Chapter 221: Special Training (VII)
“Thunder’s condition is critical. I need to get him treated immediately. Sejuani, I’ll leave things here to you.”
After checking Lucian’s injuries, Ekko frowned at once. He raised a hand, green energy wrapping around Lucian’s entire body, then hoisted him onto his back. Before leaving, he gave a brief instruction.
“Mm.”
Sejuani simply nodded, then turned to look at the other two injured members.
“What happened to you?”
“Zed was too strong. The three of us couldn’t take him, and Heavenly Eye was lurking nearby, waiting for an opening…”
Mountain explained the situation to Sejuani.
“Tch… those PROJECT bastards.”
Sejuani’s eyes turned cold. She snorted and walked off in one direction, a plan already taking shape in her mind.
...
“Mibs, what exactly have you been doing these past few days?”
Biru slowly walked up to Mibs, looking down at him from above. One red mechanical eye gleamed ominously, sending an instinctive chill down the spine.
Mibs swallowed hard and took an involuntary half step back. The strange pressure coming from Biru made him deeply uncomfortable, and just standing close to him made his back feel cold.
“Are even the bosses of small gangs in this world this terrifying? Some fringe types with real reputations don’t even have this kind of presence…”
“Boss, I just ran into a few blind idiots, so I—”
Biru narrowed his eyes the moment Mibs spoke.
“Is that so…”
Hearing his tone soften, Mibs finally let out a breath of relief.
Then—
Bang!
A violent pain exploded in his chest. His throat filled with a metallic taste as the world around him suddenly rushed backward.
Crash!
His body slammed straight into the nearby bar counter, knocking bottles off the shelves in a cascade.
Mibs curled up on the floor in agony, feeling as if he’d been hit head-on by a speeding vehicle.
What kind of monster is this?!
Before he could react, a massive foot stepped into his field of vision. The next instant, his sight blurred as Biru grabbed him and lifted him up.
“Don’t think having a bit of brains means you can act however you want. You’d better be clear about whose territory this is.”
Biru slammed Mibs against the wall. The impact was so violent that Mibs spat out another mouthful of blood.
“I-it was PROJECT!”
Faced with the threat of death, Mibs blurted it out immediately.
The moment Biru heard that name, his body stiffened. A trace of panic flashed through his eyes—quickly hidden, but not before Mibs noticed it.
Seeing this, Mibs finally relaxed. He’d gambled right.
Biru tossed him back onto the floor, then sat down squarely in front of him.
“Talk. What’s going on?”
“Cough… cough…”
Mibs forced himself to breathe, then spoke.
“It was a PROJECT Corporation employee. He wanted me to help track down suspicious people who’ve appeared recently and kill them. If I succeeded, I’d be paid.”
Biru immediately frowned. Something about it felt deeply wrong, yet he didn’t dare take the risk. What if it was true? What if Mibs really had been chosen as a pawn?
If he killed him, he might end up becoming one of those pawns himself.
He had no desire whatsoever to get involved in the conflict between Gene Power and PROJECT. All he wanted was to survive as a rat caught in the middle…
“In that case, keep doing it. But…”
Biru stepped closer, squatted down, and patted Mibs on the face.
“I want ninety percent.”
“I-I understand. I’ll hand it over.”
Mibs nodded frantically. The assessment was already over anyway—he wouldn’t be staying here much longer. What was there to be afraid of?
Biru nodded, stood up, and left. As he went, he waved to signal a few underlings nearby to clean things up. Some of them looked at Mibs with open schadenfreude.
Mibs didn’t care much about them. They were just virtual characters, after all. Still…
“Tch… this feels way too damn real…”
...
By now, Ambir had blended into Gene Power’s forces as a logistics worker and had gained a rough understanding of what this place really was.
In simple terms, it was a resistance group opposing PROJECT’s rule, relying on a handful of powerful leaders to contend with PROJECT Corporation.
Most importantly, the freedom leader provided the resistance with crucial network protection, shielding them from detection by PROJECT’s netrunner units and intelligent AI.
When Ambir learned this from those around him, it was honestly jaw-dropping. A single netrunner standing against an entire corporation’s netrunners and AI—just thinking about it was absurd.
Of course, that wasn’t the full picture. Liberty was mainly responsible for maneuvering and concealment in cyberspace. As for head-on confrontation… he wasn’t that reckless.
“So as long as I hand this location over to PROJECT Corporation, that proves my loyalty, right?”
The thought made Ambir’s eyes light up as he began scanning his surroundings.
He already knew Gene Power had taken heavy losses this time. On top of that, communications about items purchased through black-market traders had been intercepted by PROJECT, resulting in a total loss.
With everything in chaos, this was the perfect time to make his escape.
...
While others were still struggling through the assessment, Roland and Lucy had already finished their treatment and were wandering around inside PROJECT Corporation.
As the corporation’s primary combat assets, they had extensive privileges and access to many restricted areas.
Before long, Roland and Lucy arrived at PROJECT Corporation’s exhibition hall, where a large number of items were on display.
Author's Note
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