Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Infiltration
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*Swoooosh—*
Several vans emblazoned with the U.C.I.D. logo began to pull up in front of Bio Vanguard's headquarters.
The rear doors of the vehicles slid open, and officers in U.C.I.D. uniforms poured out.
At the lead was Big Five of the investigation team.
Behind him, the rest of the team members lined up in front of the building.
Jakal was among them.
As a commotion grew in front of the building, guards from the lobby came out to assess the situation.
When the officers suddenly surrounded the main entrance, the guards raised their hands to their ears and began urgently reporting something.
The massive main doors opened, and from within the building, the S-Class mercenary Tanggal appeared.
Tanggal, who resembled a rhinoceros, glared at each of the officers surrounding the building and growled in a low voice.
Big Five recognized him instantly.
"Oh, look who it is, Mr. Tanggal! I heard you were in Korea. When did you get back here?"
"I'm just here on a business trip. By the way..."
Tanggal took a moment to survey the scene.
"We've never had officers show up in such force before... What's going on?"
Big Five quietly stepped forward.
The two colossal figures faced each other with a deadly air.
"Haa... We've discovered the 'fact' that this company has been illegally distributing weapons to the Dragonkin."
Big Five emphasized the word "fact" rather than "circumstantial evidence."
He could assert this with certainty because he had actually fought Alexian in his armor suit.
"If you cooperate quietly with the investigation, I believe we can wrap this up respectfully and efficiently."
"Haha, this is..."
Tanggal scoffed in disbelief, nodding his head.
"Isn't it a bit ridiculous to talk about respect after you've already stormed the place like this?"
Tanggal switched to informal speech, glanced around, and raised his voice.
"What is this? It feels like you've already decided to arrest us."
As if expecting such a reaction, Big Five nodded to an officer standing behind him.
The officer who received the signal appeared with a component from somewhere.
It was a piece of the armor suit Alexian had been wearing.
Big Five held the component up in front of Tanggal's eyes.
"We went through a lot of trouble to find this."
Then he turned it around and shoved the inner side in Tanggal's face.
"See this?"
Tanggal narrowed his eyes and looked at the inside of the component.
Etched inside, tiny and faint, were the letters 'CH.N 002'.
Big Five looked at Tanggal with a "what do you have to say now?" expression.
"I suppose you have to mark the parts somehow if you want to manage them properly, right?"
Deciding he had shown enough, Big Five handed the component back to the officer standing beside him.
"The Dragonkin attack nearly turned L.A. into a wasteland."
Big Five's gaze on Tanggal was serious.
"It's our duty to stop them, and when we find something like this in the process, it's only natural for us as police to investigate, isn't it?"
Despite his oafish-looking build, Big Five spoke with remarkable eloquence.
There seemed to be no holes in his argument.
Tanggal hid his bewilderment and racked his brain as quickly as he could.
Pleading ignorance would be even more dangerous.
If something like that was found at the scene, it was self-evident that they had distributed it one way or another.
Tanggal answered calmly.
"Isn't it possible that the U.S. Department of Defense secretly diverted it while we were in the process of distributing it to them?"
Tanggal shrugged.
"Our job is just to deliver the goods. Where they go after that... well, that's something we can't know."
"Ah, so you're saying the U.S. Department of Defense illegally distributed weapons to the Dragonkin and ordered them to attack L.A.?"
Ripples of incredulous laughter could be heard from the crowd.
Big Five gave Tanggal a sidelong glance.
"Mr. Tanggal, do you honestly think that makes any sense?"
Tanggal scoffed.
"Like I said, it is funny. But regardless, once the delivery is complete, how would we know where the goods end up?"
Tanggal kept repeating his point, shifting the blame to the U.S. Department of Defense.
It was the only way he could possibly deny responsibility.
Big Five stared intently at Tanggal.
Suddenly, the sound of a whistle came from behind them.
The remarkably short Speeder was perched on a large officer's shoulders, blowing her whistle.
Seeing her, Big Five nodded slightly as if remembering something.
He opened a hatch on his chest and, from what looked like a cockpit inside, took out a small capsule.
When Big Five activated the capsule, a hologram popped out.
"Tch..."
Tanggal's expression twisted as he saw the hologram.
The U.C.I.D. L.A. officers had a habit of showing the warrant at the last minute.
It was their own little strategy to instantly crush the spirit of a triumphant opponent.
The search warrant slowly rotated before Tanggal's eyes.
"Ah, that reminds me... We did some investigating and met a Dragonkin family living in Dragonia."
Big Five glanced at Speeder and continued.
"They mentioned having been in contact with Bio Vanguard?"
Tanggal's mouth twitched.
"Hmph, is there any proof of that?"
*Tweet— Tweet—*
From a distance, Speeder walked forward, blowing her whistle.
It looked like a little girl playing cop.
Speeder opened one of her signature micro-gates and pulled out a recorder.
"Kuh...!"
Seeing the recorder, Tanggal couldn't hide his flustered expression.
"You got permission to record that, right?"
Big Five looked down at Speeder as if she were his adorable granddaughter.
*Tweet! Tweet!*
Speeder narrowed her eyes and nodded.
Big Five turned back to Tanggal and asked as if to say, "How about that?"
"She says she did... Is that okay with you?"
In truth, it was a lie.
Speeder had recorded the conversation between Shin-ju and Restprime without permission.
Even Shin-ju didn't know about it.
One might question if it was right for a police officer, but sometimes you had to give up your own flesh to take the bone.
If she had announced she was recording beforehand, she never would have gotten a candid conversation out of them.
Speeder had the audacity to pursue a greater goal, even if it meant facing disciplinary action later.
And if her actions contributed significantly to arresting the culprit, the disciplinary measures wouldn't be that severe.
Big Five then played his decisive card.
"You must have heard of Restprime. The Dragonkin terrorist who threw L.A. into a state of terror a few years ago."
Big Five looked Tanggal straight in the eye.
"Bio Vanguard was behind him, weren't they? Right?"
Speeder turned on the recorder.
[Actually, I once borrowed money from Bio Vanguard.]
Restprime's voice, speaking with Shin-ju, came from the recorder.
*Click—*
After a few seconds, Speeder, deciding she had played enough, turned the recorder off.
"Right after hearing Restprime's testimony, a Dragonkin equipped with Bio Vanguard gear attacks L.A. If we just stood by and did nothing, wouldn't that be a dereliction of duty?"
Big Five used this decisive justification to strengthen his argument.
Tanggal was losing control of his expression.
A question arose in his mind.
*Lord Viper must have known the whole situation, so why weren't any measures taken?*
There was no other choice now. He had to let the officers in before things got any worse.
"Huuu. Understood. You may proceed with your investigation."
Tanggal took a step back and moved aside.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Even then, Big Five didn't forget his manners.
Just as Big Five, Jakal, and the other two members of the search team were about to enter the building...
*"Ssssssssss—"*
The hissing of a snake echoed from somewhere.
Big Five and Jakal looked up.
*"Sssssss— Now, now. Where do you think you're going so recklessly?"*
The Bio Vanguard executive, Viper, walked out from inside the building.
Upon spotting Viper, Tanggal immediately straightened his posture and stood at attention.
Viper glared at Tanggal, his eyes sharp.
"You spineless fool..."
"I... I apologize."
Tanggal bowed his head and apologized to Viper.
Turning his head, Viper flared the flaps on his face like a cobra puffing up its hood and looked at Big Five.
Then he smiled faintly.
"I'll explain everything slowly, so why don't we go inside for a cup of tea?"
"I'm a robot, so I can't drink tea. You can just talk here."
"Hahaha..."
*Crackle—*
And so, an invisible battle of wills began between Viper and Big Five.
"Big Five is buying us a good amount of time."
On the rooftop of the building across from Bio Vanguard headquarters.
Silverfire was observing the situation through a pair of binoculars.
"We're all ready."
Enri and Jason, now in infiltration suits, had just finished their equipment check.
Enri asked curiously.
"Speeder is down there. How is she going to join us?"
"What do you mean, how?"
Beside her, Jason pointed to his sleeve.
Enri's mouth fell open in realization.
There was no place her micro-gate couldn't reach.
Come to think of it, there was probably no alien with a more overpowered ability than her.
"Well then, shall we go?"
Enri raised a grappling gun.
*Fwip—*
A grappling hook attached to a transparent line shot across to the Bio Vanguard building.
A moment later, she felt the hook firmly catch.
"Alright, I'm going first."
Enri attached her safety gear to the transparent line and zipped across to the opposite building.
Jason took a deep breath, attached his gear to the line, and followed Enri.
*Whirrr. Clank.*
Silverfire's hand transformed, and a small gun turret popped out from his wrist.
He looked at the window in the direction Enri and Jason were heading.
"Target acquired."
A small, invisible bullet flew silently from Silver's wrist.
A hole appeared in the window on the other side.
And the window shattered without a sound.
Enri and Jason successfully slipped into the building through the broken window.
Enri muttered as she landed inside the room.
"I'm not sure if we're allowed to sneak in like this."
Jason landed after her and replied.
"Shin-ju and Jekovic might not know, but we have orders from Commissioner Gawagos, so it should be fine."
A gate suddenly opened in front of them.
And out of it popped Speeder.
She landed with both hands raised, as if to say, "I'm here!"
Enri gave her a meaningful smile.
"I'm glad you're a cop, Speeder."
*Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet.*
Speeder responded to Enri's words with a laugh-like whistle.
Meanwhile, Jason drew a pistol from his coat.
"Alright, is everyone ready?"
Enri and Speeder nodded.
"Good. Let's move out."