Chapter 306: Another Explosion?

Kenichirou's disappearance wasn't surprising—he was well-versed in ninjutsu and was known to appear and vanish like a ghost. What was strange was that Kenichirou, now a high-ranking executive and head of security for this banquet, had left the hall mid-event. That alone was enough to spark speculation among the more observant guests.

For most Arasaka employees, Kenichirou was seen as Lady Michiko's loyal agent—assigned to support Hanako purely due to familial ties. If he left during such an important occasion, some might interpret it as a sign that he did not fully support Hanako as the acting executive director.

But that was far from Kenichirou's real intention.

His long-term plan had always been to help Hanako gain the recognition she needed to grow independent of Michiko, to build her own power base. Eventually, she could even absorb Michiko's faction and stand on her own as a legitimate heir—just like Saburo once did with his son Kei.

So if Kenichirou really did leave this event midway, it could only mean one thing: something serious had happened that required his immediate attention.

Karl waited for a message through the secure comms. He'd already been paid—fifteen grand upfront with no deposit—so he was serious about doing the job right. But instead of hearing from Kenichirou, it was V who spoke up first in the team chat:

"That guy Kenichirou told me to head down to the lower banquet hall to handle something. I'm going down now."

Right after, another message popped up from Oliver:

"He told me to go too. Oh, and Jack's coming with me. Looks like it's just the two of us from the entrance crew being called down."

Wait, what? You're all going downstairs?

Karl stared as V—who'd just polished off what was essentially dinner and a midnight snack—wiped his mouth with a warm towel handed over by a waiter and casually strolled out of the banquet hall.

What the hell, Kenichirou? You're pulling everyone downstairs and leaving me up here alone? We were all paid the same! Sure, Karl didn't mind slacking off, but what if something did happen? Wouldn't it be safer with the whole squad?

Finally, Karl got a message from Kenichirou, which answered all his questions:

"Stay upstairs and keep an eye on Miss Hanako. There was an explosion downstairs. A department head from Counterintel was chatting with coworkers when he suddenly exploded—took out a few colleagues with him. I need to handle the incident and figure out how someone like that got through security. The entire floor's inspection was bypassed."

Even through the message, Karl could feel Kenichirou's rage. Understandably so. The first floor's security was already strict—even stricter than usual. The fact that someone still managed to sneak in a human bomb meant not only were there flaws in the system—it meant the system itself might not be trustworthy anymore.

If you see one cockroach, it usually means the place is already infested.

If someone could sneak a suicide bomber into the first-floor banquet, what's to stop them from sneaking one into the fourth floor?

Karl understood Kenichirou's reasoning.

When safety isn't absolute, then nothing is safe. At this point, Kenichirou probably saw every employee as a potential mole. He needed to trace the explosion back to its source, and fast. In the meantime, he was leaving Hanako's safety in Karl's hands.

"The reason I'm sending V, Oliver, and Jack downstairs is precisely because they're outsiders. I monitor all internal movements within Arasaka Tower, so they're actually more trustworthy right now."

Understanding this, Karl inched closer to where Hanako and Maki were seated.

Even though Hanako had Chidouyo by her side, ready to evacuate her instantly if anything went wrong, Maki wasn't guaranteed the same protection. Chidouyo was loyal to Hanako above all else. Unless Hanako explicitly ordered her to protect Maki, the girl would be left behind if an explosion occurred.

Karl couldn't let that happen.

Once he was close enough to act quickly, Karl stopped and resumed his observation—while thinking over what had happened.

The last time he saw someone explode was at the Ootori Tornado Bar, during that mission against the ACPA trainee. But that was just a headshot-level detonation, probably a Militech kill switch.

This sounded like a full-body bomb. A person rigged to explode and take others with them.

Karl remembered something T-Bug once said.

"Rogue AIs…"

Back then, they all agreed not to get involved unless it became their problem.

Now it was their problem.

If it really was a rogue AI, what was its purpose? Previously, the targets were people about to spill secrets or get caught. But this time, the guy was just attending a banquet. Why blow up now?

Could it be a different group? Maybe it wasn't the AI, but just a classic Militech move?

But even then—why waste a full-body bomb just to kill a mid-level counterintel manager? Was he really that important?

If something didn't involve Karl, he usually ignored it. But once he was dragged into it—and especially once it piqued his curiosity—he couldn't let it go.

And so, deep in thought, Karl began piecing it all together.

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