Rooftop Infiltration (2)
All team members finished their preparations and boarded the helicopter waiting on the rooftop under the staff's guidance. Thudududududu! A fierce wind whipped around us alongside the roaring rotors, but to us it felt no different from an ordinary commute. Everything proceeded as smoothly as flowing water. For our fresh rookie Mirae, however, this was all brand new. She still sat with wide eyes, her chest heaving as she took deep breaths, desperately trying to shake off the tension. The sight reminded me of a raw recruit fresh out of training, dragged straight to the battlefield, and it tugged at my heart a little.
I opened the comms channel on my helmet. "Hey, Mirae... can you hear my voice okay?"
[Y-yes? Ah, yes! I can hear you loud and clear!]
Mirae's voice trembled through the headset. The other team members gave her thumbs-ups, while Sirius, seated beside her, patted her shoulder repeatedly to help her relax. Mirae tried her best to force a smile in return.
She's trying so hard. Cute.
To lighten the mood, I brought up the topic we hadn't settled last time. "So, have you thought about what nickname you'll use in the field?"
[Yes? Yes! I... I'd like to be called Spica!]
"Spica?"
Since the only constellation I knew was the Big Dipper, I glanced at Belpe, who seemed like he'd know. He shrugged and kindly explained.
[It's the brightest star in Virgo, Mama.]
"Virgo, huh... Heh."
I let out a small chuckle and teased her lightly. "Even with a gun in your hands, you're still a girl, is that it?"
[What?! N-no! That's not... I just... thought it was pretty...]
Spica's face, which had gone pale at my joke, gradually regained color before flushing bright red like a tomato. It was rather adorable. While we took a moment to ease the tension, the helicopter had already entered the operation zone.
Whirr~
Mission data began floating across my tactical goggles like holograms. "Alright, everyone check the briefing. Spica, you don't know anything yet, so just listen carefully. Got it?"
[Yes, Mama!]
Amid the team members' loud responses through the headset, Spica's energetic reply mixed in as well. Over the deafening rotor noise pounding against our eardrums, I switched the comms to the full channel and lowered my voice.
"Everyone, pay attention. Chit-chat ends here."
The laughter in the headsets cut off instantly, and every gaze snapped toward me. The playful atmosphere vanished, replaced by the sharp eyes of veterans gleaming behind their visors.
"The objective is Seongji Building in the Hwahap District. Reports say the people who ignored the anomaly alerts and refused to evacuate are all showing signs of frenzy."
I flicked my eyes across the visor screen, sharing a 3D map of the building marked with red dots in the team members' views.
"Team 2, the advance party, has the ground floor entrance completely locked down. Not even an ant can slip out. So Team 1 will rappel from the helicopter onto the rooftop and sweep downward, floor by floor."
The final page displayed several drone photos of the building's interior: narrow corridors, scattered junk, and bloodstains everywhere.
"Looks like there are homes, shops... even a sleeping quarters like a goshiwon. The layout's complicated—perfect for hiding."
I sighed briefly and laid out the most important rule for this operation.
"The targets have already lost their reason in a frenzy state. As Belpe said, they've chosen this themselves. The time for talking is over."
I added firmly, addressing the team—especially Spica, who was probably wound tight with nerves.
"The chance they'll comply with surrender demands is extremely low. They're already insane, so the moment they charge, don't hesitate. Take them all down. Don't get hurt trying to hold back. Understood?"
[Yes, Mama!]
The team members' resounding replies echoed through the headsets. That's my crew—always crisp with their answers.
"Good. Any last questions?"
Just then, Spica, still crouched, mustered her courage and slowly raised a trembling hand to shoulder height. I met her stiff gaze through the helmet and nodded.
"Go ahead, Spica."
[If the first floor entrance is already sealed tight, do we really need to go in at such risk? Couldn't we just wait until the frenzied people regain their senses?]
Her voice shook, but the question was logical. She wasn't blindly following orders—she was trying to understand the situation. I liked that.
"Oh... that's a fair point. For regular humans, maybe. But Seongji Building in the Hwahap District is, as the name suggests, mostly inhabited by demi-humans. This frenzy phenomenon is contagious among them. If we leave it alone, it'll spread to other buildings, so we need to suppress it quickly."
[Then... the other team members...]
Spica's gaze naturally shifted to Felis, Sirius, and Belpe beside her. Felis flicked her tail and chimed in over comms.
[Don't worry, Spica~ We're fine~ Our helmets have equipment to block frenzy waves~ And we've had the preventive shots too~]
"Exactly. These guys are trained pros loaded with expensive gear. They'll be fine. Any other questions?"
Spica hesitated for a moment before finally voicing the question she'd been most afraid to ask.
[Lastly... what happens to the people we subdue? Even if they're frenzied... they're still civilians...]
"I was wondering when that would come up."
I chuckled and wrapped it up neatly.
"In short, once we clear a floor and move on, the healer team and police arrest team following behind will take them all away. We won't kill them on the spot like you're worried about."
I paused briefly, then added casually.
"Of course, they might die or come close during our subdual process. If that happens, I'll do my best to keep them alive. Don't worry."
[Ah... Yes... Understood, Ma... I mean, Mama...]
Mama, huh. When the 4th team guys say it, it pisses me off, but when this cute kid says it, it doesn't sound so bad.
I answered her with a smiling eye instead of words. Turning to the cockpit, the helicopter pilot raised a V-sign with one hand without looking back.
"All personnel, prepare for descent! Two minutes to landing."
[Two minutes to landing!]
As the team echoed the call and the helicopter's altitude dropped sharply, I tightened my gloves once more and muttered inwardly.
Alright... let's make sure everyone gets out alive again today.
The helicopter began hovering directly above the building's rooftop. Belpe was the first to grab the sniper rifle mounted by the door and scan below. If anyone was waiting on the roof, he planned to take them out in advance, but it was eerily quiet.
"Rooftop clear. Not a single one out there."
"Hah. So they're not coming out—they're holing up inside? Hey, Spica. You know jumping from this height won't break your legs, right?"
At my question, Spica swallowed hard while peering down from the helicopter.
[Y-yes...! This height should be...!]
"Good... I'll go first."
It was a height that would snap an ordinary person's legs, but without hesitation I leapt into the open air, massive shield on my back and shotgun in both hands.
BOOM!
The entire rooftop shook with a heavy impact. The weight of hundreds of kilograms in shield and gear slammed into my knees, but for someone with C-class physical enhancement, it felt like nothing more than jumping in place with a heavy backpack.
"That probably woke them up. Everyone, come down!"
At my signal, light thud, thud sounds came from above as the team members landed lightly like feathers. Finally...
THUD!
[Hik...!]
With a rather loud and clumsy noise, Spica landed. The mission-complete helicopter slowly rose and flew away.
[Belpe complete.]
[Sirius complete.]
[Felis complete.]
[S... Spica complete!]
Once the landing reports finished, I looked around and gave orders.
"Everyone, lower your visors. Building power's already cut, so switch to night vision. Punch the right earpiece with your fist."
The latest night vision would activate with just a light touch, but teasing the nervous rookie was too fun to pass up. I could almost hear Spica actually pounding her helmet with her fist, but I pretended not to notice and turned my back.
"We're going in."
I pulled the shield from my back, secured it firmly on my left arm, gripped the shotgun in my right hand, and approached the door. At my signal, Belpe flung open the rooftop emergency exit. A pitch-black interior awaited us.