Chapter 44 – Are We Really Going to Do This? (4)

Chapter 44 – Are We Really Going to Do This? (4)

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]

Chapter 44 – Are We Really Going to Do This? (4)

Was it because I didn’t find a cyber-shaman?

I’ve been incredibly unlucky lately.

Of course.

It’s true that the situation is really unlucky.

But even so,

If someone were to say it’s something that could ‘never’ happen,.

That wasn’t the case.

I thought objectively.

Whether it’s assassination, kidnapping,

Or ambush plans.

Naturally, they could overlap.

First, there was a plan to launch ‘missiles’.

Executing the plan in the wasteland between cities was difficult.

On a small scale, there were radioactive monsters,

And on a large scale, there were variables like toxic storms.

Simple issues like supply are also tangled up.

So inevitably, most of the plans had to start near the city.

Thus, the overlap of the operation involving ‘firing missiles from a landfill’ wasn’t strange either.

Moreover, this is Neon City, a free city.

It was famous for responding to problems occurring outside the city with ‘indifference’.

Whether bombs went off outside the city,

Or people died,

They didn’t pay attention to all the problems happening there.

Perhaps the reason our plans overlapped was because of that.

If we had known the vice chairman’s movements in advance, now would have been the perfect and final opportunity.

So, in this situation,

What should Catherine and I do, and what can we do?

First and foremost, it seemed necessary to prevent what seemed to be their goal.

We had to either stop the competition and protect the vice chairman,

Or we had to kidnap them.

Then, we needed to assess the situation.

The current interior of the airship.

Catherine and I,

The employees of Kojaka, including the vice chairman,

And the guys who seemed to be assassins.

It was divided into these three factions.

In such conditions,

Forming a team with someone else would definitely make it much easier to solve the problem.

Of course, since Catherine was with me,

Even in the worst-case scenario, we could somehow achieve our main goal.

Still, it was better to minimize the hardship.

With that in mind, I subtly signaled Catherine with my eyes.

Catherine, with her holographic mask covering her face, nodded silently.

As we had spent a long time together,

She had already guessed how I would act in advance.

I cleared my throat briefly to refine my voice.

Then, I activated the voice modulation feature of the mask.

Earlier, I inadvertently said, “Um, just a moment,” out of surprise,

Changing my voice was also an essential measure to conceal our identities.

With confidence, I spoke up.

《The situation is under control. We, the Cyber Force, a special tactical unit of the NCPD, intervened to protect the VIP figure of the city, Mr. William Kojaka.》

Since it was a bluff,

I stood tall and lied confidently.

《Mr. William Kojaka, is that correct?》

I decided to sell someone else’s name first.

“...The Cyber Force, a special tactical unit of Neon City. I’ve heard of them, but they never come out of the city, do they?”

《Generally, that’s correct, but it depends on the severity of the situation》

I confidently blurted out nonsense.

I couldn’t ask if they could verify my ID here.

《We received a mission to protect the Vice Chairman of Kojaka Corporation and promptly intervened.》

And as if there were no problems at all,

I naturally blocked the path, accompanied by Kojaka’s employees and Mr. Kojaka himself.

There was no need to call it a battle.

– Boom!

Catherine slammed the remaining assassin against the wall with one hand.

Through the assassin’s body, the metal plate dented deeply.

...

I should’ve just pretended to be a cyberforce.

“...Acceleration implant, must be quite a burden.”

“...Indeed, it’s Cyber Force.”

Still, it was quite amusing to hear murmurs from the employees who seemed like researchers.

Well, whatever.

As long as the situation is resolved positively.

I turned around to look at William Kojak. Catherine, who had silently maintained her posture near me, had approached.

With her face covered and her voice modulated.

I didn’t have to worry about him recognizing me.

《Can you explain the current situation?》

“Hmm...”

William Kojak let out a sigh of relief mixed with gratitude.

He continued speaking.

“First of all, thank you. It seems information has leaked internally. I never imagined my personally selected security personnel would be compromised.”

If that’s the case, this situation is understandable.

Now then.

Naturally, all that remained was to approach and kidnap.

...

Wait.

“Uh, are there still many enemies inside the aircraft?”

“Yeah, it seems like it. It looks like they started with a plan. According to the camera check, there could be dozens, if not more.”

Hmm.

Suddenly, I felt uneasy.

Now I understood why there were research staff here.

They were staging a protest with Kojaka’s vice president.

When we burst into the room, it was really lucky timing for us to arrive.

And finally, when we were almost at Neon City.

Because the launched missile also failed.

Now, the vice chairman’s enemies didn’t have many options left to succeed in their assassination.

Soon, we would enter Neon City.

Naturally, the assassination would be a failure.

So, what options did they have left?

At that moment, a voice came from the radio of the assassin that Catherine had slammed against the wall.

“White No. 3 is here, the cockpit of the aircraft secured, awaiting further orders.”

I drew my gun at that moment.

It was too late to gather mana and cast magic.

The Kojaka employees pointed their guns at me in response to my sudden action.

I didn’t mind at all.

The defensive magic was still in place.

And there was something more important.

The moment my gun fired felt slow.

I had to aim for the head—

Bang!

I fired several shots.

However, my crappy marksmanship messed things up.

The bullets I fired were blocked by the thick hands raised by the slammed assassin against the wall.

Though I hit his body a few times, it wasn’t where I aimed.

Catherine also rushed forward as I fired my gun, but more importantly,

He spoke faster.

“...Crash it.”

He didn’t stop speaking, even as blood gushed from his mouth.

While Catherine finished him off, it was already too late.

Damn.

With that word, the vibration of the aircraft intensified.

The previously balanced interior swayed wildly.

...If it was destined to crash anyway,

I should’ve just struck it with lightning from outside.

On an airship falling into a landfill.

That’s what I thought.

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]