Chapter 105

Chirp, chirp.
The dexterity of attaching a silencer to a pistol is natural, and Ekidna is actually quite skilled with firearms.
Even if you’re a powerhouse, spells aren’t everything.
She possesses a spell that allows her to shape-shift metal. This may seem like a ridiculous amount of power, but of course there are limitations.
Cannot be used on creatures. The mass of the target increases the health cost. It can be useful for assassination, but is rarely used outside of thought.
My physical abilities are not exceptional. Better than most, but that’s about it. It’s more efficient to pull the trigger when it’s time to wield a spell-crafted blade.
“It’s not like he’s a combat-oriented character in the first place.
A location in the game that sometimes conflicts with and sometimes cooperates with the Rap, appearing as a friendly unit in some stages and as an enemy in others.
She’s the type of commander who runs on her feet.
“It’s like half me and half the professor.
In-game performance doesn’t rate too badly either.
A support class that grants buffs to nearby allies.
It’s an ambiguous position, of course, as he’s outclassed by the professor in terms of command and not as strong as an elite agent, but you can’t ignore the business and political savvy he’s honed as a mafia boss.
“What are you looking at?”
“It’s nothing. What else can I do?”
“Um, yeah.”
She even wears body armor. I thought it didn’t match her Chapter look, but when she tied her hair up in the back, it became quite a picture.
I wouldn’t say it still looks good.
“It’s a lot of hassle to break an organization.”
She said as she continued to check the equipment.
“Unless it’s a very small faction, all the members don’t live in a single stronghold. Assassination, yes, is a valid tool, but taking out the leader doesn’t break up the organization.”
Someone else will follow. That’s why Mithril was watching Darun in Atlanta, not killing him.
“Well, if the successor sucks, you’re screwed. Businesses fail, infighting happens, but it takes time for the organization to tilt. Maybe the organization will be empowered by someone more capable.”
“So?”
“Wipe out all the bases at once, which would be ideal, but…. We’re not that overpopulated either. If we were, we’d have eaten the city long ago, wouldn’t we?”
Ironclad.
Ekidna pulled the slide of her automatic pistol.
“The effective way is to hit the place of business.”
The Riccardos are in the “business” after all. It’s all about drugs. If you cut off the flow of money, you naturally weaken your influence and lose the loyalty of your members.
“I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think it’s knowledge I can use anywhere.”
“I don’t think so. There’s mafia everywhere, just with different names. I usually avoid them, but that’s because they’re powerless. If they bother you, you get down. Isn’t that right?”
It’s a murderous mentality.
Inwardly, Kim was fed up, but he thought he had a point. If you wander around, you’ll soon get involved with a criminal organization again.
“……Anyway. Can I just follow you?”
“No.”
The unholy Echidna glared at him with a stern glare.
“To be honest, I don’t fully trust you yet. No matter how good you are, it doesn’t matter if you have a gun to my head.”
In fact, she was still wary of him.
It has always been this way. He speaks only to himself, always has an attendant nearby, and keeps the metal to cast his spells tucked away in his arm, ready to respond should he ever show his true colors.
It wasn’t a hard pill to swallow. Rather, it was a natural distrust. Kim is still an unidentified stranger. Even his name is a pseudonym.
A trigger was needed to quell the distrust.
“You’re going to have to deliver on this one.”
“I thought I was supposed to leave it out.”
“You can’t mess with talent, so I’ll give you two.”
Ekidna ripped a piece of paper from the table. She scribbled on it and handed it to Kim. The paper had the address of a building.
“That’s one of the Ricardo family’s places I just told you about. Sweep it up.”
Kim stared at his notes in silence for a moment. Then he spoke up.
“Two big ones.”
“Huh?”
“I should get paid for doing a bad job.”
Ekidna’s face frowned as if she had chewed on a worm.
“You’re so… different.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could give me a definitive answer. Do you give or do you take?”
“Okay, now go!”
* * *
8:55 PM.
The streets of Timorta, Old Chalk.
A nondescript bongo car has stopped on the side of the road. You can see the inside through the untinted windows. There are three people inside. Their faces are covered with cloth, revealing only the corners of their eyes.
It was a common attire in Timor-Leste. At first, outsiders find it annoying, but after a few days, they realize the dangers of showing their faces. They realize the dangers of showing their faces.
I didn’t have to do much to disguise myself. The three of them were chatting in an incredibly relaxed manner, as if they were choosing a menu for a meal.
“There it is. Hotel Parachai.”
“It’s a hotel, right?”
A five-story property. It was not what I expected.
The note said it was a hotel, but I expected it to have an illegal vibe. When I got there, it was a very normal building.
“Looks like a legitimate business.”
“No, it’s not, because this is a tight-knit family. The guy next door is a courier, his wife is a farm worker, and his son is a broker. It’s a neighborhood that doesn’t go without drugs.”
“Gee, what do they do over there?”
“What do you know, a room with a bed, luxurious for a junkie’s den, managed by the Ricardo family themselves, instant quote. There’s a lot of money in Timorta.”
“I don’t need to hear any more.”
It was a city that was full of myths and legends.
Beep, beep, beep.
At that point, an electron sound leaked out of the receiver.
It meant the fight had begun in earnest. Ekidna would be leading a large contingent of her organization into a larger building than this one. Antonio was in charge of another base.
The three battles will be fought simultaneously.
The possibility that the Ricardo family, or another organization, could hit Nuova Era’s operations. It wasn’t a concern for Kim.
Behind the wheel, Lium spoke up.
“That’s a signal, what do you want to do?”
“Well, whatever.”
You can’t be a wolf. It’s not good if the timing is too off on this side.
“We’re in.”
“……Yes.”
Pooka, the most talkative member of the group, replied nervously. He suspected the three of them were a derelict, a decoy to distract the enemy.
That’s right.
It’s only three of us. That’s not enough to take down a hotel. On top of that, Pooka himself and Lium have made mistakes recently.
“I’ve heard he’s a troublemaker.
Pooka glanced at Kim, or rather, Karajam. A rookie who was the talk of the Chapter, even within the organization. Rumor had it that she had a great mind, but a terrible attitude.
The new boss may have gotten under his skin, but he’s in the same boat as you. If you don’t want to be left behind, you have to prove yourself useful somehow.
“Let’s get out.”
He wiped the sweat from his palms on a cloth. Then he opened the door to the bongo.
“Not yet.”
“What? I thought you said you were rushing in.”
“Uh, I will, but don’t get off yet.”
“What’s that…….”
A questioning gaze turned to Karazam.
“It’s for VIP pampering,” he said, “not for regular guests.”
“Oh well. He’s famous around here.”
“Our purpose is to ruin businesses.”
“Right.”
“Then I guess I can just walk out.”
He blurted out.
“Hit the car.”
* * *
─Quack!
With a thunderous crash, the bongo shattered the glass door. Shattering fragments struck the body of the car. The windshield shattered, and debris rained down on the car’s interior.
The car skidded into the lobby and slammed into a desk. Smoke rose from the dented bonnet. The inflated airbag held a shard of glass.
However, there were no shadows of people on the seats.
Zabak, Zagrak.
Stepping over scattered debris, three people entered the hotel.
Puka swallowed dryly, holding the rifle with both hands. Despite his nervousness, he couldn’t help but notice Karazam’s quick steps in front of him.
‘It’s not a great idea, but…….’
It was rather simple. Crash the car by holding the pedal down. Or even worse, create confusion and panic from the start.
It’s a plan anyone can come up with. However, it’s not always easy to follow through with the idea. My heart raced, wondering if something would go wrong with Pooka.
But Karajam seemed very nonchalant.
“What the hell were you doing out there?
The movement is strangely light. The way he holds the rifle is natural. There was no fear or hesitation in his steps.
Karajam said, scanning the lobby.
“It’s too quiet.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Quiet. Don’t stare.”
He patted his pooka, which was obviously unfocused, and glanced around again. The room was partially lit. Darkness where the crash had been, light where it hadn’t.
No casualties are identified. There are no people in the first place.
“Shouldn’t he have a bodyguard?”
“Maybe they sent people somewhere else.”
Rium had a point. The raid itself would have been predictable, if not the exact timeline. It’s not unlikely that they would have massed troops to defend key points.
“Well, are you coming back as is?”
“It’s killing me, but it doesn’t mean anything.”
I’m tired of sitting in an empty office. The goal of destroying the business was easy to accomplish. It wasn’t something I would enjoy eating raw.
“It’s a bit of a stretch to claim credit at this point.
Ekidna’s demands of Karazam are a little different than the attack on Ricardo’s family. It’s more about the situation itself, about risking your life for the organization.
Pooka and Litecoin were in a similar situation.
“Wouldn’t it be better to join another point now?”
“I guess that’s better than going home empty-handed…….”
Karazam stared up at the ceiling, his tail between his legs. As expected of an illegal building, there was no CCTV. But there was no guarantee that there were no prying eyes.
“If it’s really empty.”
* * *
Ding!
The elevator doors were about to open when I heard the beep.
Bang, bang!
Bullets rained down from the hallway. From behind the flimsy cover they had erected, the gang members opened fire. Smoke leaked through the cracks as lead bullets pounded the elevator.
“It’s a smoke screen. Keep shooting, don’t stop!”
“Capo,” shouted Veldes, leading one of the Ricardo Family’s crews. On cue, the gang members opened fire nonstop. Dozens of rounds later, the door was fully open.
Smoke filled the elevator and spread into the hallway. It’s not enough to cover the entire floor. Soon, we could see the inside of the elevator.
The plane is riddled with bullet holes. The passenger should have been honeycombed with bullets, unless he was extremely unlucky.
But the passenger wasn’t visible in the first place.
“……No one.”
There’s nothing but an unopened smokestack lying around. Veldes clucks his tongue: he’d pressed the button to activate the elevator, but apparently he’d only sent the smoke bomb up to see what was going on.
The door closed automatically when no one interacted with it.
‘Of course they heard gunshots. Let’s hope it was a threat.
There are VIPs in the room who were not evacuated.
They’re hedonists who brazenly come in the midst of an uprising, even if it’s a thrill of sorts.
“Even if they’re assholes, they’re still customers.
As soon as I spotted the suspicious vehicle, I quickly cleared the lobby. I never thought they’d run him over. There were no sane people in Banzar.
As Veldes flew away, the numbers on the dashboard climbed higher and higher. It was no big deal; it was natural if he had been pressing high all along.
He hadn’t noticed.
Ding!
The elevator arrives at the 5th floor.
Unlike a moment ago, no bullets flew. Once it was safe, a shadow fell from the elevator’s ceiling.
“Oops.”
With a thud, Kim hit the floor. He looked up. The ceiling had been ripped open, revealing an LED light fixture.
One person could fit on it.
“You’re careless.”
I had a plan in case I got caught. I’d even simulated jumping and tying myself up in my head. I never thought it would be this simple.
“Well, it’s better than nothing.
The [Ivory] was placed in Kim’s hand from nothing. He pulled a silencer out of his pocket and put it on, never firing the rifle he was issued.
Given the possibility of a malfunctioning gun, this was the obvious choice.
“Let’s go then.”