Rabbit Ears and Daylight Alibis
Seoeun's Magic Wand, Ji Seoeun's self-made weapon. True to her philosophy of selling the gun but never the bullets, it wasn't the kind of weapon that caused explosions. Instead, a metal sphere attached to the warhead would launch out and deliver tremendous physical force—something closer to a siege weapon than anything else. It made me wonder why anyone would need something like that in this day and age, but it looked like it could actually be useful this time. If it was purely about raw physical power, it should be able to tear through even reinforced superhuman glass.
"With this, we destroy the reinforced glass and break in... It's possible, at least."
If I could storm the second floor and rescue the hostages, our operational flexibility would increase dramatically. It would let me use Seong Jiyeong and Tasha more freely.
"That settles this side. Next up is the bomb. Can you disarm it?"
"Possible."
"You can really do it?"
"Chinese explosives. Simple structure. Just destroy the detonator and it's done."
"Hmm... But don't you need to see it in person to know for sure?"
"That is correct."
Ji Seoeun claimed she could immediately neutralize any bomb the Chinese guys were using. I trusted her when it came to this kind of thing, but the fact that she had to check the bomb herself was worrying. She was clearly not a field operative. Sure, her physical abilities weren't bad when she followed the company's training, but actual combat was a different story. Even the most well-trained idol trainee would freeze up if a villain pointed a gun at them. This girl had even been kidnapped by Dr. Oh's pathetic subordinates before.
I wasn't sure if we really needed to bring her into the field...
"How about I secure the bomb and bring Ji Seoeun over to it?"
"That won't work. Seong Jiyeong, you have your own role to play."
"What would that be?"
"You'll infiltrate through the rooftop. You're the only one among us who can freely enter from above."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"You do what you do best. Frontal assault. The strong ones will probably all be gathered there. If things get dicey, I can support you from that side too. Though that depends on rescuing the hostages first."
"Good. I like it."
The scenario I had roughly put together went like this: Seong Jiyeong and Tasha would break through the rooftop and the front where the combat forces were concentrated. Meanwhile, I would infiltrate the second floor and rescue the hostages first. The only problem was the bomb. If we couldn't disarm it at the right time, the members who had already infiltrated might be in danger. Of course, the only ones who would actually be at risk were me and Tasha. Seong Jiyeong could teleport out anytime.
Even for me, bombs were dangerous. My current superpower level wasn't enough to stop an explosion and the resulting building collapse. Tasha was probably in the same boat. That's why we needed someone who could disarm the bomb as quickly as possible, but I wasn't sure if Ji Seoeun could actually pull it off.
"Hmm~ How about I move with Seoseo? We have to find the bomb before we can disarm it, right? Searching is more my specialty. If Seoseo and I handle the bomb and destroy the data, we won't have to worry about cleanup~"
"That makes sense... But isn't this your first time in actual combat too?"
"Aaah~ Well, it is, but... Shasha will be breaking through the front anyway, right? Seoseo and I will be entering a bit later. It'll probably be fine~"
"Hmm..."
Was this squinty-eyed girl planning to open her eyes? Yu Hana wasn't a field agent either. But if she was stepping up like this, it was worth trusting her at least once. More than anything, I didn't think she'd do anything that would put her at a disadvantage. When it came to searching for the bomb, Yu Hana seemed more suitable than Ji Seoeun anyway. Since there wasn't a better alternative, I'd leave it to her.
"By the way... What about the company?"
"Ah..."
Just as we were roughly hammering out the plan, Seong Jiyeong pointed out an important issue. She reminded us that we were still trainees.
"Their attack won't be at night... right?"
"If all the employees have gone home, who would they take hostage? Obviously it'll be during the day."
"Daytime is when we're supposed to be practicing at the company, isn't it?"
"Exactly. Do we have a plan?"
A plan? As if we had something like that.
"Looks like we'll have to... skip practice."
"The trainers are going to love that."
"You're telling me. We're screwed."
Whatever day D-day turned out to be, it was going to be an exhausting one. Having all five debut members vanish at once with no contact was no small matter. Ha, this was getting annoying. I was going to have to beat these bastards down hard.
***
With the exact time of the terror attack still unknown, we were busy checking our equipment while waiting for information from Yu Hana.
"Hmm, so it came to this after all."
"No other choice."
"Rabbit ears, huh. This is..."
"There's nothing we can do about it. We have no say in the matter."
"The performance... ha."
Tasha and Seong Jiyeong, who had commissioned equipment from Ji Seoeun upon joining the team, received new masks with rabbit ears attached. They were the same shape as the existing Golden Roll and Heukyacha masks, just with rabbit ears added—a new version. Seong Jiyeong, who had already heard about the rabbit ears from Ji Seoeun, didn't look too displeased. She had probably anticipated something like this. On the other hand, Tasha, who had handed over the equipment without much thought, let out a hollow sigh as she stared at the rabbit ears on the yaksha mask. Her reaction was so similar to mine when I first received the Rabbit Vader helmet that I felt a strange sense of kinship.
Yeah, rabbit-eared yaksha was a bit much. At least Golden Roll had some cuteness to it. Of course, the worst by far was my own Rabbit Vader. That thing was a hybrid I never wanted to see again, even in my dreams.
"Looks like we'll have to pass on the full-body suits."
"Impossible."
"What's impossible about it? How are we supposed to wear something this flashy in broad daylight?"
"...Through sheer willpower?"
This operation was going to be during the day, whether we liked it or not. A skintight black full-body suit in broad daylight? That was a no. No matter how much our faces were covered, I still had some sense of shame. Besides, that glossy black color stood out way too much. It had been made for nighttime operations in the first place, so giving up on it during the day was the right call.
"Then what are you planning to wear? I hate to say it, but Na Yeri, you don't have many clothes."
"I was just going to wear something normal..."
"What if the employees recognize you? How many outfits do you even own?"
When I suggested just wearing my usual clothes, Seong Jiyeong hit me with the facts. Honestly, I had nothing to say on this point. It was true that I owned too few clothes, and they were all ones the company people had already seen. At this rate, even with the helmet on, there was a real chance I'd be recognized as Na Yeri.
"Besides, we're skipping practice to go. We don't even have an alibi, so we need to be more careful."
"You're right... So what do we do?"
"If you come to my room, I have plenty of clothes I've never even worn. Wouldn't it be better to pick something from there?"
"Hmm... Not a bad idea."
Seong Jiyeong had brought the most luggage when we moved into the dorm. Most of it was clothes, including some that hadn't even been opened yet. Of course, our body types were a bit different, but if we went for a loose fit, it wouldn't be a problem. After all, I only needed to borrow a top and bottom.
"Never mind. I'll just wear tights for the bottom anyway. Those are common enough that it won't be an issue. Just lend me something to wear on top."
"Is that so? Then please choose from my room."
Seong Jiyeong readily agreed to my request to borrow only a top and led me to her room.
"You really do have a lot."
As expected of someone from a wealthy family, Seong Jiyeong's room was filled with all kinds of clothes. There were even many expensive-looking outfits that hadn't been opened yet. The spacious room was completely packed with clothing. Since I wasn't going out for fun, there was no need to pick anything too fancy. I rummaged through her clothes and pulled out something decent.
"Hmm, a field jacket."
"Yeah, versatility-wise, this is the best."
The top I chose was a blackish-brown military field jacket. She said she'd bought it planning to wear it for a military look. As a former frontline soldier, I had no desire to look at that kind of fashion, but it was comfortable and practical, so I went with it.
"Clothes are settled. What about weapons? Isn't your sword the type that attaches to the suit?"
"Ah, right. Without the suit, I'll need to get a new weapon too. I could just carry it around, but..."
"If you extend the blade, it shines and flashes. Not that it matters, but..."
Weapons were another problem. The belt-type extending sword I'd received from Ji Seoeun was easy to carry because it attached to the suit. Without the suit, I'd have to carry it around, which was a bit cumbersome. Besides, when you pulled the blade all the way out, it flashed like a lightsaber. Just looking at it made me feel mentally unstable. So this time, I wanted to use a normal weapon.
"If you have something in mind, would you like to try the sword I recommended?"
"Huh? Don't you only use a whip?"
"I do know how to use a sword. I'm just not very good at it."
"Really? Then show me."
The sword Seong Jiyeong recommended was a one-handed sword like what medieval knights or soldiers would use—an arming sword. What most people called a longsword was actually this, though technically a longsword was a two-handed sword, so the correct name was arming sword. The terminology didn't really matter though.
"The quality... is really good."
"Of course. It's mine, after all."
It was annoying, but I had no comeback. The quality felt even better than the extending sword Ji Seoeun had made with her superpower. This was probably forged by a fairly renowned swordsmith. Having someone rich around really did bring all sorts of perks. Hmm, I could get addicted to this.
"...No way. The quality... is too good."
"There are things that can't be replicated with superpowers."
"Something as ordinary as a cold weapon..."
My assessment of the quality seemed correct—Ji Seoeun also let out an exclamation of admiration at the arming sword's radiant form. Actually, it sounded more like a sigh than admiration. She looked shocked that the arming sword's quality surpassed her own extending sword. I just hoped she wouldn't get worked up and make something weird again. That girl was already eccentric enough as it was. Given who she was, I was a little worried.
"Yoi yoi~ Info's here~"
Around the time we had roughly finished gathering our equipment, Yu Hana returned, having gone to find out the exact terror schedule. Her light footsteps suggested she had brought back some pretty meaningful information.