Several days had passed since the last mission, and with the external storage drive destroyed, there was nothing to investigate or gather information from. Nouel found himself at an impasse, and the progress of the rebels, especially their hidden locations, remained elusive—both within and outside the city. Despite the installed security systems, the rebels could still move freely within the city. Moreover, their hiding places remained unknown. The city’s entry and exit points were still undiscovered. The northern, western, eastern, and southern gates showed no signs of breach, hacking, or betrayal from gatekeepers. In other words, the rebels had another undisclosed route for entering and leaving the city. Nouel sat with both feet on the table, lost in thought. Three days had passed since the clash with rebels attempting to steal the external memory drive successfully taken from NewTech. Due to the battle, Nouel and the Wolf team were not suspected of breaching NewTech’s security an
On the appointed day, Nouel set aside concerns about the rebels, he was already at the airport, awaiting the ambassadors who were about to embark on the journey. This mission could be considered highly secretive, known only to the Wolf team and those with relevant interests and access.Nouel had already checked the four new team members added, and they were deemed fit to start their first mission. The assembled cyborgs appeared to be preparing diligently.“The plane, huh?” Nouel mumbled quietly while observing the aircraft that would be their transportation. In reality, the distance between Lycaelus and Deliphora was not far, just a couple of cities apart. Yet, for some reason, these people insisted on flying. The flight would only take a few minutes, not even ten.“Why? Captain, are you afraid of flying?” Vera asked upon hearing Nouel’s mumble.“No, it’s just that being in the air, the chances of survival in case of an accident or something similar are minimal.”“Why are you thinking
After the plane successfully landed, Nouel gathered with her team to discuss the sudden attack they experienced. “Something’s not right. Why was there a sudden attack during this journey? This was supposed to be a secret mission, how could they know the details of our travel?”Vera tried to find an answer. “I’ve checked the aircraft’s security system, and everything seems normal. There’s no data leak from our side.”Drax added, “There might be a third party with access to this information. We need to investigate further.”“Yes, for now, all we need to do is complete this mission. Oh, and one more thing, you’ll give this report immediately.”“Copy that.”After handling the drone attack incident, the Wolf Squad team continued their escort from the airport to the destination. They switched to ground vehicles to continue the high-profile escort mission.Nouel sat in the driver’s seat of the main vehicle, while the other team members were in separate escort vehicles. They maintained high a
Upon arriving in the outskirts, Nouel strolled around, noting the stark contrast in the buildings’ conditions compared to the city center.“So filthy and repulsive. This place is more suitable for waste disposal than being a settlement for the residents,” Nouel commented directly, murmuring quietly as he observed the surroundings.“AI, provide me with visuals and statistics for this area.”Upon issuing the command, a holographic screen appeared, displaying everything Nouel had requested.Nouel examined the city’s security system through the holographic screen, revealing something not shown in Deliphora’s city center. It appeared that only the central area was protected, supporting his suspicion. In the outskirts, security or the personnel monitoring the city’s tranquility wasn’t a top priority. The distressing conditions of the inhabitants were seemingly neglected.The AI assistant scanned and revealed that more crimes occurred in the outskirts than in the city center. This was due to
The cyborgs had already surrounded Nouel, brandishing sharp weapons and firearms that, in reality, were considered junk by Nouel. Hence, he grinned mockingly as he saw these weapons being used to intimidate him.The smile he displayed infuriated the cyborgs, making them angry for feeling underestimated. The leader of the group glared at Nouel with rage and spoke harshly, “I truly hate that kind of smile. You will regret it.”Nouel waved his hand dismissively, maintaining an indifferent and unconcerned gaze. Then he retorted, “Quit talking and come attack me.”“Die!” shouted one of the men leading the thugs, thrusting a short sword directly at Nouel’s chest. Seeing the slow and feeble attack, Nouel made no effort to evade. The short sword stabbed into his armor, and instead of penetrating his body, it shattered as if made of glass.“What? How is this possible?” asked the startled man. Of course, the other cyborgs were equally surprised, it was certain that this was the first time they
For several minutes, Nouel wandered through the slum area incognito, activating a hologram projection. He arrived at the river area, where wastewater threatened to flood the settlement. Although the river was about twenty meters wide, the high volume of wastewater made it clear that it was nearing the riverbank.This condition caught Nouel’s attention as he approached the river. For some reason, the waste wasn’t directed through underground pipes, instead, it flowed through the river, heading outside the city.“Wow, isn’t this really bad?” Nouel murmured, observing the rising water level. His glasses scanned the liquid waste.“Boss, our scan indicates that the city is likely to be flooded by this waste,” the AI assistant reported after scanning and analyzing.“I know, you don’t need to explain that,” Nouel said curtly.Nouel then surveyed the surroundings, walking closer to the river with waste. Such scenes were commonplace. For some unknown reason, the authorities chose the river as
Nouel was not at all surprised when more than twenty cyborgs arrived at the location. He remained calm, as if welcoming their arrival with his expression.In response to the arrival of the men confirmed to be cyborgs, Nouel quipped, “Well, it’s amusing to see someone admitting they’re foolish.”“That’s not what I meant, damn it, you’re really asking for trouble,” the cyborg man immediately got angry with what Nouel said. He had just arrived, and he was already mocked, making him furious.“That’s what you said earlier, claiming to be foolish.” Nouel teased the man even more.“You bastard.” The leader of the group gritted his teeth, clenching his right hand made of machinery.Nouel himself reacted casually, not responding to the stranger’s actions.“By the way, why did you come here? This isn’t a party for fools and an ugly face contest,” Nouel said casually, mocking the cyborgs who had just arrived. Even though their numbers exceeded twenty, he remained relaxed. He had faced many rebel
The thugs or, more precisely, the cyborg thugs had various branches and levels. This time, Nouel wanted to go directly to their headquarters, where the main and most significant boss resided. He aimed to settle everything so that no more groups of people would disturb his peaceful time.Having successfully confronted and forced the previous cyborg leader, Nouel was guided to the central headquarters where the top leader of these cyborgs was located. As expected by Nouel, the place was not much different from the buildings standing along the city wall area – messy and uncared for.Inside a relatively large hall, some ordinary residents seemed to be waiting in line. One person was kneeling in front of a man not wearing a shirt, with his upper body visibly filled with machine components, clearly portraying the appearance of a cyborg.“What kind of boring drama is this?” Nouel commented in his mind, expressing his opinion on the ongoing scene.“Boss, we detected some dangerous firearms. W