First Job
As Scarlet’s workshop drew closer, the sound of loud shouts grew louder.
Six mercenary thugs with vicious faces were pounding on the closed door and causing a ruckus.
Their clothes bore the sharp canine emblem of the **Steel Fangs**.
The moment the transport vehicle we were riding in stopped, the biggest man among the mercenaries yelled.
“Scarlet! You fucking bitch, how long are you gonna make us wait?!”
His face was flushed red with rage.
Scarlet stepped out of the car without backing down a single inch and fired right back.
“I clearly said before we started, right? I don’t know when it’ll be done or how many days it’ll take! If you’re in a hurry, go look somewhere else!”
“You’re going too far!”
She spat out her frustration.
“I heard your work speed is the fastest in Terminus, so I came here while you’re handling an important job to make sure the mecha performance gets properly upgraded!”
The guy stepped right up to Scarlet, nose almost brushing hers, and growled.
“But because you’ve been dragging your feet, right now the client is ready to file penalties unless I put him in immediately.”
He raised his finger in warning.
“I’ve been chewing him out since yesterday to make sure you can’t work in this underworld anymore! You have no idea how much shit I’ve had to swallow because of you!”
There was anger in his voice, but also desperation.
“If you were in such a rush, you should have locked in the schedule from the start or canceled the important job! Now you’re giving me crap?”
Scarlet shouted back without backing down.
“You mutt, I was even thinking of forgiving you if you apologized once, but you just won’t shut up?!”
His hand moved toward the gun handle at his waist.
In an instant the atmosphere turned vicious.
“Enough.”
A low, calm voice slipped between them, carrying weight that no one could ignore.
Every head turned toward the source of the voice.
I did too.
From the dark alley beside the workshop, a woman with bright yellow hair reaching her shoulders and a black eyepatch over her right eye walked out slowly, leading several men.
“Kaien!”
Scarlet spotted her and shouted with a mix of relief and joy.
The woman called Kaien gave Scarlet a light nod and then swept her gaze over the Steel Fangs mercenaries one by one.
“Oh? The ones who used to just do odd jobs? What’s all the commotion in front of Scarlet’s workshop?”
At her words the mercenaries instinctively shrank back and took their hands off their weapons.
“W-well, Director Kaien, this is a private matter between us and Scarlet. The machine modification work she took on is running late, and we’re about to suffer huge losses. There’s an important contract at stake.”
The mercenary had lost all his earlier bravado and was now pleading with Kaien’s eyes.
“Scarlet’s work style is well known in Terminus—no one doesn’t know she’s fast but does things her own way.”
As she said that her gaze locked onto the gun handle the mercenary had raised.
“And above all, pulling out guns in Terminus isn’t a very smart move.”
“But we really are in a tight spot!”
“Everyone has tight spots.”
Kaien cut him off.
“If it’s a job issue, either formally request mediation or make a mutual agreement right here.”
“This is clearly that bitch’s, no, Scarlet’s fault! I’m not the one in the wrong!”
Another mercenary howled and shouted.
“There’s an important contract! If we handle this one well we’ll get massive gains…”
“Shut the hell up, you idiots, how far do you plan to talk?”
The big man glared at him coldly.
Crack!
A sudden clap of hands rang out and everyone turned to look.
I smiled relaxedly at the big man.
“Who the hell are you, sticking so close to Scarlet?”
“So, to summarize the situation, you’re about to get penalized by the client and can’t even take the job out because you can’t upgrade the mecha. Is that what you’re saying?”
“If you want to cause trouble, get lost. I haven’t even seen that face before.”
Kaien glanced at me briefly then whispered something to Scarlet.
I was irritated that the two were chatting, but dealing with what was right in front of us came first.
“You idiots, are you all retarded?”
“What? What the hell did you just say, you greenhorn who hasn’t even dried up from pissing yourself?”
“It’s a job. What upgrade are you going to do? The client has every right to be angry.”
“You don’t even know anything! That’s a high-level mission. You little shit, keep your mouth shut.”
The big man crossed his arms and glared at me like he wanted to kill me.
If Kaien weren’t here, that bastard might have drawn his gun and fired.
But there was no room for that with her—the person who controlled the situation—here.
“Big guy, here’s my offer.”
“W-what?”
“Hand the job over to me. Then you won’t have to pay any penalty and get a happy ending, right?”
The guy tried to think rationally and spoke.
“Even if I hand it over, I’m not planning to give it to you bare-handed.”
“You brainless bastard.”
“Speak nicely. If you don’t want to die.”
“Are you covering your own shit right now? You’re trembling because you’re scared of the penalty money.”
The bastard’s eyes wavered as if hit right in the gut.
“Big brother, the time we’ve been given is only two days. Even if Scarlet is the fastest, there’s no way she can finish modifying it in two days.”
“How about we just cleanly drop this job? We can’t even afford the penalty. We.”
“Would that mean we’d sully the Steel Fangs name? Big brother? Would you be that kind to us?”
The big man shouted and the rest of the mercenaries froze like dead mice.
“Wait, let me think for a second.”
The guy took out a cigarette and lit it.
“Good. I like it. Little shit.”
He blew out smoke and nodded.
“What’s your name? I’m Detch.”
“Kang Jinwoo. Detch.”
“Jinwoo, Kang Jinwoo. Okay. But I have one condition.”
“Condition?”
“It’s fine if you come back empty-handed. You can earn the money from another job. But.”
Detch let out a long sigh and continued.
“If Big Brother finds out I did something to disgrace the Steel Fangs name, I’m a dead man. I won’t die a clean death.”
“So?”
“Hand over the job, but work under the Steel Fangs name.”
“That’s fine. The pay is all mine?”
“Yeah, fuck it, everything is yours. Whether we succeed or not.”
After he said that Detch flicked the cigarette to the ground and shot a data chip at me with his finger.
“That’s the client’s contact. Call them and tell them to get it done right now.”
His tone was almost like an order to do it immediately.
“Sure thing.”
I connected the received data chip to my terminal and immediately contacted the client.
*******
Alexander Valentine paced anxiously around his private office.
The spacious room was finished with premium wood, but right now his nerves were focused entirely on the personal terminal on his wrist.
No contact had come from that Detch guy of the Steel Fangs for hours.
The promised mid-report time had already passed.
“You fucking third-rate mercenaries!”
It might have been a mistake in the first place to hand this important matter over to a newly risen rookie squad.
“Shut up already!”
Since the new leader arrived, the reason he was getting complaints was that the squad was operating more smoothly than any elite team.
“That damn mecha upgrade upgrade! Just do it already!”
There had been time, so he had thought it was fine, but how many weeks had it been now?
“Detch, you little shit, did you just pocket the deposit and disappear? No way.”
His thoughts spiraled into the worst possible scenario from sheer anxiety.
Ding!
A short incoming signal and an encrypted communication request came from the terminal.
The sender was not Detch but an unregistered codename.
Alexander frowned and accepted the call with tense nerves.
[Is this Alexander Valentine?]
“Yes, it is. Who are you?”
Alexander asked calmly.
[This is the person who received the job from Detch. Proceeding with the request under the Steel Fangs name from now on.]
“What? Taking over the job? What kind of nonsense is that! Where the hell is that Detch bastard doing?!”
Alexander’s voice rose without him realizing it.
It was an unacceptable act to hand over such an important matter to someone else at will.
[Details omitted. The important part is that I can retrieve your item according to the promise. Of course, the original contract remains unchanged.]
“Who the hell are you?”
[Kang Jinwoo, free mercenary. And from now on I am the person responsible for your job. Please send the job coordinates. Time seems short, so]
Kang Jinwoo. The name was completely new to him.
Could he trust this unidentified free mercenary?
But what other choice did he have now?
If he delayed here any longer, the chance to get the item back might vanish forever.
‘Whatever.’
Alexander squeezed his eyes shut then opened them.
In any case, he was already at the bottom.
What could possibly get worse from here?
“I’ll trust you. Immediately transmit the relevant information and coordinates.”
He quickly manipulated the terminal to send an encrypted data packet to Kang Jinwoo.
The packet contained fragmentary information on the item he wanted retrieved and the coordinates.
“So, how many people in total? Detch said at least three squads. Have there been any changes?”
His voice naturally carried concern.
No matter how skilled the mercenary, the danger of this mission was too high to handle alone.
[I’m alone.]
“What? You said alone?!”
Alexander doubted his own ears.
It was so ridiculous he almost laughed.
“Are you joking right now? Do you even know how dangerous this mission is?”
His voice rose again without him realizing it.
This guy was either an incompetent kid who couldn’t even assess the situation or a madman who wanted to die.
[Forget worrying. I’ll show you the result.]
Kang Jinwoo’s voice remained steady and confident.
With that, the communication ended unilaterally.
“You, you crazy bastard.”
He sat back in his chair in despair and wiped his face.
‘Show me the result? Alone? What are you so confident about?’
Alexander let out a deep sigh and looked out the window.