Stirring the Pot
"Zailek, those fu— those goddamn bastards... Why the hell are they suddenly screwing with us?"
Viktor Kral, a director at Luthien, ground his teeth as he glared at the reports loaded onto the shard. The drugs Zailek had distributed were causing side effects only with specific compounds from Luthien—losses that weren't trivial by any means. And not just any drugs, but the ones Viktor himself had helped develop! As if that wasn't enough, the Southpeak Branch 2 lab under his watch had been ransacked. His most trusted man, Tibolt, had been Zailek's undercover agent. From the looks of it, he'd called in help from Zailek's side to hack Luthien's servers, pinned the truth of the drug incident on Luthien, and then killed himself. The chimera in the lab basement? No clue. Couldn't confirm if it was alive or dead. But he figured it was gone by now. To hack the servers, they'd have had to take it out.
Losing the chimera? Fine. They had plenty more, and that one was practically disposable anyway. But the body had to be recovered somehow. If word got out, it'd be a total shitshow—not to mention they needed to analyze the corpse to patch its weaknesses. But they couldn't even lay eyes on it, let alone retrieve it. Not a single Luthien affiliate, not even Viktor himself as a director, could set foot in that lab!
And the very next day? Luthien's secret labs were getting hit with terror attacks. Even the off-the-books researchers he'd hidden away—talent not listed as lab staff—got swept up and killed in those damn attacks. Did this make any sense? All coincidences? No way in hell. This was all Zailek's doing.
But there was no hard proof. Plenty of suspicion, sure, but try to grab someone and beat the truth out of them, and their head explodes. Couldn't even read their brains.
Veins bulged on Viktor's forehead.
"Hey! Chen Zhaoming, answer me! Why the fuck are these assholes screwing with us?!"
"Well..."
"Well what? Well what! Fuck!"
"I... don't really know either..."
"Useless piece of shit!"
Slap! He swung his arm wildly, smashing Chen Zhaoming's cheek. Blood burst from his lips, teeth cracked, but Viktor didn't care—he backhanded him a couple more times.
"Ha, fuck... What about the Southpeak lab break-in?"
"That one's... under Talos control on suspicion of ties to a Chrome Psycho incident..."
"How... how long?"
"At least a fortnight—"
"Aaaaaargh!!!"
Viktor clawed at his hair like a madman, screaming at the top of his lungs. Strands tore out in clumps from his rough grip, but he had no time to care. Luthien's secret chimera project was on the verge of exposure. If it leaked, Neonic and Zailek would sink their teeth in like rabid dogs. And that was just the start—ECPD would issue investigation orders. Megacorps fearing ECPD? Absurd. But right now, they had no choice. With those two megacorps pushing ECPD hard, how could they not be afraid? Worst case, ECPD enforcers like Talos might get deployed.
'And all that crap...'
Of course, Viktor would end up shouldering the blame. Just roll your eyes around—the other directors gunning for his downfall were already licking their chops.
"Fuck..."
He had to stop it somehow. But how the hell?
"Gimme a cigar and get out... Oh, right. Didn't you come here to say something?"
Viktor's gaze, waving his hand dismissively, locked onto Chen Zhaoming. The man flinched, then cautiously opened his mouth.
"Someone who claims they can help you contacted me, sir."
"Contacted you? Direct line?"
"...Yes."
"Heh, what a ballsy fucker."
No need to check the content. Probably hacked Chen's line somehow—threats to kill him or begging for cash, nothing more.
"Get lost."
Even with the order, Chen didn't budge. He hesitated, eyeing Viktor like he had more to say.
"Sigh... If it's bad news, I'll wipe your brain. So spit it out."
Viktor spread two fingers. Chen lit a cigar and placed it between them, then set a shard on the table.
"What is it?"
"A pretext to fight back against Zailek's tyranny."
Viktor's face twisted. Still, like a man possessed, he snatched the shard and slotted it into his port. Chen, who always acted like an idiot, was speaking with unusual confidence this time.
"This..."
Zailek's mark flashed across Viktor's retina. Unforgeable proof. The seal only Zailek's board of directors could use.
"Heh."
Viktor sped through the neatly organized data. Proof that Zailek's drugs were actually prototypes for their own military use. Evidence the undercover who hit Southpeak Branch 2 was directly managed by Zailek. Bribes to politicians, ECPD brass, even other megacorp directors. And illegal weapons development. Sure, the weapons were made rogue by a subsidiary, but if it was under Zailek's direct oversight, that changed everything.
No viruses. Integrity check cleared in seconds. Clean data, no tampering. Reliability over 98% no matter how many times he scanned. Clear causes, effects, solid evidence. Funds flow to projected gains—all laid out logically.
"Ha, haha..."
This was enough pretext to hit back at Zailek. Hell, maybe even turn the tables. Luthien had been laying low because public opinion was against them. With all incidents pointing to Luthien's fault, they had to take the hits quietly.
'It'll work...'
Public opinion wouldn't bury them now. Suspicious timing on this lifeline, sure, but Viktor had to grab it. When you're drowning, you don't get picky. Play this right, and he could even drag down the rival board faction.
'EZ-M...'
Viktor memorized the initials at the data's end and yanked the shard.
"Put the guys on standby—they can move anytime. No point rushing now; it'd just hurt us."
"Understood."
"Recall the ones I sent out... And hands off Zailek subsidiaries. Especially CeraSteel—don't even step on its shadow. That's where the key evidence is."
"Got it."
"Just two days. Hold out two days."
Moving now would get Viktor's head on a pike. But in two days? He could shake Zailek to its core.
Meeting Salvador was set for a fortnight away. I figured I'd have something to do in the meantime. Enoch was getting new implants like reinforced tendons, so he'd need that time to adjust anyway—he was practically drooling at the thought.
"...What?"
All plans shattered.
Destroy it? That?
Enoch's gaze shifted to the bluish factory. CeraSteel. Among Zailek subsidiaries, it handled metals for all sorts of gear. Sure, rumors had swirled lately, but Zailek's cleanup made it look clean.
And now we were smashing it? A factory owned directly by Zailek?
"Why... destroy something perfectly fine?"
"Need something."
"What, wha—gonna use their weapons?"
Zailek weapons were top-tier across Eden. Not the absolute best in every category, but always upper echelon. Did I need one? Nah. Didn't we see what happened with that Moonlight last time? Swinging my gun's more effective than shooting it.
A blade then? Planning to swing a sword?
'But she's got something stronger...'
Enoch glanced at my hand. Small, delicate. The kind you wonder if it can even pull a trigger. He remembered those claws sprouting from it. Ripping apart the lab basement monster. He'd never forget. Probably never would.
"Weapon for you, Enoch."
"For... me?"
"Yeah. Time for those reinforced tendons, right?"
"True, but..."
I sidled up close and beckoned. Enoch bent down, ear to my lips.
"Good sword on the fifth floor."
"...No need to whisper?"
"One-of-a-kind blade."
Needed the whisper after all. Enoch squatted fully.
"What kind?"
"Crackles with electricity."
Common enough blade. In a world full of poison-spewing, fire-flowing, air-blasting swords, electricity's basic. But whispering like this meant something special. Even if Soo was a bit off, she knew freakishly much. Enoch trusted and pressed on.
"Using that now would just make us easier to track, no?"
"Gotta use it now."
"Now, specifically..."
Enoch paused, then nodded as it clicked. With the two megacorps' shadow war raging, using Zailek gear pins it on them. We'd leave Luthien traces when hitting CeraSteel, but that was easy for me. Did it in the wasteland already. This whole mess stemmed from that anyway—I was confident.
"You have to use it, Enoch."
"...R-Really?"
"Yeah. Made for you."
"How do you... know that?"
"Magic makes anything possible."
Not spilling yet, huh. Enoch stood.
"Luthien labs were cakewalk; subsidiary factory's nothing."
"Legs shaking for 'nothing'?"
"...Scared, that's why."
Couldn't stop Soo anyway. Might as well enjoy it.
"Whew."
Enoch steadied his breath, scanning the CeraSteel factory. Looser security than Luthien labs—no guards at the doors. With his horde, infiltration was a breeze.
"Better not kill anyone."
"Their vitals linked to Zailek servers?"
"Nah."
Keep 'em alive, and those techs keep making good weapons. Waste to kill.
"Hm... Right. So, entry point?"
"Rooftop."
"Rooftop?"
Enoch's eyes climbed up. Higher, higher, higher... a bit more...
'At least 20 stories.'
Climb that? Enoch rubbed his stiff neck and looked down. A sturdy rope tied to his waist caught his eye. The one he used for hauling bodies. A corpse-hauler's rope... linked to Soo.
"...Why this rope?"
"Don't snap your back."
"What are you—"
Before the 't' in "talking"...
Thwung—
"Guhhh—!"
Trailing me, Enoch rocketed toward the factory roof.