Into the Creations-Chapter 60: [] Code: XTK [7]

"I think everyone already knows this, but... since we have some time to spare, I'll say it again as a reminder."

Son Jeong-hu looked around at us as he spoke.

"It all starts with Taker disabling the main system. Since City Hall is managed by the main system, all the lights will go out except for the emergency ones. That's when you all need to move."

I half-listened to Son Jeong-hu's words while mentally rehearsing what I needed to do.

My goal is the Illusiter. Specifically, the special agents who possess the Illusiter. I'll kill them and take the Illusiter. To do that, I spent a whopping 3 billion won to acquire an 'Eklus Plasma Blade.'

No matter how good the special agents' equipment or the machinery on their bodies is, they won't be able to withstand the Eklus Plasma Blade. With my Yeongcheon Style, I'm confident I can pull it off.

"You can head to the armories along the way, kill the guards and take their weapons, or steal whatever you want. If there's someone you want to kill, kill them. While you all cause chaos for an hour... I'll steal the blueprints. And after an hour, we retreat immediately. You all know the retreat plan, right?"

I'm not planning to retreat.

The moment I get my hands on the Illusiter, my goal will be achieved. I'll take three Illusiters and return to reality immediately.

'Machines can break down, so it's good to have backups.'

Once I get the Illusiter, the first thing I'll do is hit the baths...

"If you get caught, I recommend just killing yourself. It's obvious you'll be tortured. You might even have your brain extracted and suffer forever."

Son Jeong-hu's chilling words made the members' faces stiffen. Given the technological capabilities of this world, it wasn't something to be taken lightly. After all, even Son Jeong-hu's entire body, except for his brain, is mechanical.

"I believe you'll all do well. You're all exceptional. Let's order pizza at the café later."

"...."

The members remained silent. I couldn't tell what they were thinking, but it was clear they were tense.

I also stayed silent for a while before speaking to Son Jeong-hu.

"Leader, I'm a bit hungry. Can I go grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure. There's still over an hour before the party starts. Ah, Woola said she was hungry earlier too. Take her with you."

I glanced at Woola. She was wearing a sky-blue dress. Since a suit didn't suit Woola's small frame, Son Jeong-hu had personally told her to wear a dress instead.

With her golden hair and pale face, she looked quite normal and pulled it off well.

"...I'm hungry."

Woola said. I gave a wry smile.

"Alright. Let's go together."

Woola is a cyborg with 100% of her body, except for her brain, being mechanical. She doesn't need to eat. Of course, within Raffles, only the leader and Woola herself know this. I only know because of the original story.

'...He's planning to use Woola to keep an eye on me.'

It's within my expectations. If I were to betray them here, it would be extremely fatal.

'Little do they know. If I wanted to betray them, I've had plenty of opportunities.'

I headed to the restaurant on the 120th floor with Woola.

I planned to see how delicious the premium steak sold here was.

As I entered the restaurant, I paused when I saw someone.

"Someone you know?"

Woola followed my gaze to the man sitting by the window. He was eating a chicken salad while looking outside.

"...Not personally. He's quite famous in the underworld."

"Famous?"

"He's a fixer. And a former special agent at that."

Woola and I sat at a suitable table and ordered a course meal that included steak. Woola kept glancing at the man, seemingly intrigued by the mention of a special agent.

'The protagonist, Yoo Han-soo. He'll personally kill Woola later.'

Perhaps Woola sensed something from the man who would eventually kill her.

We ate quietly.

Woola was naturally quiet, and I didn't see any reason to get close to her. After all, I wouldn't be seeing her after today.

The steak melted in my mouth.

***

"You're the president of Grayfall Corp? I've never heard of the company... Is it a foreign corporation?"

"Haha! Yes, it's a British company. We just entered Seoul recently. We haven't even properly contracted a building for our office yet, so it's understandable that you're unfamiliar."

At the party, I had to interact with many people. Even if I didn't approach them, they would come to me and strike up a conversation.

Their social skills were impressive.

'It's probably because I'm a young normal human, making it easier for them to approach.'

60% of the people at the party were normal humans. The rest were cyborgs who had replaced parts of their bodies.

"Phew~ Dealing with people is really exhausting. Well, I didn't make any mistakes, right?"

I asked Son Jeong-hu, who was standing next to me.

"No issues. You handled it well, Mr. President."

He was playing the role of the chief of staff. It suited him well.

"I just played along. Shouldn't we head up soon?"

"Not yet. It's still early in the party, so it's better to enjoy it a bit more. It'll be easier to move when people start leaving later."

"...That makes sense."

More people came to me afterward. It was to build basic connections. The upper class values connections as much as money.

'Ah, I'm tired.'

I rubbed the back of my neck with my left hand. Just dealing with people would've been fine, but I had to lie to them while doing so. There were many sharp questions, and if Son Jeong-hu hadn't helped me out at the right moments, I would've definitely aroused suspicion.

Midway through the party, there was a gift-giving session.

Under the guise of gifts, they blatantly bribed Seoul Mayor Won Cheon-su.

'What the hell.'

I thought people in the upper class would have at least some dignity. But what I saw was far from dignified.

'How can they suck up to him like that? They're practically kissing his ass... to the point where their assholes might tear.'

There were more flatteries that were disgusting rather than enviable. When someone subtly offered their daughter, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.

'Selling their own children for power.'

I shook my head and sipped from my wine glass.

Of course, I also gave a gift to Won Cheon-su. It seemed to be securities from a company in the U.S. Since it was a gift prepared by Son Jeong-hu, I didn't know exactly which company it was.

"Huh..."

While idly sipping wine in a corner, a woman caught my eye.

"Damn, she's gorgeous."

She was a blonde. Wearing a navy-blue evening dress, her figure was outstanding. There were no visible mechanical parts on her. She looked like a normal human, just like me. Her chest was big, and her hips were killer.

"Huh? Is that your type?"

"No, she's just beautiful."

"Really?"

Son Jeong-hu didn't seem to understand the beauty of the female form. He's definitely a eunuch with no genitalia.

"Look at those swaying breasts. Her face is stunning too. This is the first time I've seen such a beautiful woman in this world."

"In this world?"

"...Ah, I misspoke. It's the first time I've seen such a beautiful woman in my life."

Son Jeong-hu didn't seem to think much of it.

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Of course, how could he imagine that I'm from another world? Even if he did, he probably wouldn't believe it. If I told him the truth, he'd likely think I'm insane.

"Damn. Why did I meet her now? If I'd met her yesterday..."

I sighed deeply in regret. Son Jeong-hu, standing next to me, then said.

"If you really want her, you can just kidnap her later. Knock her out and take her away to do as you please."

"No, I'm not here to kidnap people."

"Is that so? Then what are you planning to steal? Something valuable, I assume?"

"Well..."

I stopped mid-sentence. Someone was approaching us.

It was Yoo Han-soo. I tensed up slightly. Did he figure out our identities? If it's Yoo Han-soo, the protagonist of the original webtoon, it wouldn't be surprising. Yoo Han-soo has sharp instincts.

"Hello."

He greeted me and extended his hand. I shook it.

"...Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Yoo Jaewon, president of Grayfall Corp."

"Oh, we share the same surname. I'm Yoo Han-soo."

"What a coincidence. What brings you here?"

"Nothing much... I heard you're entering Korea soon. If you run into any trouble, please call me. Here's my business card."

"Fixer Yoo Han-soo?"

"Yes, yes. I may not be good at much, but I'm reliable when it comes to getting things done."

I relaxed slightly. He was just here to promote himself.

Yoo Han-soo continued to talk about how great of a fixer he was before moving on to hand out his business card to others.

"Yoo Han-soo. Former special agent under the government. Seeing you at this party, it seems you have some connection with the mayor."

Son Jeong-hu spoke stiffly in his chief of staff persona.

"Is he dangerous?"

"Hard to say. I don't know yet. But he's definitely someone to keep an eye on."

Right. Be careful. You'll be fighting Yoo Han-soo fiercely in the future. Of course, I couldn't say that.

***

1:30 AM. As the party was winding down, we made our move.

We took the elevator straight to the 175th floor. The 175th floor was a casino. It was closed today due to the mayor's birthday party.

But there was someone there. A soldier wearing a helmet and an external glove suit was guarding the casino entrance. He was holding a large assault rifle.

"What's the matter?"

He approached us and asked. Son Jeong-hu stepped forward before I could respond.

"Our president wanted to enjoy the casinos in Seoul... Are you closed today?"

"We're closed today due to the mayor's birthday party. We'll open at 9 PM tonight, so please come back then."

"Ah, I see. But..."

Son Jeong-hu began to stall by engaging him in conversation.

I attempted to hack. Even without visually confirming it, if I knew where the main system computer was, I could sense it with my skill.

[Hacking successful.]

[You can hack Seoul City Hall's main system for 7 seconds.] 

7 seconds.

The hacking duration is longer than I expected. I had thought it would be 3 seconds at most.

'First, I'll disable the main system, then deliberately damage the main system core.'

Even though I couldn't see it, I could feel it. As planned, the main system was disabled. Since the main system core was also damaged, Seoul City Hall would be paralyzed unless they switched to the backup system core.

Bzzt!

The fluorescent lights in the hallway all turned off.

"W-What the... Gah!"

Son Jeong-hu instantly reached out and grabbed his neck. His immense grip crushed the soldier's neck in an instant. Son Jeong-hu casually tossed the corpse aside and smiled at me.

"Well done, Taker. The party venue must be in chaos by now. I'll go steal the blueprints right away. What about you?"

"I'll steal something valuable. And if I have time, I'll kidnap that blonde woman I saw earlier."

"So you decided to kidnap her after all?"

"I'm a man. Of course."

"Alright. See you later. This is a casino, so there must be cash somewhere."

With that, Son Jeong-hu headed down the emergency stairs. Since the main system was down, the elevators had stopped.

I waited until he was completely gone.

'It's been 3 minutes. Son Jeong-hu must've reached the 150th floor by now. I should start moving too.'

I took out a blade from my inventory.

The Eklus Plasma Blade.

A weapon that coats the blade with plasma using Eklus, a super-energy. This blade can cut through steel like butter. Since it's rechargeable, it's best to keep it off except during combat to conserve energy.

I used the emergency stairs to move up, not down. When I hacked the main system earlier, I briefly checked the locations of the special agents in City Hall. There are five special agents in total. One of them was in front of the main system room on the 190th floor.

"What are you?!"

I ran into a special police officer on the stairs.

'Byeokgye.'

He shot at me with his rifle. The rifle's firepower was almost on par with a machine gun, but none of the bullets hit me. The Byeokgye skill was working, making him unable to gauge the distance properly.

'I tested it before. Even if the eyes are mechanical, unless they're high-performance, Byeokgye will work.'

After all, it's the human brain that processes visual information, not the computer.

I brushed past him and slashed his neck with my blade. Blood sprayed everywhere. Without hesitation, I continued upward.

***

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