Chapter 1465 – Dark Moon
I sat across from Rose in the X Manpower Office.
“I looked into what you asked. It’s all true. They’re called the Prong Gang, right? A cyborg gang operating on the northern roads of Neo London.”
“For a mere gang to control the northern roads of Neo London and openly commit robbery. Are the London Guards just eating taxes with their asses?”
“That’s already common knowledge. These guys are operating quite cleverly. They usually hide and only appear to rob easy targets. The London Guard went to take them down, but… they couldn’t even find their hideout. And surprisingly, the gang’s level is high. There’s a rumor that a knight will step in to subdue them.”
“So, even if I don’t step in, the gang will be taken care of?”
“If the gang doesn’t run away… I guess so? But your situation isn’t that simple, is it?”
“……”
Lana Gomez’s subjugation of the Prong Gang is more of a secondary objective. Her primary objective is to recover the item her daughter had stolen by the Prong Gang.
Will the London Guard return the items they obtain after subduing the gang to the citizens? They’ll return some. The London Guard also needs to do some image-making. But most of the items will be declared destroyed in the battle and they’ll swallow them whole.
‘Originally, in these cases, it’s faster to pull some strings with the London Guard….’
It costs a considerable amount of money.
If you don’t have connections with the London Guard like Lana Gomez, it costs even more. I understand why Lana Gomez made those conditions.
“What about the other information I asked for?”
“You mean Mila Gomez.”
Lana Gomez’s daughter.
“She quit her clinic job ten years ago and worked as a fashion designer, then opened a clothing store three years ago. She’s a woman with a good sense. You could say she knows how to package herself well…?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that she’s being overvalued in the market compared to her assets and abilities.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? She’s not even working in this industry.”
“Well, yeah. Packaging is important in the clothing industry. But the problem is that Mila Gomez received a commission to make a party dress for Countess Freewood three months ago. Mila entrusted the production of her designed dress to a famous workshop in Divine France, and Countess Freewood’s party is less than two weeks away.”
“……It seems the item stolen by the Prong Gang is that dress. Mila must be sweating bullets.”
“It’s not just about the value of the dress, but also a matter of credibility. If she can’t recover the dress and provide it? That woman will have to face Countess Freewood’s wrath. Her career will be over, of course. She probably won’t have an easy life even if she leaves this city.”
After hearing all the information related to this matter, I fell into thought.
There was a bit of a discrepancy from the original story.
‘In the game, if you go to Lana Gomez, you can get information through a few interactions. One of them was that she was estranged from her daughter. Does that mean they’re not estranged yet? But why did they become estranged? Because of this incident? Lana Gomez makes a lot of money. It’s hard to believe they became estranged over money issues.’
Lana Gomez and Mila Gomez. The catalyst that severed the relationship between the mother and daughter. That bothered me a lot. The problem was that it hadn’t happened yet, so there was no way to confirm it clearly.
“What are you going to do? Are you going to accept Lana Gomez’s offer?”
“What’s your opinion?”
“My opinion isn’t important. You’re the one involved in this. You choose. If you refuse, I’ll introduce you to a decent repairer. They might not be as skilled as Lana Gomez, but…”
“For a mage, a mana rod is like a lifeline. I’d rather entrust it to a repairer with reliable skills.”
“Okay. Then, shall we make a plan?”
I looked at Rose with surprised eyes.
“You’re going to help? I only asked for information.”
“I need to put you in debt at times like this. Oh, of course, I’ll get paid. I’ll give you a discount compared to others. If you don’t need it, do it alone.”
“…I’ll gratefully accept your help.”
After making a plan, I immediately contacted Lana Gomez and told her that I would accept the deal.
•••
I borrowed a suitable car from Rose and headed to the northern roads outside of Neo London. Within London, carriages were the norm, but outside, it didn’t matter whether you rode a car or a horse.
Thump!
The car body shook violently as we drove on the unpaved road.
“Can’t you drive properly?”
The woman sitting in the passenger seat gave me a jab as if she had been waiting for it. A female ninja wearing a cyber suit and a fox mask on her face, Invisible Blade.
“It’s unavoidable since we’re driving through the wasteland.”
Her role is important in this mission. If she infiltrates the gang’s hideout and secures the dress, I’ll sweep away the gang with lightning magic from the front.
‘I didn’t expect the infiltration expert Rose would assign to be this woman.’
Rose’s intention was obvious.
She probably wants me and Invisible Blade to get along naturally while working together. Invisible Blade is also probably working because of Rose. There’s no way I could hire Invisible Blade with the 5 million credits I gave Rose.
‘Well… Rose doesn’t know what happened between me and Invisible Blade… so this could happen.’
If she knew what happened between me and Invisible Blade, she would have tried to keep us apart as much as possible.
“Slow down. We’re almost at the first point.”
“I know.”
The car stopped.
Invisible Blade and I immediately got out of the car and scouted the surroundings.
“Bingo.”
Invisible Blade said with a smirk. In the direction she was looking, there was the gang’s hideout. They had set up tents, installed generators, and built a base with fences around it.
“To find it right away at the first point. Lucky.”
“It’s not luck, it’s probably Rose’s ability that’s outstanding.”
“Can you not ruin the mood? Why do you overrate that woman so much?”
“I’m evaluating her objectively. Rose is one of the top brokers in Neo London. She’s capable and trustworthy.”
“A broker from Zone X? Are you two perhaps involved? Then it makes sense.”
I shook my head. Perhaps it was because we were about to start a mission, but Invisible Blade’s reaction was particularly prickly.
‘I’ve violated her twice… it’s understandable. She probably wants to kill me.’
I think it’s a blessing that she’s not pointing a sword at me.
[Telescope]
I enhanced my vision with magic and observed the hideout.
“There are a lot of cameras. There’s a generator in the center… is that antenna a jammer?”
“It’s a scrambler. It not only blocks radio waves but also makes you invisible to radar. It’s military-grade equipment, so it’s incredibly expensive…. They don’t seem like an ordinary gang.”
“I heard they’re a nomadic gang. They do a job in one place, then another…. How is it? Can you infiltrate?”
“I’m a ninja. Infiltration is my specialty.”
She said confidently.
I nodded. But I couldn’t completely let go of a hint of anxiety. I know how difficult infiltration missions are.
‘Usually, people say combat is harder….’
Infiltrating a place that is heavily guarded against intruders is harder than combat. If you get caught by mistake? Then you’re as good as dead.
‘It’s better if you just die.’
If you’re captured, torture is a basic option.
“There are a lot of surveillance cameras. Do you have a way to deal with the cameras?”
“The suit I’m wearing has a function similar to a scrambler.”
“Similar function?”
“It doesn’t get captured by surveillance cameras. It does get captured by film cameras, but… no one uses those these days.”
“…That suit. How many functions does it have?”
“It’s a secret. Shall we start right away?”
“Now? Isn’t night better?”
“What are you talking about? It’s obvious that there are fewer people now. The main force is out robbing. It’s better to move now.”
“…Indeed. Looking closely, there are fewer people. The problem is that we don’t know where the dress is. We have to find it after infiltrating. Is that okay?”
“Places where valuables are kept are all the same. If they know it’s not an ordinary item… they’ll have put it in a heavily guarded place. If they don’t know its value, they’ll have just put it in any warehouse.”
Invisible Blade walked forward. I handed her earplugs. She frowned when she received the earplugs.
“What’s this?”
“It’s enchanted with telepathy magic. Wear it on your ears. I’ll support you by watching the situation from here.”
“Hmph. Not bad. I don’t want anything else, just give me the information properly.”
She put on the earplugs and ran around the hideout. I wondered why she was going around, but it was to avoid the gaze of the patrolling gang members.
-I’ve infiltrated. Can you see?
“I can see. Is there a reason you infiltrated on the right wall?”
-It seemed like the weakest security here? Are there any guards nearby? In a place I can’t see?
“No.”
She moved. Her movements were very fast and stealthy. So stealthy that I even lost track of her position for a moment. She’s indeed a ninja.
‘To move so agilely with those big breasts… impressive.’
-I’ve arrived at the warehouse. There are a lot of refrigerators and junk? There are also clothes. Nothing looks expensive though. The refrigerators are… ha, damn it.
“What’s wrong?”
-They’re full of plastic-wrapped organs. These bastards are even making good use of people? I knew they smelled rich… they were the scum of the scum.
“……”
Those who have reached out to organ trafficking are those who have gone all the way.
‘There was a reason why they didn’t come into the city. No, I should say they couldn’t come in. These guys are too extreme. There’s no way the existing gangs would welcome those who destroy order, and if the London Guard knew about their behavior, they would try to subdue them with all their might.’
She left the warehouse and moved to another place.
“To your right. One person is approaching. It might be better to hide nearby for a moment.”
-Ah. This closet smells really awful. Your poop would smell better than this?
“Can’t you speak nicely? It’s a waste of your looks.”
-I am pretty. He’s gone. I’ll move. Do you see that white container over there?
“It’s hidden by the generator, so I can’t see it clearly.”
-There’s a guy sitting on a chair at the entrance, guarding the container. He’s covered half his body in machines…. There’s no way to bypass him. I have to break through head-on. They even put a door lock on the container entrance?
“A door lock? Can you hack it?”
-I can’t. But it doesn’t matter. I can just ask that guy.
