Chapter 166
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166
I waited for Japa in the corridor outside the operating room. Staring out the window, I could see a massive crowd swarming the streets below. Word of Anguis Regina's injury had already leaked.
"What on earth happened?! Hoyot... No, I mean, Anguis was shot?!"
Japa came sprinting down the pristine white hallway, an Equesian mercenary hot on his heels.
"She was trying to kill herself, so I shot her. Good job, right?"
I tilted my head. Japa staggered back, utterly shell-shocked.
"Anguis is an idol! An idol!"
"With today's tech, biological regeneration is a piece of cake. Besides, she's got plenty of money."
I watched Japa as I spoke. Highly agitated, he jabbed a finger with a long, sharp nail right at my face.
"I asked you to find her, not shoot her! Any sane person would..."
"If you wanted a sane person, you should've hired someone else. If you want to hunt down Kinuan, you have to bury your common sense six feet under."
Japa paced anxiously outside the operating room doors.
"If anything happens to Anguis..."
"It's just a gunshot wound to the knee. Nothing to worry about. It'll heal cleanly without leaving a single scar. Honestly, if you were this worried, you should've assigned guards to watch her."
I grumbled in annoyance. Japa's eyes narrowed sharply.
"I respect Anguis Regina's privacy—provided she checks in at least once a day."
"That woman knew I'd come looking for her. This isn't the first time, is it? Every time you hire an Akies Victima user, the exact same thing happens. The idol runs away, and the detective tracks her down. It's almost as if you're testing my abilities."
Japa fell silent. A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth, making my cheek twitch.
"...Whatever your deal is, it's none of my business. I won't ask why you hired me to chase Kinuan anymore, either. I had more than enough complicated human drama back in the Empire. So stop micromanaging how I do my job and hand over the promised pay."
"If a similar situation arises next time, you will use non-violent methods. This is not a request. It is a warning..."
Japa spat fiercely, muttering a few words in Tajirun that sounded suspiciously like curses.
"Let me give you a warning of my own. I'm not your lackey. If you dump a job on me without giving me the full picture, something like today will happen again. If Anguis Regina is a 'precious person' to you rather than just an 'important commodity,' you should've told me beforehand."
Japa merely flicked his tongue in and out. It seemed my words had hit a nerve.
"I was the one who dragged you back into this world. I expect at least a modicum of respect."
"I never asked to be brought back to a shithole like this."
"You are a far more broken man than I thought, Luka. At any rate, here is your payment. I keep my promises, and I expect you to do the same."
Japa handed me a data chip.
I snatched the chip and walked past him. Japa remained where he was, waiting for Anguis Regina's surgery to finish.
"Hoyot, Luka. It's chaotic outside, so please slip out quietly through the back door. I've prepared a vehicle for you."
Japa had already reverted to his usual business tone.
There's some kind of connection between Anguis Regina and Japa. They aren't just an idol and her employer.
There was no need to pry into their relationship right now. If it was relevant to my job, it would naturally come to light. And if we kept working together, I'd find out eventually—whether I wanted to or not.
More importantly, my focus was on the data chip.
The head of security from when Giselle went missing.
That exact man was still here in Border City.
Beep.
I slotted the data chip into my terminal. A single photograph popped up before my eyes, followed by a dense scroll of background information.
...It was unexpected, yet at the same time, entirely predictable.
* * *
Officially, Anguis Regina had broken her leg after falling down the stairs. Japa had done a thorough job of buying everyone's silence. If word got out that a mega-popular idol had been shot, the wild speculation would never end.
I headed toward the Border City slums. There were no drivable roads here; the entire district was a labyrinth of narrow, claustrophobic alleys squeezed between tightly packed, towering buildings.
Even in broad daylight, vagrants lay sprawled across the pavement, treating the filthy concrete as their beds.
Thud! Thud!
Some were repeatedly slamming their heads against the walls and ground. Even as their scalps split open and blood poured down their faces, they didn't stop. It was a common symptom of self-harming behavior seen in severe drug addicts.
"Kirit, karat, kurururu..."
Hearing the bizarre noises, I glanced to the side. Shadows swayed in a dark, damp alleyway.
Squelch, squelch.
A vagrant wrapped in filthy rags shuffled toward me. A sickening amount of sticky fluid dripped from beneath his feet with every step. As if on cue, the other junkies lying on the ground began to crawl and stagger toward me, one by one.
Clack.
I pulled my auto-tracking pistol from my coat. The moment the sleek, high-tech weapon caught the light, the encroaching crowd hesitated and shrank back into the gloom.
As I neared the heart of the slums, the cramped alleys widened into open plazas. The streets here possessed a different kind of energy—a hostile, chaotic vitality. Gang members loitered around, snickering and throwing sideways glances in my direction.
I stopped in my tracks.
This is the place.
Before me stood a building leaking plumes of smoke in indescribable, sickly colors. Multicolored vapor seeped from the windows, doorways, and every conceivable gap. It was even bleeding out of cracks in the concrete walls.
A drug den.
It was one of the worst places you could find in any city—a waiting room for those who had already signed their own death warrants. A hospital building stood right next door, though it was highly unlikely it was used to actually heal anyone.
I stepped inside. The entrance didn't even have a door. I suppose when your clientele has no intention of ever leaving, there's no need to lock them in.
"Looking for a room?" the man behind the counter asked, sizing me up. He wore a complex mechanical respirator mask. A mandatory accessory if you wanted to survive a shift in a place like this.
"I'm looking for someone."
"No people here. Just walking corpses."
I looked down the corridor. The tightly packed doors made it obvious just how cramped the rooms were. Overhead, the ventilation system hummed with a low, mechanical drone.
"I'll leave quietly once I'm done. No trouble."
Instead of a credit chip, I pulled out a small nugget of gold. In Border City, gold was as good as hard cash.
The man pocketed the gold and nodded.
Step, step.
I walked down the hallway at a measured pace. Every door had a small viewing pane, allowing me to peer inside.
The layout of every room was identical: a cot, a toilet, and a television blaring some mindless broadcast. Listless addicts sat or lay like corpses. The physiological effects of the narcotics seemed remarkably universal; nearly half the junkies in here were aliens. Granted, most of them were mammalian species that shared significant biological traits with humans.
Creak.
I climbed to the next floor. The rusted iron stairs groaned under my weight with every step.
Walking down the second-floor corridor, I froze. Doubting my own eyes, I took a step closer to peer through one of the panes. A familiar silhouette caught my eye.
Click.
I pushed the door open.
A man sat on the edge of the cot with his head bowed. He was a massive figure, his limbs entirely cybernetic.
Slowly.
Sensing my presence, he reflexively looked up. His rugged, menacing face hadn't changed a bit.
— I like snakes. I want to meet a man who is like a snake. Once they entwine, they never let go.
Anguis Regina's song drifted from the ancient television. The screen was heavily distorted, flickering with thick static.
Scrape.
I dragged a chair over and sat down in front of him.
"Gabriel," I called out.
Gabriel was the man who had guarded Giselle Custoria until the very end. He was also the former head of G&G Cybernetics' Security Team 4.
You really moved up in the world for a slum-born gangster, Gabriel.
Gabriel's eyes were glassy and unfocused. He was struggling to even register his surroundings.
"It's me. Luka. Lucaus Custoria. Do you remember me?"
A brief spark of recognition flickered in his vacant stare.
I waited patiently for him to respond.
"Lu... ka?"
Gabriel stared at me. His hair and beard had grown wild and tangled, like a savage's. Unidentifiable parasites hopped around in the filthy, matted strands.
"...Let's get out of here first."
"Good... boy..."
Gabriel was severely emaciated. I grabbed him, attempting to haul him to his feet. My prosthetic arm hummed with a slight vibration as the servos exerted force.
"Leave... me... alone. I don't... deserve to live. I'm... I'm a coward... No, I'm despicable..."
"I'll be the judge of that once I hear your story."
"You're... an illusion. My conscience... taking your shape..."
Drool dripped from the corner of Gabriel's mouth.
"I'm real. Drink some water and snap out of it. Do you have any stimulants on you?"
I stood up and began rummaging through the room.
"Liar... You came down from... heaven to save me, didn't you? Hehehe..."
As if I'd ever end up in heaven. I'll be at the very bottom of hell.
I was about to say it out loud, but stopped. A strange, wet crunch echoed from Gabriel's mouth.
Crunch.
Gabriel's body began to violently shudder. His face turned deathly pale in an instant.
"You crazy bastard..."
I seized Gabriel's jaw and pried his mouth open. A crushed capsule fell out. The vibrant purple liquid oozing from it screamed danger.
Damn it, damn it!
I shoved my fingers down his throat to trigger his gag reflex.
"Gag... cough, cough!"
Gabriel doubled over, vomiting up the drug diluted in pale gastric fluid. But the narcotic must have been fast-acting; his pulse and heartbeat were rapidly fading. What infuriated me even more was the blissful, serene smile plastered across his face.
"You absolute dumbass. If you survive this, I'm going to kill you myself."
I clenched my fist.
Whirrrrr!
The circuits on the back of my hand flared to life as the power output surged. The Lazuli 21 was truly a masterpiece of cybernetic engineering.
I threw a punch straight into the wall.
CRASH!
The wall exploded outward, shattering into a million pieces. Concrete debris rained down onto the street below, prompting screams from the pedestrians caught in the fallout.
There was a hospital right next to this drug den. It probably wasn't the kind of place that prioritized saving lives, but it would still have medical staff and equipment.
Thud!
I hoisted Gabriel onto my back and pushed my cybernetic legs to maximum output. The ground beneath my feet vibrated, kicking up a cloud of concrete dust.
BOOM!
I leaped toward the hospital building. It was a gap of over twenty meters, but that was nothing to me.
CRASH!
I smashed straight through the hospital's outer wall, breaching the interior in a single bound.
"Cough, cough! Wh-who the hell are you?!"
"Cough, cough!"
Several people were caught in the blast of debris, but I didn't care. I kicked and shoved aside anyone blocking my path as I stormed down the corridor.
Spotting a directory sign, I kicked open the double doors to the operating room. Inside, four medical staff were busy dissecting a slab of flesh that could have been a corpse or a living patient. A quick glance at the operating table revealed a hollowed-out abdomen, with freshly harvested organs steaming on a metal tray nearby.
As expected, they weren't exactly strict adherents to the Hippocratic Oath. I doubted whether they even deserved to be called "medical staff," but I couldn't think of a better term.
Slam!
I dragged an empty operating table over and hurled Gabriel onto it.
"Save this man. He ingested some purple drug in the den next door, and his vitals are plummeting."
As I explained, the oldest member of the surgical team stepped forward.
"H-hold on, this isn't a normal..."
I raised my auto-tracking pistol and pressed the muzzle squarely against his forehead.
"If he dies, all of you die. Don't look at me like that. It's not like any of you are respectable citizens who can proudly tell your kids what you do for a living anyway."
"You clearly have no idea who you're messing with..." the older man tried to argue. He was probably the only one with actual medical expertise.
Without a word, I shifted my aim to a younger-looking staff member and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
A neat bullet hole appeared in the young man's forehead, a stream of blood rapidly painting his face. He stumbled back before collapsing limply to the floor.
"Go ahead, keep making excuses. I'll put a bullet in each of your heads, one by one."
Leaving them with that warning, I kicked the door leading back to the hallway.
CRASH!
The door tore off its hinges and crumpled against the opposite wall. I closed my eyes, temporarily activating my Auditory Vision.
Clatter, clatter.
Armed gangsters were rushing up the stairs. They were the muscle tasked with protecting this godforsaken facility. I could hear them racking the slides of their firearms and pressing themselves against the corners of the walls.
"Phew."
I opened my eyes and let out a long, slow breath.
...A savage grin kept tugging at the corners of my mouth.
Yeah, I knew it. I was frustrated. Half-assed violence was never going to satisfy my craving.
I was a broken human being. To me, conflict and carnage were as essential as food or sex. No, they were cravings far more difficult to suppress. My mind simply couldn't tolerate peace.
I had held back for far too long.