Chapter 54 : Uncontrollable Variable (1)
Chapter 54: Uncontrollable Variable (1)
Sector 13-5, inside the refrigerator of a nameless dumpling shop.
A single small light quietly illuminated the two of us.
“Did you say there was something you wanted to tell me in advance before the job.”
“Yeah.”
Boss Kim said as he loaded high-speed armor-piercing rounds, each as thick as his own thumb, into a rifle magazine.
“Who do you think the client for this job is?”
“…….”
Neo-Asadal.
A massive new-city project that every Megacorporation was swarming over.
What kind of lunatic would commission someone to sabotage that city’s power plant core?
“I don’t think it’s an ordinary individual.”
One of the many violent gangs that ruled the underground economy of this land?
No. If it were a gang, they would have requested theft, not destruction.
Then perhaps the client was a foreign agent trying to keep this country in check.
‘If not that, then maybe it’s rivalry between Megacorps.’
“Podvig.”
“…….”
At the unexpected name, I held my breath.
“They think the Cheonrang Group was behind the Moon Base terror incident last time.”
It wasn’t Cheonrang, but a job led by Madam Isabel.
Although the objective had been to capture the Witch of the Electrosphere, an unintended battle had broken out with Kaztikan, an agent of a Megacorp.
Podvig must have seen those traces and misunderstood.
‘They’ve got it completely wrong……or do they?’
Two Megacorporations competing over the monopoly called the ‘standard of Electrosphere coordinates’.
With this incident, the advantage had tilted heavily toward Cheonrang.
On top of that, all kinds of classified information had been looted from the server room, so their conclusion was understandable.
“So Podvig is grinding their teeth over this.”
“Are you telling me not to make a mistake?”
“No.”
Boss Kim seated the loaded magazine into the rifle.
With a vicious metallic clack, a weapon capable of piercing even a high-ranking spirit’s skin was ready to fire.
“This job will be led by two armorsmiths Podvig hired directly.”
“…….”
At the unexpected answer, my expression creased slightly.
“Yeah. I don’t like it any more than you do. Out of five total members, I could only place three. Even that was the result of pushing for compromise.”
For a fixer, which Ghostcatchers were deployed on a job was a matter of livelihood.
Depending on who the armorsmiths were, the success or failure of the job changed, and that success became a direct indicator of the fixer’s competence.
There was no fixer in the world who would welcome variables they couldn’t control.
“Who are they? Those armorsmiths.”
“That’s the biggest problem. I don’t know either.”
The dwarf continued, grumbling.
“They only told me their positions. A hacker and a spellcaster.”
“Hm…… what school is the mage?”
“Fire, Lightning.”
“A dual mana implementer?”
“Yeah. Like you.”
A spellcaster who projected spells to strike the enemy.
And a double, at that.
Of course it would greatly help our combat power—but only if it was properly controlled.
“I called you in advance to tell you to watch your back.”
“…….”
“Keep a close eye on them. Especially the hacker.”
Boss Kim continued as he set down the shotgun.
“I’ve never seen hackers who were normal in my life. Except for a few exceptions.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“At least the armorsmiths I selected are people I can trust completely. Their skills are outstanding too, of course.”
Did that mean I was included among them?
When I nodded to show I understood, Boss Kim let out a small sigh.
“This is why I didn’t want to assign this job to you in the first place…….”
Trailing off, he soon looked up at me.
“Don’t die.”
“…….”
“I want to see you around for as long as possible.”
Seoul Sector 23-6B, a corporate district where glittering skyscrapers rose beneath a pitch-black night sky.
I parked my motorcycle in the parking lot of a familiar building.
〈I didn’t think I’d come back here again.〉
This was the place where I had taken an entry interview to infiltrate Podvig in the past.
Yesterday’s target had become today’s client.
In the world of Ghostcatchers, this kind of thing happened more often than one might think.
Most corporations bore no particular grudge against Ghostcatchers who attacked them.
A Ghostcatcher was merely a weapon wielded by someone else; what mattered was the hand holding that weapon.
Above all, corporations knew very well that one day, they too would be the ones wielding that weapon.
“Are you Diesel?”
As I headed toward the parking lot entrance, a man Boss Kim had told me about in advance was waiting.
“Yeah.”
At my reply, the bronze-skinned hulk swept his gaze over me and extended his hand.
“I heard about you from Boss Kim. He said you’re a very capable mage.”
His name was Mataphil.
With a grandfather from Africa, he was a well-built gunner.
‘A high-purity cyborg.’
As I shook his hand and observed him with Electrosphere projection, there was hardly any flesh left in his body.
“What about the other one?”
At my question, Mataphil shifted slightly to the side.
Then the figure of another person, previously hidden by his bulk, came into view.
“This is Pinkbit. A spatial-type trickster.”
“…….”
She looked as if she had been doused in pink paint, true to the alias.
Her hair, clothes, accessories, even the bubble gum she was blowing—everything was pink.
What stood out the most was the pair of rabbit ears sticking straight up from her head.
‘A White Rabbit Beastman.’
Beastman-born mages were extremely rare.
It wasn’t so much a lack of talent for magic, but rather that their personalities made it hard for them to sit in one place and steadily study and train.
“Let’s move for now.”
As Mataphil walked toward the parking lot exit, he asked over a closed channel.
[Do you know who the other two are, besides us?]
Was I the only one who had been tipped off in advance by Boss Kim?
As I stayed silent just in case, Pinkbit sent an emoticon to the channel.
A character drawn in an old-school punk style shrugged its shoulders.
[Looks like nobody knows.]
After getting into the elevator, Mataphil scratched the smooth metal back of his head.
[Let’s not be too anxious. Podvig seems to have invested quite a lot in this job. No matter how much of a sucker they are, they’re still a Megacorp.]
Still a Megacorp.
The small problem was that our opponent was also a Megacorp.
‘And one that’s been rising frighteningly fast lately—the Cheonrang Group.’
When the elevator reached the designated floor, a lobby as dazzling as the Kremlin Palace came into view.
“This way, please.”
As if they had been waiting for the Ghostcatchers to arrive, a secretary who had been on standby began guiding us.
After passing several fountains emitting holograms and extravagant chandeliers, we reached a door emblazoned with Podvig’s crest.
“The armorsmiths have arrived.”
At the secretary’s knock, the door burst open.
And the first thing that appeared was—
“Welcome!”
A rattling, talking skull.
“…….”
This was not a metaphorical expression.
Before Diesel’s eyes, a truly emaciated skeleton was extending a handshake with nothing but bony fingers.
However, judging by the material, it did not seem to be real bone.
‘Was it deliberately modified like that.’
There were all kinds of bodily modifications in the world.
Naturally, among them were modifications for cosmetic purposes as well. Not only altering facial features, but even full-body reconstruction that completely transformed the entire body like that.
“So this gentleman here must be Lord Matafil, the Gunner! And this one must be Lord Pinkbit, the Trickster. And over here is…….”
The skeleton’s hollow eye sockets swept over Diesel.
“A fellow Spellcaster like myself, Lord Diesel, is it not.”
“…….”
“You truly seem to be an extraordinary person, just as the rumors said.”
There was no way it could have a facial expression, yet somehow it felt as though it was grinning.
At that moment, a heavy voice shoved the skull aside.
“Get lost. You skeleton bastard.”
“Whoa, please handle me with a bit more care. This body is more delicate than it looks.”
“Cut the bullshit.”
‘So this man is the hacker.’
A harsh-looking face that seemed of Indian descent, slightly dark skin, and tattoos chaotically engraved across his shoulders and neck.
The man swept his gaze over the three Ghostcatchers before him with a menacing expression.
“Looks like you gathered nothing but trash.”
“…….”
“I’m Raja. Your leader, and the hacker.”
“That’s a pretty arrogant introduction.”
When Matafil growled under his breath, Raja raised his thick eyebrows.
“Shut it. Unless you want a bullet in your head before the job even starts.”
“What?”
“I don’t repeat myself.”
A green glow composed of lines of code settled in Raja’s eyes.
A phenomenon that did not appear among ordinary hackers.
It seemed to be a special modification, probably done for the sake of showing off.
“Ghk…….”
Was it really not just empty bravado?
Suddenly, Matafil’s arm twisted grotesquely.
Then, a gun barrel sprang out of his palm and aimed at his own head.
“This is your last warning. Don’t get cocky.”
But at that moment.
Jjeoek……!
Along with a peculiar sound, a bluish-green mana light flashed in the air.
“……?”
‘Spatial magic…….’
All of a sudden, a small portal opened beside Raja’s temple, and a gun muzzle pushed through.
When Diesel glanced back, Pinkbit was curling her thumb and index finger into a circle and inserting a pistol inside it.
‘That’s incredible skill.’
Connecting space that quickly and precisely was by no means an easy feat.
It required not only mastery of spatial magic, but also an extremely sensitive spatial perception of mana down to the centimeter.
“Ha. What a cute little bitch…….”
“…….”
Raja glared at Pinkbit with murderous intensity, but she merely kept chewing her bubble gum noisily.
“Whoa……. How about everyone calming down for a moment. We’re on the same team for now, are we not.”
As the skeleton rattled and stepped in to mediate, Raja snorted and made his eyes glow green once more.
“Keugh…….”
Then Matafil, who had been unable to move, collapsed onto the floor with a thud.
“This bag of bones is Heavyskull, a Spellcaster.”
“Indeed. I am that very hard and heavy skull.”
“Shut up.”
Clicking his tongue irritably and twisting his face into a scowl, Raja continued.
“No need to drag this out. I’ll say just one thing.”
“…….”
“Don’t talk back. Follow my orders.”
The man looked down on Diesel’s group with contempt as he warned them.
“Otherwise, you’ll die like dogs on site.”
“Well, following the leader at a work site is only natural, is it not.”
Without even waiting for a reply, Raja turned and walked off.
Watching him go, Heavyskull spoke in a whisper.
“Quite vicious, is he not? But that is also part of Lord Raja’s charm.”
“…….”
“Now then, let us hurry along as well. The Director is waiting to give the briefing.”
“What? The Director?”
At Heavyskull’s words, Matafil exclaimed in surprise.
“The Megacorp Director is briefing us personally?”
“Is there some problem?”
“…….”
The skeleton tilted its skull as it asked.
“No, it’s fine. Let’s move.”
“Then please follow me.”
As they followed Heavyskull, a door adorned with far more ornate patterns than before soon appeared.
Standing before it, Raja flung the door wide open without knocking like a secretary.
‘So this is the Director Podvig’s office.’
The interior of the room was extremely luxurious, befitting the position.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the night view of the corporate district spread out below, and across the floor ran gently flowing streams of water, like a forest brook.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Yeah.”
“Please, have a seat.”
The Director who had been waiting guided the members to a conference table surrounded by various plants.
‘This woman must be that…….’
Diesel recalled the file Boss Kim had sent.
The Head of the Magic Engineering Department, Angelina Shirin.
She had been urgently appointed after the previous director had passed away at the Moon Base.
Thanks to that, she had risen to a high position at the young age of thirty-six, but that did not mean she was merely a parachute hire.
She was one of the rare capable talents at Podvig who was not corrupt.
“I will begin the briefing.”
Angelina cleared her throat and went straight to the point.
But then.
“What? No simple introductions or anything?”
Once again, Matafil stepped forward.