I'm No Engineer, Though (2)
The monitor displayed a familiar logo.
Windows.
Just that the version number was 13, something I’d never seen before.
13, huh.
The last one I used was 11. I remembered that one getting a lot of flak... This was two or three generations ahead, then.
I wondered what the 13th generation felt like. Outwardly, it didn’t look all that different from the computers I was used to seeing.
Though the graphics card was some unfamiliar model called the DTX 6050.
“Login screen’s up.”
The login screen was pretty much the same as what I knew. Probably no need to change something like that. I hit enter, the password prompt appeared, and I glanced at the boss. He had to know the password. It was his machine, after all.
The boss met my eyes and said brightly,
“Mind turning your head for a sec?”
Out of courtesy, I turned away and waited for the tapping on the keyboard. Then came the familiar melody.
So far, so good. It was working.
“You’re amazing. It actually boots up...”
“Got lucky. If even one part was busted, we’d be screwed.”
I’d only assembled a few computers as a hobby, so if rust had eaten through it or something, revival would’ve been impossible. This was seriously good fortune.
Had to be at least twenty years old, right?
Most machines that age are nothing but trouble.
Whether it was a bad connection or some other issue, the fact that it ran at all was impressive enough.
“Bringing you here was the right call! I thought I’d never touch it again!”
He looked at me with eyes dripping honey-like goodwill.
...Honey dripping from a guy’s eyes was a bit much.
I cleared my throat a couple times and spoke up.
“Mind if I check something quick?”
“Go ahead.”
I plugged the USB into the computer right away. It recognized it. Thank god.
A familiar chime and popup window appeared.
I moved the mouse and clicked the folder.
Pretty hefty. 25 gigs.
“What’s this?”
“Probably... a folder packed with some heavy secrets. You might not wanna look inside.”
“I’ll step out, then.”
He quietly left the office. Alone now, I dug through the folder.
Mostly standard-form documents I’d seen somewhere before.
I pushed through the PTSD flashbacks of military life as I sifted through the files. The info I wanted had to be in here somewhere.
This looks useful.
A map—a military one, with all sorts of detailed info marked.
I didn’t know how to read military maps for shit, so it was half-useless to me personally, but I didn’t need to.
What mattered was that it had value to sell.
Decades after the Swamp Zone took over this place, even hunters hadn’t mapped out every inch of the Gray Forest.
Especially the danger zones—barely anyone came back alive. With this map, scouting those would be a hell of a lot easier.
I kept poking through the other folders.
Mostly disciplinary orders and admin paperwork, but sprinkled in were docs with orders hinting at the situation back then, plus blueprints.
My mouse stopped on one that scratched a weird itch: a military suit.
This... total gibberish blueprint. But the drawing was clear enough to figure it out.
Powered suit schematics.
Why the hell was something like this in a little bunker? Probably the usual corruption scandals you saw on the news all the time, even before possession.
Bigwigs selling off whatever to line their pockets. Nothing new.
In the original story, the client explained it that way, so probably the same here.
The client.
Come to think of it, the guy who wanted this USB was probably still alive.
The episode where this USB became a key item started with him hiring a hunter he trusted.
A request to find the USB he was supposed to trade back in the day.
The hunter took it no problem. Good pay, not a super dangerous spot—easy gig.
Problem was, that hunter worked for Quaker.
Betraying the client’s trust, he snitched about the USB.
Quaker, intrigued by the military secrets inside, stirred up the Swamp Zone, and that led to the protagonist and crew jumping into the chaos to stop him and snag the USB. Total shitshow—that was the recent arc.
Not even finished yet.
...Wait, I am Quaker.
Not that I planned to follow his footsteps even a little, but it still bugged me.
Escaping the Research Institute was similar to the original, but recovering this USB years early—how would that ripple?
The whole episode gets axed, for starters.
Hell, does the original story even hold up anymore?
I wasn’t a villain, Mina wasn’t either.
...Sticking to the script was the safest bet, but with who I possessed, that wasn’t happening.
Besides, I wasn’t the type to just kill people willy-nilly.
Anyway, this was money. But the second anyone knew what it was, we’d all be in danger.
Sell it blindly on the black market, and the vultures would sniff it out and come for me.
No house, no assets, no rep—I couldn’t handle that heat.
Not yet, anyway. Time to pay the bearded guy a visit. I thought of that cheeky bastard, closed the folder, and carefully ejected the USB.
Knowing the original story was a godsend. Without it, even with the USB, finding a buyer would’ve been tough.
Luckily, there was an organization here perfect for offloading it: Alligator Gang.
Rulers of this place. Self-appointed vigilantes, not too wild, with some cred—so they wouldn’t screw me over.
Pretty upright in the original, too.
I wrapped the USB in cloth, pocketed it, and stood.
Wanted to poke around the computer more, but that’d be rude. I shut it down and headed to the lobby.
The boss was at the counter, working. He smiled when he saw me.
“All done?”
“Yeah, thanks for letting me use it. Gonna grab some food now.”
“Go ahead.”
Mina was probably at the cafeteria by now.
Food on my mind, I headed there in high spirits.
--------------------------
“Mister, you okay?”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
Mina smiled in relief.
That mystical smile paired with her unique looks.
Beauty draws eyes no matter what.
“Found something to sell. Cash this in, we can get a solid base.”
“New base?”
“Can’t stay here forever.”
“I’m coming... too, right?”
“Won’t stop you if you wanna split.”
She was still a worry, but she worked steady—better than me. Settling down should be easier for her.
Though surviving solo in this world ain’t easy.
“I’m sticking with you... no matter what...”
Stubborn resolve.
Her serious face made me chuckle.
Original fans would freak seeing the vicious villain from the story act like this.
She’d kill without hesitation if you got in Quaker’s way.
A bit sickly, but way healthier than in the original, so I was content with this Mina.
“Just the two of us in a house...”
She really loves the idea of a home.
I looked away from her genuine joy, finished my food, and stood.
“Gotta run an errand. Eat without me if I’m late.”
“Where to?”
I answered her straight.
“Alligator Gang.”
The real power running the Swamp Zone.
I was... heading there to make a deal.