WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Max-Level Swordsman of Fusionpunk ◈
Chapter 20
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Kabel was silent for a while.
Then they gave a hollow laugh and shook their head.
“Unbelievable.”
Kang Doseok was still looking out the window without answering. Kabel waved a hand as if to say they wouldn’t ask any more.
“Fine. Let’s leave it at that.”
The dark monitors came back on one by one. Blue light returned to the blacked-out office.
Kang Doseok turned away from the floor-to-ceiling window.
“What about my request?”
“Ah, a netrunner to steal information from the city government database.”
“Right.”
Kabel pointed to a corner of the office.
“They’re already here.”
“Hmm.”
Kang Doseok turned his head.
A large box sat against one wall of the office. It looked big enough to hold two people. A smooth black lid covered the entire top, and thick cables and cooling pipes crowded its sides.
He had seen it a few times before.
But he had never seen it running. This time was different.
The indicator lights on its side glowed blue. A low hum came steadily from inside.
Psssh!
At that moment, the lid split open upward and downward. Cold vapor burst out.
“Pah!”
Someone suddenly sat up in the water. Kang Doseok frowned when he saw the face. It was Amy.
Fresh out of the ice water, her wet hair clung to her face and shoulders. Water ran down her pale skin.
Her naked body was fully exposed, without a single thread of clothing.
Apparently not the least bit concerned about that, Amy first swept her wet hair back.
“Those city government bastards built their database like a damn military fortress.”
Netrunners used their own bodies as computing devices, so they had to soak in an ice bath when entering the Net directly. She hooked her arms over the edge of the cooling bath and pushed herself up. The bundle of thick cables attached to the back of her head swayed.
“You have to break through three internal networks to get in, and the access permissions change randomly every ten seconds. Touch the wrong thing once, and they’ve set it up to trap you inside their intranet forever.”
Amy looked up as she finished.
Her gaze landed on Kang Doseok.
“Kang Doseok.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You had the nerve to make me track down some window repair guy.”
“They did a nice, clean job.”
“Are you complimenting me right now?”
“Yes.”
Amy’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Ignoring her reaction, Kang Doseok turned to Kabel.
“She’s the netrunner who’s going to crack the city government database?”
“Yes,” Kabel replied.
“Even in Netron City, there are only a few netrunners who can get into the city government’s internal network. Fewer still can take only the files they need and erase all traces of the intrusion.”
They looked at Amy.
“She might not look it, but she even broke into the NCPD headquarters server three years ago. The security team didn’t notice the files were missing until eight months later.”
The corners of Amy’s mouth rose slightly.
“Eight months and three days, to be exact.”
Her smile was full of smug pride. Kang Doseok didn’t respond. Instead, he looked at the screens floating beside the cooling bath. Dozens of reports and maps flashed past.
“Have you found the laboratory’s location?”
“Not yet. It looks like the city government has sent people to comb through the eastern contaminated zone, but I don’t think they’ve found anything. If they had, it would’ve gone straight into the database.”
Amy moved her fingers.
A map of the eastern contaminated zone expanded. Red dots marked the survey status of each collapsed area.
“The storm only ended recently. They’re checking the damaged areas first. There isn’t even a discovery report for the laboratory you mentioned yet.”
“There will be soon,” Kang Doseok said.
“Keep watching the database. Tell me the moment the laboratory’s location is registered.”
Amy looked at him.
“You’re leaving as soon as the information comes in?”
“Yes.”
Even if the city government discovered the laboratory, they wouldn’t announce it to the public right away.
Filing a discovery report, identifying the facility, and putting together a recovery team would take time.
If he stole the coordinates and moved before then, he could reach the laboratory before anyone else.
Amy spoke.
“So the city government does the work, and you swoop in and take that Skill Star you want so badly?”
“Yes.”
“What an excellent way to do business, Kang Doseok.”
Watching them, Kabel leaned back in their chair.
“I’ve secured an aerial vehicle, too. The modifications to fit it with small missiles are finished. It’s waiting on the roof.”
They checked the time and continued.
“The lightning mage you requested is on the way as well.”
“I see.”
Amy raised her eyebrows.
“You even called in a mage? How many people is that? Three, including me? Plus an aerial armored vehicle with missiles? That’s quite a setup for raiding one laboratory.”
“I only called in the people I need.”
“Is that star really so amazing?”
“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”
“That attitude of yours is really annoying, dismissing me without even trying to explain.”
Amy grumbled as she leaned back in the water.
Just then, the lock at the office entrance released.
Click.
The silver door slid open.
A man in a blue coat entered with one hand in his pocket.
His long silver hair fell below his chin. Thin metal wires were embedded like veins in his neck and the backs of his hands.
He took his hand out of his pocket and smiled at Kabel.
“Hey, Kabel. Been a while.”
Kabel looked up.
“You’re here.”
Kang Doseok looked at the man.
“This him?”
The approaching man met Kang Doseok’s eyes. A faint afterglow flickered deep inside his dark purple irises.
“If you’re looking for someone who knows how to handle electricity properly, not just fire it off...”
The corners of his mouth rose.
“Then you’ve found the right man, Kang Doseok.”
“Name?”
“Arkad.”
Arkad stopped in front of Kang Doseok.
Kang Doseok looked him up and down. He showed no sign of fear or tension. If anything, he seemed interested in the sword hanging at Kang Doseok’s waist.
“How well can you control electricity?”
“Using it in large-scale battles is a given. I’ve got enough firepower to support an attack on a small military facility. But someone who can only do that is third-rate.”
Arkad opened his hand.
Crackle.
Purple current appeared between his fingers.
Dozens of strands thinner than a hair wove together in precise patterns above his palm.
The current soon gathered into thin, sharp, needlelike shapes, forming an elegant flower.
“I’m a lightning mage with excellent fire support capabilities, but I can also control current finely enough to send it through individual cells.”
Arkad curled his fingers, and the current vanished without a trace.
“Countless signals travel through a living body every moment. Commands that move muscles, carry sensations, and keep the heart beating.”
He twitched one finger.
Kang Doseok saw just one strand break among the tangled currents.
“I can pick out and affect only the ones I want. As long as I’m touching the target, I can disrupt the electrical signals flowing through their body. That’s the kind of thing fine control in lightning magic deals with. I can explain in more detail if you need me to.”
“No need.”
Kang Doseok nodded.
There would still be living test subjects inside the Kairos Biofields laboratory.
To obtain the star for the Windwheel Cleaving Sword Art, he had to complete a quest involving them.
The problem was that the process required direct interference with the test subjects’ biological signals.
There were several ways to do it, but this time, Kang Doseok had chosen a lightning mage. Specifically, he needed someone who could control electricity with extreme precision.
He had explained those conditions clearly to Kabel, so they should have found a mage who fit them perfectly.
“I’ve seen enough. I wouldn’t understand even if I took a closer look. I’ll trust Kabel and your track record.”
Arkad smiled.
“Good, Kang Doseok. I’ve heard about you, too. A fixer who’ll do anything for money, right? It’s not easy to make a living doing that in Netron City. You’ve got some serious guts.”
“Is the interview over?”
Amy’s voice came from the cooling bath.
“Do I have to keep working naked? Get me some clothes.”
Kabel picked up a black robe from the sofa and tossed it to her.
“You’re the one who took your clothes off to get in.”
Amy caught the robe with one hand.
“What, was I supposed to wear a swimsuit? I was being considerate. Coming back out in wet clothes would get the floor dirty, you know.”
“Thank you.”
“Tsk. You don’t mean that, do you?”
Amy pulled out the bundle of cables connected to the back of her head.
Click.
She stepped out of the cooling bath and put on the robe. Water dripped from the ends of her wet hair onto the floor.
Arkad’s eyes wandered toward Amy without thinking.
Then he met Kang Doseok’s gaze.
Arkad turned his head as if nothing had happened.
“Nice view.”
Amy spoke as she tied the robe’s belt.
“I know. Honestly, I’ll admit I have a nice body. I can see why you’d look. Just don’t stare so openly.”
“Ahem.”
Arkad cleared his throat. Amy clicked her tongue and sat down in a chair. She picked up a cable hanging beside the cooling bath and plugged it into a socket on the inside of her arm.
Click.
The floating screens all brightened at once.
[Connection resumed.]
[Synchronizing city government database.]
Blue characters raced across Amy’s eyes.
Every refresh brought dozens of reports from the city government’s survey teams. Collapsed roads, buried facilities, contamination particle levels. More red marks appeared across the eastern contaminated zone.
Some time passed.
Amy’s fingers stopped.
“Oh.”
She leaned forward.
“Now.”
Everyone in the office turned to look.
A new report appeared in the center of the blue screen.
[Eastern contaminated zone: ground collapse area.]
[Unidentified underground facility discovered.]
Amy’s eyes moved quickly.
The name of the company that owned the facility appeared at the bottom of the screen.
[Kairos Biofields.]
Amy looked at Kang Doseok.
“It’s up.”
Kang Doseok rose from his seat.
“The location of the Kairos Biofields laboratory?”
Amy flicked her fingers.
“Just came in.”
She blinked twice. At the same time, a red coordinate marker appeared on the map of the eastern contaminated zone.
* * *
The eastern contaminated zone was an endless wasteland.
Whenever sandy winds swept across the dry ground, dark red dust rose into the air. Beyond the horizon stood buildings half destroyed by the storm, their bare frames exposed.
The sky was a murky gray. Purple lightning flashed now and then between the low, dark clouds, and contaminated vapor rose like smoke from patches of ground.
Kang Doseok, Amy, and Arkad all wore full-face purification masks.
The aerial vehicle flew quickly toward the eastern contaminated zone.
Beneath the blackened clouds, storm-ruined buildings stretched on without end. Kang Doseok looked out the window, while Arkad lounged in the seat opposite him.
Amy was searching the city government database, connected to the vehicle’s terminal by the cable plugged into her arm.
“That’s strange.”
Kang Doseok turned to her.
“What is?”
“The report we saw earlier. Someone else opened it besides us.”
Amy moved her fingers, and an aerial map appeared.
“They weren’t a city government employee. They erased their access records before leaving. Their work’s nowhere near as good as mine, though.”
“Their destination?”
“Same as ours.”
A red dot appeared on the map. It was a little ahead of Kang Doseok’s group.
Amy pointed forward.
“That one.”
A black aerial vehicle emerged from the dark clouds. A large guild emblem was engraved on its side. It read:
[Players’ Cooperative Guild: Hundred Flowers in Bloom]
“Looks like they had the same idea as us. They must’ve hired a pretty good netrunner. Nowhere near as good as me, of course.”
After checking the vehicle ahead, Kang Doseok stood up.
“Got a hook?”
“In the rear storage compartment.”
“Open the door.”
Amy opened a storage compartment in the wall and took out a steel hook and a cable.
Kang Doseok wrapped the cable around his waist and hooked the other end to a ring inside the vehicle.
Arkad’s eyes widened.
“Wait, what are you doing? You’re not planning to fight them right now, are you?”
“I am.”
Kang Doseok opened the rear hatch.
Whoooosh!
A fierce wind rushed into the vehicle, whipping all three of their clothes.
“You’re just going to start a fight without even knowing who they are?”
Kang Doseok secured his scabbard firmly at his waist.
“There’s a Skill Star at stake. None of the players who came here are interested in exchanging names and asking how everyone’s been.”
“But still...”
At that moment, the rear of the vehicle ahead split open to either side.
Clack!
Two missile launchers emerged from behind the armor plates.
[Guided missiles detected.]
[4 seconds to impact.]
Two missiles flew toward them, trailing flames.
Amy swore.
“Shit, Kang Doseok was right. Looks like they’re not interested in talking things out, either.”
Kang Doseok looked at Arkad.
“Can you stop them?”
Arkad stood up.
Electric light flashed deep inside his purple eyes.
“Yeah. Sure. Of course.”
He reached out.
Bzzzzzt!
Purple current burst from Arkad’s palm.
Thick lightning split into dozens of branches and raced through the air. Spreading in every direction, the current wrapped around the incoming missiles and burned out the circuits inside both warheads at once.
Flash!
A blinding light filled the sky.
Boooom!
Both missiles exploded at the same time. Crimson flames and black smoke swallowed the space in front of the aerial vehicle.
Amy shouted.
“I can’t see ahead!”
“Keep going.”
“What?”
Whoooosh!
The fierce wind was still rushing into the vehicle. The cable tied around his waist pulled taut.
Amy reached for his arm, too late.
“Wait, you’re jumping out here? You’ll die!”
“No, I won’t.”
With that short reply, Kang Doseok threw himself out of the hatch.
Whoosh!
The cable unspooled, and Kang Doseok’s body was sucked into the explosion.
Crimson flames filled his vision, and scorching heat washed over his entire body.
Beyond them, the outline of the black aerial vehicle appeared.
The next moment, Kang Doseok gripped his sword hilt.
Thud!
Carried by his upward momentum, Kang Doseok planted his feet on the rear of the vehicle.
His blade swept across its back.
Skrrrraaaak!
The thick armor plates tore apart with a harsh screech.
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