“Seems like you're in a good mood.”
“The combat efficiency has increased by 35%, and the projected firepower output has risen by over 75% compared to before. The logical circuits are signaling 'good' in response to all these results. How would humans express… this feeling?”
“I’d say ‘I like it’ or ‘I’m satisfied.’”
“In that case, I am very satisfied with the current situation.”
“It’s like an AI is learning emotions. Hahaha.”
“Fact: it’s true.”
“So pure about it, it’s kinda cute. Hahaha.”
“I’m holding my breath until cha Eugene is released!!!”
“This guy is dead…”
Carrying a load of supplies, we took the secret elevator to leave the facility.
It hadn’t been used in a long ti, so while the exterior looked fine, the floor was covered in dust. Not just inside the elevator, but the path to it was the sa. If we went back down and looked at the ground where cha Eugene and I had walked, we’d probably find our footprints lined up next to each other.
In any case, we took the secret elevator for precautionary reasons. It was clear that if we had just taken any elevator and ascended, enemies waiting on the first floor could easily cut the steel cable or open the doors to fire before we even had a chance.
Jin was carrying a 70kg ballistic shield, but honestly, we couldn’t afford to take any chances. It was always better to avoid leaving things to luck — not just in combat, but in life overall.
“Considering how much we’ve loaded, I’m thankful the elevator can handle it.”
“Alert: the total weight of the Archetype currently carrying the load is close to 350kg. My current weight is 670kg. Since we’re in a cargo elevator, there shouldn't be any problems.”
“Guess so.”
My body weighs about 230kg — I’ve gained so weight from eating well at ho — and the load I’m carrying is about 120kg. Jin, being made of solid tal, is naturally much heavier. It’s surprisingly heavy for its volu, but it’s due to the special tal she’s made from.
After several minutes, the elevator finally stopped, and the doors cautiously opened. Outside was complete darkness, but as I turned on the tactical flashlight attached to the barrel of my gun, a decent amount of light illuminated the facility's interior. It looked like an exit had been hidden inside an abandoned warehouse.
I activated the GPS to check our location. We were roughly 100 ters from the truck we arrived in. The research facility was quite large, so it made sense that we had ended up here.
There was no vibration underfoot, so I spoke.
“There’s no sign of anyone nearby. I don’t detect anything on the sensors either, so we should be fine to exit.”
“…Does the Archetype have pulse technology integrated?”
“There are ways to figure that out.”
Snakes use vibrations to sense their surroundings.
While I also had infrared vision, there was no need to ntion that. The viewers would inevitably stir up a storm if I said anything — so I approached the locked door. There was a brief exchange of glances. I considered shooting it open, but the sound would be too loud.
I examined the U-shaped lock. It was pretty rusty, but after a little fiddling, it seed to still function just fine. I placed my hands together as if praying and slipped the lock fra into my grip.
Then, interlocking my fingers, I squeezed the lock fra and twisted it — crack.
“Done.”
“…The pressure detected on the lock is estimated to be at least 872kg. Converting to Pascals…”
“Enough with the nonsense, let’s get moving.”
“Wait, 872kg grip strength? Are you out of your mind??”
“Fact: A hippo can bite with 800kg of pressure.”
“The gorilla hits with a 170kg difference, haha!”
“If she grabs your head, she could crush your skull, lol.”
“No, seriously, is she so kind of manifestation at this point? Stop scaring people! Hahaha.”
Snap.
The lock fra, now half-twisted in my hands, was revealed. The inside was crushed, and it was ti to unfold it back the other way. After grabbing each side and pulling in opposite directions, the lock made a horrible noise as it broke apart. I quickly scooped up the fragnts from the floor and opened the door carefully.
As expected, the abandoned warehouse inside was dark and cluttered. There were no signs of life, except for a rat, and as I checked the various ssages from the driver, I quickened my pace. After walking for a few minutes, we reached the truck, which was about 200 ters away, and unloaded the supplies.
Now, we had to move fast.
The reason was simple.
[----: The parking lot door to the exterior is closed. I’ve disabled the barricade, but I’m not sure how many enemies are out there. It’ll only be a matter of ti before they open it. We need support now.]
The urgent voice ssage that ca in 30 seconds ago explained everything.
Luckily, I quickly located the driver’s GPS position, and Jin and I tightened our grips on our guns before rushing out. It didn’t take long to cover the 200 ters and arrive near the truck.
But it seed that the situation was already reaching its limits. As our positions inside the facility were no longer detectable, the driver likely decided to leave the parking lot, but with the external path blocked, ti was being wasted — the fra blocking the path was already starting to break apart.
I spotted the driver, who was fidgeting nervously, holding nothing but a cheap pistol.
Now, it was our ti.
“Did you make it? As you can see, the door is on the verge of breaking. If you don’t stop them soon, they’ll escape.”
“Don’t worry about it. The friend inside brought sothing interesting from the facility. You just focus on starting the engine.”
“Relying only on you, huh.”
With the driver darting off, I sent Jin to the exit.
After so ti, a loud crash echoed as a thick fra, which divided the parking lot from the entrance, was punctured. A large truck with a trailer then crashed through.
Jin was just 50 ters away, blocking a clean two-lane asphalt road leading out of the facility. How would they react? After a few seconds, the truck, which had stopped for a mont, rapidly accelerated.
Would they ram straight into her or just pass? It seed like they had given up on capturing Jin, but as I watched, Jin casually turned her gaze toward them.
And—
Hiss!
The plasma charging began.
But this ti, the scale was different. Her tail aid forward, and the focusing part fully exposed. A rail, twice the size of what she had shown earlier, was laid down. A plasma round the size of a cannonball was ford inside her tail, aid directly at the approaching truck.
A few seconds later, a flash of light streaked through the air.
The front of the truck vanished into nothingness.
“Wow.”
“...Unbelievable.”
"Whoa."
"Is this the sa ga I play?"
"Now I understand why they don’t do PVP, hahaha."
"Users who were getting ready to capture cha Eugene are all snapping back to reality, lol."
"I really want one, but it’s a pipe dream, hahaha."
The first reaction ca from , and the second was a mutter from the driver, who had been running away.
What happened next was simple — the truck’s front completely lted away, and due to the laws of inertia, the large container controlling the command center tilted forward. After a sharp sound, the container, which had been briefly stood upright, flipped over with a loud crash.
It was likely that the people inside were thrown about and hurt, but it was certainly better than using brute force to ensure safety by incapacitating them.
As the debris settled and the dust cleared, I gave Jin a satisfied nod and praised her before opening the locked door. It had an electronic keypad, but after a few strikes with a hamr, it shattered.
The door opened, revealing the inside.
As expected, it was a complete ss.
“It’s a disaster in here.”
“Ugh, ugh…”
“Please... just let live…”
Most of the people looked like their bones were broken, and so were bleeding profusely, probably from hitting the panels. Thankfully, since this was a ga, the blood was golden, and the exact injury details were not displayed.
I didn’t care much about their injuries, though. I quickly attached the portable GPS to the trailer wall and detached the suppressor from Mjolnir.
I loaded the trigger and fired toward the wall, the loud boom echoing. The personnel inside, likely the command staff, began shaking like aspen trees, and when I aid the gun at them, they quickly discarded their pistols.
I nodded and added,
“This is negotiation.”
“...Is this really negotiation?”
“Well, if you ask that, it just loses its charm, Jin.”
“What is he even saying?”
“When did Jin and Laurentina swap bodies??”
“Like master, like student, huh? Hahaha.”
“Negotiation Tip: Point a gun at them, and negotiations get better.”
“This crazy woman...”
Click.
In the anti, the driver, who had removed the optical camouflage, drove the truck up near the container. He opened the window and said one last thing:
“Not much ti left! If you’ve got sothing to finish, do it fast!”
“Alright.”
With a swift motion, I struck the nearest enemy in the head with the butt of my gun. I did it gently, of course, but it was enough to knock him out. Without a second thought, I grabbed him by the collar and tossed him into the truck's cargo hold.
As the remaining personnel realized they were next, their faces turned pale, but I simply nodded at Jin.
Within minutes, everyone was knocked out, and the driver, with an expression I couldn’t even describe, said:
“The cargo hold’s too cramped. Get in the front seat. We’re heading back to base.”
“Good work.”
“Sa to you.”
I suppose it made sense.
The driver had played a big part in today’s final battle, so I could say that everyone in the front seat had earned their thanks.
As I pressed the accelerator, the tires spun, pushing the truck forward. The cargo — various weapons and exoskeletons — as well as the ten command staff mbers, were stored deep in the back of the truck.
It wasn’t Christmas, but we had a lot of presents today.
It was a productive day.
[Laurentina in New York: Location confird.]
[Laurentina in New York: I’ll head there soon, junior.]
“...Huh?”
Of course, the job wasn’t over yet.
The Reapers were coming.
"Artemis, Artemis... I thought the last ti we dealt with those damn fools would be the last, but it seems expecting the world to be so simple is a pipe dream. Looks like I’ll have to call in the Dagger team again."
"They're already on standby and ready for deploynt. However, there’s also a request to take along the prototype antimatter weapon produced at the particle accelerator center. What should we do about that?"
"Hmm."
anwhile, in another world, New York.
After the war’s energy had finally dissipated, Big Apple was slowly returning to its forr state, but the Dark Winter incident had left an indelible scar on New York — its biggest result was none other than the enormous HQ that now occupied all of Central Park.
In the anti, the White House in New York, now looking more presentable, had an unusual calm. The 48th-49th President of the United States, Henry Michael Brayton, who had successfully secured re-election without opposition, felt a wave of dizziness as he read through a briefing file brought by his aide.
Artemis Technology. Not only had it crushed the Eastern U.S. forces, but also the Western allied forces, and even now, despite everything, it remained the one undeniable cancer to the nation. The remnants had been sent back to their holand, but Artemis was still a looming threat.
Henry wrapped his head in his hands and muttered in frustration.
"They say the enemy within is more troubleso than the external one, and it seems that’s exactly what we're dealing with here. And to make things worse, they’ve taken battle data from soldiers devoted to their country and turned it into a weapon to attack their own forces. If those guys were in front of , I’d almost want to ask them why."
"I believe it will be possible soon. The Dagger team has rolled up their sleeves and taken matters into their own hands, so we should see the complete end of Artemis Technology within two months, at most."
"That would be good."
At that mont, Henry’s eyes fell upon an electronic docunt that appeared in front of him.
It was simple. It was the sa thing the aide had just ntioned — the main point was a request to use the antimatter weapon during the ongoing combat. He quickly skimd the docunt up and down before placing his thumb on it without hesitation. Within seconds, the president’s fingerprint was affixed to the floating docunt.
With that, the Dagger team had obtained the power of e=mc², and they were set to board a stealth Black Hawk and fly to a remote location in Canada within hours.
At the sa ti, Henry, holding his tablet, checked so other contents and found an unfamiliar na.
"The sector manager is… Brigadier General Aaron Delasovich. Who is he?"
"He's an unremarkable man. To put it positively, he managed the entire area without major incidents during the Dark Winter crisis. Cynically, that’s about all you can say about him."
"Do you think he might have given Artemis so backing in this region?"
"I wouldn’t say there’s no chance, but even if that's the case, I don’t think it’ll be a big issue."
"Why is that?"
"Because the Dagger team is on their way."
There was a brief pause.
Then, after a few seconds, Henry let out a hearty laugh. Indeed, just as his aide had said, even if the commander had allied with Artemis, as soon as the Dagger team landed at the base managing the sector and found sothing suspicious, everything would be flattened.
A few months ago, this might have been a taphor, but at this point, the Dagger team wielded a massive explosive power that was far too large for a single operation team.
The aning was simple, and just then, Henry heard the sound of a helicopter outside. He opened the bulletproof window and looked outside.
A helicopter was lifting off into the air.
Upon seeing it, he added:
"I hope we don’t find the base turned into a flat surface before we even figure out what happened."
"I agree."
Henry and his aide both chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Four hours ago, they had received the report that the team had arrived at the secret research facility in Canada and the base under its control.
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