Unexpected Soul in the First Room
I didn't expect to find someone in the very first room. According to Angela, this place should have been empty. But there's one hell of a guy here.
Clatter. Angela's drone in my arms shifted restlessly, like it was anxious.
"It's fine, Angela," I whispered to the drone.
It's not Angela's fault she missed him. With half his body replaced by implants, he's probably got ICE—Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics, his personal firewall—plugged right into his frontal lobe. No wonder she couldn't detect him. If we'd had a bit more time, she could've hacked the cameras for a visual, but we didn't. Anyway, not her fault. This guy's the problem.
"Full-body prosthetic? And in a little girl's frame at that? What a disgusting hobby."
"Not a prosthetic..."
He's mistaking my body for a prosthetic. Makes sense. He must've seen me snapping my fingers to launch those pebbles like bullets. No way that looks like a normal girl.
"Name and affiliation. Now."
The man tsked at me in disgust and leveled his finger with a click. Finger, my ass— all ten digits are gun barrels. Not some cheap rifle like Enoch's, but an anti-materiel sniper rifle firing massive rounds. Obviously, the first shot won't land. And his palm can launch anti-tank high-explosives, making him a walking tank. Plus a bunch of other tricks, but yeah, he's strong. No doubt.
Tibolt Barenche. A named mercenary right before the mid-game boss... not quite. Final level's around 100; you meet Tibolt at about 30. Enoch's at 6 right now. That Alexon guy who nearly killed him recently? Level 18-ish.
"I'll count to three. Answer by then."
Meet him early game, and winning's near impossible. Nail certain routes, and you can recruit him as an ally from the start. Most paths, though, he splits off and becomes an enemy. But not here. Sure, I'm not following the story—Irina's commission never even existed in the game. So running into Tibolt now isn't that weird. The location, though? That's off.
This is Ryu Jikwang's lab. Tibolt's got beef with him. If anything, he's on Zailek's side...
I tilted my head, then my eyes lit up.
"Three—"
"Undercover?"
Clank. Tibolt shuddered hard.
"...What're you on about?"
"You were waiting for a chance to infiltrate Ryu Jikwang's server room. Then we show up, and boom—opportunity."
"The hell?"
"But now that we're here, and heading that way too, you figured kill us on the way out?"
"No, you—"
"Yeah. Got any data worth pulling from Ryu Jikwang for Zailek? Something they'd want..."
Zailek supplies standard weapons, special military gear—even to the government. What intel would a military corp steal from a biotech firm? In the game, they never clashed over info. Totally different goals. Even in reality, doubt that's changed. They're incompatible companies. Paradoxically, that's why they kept a tight relationship.
But now...
"Aha."
A bright smile bloomed on my face.
"Magic, huh."
"You, you..."
Tibolt's face went pale.
Magic's existence? Top secret—only the big three corps know. To anyone else, it's urban legend. Tibolt thought so too, until he saw it. But this prosthetic girl? Spouts "magic" like it's obvious. Even nailed that it's in Ryu Jikwang's basement.
"What... the hell are you? Who's your affiliation...?"
"I'm Soo. No affiliation."
"Soo! Why aren't you going in..."
Enoch came running up late, sucking in a shocked breath.
'Tibolt Barenche...?'
If Alexon was a rising star that almost killed Enoch, Tibolt's an established one. A star just waiting to shine. Bad rep for his violent temper and rough handling, but that exoskeleton taking up half his body draws endless offers. A merc way beyond Enoch's shadow—now aiming at Soo.
"Shit..."
No hesitation needed. Enoch ground his teeth and swung his gun at Tibolt. Running? Not even a thought. Soo's his ally. He decided to trust her; he'll stick to it.
'Max out the horde...'
Not zero chance of winning. Half implants or not, the brain's still flesh. Even full-body chrome, the brain stays human. Smash that, and anything dies.
'Eyes aren't standard either...'
So, aim for the roof of the mouth. Can't skeleton-ize the inside of your skull.
"...Soo, I'll handle him—you—"
"Zailek tell you about the magic?"
Ignoring Enoch's battle fervor, I strolled forward casually. Tibolt aimed at me...
"You'll die once the commission's done. You sure you wanna?"
...and couldn't fire.
"...Soo, was it?"
"Yeah."
Tibolt hesitated, then lowered his barrel.
Tip-tap. Why mercs and connectors coexist. If they're friendly, you match it. That's how Tibolt survived this long. Same now. He stuck to the strategy that kept him breathing.
"How much do you know...?"
"Magic exists, corps crave it. Mercs 'used' in the process? Bad end."
"Guessed that much. Got reasons or info to convince me?"
"New merc was due to infiltrate today. Didn't know about the undercover here."
Tibolt's brows shot up.
"...That merc from Zailek too?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
I shook Angela's drone. Zailek's mark etched on it. Not market-available—military-grade. Explanation enough. Even a Zailek mini-drone made my words hit heavy.
"Damn... Yeah. Clueless."
Tibolt let out a hollow laugh, wiping his face with a thick hand.
"If this played out, we'd have fought. One of us dead."
"Stronger one survives, reports back to Zailek."
"Haha... Climbed this far, still just a chess pawn to them."
Friendly gets friendly. Betrayal gets betrayal. Zailek betrayed Tibolt; I offered goodwill. No more thinking.
Tibolt extended a hand.
"Tibolt Barenche."
"Soo. That's Enoch."
I beamed and reached out.
And then.
"...Soo."
Enoch, still aiming, called low. No need to explain why.
Blue smoke began seeping from Tibolt's body. Same as the chrome psycho Hakon we just captured.
Why now? Perfect timing for side effects? Bullshit. Someone watching, triggered remotely? From where? Camera Angela missed...
There is one.
My gaze flicked to Tibolt's eyeball.
"Spyware implant, huh..."
Tibolt muttered self-mockingly.
Don't know what the blue smoke is. But Zailek sniffed betrayal, did something.
"Ha, wanted to die a legend... This way? Just ugly."
His eyes reddened.
EMERGENCY REPAIR REQUIRED
SYSTEM OVERRIDE DETECTED
NEURAL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED
CHROME PSYCHO PROTOCOL ACTIVATING
A mechanical voice hammered his skull: initiate emergency repair. Chrome psycho onset.
"Fuck."
Eyes shut, Tibolt pressed a finger to his temple.
"Leaked info unwillingly. Fair to hand some over."
Other hand to me. Click. His forearm panel opened. Blue shard popped out, landing in my palm.
"Useful stuff."
"Yeah."
"I'm Tibolt Barenche. Short meet, but remember my name?"
"Yeah. Can't make you Nightfall's innkeeper, but I'll remember."
"Thanks."
Tibolt smiled.
BOOM—! A cannon roar shook the lab. Blinding flash swallowed his head.
Remaining time: 5 minutes 19 seconds.
"...What is it?"
I checked the shard and beamed the contents straight to Enoch.
"Ryu Jikwang's order list...? For what—"
"Human body culturing."
"Tch, something at the tunnel's end, then."
Enoch eyed the passage. My gaze lingered on Tibolt.
"...Let's go."
"Yeah."
No time for condolences. I followed Enoch.
But my steps weren't light anymore.