🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 133
As I had expected, the examination of the scammer went smoothly.
By “smoothly,” I mean that the scammer had completely fooled the testing equipment and the staff in the examination room.
“(The examination is complete. You really are a Multiple Ability user.)”
A staff member said this mechanically. They didn’t make a fuss or act overly impressed. After all, they had likely been examining people suspected of being Multiple Ability users for the past few days.
“(Is it over?)”
“(Yes. Oh, by the way, there are scouts from various guilds gathered in the room across the hall. If you’re interested, you can head over there.)”
Scouts… It’s not surprising they were coming, considering Multiple Ability users are still overrated.
“(Ah, that’s fine. I’m already affiliated with someone…)”
The scammer said this. He probably didn’t want to show his face to the scouts.
“(Then…)”
The scammer quietly left the examination room. Once alone, he started moving in earnest.
“…! He’s fast.”
A speed-related ability user… commonly called a Speedster. Of course, no matter how fast he was, it wasn’t so fast that I couldn’t keep up, so I followed him.
‘Looks like he’s heading underground…’
I wondered what might be in the basement of the Association headquarters. Like other associations, there would probably be training facilities, but it couldn’t just be that. Where exactly was this scammer heading in the basement?
Thunk!
Not long after I began tailing the scammer, he stopped at a certain spot.
‘This is… a machinery room?’
A room with various mechanical systems supplying water, gas, and other utilities to the entire building. Surely he wouldn’t try to damage the machinery here… He had snuck in quietly, so he wouldn’t do something so conspicuous. But it was clear that the machinery room was his destination. He paused to check for any witnesses and then quietly entered the room.
‘Hmph…’
I followed him into the machinery room. Inside was a massive pump supplying water to the entire headquarters building. And…
“…Whoa?”
I sensed movement inside the pipes connected to the pump. In other words, there were people inside the pipes.
‘And there’s more than one.’
Watching the scammer move toward the source of the movement, it was clear that his target was the people inside the pipes.
Thump! Thump!
“(I’m here, boss.)”
…Boss? So one of the people inside the pipe must be the boss he had contacted earlier via silent communication?
Crackle…
No sooner had I thought this than the pipe twisted. A hole formed in the pipe, and people in what looked like diving suits began emerging one by one.
‘And the fact that no water is leaking through the hole… they must have a telekinetic among them.’
Seeing this, I realized what these lunatics were thinking by crawling inside the pipes. They had infiltrated the Awakening Association headquarters through the piping. Even if the building had protective wards, those wards probably didn’t extend to the pipes where water had to flow. Still, if something went wrong, they could have been sucked into the pump and shredded…
‘The scammer who risked his life to trick the system, and his comrades too…’
They were definitely not normal people. Perhaps it was precisely because they were this crazy that they managed to infiltrate the headquarters safely.
“(Huff… everyone, check your equipment.)”
The person presumed to be the boss handed a bag to the scammer. In response, not just the scammer but everyone who had emerged from the pipe in diving suits opened the bag and began equipping the items inside. I was taken aback by the equipment.
‘Exosuits…? No, maybe not exosuits.’
These weren’t standard exosuits. They were suits designed to allow ordinary people—non-Awakened—to use heavy weapons, sacrificing mobility. At first glance, I mistook them for exosuits, but they weren’t.
‘True exosuits are massive—you’d say someone “boards” one rather than wears it. But the gear they’re using looks like exosuits but is smaller.’
If these were real exosuits, they would have brought heavy-range weapons due to the loss of mobility. But the gear they carried didn’t have such weapons. The only thing resembling a weapon was a dagger strapped to the thigh. Clearly, the equipment assumed there would be no heavy combat.
“(Did you confirm where the data on Multiple Ability users is stored?)”
“(Yes. They seem to extract data using the test equipment and store it directly on the server. Nothing is written manually, so heading to the server room should suffice. Conveniently, the server room is also in the basement for security.)”
The scammer answered the question from the man called the boss. I wondered why the scammer had entered posing as a Multiple Ability user while others used the pipes—probably to gather this information.
“(Huh? Hey!)”
Lost in thought, I heard one of them gasp while putting on the equipment.
“(What’s that on your arm?!)”
“(Huh?)”
“(Our PMC mark! Why do you have it?)”
All eyes, including the boss, the scammer, and the others donning equipment, turned to the person being addressed.
“(Ah, that…)”
“(Don’t you know this operation is technically a Black Ops mission? If we’re discovered, we need to hide our affiliations.)”
The boss approached roughly, tore off the PMC mark, and tried to burn it with a lighter.
Click! Click!
The lighter, wet from being in the pipe, wouldn’t light properly.
“(Tch, hey.)”
“(Here.)”
The scammer took out a lighter from his pocket, knowing what the boss meant.
Fwoosh…
“(…The mark is wet, so it won’t burn well.)”
The boss muttered as he glared at the troublemaker.
“(I know this is your first time with this kind of operation, but there won’t be a next time. Got it?)”
“(Y-Yes!)”
I slowly watched the PMC insignia burn.
‘A large bird at the center… and “ALBA” in English below.’
As expected, these guys were Albatross PMC. Before the reset, they were tasked with stealing or destroying Multiple Ability user data. Judging by their conversation, it seems like they received the same mission this time.
‘Lucky. I thought I’d have to monitor headquarters for days to make contact, but now I have a chance.’
I had no intention of revealing myself or speaking to them yet. It’s uncertain whether they were designated as a criminal organization due to hostility with Oracle or for other reasons. Even if they were enemies of Oracle before, there’s no guarantee they still are. For now, I’d just observe.
Especially…
‘Their individual skills aren’t particularly outstanding.’
This made me hesitant to interact. Only the boss and the scammer seemed veteran-level Awakened; the rest were significantly weaker. Especially the one with the PMC mark—it looked like even an ordinary academy cadet could defeat him. Forming an alliance with these guys against Oracle might not help at all. They might even hold me back.
While I was pondering that, they finished equipping their gear. The scammer then asked the boss:
“(So how do we divide the teams?)”
I tilted my head. Didn’t he just say the goal was the server room? Why split into teams? I guess I was the only one thinking that.
“(The elite come with me. You take the rest to the server room.)”
The boss was assigning the scammer to the server room, while he and the elite were going elsewhere.
“….”
I recalled information I had from before the reset:
[They were contracted to steal or, if impossible, destroy Multiple Ability user data.]
[The distribution of personnel seemed a bit unusual, but details weren’t publicly known.]
It seems Albatross PMC has another purpose beyond the contract. Taking the elite suggests this is their main priority.
‘Then I’ll focus my observation on that group.’
My instinct could monitor both, but…
“(No small talk. Everyone move. From now on, use brain messages.)”
The boss pressed a button on his gear’s neck piece. The others followed.
Swish…
The Albatross PMC members became transparent.
‘Their suits… not exosuits, but cloaking gear.’
High-performance cloaking gear, almost impossible to detect without careful observation. If they made no noise or used abilities, they would remain unseen.
[(Have you located the target?)]
[(Across from the Multiple Ability examination room.)]
It seems “brain messages” refers to silent communication. The target is across the examination room, where scouts from various guilds gather.
‘So their target is probably one of the scouts.’
Thinking this, I continued pursuing them. Tracking wasn’t difficult. No matter how high-tech their cloaking gear was, my intuition could sense them, and none were Speedsters, so their individual speeds weren’t extraordinary.
