0068

Another joint operation to catch the Shape Shifter, this time with Banishment, one of the Seven Highs.

The beginning of it was, in fact, doing nothing at all.

That was because the other side was the type that needed preparation time before acting, and unless they were attacked first, there was no likelihood or justification for a confrontation with the Shape Shifter.

Luna and I contacted our former teammates, Hellstream, and Juworld, warning them to properly manage their subordinates. Yuki and Kana conveyed the message to Neo Shinsengumi and K.I.T.S.U.N.E in Japantown to raise their guard.

And so, a day, two days…

As time passed, I received a courtesy call from Kathleen and exchanged quick greetings with Wade and Patton, who had been discharged from the hospital.

By coincidence, Goodbrother’s younger brother was attending the same school as Aaron, and Wade, while drunk, babbled about his illustrious career, making me wonder where he had thrown away all his coolness to become a pathetic drunkard holed up in a corner room. We exchanged various stories, but nothing particularly special happened there either.

I had ordered Martina to check all cameras in the block where I was staying, so the streets were automatically observed thoroughly. Honestly, I was living a boring daily life.

At best, it was just watching classic masterpiece movies I usually enjoyed, or hacking into game company databases to extract lost media game files, then playing with them, dissecting them bit by bit.

‘This is boring.’

Thinking of it as a vacation and killing time, my brain, steeped in the adrenaline and dopamine that poured out during life-or-death gunfights, made me yawn widely.

Of course, I would leave most of it to Mason for now, but if I couldn’t completely empty my schedule, Luna, who usually just went straight home, started coming to my place after work. Yuki and Kana would simply handle their work over the phone and then settle down at my place, so it was more bustling than before.

Moreover, perhaps because they had started to think of this place as half-hideout, my comrades would even come over to plan operations.

“Ugh… so merciless. I’m tired!”

“Good work.”

Yuki opened the front door and immediately collapsed onto the sofa.

She was so exhausted that she didn’t even have the energy to seductively tease as usual; she was just a limp, melting mess.

“Did you come alone first?”

“Yeah. Kana went to Japantown to check on the kids for a bit~ Ugh… More importantly, listen, Jun! Do you know what Luna did to us today?”

“Yeah, that must have been tough.”

For some whim lately, Luna had suggested taking Yuki and Kana to the gym to train them, just as she had trained with me.

Actually, it was closer to half-threat than a suggestion, but at my strong recommendation, having seen firsthand how amazing Luna’s special training was, Luna dragged the struggling duo to the gym every day and made them spar.

I knew that Yuki and Kana’s combined attacks were quite high-level, but even with Martina’s combat computation assistance and Cerberus, which guaranteed immense performance on the premise of destroying its user, Luna’s win rate was just under fifty percent. It would be hard enough to keep up with Luna, let alone defeat her.

As if tears were about to well up, I gently scratched behind Yuki’s ear, who was overtly displaying her exhaustion and acting childishly.

Yuki made a pleased nasal sound, rubbing her face against my hand.

“Hmmmm~”

My technique for scratching their sweet spots seemed to have improved a bit from pacifying the two who whined every day.

“Still, your skills seem to have improved quite a bit, haven’t they?”

“But it’s hard~ Can’t Jun tell Luna to stop?”

“I’d be lucky if she didn’t just increase the training intensity even more for saying something like that.”

On top of that, I’d be lucky if I didn’t get dragged in and beaten up too.

When I took Yuki’s puffed-out cheeks in my hands, kneaded them, and playfully squeezed the air out, her anger quickly dissipated. So, it was Luna’s job to rigorously train them in the ring, and my job to diligently soothe them.

Furthermore, even if they had had nothing to begin with, they wouldn’t have been able to display that level of skill, but perhaps because the talent they possessed was quite promising, Yuki and Kana’s skills improved by leaps and bounds.

Luna, who seemed to have a hobby of gathering strong individuals from all over, would have just folded K.I.T.S.U.N.E and tried to recruit them if it weren’t for me.

‘That mercenary who used Cyber Scorpion, Hottentota… seemed to be on a similar level to Sharkhead, who I fought.’

Even when they first met, they had enough skill not to be completely pushed back against quite strong mercenaries, but now, their form had improved to a level where even Blake would find their combined attack difficult to handle easily.

If K.I.T.S.U.N.E, which they were involved with, had been a more proper organization, wouldn’t they both be considered major figures?

‘She’s more reliable than most of the mercenaries who gather at that pub…’

The community where mercenaries from all over the Eclipse Point region gathered, a place Luna often took me to.

Of course, they were somewhat vetted, and noticeably strong individuals often appeared, but it was natural that there were more mediocre ones in proportion.

It was truly something I could acknowledge but struggled to understand that this white fox, who was essentially urging me to quickly dote on her, could mostly deal with those who displayed fearsome cyberware to avoid being underestimated despite their lack of skill, or rough-looking individuals who had bulked up as if they could easily lift 1000 in the three major lifts.

‘Though the era when one could judge skill by appearance had long since ended with all sorts of modification procedures having emerged.’

This soft and squishy body, too, was packed with considerable high-grade bioware, rare in civilian markets, and by employing beast modules, her sensory organs were enhanced tens of times more than an ordinary human’s, so her specs were by no means low.

“What are you thinking about, Jun? Surely you’re not thinking about another woman while we’re alone?”

“Not exactly…”

Perhaps because the hand kneading her cheek had been momentarily neglected while I was briefly lost in thought, Yuki immediately pressed me, so I decided to change the subject.

“More importantly, the bounty on the Shape Shifter was a staggering 100 million credits, right? Even if there are quite a few people to split it with, it would still be a large sum. Have you thought about what you’d do with it?”

“Hmm~”

100 million credits.

Even for mercenaries who earn enormous amounts of money if they just survive, it takes a major job to get a reward in the hundred-thousand-credit range, so this was truly an immense sum.

Roughly speaking, if one credit was like a single 1,000-won bill, enough to buy a piece of candy, then even considering inflation, wouldn’t that be 35 to 50 million dollars?

A unit that would only be seen when discussing corporate value being offered as a bounty for a single individual made me realize anew, indirectly, just how insane the Seven Highs were.

“Maybe we should look for a newlywed home in the Upper City with a good view of the ocean~”

“…Hey.”

Yuki suddenly brought up an awkward topic.

“Just kidding. I’ll probably get some smuggled military-grade bioware and new procedures, you know? Having a healing factor like Uncle Bearhand would be convenient too.”

“True… Now that you mention it, bioware is said to be expensive enough to make you vomit blood, right?”

Actually, parts that could modify the body, whether cyber or bio, were equally ridiculously expensive, but if you had to pick which one was more expensive for a full-body procedure, on average, bioware’s price range was even more merciless.

“Yeah. The market is smaller than for cyberware, and you don’t really feel the effect with just one or two parts.”

Basically, when looking at individual parts, bioware performs worse than cyberware.

However, it is safer than cyberware, which carries the risk of being decked during combat, no matter how much ICE it has. It is immune to EMPs, more resistant to damage, and most importantly, you can cram in more of it than cyberware.

Therefore, if modified to the extreme, bioware surprisingly has considerable advantages.

On top of that, though it’s somewhat of a path to throwing your life away, it also synergizes better with combat drugs and stimpacks.

“It’s true, unless it’s a huge score like this, or winning the lottery, a full bioware overhaul is pretty much a dream.”

“Normally, you’d retire and fully enjoy a rich life~”

“True.”

If you earn that much, you should live by spending money lavishly.

“It’s a shame, but let’s look for a newlywed home when Jun feels like accepting me~”

“…”

***

Shirokitsune Yuki, who had subtly made him imagine a future after marriage, whether seriously or lightly, swallowed a small regret, feigning a relaxed and playful smile.

Since he hadn’t taken a clear stance yet, just seeing him fluster when she poked that spot was enjoyable enough for now.

Moreover, in the first place, the current situation was nothing short of incredible luck for her.

Thanks to an assassin who might appear at any time, she could spend most of her day with the person she liked!

‘Lately, I’ve been so tired because of Luna that I couldn’t even play, and I passed out every night, though…!’

Her and her sister Kurokitsune Kana’s arch-rival!

To be honest, it was less an arch-rivalry and more of a love rivalry between people who liked the same man. And even though she and her sister had made much more progress, still, the position of a childhood friend known for a full ten years could not be ignored.

Even when the dinner table was fully set last night, she had hesitated, saying ‘next time!’ ‘someday!’, kicking away the meal while planning for an indefinite future.

To have such a sensual body and still not be able to ‘eat’ even when offered… if she had those awe-inspiring breasts herself, she’d probably be planning her children by now; it was utterly lamentable.

‘Of course, it’s fun to watch from the sidelines~’

That said, Yuki didn’t dislike Luna.

Luna Anthony Taylor was a rare good person in this city.

Even though Yuki and Kana had boldly declared their affection for him and their status as love rivals, she would only grumble a bit, never secretly resorting to any tricks. Instead, she would even help with their training or provide information they happened to need.

How could one dislike someone who tried so hard to be good to them?

Because they had naturally established a rivalry, she only grumbled about the intensity of her methods, but she believed they had become quite close internally.

‘Hmm~ Does it really matter what happens?’

Yuki, who believed in the formula ‘good + good = even better,’ looked up at him, who was by now gently fiddling with the choker around her neck.

Unlike anti-aging procedures that artificially made one look younger, leading to excessive oiliness, his youthful face was undeniably vibrant, fresh, and clean.

His sharp eyes, which might otherwise make him seem too young and frivolous, firmly anchored his expression, making him appear fierce, but that was what captivated her.

*Gulp* Yuki gulped as his face drew closer.

As she had crossed the line between life and death many times, with his rough, wolf-like aura, she recalled the first time she had served him as her Master in the hideout.

He had collided with her as if to devour her, and beneath him, trembling so as not to be devoured, she had bared her belly and fawned, experiencing a transgressive pleasure from being cherished not as a human, but as an animal receiving affection, rather than pain.

Though it was a memory that made her face burn spontaneously, it still reminded her of it. Holding the dog collar, the key to returning to that relationship at any time, Shirokitsune Yuki’s hazy eyes were pondering whether she was human or fox at this moment.

“So cool…”

“Huh?”

The white fox, her face bright red and her forehead flushed, was currently head over heels in love.