The Moment of the Explosion

I can't quite recall the moment of the Explosion.

Suddenly, as if everything had turned into a vacuum, all sound was sucked away, and my vision turned red.

A crimson Fire Cloud, the spreading flames and smoke... a Storm of Red Plasma.

RUMBLE...

The sensation of my skin burning hotly and my body flying away powerlessly. Along with the Shockwave, Metal Shards clawed past my body.

Flames engulfed the helmet's Transparent Visor, and my vision spun, filled with scratches gouged out by the flying debris.

And then,

Thud!

I slammed into something and Lost Consciousness.

...When I woke up again, I was in my house.

My home, my room, my sanctuary. Kabuki Condominium Unit 0973.

I was lying sprawled out on the familiar Plastic Bed in my Capsule Bedroom.

I opened my eyes and fell into thought for a moment.

Why am I here? My last memory was definitely...

Startled, I looked over my body. Arms and legs, chest and stomach. I even checked my face by reflecting it in my Cyberwatch.

Outwardly, I was perfectly Fine.

I clearly remembered being swept up in the Explosion, but there were no signs of Trauma from the shrapnel and Shockwave, nor were there any burn marks.

Even my palms, which had been scraped and bleeding from gripping the sword hilt, were completely Fine.

Did I just dream it all? What if everything I experienced was nothing more than a fleeting midnight dream that would soon fade away?

For a moment, I even entertained such an absurd thought, but it was a hypothesis I had to immediately discard.

The arm wearing the Cyberwatch was trembling.

I was merely lifting my arm, and it only had a Watch Device, which was about the weight of a Metal Watch, even if it was heavy.

Yet it shook like a leaf and ached. Just putting my arm back down sent a jolt of pain that nearly made my vision go white.

A level of muscle pain I had never experienced before.

It was practically living proof that what happened yesterday wasn't a lie.

In a way, it was only natural that the muscle pain was severe. I had pushed my body to the absolute limit.

It wouldn't be strange if a significant portion of the muscle fibers in my entire body had been destroyed.

"Ah... Ah."

I opened my mouth to scream, but my lips were cracked and sore, and my throat was so hoarse that no sound came out.

I just let out groans like a patient before quickly giving up.

Judging solely by my Physical Condition, I suppose I really am a patient.

I couldn't get up. Even twisting my body or moving my limbs while lying flat on my back was a struggle, let Alone getting up.

I forced my neck to turn, creaking like a Rusty Robot, and looked at the Watch Device strapped to my wrist.

The date was... March 28th. Monday.

Exactly one day had passed.

The time was seven o'clock.

To be exact, 18:53.

The Bar Opening Hours are seven o'clock.

As soon as I checked the time, I unconsciously tried to sit up, only to frown at the pain in my stomach.

I slumped back down with a sigh. In this Physical Condition, I couldn't go anywhere.

Screw going to work, I didn't even know if I could make it Outside the Condominium.

I forced myself to ignore the urgent feeling that I needed to hurry and get to work.

It seemed my body had already programmed itself with a Lifestyle Pattern suited for my new Workplace.

Is this the sorrow of a salaryman? Just lying still was making me anxious and restless for no reason.

But objectively speaking, it was questionable whether Bar Dragon's Lair would even be able to open its doors again anytime soon.

Because what happened yesterday wasn't just just customers causing a ruckus.

To put it more clearly and intensely, the bar suffered a terrorist Attack that day.

By the Luddite gang, a Criminal Organization under a DCPD Red Notice Order.

And it wasn't just ordinary gang members involved; it was an incident involving an Organization Leader-level criminal who called himself the Luddite Leader, Ned Ludd.

Just from what I saw, five of the bar's customers lost their lives because of them.

Due to the Small EMP Bomb—the Black Box—most of the Electronic Facilities were completely ruined,

and on top of that, there were more than just one or two corners that collapsed and shattered due to the cyberware, firearms, and katanas used by the gang members and Ronin.

And as The Finishing Touch, the final Explosion.

I wasn't sure exactly how large the scale of the Explosion was.

Seeing as I, who was the closest to it, am perfectly Fine like this, it might not have been that big of a deal.

But thinking about it logically, a weapon utilizing Heat Plasma Technology had detonated; there was no way that ultra-high-temperature Explosion was insignificant.

In fact, Ned Ludd had been completely swept up in the Explosion and looked as if he were melting away.

The sight of him bursting into flames and disappearing in the flames was still etched in my memory.

I probably wouldn't Ever see him again. And I shouldn't.

I had no idea how I managed to survive that Explosion, or why I was so unharmed, when my only Protective Gear consisted of the helmet on my head, the Sealed Wrap covering my body, the blocks, and my uniform.

The damage the Explosion inflicted on the bar probably wasn't negligible either.

I wondered if Dragon President had properly Taken out insurance. Would there even be a gang Terrorism Damage Insurance Product?

Given that Dusk City was overrun with gangs, it was entirely possible.

And also... the DCPD must have definitely mobilized.

Even if the City police were a corrupt and fragmented Organization that practically provided little help to the safety and security of the citizens, they wouldn't act sluggishly in the face of such a massive incident.

Lately, they seemed to be working hard on stop-and-frisks in this area too. An EMP Bomb and a Plasma Explosion... it would be strange if they didn't notice something had happened.

They probably showed up, even if belatedly. I had also filed a report in advance before stepping up myself.

Since the Luddite gang was involved, they would conduct a Thorough Investigation, so I imagined Dragon President and the Bartenders must have undergone some intense Interrogation.

I wondered if they hadn't done any Investigation on me at all.

Ah, right. And.

A Noble Family was involved too.

Schneider...

That surname lingered on my lips.

A strange Inner Intimacy welled up inside me.

It felt like a Family I had absolutely no connection with before, but now it felt as if I had known them all along.

It felt like a friend's household I'd known for a long time, or a cousin's household where I visited often and knew them inside out.

The blonde-haired Young Lady Alexandra felt like a childhood friend, and her father, Eugene Schneider, felt like a neighbor uncle I used to know.

It was the aftermath of the Cyberdive.

A result of experiencing all the related data to obtain Schneider's Genetic Code.

Thanks to that, I learned the Family History, the Way of Thinking of the Family Head and its members, and their habits, from trivial secrets to Major issues...

I came to know a great deal.

Should I call this a kind of side effect too?

I could guarantee that not even the Schneider Family Head's Chief Secretary or Butler knew as much about the Family as I did.

It even felt like I was more knowledgeable about the Family than the Family Members themselves.

It wasn't exactly something to be happy about.

They say knowledge is power... but conversely, there's also a saying that what you know can hurt you.

Just like the trouble I faced when I failed to Watch my mouth while talking about the Troublemaker Detective and Militia last time, there was no telling when a similar incident might happen again.

Anyway, that was an issue I would have to continue being careful about in the future.

Uncle Schneider... no. How would Family Head Eugene Schneider react to this matter?

He might not know me, but I know him. I came to know him.

I could naturally guess how he would act.

Just hearing the news that his Precious Daughter had been hurt by a terrorist gang would send him into a Cold fury.

He would pour money into the City police and personally mobilize the Family's corporation and Private Soldiers to wipe out the Luddite gang's bloodline.

I didn't know how effective it would be, but it seemed certain that the Luddite gang would suffer a significant Strike.

They had already suffered significant casualties just from Ned Ludd's death, and now they had incurred the wrath of the Schneider Family on top of that.

Previously, I had brushed them off, thinking, “Was there a Family like this?” since I had never heard of them in the game or in reality, but that was a mistake.

Schneider wasn't some unheard-of Family. It was none other than a Dusk City 1st Generation Founding Contributor, a Founder's Family, and a true Original Noble House.

The business run by the Family, while not on the level of a Megacorp, held the Position of a solid Multinational Large corporation right below it.

Even the Family Head, Eugene Schneider, held the Position of a High-ranking Director in the Consortium, a corporate Alliance treated on par with a Megacorp.

Their Sociocultural, economic, and Military influence was immense.

...And as I was thinking deeply about that point, this wasn't the time to be worrying about the Luddite gang.

The Eugene Schneider I knew would want to know exactly what happened to his daughter from beginning to end, every single Step of the Process.

To do so, he wouldn't Hesitate to look into satellites, drones, and closed-circuit cameras.

Of course, many records would have been wiped out due to the EMP, but didn't the most important Witness, Alexandra, still remain?

She had survived the incident, and she had clearly witnessed my Activation of the Schneider Family Heirloom, Kokuyōtō.

A katana that could only be used by a Successor by Blood of Schneider, rumored to grant its user the sole qualification to become the Family Head.

In that moment, I could feel my face growing gaunt and my complexion turning pale.

...If Eugene Schneider heard the story about me from his daughter, how would he react?

If it was the Eugene Schneider I knew—.

He might try to kill me.

Even if he didn't kill me, having his Private Soldiers Carry out a Kidnapping and forcing me to my knees was a given. He might even subject me to a Biological Experiment.

While I was having these horrifying thoughts with my Cyberwatch on,

Bzzzt-

a notification rang out.

I grew cautious, fearing it might be a message from the Schneider Family or the DCPD.

It should be Fine to check it, right?

After a Deep Breath, I turned my still-stiff neck to look, and saw a Text Message had arrived.

[How are you feeling? Are you Daijoubu (Are you okay)?]

The sender was... the Dragon President.