Miserable Reincarnation

16 – Dalian (1)

After a brief silence, the hacker spoke up.

“Brother, you haven’t forgotten who your employer is, have you?”

The Surveillance Agency was a legitimate government organization. No matter how openly forgery of identities occurred, if someone tried to commit a crime so blatantly, there would undoubtedly be consequences.

“Is the Surveillance Agency listening to this conversation?”

“Not exactly, but-“

“Well, then it doesn’t matter.”

“hahahaha… You’re tough. How can you trust me and casually share this information? Do you know that I could record this and distribute it to the Surveillance Agency for a generous reward?”

“But I won’t do that.”

I knew this from my past life, having encountered countless hackers.

Whether it was a government agency, a corporation, or a cartel, hackers working under them were never conscientious.

When you sneak away information from the institution that hired you, it’s not a story about writers who just watch silently.

Especially if it’s Turas, a country more chaotic than any I’ve experienced in my past life, especially for a hacker.

“They’ve probably already taken all usable personal information.”

Hackers didn’t fancy anything as much as the name of a missing person or the name of a deceased soul that hasn’t been processed.

Moreover, if you’re a hacker collaborating with the Surveillance Agency, obtaining a few names shouldn’t be that difficult.

Besides,

“Getting a new customer is much more profitable than a meager reward for reporting.”

[What? hahahahaha!]

The hacker, who had been laughing for a while, slowly spoke.

[Okay. I don’t know who you are, but I liked that fiery personality of yours. So… I’ll consider this a freebie.]

Before I could ask what, a loud noise came from somewhere. Bang! A sound like something rapidly falling.

Lian soon realized that a high-speed elevator had fallen to the basement. Thanks to that, many gang members were coming up on it, making things easier.

[hehehe. I’ll thank you in person later. Just in case, bring plenty of money. I’m a bit expensive.]

With that, the noise disappeared.

Creak…!

Not long after, electric currents surged from all directions, and server devices began to break down. It seems that the USB not only served as a hacking tool but also played a role in equipment destruction.

‘Even in this chaos, some rooms remain untouched.’

Whether it’s noisy outside or not, looking at the VIP rooms spewing groans without caring, it involuntarily creased my impression.

Whether they truly couldn’t hear or chose to ignore it.

Of course, staying holed up in the room like that was much better than running outside.

Leanne watched as the figure leaped out of the window and headed towards an unmanned taxi at the end of a dark alley. It was something the client had prepared in advance.

[Where shall I take you?]

“Lamad Hotel… No, actually. To the junk shop in East Sector 7.”

[Understood. It will take approximately 30 minutes to reach the destination.]

The mission was complete, but reporting couldn’t be skipped.

‘If only I had a phone, I wouldn’t have needed to go there in person.’

Suppressing the regret of being without identification, Leanne got into the taxi.

*****

The next day, Lamad Hotel.

After finishing her morning workout, Leanne, with a face wrinkled in dissatisfaction, boarded the high-speed elevator.

Due to exercising without any equipment, it was less stimulating than she had thought.

Hoping for a proper 5-star hotel with a gym, it was absurd to expect such amenities in this cheap hotel, practically no different from a motel.

“Tsk.”

However, the feeling of regret couldn’t be erased.

If she had plenty of money, she would have immediately paid for the gym, but the situation was such that only the accommodation costs were draining out in the millions each month.

The elevator descended rapidly – 10th floor, 8th floor, 4th floor, and it stopped at the lobby. Just as she was about to leave, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Where are you off to so early?”

Harang, a Plaza Mercenaries officer, was wearing the same red crop top as the first time Leanne saw her.

“…How did you find out about this place?”

“There are always ways.”

Rian’s eyes fell upon the shirt draped over Harang’s shoulders. Why doesn’t he just wear it properly? Do all martial artists walk around like this? Rian shook off her thoughts and approached Harang.

“You seem tall.”

“It’s the growth spurt.”

“Even considering the growth spurt, isn’t this too quick? How much time has passed?”

Harang stroked his chin and looked down at Rian.

She had arrived at the hotel just a few minutes ago. It was all Jason’s fault. If he hadn’t hidden information about Rian, she would have arrived much earlier.

If she hadn’t used the sniper excuse, she wouldn’t have even found out about the accommodation.

Anyway, regardless of the process, the outcome was good.

“Did I mention finishing the last request in just a day?”

Even if it was a third-rate gang, going alone into a place where several giant figures roamed, each several times larger than her, wasn’t something anyone could do.

“There was someone from the underworld in that group,” she remembered.

Once could be a coincidence, but from the second time onwards, it was skill, according to Harang’s opinion.

“Do you remember the promise from last time?”

“The duel, you mean?”

“Yeah, that.”

“As far as I remember, it was supposed to be today, not next week.”

“I intended that way, but it seems I might be a bit busy then.”

It was a lie. She had already completed the assigned request. But what could she do? In a mercenary group full of people who seemed impervious to a needle’s prick, a fresh recruit appeared after almost a year.

She was curious about the kind of ability he possessed.

From the start, Harang was not a patient person when it came to duels. She initially said a week to avoid revealing her impatience.

“I endured it for three days.”

Harang nodded inwardly.

“Do you have any other commitments?”

“Not really, but…”

However, as someone like Lian, who was unaware of such a background, it was only natural for him to be perplexed.

“If she’s willing to come out like this, I guess it’s good for me.”

Lian also wanted to test himself against a proper physical ability user. Honestly, the man he faced two days ago seemed more like a modified human than a physical ability user.

But…

He didn’t expect the schedule to change so suddenly.

“I need to earn money.”

However, it wouldn’t be right to just refuse when someone of higher rank was paying attention to him. After a brief hesitation, Lian slowly spoke.

“Until before lunch should be possible.”

Until before lunch? Harang, pondering the meaning of Lian’s words, soon let out a faint laugh. He probably knew it was still morning.

“Can you handle something intense?”

“…Yes?”

“hahahaha. Don’t worry; it’ll definitely be over before then.”

Lian felt an unusual vibe from Harang’s face.

They soon arrived at their destination.

The unmanned taxi stopped in front of a building in the western sector. The entire structure, situated in the middle of the main street, seemed to be used as a military base.

“Wait here. I’ll make a reservation and be right back.”

Harang confidently approached the building. True to its name, the interior of the building was filled with mercenaries.

“Hmm, she looks familiar from somewhere….”

“Who? That woman over there?”

The gathered mercenaries squinted their eyes at Harang.

“Now that I look again, she does resemble someone.”

“With whom?”

“You know. The Laplace Mercenary Corps….”

“Harang? No way. Why would that woman come here? The outskirts aren’t even under their jurisdiction.”

“Well, even if she’s that woman, she probably doesn’t want to give the gangsters any unnecessary leverage.”

As Lian followed Harang, she couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the mercenaries’ conversation.

“There seems to be something more that I don’t know.”

Whether it was due to the separation agreement or just casually mentioned, it wasn’t clear, but it seemed evident that the Laplace Mercenary Corps secretly establishing itself in the outskirts had some connection.

“Starting from the name Harang, it seems to have quite a reputation.”

Considering the rapid response of mercenaries to rumors, it was more likely that they hadn’t recognized Harang’s face, and she was deceiving them in some way.

“Is it perception interference magic, or maybe an artifact?”

Why would she go to such lengths? Lian discreetly clicked her tongue in contemplation.

“It’s done. Let’s go up.”

“Yes.”

Of course, he didn’t show any sign of it on the surface.

The elevator stopped, revealing a massive space.

A space large enough to easily accommodate even large sports.

Thud!

Haran, who was stretching lightly, spoke.

“The weapons are in the next room, so just go and get them.”

“It’s okay.”

Upon hearing that, Haran grinned.

‘Cute.’

Was he worried that I might get hurt?

“Don’t hesitate, just go get them. You won’t get hurt with ordinary extensions anyway.”

“It’s not that.”

Lian stopped talking, clenching his fist lightly.

“Because this is my specialty.”

Pak Tu (搏鬪).

It was his most confident field.