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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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“The tactical operatives?”
“I’ve taken care of them.”
“…Is that so.”
The Chinese mafia corporation.
Hei Lü, the tactical operations manager of Heishuqwai, leaned back in his worn chair.
Through his cybernetic eyes, surgically implanted long ago, he gazed at the densely packed, irregular buildings.
It was Chinatown, Sin Sector, known as one of the most congested areas in Neon City.
Hei Lü took a sunflower seed from a small table, cracked it open with his teeth, and spat out the shell.
Enjoying the view from the open window frame, he spoke to his adjutant standing behind him.
“Hei Wang was a good shashou (hitman). Although he ended up in jail due to cyberpsychosis, he was our comrade, connected by blood.”
Hei Lü spat out another sunflower seed shell.
“Blood debts are paid in blood. Besides, as the saying goes, when drinking water, remember the source.”
Finishing his words, Hei Lü rose from his chair.
He walked towards the open window.
“The reason I like the view from here, after leaving the headquarters building, the reason I cultivate and eat sunflower seeds, it’s all for the same reason.”
For a brief moment, Hei Lü’s sharp, narrowed eyes glanced at the adjutant standing behind him.
“It’s all to remember the past.”
Knowing that the past the man spoke of was decades old, his subordinate, Hei Lü’s adjutant, simply bowed his head and remained silent.
Observing the silent adjutant, Hei Lü turned his gaze back outside.
“The sprawling, unregulated landscape looks like the old fortress.”
Hei Lü continued,
“Of course, back then, there weren’t any ‘neon signs’ or ‘hologram’ lights like now.”
A hint of longing flashed in the man’s eyes.
“So sometimes, I long for the past more than the scenery of these hologram-covered streets.”
The city lights would never go out, though.
Just as Hei Lü swallowed those words and was observing the cityscape of Chinatown, the view outside the window changed.
The holograms disappeared, the lights vanished.
The lights that should never go out had gone out.
In this surreal scene, Hei Lü’s mouth fell open in astonishment, a reaction no one would have expected from him.
“Huh?”
And then, an unfamiliar female voice echoed.
[Target, confirmed.]
That was immediately followed by…
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I pushed through the cobwebs, making my way forward.
Ugh, the musty smell.
I stopped and asked Eve, who had halted her steps,
Since I was walking in front, I naturally turned my head to look at her.
“…What are you doing?”
This was after the old man told us about a hidden passage leading out the back of the antique shop.
I wondered why an ordinary antique shop would have a ‘secret passage,’ but listening to what he said earlier, it seemed he was also secretly digging up Heishuqwai’s confidential information.
I figured he must have his reasons and decided to let it go.
It would be strange to be concerned about every little detail.
Eve, whose clothes remained spotless despite walking through the dusty passage, answered my question.
“I have located the Heishuqwai ‘tactical operations manager’ who issued the command.”
“……How did you find that out?”
I wondered how she had already found him when we had only been walking through the secret passage for a short time.
Eve puffed out her chest slightly and spoke. It seemed to be an expression of confident pride.
“I hacked and connected to the city’s neural network.”
“…Is it that easy to connect to just because you want to?”
“There was a ‘minor issue’ of a power outage in the area for a short period, but there were no casualties.”
I brushed away the cobwebs blocking my view.
A spider, large enough that I wouldn’t have dared touch it without gloves, scurried away from my hand.
Looking back again, Eve was looking at me expressionlessly, as if nothing had happened.
It was unbelievable.
…How is that a minor issue, Eve?
I had never heard of a power outage in the city before.
Come to think of it, there was a similar power outage when Eve threatened the vice chairman of Ko-ozaka.
……It’ll be fine.
There was nothing I could do now that it had already happened.
Brushing a spider trying to crawl on my foot away with my shoe, I continued to question Eve.
“But then, doesn’t that mean we don’t need to run away?”
“Negative.”
“Huh?”
Eve elaborated,
“Heishuqwai tactical operatives have already been dispatched, so caution is advised.”
I thought it would be alright, but as Eve’s gaze intensified, I forced a nod.
“You’re right. It’s a good thing we took the secret passage.”
Incidentally, we had entrusted the old shop owner to deliver Eve’s ‘old computer’ and my ‘retro game console’ by drone.
We had come out for this.
I couldn’t give up even if Heishuqwai’s tactical operatives were chasing us.
Perhaps because we were in the lower levels,
or because it was a secret passage, an old halogen lamp flickered on the ceiling.
It was surprising that such lamps were still in use.
A faint light could be seen at the end of the passage.
The exit of the secret passage was near.
“Alright, let’s get out of here.”
The exit door itself was very old, but the lock on it was state-of-the-art.
I wondered how to open it.
I fumbled with it for a bit, then opened the old door and stepped outside.
A grey, cloud-covered sky and a wide, open space, completely out of place with Vanta Market, stretched out before us.
We had safely escaped, and now all we had to do was figure out how to deal with Heishuqwai’s tactical operatives.
Or so I thought.
“……What’s that?”
In the distance, through the clouds,
something large was falling, spewing black smoke.
Before I could identify it, Eve grabbed my shoulder from behind and said,
“Brace for impact.”
“?”
“I will bring it down in that designated open area to minimize casualties.”
Bring what down?
But before I could ask Eve what was falling, a ‘flying MPV,’ seemingly designed for tactical operations, crashed from the sky.
BOOM!!
A powerful shockwave and flames erupted.
I didn’t know who was inside, but it didn’t look like they would survive.
Through the blazing flames, I saw the emblem engraved on the flying MPV.
A spreading black flame logo.
The symbol of Heishuqwai.
That meant this crashed vehicle belonged to Heishuqwai.
Hmm.
I turned my head towards the AI, a gesture I had repeated countless times today.
Eve faced me with a demure posture.
“It is finished.”
“…….”
If this was going to happen, we really didn’t need to take the secret passage….
Even with that look in my eyes, Eve simply met my gaze with her impassive expression.
……Right.
As long as it was resolved.
I hadn’t expected things to end without using a single spell.
“……Let’s go home.”
“Acknowledged.”
Perhaps excited about the computer that would be arriving at home by drone, Eve quickened her pace as we walked.
“Ah.”
I stopped for a moment.
“What is it?”
Eve asked me.
“I almost forgot and went straight home.”
Eve tilted her head slightly to the left, as if puzzled.
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Underdog, Dominic Martin, rushed back home.
‘Yes, I did it!’
He was really lucky.
He had stumbled upon the person Heishuqwai was targeting at an antique shop in Vanta Market.
The reward hadn’t been deposited into his account yet, but since it was a corporation that guaranteed payment, he could expect a substantial sum.
He started celebrating alone in his empty house, dancing around.
It was fortunate that his acting was good.
An ordinary amateur information broker would have been caught and embarrassed in that situation.
‘Good job, you’re the best! Dominic Martin!’
Dominic Martin thought so and breathed a sigh of relief.
He needed to be extra cautious.
He wanted to avoid being caught and encountering the infamous ‘Liu Xing.’
But since he had severed the information connection, there was no need to worry about being tracked.
‘…I’m thirsty.’
Perhaps because the tension had eased,
he suddenly felt parched.
‘I wonder if I have any of that rainbow-flavored cola left.’
Ko-ozaka’s new product, rainbow-flavored cola, was perfect for his taste.
Dominic Martin danced his way to the refrigerator.
He felt something strange after opening the refrigerator door.
‘…….’
Why… wasn’t the refrigerator cold?
Normally, because he had cranked up the settings beyond normal, he should have felt a bone-chilling coldness.
But there was no coldness at all.
The freezer was the same.
The melted ice was dripping onto the floor.
Dominic Martin muttered,
“……No.”
It would have been fine if it was just the refrigerator, but he had a familiar sense of déjà vu.
He hurriedly ran to another spot.
He checked the condition of various electronic devices. And unfortunately, his ominous premonition was completely correct.
“What the f─.”
A harsh curse naturally slipped out of his mouth.
“This can’t be happening!!”
The sorrowful man’s voice echoed through the room.
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Back home, I washed my hands and feet.
Hygiene was important.
I sat on the sofa, relieving the fatigue from going out.
“Well, that should be enough.”
After all, we were fellow brokers.
I didn’t intend to kill him from the start.
It was also because he didn’t know my real identity.
If he had sold the information knowing who I was, I wouldn’t have let him off so easily.
“A merciful choice.”
Eve responded to my words.
……It didn’t feel particularly merciful.
I suspected it would cost Underdog a fortune to repair those broken electronics.
I looked at Eve, who was sitting in the corner, cleaning and assembling the old computer.
Even Eve, who would normally be constantly watching me, couldn’t resist a new gift.
What was so great about it?
I guess I’d have to play games with her today.
Thinking that, I expanded my visual interface to kill time while Eve finished assembling the computer.
The ‘NCB24 news program,’ set as my startup program, launched.
The cold voice of the news anchor came through the screen.
《NCB24 breaking news. Hei Lü, known as a high-ranking official of Heishuqwai, has been admitted to Neon City Central Hospital after being transported by the medical subscription service ‘Heal and Run,’ complaining of sudden hallucinations and abnormal symptoms. The hospital has announced that the cause is currently unknown─.》
Hmm.
I am indeed a merciful person.
Looking at the photo of the narrow-eyed man, Hei Lü, whom I had seen at the party, I thought so.
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