Raid on Sector 41 Port -1-
Raid on Sector 41 Port -1-
Max decided to speak first to the ninja seated next to him.
After all, they were going to work together on this request.
"I'm Max. Pleasure to work with you."
"Usagi."
The other party glanced at him and then stared ahead. An atmosphere of not wanting to talk radiated from him.
Max didn't force communication. He was satisfied with having heard the name.
'Usagi? That can't be a real name.'
It was probably an alias based on his rabbit beastman traits.
Among mercenaries, those who used aliases were far more common than those like Max who used their real names.
Silence continued inside the vehicle heading toward District 41.
Max was only able to arrive at District 41 after the sun had set.
"We've arrived at the meeting point. Head to Blue Line Motel, Room 306, which you can see up ahead. The door is open."
The meeting place for the three mercenaries was a shabby motel adjacent to the harbor.
After delivering the information, the driver left Max and Usagi behind. Even looking around, there was no sign of people.
Though it had grown dark, the only things visible were the gantry cranes and tower cranes moving containers, relying on their lights.
"Should we head straight in?"
In response to Max's words, Usagi gave a small nod and began walking.
They passed by the counter, which had only a single bell placed on it and was otherwise unoccupied. Since the building had no elevator, they had to use the stairs.
As Max took the stairs two at a time, he noticed something strange.
'...There's no footstep sound.'
This ninja named Usagi was walking ahead, but there was no sound of footsteps. Even though this was a space where sound echoed.
Whether he was doing it intentionally or it had become a habit ingrained in his body to the point of being subconscious, it gave the impression of someone well-grounded in the basics.
'I'm curious about his school of ninjutsu.'
Arriving at the third floor with curiosity about which school of ninja Usagi belonged to.
Usagi took the lead and opened the door to Room 306 with a clatter. A voice came from inside.
"Usagi! Long time no see. Our lives sure are tenacious."
"..."
Usagi gave a small nod and entered the room.
When Max followed and showed himself, a burly bald man greeted him.
"I'm Bibol. You must be the new face."
"Max."
Max grasped Bibol's outstretched hand and exchanged a brief handshake.
Bibol's one eye flickered with light, making it clear it was a prosthetic.
And on his skin, there was a peculiar pattern.
The pitch-black tattoos, harmonizing with his cyberware, were not meaningless decorations.
'Tattoos inscribed by those of Druid lineage.'
Max had only seen them by chance in his past life.
He couldn't distinguish which kind of Druid. He only knew it was an extremely rare power.
"You a pure type with no machinery in your body?"
"I'm a mage."
"Aah~ So you're a precious one. Might make this request a bit easier."
Deeming this sufficient as an answer, Bibol nodded. Mages tended to stick with pure physical bodies.
"Have a seat for now."
They entered and sat around the table.
Since there weren't enough chairs, the large-built Bibol had to sit on the bed. He smoothly began gathering personal information.
"We still have time before the operation starts, so let's verify the intel first. Me and Usagi go way back, but I don't know anything about you, since we're meeting for the first time. You said you're a mage—what attribute do you handle?"
"Attribute-less."
Max used his magical power to lightly lift the table.
Bibol tapped the floating table a few times and nodded.
"Hmm, looks like the telekinesis type."
"That's right. What about you two?"
In response to Max's question, Bibol showed the hand axe hidden on his person.
"I specialize in close combat with axes."
Then, Max and Bibol's gazes naturally flowed toward Usagi.
Usagi calmly gave his answer.
"Ninjutsu."
A concise answer. Max didn't ask further.
He lacked knowledge about ninjutsu, so asking what kind of ninjutsu would be meaningless.
'Better to ask if something's possible depending on the situation.'
Max used telekinesis to bring over paper and a pen placed in the corner, setting them on the table.
He then moved the pen to draw a blueprint.
The operation zone was clearly stored in his mind. At least his memory was good.
"Wow, mages really are something else, huh?"
Bibol watched Max's drawing in admiration.
Ignoring Bibol's words, Max continued moving the pen but suddenly felt his mouth was bored.
'Candy.'
He took a lollipop from his pocket. He cut the stick portion with magical power and slipped it under his mask.
Though Bibol openly revealed his face, Max, like Usagi, had no intention of lowering his mask.
'Where's the romance in that?'
A lollipop without a stick—what a brutal sight.
The taste of the candy that was just a head was cola.
Whether there was any punishment for cutting the stick and eating it, he liked the taste.
"Drawing in detail is a waste of time, so I'll stop here."
The pen, cut off from telekinesis, lay down on the table.
Max recited the contents of the request.
"From a certain time onward, control the harbor, deal with the group bringing in goods, dispose of the goods that have been distributed, and destroy the ship arriving at dawn. You know this, right?"
"I heard that when the goods come in, there are at least 80 mercenaries used for harbor security. Even if they're pissant bastards, that many is a hassle."
Naturally, it's not just a rabble of nobodies.
There are real ones mixed in too.
"We need to cut down their numbers as much as possible before a direct confrontation."
"That kind of work isn't for a type like me, so I'll leave it to the mage and ninja."
Max nodded, and Usagi remained silent.
"I have a method in mind, so I'll reduce the numbers as much as possible."
"Good. I'll just kill whatever I see and be done."
Bibol's simple plan. It wasn't wrong.
No one had warned them not to kill.
"This harbor is owned by a company called Neptune, and security is subcontracted to a company called Aqua Shell—that was in the intel. You remember?"
In response to Max's question, Bibol nodded.
"If Neptune is fully handing over that time slot, depending on what the goods are, they might be an accomplice."
"Let's drop any thoughts of judging good and evil. Let's just do our job."
"Ha! Easy for you to say. This Max guy is pretty rigid."
Bibol laughed heartily. Not a bad atmosphere.
Max drew a bunch of circles on the blueprint. They marked the locations of security cameras.
"If the movement of the guards seems odd when we enter, I plan to break the cameras with telekinesis, but I can't touch the server room, so handle that yourselves."
"Max, that's Usagi's specialty, so we can move freely."
Usagi, who had been listening quietly, pulled out a ninja's weapon hidden on his thigh.
A kunai.
"You're going to smash the cameras with that?"
Usagi shook his head.
"EMP Kunai."
Max silently admired.
He had some good equipment.
"Then let's check the server room location."
Max and Bibol continued their discussion over the map until their mouths went dry.
Usagi threw in a word here and there, lending a hand to the progress.
Thus, two hours were spent just drafting the flow of the operation.
The operation time was approaching.
"Once Usagi heads to the server room, I'll move this way, so Bibol, you wait here until I signal."
At Max's words, the two nodded in understanding.
The rough outline was complete.
Max borrowed Bibol's lighter and burned the paper with the blueprint.
Bibol, as if tired from the meeting, let out a deep sigh and showed his doubt.
"Even if we wreck the harbor like this today, won't the guys giving orders from behind just move to another location and continue the deal? Then we'll get called there again. And is there enough profit to rent the harbor and hire 80 mercenaries like this? What kind of goods are they bringing in through the harbor..."
Realizing the growing danger and tighter security, Bibol showed worries uncharacteristic of a mercenary who needed work.
Max spat out the last bit of his lollipop and gave his opinion.
"It's probably enough to disrupt the deal in District 41 and prevent Neptune from using their harbor. For this kind of operation, they secure another harbor beforehand and use it. If it becomes widely known, the companies that own the harbors won't easily agree to outside deals either."
"You're different from those uneducated mercenaries who just dig in. Is it because you're a mage?"
"That's a prejudice."
"Anyway, to starve the backers to death, we have to succeed on this request. Don't know what the Association is trying to starve."
Outside was dark.
Checking the time, Max began preparing to leave with his colleagues.
'I wonder.'
Max's perspective on this request was divided into two branches.
The first was that this incident was a branch stemming from the Gaia Food incident.
To put it simply, it was a conclusion that, as a ripple effect from the future Max had twisted, a request that hadn't existed before his regression had emerged.
'It's just speculation, though...'
And the second was a more realistic and brutal hypothesis.
That this request proceeded unrelated to the Gaia Food incident, and that the mercenaries dispatched by the Bohemian Association failed miserably and the matter wasn't leaked to the outside.
Max kept these two hypotheses in mind.
"Kuhaha! Shall we go make some money?"
Bibol laughed heartily and fitted cyberware over both ears and his jaw.
Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok! The metal pieces connected, covering his face. His prosthetic eye linked with the visor.
Max and Usagi simply adjusted their masks lightly.
The three left the motel and melted into the pitch-black alley with no streetlights.