Chapter 16

When the confrontation was over, the railcar kicked off once again. Less than ten minutes had passed, and yet so much had changed.

“What are you going to do with us! Hey, Van-”

Bam!

The young man was shuffled into the cargo hold.

Although he was only hit by a punch, he was unable to brace himself properly. His arms were tied tightly together with rope.

A cool touch followed on the young man’s forehead. The tip of the nail gun dug shallowly into the flesh, drawing a drop of blood.

“으, 아으윽! 그, 그만. 아아악!”

“Shut the fuck up, for God’s sake, or I’ll shoot you if you scream any louder.”

“Oh, I see…, huh. Hmph!”

The young man clenched his molars together to hold back the pain. Instead of a scream, a gasp escaped him.

Outlaw’s unruly behavior left the other bounty hunters speechless.

“It’s better this way, I’m not an animal, why do I have to be beaten to understand.”

Satisfied, Ms. Outlaw settled back into the cargo hold.

A woman who appeared to be in her 30s. Part of her face was disfigured as if she had been burned.

She was the only Outlaw in the cargo hold. The rest of the group walked the underground passageway, surrounding the railcar from front to back.

No matter how you look at it, it’s like they’re watching.

“From what I can tell… they’re in cahoots with the captain, but they don’t trust each other that much.

Kim also had her nail gun taken away and her wrists tied behind her back.

The bounty hunters in the cargo hold are irresistible, but the Outlaws are holding their ground.

Right now, they only have the Captain to worry about. It’s too early to tell, but it’s likely that he’s not completely aligned with them.

Add to that the tattoo on his wrist, and you get the idea.

“At least I like this guy.”

The Outlaw in the cargo hold looked at Kim and smirked. Kim’s buried thoughts were suddenly brought to the surface.

“Your head must be spinning, you were pretty good earlier. How long have you been underground?”

“…today is the first time.”

“First time? Really?”

He was met with silence. Outlaw’s eyes narrowed and he burst out laughing.

“Haha, you lucky bastard. I don’t know what you were doing out there, but you must have been pretty confident. I wonder if this is some kind of stroke?”

It was, as they say, a fecal matter.

Originally, Kim was going to take things one day at a time. To familiarize herself with the underground and get a better understanding of the current situation in Kilikia.

This is because Kilikia’s collapse starts underground, not on the surface.

The main episodes 1 and 2, which are slowly approaching.

Actually, Kilikia is not the main setting. In the main episode, the player, the Professor, never visits Kilikia.

Here’s a rough outline

A group of professors return to Celbrox Labs after Ghost’s sacrifice. Through Kushan, they learn of an organization called the Legion, of which Shadow is a member.

Kushan, the head of the lab, learns of the Legion’s movements and sends agents to a country called Floria.

You clash with the Legion, and manage to hold off the onslaught. A few days later, a message arrives.

The sudden news that Kilikia has fallen. In short, it was a two-pronged attack.

“I’m here for this purpose, I’ll leave Floria to the professor, and I’ll do something about this.

The problem at hand was a lack of information.

“I remember the plot… I just can’t seem to get the timing right.

Obviously, the collapse of Kilikia is not explained in detail in the main episode. Instead, it is assigned as a side story for a certain agent.

What we needed to know was when the story would actually start. We decided that getting into the “flow” of the scenario was the first priority.

So at least two weeks. I was going to use the extra time Roscoe gave me to refine my plans, but…….

“I didn’t see this coming from day one.

But it’s too early to conclude that this was just bad luck. In fact, Kim had quite the opposite idea.

If the prediction is correct.

This is a valuable opportunity.

“Let’s wait for now.

Next, the moment of truth. That’s when Kim knew it was time to make his move.

* * *

‘Two hours. No, what, three hours?

It was hard to keep track of time underground. There was no way to check his watch, so he had to make a mental estimate.

The car has been stopped for tens of minutes. It had stopped in a vast underground passageway. Military tents were strewn about the Outlaws’ base.

Unsurprisingly, this was not a familiar destination. Kim tried to remember as much of the road as he could, but his efforts were futile.

‘The routes are too complicated to remember. And the stations aren’t all that unique outside of MetroCity.

To top it off, the platforms in the area were spray-painted with station names. The last two stations I passed were ‘GW’ and ‘C2’.

It can’t be a real name. It must be a password or something that works among the Outlaws.

This means that this neighborhood is under the control of the outlaw.

“The city is misshapen.

Kim looked up at the ceiling.

On the ground. It’s easy to imagine streets with people and patrolling drones roaming around.

But the underground was just as dangerous outside of MetroCity.

“That asshole, the lieutenant, has a way of making people feel bad. I should have known better…….”

“Maybe it’s not the captain’s call, maybe it’s not… what company did this come down from, Procast? Maybe they’re just trying to get in bed with the Outlaws and supply them.”

“Now, what does that mean?”

“Haven’t you heard? They’ve been making a lot of noise lately about companies screwing around with Outlaw. It’s something they’ve been doing for a long time, but now the word’s out, and it’s getting out of hand.”

“What kind of assholes…….”

The two bound bounty hunters whimpered. Taken prisoner, they were thrown into a tent. No one was allowed inside to keep watch.

Outside, I could hear the muffled sounds of horses. They didn’t seem to be in a hurry. They had apparently just finished unloading the Chapter’s cargo.

“Do you think we can… live?”

Her voice quivered with embarrassment. His eyes shot to Kim’s, as if he were hanging on for dear life.

“Did you ask me?”

“What, you don’t have anything in mind? You were going to shoot the asshole, but you didn’t. You have a plan to get away, don’t you?”

“I just didn’t want to die right away.”

Kim shrugged it off and thought to herself, Is this guy an idiot? He could be outside listening in under the guise of neglect.

“Was I like that in Tulavia?

It’s a shameful memory. The days of squirming and throwing up on three speeders. It hadn’t even been a month and it felt like a long time ago.

“…Damn. Do they need prisoners?”

“I don’t know.”

They didn’t seem to value their prisoners, at least in Kim’s estimation. If they did, they would have tried to control them more tightly.

“Generally speaking, what he just said is probably right.

The deal with the outlaw. The drivers who weren’t trapped were in on it. Only these three were unlucky to be caught in the middle.

When the deal is done, the captain returns to the station and gives a false report to the station staff. The ship is attacked by a horde of monsters and the Chapter is lost. The bounty hunter is nowhere to be found…….

There’s no reason to send out a search party for a bunch of independent bounty hunters doing nothing. The case will be buried without even being publicized.

“If this were a normal transaction, yes.

I have a strong premonition: this will not be the end of the Outlaws. “They” aren’t that friendly.

Kim fidgeted with his hands, trying not to show it. The Glitch Knife had been in his hand for a while.

“That’s kind of scary.

It’s a scene we’ve seen a lot in our creations. Cutting the rope with a hidden knife.

When I tried it myself, I was hesitant to push harder. I was afraid of cutting myself.

I cut the knot halfway through, just in case, so that when the time comes, I can untie it with force.

Minutes passed. The entrance to the tent swung open.

“Crawl out, scum.”

Outlaw, his face half obscured by a mask, instructed, a small crossbow attached to his wrist.

No firearms were found. At least not to every Outlaw in the group.

It was not reassuring. There’s always the possibility that he could have hidden it. Besides, crossbows are dangerous enough for humans.

Kim obeyed without question. Carefully, he picked himself up and walked out of the tent. The other two reluctantly followed.

“Ah, there you are, bored waiting, weren’t you?”

In the center of the stronghold, a woman, Outlaw, leaning on a crate, waved. Across from her stood the captain.

Their gazes met for a moment, then broke apart. The captain’s expressionless face was hard to read.

“On your knees, assholes!”

Get it!

The Outlaws kicked their captive in the gut. Kim rolled her eyes quickly as she crouched down.

As it turns out, there are a total of 14 outlaws in the base. Not a lot, but not a lot either. If that’s all there is, it’s not a large group.

“Okay, friends. Listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you.”

The female Outlaw glanced at the three of them and spoke. Apparently, she was the boss of this place.

“You’ve been disposed of, you had your options, you usually get ransomed, but you’re, um…….”

You roll your eyes in pity.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a business. It’s not easy for us to negotiate with the guys on the ground. From the sounds of it, none of us want to struggle for a penny.”

Outlaw took the crossbow from his companion. Then he nocked an arrow to the protest.

“So this is what happened.”

“Heh, heh!”

The young man twisted and turned in confusion, then fell forward. He lifted his head and looked up at Outlaw, pleading.

“Oh, God, help me. Money! Is money a problem? I have savings, not much, but… well, yeah. I can borrow a thousand!”

“Is that underground or above ground?”

The young man didn’t answer, only gaped. He needs to go to the surface to get the money, but Outlaws are not allowed to go in or out of the surface.

“Look. There’s no reason to let go, is there?”

“such…….”

“Well, look on the bright side. You guys should have been dead a long time ago. I didn’t touch him because he said he’d take care of it.”

Outlaw squinted at the captain and clicked his tongue.

“And by that, you mean we’re going to use you as laborers, damn it. Why do we have to train two scumbags when our lives are on the line?”

Narrowed eyes turned to Kim.

“You seem like a nice enough guy, and that’s what makes you annoying, you never know when or how you’re going to get stabbed in the back, so I’m sorry, but I’m going to get rid of the Chapter.”

The Outlaw stood in a shooting stance, as if aiming for prey. A sharp arrowhead pointed straight ahead. Kim’s throat cleared.

“Haha, I’m an asshole, I’ve come this far and never begged for my life, but my advice is, sometimes you have to get ugly.”

Go, go, go!

Kim’s heart began to race.

After falling into the Polaris out of nowhere, I experienced a sensation I’ve experienced many times before. My senses were out of balance and only the necessary parts stood out.

“Save the lesson for another life.”

This time, my hearing is exceptionally sensitive. His own breathing and that of others. The words of Outlaws watching from afar. Footsteps moving about, and-.

Bam!

An arrow lodged in Outlaw’s forehead. His body fell backward, still holding the crossbow. Blood trickled from the piercing.

“Sheesh, sheesh!”

“Where did it come from… Argh!”

It wasn’t just one shot. Three arrows, flying stealthily, each lodged in three quicksand.

‘There you are.

The Lotus Company, a private military contractor (PMC). One of the three largest of the various armed groups operating in Kilikia.

The tattoo on the captain’s wrist was the symbol of the Lotus Company’s “Whitefang” platoon.