I had not anticipated finding anyone inside.
According to Angela, the place should have been deserted.
Yet, there was one formidable individual present.
With a faint clatter, Angela’s drone, nestled in Soo’s arms, shifted its body as if sensing unease.
“It’s alright, Angela.”
Soo whispered to the drone.
It was not Angela’s fault for failing to detect him.
Given that half of his body was replaced with implants, he likely had an ICE (Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics)—a security system and personal firewall—embedded in his prefrontal cortex to guard against hacking.
Thus, Angela had been unable to ascertain his presence.
Had there been more time, she might have hacked into the cameras for visual identification, but such an opportunity never arose.
Regardless, Angela was blameless.
The fault lay squarely with the man standing before them.
“A full-body prosthetic, then? And in the form of a small girl? What a truly disturbing hobby he has.”
He clearly mistook Soo’s body for a prosthetic.
This was hardly surprising; having witnessed Soo flicking her fingers to launch a barrage of pebbles, she would not have appeared to be an ordinary girl.
“State your name and affiliation.”
The man, clicking his tongue in apparent displeasure while gazing at Soo, suddenly leveled his fingers with a metallic click.
Though he called them fingers, each of his ten digits functioned as a gun barrel, not unlike an anti-materiel sniper rifle firing large-caliber rounds, far superior to the cheap assault rifles Enoch carried.
There was no chance of a first-round misfire.
Furthermore, his palms could launch anti-tank high-explosive rounds, effectively making him a walking tank.
While he possessed a myriad of other abilities, his immense strength was undeniable.
Tivolt Barenche.
He wasn’t quite a boss appearing in the mid-game, but rather a named mercenary encountered just before one.
If the final level was considered 100, Tivolt would typically be encountered around level 30.
Currently, Enoch was only around level 6, while Alexon, who had almost killed Enoch recently, was about level 18.
“I expect an answer by the count of three.”
Consequently, encountering him early in the game made victory nearly impossible.
While a skilled player might recruit him as an ally early on through specific routes, he typically became an adversary in most storylines, separating from the player.
However, he was certainly not meant to be encountered here.
Of course, Soo was not strictly adhering to the game’s narrative; Irina’s current request was an assignment that had never appeared in the game.
Thus, meeting Tivolt now wasn’t entirely odd, but the location of their encounter was peculiar.
This was Lu Qian’s laboratory.
And Tivolt was a mercenary who had always been at odds with Lu Qian.
If one had to categorize him, he was aligned with Zairex.
Soo tilted her head, then her eyes sparkled with realization.
“Three—”
“An undercover agent?”
With a metallic clank, Tivolt’s body jolted dramatically.
“…What are you talking about?”
“You were waiting for an opportunity to infiltrate Lu Qian’s server room, and our arrival created that chance for you.”
“What in the—”
“But now that you’re about to go in, it seems we’re heading in the same direction, so you’re planning to kill us first, aren’t you?”
“No, you’re not—”
“Hmm, but what kind of data would Zairex want to extract from Lu Qian’s? What information would be valuable to Zairex…”
Zairex was a corporation that supplied its materials, including standard-issue weapons and specialized military equipment, even to governments.
What information could such a military corporation possibly extract from a biotech company?
Even in the game, the two never engaged in an information war.
Their objectives were entirely disparate.
Soo saw no reason for that to change, even if it had become reality.
Fundamentally, they were incompatible enterprises, which paradoxically allowed them to maintain a close relationship.
But now…
“Aha.”
A bright smile bloomed on Soo’s face.
“It’s magic.”
“You, you…”
In contrast, Tivolt’s complexion turned ashen.
The existence of magic was information unknown to any corporation other than the three major ones.
In fact, it was typically dismissed as an urban legend.
Like Tivolt himself, most would not believe in magic unless they witnessed its reality firsthand.
Yet, this seemingly deranged individual, inhabiting the body of a young girl, spoke of magic as if it were a common fact, even accurately predicting its presence beneath Lu Qian’s facility.
“You… what exactly are you? What’s your affiliation…?”
“I’m Soo. I have no affiliation.”
“Soo! Why aren’t you going in—”
Enoch, having rushed over belatedly, gasped in surprise.
‘Tivolt Barenche…?’
If Alexon, who had nearly killed Enoch recently, was a rising star, Tivolt was an already established luminary, a star merely waiting to shine brighter.
Although his reputation was poor due to his violent nature and aggressive methods, the exoskeleton that covered half his body garnered him countless offers.
A mercenary of Tivolt’s caliber, someone Enoch couldn’t even dream of rivaling, was now aiming a weapon at Soo.
“Goddammit…”
There was no time for hesitation.
Enoch gritted his teeth, training his rifle on Tivolt.
Flight was not even a consideration.
Soo was his comrade; having chosen to trust her, he would do so to the very end.
‘If I use the Horde at maximum power…’
Victory was not entirely out of reach.
Even if half of his body was replaced with implants, his brain remained human.
Even if his entire body were artificial, his brain would still be distinctly human.
Destroying that brain would kill anything.
‘His eyes aren’t ordinary, either…’
That left only the palate as a viable target.
Replacing the inner parts of the skull with an exoskeleton was impossible.
“…Soo, I’ll handle him, you—”
“Did Zairex tell you about magic?”
Regardless of Enoch’s burgeoning fighting spirit, Soo advanced with light steps.
Towards Soo, Tivolt raised his weapon, but…
“You’ll die if you complete this mission. Are you really going through with it?”
He couldn’t fire.
“…Soo, you said?”
“Yes.”
After a moment of hesitation, Tivolt lowered his weapon.
Tit for tat.
This was the reason mercenaries and connectors could coexist; if one side acted favorably, the other had to reciprocate.
Tivolt’s survival thus far hinged on this very strategy.
And it held true now.
Tivolt decided to adhere to the strategy that had kept him alive.
“How much… do you know?”
“The existence of magic, how corporations covet it, and that mercenaries ‘used’ in that process rarely meet a good end.”
“I anticipated as much myself. Do you have any information or reasons that could convince me?”
“A new mercenary was scheduled to infiltrate here today.
And that mercenary wasn’t aware there was an undercover agent already present.”
Tivolt’s eyebrows shot up.
“…Was that mercenary also sent by Zairex?”
“Yes. You didn’t know, did you?”
As she spoke, Soo subtly shook Angela’s drone, which bore Zairex’s distinctive mark.
This was a drone not released to the public by Zairex.
It was a model they used for military purposes.
No further explanation was necessary.
Even with just Zairex’s small drone, Soo’s words gained significant persuasive weight.
“Huh… indeed. I had no idea.”
Tivolt let out a hollow laugh, raking a thick hand across his face.
“If things had continued as they were, a fight would have broken out, and one of us would have died.”
“The stronger one would have survived and returned to Zairex.”
“Haha… So, even after climbing this high, I was nothing more than a pawn in the eyes of the corporations.”
Kindness for kindness.
Betrayal for betrayal.
Zairex had betrayed Tivolt, and Soo had offered kindness.
There was nothing more to consider.
Tivolt extended a hand.
“I am Tivolt Barenche.”
“I’m Soo. And that’s Enoch.”
Soo, smiling brightly, extended her own hand in return.
And then.
“…Soo.”
Enoch, still holding his rifle, called out to Soo in a low voice.
The reason for his call required no explanation.
A faint blue smoke began to seep from Tivolt’s body, identical to the smoke that had emanated from Hakon, the Chrome Psycho they had captured just moments before.
Why this smoke suddenly appeared now was unclear.
For a side effect to manifest so perfectly timed at this very moment… it defied logic.
Had someone been watching, remotely triggering it?
From where? A camera that even Angela hadn’t detected…
There was one.
Soo’s gaze sharpened, fixing on Tivolt’s eyes.
“It seems they planted a spyware…”
Tivolt muttered self-deprecatingly.
He didn’t know what the blue smoke emanating from his body was, but he understood that Zairex had detected his betrayal and taken some form of action.
“Hah, I had hoped to become a legend even in death… but at this rate, I’ll just become grotesque, let alone a legend.”
Tivolt’s eyes glowed crimson.
Within his vision, a torrent of error messages began to surface, and a mechanical voice screamed for emergency repairs, pounding madly inside his head.
These were the premonitory symptoms of becoming a Chrome Psycho.
“Damn it.”
Tivolt closed his eyes and brought a finger to his temple.
“Since I’ve unintentionally given away information, it’s only logical that I, too, should offer some.”
His other hand extended toward Soo.
With a metallic click, a part of his forearm opened, and a blue shard popped out, landing in Soo’s hand.
“It should be quite useful.”
“Okay.”
“I am Tivolt Barenche. It was a brief encounter, but will you remember my name?”
“Yes. Even if you can’t be made into a Nightfall Anju (TL Note: Anju refers to a dish served with alcohol, often eaten as a snack or side dish in Korean culture.), I’ll remember you.”
“Thank you.”
Tivolt smiled.
Boom—!
A deafening roar, closer to a cannon than a rifle, echoed through the laboratory.
Dazzling flames engulfed Tivolt’s head.
Remaining time: 5 minutes 19 seconds.
“…The contents?”
Soo transmitted the information she had confirmed within the shard directly to Enoch.
Synthetic Collagen Matrix.
Biopolymer.
Gene-tailored Antibodies.
Stem Cells.
Genetically Modified Embryonic Cells.
Synthetic Cells.
Culture Medium.
Plasma Substitute.
Nanomachines.
Neural Ink.
Immunosuppressants.
……
…
“Lu Qian’s requisition list…? What are these for—”
“Human cultivation.”
“Tsk, there must be something at the end of this passage…”
Enoch’s gaze fixed on the passage.
Soo’s gaze lingered on Tivolt.
“…Let’s go, for now.”
“Okay.”
There was no time for mourning.
Soo followed Enoch, walking onward.
However, her footsteps were no longer light.
