Chapter 16

Once the standoff ended, the railcar resumed its journey. Though less than ten minutes had passed, much had changed since before.

"What do you plan to do with us! Hey, you can't—"

Smack!

The young man was thrown across the cargo compartment.

Though it was just a punch, he couldn't regain his balance due to the ropes tightly binding his arms.

Soon, a cold sensation touched his forehead. The tip of a nail gun lightly pressed into his brow, drawing a drop of blood.

"Ugh, aah! Stop. Please, stop!"

"Quit whining and shut up! If you keep screaming, I'll shoot you right here."

"O-okay… Mm. Mmpph!"

The young man bit down hard to endure the pain. His gasping breaths replaced his screams.

The other bounty hunter also fell silent, cowed by the outlaw's violent display.

"That's better. Damn animals, why do you only listen after a beating?"

Satisfied, the outlaw sat comfortably in the cargo compartment.

She looked to be in her thirties, with part of her face marred by burn scars.

She was the only outlaw who had boarded the cargo compartment. The others flanked the railcar, walking along the underground passage.

They were clearly keeping guard.

'It seems like they've colluded with the team leader, but there's not much trust between them.'

Kim Ihyeon, too, had his nail gun taken and his wrists bound.

The bounty hunters were in no position to resist, yet the outlaws maintained their formation.

The outlaws' primary concern now seemed to be the team leader. Though it was too early to be certain, it was likely that the team leader wasn't fully in league with them.

Considering the tattoo on the team leader's wrist, Kim Ihyeon could make some guesses about the situation.

"At least this guy seems decent."

The female outlaw glanced at Kim Ihyeon with a grin. His thoughts, which had been deeply buried, resurfaced in an instant.

"Your head's spinning, isn't it? You did well earlier. So, how long have you been in the underground?"

"…Today's my first day."

"First day? Really?"

Kim Ihyeon answered with silence. The outlaw's eyes widened before she burst into laughter.

"Haha! What an unlucky bastard. I don't know what you did outside, but you must've been confident. Feels like a rough start, doesn't it?"

It did indeed feel like an unfortunate start.

Originally, Kim Ihyeon planned to gradually build his record. To get accustomed to the underground and accurately grasp Kilicia's current situation.

The downfall of Kilicia begins not above but below ground.

The slowly approaching main episodes 1 and 2.

Kilicia isn't the main stage. In the main episode, the player, as the professor, never visits Kilicia.

The general outline is as follows:

The professor and his party return to the Selvrogix Lab thanks to Ghost's sacrifice. Through Kushan, they learn about the Legion, the organization to which Shadow belonged.

Kushan, the research director, gathers information on the Legion and dispatches agents to the nation of Flauria.

They manage to fend off the Legion's offensive, but a few days later, they receive devastating news.

The sudden collapse of Kilicia. Essentially, they had been distracted by a diversion.

'The real target is here. I'll leave Flauria to the professor and handle things here myself.'

The immediate problem was the lack of information.

'I remember the progression, but timing is the tricky part.'

The collapse of Kilicia isn't detailed in the main episode. It's covered in the side story of a particular agent.

The key is knowing when that story begins. Aligning with the 'flow' of the scenario was the top priority.

Thus, he planned to use the two weeks' grace that Roscoe had provided to refine his plan.

'I didn't expect this on the first day.'

But it was too early to deem it sheer misfortune. On the contrary, Kim Ihyeon even felt this might be a precious opportunity.

If his hunch was correct.

This could be a valuable chance.

'For now, I'll wait.'

The moment another anomaly occurred, that would be Kim Ihyeon's time to act.

* * *

'Two hours, no, maybe three have passed?'

It was hard to gauge the passage of time underground. He couldn't check his watch, so he had to estimate internally.

The vehicle had been stationary for over half an hour. They had stopped in a wide underground passage, surrounded by military tents that appeared to be the outlaws' base.

This clearly wasn't the original destination. Kim Ihyeon tried to recall the route they had taken but to no avail.

'It's too complex to remember every turn. Besides Metrocity, none of the stations are distinct.'

Furthermore, the platform names had been thoroughly covered with spray paint. The two most recent stations had been marked 'GW' and 'C2'.

These couldn't be official names. Likely codes among the outlaws.

This meant the area was under outlaw control.

'What a twisted city.'

Kim Ihyeon looked up at the ceiling.

The surface. It wasn't hard to imagine people and patrol drones moving around the streets.

But beyond Metrocity, the underground was fraught with danger.

"Damn that team leader. Something felt off about him. I should've known earlier…"

"The team leader might not be acting alone. Which company issued this job again? Procast? They might be supplying the outlaws with resources."

"Supplying? What are you talking about?"

"Haven't you heard? There's been a lot of noise about companies colluding with outlaws. It's been whispered about for years, but now the rumors are spreading. They're crossing the line more and more."

"Damn those bastards…"

The two bound bounty hunters whispered among themselves. They had been dragged into a tent and were now left unattended.

Voices could be heard outside. It didn't seem particularly busy. They must have finished unloading the cargo from the compartment.

"Do you think we'll survive?"

A trembling, pitiful voice. The eyes that sought reassurance turned to Kim Ihyeon.

"Are you asking me?"

"Do you have a plan? You were going to shoot the team leader earlier. But you didn't. Do you have a plan to escape? Right?"

"I just didn't want to die immediately."

Kim Ihyeon replied evasively while thinking inwardly. Is this guy an idiot? They might be listening in from outside while pretending to leave them unattended.

'Was I like this in Tulabia?'

It was a shameful memory. A time when he was struggling against three Spiders and almost vomiting. It felt like ages ago, though it had only been a month.

"…Damn. Do they need prisoners?"

"I don't know."

Kim Ihyeon assessed that the outlaws didn't value prisoners highly. If they did, they'd ensure stricter control.

'Ordinarily, what he said makes sense.'

Companies trading with outlaws. The driver who wasn't captured was likely an accomplice. Only these three were unlucky enough to get caught.

After the trade, the team leader would return and give a false report to the station worker. Claiming the cargo was lost to a monster attack, and the other bounty hunters went missing…

There'd be no reason to send a search party for a few freelance bounty hunters. The incident would be quietly buried.

'If it were an ordinary deal, that is.'

A strong premonition struck. This wouldn't end with simply fattening the outlaws. 'They' wouldn't let things go that easily.

Kim Ihyeon discreetly wriggled his hands. He had been holding the [Glitchknife] for some time now.

'This is scarier than I thought.'

He had seen this scene many times in fiction. Cutting ropes with a hidden knife.

But doing it himself, he hesitated to apply force, fearing he might cut himself.

He had cut through the knots halfway, just enough to break free with some effort when the time came.

After a few minutes, the tent flap was abruptly thrown open.

"Get out, trash."

An outlaw with half his face masked ordered. A small crossbow was attached to his wrist.

No guns were seen. At least, not all outlaws were armed with them.

It wasn't a relief. There could be hidden weapons. Moreover, the crossbow was still a deadly threat.

Kim Ihyeon followed the orders without complaint. He rose cautiously and stepped out of the tent. The other two reluctantly followed.

"Oh, you're here. Must've been boring waiting, right?"

At the center of the base, the female outlaw from before waved from atop a wooden crate. The team leader stood opposite her.

Their eyes briefly met before breaking away. The team leader's expressionless face was hard to read.

"Kneel, you bastards!"

Thud!

Outlaws kicked the prisoners' knees. Kim Ihyeon knelt while quickly glancing around.

He counted fourteen outlaws in the base. Not a small number, but not overwhelming either. If this was all of them, it wasn't a large group.

"Alright, listen up, friends."

The female outlaw scanned the three before speaking. She seemed to be the leader here.

"Your fate's been decided. There were various options. Usually, we'd ransom you, but you…"

She frowned sympathetically.

"I don't see any value in you. Negotiating with the surface isn't easy for us. It seems no one here wants to go through the trouble for a bit of cash."

The outlaw received a crossbow from a subordinate and loaded a bolt.

"So, here we are."

"Aah, no!"

The young man writhed in panic and fell forward. He raised his

head to plead with the outlaw.

"Please, don't kill me. Is it money? I have savings. Not much, but… Yeah, I can get a loan. I can raise a thousand!"

"From underground or the surface?"

The young man's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. He'd need to go above ground for the money, but outlaws couldn't go there.

"See? No reason to let you go."

"No…"

"Look on the bright side. You should've been dead already. This guy said he'd handle it, so we didn't touch you."

The outlaw glanced at the team leader and clicked her tongue.

"And what does he suggest? Using you as workers? Ridiculous. Life's hard enough without taking in two pieces of trash."

Her narrow eyes turned to Kim Ihyeon.

"You seem useful. That's why you're a problem. You never know when you'll turn on us. Sorry, but I need to eliminate the threat."

The outlaw took aim like a hunter. The sharp arrowhead was clearly visible. Kim Ihyeon's throat moved in a gulp.

"Haha. Bold move. Not begging for your life even now. But sometimes, you need to get dirty."

Thump, thump!

Kim Ihyeon's heart raced.

Since falling into Polaris, he had experienced this feeling several times. His senses dulled, leaving only what was necessary.

"Take this lesson to heart in your next life."

This time, his hearing sharpened. He caught his own and others' breaths. The distant whispers of outlaws. Footsteps, and then—

Thwack!

An arrow pierced the outlaw's forehead. She fell back, crossbow still aimed. Blood trickled from the wound.

"Shes! What's happening… Aah!"

It wasn't a single shot. Three more arrows struck critical points on three outlaws.

'They came, as expected.'

The Private Military Company (PMC) Lotus Company. One of the top three military forces in Kilicia.

The tattoo on the team leader's wrist was the symbol of Lotus Company's 'White Fang' squad.