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chapter 43
John Skoyze, a researcher at pharmaceutical company Celebrix, is being chased by some organization.
However, he feels guilty about the misuse of the drug he developed and wants to fix the problem.
Help John Skoyze achieve his goal and secure his safety.
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Trust of Negotiation
– Suppress the gang “Blue Plane”
*Reward – Ability points 10p (Completed)
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John in a Can
– Survival of “John Skoyze” (10 days)
– Transport “John Skoyze” to the destination within the allotted time
*Reward – Ability points 10p
– Elixir [Paramethus]
If you fail, John Skoyze dies, Mia Dunrivy’s trust decreases, and Sean’s trust decreases.
I brushed away the system window that had popped up and thought.
Ten days?
Ten days, huh?
“Alright.”
Although I twisted a sour expression in my head, I said yes smoothly with my mouth.
Damn Paramethus.
“…Th-thank you!”
John Skoyze gave me the money and, despite that, thanked me for accepting.
“Ten days… That’s a mid-term contract. It’s twice as long as the Aires job — are you sure about this?”
Mia voiced a light concern about the first mid-term assignment I’d taken.
Understandably — I’d never taken on such a long job before.
Of course, my case was special.
Even the entry exam job — the Yabok commission — was an example.
Yabok had been evaluated as having higher stealth ability than actual combat power.
If we had followed the textbook method, tailing them from tail to head, it could have taken over half a month.
But I used game-like knowledge to find Yabok’s real hideout, raided his subordinates, and quickly extracted the core information.
The other missions I’d taken were also ones where I already knew enemy locations or we got information Edge Line already had, so they were processed quickly.
So this was the first time I’d been assigned a job with such a duration.
Mia knew that and that’s why she had a touch of worry.
But.
“Mia.”
“Yeah?”
I looked at Mia and casually brought up the topic.
“You don’t need to worry so much. It’s a normal job.”
“Oh, r-right? That’s true, isn’t it?”
Mia gave a flustered smile at my words. When my gaze dropped, she looked puzzled at herself for saying it… but whatever — not my problem.
“Then… I’ll tell you the expected risk factors assuming we accept,” John said after I nodded, and he listed several potential threat points that might occur.
“Celebrix might hire other mercenaries or other fixers to kidnap me,” he said.
That part was believable.
But John went on with a slightly dark look on his face.
“And… maybe Celebrix’s private armed unit, the Recovery Team, could come too.”
“Hm.”
A private armed force, huh.
A company-owned military group.
Officially not allowed, but it’s a fusion-punk dystopia for a reason, right?
If a company doesn’t have its own armed force, look at what happened to Aires — a small gust of wind could knock them over.
“Wait — why are you assuming kidnapping?”
In protection duties, how you treat and respond to a kidnapping target differs from a kill-on-sight target.
So of course I needed to know why John was certain he would be kidnapped.
“Well… when I ran away I encrypted the core design and ran off with it. To decrypt it, I have to be alive.”
Judging by how he explained it, he’d made a huge mess when he left.
Just his expression made it feel natural that they’d come to take him.
Noticing my look that carried that thought, John stammered and added:
“U-uh, whether I ran or not, the company will come after me.”
“Because you’re valuable?”
“No, employees’ brains are treated as company assets. I signed the ‘neural asset assignment clause’ during my research period… which means—”
Sean, who’d been quiet until then, spoke up.
“That means anything generated — thoughts and intellectual output — during the research period belongs to the company. If a researcher unilaterally breaks the contract, the company also gains the right to reclaim that asset, right?”
Sean’s neat explanation made John nod in surprise.
“Y-yes. The neural link upgrades were paid for by the company, too…”
So even the “thoughts” that happen during research belong to the company?
So the company would try to reclaim the asset that stores those thoughts — John’s brain?
“Hah.”
This world is really terrifying.
From that conversation I’d glimpsed one of the world’s deeply dark sides…
But that’s beside the point.
There were more important things to focus on.
“So, since you worked for the company, do you know anything about that Recovery Team?”
If they hired other fixers or mercs, there’s not much we could preemptively do.
But if the company’s own armed unit gets involved, John might have information.
Luckily, John nodded as if he knew something and answered.
“There is usually a Recovery Team deployed in situations like this. They’re called ‘Sicario Bros,’ consisting of one rank-4 and two rank-3s. If the company moves directly, they’ll be the ones to act.”
One rank-4 and two rank-3s, huh.
That’s pretty formidable.
Given that, we’d need to move to a rendezvous point and stay hidden from their sight.
And do that for ten days…
“Hmm.”
This is going to be extremely, extremely annoying.
I unconsciously rubbed my jaw at the thought of enormous tedium.
At least during the Aires job there was a guard team, so there were breaks and less burden.
This time it’s ten days of moving the client alone, 24/7?
Well, I’d do it because the reward’s worth it, but having to slog through that alone felt… off.
Then a figure suddenly flashed through my mind.
Shared pain is half the pain.
A friend perfect for exploiting in times like these.
I even knew someone I could efficiently offload more than half the work to.
I thought of him and brightened, asking Mia:
“Mia, where’s Kin right now?”
Mia blinked at my question, then pointed with her thumb behind her and said:
“He’s outside playing with the others, I think? He seemed happy about meeting his target.”
“Meeting his target?”
Now that I thought about it, hadn’t she said he was training last time?
If he’s not strong enough, I had planned to give him simple lookout or menial tasks on this mission.
Good news then.
“Ah, really?”
Seeing my expression, Mia seemed to guess my thought and slightly adjusted her face.
“Isn’t it too dangerous for Kin? He’s still a worker at our office.”
“I’ll bring him along.”
While Mia fretted, Sean quietly opened the door and went to fetch Kin.
It wasn’t unreasonable for Mia to worry.
After all, we were talking about one rank-4 and two rank-3s.
Even if Kin had grown, he’d still be no match.
But from my perspective, having one reliable guy — a future notable — would make things way easier.
Not only for guard duty sharing, but especially for living in hiding in the city for ten days.
And it wasn’t guaranteed the Recovery Team would even show up.
I did a rough estimate and, to calm Mia, said:
“Don’t worry. If he’s still weak, I’ll take responsibility and train him up.”
“Oh! Really?!”
Mia brightened at my words.
“That’s different then. If Eddie’s taking responsibility, we can trust him. When you come back, our office’s standing will be pretty good, right?”
She beamed as if imagining a good future.
Either way, if a fixer from our office returns stronger, her position as a handler would be something to celebrate.
Anyway, Kin.
He said he trained, but would he actually pull his weight now?
I felt confident enough to call him, but once I did I started worrying.
Well, I’d find out in a bit when I saw him.
“Yo, yo. Finally time to show off my skills?”
Kin’s cheerful voice echoed down Edge Line’s escape route.
The escape route is a secret passage most fixer offices keep.
They’re built for protecting clients’ safety or for when grudges put the office in danger.
Sometimes a client who’s been shot will burst in and beg to be saved.
Kin started chatting — small talk to ease the awkward silence that only footsteps had been breaking.
“Hey, I’m Kin. So that’s the client?”
“Ah, y-yes… I am the client.”
“Wow. He’s not that famous a mark yet — how did you even find out about him?”
“Uh… I have a personal connection with Mr. Lucas Aires…”
“Oh! Aires! I heard about that. That guy did one hell of a job.”
“Ah, yes… I heard about that from him too.”
John already looked a bit drained.
Still, Kin kept making trifling conversation and kept talking to John.
I watched but didn’t intervene; I led the group ahead.
Kin’s manner toward the client was flippant, but whatever.
I wasn’t in a position to criticize — remember the Aires job?
I was the one who addressed the boss in a familiar tone and didn’t exactly change that stance.
Besides, John was my client; Kin had no connection with him.
Kin was only dragged along for free because of a prior bet during the vampire job.
From Kin’s perspective John was just another ordinary citizen to guard, no reason to be polite.
If anyone should be thanking Kin for stepping up, it was John — yet despite paying out, John wasn’t being treated like royalty.
Still, I was confident we’d deliver the client alive to the destination.
Most fixer work doesn’t include ceremony anyway.
“By the way wizard, where are we going now?”
That guy — hadn’t he been briefed?
Even if he hadn’t, I’d pulled him out myself.
Even if he asks the same question a few more times, I had an obligation to brief him on the mission.
“…We judge that Celebrix has potentially placed a tail on the client, John. The enemies’ patience is wearing thin; before they hit Edge Line, we’ll lure them outside and move to a place where we can shake off the tail.”
Of course, I didn’t want to show I knew whether Edge Line might actually be attacked — that’d be suspicious.
Unless something I couldn’t handle happened.
“Ah, right. Fighting within Edge Line would be an inconvenience. For losing a tail, Rellada Town’s the usual, right?”
When Kin seemed to grasp the situation somewhat, I continued.
“That’s an option, but there’s a place better suited to our goal.”
He blinked in surprise.
“Huh? Isn’t Rellada Town the standard for hiding? Is there another good spot in District 56?”
Well, that’s the usual assumption.
But I shook my head lightly and said:
“We’re not trying to just keep hiding. After the tail’s lost, we’ll have to move toward the border area.”
For that we’d need items to avoid being tracked.
So we needed somewhere to obtain the necessary gear.
And a place where, like Rellada Town, we could slip into unnoticed.
A place that satisfied both.
“Batterfall. That’s where we’re going.”
