Chapter 303
Security section 5, section Five.
At first glance, it was a bland name that didn’t seem like anything special.
It was a name more fitting for a security team belonging to Dusk City rather than the armed group of the world’s number one Megacorp.
Compared to Militia’s Mili-Tech, which had built a reputation as a Police Department special forces unit and instilled fear in countless gangs and criminals, Security section 5 lagged relatively behind in recognition.
However, that was merely its surface appearance.
Could a blade loudly decorated on the outside for anyone to recognize truly be called a secret weapon?
The sharpest special forces wipe out their targets in the dark without revealing even a speck of their existence.
The reason Security section 5's reputation hadn’t spread widely was simple. Everyone who had been a witness to its exercise of power was already no longer in this world.
Unlike Mili-Tech, once they mobilized, they didn’t leave a single witness at the scene.
To put it in a word…
‘It means I’m completely done for.’
As it happened, wasn’t I in the position of a third party, a witness to that very scene? It was the perfect situation to die.
It would have been nice if I had known anything more, but I didn’t.
If not for my knowledge of the original work, I wouldn’t have even known of Security section 5's existence.
I remembered it as a secretive armed group in the game that was full of foreshadowing but rarely encountered or fought directly by the player character.
If that strongest special forces unit, which murdered everything in its path without leaving a single survivor, targeted me, could Prezen protect me to the end no matter how powerful an artificial intelligence he was?
I was skeptical.
The current Prezen might possess demonic authority that wouldn’t fall behind even that of the autonomous artificial intelligence of the Outer Net, but that was strictly a story within the virtual cyberspace.
outstanding computational ability did not guarantee power in the physical world.
It was also the reason humanity had been able to stubbornly hold out and survive against the autonomous artificial intelligences.
Even if it were that Null Seed and not Prezen Meredith, if it were bound to a physical body like this in reality without the notorious armored corps of New Mecha Korea, it wouldn’t be able to exert any strength at all against Security section 5.
That was right. Prezen’s biggest weakness was his physical body bound to the physical world.
If the prototype AI was the trunk and branches, Prezen was the roots. No matter how massive a tree was, it couldn’t survive if it was cut from the base.
I knew he had a plan to resolve that weakness.
However, with Security section 5's skills, it might finish the job without even giving him a proper opening to execute that plan.
Had Prezen made a huge mistake by acting so leisurely? Was everything ruined?
Then again, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
If the enemy had only been Security section 5, the game would have practically been over already.
But there wasn’t just one enemy; there were two. There were Mili-Tech as well as Security section 5.
In a normal situation, the appearance of two formidable enemies would be a massive misfortune, but not right now.
Rather, it created room to breathe.
Because just as much as we were wary of them, they would be keeping each other in check.
Valentine’s Security section 5 and Militia’s Mili-Tech.
The pride of the 1st and 2nd ranked Megacorps, who were like bitter enemies, had clashed head-on far too exquisitely.
Was there any way a collision wouldn’t occur?
The intangible momentum exuded by the two groups clashed sharply, a tense moment where it felt like an explosion would occur if even a single ember were thrown.
I thought the two groups would start firing their guns at each other at any second, but unexpectedly, the hostility subsided in an instant.
At a single, incredibly cold command from one man.
“Stop.”
At that single word, the Mili-Tech elite members, who were like ferocious hounds that would bite anyone or any beast indiscriminately, stiffened rigidly into a proper stance.
A man wearing a stiff black suit walked through the gap that parted like Moses parting the Red Sea.
He was tall and lanky, and a somewhat dangerous light shone from within the eye sockets hidden by black sunglasses.
I knew who that guy was.
“Lieutenant Colonel Hares!”
Lieutenant Colonel Hares, a Mili-Tech Commander from a veteran background like Dragon President, appeared at this location.
In a way, it was a given.
The emergence of a new limited artificial intelligence on par with a superhuman artificial intelligence was a far more serious issue than a mad scientist trying to commit a terror attack on the Militia Headquarters.
Just like back then, Lieutenant Colonel Hares himself, the master craftsman, stepped forward personally this time as well to handle the matter decisively.
His cold gaze swept through the inside of the secret vault once.
When his facial features, which were hard to gauge as they were hidden by the pitch-Black Lens, paused in my direction for a moment, my heart pounded violently even though he didn’t say a word.
Would he remember me? He definitely would. After all, hadn’t he left those words back then?
“That goes for you too, Nakamura Aaron.”
‘Because I’m always keeping a close eye on you.’
If it seemed for a moment like the corners of his mouth, bearing a crooked machine mark, formed a smirk, was it just my imagination?
‘…Absolutely, there is absolutely no way he’ll let me off just because he’s an acquaintance of Dragon President. If anything, I need to be more careful.’
I had that chilling intuition.
Lieutenant Colonel Hares’s ruthless charisma completely dominated inside the area.
However, the Security section 5 side merely snorted lightly, as if looking at something utterly beneath their notice.
It was because they also had a leader with a weighty presence matching Lieutenant Colonel Hares.
“I doubt you want us all to die fighting it out here, so how about we settle this with words between our leaders… Mr. Reaper of section 5?”
Lieutenant Colonel Hares shouted while tapping his temple.
The agents of Security section 5, who didn’t reveal their faces by wearing various masks, all stared at Lieutenant Colonel Hares simultaneously. Demon, White Lion, Carnival, Plague doctor, Skull…
The one who stepped forward among them was a figure wearing a smooth, chrome-material mechanical helmet mask without any distinct characteristics.
However, it was even more terrifying because it lacked characteristics.
I got a feeling the moment I saw them. That “Reaper” was the strongest person in this place.
The Reaper was the possessor of an absolute force that wouldn’t fall behind at all even when compared to the Chrome Monster or a high-ranking ninja.
A pitch-black full-body reinforced suit made of a tight-fitting material reminiscent of a biker suit.
Every time they moved, the parts connection extending from the spine emitted a bizarre driving sound.
It was impossible to distinguish whether the person inside was male or female, or if they were even human at all. Their smooth and flexible step left a gruesome afterimage like that of a ghost.
[Get lost. This is Valentine’s territory.]
The Reaper’s intense single remark, a distorted voice like scraping metal, tore at my ears.
As Prezen had said, the one backing Meredith was the “most powerful Megacorp”, namely the world’s number one, Valentine.
Therefore, it wasn’t unreasonable to call Mirror Castle Valentine’s Territory.
If I were in the position of hearing that bloody threat, I would have said, ‘Yes, sir. I’ll get lost,’ and immediately turned around and left, but the opponent was the unyielding Lieutenant Colonel Hares.
“If you wanted to claim that, you shouldn’t have let that be discovered.”
Lieutenant Colonel Hares retorted with a fierce laugh. What “that” referred to was clear.
“On the borderline of having surpassed a limited artificial intelligence, yet not quite an autonomous artificial intelligence. A prototype that is superior to a strong artificial intelligence, but inferior to a superhuman artificial intelligence. And to think it’s the result of recycling the Raver Project that was considered a failure a very long time ago. I have to acknowledge the novelty. But aren’t you rushing things a bit too much? I guess Valentine is slowly getting desperate now too?”
[…]
“Now that the truth is out, it’s over. Mr. Reaper, this is a matter concerning the survival of the city. That extremely dangerous artificial intelligence must absolutely be eliminated. And this isn’t just the thought of our Militia alone.”
When Lieutenant Colonel Hares snapped his fingers, making a Snap! sound, a unit member surrounded by a thick exoskeleton and Artificial Muscles, looking like a gorilla or a rhinoceros, dragged someone over from the back.
What was soon revealed was the dual-identity escort, Eres Shore.
“Let me introduce him. He’s a secret agent of Dusk Watch that we secured while coming here. He has already witnessed the signs of Code Black and finished reporting it to the top brass. You understand what that means, right? The Watch Annihilation Squad is coming. No matter how great Security section 5 is, can one hand defeat two? Give up while I’m giving you the chance to back down. You’ve already lost.”
If Security section 5 was the side trying to protect Prezen to utilize him as their weapon, Mili-Tech was the side trying to cause destruction with the intention of smashing him if they couldn’t have him.
Up to this point, the scales of balance could be seen as taut, but if Dusk Watch, who foamed at the mouth at anything related to artificial intelligence, intervened, the story would change.
Not 1:1, but 2:1.
The balance had collapsed.
For Lieutenant Colonel Hares, it would be a success just to stall for time until Dusk Watch intervened, without having to overdo it by trying to kill Prezen right away.
It wouldn’t take that long, either.
In front of Lieutenant Colonel Hares’s cold smile, the Reaper opened its mouth.
[Is that so? My thoughts are different.]
“Stop the bluffing. The fact that the Reaper of section 5 is still active on duty is certainly surprising news, but even for you, facing the annihilation squad and Mili-Tech at the same time -”
[You talk too much.]
The Reaper of section 5 shook their head as if any further conversation was unnecessary. And they issued an incredibly concise command.
[You all heard that, right? There isn’t much time. Before the Watch arrives, eliminate those bastards from Militia and secure the target. Execute.]
It didn’t even take one second for the smile on Lieutenant Colonel Hares’s face to turn into fluster, anger, and astonishment.