NoveLight ™
“Seems like you're in a good mood.”
“The combat efficiency has increased by 35%, and the projected firepower output has risen by over 75% compared to before. The logical circuits are signaling 'good' in response to all these results. How would humans express… this feeling?”
“I’d say ‘I like it’ or ‘I’m satisfied.’”
“In that case, I am very satisfied with the current situation.”
Carrying a load of supplies, we took the secret elevator to leave the facility.
It hadn’t been used in a long time, so while the exterior looked fine, the floor was covered in dust. Not just inside the elevator, but the path to it was the same. If we went back down and looked at the ground where Mecha Eugene and I had walked, we’d probably find our footprints lined up next to each other.
In any case, we took the secret elevator for precautionary reasons. It was clear that if we had just taken any elevator and ascended, enemies waiting on the first floor could easily cut the steel cable or open the doors to fire before we even had a chance.
Jin was carrying a 70kg ballistic shield, but honestly, we couldn’t afford to take any chances. It was always better to avoid leaving things to luck — not just in combat, but in life overall.
“Considering how much we’ve loaded, I’m thankful the elevator can handle it.”
“Alert: the total weight of the Archetype currently carrying the load is close to 350kg. My current weight is 670kg. Since we’re in a cargo elevator, there shouldn't be any problems.”
“Guess so.”
My body weighs about 230kg — I’ve gained some weight from eating well at home — and the load I’m carrying is about 120kg. Jin, being made of solid metal, is naturally much heavier. It’s surprisingly heavy for its volume, but it’s due to the special metal she’s made from.
After several minutes, the elevator finally stopped, and the doors cautiously opened. Outside was complete darkness, but as I turned on the tactical flashlight attached to the barrel of my gun, a decent amount of light illuminated the facility's interior. It looked like an exit had been hidden inside an abandoned warehouse.
I activated the GPS to check our location. We were roughly 100 meters from the truck we arrived in. The research facility was quite large, so it made sense that we had ended up here.
There was no vibration underfoot, so I spoke.
“There’s no sign of anyone nearby. I don’t detect anything on the sensors either, so we should be fine to exit.”
“…Does the Archetype have pulse technology integrated?”
“There are ways to figure that out.”
Snakes use vibrations to sense their surroundings.
While I also had infrared vision, there was no need to mention that. The viewers would inevitably stir up a storm if I said anything — so I approached the locked door. There was a brief exchange of glances. I considered shooting it open, but the sound would be too loud.
I examined the U-shaped lock. It was pretty rusty, but after a little fiddling, it seemed to still function just fine. I placed my hands together as if praying and slipped the lock frame into my grip.
Then, interlocking my fingers, I squeezed the lock frame and twisted it — crack.
“Done.”
“…The pressure detected on the lock is estimated to be at least 872kg. Converting to Pascals…”
“Enough with the nonsense, let’s get moving.”
Snap.
The lock frame, now half-twisted in my hands, was revealed. The inside was crushed, and it was time to unfold it back the other way. After grabbing each side and pulling in opposite directions, the lock made a horrible noise as it broke apart. I quickly scooped up the fragments from the floor and opened the door carefully.
As expected, the abandoned warehouse inside was dark and cluttered. There were no signs of life, except for a rat, and as I checked the various messages from the driver, I quickened my pace. After walking for a few minutes, we reached the truck, which was about 200 meters away, and unloaded the supplies.
Now, we had to move fast.
The reason was simple.
The urgent voice message that came in 30 seconds ago explained everything.
Luckily, I quickly located the driver’s GPS position, and Jin and I tightened our grips on our guns before rushing out. It didn’t take long to cover the 200 meters and arrive near the truck.
But it seemed that the situation was already reaching its limits. As our positions inside the facility were no longer detectable, the driver likely decided to leave the parking lot, but with the external path blocked, time was being wasted — the frame blocking the path was already starting to break apart.
I spotted the driver, who was fidgeting nervously, holding nothing but a cheap pistol.
Now, it was our time.
“Did you make it? As you can see, the door is on the verge of breaking. If you don’t stop them soon, they’ll escape.”
“Don’t worry about it. The friend inside brought something interesting from the facility. You just focus on starting the engine.”
“Relying only on you, huh.”
With the driver darting off, I sent Jin to the exit.
After some time, a loud crash echoed as a thick frame, which divided the parking lot from the entrance, was punctured. A large truck with a trailer then crashed through.
Jin was just 50 meters away, blocking a clean two-lane asphalt road leading out of the facility. How would they react? After a few seconds, the truck, which had stopped for a moment, rapidly accelerated.
Would they ram straight into her or just pass? It seemed like they had given up on capturing Jin, but as I watched, Jin casually turned her gaze toward them.
And—
Hiss!
The plasma charging began.
But this time, the scale was different. Her tail aimed forward, and the focusing part fully exposed. A rail, twice the size of what she had shown me earlier, was laid down. A plasma round the size of a cannonball was formed inside her tail, aimed directly at the approaching truck.
A few seconds later, a flash of light streaked through the air.
The front of the truck vanished into nothingness.
“Wow.”
“...Unbelievable.”
The first reaction came from me, and the second was a mutter from the driver, who had been running away.
What happened next was simple — the truck’s front completely melted away, and due to the laws of inertia, the large container controlling the command center tilted forward. After a sharp sound, the container, which had been briefly stood upright, flipped over with a loud crash.
It was likely that the people inside were thrown about and hurt, but it was certainly better than using brute force to ensure safety by incapacitating them.
As the debris settled and the dust cleared, I gave Jin a satisfied nod and praised her before opening the locked door. It had an electronic keypad, but after a few strikes with a hammer, it shattered.
The door opened, revealing the inside.
As expected, it was a complete mess.
“It’s a disaster in here.”
“Ugh, ugh…”
“Please... just let me live…”
Most of the people looked like their bones were broken, and some were bleeding profusely, probably from hitting the panels. Thankfully, since this was a game, the blood was golden, and the exact injury details were not displayed.
I didn’t care much about their injuries, though. I quickly attached the portable GPS to the trailer wall and detached the suppressor from Mjolnir.
I loaded the trigger and fired toward the wall, the loud boom echoing. The personnel inside, likely the command staff, began shaking like aspen trees, and when I aimed the gun at them, they quickly discarded their pistols.
I nodded and added,
“This is negotiation.”
“...Is this really negotiation?”
“Well, if you ask that, it just loses its charm, Jin.”
Click.
In the meantime, the driver, who had removed the optical camouflage, drove the truck up near the container. He opened the window and said one last thing:
“Not much time left! If you’ve got something to finish, do it fast!”
“Alright.”
With a swift motion, I struck the nearest enemy in the head with the butt of my gun. I did it gently, of course, but it was enough to knock him out. Without a second thought, I grabbed him by the collar and tossed him into the truck's cargo hold.
As the remaining personnel realized they were next, their faces turned pale, but I simply nodded at Jin.
Within minutes, everyone was knocked out, and the driver, with an expression I couldn’t even describe, said:
“The cargo hold’s too cramped. Get in the front seat. We’re heading back to base.”
“Good work.”
“Same to you.”
I suppose it made sense.
The driver had played a big part in today’s final battle, so I could say that everyone in the front seat had earned their thanks.
As I pressed the accelerator, the tires spun, pushing the truck forward. The cargo — various weapons and exoskeletons — as well as the ten command staff members, were stored deep in the back of the truck.
It wasn’t Christmas, but we had a lot of presents today.
It was a productive day.
“...Huh?”
Of course, the job wasn’t over yet.
The Reapers were coming.
"Artemis, Artemis... I thought the last time we dealt with those damn fools would be the last, but it seems expecting the world to be so simple is a pipe dream. Looks like I’ll have to call in the Dagger team again."
"They're already on standby and ready for deployment. However, there’s also a request to take along the prototype antimatter weapon produced at the particle accelerator center. What should we do about that?"
"Hmm."
Meanwhile, in another world, New York.
After the war’s energy had finally dissipated, Big Apple was slowly returning to its former state, but the Dark Winter incident had left an indelible scar on New York — its biggest result was none other than the enormous HQ that now occupied all of Central Park.
In the meantime, the White House in New York, now looking more presentable, had an unusual calm. The 48th-49th President of the United States, Henry Michael Brayton, who had successfully secured re-election without opposition, felt a wave of dizziness as he read through a briefing file brought by his aide.
Artemis Technology. Not only had it crushed the Eastern U.S. forces, but also the Western allied forces, and even now, despite everything, it remained the one undeniable cancer to the nation. The remnants had been sent back to their homeland, but Artemis was still a looming threat.
Henry wrapped his head in his hands and muttered in frustration.
"They say the enemy within is more troublesome than the external one, and it seems that’s exactly what we're dealing with here. And to make things worse, they’ve taken battle data from soldiers devoted to their country and turned it into a weapon to attack their own forces. If those guys were in front of me, I’d almost want to ask them why."
"I believe it will be possible soon. The Dagger team has rolled up their sleeves and taken matters into their own hands, so we should see the complete end of Artemis Technology within two months, at most."
"That would be good."
At that moment, Henry’s eyes fell upon an electronic document that appeared in front of him.
It was simple. It was the same thing the aide had just mentioned — the main point was a request to use the antimatter weapon during the ongoing combat. He quickly skimmed the document up and down before placing his thumb on it without hesitation. Within seconds, the president’s fingerprint was affixed to the floating document.
With that, the Dagger team had obtained the power of e=mc², and they were set to board a stealth Black Hawk and fly to a remote location in Canada within hours.
At the same time, Henry, holding his tablet, checked some other contents and found an unfamiliar name.
"The sector manager is… Brigadier General Aaron Delasovich. Who is he?"
"He's an unremarkable man. To put it positively, he managed the entire area without major incidents during the Dark Winter crisis. Cynically, that’s about all you can say about him."
"Do you think he might have given Artemis some backing in this region?"
"I wouldn’t say there’s no chance, but even if that's the case, I don’t think it’ll be a big issue."
"Why is that?"
"Because the Dagger team is on their way."
There was a brief pause.
Then, after a few seconds, Henry let out a hearty laugh. Indeed, just as his aide had said, even if the commander had allied with Artemis, as soon as the Dagger team landed at the base managing the sector and found something suspicious, everything would be flattened.
A few months ago, this might have been a metaphor, but at this point, the Dagger team wielded a massive explosive power that was far too large for a single operation team.
The meaning was simple, and just then, Henry heard the sound of a helicopter outside. He opened the bulletproof window and looked outside.
A helicopter was lifting off into the air.
Upon seeing it, he added:
"I hope we don’t find the base turned into a flat surface before we even figure out what happened."
"I agree."
Henry and his aide both chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Four hours ago, they had received the report that the team had arrived at the secret research facility in Canada and the base under its control.