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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Inside a dark room, a hologram of a glamorous woman smiled in mid-air.
[Hahaha! Moving again so soon after your last move? Do you have credits to burn?]
“It’s not like I completely moved! …I just bought another place.”
Exhausted from the argument, Catherine leaned her head back.
A clean, or rather plain, ceiling came into view.
‘…It really is cramped.’
Being a mercenary meant traveling frequently.
So, Catherine had several bases in various locations.
From the landfill to Neon City…
She’d lived in countless homes, but even for her, this place was excessively small.
‘…I can’t understand why he’d move to such a small place.’
Catherine thought, picturing a certain mage.
[Same difference, crazy woman.]
“I told you, it’s just another base.”
[Oh, right, right. Of course.]
The person on the holographic call continued to laugh.
Catherine didn’t like their reaction.
But she was used to ignoring her colleague’s eccentricities; it wasn’t the first time.
[You called me during my live stream, I thought something happened.]
“…I was just letting you know. We’re colleagues, aren’t we?”
[This is what you call seeking advice from a friend, my dear.]
“…….”
A string of curses almost escaped Catherine’s lips.
She held back because, in a way, they were right.
Catherine silently calmed herself.
[By the way, what happened to the person who lived there? …Don’t tell me…]
“No, I didn’t kill him or anything… I just gave him some extra credits and sent him on his way.”
That’s why this tiny room cost more than the average market price.
‘…But where did that guy run off to?’
The thought that the very person who prompted her to get this place had disappeared again gave Catherine a headache.
The holographic woman, sensing her mood, giggled again.
[Oh, really. You’re pushing this hard, and he’s still oblivious? Maybe you should be more aggressive?]
“……Forget it. I’ll do things my way. He’s been distancing himself lately, so I’m being cautious, wondering what’s up.”
It was true.
For some reason, Lee Shiun had been noticeably distancing himself from Catherine…
…and from their other colleagues.
[Why don’t you ask him when you get a chance? …I’m curious too.]
“I should.”
Why was he running away?
Catherine’s thoughts lingered on this unfamiliar concern.
[Oh, shit.]
“What?”
[Turn on NCB News Channel 4.]
“What is it now?”
She didn’t have time for news right now.
Despite thinking that, Catherine followed their advice and opened the news program.
A new screen interface appeared on the opposite side of the hologram.
《We are currently live at a cafe in North Houston that has been seized by the extremist eco-fascist group, ‘Eco Warriors.’》
“What? It’s just regular news.”
[Keep watching.]
Catherine couldn’t understand why she should care about terrorists appearing in Neon City. It wasn’t exactly breaking news.
She continued watching apathetically.
《Here’s a look inside the cafe provided by the terrorists. Many Neon City citizens appear to be held hostage.》
“……Huh?”
Why was he there?
[Haha! Look at that guy’s face, no sense of crisis whatsoever. He’s the only hostage with a calm expression.]
The person on the holographic call laughed. But Catherine didn’t hear them.
“I’m hanging up.”
[Huh?]
Slam!
Her figure vanished from the room.
Only the frame of the front door remained.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
And so, currently…
“Which bastards were it?! The ones who grabbed my friend!!”
…How did she even know I was here?
Forgetting that I was being held by the scruff of my neck by an orc terrorist, I waved.
And the moment her eyes met mine…
Rip, Crash!!
I didn’t see what happened.
The sound of something tearing and collapsing.
I only felt a faint breeze brush past my face.
It was clear that the orc behind me had fallen, but there was something strange.
The feeling of the orc’s grip on the back of my neck hadn’t disappeared.
I glanced back.
The orc was writhing in pain on the ground, their hand completely ripped off.
……After grasping the situation, I slowly moved my hand. I detached the remaining orc hand (now an independent entity) from the back of my neck and gently placed it on the floor.
The severed hand twitched, spraying electrolyte fluid and blood.
Catherine asked me urgently,
“Are you alright?”
“…Yeah, I think so?”
“……Phew.”
This time, I asked Catherine, who let out a sigh of relief,
“But how did you know I was here?”
Catherine pointed her chin at the camera.
Ah, the camera.
Of course, she could see me since it was being broadcast.
I thought…
…that she had planted a tracking device on me or something.
We were chatting peacefully, as if we were on a casual outing, when…
“Who the hell is this bitch!!”
The orc terrorists, finally regaining their senses, yelled.
It was only natural that they started shooting simultaneously.
I lowered my posture defensively.
I channeled mana, intending to block only the bullets flying towards me.
Now that she was here…
I didn’t have to do anything.
Catherine moved with the sound of gunshots.
She deflected the rain of bullets with a single palm.
Her movements were several times faster than normal.
Cyberware neural acceleration.
The specs of her implants were on a different level.
To the orc terrorists, she was a sudden natural disaster.
After blocking a volley of bullets, Catherine continued her assault.
A single kick shattered a ribcage, a punch broke a neck, sending frothy blood spraying.
She even snatched a rifle from a terrorist and fired it, each pull of the trigger sending blood spurting from unarmored flesh.
Mere seconds later, it was all over.
This wasn’t even a fight for Catherine.
“Who uses these outdated guns anymore?”
Catherine scoffed, casually tossing the assault rifle she’d used onto the floor.
All the terrorists were either dead or lying incapacitated, unable to even groan.
As expected of the protagonist.
“Let’s go home.”
“…Yeah, let’s.”
Right.
I’d be crazy to try and run away now.
I suppressed the thought of being pulverized if I actually tried.
Just then, one of the downed orcs struggled to sit up.
Whoa, that guy.
Wasn’t he the one whose neck got broken?
How is he still alive?
“…He would have been dead if it weren’t for the exoskeleton.”
I see.
Catherine, frowning slightly, looked at the orc again.
Her weight shifted forward, as if she was about to charge and deliver another kick.
But the orc’s words, uttered through gritted teeth, stopped everyone (including the hostages hiding in the corners) in their tracks.
“Cough… Everyone freeze! I just activated a time bomb!”
The orc removed the tarp covering a device.
One of the pieces of equipment I hadn’t recognized earlier.
It had been hidden under the tarp, but…
Now exposed, it clearly looked like a bomb.
A time bomb, out of nowhere?
White numbers ticked down on the device’s black screen. Time.
The remaining time… 3 minutes?
What were we supposed to do with so little time?
“I didn’t intend to use this bomb! This is all your fault! This whole building is going to blow up!”
“If you were going to detonate it anyway, why does it matter if you die?”
“…Huh?”
Those were the orc’s last words.
Catherine wiped her bloodstained hands with a cloth she’d gotten from somewhere.
“Hey, what do we do now? Should we run?”
Judging by the state of the orc terrorists, reasoning with them wouldn’t have worked anyway.
It was better to deal with them swiftly before they caused further trouble, rather than wasting time trying to persuade them.
“Can’t you hack it or something?”
“I’m not a hacking or tech specialist like ‘Drek.’ I don’t have any equipment right now. And it looks like it has heavy security locks, I can’t even touch it.”
Catherine fearlessly nudged the ticking bomb with her foot.
Honestly, running away wouldn’t be a problem.
Even if the orc terrorist said so, the bomb wouldn’t explode because of us.
But everyone left in the building who couldn’t evacuate in 3 minutes would die, and their families would receive life insurance payouts.
I didn’t know how powerful the bomb was, but…
Considering the orc terrorist’s claim that the entire building would be destroyed, I assumed the surrounding damage would be significant.
Even so, there was nothing we could do.
As the timer ticked down…
…I was about to suggest we run.
[There is no alternative, I confess.]
“Huh?”
[Commencing hacking sequence. ……Complete. The bomb has been deactivated.]
“Wha…?”
“Are you crazy?”
Just in case, I checked the bomb.
The timer had indeed stopped.
Catherine, who couldn’t hear Eve, hadn’t noticed what happened. Following my gaze to the bomb, she asked,
“What the…? How did it stop?”
“…Uh, well, hmm… I… studied.”
I lied to deflect the question.
Would she have believed me if I said it just stopped on its own?
But there was no taking back a lie once it was spoken.
“Funny, you said you were a mage, and what was it? Heroes don’t study? And that you wouldn’t learn hacking.”
“…Details omitted.”
I awkwardly avoided Catherine’s questioning gaze.
Explaining myself to Catherine wasn’t the priority right now.
Eve.
A rather peculiar AI.
She shouldn’t be able to connect to the network…
How did she manage to ‘hack’ it, and successfully at that?
Catherine went to check the orcs’ belongings.
As expected of the protagonist, she loved looting.
Seizing the opportunity, I whispered,
“…Let’s talk later.”
[…I acknowledge.]
Suddenly, I had a headache.
This was more of a headache than the terrorist attack itself.
As I was grappling with my thoughts, the NCPD team finally arrived.
…They sure took their time.
They glanced around and walked towards us.
“NCPD. Can you explain the situation?”
Shouldn’t they know already since they saw the broadcast?
The cameras the terrorists brought must still be recording.
Catherine’s actions, taking down the terrorists, would have been broadcast as well.
[…I also hacked those, I admit.]
……Well.
Then, they might not know.
“It is as you see.”
“So you two neutralized all the terrorists…?”
“No. I didn’t do anything, it was all her.”
Catherine, seemingly done looting the orcs’ pockets, walked over.
“What’s up?”
“NCPD. Excuse me, but can we see your ID?”
The NCPD officer’s demeanor changed after hearing that a single person had neutralized all the terrorists.
Catherine pulled a card from her pocket.
Not a city-issued biometric ID.
It was corporate-issued. To prevent forgery and hacking, corporate IDs were issued in card format.
The NCPD officer’s expression changed dramatically upon receiving the ID.
“…Confirmed. Catherine Lee. You’re free to go.”
Another officer, seemingly a subordinate, raised their voice behind the first officer.
“Senior! We still need to investigate…”
“…Just shut up.”
“Huh?”
“Have you never seen a Monolith Corps Level 1 ID? …It’s not something just anyone carries around.”
“…Oh.”
Even though he lowered his voice for the last part, I could still hear him.
I had one of those too, by the way.
Weren’t they going to check mine?
“Should I show you my ID too?”
“No, you can go with her.”
I felt a little disappointed.
Why weren’t they checking mine…?
Catherine took back her ID with a familiar expression.
I said to her,
“Let’s just go home.”
“…No, since we’re already out, let’s go have some fun. You’ll come with me, right?”
“…Sounds like a hassle.”
Hmm.
I looked at Catherine, contemplating.
Her golden eyes sparkled.
…She was so unnecessarily pretty that it was hard to refuse.
She did save me from the terrorists, and we wouldn’t be out all day, so…
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it, they say.
“Alright, let’s.”
“Great! Follow me.”
It had been a while since we went out together, just the two of us.
…It felt a bit like a date.
‘Am I feeling weak lately? We’re not like that.’
I calmed my needlessly fluttering heart.
….
…….
Definitely not.
…A date my ass.
Our itinerary was as follows: checking out new products at a gun store, browsing combat implants at an implant shop, shooting at a firing range, checking out illegal weapons at the lower level black market, and so on.
And I was dragged around all day.
…A date?
My bad for expecting such a thing.
Catherine, however, was beaming.
Thus, another day ended.
And the next day…
“I’m fucked.”
I stared at the blue graph plummeting through the floor and into the basement.
My stocks (or what were my stocks) were ruined.
It was summer.
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He can’t catch a break.