Chapter 296: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (14)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 296: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (14)
“Haaah…”
Adele let out a deep sigh as she sat on the sofa. Watching her from the side, I crossed my legs and asked quietly.
“You seem very annoyed.”
She pressed her lips together, her gaze shifting to me for only a moment before turning to the window outside.
“Yes. If I had my way, I’d bring about ten mobile weapons and blow this goddamn Colony Committee building to smithereens.”
“That’s a scary thought.”
“Haha, I’m joking.”
She was smiling, but her eyes weren’t joking at all. A cup of cold tea rested gently in her hands.
“Lieutenant Jin. You’ve felt the atmosphere on the colony, haven’t you?”
“Yes. It’s quiet on the surface… too quiet.”
She nodded as if she’d been waiting for me to say that.
“Exactly. It’s too quiet. Which means they’re hiding something.”
I let out a quiet breath and asked again.
“Do you… have any specific suspicions about the colony?”
“Yes. Besides the Civilian Development Complex, there are several closed zones here that haven’t been publicly disclosed. Officially, they’re listed as abandoned facilities, but after cross-referencing some data… I found contradictions.”
She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice and added.
“That’s why I sent Su-hyeon. To check one of those zones herself.”
“So that’s why she isn’t here.”
“Yes. I’ve been in contact with her since last night, but her report is delayed, which is making me a little anxious.”
Just then.
—Ding.
The electronic door slid open smoothly, with timing so perfect it was as if she had been waiting.
A woman in a black suit entered quietly. Her hair was in a neat ponytail, and she looked directly at Adele from behind sharp glasses.
“Miss.”
Adele turned her head. It was Kim Su-hyeon. Her expression was as placid as ever, but it seemed subtly tense.
“Lieutenant Jin.”
She turned her gaze to me and spoke politely.
“I apologize, but could you please give us a moment?”
I met her eyes and slowly nodded.
“Yes. Of course.”
I stood up quietly. The moment the door hissed shut, I steadied my breath and leaned my back against the wall.
‘Shall we see what they’re talking about?’
I calmed my breathing and focused solely on my hearing.
『…This is G-14 Zone.』
Kim Su-hyeon’s low, composed voice.
『It appears a top-secret experiment is being conducted somewhere in the zone. The security is on par with a military facility, making it impossible to approach.』
『…The possibility that our company’s leaked technology is being used there?』
Adele’s voice was calm, but I could feel a heavy undercurrent of anger.
『The possibility is high.』
『…Su-hyeon, can you confirm exactly what kind of research is being conducted inside?』
A moment of silence.
Then, Kim Su-hyeon’s voice cut through it again.
『If you authorize the use of my equipment, it’s possible.』
『…Fine. I’ll approve it. But do not cause a commotion. Handle it quietly.』
『Understood, Miss.』
I slowly pushed myself off the wall, my eyes narrowing.
G-14. And a technology leak.
‘…Something smells fishy.’
This was no mere coincidence.
Something close to the core of the story was definitely in motion, right here in the Elbaite Colony.
‘I’m curious.’
*
In the dark of early dawn.
I watched her, hidden in the shadows.
Kim Su-hyeon.
On the surface, a polite and proper secretary in a suit. A woman of few words, a shadow who always followed quietly by Adele’s side.
“…Oh.”
My gaze was fixed on the sight of her opening her bag and quietly changing her clothes.
On the still, windless rooftop, she silently shed her suit and began to put on a pink exoskeleton combat suit that shimmered with a faint metallic luster.
Cold, intricate curves flowed from her shoulders to her chest, waist, and thighs in a streamlined design. On its surface, fine red circuit lines pulsed as if they were alive.
She silently undid her hair tie.
Her loose hair fell along the line of her neck as she fitted the combat suit on, piece by piece.
Even the way she put on her gloves, fitting each finger one by one, was an overly delicate and trained movement.
Finally, she took off her glasses and put on a pair of tactical goggles equipped with red AR lenses.
In that instant, her expression vanished completely.
—Click.
[Tactical Mode. Online.]
A mechanical sound came from the nape of her neck, and an electronic circuit lit up along her spine.
“…Her ass is so fucking hot.”
The sight of her in that sexy combat suit gave me an instant erection.
“I’ll have to fuck her in that later.”
As I was thinking that, she moved.
Kim Su-hyeon’s movements were swift and efficient. Adapted to the exoskeleton suit, she moved like a high-performance machine. I moved like a shadow among the high-rise buildings tangled with steel beams and pipes, carried by the sound of the wind.
Before long, she came to a stop.
The building had a dilapidated exterior, looking like an abandoned structure. Faded posters were stuck to the walls, and a no-entry sign dangled loosely.
Kim Su-hyeon slowly scanned her surroundings, her eyes moving as if to pinpoint the blind spots of the surveillance cameras.
I immediately ducked behind a nearby structure.
‘She looks skilled at this. It’s clearly not her first time.’
She opened a metal cover on the wall. A small, sharp light shot out from a device on the back of her hand, scanning the panel.
—Tssik.
The locked panel opened, and a creaking steel ladder unfolded downward.
Without hesitation, she began to descend.
I followed right after her. Once I confirmed she was all the way down, I quietly entered the structure through a ventilation shaft.
I held my breath. Through a gap in the vent, I could faintly see two men in the darkness. They wore bulletproof vests half-slung over their combat suits, and their rifles scraped against the floor as they walked with an irregular gait.
“Ah, seriously. How much longer do we have to be cooped up in this shithole?”
“I don’t know. The higher-ups just keep telling us to wait… damn it.”
Their complaints punctuated every sentence. They were different from soldiers. Their movements, their speech… something was sloppy about them.
‘…Not regular army.’
I stayed hidden at the end of the structure, observing them with only one eye exposed.
A short distance away was Kim Su-hyeon. Having already dealt with two other men in an instant, she had connected a terminal to the metal wall and was moving her hands quickly among countless codes and cables. Calm and precise.
—Chik.
[Unlock Progress 67%...]
The blue interface displayed on her AR goggles changed numbers in a flash.
‘…Is she hacking?’
I held my breath and watched quietly.
Her fingertips pressed the final keycode, and the heavily locked door opened.
[Unlock Complete.]
Kim Su-hyeon cautiously scanned the area, then opened the metal door with a blank expression and stepped inside.
I twisted my body and slipped in behind her just before the door closed completely.
—Click.
As soon as the door locked automatically, I felt a cold, metallic sensation on my head.
When I looked up, I saw the barrel of a pistol aimed squarely at my forehead. Beyond it was Kim Su-hyeon’s cold face, looking down at me through her red goggles.
“Lieutenant.”
Her voice was low and sharp.
“Why are you here?”
I shrugged and answered.
“I was admiring your ass and got lost.”
“……”
A brief silence. She lowered her head ever so slightly, then sighed and holstered her weapon.
“Stop joking around and get out of here.”
I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall.
“Come on, I came all this way… it’d be a waste to just go back.”
Then I added one more thing.
“Besides, I’m curious about what you’re up to.”
Her eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
“…This is not a place to be fooling around.”
“Then I’ll watch seriously.”
At that, she stared at me with a blank face for a few seconds. Then, as if in resignation, she turned away.
“……Do as you please.”
Kim Su-hyeon spoke curtly and walked quietly into the darkness.
I smiled and followed her cautiously. Then, I voiced a question that had been on my mind.
“By the way… Su-hyeon.”
“…Don’t say anything unnecessary.”
“Hey, don’t be so stiff. I just have one question.”
She didn’t answer, but I continued without stopping.
“Earlier… how did you know? I was being pretty careful.”
Only then did she stop walking.
“…The combat suit has a built-in infrared detection sensor. I detected your body heat reflecting off the corridor structures, moving at a regular interval.”
“……”
“And your footsteps. Your center of gravity shifts were also analyzed. You can’t hide from the equipment just by moving like a shadow.”
“Oh… I didn’t think of that.”
I stopped for a moment, nodding as I looked at her back.
Detection equipment… I hadn’t considered that at all.
‘Hmm… I’ll have to keep things like this in mind from now on.’
“And I don’t like talkative escorts.”
She tossed the words over her shoulder.
“Got it. I’ll be quiet.”
There was no reply to that.
I followed Kim Su-hyeon in silence. The cold metal corridor, the low lighting, the space where mechanical hums and silence intersected—it felt like a scene from a spy movie.
She suddenly stopped walking.
“…This is strange.”
It was the first time.
The first time a small crack had appeared on that cold, expressionless face.
“What is?”
I asked reflexively. Kim Su-hyeon scanned the surroundings carefully, her eyes narrowing as she spoke in a low voice.
“The security is too lax. A zone like this should normally have a triple layer of biometric scans, pressure sensors, and high-frequency detection… but there’s no response at all.”
“So?”
She answered without hesitation.
“It means it’s a trap.”
“A trap?”
At that moment, she suddenly spun around. She looked at me with a blank face, then pulled a sidearm from her hip and tossed it to me.
“Catch. I assume you can at least protect yourself.”
I caught the pistol reflexively and smirked.
“With just this?”
She gave my face a quick scan, then lowered her body and dashed forward without another word.
“Hey! Are you ignoring me?”
For some reason, I got the feeling that Kim Su-hyeon was angry as I watched her back.