NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21
“Bwup?! Bup! Bwoooook…! Bup…!!”
The arms flailing with all their might slammed against Horatio’s head and shoulders violently, while the feet that no longer touched the ground kicked fiercely to escape the merciless restraints.
However, the trained, managed, and modified physique of the mercenary showed no signs of being affected by the feeble resistance of the middle-aged broker.
“Did you think I would treat you like royalty just because you booked a hotel room and ordered some food? Huh? With no one around to watch, I’m starting to worry whether you even grasped your request properly… Should I just leave you here to become a piece of shit? Huh??”
Horatio’s anger was not hot like fire. It was cold, persistent, and at the same time, sticky.
What he initially thought to be unusual about the green-haired man began to take on another meaning. That was a kind of deadly poison. Even if he missed his prey a time or two, it was a symbol of a resolve that would eventually choke the life out of it.
This was indeed a serious situation. Recognizing that either the request he had to proceed with or his jaw would undoubtedly be broken, the broker turned his gaze towards the relatively logical Omen.
Crack…!!
“Hmph! Wasn’t it you who accepted the application for the position and brought me into the room? It’s natural for a broker to choose a mercenary since a mercenary cannot choose the broker… But to shift responsibility now is simply pathetic. If you’ve made your choice, accept the result calmly.”
Omen, who had chewed through the ornamental bone attached to synthetic meat in a delightful manner, refused to assist as he re-equipped his mask. He had enough logic and reasoning, but… why was this human weapon subtly siding with Horatio?
…If he took on the mission, he needed to live up to the expectations.
“Bwoooop!!”
This time, as a fallback, he sought help from Domino, who was comfortably resting in the room.
“…Well, I was a bit surprised that she doesn’t even have a market ID… but if she’s deliberately asking the broker to request that on-site, she must have proven her qualifications by finding the code to enter the black market without a referral. …Or perhaps…”
Domino, who had been lying like a corpse, suddenly sat up. His vacant eyes locked onto the man.
“Does she think it’s permissible to arbitrarily dismiss the legitimate requests of the mercenaries…?”
“Bup?!”
The droopy pupils instantly constricted, and the blade of the jackknife glimmered ominously.
The sweat dripped from the broker’s face as he realized that the last rescue ship was, in fact, a pirate ship.
Ultimately, the trembling gaze of the broker accepted everything… and turned toward me.
“…?”
No, upon closer inspection, the other mercenaries were also now looking at me. Especially Horatio, who had lost his previously stern expression, now had an expectant grin on his face like a puppy wanting praise, which was utterly ridiculous.
…Since when did I become the mastermind of this situation?! Hey!!
“…I think you’ve already understood the gist of it. Isn’t it time to start discussing the job…?”
“Yes!! …Thank your sister, Ivory, you clumsy brat.”
“Ugh?!”
As if he had been waiting for me to start the conversation, the broker’s body crashed to the floor with a thud.
Despite his reddened jaw and trembling limbs, he discreetly moved his hands and feet to start writing the black market ID.
Beep…!
[ Welcome, BMHA-7JWE7IOk! ]
[ You have an ongoing mission. Please note that if you leave the operational area, all responsibility will fall on you. ]
The portable scanner taken from the briefcase read his wrist’s barcode and biometric data, and shortly after, a notification appeared in my view indicating that the black market exclusive ID, code, and dedicated account had been successfully created.
“……The issuance of the ID and your hiring for this mission are done. And… about the mission details…”
A warning tone came along with a laptop placed on the table in front of me. Instead of the neatly organized overview of the request, a document file encrypted in double or triple layers appeared on the screen.
“This bastard really…!”
“Please! Show off your skills. Either way… if I fail, I’m a dead man, so it’s the same whether I die now or later…”
“…Alright.”
Horatio, who had read deep resignation in the man’s voice, closed his shouting mouth.
It was a bit scary to reveal my cards in front of so many people… but I couldn’t hide it forever. Besides, there were people who had experienced it firsthand, so it wasn’t exactly a perfect secret either.
I spread my palm and lightly touched the laptop keyboard. Then I closed my eyes.
While a typical hacker might have used all ten fingers in an impressive display of typing to subdue the room, my hacking was far from such standards.
“…? What should I do now….”
Signals were emitted from my skin, and the switch in my closed mind flipped wide open.
When I opened my eyes again… the scenery had changed; the hotel room vanished, replaced by a vast library.
Knowing the connection was successful, the next step was to decrypt and search the encrypted files.
Casually skimming through the books and information I pulled out, I approached a book hovering majestically in the center of the library, heavily protected by various barriers.
Did I use Abyss Dive? No way.
No matter how much I wanted to prove my abilities, I wasn’t reckless enough to use such a specialized technique in a situation where I couldn’t guarantee my safety.
Sending false signals to Horatio’s cyberware the previous day to cause malfunction without directly hacking was a technique born from my own research.
Dr. Makarovich’s research topic was… a goddess. If he wanted to create an absolute being in the virtual world, that research must have succeeded brilliantly.
This was the hacking skill I had perfected while destroying the data bank of the laboratory I was born in and running a temporary cyberware shop at Grandfather Heinrich’s store. It was a skill unique to me in this world. Rather, I couldn’t even use the standard methods at all.
Having never learned coding separately, I controlled my imagination to create the environment, and designed as the perfect and unique genius, I processed all of this into a momentary electric signal exchange.
This skill, which maximized the time acceleration of Abyss Dive and the accessibility of ordinary hacking by taking only their advantages, was something I couldn’t precisely quantify how effective it would be in practice. But as long as it was my greatest power and the strength permitted to me, I would declare that I have no intention of easily losing on my battlefield…!
“…Ew?!”
Thud…!
Despite my bold declaration being rendered meaningless, the book I had idly opened contained horrific image data… and bugs—viruses—poured out in droves. What the hell was this crazy person carrying on his work computer…!
I stomped on them with my shoes, manipulating the library floor to delete everything. Indeed, you shouldn’t just look through someone else’s computer without hesitation.
“Phew… good.”
Finally reaching the secure file, I extended my hands.
Since it was unfair for only my brain to suffer, I delegated loads of work to the laptop’s processing unit.
I decrypted the structure and language used in the encryption. I connected the cut-off portions and carefully circumvented the blocked parts.
Other hackers might foam at the mouth, but the sequence that instinctively felt as simple as unwrapping a gift box or triangular onigiri proceeded smoothly along a faintly glowing path.
Thus, with a subjective time of one minute and real time barely two seconds passing, I disconnected and emerged from the laptop.
“…That’s how it is, right? You wanted to see my skills… ”It’s done.” …How about that?”
On the laptop screen, files opened, and mission details were transmitted via hologram for everyone to see.
“Hacking is finished.”
[ Client: Paradise Corporation ]
[ Operation Name: Fat Rat Heist. ]
“……Impressive.”
For a moment, the crowd was stunned by the magic that unfolded in the blink of an eye until the detailed directives and information about the target began to lay themselves out below, and the expressions of the three mercenaries who saw it became very… serious.
Sectors and extraction plans… escape routes and troop strengths… there were many important things written, but there were so many professional military terms that it was hard for me to understand. I might as well listen to the broker’s direct explanation.
…But before that, a thought came to mind that I definitely wanted to say to him.
“Um… Broker?”
“? What is it?”
“……. When using your work laptop, I recommend you avoid keeping furry, overly revealing animal videos in it. …There were a ton of viruses, so I deleted them all.”
“!!!!!!!!”
The middle-aged man, whose peculiar taste couldn’t really be described as mainstream even in the 22nd century, opened and closed his mouth, flustered.
Whether that embarrassment stemmed from the shame of being caught… or from the regret over lost materials, I could not say.
…And frankly, I didn’t want to know.