Deception Tactics
On Route 1, which cut across the eastern coast, an unexpected chase unfolded in what should have been a quiet stretch of road. Dozens of vehicles tore after a single truck whose chassis had been reinforced with heavy armor plating. Naturally, we were the ones inside that truck.
Eileen kept disrupting our pursuers with smoke screens as she grumbled over the comms.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't ordinary corporate merchandise. This was something that hadn't been released to the market yet—something that had remained classified until today. These days, leaks about whatever the megacorps were plotting slipped out onto the streets with alarming frequency. The resulting power struggles between corporations were brutal.
From the situation, the ones chasing us were mercenaries hired by rival corporations. Even if they managed to seize the cargo from us, they'd just start fighting each other over it soon enough.
Eileen sighed as she watched the cars barreling through the smoke screen.
"As you like."
No sane person would leap from a speeding truck to fight at close range. Which meant Eileen was that insane person.
Since this had become routine, I didn't bother arguing and simply deployed the support weapon.
"Dodge it yourself."
Soon red flames erupted everywhere. Eileen danced between the vehicles inside that inferno, picking them off one by one. The endless gunfire and explosions left my ears ringing.
With a heavy boom, one enemy vehicle lost control and was hurled into the air by an explosion that had just gone off in front of it. Like dominoes, three or four of the cars following it were caught in the wreckage and vanished behind us.
It was chaos.
I said nothing and dropped another reactive mine toward where she was operating. A moment later, the car Eileen had been riding bounced into the air like it had hit a trampoline. It was impressive how she managed to escape the blast and leap onto another vehicle. The only thing coming through the comms was a string of rather colorful curses.
After we kept the chase going for quite some time, the last ones left were us.
Eileen, who had been darting busily between the cars, climbed back into the truck with a groan.
"Ugh, my whole body aches. I really shouldn't do this kind of thing more than once or twice."
Despite her words, her face wore a distinctly satisfied expression.
Now free of pursuers, the truck cruised smoothly down the quiet road.
Right on cue, a massive armored vehicle emerged from the night fog. The sheer presence of its heavy bulk seemed to press down on the air around us. It flaunted its overwhelming majesty as if declaring itself the final trial.
Eileen, who had been excitedly about to open the box we'd secured, immediately pulled a long face. She put her gas mask back on and stood up.
"...Cover me one last time."
"As you like."
As always, Eileen obscured their vision with smoke and leaped lightly onto the enemy's vehicle. Her movements were astonishingly fluid. The blue thruster flames that burst from splits in the skin of her legs left a strong impression.
The enemy, apparently sensing the impact, began poking their upper bodies out of the armored vehicle. Having received the data shared from Eileen's implants, I saw straight through the smoke and blew their torsos apart.
Hearing me, Eileen fearlessly kicked the head of the opponent who was sticking his gun barrel out. At the same time she grabbed the roof, swung herself inside the vehicle, and disappeared from view. I couldn't see exactly what happened next, but it seemed she was clearing the interior without much trouble.
Soon a transmission arrived saying the vehicle had been secured.
I silently watched the runaway armored vehicle. The decision was quick. Given its mass, even a slight collision could flip the entire thing.
"Seriously?"
Our eyes met through the window. Seeing my expression, Eileen scrunched up her face and bounced around inside the vehicle in frustration. When the armored car slammed into the guardrail she panicked, scrambled onto the roof, took a few deep breaths, and then leaped onto our speeding truck. It was practically acrobatic.
With near-miraculous skill, Eileen jumped across the rampaging vehicles.
"...Ugh... I'm gonna die..."
Eileen rolled forward as she dropped into the truck bed and spat curses at me. She still looked plenty energetic, so it seemed she hadn't taken any serious injuries. Sure enough, a short while later a fully recovered Eileen was grinning as she turned her gaze toward the box we'd secured.
"Well, it shouldn't be a big deal to just check the item once. It's not like it's a biochemical weapon or anything."
Eileen examined the box at his advice. There were only standard handling warnings; no such mark appeared anywhere. With the information confirmed, she finally rubbed her hands together and broke the seal on the box.
With a soft hiss, white gas flowed out like mist. Before long our feet were submerged in the white vapor.
"This is..."
Eileen gripped the lid and peered inside. As the white gas dispersed, it revealed a railgun with a sleek white body. Even at a glance it was clearly no ordinary item.
"How much must this cost?"
"You couldn't even begin to guess."
Seeing that it had been transported under such secrecy, it was probably a new prototype weapon. Even after scrapping every last Hound, they kept developing more and more weapons. The thought processes of corporations were truly incomprehensible.
Eileen stared at the railgun's elegant curves as if entranced for a while before giving up and closing the lid.
"It's really incredibly tempting. Just looking at it makes me want to own it. This thing is dangerous."
"That's just your greed talking."
If we hadn't seen it, we never would have known. Eileen shrugged at my words and pushed the box into the corner.
The truck glided smoothly along the now-quiet road. No more pursuers appeared after the armored vehicle.
Eileen, who had been leaning against the cargo bed catching her breath, suddenly sat up as if something had occurred to her.
"Now that you mention new weapons, it reminds me of something."
Along with her words she sent me some data. Without even giving me time to look through it, she continued.
"It looks like the corporation has placed a bounty on the Fang you took."
I stiffened for a moment at those words. But I quickly understood and calmly assessed the situation.
After Darius and his gang interfered with their deal that day, the corporation had probably been searching relentlessly for the missing Fang. They would have recovered every Fang that had been at the site, but there was one they would never find—the one I had taken.
Hoping it was still out there somewhere, they continued their search until they finally realized the Fang had been stolen by someone. The first suspects they would have considered were Darius and his crew, who had attacked the Jin Family that day. So they wiped them out and searched the area around them. But the Fang wasn't there either. That meant a third party was involved.
The entire site had been destroyed, so no evidence remained, but a third party definitely existed. They were chasing me without even knowing I existed.
The only person who knew the truth of that day was Eileen.
"What are you going to do?"
I thought about it briefly. What did the Fang mean to me now?
After a short deliberation I reached a quick conclusion. To me, the Fang was nothing more than a nuisance.
"To use a Fang I'd need to install a ton of stabilizers to distribute the body's load, but that's impossible with this small frame."
"So you're just carrying around something you can't even use. Why?"
"Because it felt better that way."
Eileen looked at me with an expression that said she couldn't understand. I didn't try to explain. Until that day, the Fang had been the only link between my soul and the body that had been chained to the battlefield. Like a comfort doll. It was a kind of totem that calmed my mind simply by being near me.
So, ignoring all reason, I had kept it by my side simply to soothe myself.
After thinking for a moment I said, "Now that I think about it, I might not need it anymore."
"That easily?"
It really was that simple. The only meaning the Fang held for me was as a connection to the past. Now that I fought regularly and could return to the battlefield whenever I wanted, it was no longer necessary. It was literally just a comfort object.
"If I keep it like this the corporation will definitely track me. There's no telling what will happen if they catch me."
One thing was certain: keeping it would only bring misfortune. There was no point in holding onto something I couldn't use.
After discussing it with Eileen, I decided to dispose of that burdensome Fang.
"How?"
"I'll have to find a way."
We soon began looking for a broker. The method wasn't difficult. There were plenty of people willing to sell their own souls for the right price. Fortunately I had enough money to easily purchase a house in the mid-levels.
Before long we made contact with a broker who said he would handle the Fang.