The Operation Begins!

Ursa didn't realize the corner of his mouth twitched when he saw the ridiculous sight in front of him. Riza, the girl he just met today, arrived at his bar with an all-black costume and a shiny mask that covered half of her face, leaving only her bright eyes showing. She even wore fingerless gloves that were so out of fashion, making it hard to take her seriously. Overall, she looked like a ninja who was stranded in the wrong era. That, or an avid otaku who was going to a cosplay fest.

"What… Make you think it is a good idea to wear that… Atrocities?" He asked, finally able to muster his words.

"What? What atrocity?" Bai's voice on the phone was confused. "Wait, let me access your security camera first and… Oh, God! What the hell are you wearing?! Do you want to play a ninja game or what?!"

In return, Riza pouted indignantly as she said, "We are going for an infiltration mission, right? This is the best costume I have that doesn't make me look suspicious, you know?"

The corner of Ursa's lips twitched once again when he heard that. If anything, this ninja costume would make her more suspicious than she was intending to be. "Wait, what do you mean by infiltration mission?" He suddenly asked, realizing that he had never said like that anything to the girl before.

"Oh, well, considering the target is the tire factory, we have to get in, right? Is that basically an infiltration operation?" The girl tilted her head confusedly.

Ursa's face flushed a little as she pointed out something so obvious like that. Well, at least this was reassuring as the girl was smart enough to draw that conclusion. Still… That costume, though…

"First, take off the mask. You won't need that. Oh, the gloves too. You look ridiculous with that." He said.

Riza's eyes widened as she heard that. "Eh?! But that would make it easier for me to get exposed! I am pretty well known around here, you know?!"

"That is still far better than your ridiculous appearance now!" Ursa retorted back. "Come here! Sit in front of me, I will do something for you." His lips twitched once again when he saw the girl was covering her chest in wary. "No, I won't do anything to you, so get over it and come here!"

Honestly, the image of the fierce girl he saw beating three adults in one go crumbled instantly, replaced by an aloof girl in front of him. Hell, even Bai snickered as the hacker could hear the helplessness in his voice.

"Come on, sit in front of me!" He repeated himself once again. Fortunately, Riza didn't resist and did exactly what he asked, sitting on one of the stools next to him and sat. Without hesitation, Ursa pulled out something from his inventory and started redoing her attire. "Don't move." He said it sternly.

The things he pulled out from the inventory was a bob-haired wig and a set of makeup he received alongside with the books for the evaluation from the last mission. This was the second prize he received alongside with the 'Tracking and Antitracking' book and 'How to Disguise Yourself' book to help him improve himself.

Even though this was the first time he applied what he learned, he still moved confidently. First, he removed the mask, revealing the girl's gorgeous face. Then, he also forced her to take off the fingerless glasses she wore and started applying new makeup on top of her face.

Even though he was a bit clumsy with the brushes and colors, he still did a good job in his first gigs as a makeup artist. He carefully applied some foundation, trying hard not to mess it up. Then, putting some light eyeshadow and lipstick, he stared carefully at his masterpiece before nodding in a satisfied manner.

"Here, look at it." He said, offering the girl a small mirror. He could also see the camera security moved, indicating that Bai also wanted to take a look at is job.

"Wow, this is good." Riza gasped in awe. In the mirror, gone was the ninja look she had a moment ago, replaced by a plain girl with a smart bob haircut who looked like she had just come from a long day at work. "I don't know you are good at makeup, Ursa! Do you have any girlfriend to practice with?" She asked with a genuine curiosity.

"Yeah, Ursa. Are you trying to impress someone with your skill?" Bai also voiced his suspicion here.

In return, Ursa just rolled his eyes in exasperation, saying, "This is something I learned to disguise myself! Also, for your information, this is the first time I put makeup on someone's face, so no, I don't have any girlfriend to practice with. Oh, here, use this too." He offered plain glasses for Riza to wear.

"Thanks!" After putting the glasses on her face, she stared at the mirror for a moment, admiring her new look. She was a completely different girl now, and she was sure that no one would be able to notice her presence at all. "So, what are we going to do next?" She asked.

"Well, for tonight, we wouldn't do something excessive. We are going to do a scouting operation, trying to find out everything about the factory. We need to know how many people are assigned as security guards, their patrol routes, how many surveillance cameras are there and where are each one of them, where is the security room, the layout of the building, and the office where the target usually works. Is there any question?"

A pin-drop silence fell as he could see Riza staring in awe. If Bai was here, Ursa was sure he would see his friend had his jaws dropped in shock. After recovering from the shock, it was the hacker who broke the silence with his question, "You have already thought of so many things like that?!" Then, how could you make such an amateur mistake with Golak Mayar?!"

Ursa couldn't help but blush when he remembered his last escapade. In hindsight, it was obvious the mistake he made at that time, especially after he read the 'Tracking and Antitracking' book the system gave as a reward.

"Well, let's just say I evaluate my performance and learn something after my last escapade." He coughed a little, clearing his throat. "Okay, Riza, wear these earphones. It will connect you with us, making it easier to communicate. For this operation, your code will be Fighter, with Bai as Hacker and I as Vega. Make sure you won't make a mistake and use our real name, okay?"

"Sure!"

"Then, let's go! It is time for Thomas Kraus to pay for his sin!"