novelraw Chapter 14 : You're a Bug, and I'm an Operator (4)
Chapter 14 : You're a Bug, and I'm an Operator (4)
Chapter 14 - You're a Bug, and I'm an Operator (4)
Yesterday, he shot a man with a gun.
Today, he stabbed a man with a sword.
Tomorrow, I wonder what he'll do...
'Looked at this way, it feels like a death row inmate's final confession.'
While he was at it, there was one more thing to confess. About the feeling of stabbing a person for the first time.
“Not half bad.”
Taebaek muttered his private thoughts aloud. He felt a sense of relief, as if a long-held indigestion had finally cleared. The only regrettable thing was that he had been aiming for the neck, but the smoke had blurred his vision and thrown off his aim.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaak!”
Taebaek, pulling the blade from the man's shoulder, did a somersault and leaped back. From Lukaken Junior's perspective, his figure seemed to melt into the smoke.
Splat!
Ten paces away, he swung his arm in a long arc, shaking the blood from the blade. The ground was spectacularly painted with blood.
Shing.
His face was faintly reflected on the pale blade. His handsome eyes, which he was now somewhat used to, searched his memories.
“It seems the main story of the world has changed.”
According to the official history, Lukaken's smuggling partner was supposed to be 'Yasunari', one of the megacorps. Lukaken would offer them the highest quality raw materials that they had secretly set aside.
Well, sure. It wasn't just one or two companies that wagged their tails for the megacorps. Most of them did. The feudal system that had arrived in the modern era was the way of life in Lake City.
'I was the one who designed it that way, after all.'
That's why his plan had been to just swipe the money and run. Pop a couple of smoke bombs to create a diversion, then use the commotion to grab the money bag and bolt.
Stealing a kid's lunch money makes you a thug, but stealing dirty money makes you a hero like Hong Gildong.
Yep, that's how it works.
This was a world where you could get your organs harvested if you weren't careful. The petty mindset from Earth had to be buried deep.
You had to synchronize your mind with the city of steel to survive for a long, long time.
No need to overthink it. Just be pragmatic in everything you do.
That was all. It was supposed to be that simple...
“Those sons of bitches dare to sell drugs?”
He saw an injustice that momentarily made him forget his mantra of survival. To be precise, it was more like a trigger button exclusive to Lee Taebaek.
“Guh– ughhhh.”
Suddenly, a pain-filled groan reached him. Taebaek willingly shifted his fierce gaze toward it.
The pig was clutching his collarbone, trying to stop the bleeding. His back rose and fell noticeably, as if he was short of breath.
“...Where are you from! I'm asking who sent you!”
Lukaken roared from his crawling position. For someone who'd just been stabbed, his voice was powerful. He had seemed like a desk jockey, but it was a shout that carried a fair bit of resonance.
Then again, this was a man who, while avoiding the eyes of the megacorps, sold drugs they had forbidden, and even cut a deal with a gang. A move only possible if the fat in his gut was as thick as the mound of his belly.
“I will offer you double. If you're afraid of being traced, I'll pay in cash. Our Lukaken is overflowing with cash for its size!”
“I have one question.”
“What...?”
“Answer it properly, and I'll see about letting you go.”
Taebaek threatened, gripping the handle of the umbrella in his left hand in a reverse grip and flicking his right wrist to present the blade. He held the two parts of the umbrella, separated at the opening button, as a pair of weapons.
“How can a mere pharmaceutical company have access to so much cash? Selling raw materials alone wouldn't be enough to cover donations and the like.”
“How did you know we were selling raw materials...!”
“Don't make me say it twice.”
Even he, a former developer, didn't know all the secrets of this world. Detailed background settings were only established for entities on the level of megacorps; for a small-fry company like Lukaken, he had only created a basic framework.
“The source of your funds. Spit it out.”
The thick smoke began to clear. Lee Taebaek's outline started to become distinct. His blade was already angled toward Lukaken. The face of Lukaken, who had been putting on a brave front, turned ashen. He was no warrior, after all.
“President Lukaken-! Where are you!”
“You stupid bastard! Don't you put that gun down!?”
While the two were in a standoff, the surroundings grew noisy. The Lukaken employees and Triad gang members who had been encircling the smoke-filled area swarmed in from both sides toward the epicenter of the smoke bombs.
“What if you fire indiscriminately and hit the boss or the president? It won't just end with your death!”
“Th-Then?”
If a stray bullet were to hit Lukaken or Haiyen, the deal and everything else would be for naught.
“Put your guns in your holsters and draw your knives! You draw your guns only when the enemy's position is confirmed. Got it?!”
“Yes, sir!”
Securing the safety of both leaders was the top priority. Preparing for battle came after. They moved with their backs pressed together, covering each other's blind spots and waving their knives to clear the smoke.
Peeeeeee—.
But the sound didn't reach Lukaken's ears. Lee Taebaek took a step forward, pressing him.
“Five, four, three, two—.”
“I'll, I'll talk!”
Fear paralyzed his reason. Therefore, he had no choice but to answer. Even knowing it would invite his own death.
“Lukaken's source of funds is...”
At the words that followed, the light of emotion faded from Lee Taebaek's pupils. With dead, tranquil eyes, he murmured.
“The reason you established the donation foundation... and the reason you went to Africa to care for the starving children was…”
“That's right! I'm the one who bestowed value upon those worthless lives!”
“What? Lives?”
“Y-Y-Yes, that's right!”
“Shut up, you pig bastard.”
At the curt dismissal, Lukaken seemed to sense his future. That there wasn't a shred of intention to spare his life.
“I'm no apostle of justice, but you need to die right here. You're worse than a beast, you son of a bitch.”
“You promised you'd le-le-let me go!”
“Bullshit.”
He spat at the panicking Lukaken.
“I said I'd send you to the afterlife.”
Taebaek kicked off the ground with all his might. A circular ripple spread out from where he had been. Thanks to enhancing his [Agility] and [Strength], it was a truly superhuman leap.
A furious dash. Taebaek's form filled Lukaken's retinas as if viewed through a microscope.
SWOOOOSH!
Having closed the distance in an instant, Lee Taebaek drew a full moon with his arm. Dust particles were torn apart by the blade's edge.
Shimmer–.
It was then that the dust to his side wavered. Horror spread across Taebaek's face. A sinister glint, gleaming with killing intent, was rushing toward him, along with a serrated greatsword caked with chunks of fat and flesh.
He twisted the path of his blade upward, tilting it diagonally. He crossed the top part of the umbrella and his sword and brought them to his ribs, defending his vitals.
Finally, the serrated greatsword and the Para-Blade clashed. The owner of the greatsword pushed forward with a mighty swing, and Lee Taebaek was sent flying, still in his defensive stance.
The scenery changed with unbelievable speed. While flying through the air, a fierce pain surged through him, as if he'd been hit by a dump truck. How great it would be if it were really an isekai truck...
...Such a silly thought crossed his mind. It was a joke, of course. If he didn't crack jokes to himself like this, he felt he would lose consciousness on the spot.
'Goddammit.'
He felt the bone in his upper arm, the one that had met the attack, break. Taebaek buffed his [Faith], forcibly stitching his muscles and bones back together.
Fuck. It hurt like hell.
'Even though I raised two stats, I was still pushed back.'
It meant the gap in power was too large to be offset by a buff. Still, he was grateful to the body that had reacted. Otherwise, he would have been licking the toes of King Yama.
FWOOSH!
Opening the umbrella to increase air resistance, Taebaek skidded across the ground, scraping it with the tip of his sword. He ignored the pain and regained his balance. He had only just barely withstood that one attack.
He quickly raised his head. The brutish greatsword, fit for an executioner, split the smoke left and right as it fell. At the same time, he pressed the button, closing the umbrella.
He threw his body back, narrowly escaping the attack. He intentionally rolled a few more times to get completely out of range before springing to his feet.
“Hah… hah......”
The blade, planted in the ground, supported Taebaek's body. In that state, he took a moment to even out his ragged breathing. He could see a furrow gouged into the spot where he had been.
Shnk.
The intruder who had crashed the party pulled out his greatsword and rested it on his shoulder. Then he pursed his lips into a circle.
“Whoa~ your reaction speed is insane! I don't know where a bastard like you rolled in from, but to think you could react to that. I even downed half a bag of Berserk for that surprise attack.”
The owner of the greatsword was, of course, Haiyen. He pressed one nostril with his thumb and blew his nose.
“But that last blow made one thing clear. You bastard, you're not from a megacorp, are you?”
“......”
“For someone sent by the whales, your flesh is too soft. And the gentlemen dispatched from uptown don't use shallow tricks like smoke bombs.”
“This thug has a long tongue. Whether I'm from a megacorp or not, both you and that pig are going to die right here.”
“Such a bluff. At least hide your trembling fingers before you talk. I can see them even through the smoke you so kindly spread everywhere.”
Haiyen sneered and took a bag out from his clothes. He brought it to his mouth and crushed it, and granules poured out from the torn bottom. It was Berserk.
“Still, I should probably get rid of the witness quickly.”
With a sleazy grin on his face, Haiyen crunched on the Berserk. Around that time, they were able to get a proper look at each other's faces. The thick smoke had cleared considerably.
“You… Ah, no, you're not.”
Haiyen had momentarily mistaken Lee Taebaek for a woman because of his delicate features, but he soon nodded gravely at the lack of curves on his body.
In contrast, Lee Taebaek had a sullen expression. His assessment was simple.
Ugly.
A bug, an insect, an ugly bastard.
Nothing more, nothing less.
While the two were sizing each other up, the smoke had lowered to chest height. The subordinates, who had been floundering about incoherently, finally spotted the sprawled-out Lukaken Junior. As well as Taebaek and Haiyen, who were facing off 20 meters away.
“There you are!”
“Stop.”
As the subordinates reached for their guns, Haiyen immediately stopped them with a hand gesture. The gang members obeyed their boss's will, and the Lukaken employees stopped, suppressed by the intimidation. And so they watched the standoff between the two, holding their breath.
Gulp–.
Haiyen, having swallowed the drug, immediately lowered his stance as if to spring forward. The pictures drawn on his body rose up in bumpy patterns and glowed a greenish-yellow. Taebaek had thought they were just tattoos for show, but it seemed they were a side effect of the drug.
“Let's introduce ourselves, as fellow swordsmen of a rare breed.”
The modern era was the age of heavy firearms, and the sword had been relegated to a relic of the past. Yet even in such an age of gunpowder, there were always ronin who pursued romance. The 10 Wings were a prime example. Monsters who, in this cold age where firearms reign supreme, had reached the very top using only their blades or martial prowess.
“I am Haiyen. Haiyen from Sichuan Province.”
Haiyen also wanted to be like the 10 Wings. That was the reason he insisted on the greatsword, and the reason he'd dabbled in Berserk. If you lacked natural talent, you could just boost it with drugs. This was the brilliant harmony of biology and science-.
“......?”
Haiyen's eyes filled with disbelief. The piece of metal Taebaek had slyly pulled from his back pocket. It was unmistakably a gun. He raised the ugly thing, an object that ruined the romance of a swordsman, its muzzle pointing to the sky.
“Thanks. As if drawing all their attention wasn't enough, you even gathered them all in one place for me. Thanks to you, I'm no longer outnumbered.”
Taking it a step further, Lee Taebaek sheathed his blade and planted the umbrella into the ground. Then he took out a smoke bomb and pulled the pin with his teeth. By then, Haiyen, sensing the ominous sign, had a foul look on his face.
“You… you bastard! What the hell are you doing!”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm reloading.”
“You're not a swordsman!”
“Give me a fucking break.”
Cutting him off, he tilted his chin. With a clear ting– sound, the safety pin was pulled, and he let go.
“Strictly speaking, I debuted as a gunslinger.”
Tsssssh!
A thick smoke billowed up from his feet, swallowing him. Haiyen desperately threw himself forward to grab him as he disappeared into the smoke.
He tried to.
He froze. The sensation around his feet was strange.
Spongy?
Haiyen's eyes dropped to the ground. The sunken earth had trapped both his feet. The texture of the ground was that of a swamp. There hadn't been any heavy rain, so how had this area turned into a muddy bog in an instant?
[Nerfing the caster's footsteps.]
Everyone nearby was similarly unable to move. Sunk up to their knees, they struggled with all their might to avoid being swallowed by the earth. But the more they struggled, the deeper their legs were sucked in, until they couldn't move at all.
“Everyone, focus on securing the perimeter first!”
Haiyen shouted a warning. Lee Taebaek, watching while hidden in the smoke, was impressed. Even while high on Berserk, his judgment was sharp.
“Still just a junkie, though.”
The revolver, the Python, opened its maw to the night sky and spat fire.
FWOOOOM!
A rapturous gunshot echoed through the smoke. Afterwards, a tracer round shot up like a waterspout, embroidering the black sky with vermilion.
Tatadat!
As if that were the signal, the sound of light footsteps was heard. The enemies hurriedly turned their gazes in that direction, but.
“Wataaaaah–!!”
The next moment, several pairs of eyes widened in shock. The sight of heads flying through the air, spraying blood, was utterly surreal. Shohei the Human Butcher, as if performing a ritual, excitedly carved through his foes.
Kuaaaaaaaak!
Standing some distance from the scene of the massacre, Haiyen took in the carnage.
Fuck, what, the, hell? He muttered the fragmented sentence and quickly averted his eyes.
In that instant, he had sensed killing intent. He dropped his upper body, folding at the waist to dodge an attack. His forehead was just about to touch the ground.
Click.
The sound of a revolver's hammer being cocked. Haiyen, slightly raising his head, felt his pupils shrink to a dot.
“Bug fix.”
He tried to swing his greatsword, but a black hole was already positioned in front of his bloodshot eyes. It was the Python. The viper, emerging from the smoke, spat fire once more.
BANG—
......
Come to think of it, it was a problem that required no thought at all.
If he shot a gun yesterday, and stabbed with a sword today.
Then from tomorrow on, he would just use both.