Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: qiqi iykow gkk-94i
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Bomb Planted, Escape Begins
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"...What the hell is going on?"
Sihyun Yujin, who had planted the bomb in the reactor and slipped out, muttered to herself as she watched the fierce cannon battle unfolding above the city.
There was no one present to answer her question.
No one could have predicted that war would erupt in this space city.
'I thought it was strange that no reinforcements showed up at the reactor.'
Before arriving here, Sihyun had picked up a provisional map on the black market—one made before the T&C Special Trade Center was completed.
Drawn up by construction workers, it marked the temporary passages laborers had used during the city's construction.
Of course, even the workers rarely visited the reactor directly, so those secret passages didn't connect to it.
Instead, one section ran close to the underground tunnel leading to the reactor, and that's what Sihyun had targeted.
Her plan was simple: breach the metal wall near that underground passage and infiltrate.
Sihyun and her subordinates made it into the tunnel to the reactor via the secret passages, just as planned.
Everything had gone according to her expectations up to that point, but once they reached the reactor, things started veering off-script.
Normally, if something went wrong with the reactor's defense unit, backup reinforcements would rush in.
She had prepared countermeasures for them, but the support she anticipated never arrived—not even after the bomb was set.
'Now I get why they didn't come.'
To be precise, it wasn't that they hadn't come; they couldn't come.
That made executing the bombing plot a breeze, but it created a new problem.
'Akira will slip away before the bomb blows.'
No matter what, she had to take out Akira Yujin. If she let this chance slip, there was no telling when she'd get another shot.
"Akira Yujin?"
"We've confirmed the Yujin flagship is still here."
Long before the terror plot took shape, while handling shadow ops, Sihyun had planted a tracker on Akira's flagship to monitor his movements.
'Why hasn't he bugged out?'
From the memories of Akira implanted in her mind, he was an extremely cautious man. If war loomed over the city, he'd have bolted regardless of CEO pride or whatever.
The reason was unclear, but Akira Yujin was acting nothing like those memories.
He hadn't left. He was still in the city.
Which meant she still had her shot.
"You all escape first. I've got business to handle."
"Pardon?"
"Akira Yujin has to be eliminated here."
"Miss, we'll come with you."
Sihyun shook her head at Minseok's words.
"Only I can handle Code Black. If you tag along, she'll slaughter you all. Hand over the detector."
"...Miss."
Minseok gave her a strange look at her declaration of risking everything to take down Akira.
Suspicion, more than joy, flashed briefly in his eyes.
But it was over in an instant, his face shifting to one of deep emotion.
"Miss, I wish you the best of luck."
Sihyun took the detector from him and bolted toward Akira's position.
'Once that bastard's dealt with, next up is...'
Minseok didn't seem to notice, but Sihyun knew he didn't fully trust her.
The original Sihyun Yujin had planted some kind of control measure on her clone body, and Minseok held the leash.
'Someday, without fail...!'
Her eyes turned ice-cold.
That gaze bore no resemblance to Sihyun Yujin's.
The fallen city was being purified by fire.
In myths, gods often rained down fire to judge humanity.
Here, though, a human-made barrage of light was annihilating everything.
'Ezerton's real strength is their ships, no doubt.'
After clashing with their knights so many times, it was easy to assume their edge lay in ground forces—but that wasn't the case.
The houses excelling in terrestrial combat were the Yujin Family, with their gene-modded soldiers, and House Garmelda, famed for their powered exosuits.
Ezerton's specialty was always shipbuilding.
'Even in the game, the Ezerton knights felt like spec-ops.'
A single Ezerton warship was dominating multiple T&C vessels.
It wasn't just superior guns and shields. The ship was far larger yet incredibly agile. Despite the T&C's numerical advantage, Ezerton held the upper hand without breaking a sweat.
'Feels nostalgic.'
By the time you hit adulthood, you'd have so many traits and types that you could take on whole fleets.
In my case, with all the enemies I'd racked up, I was fighting player armadas from near-adult stage.
'Way too weak for that now.'
Even handling a couple of corvettes would be a stretch in this state—I couldn't wade into that mess. Fleet battles demanded more evolutions.
'Later for that.'
Both houses were too tied up with each other to bother with us. Perfect window to bail.
[Zuzuzuzu (Everyone, run)]
I slung Denver over my shoulder, dropped low into a half-crouch, and bolted. All three combat arms and my legs pumping, with No. 26 and Adhai hot on my tail.
"Huh?! The thing's running!"
The knights, who had been gawking at the fleet battle, finally snapped to and gave chase again.
Dodging them led us straight into stacks of containers scattered everywhere.
The container yard in the port district—the same one where I'd scrapped with Yujin's minions before.
The big change? Ships streaming out through the dome's inner shielding gates.
'Dock's not far.'
Mid-stride, I pinged No. 26 with a wavelength.
[Zuz zuzzuz (Topple that)]
「Got it!」
A few tentacles sprouted from No. 26's body, lancing toward the containers. Purple strands shot from the tips, slapping onto them with a smack.
「Nngh!」
As it kept running and pulled, the stacked containers came crashing down in a roar.
"Shit! Dodge!"
"All jetpacks, now!"
Curses and screams echoed from the knights behind us. They'd all equipped assault packs, so most vaulted into the air to evade.
"Gah!"
"Argh!"
The slower ones got pancaked by the falling containers.
We'd bought a momentary breather from the pursuit, but a new headache emerged.
A small patrol corvette cruising the port perimeter had spotted us.
「Patrol ship's heading our way!」
「Eyes sharp, everyone!」
The knights' chatter crackled over the comms. They'd clocked the incoming corvette too.
It closed fast and opened up.
Target: us—and the knights chasing us.
All four turrets on the rectangular hull belched fire at once.
Plasma rounds rained down over our heads as we darted between containers.
Every hit turned nearby containers into explosive geysers.
No. 26, with its bulkier profile, nearly took direct hits, but Adhai's purple lightning detonated the shells mid-air each time. Minimal damage.
「We'll get lit up first at this rate!」
「Damn it! Split up! Half of you handle the corvette!」
Irked by the corvette, some knights broke off the chase to engage the new foe.
As knights zipped around blasting bolt after bolt, the corvette's hull erupted in breaches. One even nailed a turret, blowing it to scrap.
Losing one gun, the corvette shifted to defending against the airborne knights, ignoring us.
Its three remaining turrets swiveled nonstop, hosing the knights with green energy bolts.
'Working out perfectly.'
The corvette's interference had halved our pursuers.
'Just need to shake these guys.'
I'd love to kill and devour them all, but time was short.
We were targets too—if we tangled with the knights and the corvette called in a proper warship, we'd be in deep shit.
'Lose 'em in the right spot.'
I focused on my auxiliary organs while fleeing.
The slender tentacles at my jaw busily scanned for anything useful nearby.
Jackpot: a massive warehouse stacked with containers just ahead.
'That'll do.'
[Zuzuz (This way)]
I led the kids into the warehouse near the docks. Inside: towering container piles and cranes for cargo handling everywhere.
'Perfect. Obstacles galore.'
Plenty here to throw off pursuers.
[Zuzuz zuzuzuz zu (Everyone, other side)]
「What about big guy?」
[Zuzuzuzu (Got work)]
I sent the kids ahead first, then ducked behind a container stack and got to work pronto.
The knights froze at the sight of us vanishing into the huge building—hesitant to storm in.
'Use this to strip the exosuit.'
In the game, powered suits counted as player gear—irremovable.
But this was reality.
Barring relic-tier stuff that defied physics, mechanical exosuits could be pried off with brute force.
I used a combat arm to tear off the outer plating shielding Denver's body. Arm and leg guards? Not critical—roughly dismantled.
'Power source and helmet need care.'
Activated Ghost Claw, then wedged fingers into the chest plate. Skirted wires and mechanisms, snipping only the mounting joints one by one.
It peeled apart clean, front and back—like shelling a boiled crab.
I yanked Denver free. Underneath: a lightweight, thin full-body suit.
Off came the helmet, revealing his wildly darting eyes.
Wondering what fresh horror I had in store.
No need to worry—he'd know soon enough.
'Small arms for the finesse work.'
Switched to the delicate small arms, perfect for precision. Aimorph super-senses, plus Hijacking trait boosting my mechanical know-how, made it a snap.
Power source slotted into the chest plate hummed to life—red light flared in the helmet's visor.
Gently stashed the powered chest and helmet in a nearby container.
Denver finally twigged, body quaking.
'Exosuit helmet's got the signal chip.'
The chip I'd yanked earlier reactivated. Knights or ships alike—they'd zero in on that armor signal, no question.
Just as I wrapped up, voices rang from the entrance.
"Word from the warship! Liege's camera just went active!"
"What?!"
No more dithering—they charged in.
'That was close.'
They'd tear the place apart hunting the suit—not me.
Snagged only the comm from the debris, then ghosted out the far exit.
"Mmph!"
Denver writhed, desperate to signal his men. Pointless. Neurotoxin needed more time to flush.
Outside, the kids who'd hidden in containers welcomed me back.
[Zu (Go)]
Most of the prime ships I'd eyed earlier had shoved off.
Handful left at best—three or four.
'Gotta hustle.'
Denver dangling naked in my grip, we beelined for the pier with the kids.
Snatches of knight chatter leaked from the comm—they still hadn't pinned the signal.
They assumed I had Denver. No way they'd guess the helmet was soloed in some random container.
'Just past this container...'
Our ride waited beyond.
Last auxiliary check: crew hastily loading cargo. Nothing worrisome.
Right as I went to round it—my auxiliary organ reeled with a piercing whine.
「Unknown threat lurks ahead.」
「■■■■ is ■■■ me」
Predator Sense kicked in out of nowhere.
'What the—?'
I yanked back behind the container.
Predator Sense felt off. Same rapid-fire flashes as always, but laced with weird noise.
Mosaic static—couldn't make out the danger.
[Zuzu (Halt)]
「Biggy? What's up?」
「?」
I called the kids to a stop. Something seriously wrong beyond the container, near the ship.
Predator Sense had glitched urgent warnings up close before, but never this vague haze.
Two possibilities.
Foe had means to jam Predator Sense—or it was so beyond my league, even that couldn't parse it.
'...Neither's a pushover.'
Debated a split second.
[Zuzuzu zuzu (Other route)]
I scrapped that ship.
Starting a fight there meant missing every last vessel.
'Still one left.'
Smaller than my first pick, but serviceable.
Backtracked our path, veering onto an alternate route with the kids.
Kept glancing back mid-run—no mystery foe on our tail.
Auxiliary picked up zilch, forcing constant checks.
'An enemy even auxiliary can't detect.'
Luck held: whatever it was didn't pursue.
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