Rocket Delivery
“If you're going to drop by! At least! Let me know beforehand! You could have contacted me in advance! That secure line! You could have easily reached me through Angela's line! Why didn't you call first?! Fuck!”
The last curse wasn't strictly necessary, but it seemed she had squeezed it in anyway, perhaps feeling her tone and voice were sounding a bit too estrogen-fueled.
Of course, whether it was swearing or death threats, Swoo's view of Serena as cute remained unchanged.
Serena, who painted pedicures on feet no one else could see, shrieked like a schoolgirl when startled, and wrapped her arms around herself.
To think that in front of others, this same woman was the cold, rigid director of Lui Chen.
It felt like a trope straight out of a manga. Swoo already liked this personality type, but seeing it in person was truly entertaining.
This was why Swoo liked people.
The way new, unexpected sides of them kept appearing the more she got to know them, and how each person was so uniquely different—it was all so lovely.
“Were you that startled?”
“It's not about being startled, this is a matter of basic etiquette!”
“I'm sorry. But don't worry, I won't go around telling people that Serena wears pedicures, screams like a little girl when she's surprised, and hugs herself.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Serena's face flushed crimson once again.
Her expression contorted so much it looked as if she might explode.
“Have you been well?”
“Well or not, I'm busy enough to die. Please, stop causing trouble.”
“What trouble?”
“The Eastheim Hub explosion that happened ten hours ago. Wasn't that your doing?”
“That wasn't me.”
“Don't lie to me. No one else but you would do something so insane.”
“I think your filter is slipping a bit, Serena.”
“Why did you do it, then?”
Mm-hmm, she has no intention of listening.
It seemed Serena wanted to forget her embarrassment as quickly as possible. Swoo decided to humor her.
“Hugo planned it.”
“...What?”
The atmosphere shifted with that single sentence.
Serena completely forgot that she had been acting embarrassed just moments ago.
“Why is... that name suddenly coming up?”
“There's a rebel faction inside Zyrec.”
“What on earth is that supposed to mean?”
“A few people, led by Hugo, are preparing a rebellion. This hub terror attack was a signal that could be considered the starting point. But I stopped it.”
Serena raised a hand and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Hold on... please give me a moment to think.”
“Yep.”
It was a parade of incomprehensible statements.
It had been barely a week since they last met. Where on earth did she gather all this information? From what Serena heard, Swoo had spent the first three days resting at home and only started wandering around on the fourth...
“I heard you took a request from Master Salvador. Is this deduction connected to that request?”
“It's not a deduction, it's a fact.”
“...So, is it connected?”
“Not directly connected, but it's true I found out because of it.”
“What kind of request was it?”
“A request to reclaim the body of a security delivery company CEO who is trapped in a Reina.”
“What's a Reina?”
“A sexroid.”
Serena's face contorted bizarrely.
“...You're saying his mind is trapped in a sexroid?”
“Yep. He was originally a man. Draco Legia.”
As Serena's eyes flashed, information about Draco Legia scrolled across her retinas.
“Draco Legia, CEO of Legia Security Delivery... His business performance isn't bad, and he's a man who used to work as a mercenary. But such a man... is trapped in a petite sexroid designed to target niche tastes...?”
“Exactly.”
“Ha, that's exactly the kind of request you would love, Swoo.”
“Also exactly.”
“So, how on earth did you uncover Hugo's rebellion from this request?”
“Well... first—”
Swoo briefly explained what Draco had gone through.
“He said he ran into Kaiser Hintz at a tollgate while working like usual.”
“Ah...”
With just that, Serena could piece together the evidence of Hugo's rebellion.
Zyrec's movement to arrest Hugo by triggering the IEP. Kaiser was involved in that movement, and he was guarding the tollgate.
That meant they were certain of an armed clash during Thompson's arrest. Deploying Kaiser to such a scene implied that Thompson possessed a private military force.
In Zyrec, possessing a private military force was synonymous with holding a blade that could be turned against the corporation at any moment.
But since Thompson was an incompetent fool incapable of such a feat, that left Hugo, Thompson's backer.
Thus, Hugo was preparing a rebellion, and Zyrec, learning of this through the activation of the IEP, had deployed Kaiser Hintz...
“He must indeed be preparing a rebellion. And the start of it would be paralyzing the hub and causing delivery disruptions. But what does he stand to gain from Lui Chen's side...?”
Hugo had nothing to gain from Lui Chen's profits alone.
But if he had an accomplice...
Serena's eyes widened.
“The accomplice is Jeff Baal. There were rumors recently that he was being transferred to Eastheim, but to think it was true...”
“So his name is Jeff Baal.”
“Why do you sound like you're hearing it for the first time? Could it be that even Angela couldn't find it?”
“We could have found it eventually if we took our time, but getting help from you is much easier and faster, Serena.”
In truth, Angela had tried to look up the accomplice's information, but she backed off, fearing that poking around might trigger Lui Chen's tracking systems.
As long as Serena was around, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
“I suppose so. Yes, I can hand over Managing Director Jeff Baal's information whenever you want. But... do you suspect him as well?”
“Not a suspicion, a certainty. Hugo's accomplice on Lui Chen's side is Jeff Baal. It has to be him.”
“...I'd love to drag him out and chop his head off right now, but my authority isn't that great yet.”
“It's fine. Just let him be.”
“Excuse me?”
“I think it'll be more fun that way.”
Serena's face twisted into a grimace.
Angela let out a bitter chuckle as well.
“...Fun? Did you just say 'fun'?”
“No, I said it would be better.”
“Stop bullshitting—”
“I'm going to start a media company, and I want you to help me, Serena.”
Regardless of whether Serena was fuming or not, Swoo blurted out what she wanted to say.
“It'll be a one-person company, and with Angela's help, our identities will be completely hidden. You just need to help with the corporate registration and association registration.”
“...And why are you starting a media company of all things?”
“Because there are things in this world that can't be solved by force alone.”
For Swoo, those were remarkably sensible words.
Indeed, there were things in Eden that could not be solved by brute force. In fact, it was safe to say most things were like that.
The fact that the three mega-corporations didn't engage in bloody, direct warfare was proof of this. If they waged an all-out war, Eden would collapse, rendering the power they had barely managed to grasp utterly meaningless.
“Are you planning to wage a media war? Against the corporations?”
“I don't get involved in losing battles. I'm just going to shake things up a little bit.”
“So you're saying you're going to troll them again.”
“I don't troll.”
For once, Swoo's expression stiffened.
This was because she recalled being banned from an online community for trolling not too long ago.
She had borrowed Angela's VPN to stage a "righteous protest" because of it, but either way, it had been quite a depressing experience for Swoo.
“Well... fine. I can help with that much. Since the weight of my name seems to have increased a bit due to this project, it shouldn't take long.”
Swoo tilted her head at Serena's words.
It shouldn't be just a slight increase in the weight of her name.
Does she not know yet?
No way.
Even if it was an external branch, a promotion would require direct notification to the person involved.
Was the headquarters in a rush too?
Perhaps it was Susanna's unilateral decision.
Whatever the case, Serena's promotion was irreversible.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I have something to give you.”
“No. I don't want it. Take it back.”
“It's a shard from Lui Chen headquarters.”
“...Why do you have that?”
“I brought it from the hub to deliver it for you.”
“...Did you accidentally stop a terror attack while going to pick that up?”
“Yep.”
Swoo replied nonchalantly as she handed over the shard. Serena stared at the shard for a long moment before carefully inserting it into the port on the back of her neck.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Serena.”
“Wait, what the fuck?”
A promotion? She hadn't received any word from headquarters. Was a promotion to managing director something that could be processed this quickly and easily?
Though flustered, Serena quickly read through the contents of the shard.
The project...?
The project had been approved. And in just five days. Did this even make sense? Susanna, that crazy bitch, must have done something. That had to be why she was becoming a managing director so quickly.
Then was Jeff Baal's transfer to Eastheim triggered by her own promotion...?
Serena felt a rush of satisfaction as the puzzle pieces clicked perfectly into place, but she also felt a simultaneous wave of anxiety.
She already had a ridiculous amount of work. If she became a managing director, wouldn't it double? And this would only make the leash Lui Chen had tied around her neck even thicker and stronger...
“...Did you know?”
“Considering the way the wind is blowing, it would be stranger if you didn't get promoted.”
“...Son of a bitch.”
“It's fine. You'll do great, Serena.”
“Doing great is a given, but I don't really want to do it?”
“For someone who doesn't want to, you're already looking over the documents you need to process. Your mind says no, but your body is honest, huh?”
“What kind of bullshit...”
Serena's face contorted.
“There's something only you can help with, now that you're a managing director.”
“...Are you telling me to meet Hugo?”
Indeed, Serena hadn't bought her position with money. Brilliant as she was, she immediately grasped what she could do with her new promotion, and specifically what would be useful to Swoo.
Along with that, Serena had likely already figured out what she needed to do after meeting Hugo.
At that thought, Swoo flashed a pleasant smile and held up her index and middle fingers.
“Yep, and there's one more thing.”
“I'm not going to—”
“Could you get me a rocket by any chance?”
“...What?”
“If a rocket is too hard, a missile is fine too.”
“What... why... what are you going to use that for?”
“For a delivery.”
Even the people of a cyberpunk world wouldn't be able to escape the charm of rocket delivery once they got a taste of it.