Chapter 15
Lost City was a megacity of truly colossal proportions.
Its history was every bit as vast as its scale, with origins stretching all the way back to an age when dragons existed.
And yes, those were the very dragons one would normally imagine.
It was a story that began in the distant past, when the great Seven Families joined forces with a visionary who became the first human to discover cyberspace.
...Omitted...
After countless conflicts and negotiations, Lost City ultimately moved away from its unstable system of centralized rule and adopted a decentralized structure known as district autonomy.
This was widely regarded as the root cause of the fierce struggle for influence among the municipal government, the Families, and the corporations.
...Omitted...
As time passed and overcrowding emerged as a serious problem, the municipal government began developing new residential districts in an attempt to address it.
However, a war broke out between the corporations and the Families during construction, prompting investors to withdraw their funding.
The ambitious government-led project collapsed overnight.
The abandoned districts created during that period eventually became what were now known as the Forties.
Afterward, countless gangs and war criminals occupied the area...
Jin swiped upward across the display.
When he finally removed his thumb after scrolling until the page would go no farther, he was greeted by a message asking him to subscribe and enable notifications if he had enjoyed the post.
Instead of doing as requested, Jin opened the comments.
—The history of Lost City is like air. It definitely exists, but nobody cares about it.
—Three-line summary, please.
—I hope all those Purist assholes die. I hope all those Purist assholes die. I hope all those Purist assholes die. I hope all those Purist assholes die.
It’s the same everywhere.
Wearing an uncomfortable expression, Jin switched off the screen and tucked the terminal inside his clothes.
He then shifted only his eyes and glanced at Fenrir, who was holding the steering wheel.
This is unbearably awkward.
Jin sighed and turned toward the window.
How long had it been since he had sat in a car with an atmosphere this uncomfortable?
Probably not since the time he drove his girlfriend home after discovering during a trip that she had cheated on him.
Even now, he thought she had been a terrible person.
No matter how thoroughly their relationship had fallen apart, she could at least have offered some empty words like thank you, sorry, or take care after he went out of his way to drive her home.
Instead, she had simply climbed out without saying a word.
Then she had probably called her new boyfriend and told him they had finally broken up, so they could now see each other without worrying.
He should have abandoned her at a rest stop.
“Haa.”
Jin sighed again.
Not because of the crimes committed by an ex-girlfriend who now lived in an entirely different world, but because the heavy atmosphere in the car felt painfully similar.
There was only so long he could distract himself by searching for random information on the network, pretending to be occupied, or staring out the window.
Eventually, Jin made up his mind.
Like it or not, they were in the same boat now.
They could not keep sulking in silence forever.
They were grown men, for crying out loud.
Jin cleared his throat and spoke.
“So... how much farther is it to the rendezvous point?”
“...”
Fenrir ignored him once.
But not twice.
The bridge of his nose twitched above the goblin mask before he finally gave a curt reply.
“Another two hours.”
“Still?”
“You make it sound like we’re visiting the next neighborhood over.”
“I know we’re not. Still, this is honestly pretty new to me. It’s my first time leaving Downtown.”
Fenrir narrowed his eyes at Jin’s words as the scenery swept past outside.
“Is Downtown your hometown?”
“No. My hometown is somewhere else.”
Fenrir looked at him as though wondering what sort of nonsense that was.
Then he shook his head and returned his attention to the road.
At this rate, silence was about to descend again.
Growing desperate, Jin spoke up.
“Hey! I’ve got a question.”
“...What?”
Fenrir frowned.
Jin desperately squeezed out a question that had not existed in his mind until that moment.
“Do your underwear rip every time you transform into a beast?”
“...”
Silence descended once more.
***
As a rule, every district had to be entered through a gate.
Naturally, that was a route Jin and Fenrir needed to avoid.
They were entering Mute Town to destroy a logistics warehouse, so they could not risk having their faces captured by cameras while passing through the gate.
That was the reason for the rendezvous point.
Since they could not enter by a legitimate road, they had to use an illegal route instead.
The man helping them was a member of the resistance who introduced himself as Albus.
“Put these on first.”
The moment they confirmed one another’s identities at the rendezvous point, he abruptly handed them gas masks.
“Hm?”
As Jin accepted one and put it on, a thought crossed his mind.
Are these meant to conceal our identities?
They were not.
Albus led them into an old sewer filled with foul-smelling contaminated water.
“A nearby industrial complex illegally dumps its wastewater here. They don’t operate any purification equipment at all, so it’s loaded with all kinds of heavy metals, and the COD level is well over three hundred. At this point, it’s basically poison.”
Jin flinched.
This is straight out of Fallout.
“...Wait. If they suddenly dump the wastewater, won’t all of us get swept away?”
“Don’t worry. The next discharge isn’t until the day after tomorrow.”
That isn’t reassuring.
Jin frowned, though the gas mask hid his expression.
“Besides, it’s difficult to avoid TB’s surveillance anywhere else.”
With that, Albus continued farther into the sewer.
How long had they walked with their vision narrowed and their breathing obstructed?
Albus eventually stopped before a metal ladder leading to the surface.
He pointed toward two large bags placed side by side on the floor, apparently prepared in advance.
“Our people nearly killed themselves moving those things here. You two should be able to handle them easily, unlike us.”
Wondering what he meant, Jin lifted one of the bags.
It was certainly heavy.
It felt as though it weighed around fifty kilograms.
Even assuming its actual weight was slightly lower, it would still be difficult for an ordinary adult man to carry.
Of course, that did not apply to superhumans.
Jin slung it over his shoulder as casually as a kindergartener carrying a field-trip backpack and looked at Albus.
Fenrir, an enhanced human himself, did the same.
“...As expected.”
Albus quietly expressed his admiration before continuing.
“Each bag contains two anti-structure explosive charges and a remote detonator. The detonator has an effective range of one hundred meters, and the explosives are designed to go off exactly one hundred and twenty seconds after activation. If installed properly, they’ll bring the building down in moments, so don’t forget to reach a safe position first. I’m sure you already know that, though.”
Albus then explained how to install the explosives and where they were supposed to regroup afterward.
When he finished, he lightly clapped his hands together.
“That’s everything from me. Any questions? If not, we should split up here.”
He turned away and added one final remark.
“Good luck.”
After Albus left, Jin and Fenrir climbed the ladder.
They pushed open the manhole cover and stepped onto the surface.
By the time Jin removed the stifling gas mask and looked upward, the sky had already deepened into a rich indigo.
Fenrir had moved his goblin mask down over the lower half of his face.
He gestured with one hand.
“Let’s go.”
There was nothing particularly special about Mute Town.
The gloomy alleyways looked as though something might leap out at any moment, but in that respect, Mute Town was no different from Downtown.
There were differences if one cared to look for them, of course, but Jin reminded himself that he was here to complete a job, not to sightsee.
The bag slung over his shoulder did not contain a picnic mat or packed lunches either.
It contained explosives powerful enough to bring down a building.
Perhaps that was why the strange tension sharpened his concentration, causing the surrounding environment to reach his five senses with startling clarity.
The moon wept coldly overhead.
Darkness seeped into his skin.
His heartbeat throbbed quietly.
And beyond the wall came the smoke-laced chatter of guards.
“I’m sure of it. There are six.”
Jin spoke as he pulled back the head he had been peeking around the wall.
Fenrir, standing beside him with his arms crossed, responded.
“Three two-man teams operating in pairs. No AI turrets either. Their security is fairly lax.”
“You call that lax? Aren’t all of them beastkin?”
Like you.
Jin left that part unsaid.
It sounded vaguely racist.
Fenrir answered.
“You seem to be mistaken about something. TB is no longer a beastkin organization. More precisely, it is no longer an organization made up only of beastkin. Now that they control an entire district, they can’t afford to be selective about recruitment. It would be inefficient.”
He glanced toward the guards.
“Those men are either opportunists who attached themselves to the winning side or mercenaries hired for money. TB’s founding members were promoted into officer positions long ago. They’re not going to be wandering around on patrol in the middle of the night.”
“I see.”
Jin nodded.
There was a reason people spoke of founding contributors.
They had stood together through hard times and hardship alike, so even if they had not come from the same womb, they could still declare, We are brothers!
That kind of Peach Garden–style favoritism had been a proud tradition among victors since ancient times.
“Of course, there may still be an officer inside the warehouse,” Fenrir continued. “But it doesn’t matter. If we encounter one, we eliminate them. That’s all.”
He pushed himself away from the wall.
“We should move. You haven’t forgotten the plan, have you?”
“We install the explosives at the designated locations and leave the building immediately. We activate the detonators together after regrouping. But if the other person doesn’t appear within the agreed fifteen minutes, we detonate alone. Right?”
“Correct.”
Fenrir nodded and cracked his neck from side to side.
“Don’t slow me down.”
The next instant, his figure vanished beneath the moonlight.
Dust burst upward.
By the time Jin spotted him again, Fenrir was already far ahead.
His speed was extraordinary, especially considering that he was carrying dozens of kilograms of explosives on his back.
Wolves could run at around sixty kilometers per hour, couldn’t they?
Fenrir reached the guards in the middle of their casual conversation almost instantly.
“Who—?!”
By the time the guards sensed his presence and turned around, Fenrir was already behind them.
“Ghk!”
“Urgh!”
Both guards collapsed at nearly the same time, clutching their necks.
Blood dripped from Fenrir’s hand behind them.
Sharp claws extended from the tips of his fingers.
A partial transformation.
Jin watched in admiration, then tightened the straps of his bag.
He had no time to stand around.
The agreed fifteen-minute window had started now.
Bang!
Jin kicked off the ground and sprinted forward as well.
However, instead of heading toward the warehouse’s main entrance, where Fenrir had charged, he made a wide detour around the property and aimed for the rear entrance.
A four-story concrete logistics warehouse would not collapse easily from only one or two explosives.
To bring down something that large with a single strike, they would need something more like an earthquake bomb or a bunker buster.
That was why the resistance had provided them with structurally vulnerable points in advance.
Fenrir had taken the basement and first floor.
Jin had been assigned the second and third floors.
Their operational ranges would not overlap.
Nor could they be allowed to.
If two solos caused chaos in separate parts of the building, TB’s forces would be thrown into far greater confusion.
Jin put more force into his next step.
The rear of the warehouse rapidly drew closer.
Cargo trucks stood parked in a long row, and a guard was smoking among them.
“Shhh... Haa.”
Completely unaware of what was about to happen, the man exhaled smoke with a relaxed expression.
He was so carefree that he even held out his cigarette pack to the guard beside him.
“Want one?”
“Sure.”
“Damn, that’s filthy.”
The first guard grimaced as his companion pulled a cigarette from the pack with his front teeth.
He took a lighter from his pocket and flicked the wheel.
Just as he was about to light it—
Crunch!
The cigarette-smoking guard’s face was driven into the wall.
Blood splattered across his companion’s face.
“...Huh?”
The surviving guard stared blankly at his colleague’s crushed head.
A moment later, he noticed the hand gripping the back of the twitching skull.
“Enemy—!”
The gun he reflexively raised never fired.
A fist struck his face before he could react.
His features caved inward, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
Experience points had come in, so there was no need to confirm whether they were alive.
Jin immediately opened the closed steel door and entered the building.