novelraw Chapter 116: The Predator
Chapter 116: The Predator
Two teams of five people in suits stood in front of three AVIs. Two had just landed, while the third was preparing for takeoff.
Their faces bore carefree smiles and smirks. They were smoking by the landing pad, discussing their recent missions.
Opposite them was the VIP landing zone with red carpets. A couple of middle-aged people with serious expressions were already walking along them. They were accompanied by several bodyguards in shirts and vests.
It seemed that life here was truly bustling, and all those wolves in suits were rushing to accomplish great deeds...
But in an instant, everything seemed to freeze.
"..." The man in the cropped coat nearly dropped his cigarette from his slightly open mouth.
Two figures in intimidating suits were walking down the center of the floor. The AVIs that had been descending veered off to the sides and touched down off to either side, some distance away from them.
People nearby recoiled despite their status.
The figure walking slightly behind had a fearsome black minigun strapped to his back, comparable in size to a human body. In his hands, he held a shotgun and a cylindrical container in an armored casing.
He met the stares directed at him without hesitation, causing people to immediately look away.
The man in front simply kept walking, eyes forward, and held nothing in his hands... But something in the aura emanating from him gave the impression that the man inside felt indistinguishable from the suit. As if it had been created for him, and he had become one with it.
The first figure was just over two meters tall, and the second was slightly shorter.
The suit resembled a second skin, made of small, dark-gray elastic particles. Certain parts, such as the knees, the chest plate, the spine, the ankles, the joints, and the fists, were made of silvery metal.
Small dark particles were formed into countless cable-like strands stretching across various parts of the body. They resembled dense, unbreakable muscles, and while the silver frame held that power in check.
"What the hell kind of mission are they up to..." someone whispered.
"..." Two silent, monstrous figures approached the section with the three AVIs. Only then were the members of the two teams able to take in their appearance.
Despite its impressive build, the most striking and memorable detail of the suit was a single solid red lens where the eyes should have been.
It was bright and intimidating, something one wouldn’t expect from ordinary helmet lenses.
Only one kind of creature bore eyes like that.
"..." The figure leading the way stopped in front of the group in suits. It slowly turned toward them.
The group fell silent, meeting the gaze looking down on them.
Through the solid red, they couldn’t read it from that gaze... but intuitively sensed who it truly belonged to.
Only a true predator could have eyes like that.
"..." Slowly, the two groups stepped aside.
Finally, they cleared the way to the AVI for Mr. Nobody, Noir, and Kuronuma, with the cat in her arms.
...
"...In the end, we become the very thing we fought against," he said wistfully, retracting his helmet. It was integrated into the suit, so he had to use Paymax to fold it up. "A sad fate."
Their AVI had taken off about five minutes ago. They had about twenty minutes of flight left, so they could try to relax for now.
The interior of the aircraft resembled that of a military transport helicopter.
Of course, everything here looked high-end and was outfitted with modern equipment, but it clearly wasn’t designed for comfort.
He sat on one side, side by side with Noir, and across from him was Kuronuma with a cat in her arms.
It seemed like the girl was a little nervous about the flight, the cat, on the other hand, didn’t seem bothered at all.
"Bro, it seems you’re not even impressed by the flight. Have you flown on an AVI before?" Noir didn’t retract his helmet, since he’d been forced to take off his usual mask. It seemed he wasn’t exactly eager to show his face.
"Yeah, once. When I was helping some old friends out of a jam. Back then, the situation was... more pleasant. I had another chance recently, but I had to turn it down."
"Huh? Isn’t that the story where you arranged two specialists from the Path of Bond for Neocorp? Man, the Devil’s Advocate told me about that recently, and, dude, you pulled it off."
"...Looks like you get along pretty well with Patrick. And Tasha, too, since they let Kuronuma interact with you freely."
"Oh, are you jealous? But who’s jealous of who? Me of them, or them of me?"
Noir laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
Mr. Nobody just sighed.
For a while, he silently stared at the girl, making her shrink slightly.
He couldn’t help but wonder if it was right for her to be here, and if she would be all right.
Besides, her reasons for being here were rather murky.
Strangely, he had no doubts whatsoever about the pet being here.
"It seems I’ve gotten too used to you and your uniqueness, kitty..." he whispered with a small smile.
"..." The cat didn’t answer, sitting on the girl’s lap. She just stared at him intently, just as he had stared at Kuronuma.
Thinking it might be nice to listen to some music before the upcoming event, he took out his player and began uncoiling the headphones.
At that moment, his wrist buzzed. Paymax was pinging him.
Glancing at the bracelet, which blended seamlessly with his suit, he saw a message notification.
He leaned back, hoping Noir wouldn’t notice, and tapped it.
As it turned out, the sender was Marcel... and he had sent him a photo.
In it, a smiling Marcel stood with his son—Damian. They were dressed in black cloaks and held a cake with twenty-five candles. It looked like it had been baked by hand by Marta.
"Happy birthday, Mr. Nobody!
Be sure to come back in one piece!" read the message on the cake.
"Ha..." he let out a quiet, surprised laugh.
Two years ago, when Marcel found him by the roadside, he’d asked about his birthday.
Of course, he didn’t remember that, so he gave a random date... But the old man had actually remembered it.
He didn’t even know if he was actually twenty-five or not, but it didn’t seem to matter.
"Haah." He sighed and, barely smiling, typed out his reply.
The suit was cold to the touch, but now, deep down, he felt a little warmth.
"Don’t worry."
He muted it and put on his headphones.
The birthday greeting confirmed one inevitable fact...
Midnight had come.