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
Seeing that only one opponent remained, the cyborg leader, Nouel immediately glared at the man.“Come on, I’m tired of small talk with you,” Nouel challenged the top leader.“Don’t be arrogant just because you’ve managed to bring down my people,” said the man, still confident in his ability to win despite witnessing his opponent’s skills. He pulled out a machine gun capable of firing many bullets at once. Nouel smirked mockingly.“Feel free to smile, this is your last day in this world.” Proudly, the man activated the machine gun, firing large bullets rapidly. Nouel, activating his shield, walked calmly despite many bullets hitting the shield.The machine gun could shoot fast and powerful bullets, capable of penetrating concrete or metal walls with a certain thickness. However, it turned out the weapon wasn’t strong enough to penetrate Nouel’s created shield.“Damn, how does he have such a strong shield?”Simultaneously, the cyborgs Nouel had previously knocked down began to rise one
Nouel swiftly navigated through the slum area, intrigued by the sudden information. He ran, avoiding every human and robot that was active at that moment.Nouel came to a halt and stared at the holographic screen that appeared before him. “Can you explain more about what you’ve found?”“This is a power surge from the main energy source that was once used by humans as the primary reactor to activate war robots,” the AI assistant continued to provide information about the detected anomaly.“War robots, in other words, this involves radiation and significant explosive power?” Nouel asked, expressing concern.“Exactly.”“What happened?” Nouel inquired again.The AI Assistant then reported, “Something accidentally triggered this energy source. Possibly a slight vibration, air temperature, or a mouse passing by unintentionally. In essence, there’s a high probability that this energy source will explode.”“So, this energy source needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Whether I like i
Just emerging from the underground area where he exited the abandoned house, Nouel was greeted by several cyborg thugs he had defeated earlier. They were accompanied by two well-dressed men—obviously, these were city officials—and armed bodyguards, along with robots units.It was unclear how they managed to locate Nouel. Whether there were traces he left behind, information from the residents, CCTV monitoring, or some tracking method capable of finding Nouel.Nouel deactivated his helmet and the oxygen mask he wore. He whistled upon witnessing the arrival of these people, the number this time was not as large as before, but these individuals held positions of authority.“You came much faster than I expected, two minutes earlier to be precise,” Nouel murmured softly when he noticed the many people surrounding him, denying him access to escape.“Is he the one?” One of the men in formal attire, resembling a city official, pointed towards Nouel.“Yes, he’s the one, the troublemaker,” said