Chapter 8
“What do you an ‘go back’?!”
“What I an is, from here on out, our Stingray Group’s Incident Managent Team will handle things.”
“Wh-What the hell! Why are you just arbitrarily doing what we’re supposed to do?! Who do you think you are—cops or sothing?!”
“We’ve already coordinated with the VCPD (Valhalla City Police Departnt). As of now, this place is under our jurisdiction.”
“What did you say?!”
“If you really can’t believe , feel free to call headquarters yourself.”
“Oh yeah? I’ll just see about that!”
The responding officer huffed and promptly radioed his command. What ca back was: “Hurry up, pull out and head back.” As a sweetener, he was told not even to think about stopping by a bar on the way ho.
Clearly, soone up the chain made a unilateral decision.
Eventually, the returning officer flung his radio down in irritation and shouted:
“Damn it! What kind of move did you all pull here?!”
“What kind of move? As I said, we only asked for your understanding. We got intel that a corporation‑smashing gang called the “Blood Wolves” had stolen one of our company’s new military drones.”
“So what does that have to do with anything?”
“If that intel is accurate, the responding police or firefighters might be endangered. And for the sake of protecting our technical security.”
“Nonsense!”
The officer snorted.
“There were reports of multiple beheaded corpses earlier! Gunshots were heard, too! Did your so‑called new drone co equipped with that functionality?”
“That’s information we cannot disclose. However, from what we have uncovered, it seems the gang had internal strife just before the fire broke out.”
That could not be.
Where on earth would internal strife involve cutting each other’s throats?
Moreover, there had just been a report of a murder at the E Sector Black Market a few hours earlier.
In E Sector, crawl‑infested with criminal organizations, murders were practically commonplace, of course…
“…What exactly are you hiding?”
His instincts as a detective were speaking.
This was no ordinary case.
Sothing was being concealed.
But Maria remained expressionless and replied:
“I have already told you everything I can. Now, please leave.”
“Tch. Call it whatever, but I will never let this slide!”
“Farewell then.”
“What? We’re not done talking! Hey!”
Maria bowed her head in greeting to the detective, then resud walking toward the site.
Security personnel ard with Level‑3 Powered Suits blocked the officer from pursuing her.
“Detective, please stop now.”
“All right, just let go!”
Maria glanced sideways at the tussling guards, then continued toward the abandoned factory.
Passing through a holographic sign reading [Do Not Enter], she ca upon the sight of Stingray’s Incident Managent Team busily in action.
So were spraying fire extinguishers to contain the blaze inside the factory; others were transferring the beheaded bodies into body bags.
Watching that scene, Maria exhaled a small sigh that no one would hear.
“What on earth have you done, young master Aaron…”
Aaron had often gone off on hunts outside Elysium even before he lost his health.
Each ti, Maria had done her best to keep whatever he had done hidden so that it wouldn’t harm the Stingray Group.
That was why she had already suspected soone would lose their life by Aaron’s hand today.
In fact, she should feel grateful that Aaron had selected E Sector as his hunting ground tonight.
Because E Sector’s notorious for poor public security—if one or two people were found as dismbered corpses, it would be easy to cover up.
But tonight’s incident exceeded what Maria had anticipated.
A fire that had engulfed the entire abandoned factory.
Witnesses nearby had reported hearing gunshots, and confird deaths on the scene had already topped twenty.
‘Is it fortunate, at least, that the opposing party was a criminal organization?’
She’d used the excuse of a “new military drone” in a pinch, but she could deploy another explanation if necessary.
Regardless of whether the incident could be smoothed over, Aaron’s actions were growing bolder and more brutal.
‘I thought things had been quiet for a while…’
As though at long last expressing his pent‑up restraint, he unleashed this massacre.
If only Aaron had contacted her early, they’d be spared trouble—or else police or dia might’ve caught wind and rushed in.
Even if they’d avoided the police and press, that wouldn’t solve the problem. The real issue was that whispers had started within the Stingray Group itself.
‘At this rate, our entire group could be in danger.’
So people even referred to the Stingray family as the “Imperial Family”—comparing them to royalty, since their power in New Valhalla City exceeded even that of the governnt.
But no matter how overwhelming one’s power is, there is no absolute permanence.
Competitors who hoped for Stingray’s collapse were already searching for ways to bring them down.
‘…And young master Aaron is like a ticking ti bomb within our group.’
If these actions committed by Aaron were exposed to such people, the entire group would surely stagger.
To Maria, who had resolved to dedicate her life to the Stingray Group, this was more terrifying than the world collapsing.
‘So there’s no helping it.’
Maria made her decision.
A decision she hadn’t been able to make until now because of personal attachnt.
‘Aaron Stingray must disappear.’
***
“A-Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
I answered Miyu while lying in a chair that looked like sothing you’d see at a dentist’s office.
The chanical tail extending from her lower back twitched stiffly, as if it were nervous.
She was clearly trying to control her expression, but her tail was far too honest for that to work.
“Don’t be so nervous.”
“I-I’ll do my best.”
Honestly, it wasn’t unreasonable for Miyu to be nervous.
The disease eating away at my life, called ‘Genetic Overcast’, was sothing that existed only theoretically.
Even Miyu, who had the best technology in this world, was facing it for the first ti…
“S-Sorry… This is my first ti seeing a man half-naked in real life…”
“……”
So her nervousness ca from sothing else.
Right, I had temporarily forgotten while trying to deal with the imdiate situation.
‘This girl… she’s a bit of a pervert…’
Well, I guess it’s odd to expect soone who’s spent nearly ten years shut in a room working only with machines to be perfectly normal.
“But did I say it was my first ti? You’ve made tons of nanomachines until now, haven’t you?”
“W-When I inject them, I don’t really have to undress anyone…!”
Miyu’s face turned bright red.
I decided not to press the matter any further.
In any case, even if she seed a bit unstable, the fact that she was worried about irrelevant things ant she was confident in her technical work.
“How long will it take until everything’s done?”
“Uh, probably about three hours…?”
“That’s shorter than I expected.”
“All I really have to do is inject Pandora and fine-tune it a bit… The rest depends on your stamina, Aaron…”
Miyu continued explaining the procedure.
First, inject Pandora.
Second, Pandora moves throughout the body, removes the malfunctioning Adam, and takes over Adam’s role.
Third, completely remove the installed modules.
Fourth, through the enhanced regenerative ability provided by Pandora, the body is gradually restored to its natural state.
Following these steps, she said the disease that had tornted for the past few days could be cleanly cured.
“F-First, it’s important to get the replacent rate down to zero percent…”
“Why’s that?”
“That way I can finely adjust Pandora’s settings to suit you, Aaron… High replacent-rate Adaptees like you have a hard ti adjusting options while modules are installed…”
Replacent rate.
In short, it refers to what percentage of one’s body has been replaced by machines via modules.
For example, if you replaced all your bones with tungsten alloy, the replacent rate would be around 10 percent.
Then if you replaced all your muscles with synthetic carbon cable or your organs with bio-generators, the replacent rate would climb higher.
In a sense, the more modules you install and the more you augnt your body, the more power you gain.
But that doesn’t an you can just install modules randomly.
If the modules aren’t compatible, errors can occur.
Furthermore, once the replacent rate surpasses about 70 percent, for so reason, even if you remove the modules, your original body doesn’t return—strange symptoms appear.
‘In short, you beco unable to change any module you’ve already installed.’
Because of this, the governnt strictly prohibits Moduling beyond a 70 percent replacent rate by law.
And those who break that law are defined as ‘non-human entities.’
Thirty percent of natural flesh.
That’s the bare minimum required to still be treated as human in this world.
‘Which is why the presence of a highly skilled Modular like Miyu is even more important.’
A Modular doesn’t just produce and maintain modules—they also tailor the most efficient module setup possible within the 70 percent limit based on the client’s needs.
In fantasy terms, they’re like a personal blacksmith.
‘Recruiting Miyu early on was a huge advantage.’
Of course, right now, we were bound by nothing more than a contract.
To truly make her my ally, I’d have to go through a few more steps.
“Th-Then I’ll begin…”
“Alright.”
As the chair reclined, my gaze naturally shifted to the ceiling.
Large injection needles attached to chanical arms all aid at my body.
“It’ll sting a bit…”
A sensation of being stabbed all over at once.
I lost consciousness just like that.
But not long after, I opened my eyes again.
‘What…?’
Did sothing go wrong with the procedure?
It felt like not even thirty seconds had passed.
“Oh, you’re awake! The procedure went well…”
That’s a relief.
But can ti really feel that short?
“Has it already been three hours?”
“Ah, no. Your recovery ability far exceeded our expectations, Aaron—just over an hour has passed. It seems Pandora suits your body even better than we thought.”
“What does that an?”
“Well… er… I'll show you.”
Miyu then displayed a graph. I couldn’t grasp all the technical terms, but one thing was clear.
“...My pure spec has increased.”
“It’s about a 21.3 % improvent.”
In a completely basic state—no modules equipped—that's roughly a twenty-percent gain. Strength, stamina, agility, recovery—all noticeably enhanced.
‘Insane. I already knew Miyu’s nanomachines were high-quality, but this…’
I'm already too strong.
I just needed the incurable disease cured—how much stronger do I intend to get, you monster of a body?
“But since your sensitivity may be heightened, you might need ti to adjust… I removed all your modules except the inspection one, and now we just need to fine-tune Pandora’s options a bit…”
With that, Miyu sat beside with her tablet.
She asked one by one about any pains, or if I noticed odd coloration, checking my condition.
Honestly, I was a bit stunned—but I didn’t feel bad at all. My body felt much lighter, and the persistent pain was gone.
“Is the disease truly completely cured?”
“Absolutely. It looks like Pandora has taken hold properly. You can even remove the diagnostic module now.”
Following her instructions, I removed the module embedded in the cyberware socket at the back of my neck and handed it to her. As she took it, she continued.
“I’ve already tuned Pandora’s settings to ‘military spec’ to match your abilities, Aaron. I even installed the application. However, many of the modules you previously used are now unusable…”
“Let’s check.”
“I’ll send you the list.”
Miyu tapped her tablet, and a mail alert popped up in my vision.
The email included a module compatibility report, which I quickly skimd.
‘I expected it, but it's nearly a loss.’
Almost ninety percent of the modules I had equipped previously are now incompatible.
The only module remaining sowhat usable is my exclusive weapon [Cloud Spider].
Even though its compatibility has significantly dropped, I can still use it without major issues.
‘Well, weapon modules may regain compatibility with use—so that's fine.’
This level should suffice for now to protect myself and move ahead with my plan.
Honestly, with my pure spec improved by twenty percent—the stat cap feels overkill. Like going from level 100 to 120.
I may be unable to use modules now, but if I regain everything later? Aaron, twenty percent stronger than the original peak? Even I’m a bit afraid.
Especially since I have “that” as well.
“Miyu. Have you checked the modules I brought back?”
“I-I'm sorry. I forgot…”
“That’s okay. Could you bring them here?”
Miyu fetched a plastic bag she'd stored away.
Inside were module chips resembling SD cards—the modules taken from the Blood Wolves’ corpses earlier.
I rummaged through the bag and pulled out one chip with a distinct color. The rest were useless, so I ignored them.
Miyu asked,
“Wh-what is that? It doesn't look like a module I made…”
“That’s the [Corpse Eater] module.”
An heirloom of the deceased protagonist, Shade Wells.
A ‘Arcane’ module with absurd ability: it slightly increases replacent rate but significantly raises compatibility for other modules.
At that explanation, Miyu’s eyes grew wide, and she wore an expression like a puppy waiting for a treat—I could tell exactly what she was thinking.
“Want to study it?”
“What?! Uh, well…”
“No need to refuse. You’re now my exclusive Modular. If researching it yields results, that benefits both of us.”
“R-Really? Thank you!”
“Just don’t break it.”
“Don’t worry about that!”
Miyu bounced like a child receiving a Christmas present as she took the [Corpse Eater].
Seeing her so happy made feel warm inside too.
How could I not feel happy when soone I care about is joyful?
“Also, take a look at this.”
“W-What’s this…?”
“A special item that forcibly raises compatibility.”
A so-called [Module Compatibility Boost Ticket].
Since I’d earned plenty of points destroying the Blood Wolves, I bought it before receiving Pandora.
Strangely, after buying it at the shop, the item instantly appeared before . I could have used it imdiately, but I decided to invest it for the future.
“I’m entrusting this to you as well. I hope you can uncover how it works. If you say you can’t, I’ll reclaim it.”
“I—I—I think I can, probably!”
That was the best answer from soone with zero self-confidence—but clearly she didn’t want to lose yet another toy.
“I hope to hear any results within a month. After that, I'll probably need to reclaim it.”
“A… a month?”
Miyu tilted her head.
“Uh… why a month? Could you give more ti…”
“No. It must be one month. By then, I’ll have sowhere to go.”
“M-? Where are you going…?”
I answered her without hesitation.
“Trinity Academy.”
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