Chapter 150
Uwaaagh - !
Someone spewed thick vomit, and someone else hacked out strange, barking coughs. As if their secretory glands were out of control, they raised their heads while drooling saliva from their mouths.
A bizarre light flowed from the bloodshot eyes of the guards. Growling sounds that resembled beasts rather than humans burst forth.
The other guards who were Outside the area of effect of the Suspicious smoke noticed the anomaly and distanced themselves from those who had been their colleagues.
However, it was already too late. By the time they raised their guns in caution, their arms had already been bitten by the Infected Entity that rushed at them with twisting bodies.
The sight of the guards screaming in panic was like a scene from a nightmare.
I didn’t know which company they worked for, but they seemed to be wearing good bulletproof vests, as having their arms bitten didn’t appear to cause any damage.
They might have lived if they had responded Calmly. But they couldn’t.
A Guard who fell, unable to withstand the pressing weight, began to Shoot Indiscriminately before collapsing, spurting blood, his neck’s flesh - uncovered by the Guard uniform - torn away.
After taking one down, they immediately moved toward the Next Target.
The Infected entities didn’t even flinch when bullets lodged into their bodies, showing only infinite hostility and violence toward living things.
There was nothing more to see here.
Hah, to think an urgent incident that actually required a Hero or whatever would really happen.
I shook Dark Dragon’s shoulder vigorously. Even so, he mumbled in his sleep, “Uung… just 5 more minutes…” I barely held back the urge to smack him and whispered in his ear.
“Incident.”
[Incident…?]
“Criminal, darkness, villain, Hero, dispatch, Dark Hero…”
Like reciting codes to a super-soldier assassin brainwashed by an evil Organization in a certain movie, I listed stimulating and intense words based on user-customized Big Data, and a reaction popped out immediately.
The bright yellow eyes of the black-dyed Dragon Suit pushed away the drowsiness and narrowed.
[An incident, you say!]
Not much explanation was needed.
A scientist sprayed something that could be smoke or poison gas, and it turned out like that. As soon as I pointed out the window, our Dark Hero nodded.
It was a scene that left him no choice. I had only looked away for a moment, but the road and the building entrance were already mangled with blood.
The guards had all either collapsed from being bitten or had become a member of the Infected Entity, having seizures and drooling.
The Crazy Scientist, who was screaming something at the top of his lungs from a Step away, seemed able to avoid becoming a target of that indiscriminate slaughter even if he couldn’t control the actions of the Infected entities.
[That disease… is definitely a villain that must be punished! Well done, Sidekick. I will dispatch immediately.]
He immediately stood up from his seat and took a ready Stance. There was no need for questions like how he was going to dispatch when the monorail was still moving.
To be exact, I was going to ask, but it became unnecessary.
CRASH!
As he executed a Charge leading with the sharply raised elbow of his suit, the Train’s glass window shattered surprisingly easily.
Dark Dragon immediately jumped through and dropped right out of the monorail tracks.
He was the kind of person who seemed like he would Calmly return alive even if dropped into Hell, but my heart still felt like it sank for a moment, so I stuck my head out the broken window where the wind was blowing fiercely.
[Huooooooohhhh - ! Let’s meet at the scene!]
…I was a fool for worrying even for a moment.
The sight of him cutting beneath the city’s aerial traffic lines using the Dragon Suit’s propulsion system looked incredibly refreshing.
However, why was the embarrassment my share?
Embarrassed by the staring gazes of the people around me, I put the Darth Vader Mask back on, which I had Taken off because we were indoors.
This way, my face wouldn’t be sold under a title like “Abandoned Sidekick of a Crazy Hero”.
What should I do now?
I looked Outside again, then shook my head as I saw the magnetic tracks passing by like an arrow and the buildings on the distant Ground.
Naturally, that route was impossible for me.
Only after the monorail stopped at the next station did I hurriedly Step out on my own two feet.
Thanks to a certain Rookie Hero’s Extraordinary dispatch method of smashing a window and jumping out, I dashed out of the station while the red lights were set to Blink and the loud Emergency bells were ringing.
Now, what should I do?
Even putting aside the joke about being a Sidekick or whatever, the sight I had just witnessed was hard to ignore and pass by.
Dark Dragon would surely handle it well on his own… but still, you never know.
I felt like I should at least go to the Crime Scene.
The problem was that I didn’t know the geography of this neighborhood, so I didn’t know exactly where that place was… I only remembered that it was a Skyscraper soaring as if to Pierce the sky.
[No problem. The building’s information exists in this Assistant’s data.]
I nodded at the words of the Artificial Intelligence in my head that interjected with good timing.
I felt it more and more, but I could see why the people here were so wary of Artificial Intelligence.
It was truly incredibly convenient and Powerful.
Anyway, wasn’t the majority of its data related to experiment materials or city regulations? When did it obtain a map of the vicinity?
[Geopolitical information of the current area has not been collected. However, as the Test Subject thought, data belonging to the Superhuman Experiment Resources and information regarding the Test Site have existed since the initial stage. The building where the incident occurred matches one of the locations on that list.]
I figured as much… huh?
I hesitated and stopped walking.
Didn’t that mean the place where the incident occurred was connected to the Superhuman Experiment?
‘What’s the name of the building?’
I frowned upon hearing the Artificial Intelligence’s Answer.
It was quite a troublesome name.
Should I go, or not?
It was a Headache, but it was already too late to back down. Rather, it might be some kind of opportunity.
‘It’ll take a long time on foot.’
Tapping on my Cyberwatch, I saw that the Required Time on foot was over 20 minutes no matter how fast I ran. By the time I arrived, it would already be all over.
I needed to find a means of transportation…
Just then, something caught my eye.
“Oho.”
Its appearance resembled a skateboard.
A man with the appearance of a typical Dusk Thug was moving while riding.
However, it didn’t have wheels and floated in the air. The way it shot forward at high speed was truly swift.
We call that a Hoverboard, a Man’s Romance.
“Do you know Back to the Future?”
[I do not know.]
Then again, there was no way a fresh Artificial Intelligence that hadn’t been born that long ago would know it. It was an old movie even by the standards of someone from a century ago like me.
“Then what about Detective Conan? Something similar appears there too.”
[I do not know.]
I see.
If it didn’t know, it naturally wouldn’t be able to understand my current feelings.
Then I’d have to show it myself.
“Okay, I’ve decided on that. Let’s get on that.”
Full of excitement like a mischievous kid, I pointed at the Hoverboard with my finger.
Somehow it felt like I heard a sigh in my head, but it must be my imagination.
* * *
There was only one way to use an item that wasn’t mine, at least in that moment.
[Do you mean Robbery?]
Well. I’d rather call it a Charity Project for local community Development.
I grinned, quoting someone’s words.
To steal the Hoverboard was simple.
I lightly suppressed the System Assistant’s resistance, which was that it couldn’t Recklessly interfere with someone else’s private property according to some Artificial Intelligence regulation or whatever.
“Be quiet, and just turn on the switch.”
Click.
It didn’t matter if I didn’t receive the Direct help of the System Assistant. I was gradually getting more used to the utilization of the Microchip in My Head.
Schneider’s Kokuyōtō hacking and Cyberdive, the chase from the cyborg Ninja… thanks to various experiences and training, I was now free to Utilize a High-Dimensional Ability that went beyond simple Extrasensory Perception.
A sense of heat rising in my head, an unfamiliar sensation as if my consciousness was being sucked somewhere else.
As soon as I gave the command to stop, the Hoverboard braked in midair with a Screech - !, and the man riding it smashed his head into a traffic light pole from the reaction and Lost Consciousness.
Ooh, that’s gotta hurt.
Fortunately, he had only fainted for a moment, and there didn’t seem to be any Major abnormalities with his body.
“I’m sorry. I’ll put it to good use and return it.”
You were clearly speeding over the limit anyway, so don’t feel too wronged…
Conveying a few words of apology that wouldn’t be heard, I peeled the man off the Hoverboard and got on in his place.
[Extortion of another person’s property is a clear crime. The Test Subject’s Extrasensory Perception and Environmental control Ability were not developed to be used for this purpose.]
I heard something chattering in my ear, but it was soon drowned out.
I am too busy right now to listen to the nagging of an Artificial Intelligence.
The cool dawn air scratched the back of my neck. My body swayed precariously in the unstable air.
I sprinted across the map at an astonishing speed, weaving between the road and the sidewalk that alternately shone green and red. I dodged obstacles that popped out several times with sharp Reflexes, narrowly avoiding collisions.
A liberating feeling that cleared my chest. Right now, I am flying through the city like a bird.
[The expression of flying is inappropriate. The transportation currently being used is not included in the classification of an Aerial Vehicle, and it lacks the thrust to reach maximum altitude to be considered a flying object or aircraft. Furthermore, the avian creatures commonly called birds went extinct in Dusk during the End Pandemic Incident due to the Urban Animal Eradication Policy targeting dogs, cats, pigeons, etc., so…]
Blah blah, yada yada. I didn’t care in the slightest. My mood was elevated just that much.
“Uwoooohhhh - !”
It looked really unsightly when Dark Dragon let out a Roar while flying, but now that I was in his Position, I understood.
I couldn’t hold it in. At this speed, I couldn’t help but scream.
[Indeed, the two of you are truly identical. Your actions are very similar.]
“Shut up.”
That crossed the line.