Claiming My Freedom
Only after the silver flash had vanished completely behind the dawn sky did I realize I had been holding my breath.
“Yo, Cog 7!”
“Hey, you okay? How’s the mecha?”
“What exactly did you talk about with the Silver Witch?”
“Why did she invite you from Icarus…?”
The mercenaries began inching closer, peppering me with questions.
A surge of irritation rose in my chest.
A few weeks ago they had only known how to order me around like some newbie. Now they were suddenly acting like close buddies. It was sickening.
I had no desire or duty to answer any of it, so I walked straight ahead and pushed open the hangar door.
When I reached the entrance, just as I expected, Bulldog was already waiting with his arms crossed.
The smug, scheming grin on his face had replaced the earlier overt hostility—now he was clearly trying to size up the situation and exploit it however he could.
“Hey, Cog 7. Our pride and joy, huh? You actually managed to land one on the Silver Witch! Who would’ve guessed!”
He slapped my shoulder in exaggerated fashion and sneered, continuing his mockery.
“So the Silver Witch herself gave you the invitation personally? Hah, this is an honor! Kronos could probably forge a decent partnership with Icarus Tech. You could be the middleman…”
I cut him off coldly.
“Is that all you’ve got to say?”
I casually checked the credit balance on my personal terminal.
Current balance: 20,300 CR.
With that much, I could have ignored his nagging for quite some time.
“The conversation with her is a private matter. Kronos has no business interfering.”
At my firm tone, the fake smile vanished from Bulldog’s face.
He bit his lip in frustration, but he no longer dared order me around or question me.
“Hold up, Cog 7.”
His voice dropped low and threatening.
The sycophant mask was completely gone.
I stopped and turned to face him. I already knew what was coming.
“Did that silver-haired bitch give you candy or something? What makes you so arrogant?”
His eyes raked me from head to toe.
I stared back silently, waiting for the next words.
“After all, you just got lucky and got noticed, huh? Don’t get the wrong idea. You’re still nothing. Disposable parts that can be swapped anytime!”
His words dripped with the cynical realism of a low-level mercenary who had seen it all.
They weren’t entirely wrong. But hearing them from him made them even more disgusting.
“Don’t get cocky just because you caught the corporate eye.”
The contempt in Bulldog’s voice grew thicker.
“They’ll chew you out the second you’re no longer useful.”
He stepped closer.
Clear warning and veiled threat burned in his eyes.
“And don’t forget, Cog 7. You’re still part of Kronos. I’m your commander! If you keep flying too high, your wings might just snap.”
The final words were blatant blackmail.
He still wanted to keep me under his control no matter who I tied myself to.
His gaze was like that of a master tightening a leash again.
Suddenly, something inside me snapped.
I no longer needed to be chained to this rotten place that treated people like parts.
Without a word, I slowly reached up and touched the Cog 7 identification patch on my combat suit shoulder.
Bulldog stared at me in confusion, unable to figure out what I was doing.
*Snap!*
I ripped the patch off without hesitation.
“Eat shit.”
The cheap Velcro tore with a sharp sound that echoed through the hangar.
I looked down at the detached Cog 7 patch for a moment.
The mark that had defined me as nothing more than a component, the one that had always called me by a name that wasn’t mine. I crumpled it up in my fist.
Then I met Bulldog’s eyes directly and said, calm and resolute.
“No more.”
My voice was low, but the resolve behind it was ironclad.
“I, Kang Jinwoo.”
It was the first time I had spoken my true name.
“Effective immediately, I am leaving the Kronos Mercenary Group.”
I dropped the crumpled patch at his feet.
Like garbage.
“Now you are no longer my commander, Bulldog.”
The color drained from Bulldog’s face at my declaration.
He stood speechless for a second, eyes wide.
The other mercenaries watching the scene from nearby swallowed hard and froze.
Declaring resignation right in front of the commander—especially in such a bold manner—was unthinkable to them.
“Y-y-you… what did you just say…?!”
Bulldog finally snapped back, face turning red as he roared.
His fists trembled as if he wanted to lunge at me, but he never moved.
Was it the killing intent in my eyes, or the interest Yuna had shown in me moments ago?
His furious shouts echoed behind me, but I didn’t stop.
In the far corner of the hangar, Mechanic Han was organizing tools.
He had witnessed everything and now looked at me with a mixture of surprise and unmistakable satisfaction.
“Hoo… you really went and did it. What are you going to do about the aftermath, kid? Now you’re truly on your own.”
He paced beside me, clearly worried.
“Bulldog’s kind of guy? He could come at you right now and rip you off the mecha.”
“I know.”
I answered shortly.
“That’s why I need to hurry.”
I climbed into the cockpit of the Bugbear.
“Wait, you’re leaving already? You didn’t even do a post-battle check with Silvera!”
“Just like I said, Mechanic Han. Who knows when Bulldog might snap. This damage is fine.”
“Ha! Leaving without even saying goodbye?”
Mechanic Han grumbled, secretly annoyed.
“I couldn’t help it. I snapped before I knew it.”
*Tsk.*
“I won’t work under anyone who treats people like parts anymore. Sparkie, Jinx, and that scumbag Cog 4 didn’t even clean up their own corpses.”
“Hah, yeah. If you’re that skilled, you’ll find work wherever you go.”
Mechanic Han rubbed his forehead and turned away.
“Go. Before Bulldog gets here.”
“Thank you, even if it was short.”
“Hmph, just get lost.”
[System Boot. Main Power Online. Reactor Booster on standby.]
Lights flared to life across the dashboard, and the mecha woke with a low vibration.
I gripped the control stick and took a deep breath.
All that remained was to pass through that massive hangar door.
“Let’s go.”
I slowly raised the engine output of the Bugbear.
*****
Bulldog stood at the window of his office, watching the old Bugbear’s retreating back as it left the hangar and began to lift off.
The mecha was covered in visible welding patches, but the booster flames during takeoff looked significantly stronger than before.
All night the brat had added quite a few decent parts.
Parts he had purchased without permission, or possibly with his own money.
“You arrogant little shit…!”
Bulldog clenched his fist again.
He wanted to activate the base defense turrets right then and there and shoot the thing down. Or send pursuit ships, capture it, and crush it underfoot as a warning.
Handing a guy who had openly defied him and even cursed him to his face was something his pride refused to allow.
But there was one thing keeping him from doing anything drastic.
The overwhelming presence of that silver mecha and its pilot—Yuna—that had visited his base at dawn.
The cold warning she had left behind.
The obvious interest she had shown toward that Cog 7, or rather, Kang Jinwoo.
And the name of the massive corporation she belonged to: Icarus Technology.
“Damn it… unlucky bitch.”
Bulldog gritted his teeth.
If Yuna hadn’t appeared, that brat would be broken and rotting in a basement prison right now, or already space debris.
But since Icarus was involved, he couldn’t afford to provoke them.
“Messing with someone the corporation has marked could lead to all kinds of trouble.”
He had seen countless times how the Kronos-type of third-rate mercenary group ended up when they angered a mega-corp—granted, sanctions, even staged accidents that looked like real violence.
He couldn’t take that risk for one brat.
Even though his blood was boiling, he had to think rationally. The best move right now was simply to let him go.
“Hmph, he probably thinks he’s free now.”
Bulldog sneered at the distant Bugbear’s booster glow.
“At best he’ll just swap the small fence of Kronos for a bigger, flashier leash from Icarus. He has no idea how crafty and cruel corporate bastards can be.”
Once the benefit dried up, he’d be thrown away without mercy or thrown into dangerous missions as cannon fodder.
Or maybe he’d disappear in some accident first.
“Yeah, that’d be a lucky break. One less headache to deal with.”
Bulldog comforted himself that way and finally looked away.
For now he had no intention of reporting Kang Jinwoo to the higher-ups.
It was better to keep quiet and bury it.
Later, when the opportunity arose, he could casually leak information about the brat to Icarus and cash in.
He sank deeper into his chair and began planning how to recruit new Cogs.
Jinwoo was gone, but Kronos would keep rolling.
There were always more disposable parts to swap in.