Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Code: XTK
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“I’m sure you all know this already… but since we have time to spare, I’ll go over it again just to be safe.”
Son Jeong-hu looked around at us as he spoke.
“It starts with the Taker neutralizing the main system. Since the city hall is managed by the main system, the lights will go out except for the emergency ones. That’s when you all move.”
I half-listened to Son Jeong-hu while mentally reviewing my own role.
My target was the Illuster. More precisely, the special agents carrying the Illuster. I was going to kill them and take it. To do that, I’d shelled out a whopping 3 billion won for the ‘Eclus Plasma Blade.’
No matter how good their gear or implants were, they wouldn’t be able to block an Eclus Plasma Blade.
My Yeongcheon-ryu style should make it more than possible.
“Feel free to raid the armories along the way, kill guards and steal their weapons—whatever. Steal anything you want. Kill anyone you feel like killing. While you’re all causing chaos for an hour… I’ll snag the blueprints. And exactly one hour in, we retreat. Everyone’s clear on the escape routes, right?”
I wasn’t planning on retreating.
The moment I got the Illuster, my goal would be achieved. Grab three of them and head straight back to reality.
‘Machines break down sometimes. Better to have backups.’
Once I had the Illuster, first up would be the bathhouse…
“If you get caught, I recommend just killing yourselves. You’re gonna get tortured for sure. Hell, they might even extract your brain and make you suffer forever.”
Son Jeong-hu dropped that bombshell. Everyone’s faces stiffened. Given this world’s tech level, it wasn’t something you could just laugh off. Son Jeong-hu himself was all machine except for his brain.
“I believe in you guys. You’re all the best. Let’s grab pizza at a café later.”
“……”
The crew fell silent. No idea what each was thinking, but the tension was palpable.
I joined the silence for a bit before speaking to Son Jeong-hu.
“Leader. I’m hungry. Mind if I grab some food?”
“Go ahead. Still over an hour till the party kicks off. Oh, Ulla said she was hungry earlier too. Take her with you.”
I glanced at Ulla. She was wearing a sky-blue dress. A suit wouldn’t suit her small frame, so Son Jeong-hu had picked out the dress himself.
Golden hair, snow-white skin. She looked normal at a glance—suited her well.
“……Hungry.”
Ulla said. I gave a wry smile.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
Ulla was a cyborg like the leader—all machine except her brain. No need for food at all. Only the leader and Ulla herself knew that back at Raffles. Of course, I knew from the original story.
‘……She’s here to keep tabs on me.’
Within expectations. Betraying them here would be catastrophic.
‘You have no idea. If I wanted to betray you, I’ve had plenty of chances.’
I headed to the 120th-floor restaurant with Ulla.
Planning to savor their top-grade steak.
I froze when I spotted someone upon entering.
“Know him?”
Ulla followed my gaze to the guy by the window, munching chicken salad while staring outside.
“…Not really friends. But he’s pretty infamous in the underworld.”
“Infamous?”
“Fixer. Ex-special agent, no less.”
Ulla and I took a table and ordered a steak course.
Ulla kept sneaking glances at him. Guess “special agent” piqued her interest.
‘Protagonist Yu Han-su. The one who’ll kill Ulla later.’
Ulla might have sensed something from the man fated to kill her someday.
We ate quietly.
Ulla wasn’t much of a talker, and I saw no reason to get chummy. After today, she’d be out of my life anyway.
The steak melted in my mouth.
???
“You’re the president of Grayple Corp? Never heard of them… Foreign company?”
“Haha, yes. British outfit. Just set up in Seoul recently. We haven’t even locked down a proper building yet, so it’s no surprise it sounds unfamiliar.”
At the party, I had to deal with a stream of people. Even without approaching them, they came to me.
Their social skills were insane.
‘Probably ’cause I’m a young normal—easy to approach.’
60% of the guests were normals. The rest were partial cyborgs.
“Whew. Dealing with people is exhausting. No slip-ups, right?”
I asked Son Jeong-hu standing beside me.
“No issues, President. You handled them perfectly.”
He was playing my chief of staff. Suited him well.
“Just went along with it. Shouldn’t we head up soon?”
“Not yet. Party’s just starting—better to mingle more. Easier to move when people start thinning out later.”
“……Yeah, makes sense.”
More people came after. Building basic connections. The elite valued networks as much as cash.
‘Ugh. Tired.’
I rubbed the back of my neck with my left hand. Chatting was one thing, but lying through my teeth while fending off sharp questions? Without Son Jeong-hu’s timely assists, I’d have raised suspicions for sure.
Mid-party, there was the gift-giving.
Basically bribing Seoul Mayor Won Cheon-su outright under the guise of presents.
‘Holy shit.’
I figured elites had some class. But the scene was anything but dignified.
‘Kissing ass that hard? Licking his butthole raw…’
Less envy, more revulsion at the groveling. When one subtly offered his daughter, I nearly burst out laughing in disbelief.
‘Selling out their own kids for power.’
I shook my head and sipped my wine.
I gave Won Cheon-su a gift too—stocks in some U.S. firm. Son Jeong-hu handled it, so I didn’t know the details.
“Oh.”
Nursing my wine in the corner, a woman caught my eye.
“Damn. She’s gorgeous.”
Blonde, in a navy evening gown hugging an killer figure. No visible cyberware. Normal like me. Big tits, killer hips.
“Hm? That your type?”
“Nah. She’s just pretty.”
“Yeah?”
Son Jeong-hu didn’t get female beauty. No dick, no wonder.
“Look at those bouncing tits. Face is perfection. First stunner like that in this world.”
“This world?”
“…Yeah. Meant first in my life.”
Son Jeong-hu brushed it off.
No surprise. Could he even imagine I was from another world? Even if he did, he wouldn’t believe it. Spill the truth, and he’d call me crazy.
“Damn. Why meet a girl like that now? Yesterday…”
I sighed in regret. Son Jeong-hu leaned in.
“If you want her that bad, just kidnap her later. Knock her out, take her home, do whatever.”
“Nah. Not kidnapping here of all places.”
“Fair. So what’re you stealing? Something valuable?”
“Well…”
I trailed off. Someone was approaching.
Yu Han-su. I tensed up. Had he sniffed us out? The original webtoon protag wouldn’t be surprised. Sharp eyes like his.
“Hello.”
He offered a handshake. I took it.
“…Ah. Yes. Nice to meet you. Yoo Jae-won, president of Grayple.”
“Oh, same surname! I’m Yu Han-su.”
“What a coincidence. What brings you here?”
“Nothing much… Heard you’re coming to Korea soon. If anything annoying pops up, call me. Here’s my card.”
“Fixer Yu Han-su?”
“Yes, yes. I may not know much else, but I get jobs done.”
I relaxed. Just a pitch.
Yu Han-su moved on, hyping his skills and handing out cards.
“Yu Han-su. Former government special agent. Attending means he’s got ties to the mayor.”
Son Jeong-hu said stiffly in chief-of-staff mode.
“Dangerous?”
“Hard to say yet. But definitely someone to watch.”
Yeah. Watch him close. You’ll be fighting him to the death later.
Couldn’t say that, though.
???
1:30 a.m. Near the party’s end, we moved.
Straight up to the 175th floor via elevator.
The casino floor. Closed for the mayor’s birthday bash.
But a soldier was there. Helmeted, in external armor suit, guarding the entrance. Massive assault rifle in hand.
“What’s your business?”
He approached. Son Jeong-hu beat me to it.
“My boss wants to try Seoul’s casino… Not open today?”
“Closed for the mayor’s birthday party. Opens at 9 p.m.—come back then.”
“Ah, I see. But…”
Son Jeong-hu stalled, drawing out the talk.
I initiated the hack. No need to eyeball it—if I knew the main system’s location, the skill let me sense it.
7 seconds.
Longer than expected. I’d figured maybe 3.
‘Neutralize the main system first, then deliberately fry the core.’
I couldn’t see it, but I felt it. Main system down as planned. Core busted—no swapping in the backup, and city hall was crippled.
Fzzzt.
The hallway fluorescents winked out in unison.
“Wh-what the… Gahk?!”
Son Jeong-hu’s hand shot out, seizing the soldier’s throat. Crushing force snapped it instantly. He tossed the corpse aside and grinned at me.
“Nice one, Taker. Party floor’s gotta be chaos now. I’m off to grab the blueprints. You?”
“Snagging valuables. And if there’s time, that blonde from earlier too.”
“Decided to kidnap her after all?”
“Guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.”
“Got it. See you later. Casino’s gotta have cash stashed somewhere.”
Son Jeong-hu headed down the emergency stairs. Elevators were dead with the main system fried.
I waited till he was gone.
‘Three minutes down. He’s at 150 by now. My turn.’
I pulled the blade from my inventory.
Eclus Plasma Blade.
Coated in plasma via super-energy Eclus. Sliced steel like butter. Rechargeable—keep it off except in combat to conserve.
I took the stairs up, not down. During the hack, I’d glimpsed special agents’ positions.
Five total. One at the 190th-floor main system room.
“Who the hell are you?!”
Ran into riot squad on the stairs.
‘Wall Stream (碧溪).’
He fired. Rifle power near machine-gun levels—but missed wide. Wall Stream distorted his distance sense perfectly.
‘Tested it before. Even machine eyes can’t counter unless top-tier. Brain still processes the visuals.’
I slashed his throat mid-stride. Blood sprayed. No hesitation—upward.