Nagumo Shian's Request
The man in the Hawaiian shirt, his tanned skin gleaming under a pair of sunglasses, shouted as he scanned the surroundings. A submachine gun hung from his shoulder, and the men around him—each dressed in wildly different outfits—gripped their own weapons.
Their complete lack of uniformity made them look just like Kurotsukidoo’s low-ranking grunts, but that was entirely intentional. These were Taira Ichiro’s secret fighting force, known simply as the First Squad.
“From now on, we speak only Chinese. Understood, you worms?”
“YES!!”
The First Squad answered with a powerful roar and piled into the truck transports. To complete the Kurotsukidoo disguise, the trucks were ancient models that hadn’t been common since the early 2000s. Watching his men board with crisp efficiency, the Hawaiian-shirted leader grinned, teeth flashing.
“Destination is Mount Kokuuzoo!”
“YES!”
“Kukuku. Is that the only word you idiots know?”
The leader threw his head back and laughed at his subordinates before climbing into the passenger seat of the lead truck. Strangely, even though he had opened the door himself, it swung shut automatically behind him. An old truck like this shouldn’t have that function. Shrugging off the oddity, the two transport trucks rumbled off toward Mount Kokuuzoo.
After clearing the sewage treatment plant on the first day, we took down two more Red Points. The following day we fought from dawn until just before dinner, clearing three additional Red Points before finally stealing a short rest. It had been a brutal forced march. The initial assault benefited from the element of surprise, letting us overwhelm three sites quickly. But once Kurotsukidoo realized we had entered Yurihonjo City, they stiffened their defenses, and every battle took longer. That was why we had only managed three by evening.
Dinner consisted of convenience-store bentos and cup ramen that Kiyona Hori and Mari had packed for us. After three straight battles we were all covered in dust and blood; sitting down in a proper restaurant wasn’t appealing, so we had been eating packed meals since lunch.
“Here you go, Investor~!”
Kiyona Hori handed me three bentos and a cup of ramen. Yeah, after three fights I needed this much just to feel satisfied. The bentos were all perfectly warm—Kiyona Mari had apparently heated them with her ability. I had no idea how she did it, but it was impressive.
The first one I opened was omurice drizzled with demiglace sauce. I’d asked for three different kinds, but they were all reliably good, so I was pleased. While the ramen cooked, I polished off the omurice and used the savory broth to clear the dryness in my throat.
“Next…”
The second was mentaiko cream pasta—comfortingly delicious. I was just finishing the ramen and reaching for the third bento when my phone rang. Sawayanagi Azuma’s name flashed on the screen.
“It’s Nagumo Shian,” she told me, then answered.
“A special request?”
A special request. She must have something new for us. The fact that Nagumo Shian was calling personally suggested we wouldn’t even have time to digest before moving out.
While I watched Sawayanagi Azuma on the phone, I dug into the third bento—a succulent beef-rib rice bowl. Special requests were never easy; the energy expenditure would be brutal. Better to top off while I still could.
“Yes, understood. Yes, yes. We’ll depart immediately.”
Sawayanagi Azuma ended the call and gathered the whole team. Everyone had overheard the conversation, so they already knew a new mission had dropped. They were simply waiting to hear the details. I had finished every grain of rice and was savoring the pleasant fullness when she finally spoke.
“There’s a mountain called Mount Kokuuzoo. Apparently the Taira Group has a secret laboratory nearby. It was just attacked by Kurotsukidoo. Since we’re the closest unit, they want us to respond first. The lab belongs to Taira headquarters, so simply deploying earns us fifty million yen. If we successfully repel the intruders, the reward jumps to one hundred million.”
The sewage-plant Red Point had paid three and a half million. Headquarters money really was on another level. The moment the words “fifty million” and “one hundred million” left her mouth, people hurled their half-eaten bentos aside and started clamoring to move out immediately.
Standard procedure took fifty percent off the top for company expenses and repairs, then split the rest. The higher the payout, the bigger everyone’s cut. That was why fifty million had them foaming at the mouth.
Of course, since I owned one hundred percent of Seryu Military Company, that fifty-percent cut—minus repairs and operating costs—ended up in my pocket. This was the first mission I’d taken after acquiring the company, so we were still deep in the red. Still, a secret Taira Group research lab had me genuinely curious. What on earth were they studying? And how had Kurotsukidoo even learned of its existence? Plenty of questions, but I’d get answers once we arrived.
“Understood. Hori-chan, Shian—two minutes until departure. Get the vehicles ready.”
At Sawayanagi Azuma’s order, Kiyona Hori sprinted toward the transport while Sawayanagi Shian ran to the equipment-laden SUV. The rest of us quickly policed our campsite, double-checked our gear, and climbed aboard.
“It should take about fifteen minutes to reach the site. It’s in the mountains, so we’ll have a short hike, but we’ll be there soon.”
She was right—we really were the closest. I pulled up Mount Kokuuzoo on my smartphone. It sat east of Yurihonjo City and west of our headquarters in Daisen City, but far nearer to our current position. A secret lab hidden in a sparsely populated mountain range made perfect sense.
Because they were targeting a secret facility, the enemy seemed more elite than usual. Before we even arrived they had tried planting vehicle mines along the mountain road. Any other unit would have taken heavy losses, but Seryu was commanded by Sawayanagi Azuma and her precognition. She stopped the convoy early and ordered Sawayanagi Shian, our explosives expert, to clear the mines.
“Odd. These are vehicle mines that Kurotsukidoo rarely uses… They’re standard issue for Japanese PMCs.”
“Maybe they bought them locally and planted them?”
“Could be.”
Their exchange made me uneasy too. Kurotsukidoo was operating out of northern Akita Prefecture and pushing south. For them to suddenly appear behind our lines at a secret lab felt wrong. Sawayanagi Shian’s observation crystallized the suspicion: this might not be Kurotsukidoo at all, but another faction wearing their skin.
The mines cost us valuable time. Twenty minutes later we finally dismounted. Following the coordinates Nagumo Shian had sent, we spotted a large building ringed by barbed wire.
The wire had been bulldozed flat. Two empty transport trucks sat nearby. Gunfire and the crump of explosions told us the battle was still raging.
“This is the place.”
“Let’s move.”
We advanced in full battle gear. Rianna Holden volunteered to act as operator and sent her AI drones soaring into the sky.
“Hey! Handsome Honey! Come here a second.”
When I approached, Rianna Holden lifted my helmet off and pressed her forehead to mine.
Can you hear me? We have to sync frequencies like this so I can send thoughts from a distance. Imagine you’re speaking directly to me and think it hard, Honey.
I focused and pushed the thought toward her.
Holden, you’re beautiful.
I chuckled and started to put my helmet back on when Rianna suddenly leaned in and kissed me. Sawayanagi Azuma yelped, “Rianna!!” but the telepath only laughed and stuck her tongue out playfully.
“Investor-nim, stop making heart eyes and let’s move out already!”
“I wasn’t making heart eyes.”
Under Sawayanagi Azuma’s stern glare I drew my pistol and sprinted toward the sound of gunfire. She followed close behind, rifle at the ready.
By the time we reached the lab, every robot sentry the Taira Group owned had been reduced to scrap. The enemy was currently blowing the thick steel doors wide open.
KWAAAANG!
“Kuhahaha! You guys are late!”
A muscular, tanned man in sunglasses, flower-patterned Hawaiian shirt, and shorts grinned at us from beside the blasted entrance. The unknown force disguised as Kurotsukidoo soldiers was already pouring through the gaping hole, weapons raised.
Tang-tang-tang-tang!
Without waiting for orders the Seryu team opened fire to stop their advance. It proved useless.
The Hawaiian-shirted man simply spread his palm toward the incoming bullets. They froze in mid-air as though striking an invisible wall.
Telekinesis. I still couldn’t stop bullets in flight like that. This guy’s ability was on a completely different level.
“Bang!”
He shaped his hand like a gun, pointed it at us, and mimed pulling the trigger. The suspended bullets reversed direction and screamed back at us at near muzzle velocity.
“Haaah!”
Kiyona Mari threw up a flame barrier. I thrust my own hand forward, pouring every ounce of telekinetic power I possessed into the air. Sawayanagi Tobey activated his steel transformation, swelling into a massive shield in front of us. Sawayanagi Seari whipped up a powerful headwind to throw off the bullets’ trajectories.
Thankfully the combined defense worked. After punching through multiple layers the bullets lost momentum and clattered to the ground a mere meter in front of us. It had taken four ability users working in perfect sync just to block that single attack.
The moment Kiyona Mari’s flame wall vanished, the Hawaiian-shirted man had already slipped inside the entrance and disappeared from sight.
This was going to be tough. He felt like the first true boss-level opponent I had encountered since arriving in this world.
