I Became a Cyberpunk Tycoon

Playing with Fire (6)

"...They're coming. A proper mercenary group. They won't be as easy as before... We need to run away right now."

"Let's start with the medication."

"Who are... you to pretend to worry about me like that?"

Doris's suspicion was justified. Objectively, doubting me was a more reasonable choice than trusting me.

They don't know the future. They don't know how Doris will change once she crosses the line, nor why I'm helping them.

It was forced. To push it through, I had to employ somewhat unreasonable methods.

"I don't care what happens later; we need to run away right now! Even if we have to use the body acceleration device again...."

"I'm being serious."

"They're here!"

My group and Doris quickly hid ourselves. But they seemed to have noticed our position and were carefully approaching.

"...This is real."

Not amateur mercenaries with just guns and no equipment, but real mercenaries with proper combat implants.

"Must have cost quite a bit."

Judging by their movements, ordinary rifle bullets wouldn't work. They probably had security systems for implants and bio-integrated computers too.

"Only the leader has a body acceleration device. And even that's a cheap one."

As if reading my thoughts, the secretary immediately reported the situation.

Unlike me who doesn't have implants, she has scanning devices that can access databases of numerous corporations.

Given enough time, it wouldn't be difficult to figure out what implants each mercenary is wearing.

"Are you talking about us?"

Ravina reacted nervously to the secretary's report.

"No."

The secretary and Ravina's eyes met. Ravina, who was looking at the secretary with eyes full of wariness like a cat at a hospital, soon bit her lips tightly.

"... Anyway, if we get caught by them in this state, there won't be anything left of us. We should run away now...."

"No. Your treatment comes first."

"In this situation?"

I was serious. If she absolutely refused, I was planning to inject her with sedatives even if I had to point a gun at her.

After putting in so much effort with her, I couldn't let her waste her life over such a small incident.

But at this rate, the conversation would continue in parallel.

They're not unaware that Doris's condition isn't normal right now.

They're just being cautious because they can't trust me and don't have a plan for how to shake off the pursuers.

If I was going to display force anyway, there was no need to use it against her specifically.

"No choice then. Block them. Suhwa."

I thought she might get angry, but surprisingly, there was a faint smile on her face.

"In Korean names, the surname comes first, and when combined it becomes the name of an object. Surname San..."

Luna was frowning heavily, tapping her head computer while analyzing the information I had just leaked.

"Well, eavesdropping is a bit problematic."

"I've heard rumors about the Hansan family. Is that real? What's their identity?"

Her face turned pale.

I might have been a bit reckless. Not many people knew her name, but it couldn't hurt to be careful.

But in such an urgent situation, using this secret to gain their trust seemed like a decent development.

"...Let's administer the medication."

The secretary carefully adjusted her clothes and stepped forward with a pistol drawn.

"Are you crazy, Luna? Are you really going to trust that suspicious man?"

"If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it already."

"Didn't you say Hansan seemed to have betrayed us! Then these people too...."

"We can only hope that's not the case."

While Doris's mercenary group was still confused, Suhwa nodded happily.

"I'm glad there's at least one person who's quick to catch on. If we had insisted needlessly, we might have troubled the young master."

"Ha, if you still can't trust me! What if I activate the body acceleration device right now!"

"Think carefully. Arms and legs are organs that can be replaced or restored."

At the secretary's cold gaze and leisurely sneer, Doris ground her teeth as if intimidated.

"If you try to activate that device now, your brain and each of your nerves will be destroyed. Those can't be restored or replaced."

"The young master will cut away less important things if things don't go as planned."

Wariness increased on the mercenary group's faces. Although it wasn't completely unthought of, that was the kind of plan that would only be used at the very end, when there really seemed to be no other answer.

"Stop talking nonsense. Let's go."

The enemy mercenaries are already in sight. It wouldn't be strange if explosives came flying while we were chatting.

"As you command."

I'm not sure what she's thinking, but as a combat force, my secretary was someone more trustworthy than anyone else.

Unless some truly unexpected monster appeared, it wouldn't be strange to call her the strongest in this city.

She took a step forward.

"Stay still. I'll start the medication."

"No... what exactly is that woman?"

Although Doris entrusted herself to Luna's hands, she couldn't hide her uneasiness.

Her eyes met with the Hansan man's. He gave a slight eye-smile, desperately trying to reassure her.

"Just what...."

Doris clearly saw with her own eyes. The sight of his mask blocking bullets.

Though the mask that blocked those bullets shattered to pieces, apart from that, she wasn't confident she could shoot and hit him again. Unless she activated the body acceleration device.

"Urrgh...."

As the tension eased slightly, she could objectively assess her condition.

It hurts. There was nothing wrong with his words that if she used the body acceleration device even once more, it would become irreversible.

"Please explain."

Luna, who had taken out a syringe, demanded of that man.

"I don't think I can talk about it. Sorry, but if I speak it becomes official."

Luna frowned for a moment but administered the sedative to Doris.

"There's been a rumor from before. About the Hansan family."

"...What about it?"

"Hansan family, it's a bit strange for a Korean surname. Usually people from that culture use single-syllable surnames."

"I guess... so? Why?"

Ravina looked around, but it seemed like the only mercenary group rushing towards them right now were the ones they had spotted earlier.

"The Hansan family values genes more than anyone else. There's even talk that this is why they're so strict about who can be part of the family."

"That woman's name was San...Su...hwa, right? Doesn't seem like Hansan?"

"She's from a branch family. A product of Hansan's bioengineering, someone who carries their genes."

"They say the Hansan family has incredible talent in judgment, reason, calculation, and situation awareness. Most of them occupy executive positions in the Hansan Group."

Han Sanwoo smirked. Although all these facts were treated with utmost secrecy within the Hansan Group, it seemed like surprisingly many people knew about the secret.

Or perhaps that hacker was more knowledgeable and capable than he had thought.

"Then...."

"The San family is one created to extract talent in physical abilities and implant compatibility. They're Hansan's hunting dogs, subordinate to Hansan and in charge of protection and force."

Doris struggled to understand Luna's words while forcibly holding onto her consciousness that was becoming dizzy from the sedative.

"And they say they receive names like 'objects' to remember that they are tools of Hansan. Strange names that wouldn't normally be thought of as people's names."

"If my guess is correct, we had no chance of winning from the moment our eyes met. Even with perfect preparation... they're opponents we can't beat."

With disbelieving eyes, Doris looked at the Hansan man.

Without either confirming or denying, he was smirking and enjoying Luna's hypothesis.

"They're real monsters. Born with Hansan blood, trained from birth, equipped with implants far more expensive than anything we could compare to."

He had sent his secretary to those four directions and was smiling as if nothing was wrong.

As if he was confident she absolutely wouldn't lose.

***

"It's a woman."

The pursuers who had arrived at their destination temporarily regrouped at the unbelievable sight.

"Seems different from the target. She even seems relaxed... Should we proceed like this?"

A beautiful woman in a neat suit was standing proudly.

"According to the information spread by the ones below, there seems to be an informant among the mercenaries... Doesn't matter who. Let's kill first and take responsibility later."

A tiger uses all its strength even when catching a rabbit. While it might not be the most efficient mindset as a mercenary, the fact that in their game board, a moment's carelessness could cost them their lives remained unchanged.

"Hacker. Analyze the information."

They had to use whatever they could. Whether it was concentration, time, or caution.

If you don't follow such rules, even if you carelessly catch and eat a hundred rabbits, the hundred and first rabbit might tear off your toe and make you bleed.

"Starting right away."

The mercenaries were exchanging conversations, but their lips weren't moving.

Small computer chips connected to their brains were converting their thoughts into messages and transmitting them to their private network.

"Armament seems poor. Two gun-sized reactions."

"Implants?"

In Stella City's battles, judging an opponent by their visible armament was like having your liver stick out of your body.

Even if you could win some fights by rushing in like that, if you keep fighting that way, you might eventually have your body destroyed by an outlaw who converted their entire arm into a rocket launcher.

"...Not sure. Like a hacker or corporate person, the ice seems too strong."

"We can't wait forever. If it's a criminal or informant trying to buy time, the others might be escaping right now."

"But I can't see any openings at all. Just that it's incredibly expensive... and unpredictable."

The mercenary group's leader frowned.

But sometimes it was necessary to take risks when needed.

"Laser grenades. Got the ones we prepared?"

There were quite a few ways to block bullets made of lead. But there were few ways to block extreme heat exploding right in front of you.

Even if you were a cyborg with half your body replaced by machinery, conversely speaking, if you just cook the remaining half of the body, you'll die without being able to do anything.

It was perfect for dealing with unknown enemies without affecting the terrain. It was an expensive bomb that even promising mercenary groups like them had trouble getting, but if necessary, they had to use it.

"That might not be enough either."

"Then we'll have to overcome that with skill. Starting on three."

The mercenary group's leader, who received the laser grenade from his subordinate, quietly counted to three.

"Begin."

After his words ended, none of the mercenaries moved.

It was the body acceleration device. One of the best among combat implants that even high-tech mercenaries in Stella City had trouble obtaining.

The mercenary group's leader who activated it ran towards the woman standing in the corridor around the alley with the bomb in his hand.

He released the bomb's safety and lightly threw it. If it hit directly, all body parts except for the implants she was wearing would burn hot.

"Huh?"

However, he had to stagger from the pain he felt in his chest.

Looking again, her posture had changed. Small smoke was rising from the gun she held.

"This can't... be...."

That was the last memory he could recall.

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