Plan B

*Ring!*

Ravyn rang the doorbell of an apartment room somewhere in Themeise.

"Not Available!"

A muffled male voice came out of the room through the door.

"Is this Zen’s room?"

"…"

The room owner ignored Ravyn’s question, but the girl tried again by informing him where she was from.

"I’m from AB Assistant Intel, your colleague."

"Hello there!"

Zen shouted back to greet Ravyn, standing outside.

…Hello there? He said that while the front door is still completely closed, huh?...

Ravyn was confused by this man’s actions but asked him anyway.

"Can we talk for a moment?"

"I’m playing video games right now."

…Did I hear something wrong?...

"Yu said you could help us."

"I'm busy!"

######

In the middle of a gang battle zone in the city…

"I will summon reinforcements from the nearby police station."

The police chief told Idorund, who was hiding behind a long table beside him.

*huff* *huff*

Idorund panted lightly before he replied.

"No, I and my team can handle this."

"Don't get too cocky. You just fought a Donkey’s executive."

Idorund ignored the words of the new cop director. He placed his hand over his AB cannon barrel and fluently drew something on its surface with his fingers. And suddenly, a system synthesized voice notifies Idorund of a change in the Airtech’s status in his in-ear communicator.

["Activating Arrest Mode"]

The cover surface of the pillar-like cannon was slid inward, revealing intricate internal pipes and glowing green mechanics. The cannon he was carrying was expanded and had 3 muzzles along with the air screeching noise.

*Hwhooh* *whooh!* *whooh!*…

["Arrest mode preparation is completed. Stability rate of 99.82%, Takedown Ammo available: 300 "]

When the ready signal of the cannon was over, Idorund left his cover table. He shot all the criminals nearby in the blink of an eye.

*whoosh!!* *whoosh!!*

The wind bullets that were spun by special technique surrounded and sealed the criminals’ entire movements like a whirlwind cage. And that whirlwind spun them around until they were completely passed out.

"Not so bad"

The police chief praises the Airburst. But then the AB cannon changed back to its original state right after that.

"Our location has been exposed. But what you did after showing off your flashy toy was to switch its form back. How could you fool around at such a critical moment?!"

He angrily told Idorund.

"You can go wait for me at another battle zone. It will be over soon here."

Idorund dashed with his cannon as an accelerator to another area in the gang’s mansion to defuse the situation between Donkey and the local gang members here.

*voomp!*

He drew a code on AB cannon, switched modes, and then used his takedown ammo to arrest his targets within his range again.

*whoosh!!*

And then switch modes back and forth to move and arrest all the criminals in this mansion with proficiency.

*voomp!* *whoosh!!* *whoosh!!* *voomp!*…

Even the director of Themeise police, who doesn’t like Airburst, was amazed at his talent.

…Awesome...No, it’s not time for me to admire things like this…

*bzzz* "Pull back, we’re going to the rendezvous point in District 57. I repeat, pull back." *bzzz*

He told his subordinates to retreat from this area by walkie-talkie. In just a few minutes after the attack squad and surrounding officers left, the situation here was resolved, followed by a notification sound.

["163 Takedown Ammos left"]

Idorund swept his eyes across the Donkey’s and its rival’s troops on the ground and touched his communicator in his ear.

"Miscellaneous Department, has the prisoner truck ordered by the superintendent arrived yet?"

######

In a dark room, a hacker’s hideout somewhere in Themeise…

*clack* *clack* *clack*… *click*

A girl’s fingers were typing on the keyboard with terrifying speed as she taunted those who were looking for her incessantly. But she won’t forget to glance and enjoy the chaos she created.

"No, poor Airburst, hurry up, or the innocents might be caught in the crossfire of those thugs."

Leila, a young hacker dressed in a white T-shirt and shorts, is spying on the outside world using one of the AB satellite cameras she just hacked.

"So are you, stupid donkeys. How could you guys deceive me? I hope you guys like the new gift I sent you."

She mumbled.

*clack* *clack* *clack*…

######

In the AB Intel room...

"You spent half an hour talking to him. But he didn’t even open the door and chase you away. How rude of him."

Kanji, who was seated next to Ravyn and Yu in the cafe, sipped his coffee in frustration at the meanness of Zen. Ravyn was also not happy about that. But, unable to deal with his irritating demeanor, she reluctantly returned back to the office.

"So what are you guys saying?"

Ravyn asked Kanji and Yu. Kanji then turned to Yu and asked her with doubt why she brought up Zen's name in the first place.

"That guy started working as an AB Intel at the same time as Ravyn. Plus, he never came here, so he might be using his potato computer for his work. Wouldn’t it be faster to find a way to contact Mr. Charles?"

"Zen’s last month's assessment shows that he assisted in clearing more missions than I did. And he’s also an expert on security.~ For Mr. Charles, he is still in a meeting with the Headquarters, so there’s no way we can contact him until tomorrow."

What Yu said made Kanji, who’s free right now, want to lend them a hand.

"*Sigh* It can't be helped. This Big Bro Kanji will go talk to that Zen guy for you."

######

Shortly thereafter, in Zen’s room…

"…There will be many lives that we can save if Mr. Zen would JOIN. HANDS. WITH. US."

Kanji gritted his teeth and spoke professionally as he tried to not be vexed by Zen’s carefree attitude.

"Well said, I almost fell for that. But the Magic Prince is also waiting for me to rescue him from this labyrinth."

The young owner of this apartment room spoke as he focused on his in-game character in the labyrinth Despite Kanji's being able to get Zen to open the door, none of his other persuasions could draw this man's attention from his computer screen. Everyone knew that this mission could not wait for Zen to finish his in-game events that take days to complete. But going back and trying the same way will surely get the same results. Kanji clenched his fist in response to Zen's indifferent reaction to this important mission that had affected so many people. Ravyn, who had been sitting this whole time, decided to walk up to Zen. The purple-haired girl turned his chair towards her and placed her foot on the computer table.

"What the heck are you doing?"

Zen was shocked by that sudden interruption. Ravyn ignored his reaction, gazed down under Zen’s desk, and found that two more computers were processing information lying on the floor.

…This guy... He has not only been playing but also working this whole time…

Ravyn leaned closer to her arrogant colleague. He had a feminine face and wavy, raven hair that extended slightly beyond his eyebrows. The girl looked straight at Zen, and the two of them met their eyes.

"Sorry to interrupt your work. But let’s play the game. If I win, you’ll have to help me clear this mission."

"Huh, bring it on."

Zen accepts the challenge.