Chapter 16: Militech Science Division’s Vigilance

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The wind roared across the skyline as Jhin knelt on one knee atop a skyscraper, holding an ion sniper rifle from the PROJECT series—a weapon with terrifying piercing power and precision. He was fine-tuning the scope, making last-minute adjustments for the operation ahead.

With the help of next-gen netrunning tech, Jhin easily slipped past standard ICE systems, pulling up the target’s schedule and favorite haunts, including several bars. While running diagnostics, he also kept an eye on Elizabeth’s situation. After receiving his financial backing, she had quickly reopened Lizzie’s Bar and rebuilt The Mox. Compared to before, the group was now thriving—nearly five hundred members strong, with two bars under their control as active bases.

Still, they hadn’t dared to provoke the Tyger Claws yet. The gang had gone quiet lately after sparking public outrage, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous. Corner them, and they’d explode—hard.

Feeling bored, Jhin peered through his scope, sweeping the streets below. Suddenly, an ambulance racing past triggered a memory.

“Tch, can’t believe I forgot about her!”

It hit him—David’s mother, Gloria. She worked at this very medical company as a nurse. And that company... yeah, it was a mess. Partnering with scavengers? That was beyond unethical.

Still, that thought reminded him—Gloria was easy to find. Other story figures were a pain to track down, but not her. As for changing the plot, she was his best shot at earning Orange Essence before the main story even began. All it would take was a small nudge—shift her circumstances slightly, and the ripple effect could be huge.

“Ah, overthinking it again. Almost missed the target...”

Roland’s sights locked onto the man stepping out of the car. Slowly, he squeezed the trigger.

Whoosh—

A flash of red light streaked across the air. The high-velocity round tore clean through a wall, the car door, and a nearby bodyguard before punching straight through the target’s skull.

The man’s head burst into a mist of blood, gone in an instant.

Screams erupted. Panic spread through the street as people dove for cover, terrified they’d stumbled into a cyberpsycho’s killing spree.

Jhin calmly folded his rifle, grabbed the edge of the roof, and dropped down level by level. His lynx-claw cyberware absorbed the impact—his landing made no sound. Like a shadow, like death itself.

Tick. Tick.

“Huh? Rain?”

He looked up, surprised, as raindrops thickened into a downpour.

After completing the job, Jhin went straight to Kova to collect his payment.

Kova was dumbfounded when Jhin returned so soon. He’d assumed the gig would fail—or at least take time. But done this fast? And cleanly?

“What a damn shame...”

Kova muttered, wincing at his account balance. If the Militech Science Division had acted just a little faster, he wouldn’t have had to pay at all. Still, he asked for Jhin’s contact, saying he might have more work for him later—though what his real motive was, who could tell?

Meanwhile, over at the Militech Science Division, news of the target’s death spread fast. The man’s wife went ballistic, demanding that the Security and Intelligence Departments track down the killer and retaliate immediately.

The Security Minister and Intelligence Chief, Weis, exchanged a look and rolled their eyes. Did she really think she could order them around? Still, it fell within their duties, so they gave instructions to their subordinates and left it at that.

The real focus was elsewhere—on intel passed along by one of their fixers. Even if it was just a hunch, they couldn’t afford to ignore it.

“Mr. Gris, we’ve got something.”

“What?! Is it who we think it is?”

Gris shot to his feet, excitement lighting his face. He’d expected this to take ages—but results already?

“Uh... actually, not that case. This one’s about Constitutional Arms.”

Gris slumped back, suddenly disinterested. He’d already anticipated Constitutional Arms making a move. No surprise there—just needed some proof.

“Fine, let’s hear it.”

“Well, according to the fixer who put out the contract—Haibar—he hired a guy covered head to toe in cyberware, someone he’d never seen before. The man finished the hit in just one day.”

Gris leaned forward sharply.

“Any photos?”

“No, but we’ve got surveillance footage. Haibar was cooperative, so we secured the recordings easily.”

Gris snatched the chip, slotted it into his terminal, and played the footage.

When Jhin’s figure appeared on the screen, he exhaled in relief—but soon his expression turned serious.

“Not Adam Smasher... but the level of cybernetic modification on this one—damn—it might even surpass his.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Send this video to R&D. Ask if they’ve got any ongoing experiments—and what they think of this man’s condition.”

“Understood.”

Once the subordinate left, Gris leaned back, crossing his legs on the desk. A sharp glint flickered in his eyes.

“Maybe... we can create our own Militech-style Adam Smasher. A body that can handle this much cyberware is a rare find... looks like this fascinating man deserves our full attention.”

...

At that same moment, Roland sat in his office, flipping through a dossier compiled by Lissandra. The list of names was long—Maine, Sasha, Kiwi, Lucy, Pilar, Rebecca, V, Jackie, Victor...

Right now, only Victor showed any promise. Still, Roland had no intention of interfering with Old Vik’s story. The man had no major ambitions left anyway... though maybe arranging a boxing match for him wouldn’t hurt.

Fortunately, two new leads had emerged—Gloria, and her son David, still a student.

Right now, David was only nine—a genuine little troublemaker.