Rocket Delivery
Far away from where Serena was.
So far that even the most expensive ocular implant wouldn't be able to resolve the scene, Angela scratched her cheek as she monitored the situation through a hacked camera.
"...Swoo?"
"Yeah?"
"I think... you missed?"
"Nope."
Swoo, who was looking at the same screen, stood up and gazed at the hazy sky. A satisfied smile played on her lips.
"It was a direct hit."
"...You weren't aiming for Director Harbor Allman?"
"Nope. Kedrick was the target."
She had targeted Kedrick from the very beginning. The snowball he was rolling would have eventually grown into an uncontrollable avalanche.
But now that they had lost their focal point in Kedrick, she could turn that to her advantage. And that advantage would soon fall into Serena's hands.
"Then aiming for Director Harbor Allman was..."
"A bluff."
Swoo kicked the ground lightly, a slight frown on her face.
"I wanted to test if Susanna could see mana, and she actually reacted."
"...By mana, do you mean she can see the warning signs of magic?"
"Yeah. Probably."
In the game, Susanna had been a massive headache because she was incredibly sharp and competent.
Sometimes she was a boss, sometimes an ally.
Her patterns were so unpredictable that players concluded her actions were practically random, though there seemed to be certain prerequisites.
She was so capable that many players couldn't understand why she remained a mere managing director.
In fact, the common consensus was that she was far more competent than the vice president, so no further explanation was needed.
And now, that very Susanna had acquired magical techniques. It was safe to assume she was even more troublesome now than she had been in the game.
Of course, it was still unclear whether she would be an enemy or an ally. But one thing was certain: unless they faced her directly, they couldn't kill her.
'Neural acceleration implants, and perfect insulation lining.'
The variety of magic Swoo could use was extremely limited. Even so, she did possess magic capable of sniping from ultra-long distances.
And Susanna seemed to have prepared countermeasures against such snipes early on.
Her movements clearly showed she was on guard against the lightning striking Nosterica.
Swoo had expected as much.
In fact, the lightning had been summoned specifically to provoke Eden's ruling class.
Still, she hadn't expected Susanna to play so defensively.
"I don't think she's just a simple managing director of Lui Chen."
"Do you think Susanna is planning a betrayal too?"
"I'm not sure, but it's definitely strange."
Unlike the other elites who only chased magic, Susanna seemed to see something much larger and broader.
"Besides, Susanna seemed to notice we were watching, right?"
"Yeah."
The words she left right before the lightning struck weren't meant for Serena. They were clearly directed at Swoo.
"Even for an executive, detecting my hacking should have been nearly impossible. It really is strange."
Ever since Swoo had figured out her identity, Angela had started using a bit more of her hidden power.
Thus, the camera hacking she had performed was so stealthy that even a Netwatcher from the 'same place' would have struggled to notice it.
Yet Susanna had seen right through it.
Whether she had simply read the situation or truly possessed netwatching skills superior to Angela's remained unknown.
It only made one thing clearer: the woman was shrouded in mystery.
"Serena shouldn't fall in with the wrong crowd."
"They're too far apart to be called friends."
"Serena will be a managing director soon, so it's not that far."
Angela's eyes widened.
"I thought promoting from director to managing director was... really complicated, difficult, and took a long time?"
"If a headquarters executive steps in, it'll be quick, easy, and simple."
"Would a headquarters executive... really move for something like this?"
"Yeah. Right now, Zyrec's foundation in Eastheim is shaking because of the IEP. Lui Chen won't miss this chance. They'll send Westtown's managing director there and put Serena in the vacant spot. It's the only way they can kill two birds with one stone."
Just how far ahead was she looking to make such assertions? Angela was deeply curious about what went on inside Swoo's head, but she simply nodded and decided to accept it.
This wasn't the first or second time. She was getting tired of being surprised.
Instead, Angela decided that the Swoo lounging on the sofa with a VPN active, browsing online communities, was the real Swoo.
"So, today's work is done, right?"
Angela stretched thoroughly and stood up.
"Yeah, let's go rest."
"I never thought I'd hear the word 'rest' come out of Swoo's mouth."
Angela had thought Swoo was the type who could run around 365 days a year without ever getting tired, but apparently not.
"The distance was too far, so it was a bit exhausting."
Sniping with lightning from such an immense distance, combined with the strain of watching Susanna's unpredictable movements, had drained her energy.
"Let's buy some bath bombs."
"Sure. But don't dissolve it yourself. Wait until I do it for you, okay?"
"I can do it fine by myself."
"Absolutely not."
Angela shook her head firmly.
Swoo's tail thumped against the floor in annoyance, but Angela headed toward the emergency exit without batting an eye.
"I want to buy dominoes too."
"If you promise to clean them up after playing, I'll buy them for you."
Swoo blinked at the child-like treatment.
"But I'm an adult."
"So you're not going to clean up?"
"I'll clean them up."
"Mhm."
Angela knew she would probably step on a domino piece and scream later, but looking at Swoo's cute face made her nod automatically.
"Alright. Let's buy them on the way back."
"I want five boxes."
"Sure, that's fine. It's not like dominoes are expensive."
"Let's get hamburgers too."
"Okay."
"I want to drop the bath bomb too."
"No, not that."
No matter how cute and lovely Swoo was, the bath bomb was non-negotiable.
"But I'm an adult."
"Someone who does whatever they want isn't an adult. An adult knows how to hold back even when they want to do something."
"Okay."
Swoo's tail drooped dejectedly.
It was an incredibly peaceful atmosphere for two people who had just assassinated a Megacorp executive.
Even if Swoo was like this, it was a bit strange for Angela to act this way too, but she simply accepted it naturally.
Now that it was certain Angela was a member of the Phantom Protocol, there was no need to ask out of politeness.
Despite demanding ten boxes of dominoes in total, Swoo didn't look at them once afterward.
"There's someone I want to show them to later."
Leaving only those words, she tossed them carelessly into the warehouse. Angela let out a dry laugh, but figured Swoo had some purpose in mind.
After spending three days doing absolutely nothing, the two of them left the office on the fourth day.
Starting today, they were going to be busy again.
Swoo, sitting in the passenger seat of a shabby car driving down Eden's roads, listened quietly to the radio broadcast before looking at Angela.
"Do you like staying home too, Angela?"
"Given my line of work, I suppose so."
"I like staying home too."
"You don't seem like that at all to me."
"It's true."
"...Is it?"
"Yeah. I stayed still for three days."
To Angela, Swoo seemed like someone who had lived in a completely different world.
Even though it was a landscape she must have seen countless times, Swoo's eyes would always sparkle with wonder and admiration.
Wherever they went, she would wander around with curiosity, quietly observing the people passing by.
Whenever Angela wondered why, she would recall the words Swoo had casually tossed out—that she was from another world.
Of course, it was unbelievable.
Angela simply assumed Swoo had been raised in confinement somewhere, harboring a dark past.
She was likely an experimental subject.
'Will I ever get to hear the truth?'
Angela turned off the car engine, thinking of the vague future.
"We've arrived, but... what exactly are you planning to do?"
"Rocket delivery."
She probably didn't mean delivering an actual rocket.
No, wait. Did she? No, surely not. She probably just meant delivering something as fast as a rocket.
Even for Swoo, a rocket was... a rocket...
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't be sure.
Angela asked hesitantly.
"You registered as a daily worker, right...?"
"Nope. I only have two items to deliver, so I didn't bother."
"...You didn't... register?"
Angela looked out the window with a trembling gaze.
Couriers wearing the same uniform were lined up along a massive conveyor belt. Above them, drones carrying large cargo trunks flew back and forth busily.
They were all gathering their assigned packages to deliver goods or data shards.
This was the Eastheim Logistics Hub, a place where all of Eden's cargo had to pass through at least once.
In other words, if this place were paralyzed, the outcry from people waiting for their packages would be immense.
Because of that, security was extremely tight, with guards stationed 24/7.
Looking around this place, which could be called another heart of Eden, Swoo smiled brightly.
"...Swoo, tell me it's not what I think."
A cold sweat ran down Angela's spine.