Chapter 52: I Just Happened to Be Here

Amidst the thunderous echoes of gunfire and explosions in the distance, Karl sprinted through the alleyway, making his way toward the back of the convenience store.

He wasn't surprised to hear cannon fire.

Because the first explosion had already told him exactly what it was.

[Projectile Launch System]: A cybernetic implant that transforms the user's arm into a miniaturized artillery platform, allowing them to fire missiles or explosive rounds from their forearm.

Karl had considered buying one before—he had even spent half a day looking into it.

But in the end, he never went through with it.

Not because the cyberware itself was unaffordable—but because the ammo cost was insane.

Miniature grenade rounds and guided rockets weren't exactly easy to come by. And each shot was one-time use—fire once, and you had to pay again.

What kind of broke-ass mercenary could afford to fight like that?

Whoever these attackers were, they had money to burn.

But something about their tactics didn't make sense to Karl.

They'd happily fired rocket launchers at them earlier. Why not now?

Compared to the weak impact of cybernetic projectile systems, actual rockets could wipe out this three-story store in seconds.

Then he thought back—

Even during the first ambush, none of the rockets had directly targeted the car.

Were they trying to capture the target alive?

No.

Judging from how reckless their explosives had been, they didn't need the target in perfect condition.

They just needed them to be alive.

Karl's mind moved fast. His feet didn't.

He wasn't cyber-augmented like some other mercs.

No enhanced leg cyberware.

Just two human feet—which meant he still needed to breathe while running.

So, when Karl finally reached the back entrance of the convenience store—

He found it completely unguarded.

Weird.

Even if Arasaka's security had been forced to retreat in a hurry, even if they had no choice but to take shelter here, they were still professionals.

Leaving the rear entrance completely unguarded was a rookie mistake.

What the hell were they thinking?

Did they really believe the attackers and Maelstrom wouldn't think to circle around and hit them from behind?

Karl stepped inside—

And found his answer.

The target was wounded.

And badly enough that they couldn't move.

As soon as Karl entered, the Arasaka guards flinched.

One of them almost shot him on instinct—

But then Karl raised his hands, and they recognized him.

"You're the mercenary we hired?"

They had all seen Karl in action earlier.

Of course, they remembered him.

"Mercenary?"

A soft voice spoke.

Karl's gaze shifted—

And for the first time, he laid eyes on the target.

A young woman, around Karl's age.

She was slim, draped in a sakura-colored kimono.

Her long, silky black hair flowed down to her back.

Her face was pretty—

But not as striking as her eyes.

Deep, dark irises.

Like a starry night sky.

Karl found himself briefly mesmerized.

Are those cybernetic?

That was his first thought.

But then he noticed—

Her wound.

Her hands were clutching her abdomen, pressing down hard on a gunshot wound that was bleeding out fast.

The soft pink of her kimono was already soaked with crimson.

That color contrast—

It almost looked beautiful.

Like a blood-stained cherry blossom.

"Did she get shot while dodging?"

Karl narrowed his eyes.

"Why hasn't anyone treated her yet?"

He didn't understand.

The Arasaka guards were standing around—tense, anxious—but none of them were helping her.

Did they seriously not realize?

If this kept up, the target would bleed out like some 18th-century American president who got bled to death by doctors.

One of the Arasaka security hesitated—

"We..."

One of the Arasaka security personnel looked visibly nervous.

He tried to maintain his composure—

But then he uttered something so absurd that Karl almost thought the guy was mentally ill.

"We can't touch the lady. If we lay a hand on her, our families will suffer."

Then, with deep guilt, he turned to look at the young woman they were supposed to protect.

"If I fail in my duty, the only one who dies is me."

"What kind of feudal bullshit is this?"

Karl was dumbfounded.

Arasaka was supposed to be a capitalist corporation.

Since when did they start acting like medieval aristocrats?

"This was my great-grandfather's decree. Don't blame them. They cannot go against his will."

The woman's voice was soft yet composed.

Despite her pale complexion—a result of severe blood loss—she maintained a graceful, noble demeanor as she looked at Karl.

"I was careless when I got out of the car. I failed to dodge a bullet. I failed the test."

"My injury was an accident. But the test my great-grandfather set must not be interrupted."

She then turned her gaze toward Karl.

"I've implicated them."

"...And you."

Karl clenched his fists.

"So this really is some kind of goddamn test?"

"I knew corpo family politics were ruthless, but making a 'test' this deadly—dragging so many people into it—is absolutely insane."

To them, the lives of mercs and security personnel meant nothing.

No—

Even Arasaka's own employees had died for this.

For the corporate elite, perhaps only their own blood mattered.

No—

This test even included her life in its stakes.

"I carry the blood of a foreign nation—one steeped in sin. If I cannot pass this test and prove my worth to the family, then it must be fate."

"The cherry blossom born of chrysanthemums and roses..."

Karl finally confirmed it.

She was the target.

But looking at her—

At how she sat there, so accepting of death—

Something inside Karl twisted into disgust.

You people created this whole damn test. So many people died because of it.

And now that it's your turn to die—

You just accept it like it's nothing?

If you die, then everyone outside dies with you!

Brown and his team.

Jack, Mann, Oliver—

They'll all die too!

Maybe life and money meant nothing to corpo elites like her.

But there were people in this world who needed both to survive.

And this—

This wasn't something a failure could just 'accept' and walk away from.

"Move."

Karl shoved the Arasaka security guards aside.

They stumbled back—

Just like how they had shoved the mercs earlier.

Then, as they stared in disbelief, Karl crouched down.

"I'm taking the target with me."

"Any objections?"

"D-Does she... have a Trauma Team membership?"

The Arasaka guards were frozen, watching Karl lift their lady into his arms.

One of them mumbled, almost as if in a daze—

"N-No..."

Karl narrowed his eyes.

"Speak up. I can't hear you."

"N-No! She doesn't!"

"Why not?"

"The moment she agreed to take the test and prove her noble blood was worthy of continuation, her membership was revoked!"

Karl exhaled sharply.

"Fine. What about Konpeki Plaza? They got medical teams there?"

"Y-Yes! At the entrance—there's an all-female medical unit to handle unexpected incidents!"

Karl scoffed.

"What, are you afraid of LGBTQ rights or something?"

"LGBT... what?"

"Forget it. Doesn't matter. You wouldn't get it anyway."

Then Karl's expression turned cold.

"If you guys have any dignity left—hold off the attackers."

"I'll get your lady to the medics."

The Arasaka security team watched in stunned silence as Karl carried the young woman away.

None of them moved to stop him.

None of them dared to.

A few seconds later, they glanced at each other—

And as if finally regaining some semblance of reason, they raised their weapons and prepared to defend their position.

Even if—

They had no idea what to do about this situation anymore.

—

As Karl moved quickly through the alley, the woman stared up at him.

Her starry eyes locked onto his face.

"You're trying to save me?"

"Because... you want to complete the mission?"

Karl didn't look at her.

"I want to save people."

"My friends, and you."

His voice was firm—

But then he glanced down at her.

"I don't think you're a good person."

"But—"

"You have beautiful eyes."

His grip tightened slightly.

"So, on the scale of my priorities—where saving my friends weighs 99%..."

"I'll spare 1% of my concern for you."

The woman's lips curled into a bright smile.

"Strange."

"I heard you earlier, when you were cursing at corpos like me."

"Why would you still have any mercy for me?"

Karl sighed.

"I already told you."

"Your eyes are beautiful."

"Am I not allowed to appreciate something beautiful?"

Then, his gaze shifted forward—

Toward the towering Konpeki Plaza in the distance.

"A cherry blossom tree sheds countless petals."

"Some fall to the ground and decay."

"But this one..."

Karl exhaled.

"This one just happened to land in my arms."

"...That's all there is to it."