—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Smith looked down at his own wrists.
Clank.
He saw handcuffs made of thick iron chains. A tool that was restraining his wrists.
An extremely classic object. But sometimes, it was also effective.
It was even more so in a state like now, where his cybernetic signals were being controlled.
It was something he could normally break just by applying a little force.
But now, unable to move his cyberware as he wished, this ordinary iron chain felt like an insurmountable wall to Smith.
Smith let out a short sigh.
“Haa.”
And he thought.
‘…It’s probably been about a week.’
He couldn’t know the exact time because his neural computer chip, including his cybernetic signals, had been hacked.
It was a guess based simply on his gut. His sharpened senses since being confined told him that about that much time had passed.
The gang’s turf war was much more intense than Smith had thought.
That was also the reason why Smith had been caught.
The gang’s turf war was like a yearly tradition, but Smith had never dreamed that he would be kidnapped and confined like this as soon as he entered Redwood to find out some related information.
But it wasn’t something he couldn’t understand.
If the turf war had begun in earnest. It was a situation where any orc who wasn’t an ‘ally’ could become an ‘enemy’ at any time.
‘They’re probably not going to take my life.’
At most, they would just hold him until the turf war was over.
That’s how Smith summed up the current situation.
The only thing Smith was worried about now., was the single fact that he had been kidnapped without reporting to his ‘boss.’
Although it was a relationship bound by contract, Smith’s loyalty was sincere.
‘…How will this turn out?’
Then, suddenly, Smith remembered the ‘Mage’ he had met before entering Redwood.
As he thought of the Mage, Smith let out a short laugh.
“Hoo.”
The Mage. A profession that had already disappeared and was ignored.
But nevertheless, a great person who was called the ‘Only Magician’ by others.
Of course, the first impression wasn’t good.
Because he had been so scrawny.
Rumors were rampant that he was a person who mooched off his acquaintances without any ability.
The misunderstanding was quickly cleared up.
But there was also a thought that hadn’t changed.
Even thinking about it now, he didn’t fit in as a ‘mercenary.’
Because…
Just then, the firmly closed iron door suddenly opened.
Smith stopped his thoughts and naturally turned his gaze to the open iron door.
The light that flowed in from the outside illuminated the dust inside. The dust spread out on the wind.
“Excuse me, is there a Mr. Smith here? Ah, right. I mean the Mr. Smith who is 2m tall, male, and employed at No Answer. Of course, I’ll let you go even if you’re not him.”
A voice that didn’t fit the atmosphere was heard.
‘…This is why I thought he wasn’t cut out to be a mercenary.’
He was such a good person. To a degree that was hard to see in this city.
Come to think of it, he was about the only one who would greet him, who was just a ‘bouncer’ at ‘No Answer,’ so cheerfully.
Smith let out a short laugh.
He raised his chained hands and waved them at the Mage, Lee Shiun, who had entered.
“Oh, are you alright?”
At Lee Shiun’s question, Smith answered.
“…Are you moving under a request? If you move like this without a request, your reputation as a mercenary will drop easily. Haha.”
It was half a joke.
Lee Shiun laughed at Smith’s words and continued to speak.
“Well, what does it matter? It’s been a while since I quit my mercenary work anyway.”
Lee Shiun reached out his hand to help the seated Smith up.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The base of the gang called ‘Red Orcs’ was the abandoned site of a certain factory.
And, certainly, as the orc named Michael had explained.
The gang members’ equipment were also special.
“It’s a raid! Shoot them!!”
Orcs wearing red hoods fired their machine guns.
While I created a barrier using my mana.
Catherine, who had shot forward like a flash, deflected the bullets and neutralized the gang member with the machine gun.
Passed lightly
“Die!!”
A grenade was fired with a flame from the equipment held by a certain orc.
Just as I was about to create a barrier with mana again, this time I couldn’t even make a barrier.
Catherine, who had shot forward, returned the grenade to the opponent as is.
Naturally, passed.
“This, this is impossible…! There’s no way you can hack something like this!!”
The hacker (orc) who had witnessed Eve’s barrier felt a sense of self-loathing and wailed.
Catherine, who had slowly approached, flicked his forehead to knock him out.
Passed again.
“……!”
Finally, a tank came out.
Wow, it seems they really aren’t an ordinary gang.
While I was admiring it, Catherine quickly hijacked the tank through the driver’s seat.
“Whew, that was a good workout.”
As if nothing had happened, Catherine said, looking at me.
“……”
I was beginning to understand Michael’s reaction, who had fled out the window, more and more.
Anyway, a machine gun, a hacker, and even a tank. It was no joke.
The only thing I was disappointed about was that there wasn’t a single gang member who charged in with a hammer and sickle.
It seems the wave of red revolution is still far from coming to the cyberpunk world.
That’s what I thought.
In the end, on the top floor of the factory.
“…Who the hell are you?”
We were able to meet the leader of the Red Orcs.
His red-dyed mohawk was impressive.
I had heard that orcs have thick skin and their hair doesn’t grow easily, so it seemed to be a hairstyle created through hair transplantation.
Finally, an opponent worth talking to had appeared. I took a step forward.
“By any chance, is there an orc named Smith among the orcs you’ve recently confined?”
Since honorifics were a virtue in a Confucian society, I asked the orc I was seeing for the first time (the gang leader) with politeness.
“…There isn’t just one or two named Smith—.”
I asked the wrong question again.
“He’s 2m tall and male—, no, never mind.”
Come to think of it, there was no need to explain like this.
“Anyway, I think there’s someone I know among the orcs you’ve confined.”
“…So, what is it?”
“Please release all the orcs you’re holding.”
This much was said with sufficient politeness. Since Catherine hadn’t killed any orcs (probably) on the way here, it was better to solve it through dialogue if possible.
“…Right, so that was your purpose.”
A sharp light shot out from the gaze of the Red Orc leader. It was a light source from a mechanical eye.
Was it to calm his mind?
He took out an e-cigarette filled with an unknown, mysterious liquid.
As a strange-colored smoke spewed out from his lungs through the e-cigarette, the gang leader regained his composure and smiled.
The gang leader, with a slightly hazy expression, continued to speak in a slow tone.
“…No, I can’t. I’ve finally gathered enough power to take over Redwood, so I can’t just end it like this.”
“…No, we’re—.”
I spoke to him using ‘no,’ one of the four major sentence elements of a Korean.
Other examples are ‘fuck,’ ‘really,’ and ‘but.’
We’re not trying to mess up your power, we just asked you to release the confined orcs.
I was about to say that. But the gang leader with hazy eyes naturally cut me off.
“I know your purpose. Now I’ll have to get serious too.”
We already smashed a tank on the way here.
Is there anything left to be serious about?
Finally, the gang leader’s gaze turned to Tom. A smooth killing intent was contained in those pupils.
“So it was you, the orc who called another power.”
“?”
Tom, who had been quietly keeping his mouth shut, reading the mood, looked around. He realized that the gang leader’s words were directed at him.
“…You mean me?”
“Yes, you. Where are you from? Iron Fist? Green Horde? …Right, well, it doesn’t matter where.”
The gang leader muttered to himself.
“…I’m just a taxi driver—.”
“To call another power in this neighborhood, you’re the one who started it. And I will personally peel off your green skin.”
“……Pardon?”
It seemed he was not in his right mind.
When I first met him, I thought we could have a conversation to some extent, but I realized once again how dangerous mental care drugs (narcotics) are.
The leader orc, whose pupils had already become hazy, gave a mad laugh.
“Hehehe, you must have thought you were the only ones who could call another power. But you’re wrong.”
The leader orc operated his visual interface.
Craaaash!!
Someone broke through the ceiling and fell from the sky.
Oh, a clean hero landing.
“Like I said before, you guys are the ones who called another power first. I didn’t start it, hehe.”
The gang leader said in a confident voice.
I turned my gaze and looked at the ‘orcs’ who had broken through the ceiling and fallen into the room.
They raised their thick bodies.
I could tell at a glance. They were opponents who were heavily armed with military-spec cyberware.
They definitely didn’t look like an ordinary gang. Of course, the tank was also ‘military-spec,’ but it was a product from a few generations ago. You could easily find it in the black market if you looked.
But the products they were wearing now, no matter how briefly I glanced, were current-generation military-spec.
I didn’t know it would be to this extent. I raised the danger level of the gang in my mind by one step.
【Is it them?】
The orc who had appeared from the ceiling said through a mask. An emotionless voice sounded mechanical.
“If you guys are from Redwood, you must have at least heard the rumors of the ‘Eco Warriors’.”
Eco, what?
I’ve heard that name somewhere.
And it seemed this wasn’t the first time I had remembered this name.
“I’ll make you regret coming here!”
The gang leader’s shout echoed in the room.
We naturally prepared for battle.
Of course, just Catherine would have been enough this time too, like before, but since the opponent’s equipment was what it was, there was no harm in being careful.
But, the orcs of the group called ‘Eco Warriors’ stood still without any movement, despite the gang leader’s shout.
To be precise, they were looking at ‘Catherine.’
“……”
What.
Catherine, who had been in a combat stance, also noticed that and made a puzzled expression.
The orc of the Eco Warriors spoke in a smaller voice than before.
【…By any chance, are you the human mercenary with the nickname ‘Shooting Star’?】
Catherine nodded her head.
It was at the same time.
The orcs of the Eco Warriors, who had been preparing for battle, looked at each other and then nodded their heads.
Before long, they jumped up from their spot and escaped through the ceiling they had appeared from.
“?”
Everyone looked at the ceiling they had left through with dazed eyes.
I was so surprised by the unexpected situation that I didn’t even think of bringing them back with psychokinesis like I did with Michael earlier.
Just then.
“Ah.”
A forgotten memory flashed through my brain.
Eco Warriors.
They were the group that had committed a terror act on the cafe I was in, under Pete Mac’s request.
Afterward, they were also annihilated by Catherine.
“……”
If so, then it was natural for information about Catherine to circulate among them.
It wouldn’t be the case for an ordinary person.
Because usually, when an ‘individual’ and a ‘group’ fight, the ‘group’ is bound to win.
But if that was the legend of the mercenary world, ‘Shooting Star,’ Catherine, the more information they dug up, the more unbelievable things would have come out.
They must have judged that it was more profitable to avoid her than to clash with her, and I guessed that their action just now had come from such a reason.
Still, I never thought they would run away without even showing their tails.
“……What the.”
The gang leader couldn’t finish his sentence. He looked as if he hadn’t grasped the situation yet.
Hmm.
I slowly walked toward him.
His body trembled as if flinching, following my footsteps.
“So.”
“Yes, yes yes!”
“Where are the confined orcs?”
“This way!”
The newly hired guide led us.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Then thank you for your trouble.”
I gave Tom my final farewell.
Even if Smith’s condition looked fine, since he had been confined for a week, it was better to get a detailed examination at the hospital.
And I also had to contact Natasha.
And I had to thank Catherine and Eve who had helped me, so I was busy.
It would be best to part with Tom here.
But, Tom fidgeted as if he had something to say and watched my reaction.
What’s wrong?
Tom said to me.
“…Sir. Will I be alright?”
“Alright with wha—, ah.”
I thought I knew what he was worried about.
He must have been bothered by the words of the Red Orc gang leader.
Being mistaken for an orc from another gang.
The threat of having his skin peeled off was a bit horrifying even for me to hear.
The gang, the Red Orcs, was already shattered beyond recovery.
But as a fellow ordinary citizen, I could understand his worry as an ordinary citizen.
After a short deliberation, I sent a notification to his visual interface.
“This is my personal number. Please register it.”
“…Pardon?”
“If you need any help, I will help you.”
The fact that the first person whose number I got in this cyberpunk world was an ‘orc male’ bothered me a little.
But for his safety, it couldn’t be helped.
I added.
“You can contact me even if it’s not for something you necessarily need help with.”
It was a line I added because he was a likable person.
Even if he had guided us for credits, this was a world where there were far more people who would betray you for credits.
He had guided us cleanly.
The expression of Tom, who had received my number, brightened slightly. He looked a little less worried.
We received Tom’s final guidance and parted with him at the border of Redwood.
We could have gone back in the taxi Tom had driven, just as when we came, but since Smith’s build was so large, there wasn’t enough room in Tom’s taxi.
After calling a new taxi, I gently looked up at the sky.
The sun was setting in the sky. A red afterglow faintly shone on the gray sky.
Between the red trees of Redwood. The light of the hologram billboards that had flowed in from the mid-level was faintly situated.
This should be a clean resolution.
I stretched widely. I was in the mood to go back and play some games.
To me, who was fully enjoying the atmosphere, Eve slowly approached and asked.
“By any chance, was a male artificial body better, I ask, despite the rudeness.”
“?”
Being suspected of my sexual identity just because I got Tom’s number was not a pleasant experience.
No matter how much this was a cyberpunk world, that was absolutely not it.
I explained to Eve with all my might.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
