As I organized the plan in my head, trying to determine the best timing to act, Sabrina, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped, turning sharply to look at me.

"What’s your name? Oh, right, you can’t talk, can you?"

"...."

"Then I’ll just call you Fox. Your mask has a fox on it, after all. That works, right?"

"...!"

I didn’t mind being called Fox. I nodded as if to say it was fine.

Did she understand my meaning? Sabrina pursed her lips and wrinkled her thick eyebrows in an oddly cute expression before speaking again.

"Fox. If you’re following me, I’ll take that as you agreeing to help me. But if things get dangerous, you’d better ditch me and run. Got it?"

"...."

"Answer me! Oh, right."

Can’t answer, remember? I stared at her quietly, my expression saying, What are you doing talking to yourself? Flustered, she twitched her rounded ears and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Ahem, anyway! If you drag me down, I won’t let it slide."

"...!"

"Are you trying to say, don’t worry? Wow, for someone who looks so frail, you sure are confident."

She smirked at my nod, but her expression quickly turned serious again as she shifted her gaze ahead.

It wasn’t surprising. If someone found us here, it wouldn’t just mean getting in trouble—it could jeopardize David’s entire plan. She must have decided this wasn’t the time for idle chatter.

Sabrina glanced around quickly before speaking.

"My brother’s notes said this is an abandoned passage. Something about it being unused after the hotel was remodeled."

We were walking through a wide, desolate corridor with a high ceiling. It was part of the hotel’s “back of house” area, typically used by staff.

Thanks to multiple renovations, the structure had changed repeatedly, creating this disused corridor. With no CCTV and no people around, it was a perfect spot for shady activities.

Haha, feels like I’m a ninja. This is kind of fun.

Following close behind Sabrina, a question suddenly came to mind.

Wait... how exactly does Sabrina plan to proceed from here?

"Why are you staring at me? You want to ask about the plan?"

"...!"

"Oh… right. You probably need to know. Fine, I’ll explain my idiot brother’s brilliant plan!"

I already know, though. Ignoring her enthusiastic rambling, I let her words go in one ear and out the other, focusing on what I knew about David’s strategy.

His plan was straightforward: cause massive chaos in the hotel to create an opening, break through by force, secure Rayne, and escape using a pre-arranged vehicle to lose any pursuers.

Of course, the chaos involved shutting down power across the building and releasing sleeping gas. The obstacles? Nemesis’s formidable combat robots and their ace fixer, Lexi. And even if the plan succeeded, escaping the city’s well-connected police force would still be a challenge.

From what I could tell, Sabrina intended to get ahead of David, plant gas dispensers throughout the hotel, and wait to join him along his route.

Hmm... not the best idea.

Honestly, her plan was about a 5 out of 100. If we’re being generous.

The key to David’s plan was its audacity and speed—catching Nemesis completely off guard. Who would expect someone to blackout an entire building and burn through a year’s salary worth of sleeping gas just to rescue one person? Expecting that would make them the strange ones.

Now she wanted to add two extra liabilities to the mix? That would only disrupt David’s sharp, decisive strategy.

I folded my arms, pretending to think it over, before firmly shaking my head to signal that her plan wasn’t it.

"What’s wrong, Fox? Got a problem? Are you scared? Then just go back!"

"...."

"You don’t have any better ideas, do you?"

Tsk tsk tsk. Was she really treating me like someone who criticizes group projects without contributing anything?

I opened my mouth, ready to explain, only to remember I couldn’t speak. Frustrated by the harsh reality, I closed my eyes briefly and sighed.

Convincing someone without words was annoyingly inconvenient. Left with no choice, I scratched my head awkwardly as Sabrina glared at me, clearly annoyed.

Thud!

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from nearby.

What? I thought this was supposed to be an abandoned passage?

Sabrina’s eyes widened, her expression clearly asking the same question.

Well... Nemesis isn’t stupid. Of course, they’d notice a hidden space like this.

It was obvious. If an external hacker like David could figure it out, why wouldn’t Nemesis? Especially on a day when they were hosting VIPs and likely on high alert.

This was even something I remembered from the original story, so it didn’t surprise me.

"...Ugh! R-robot...!"

In the distance, a massive spider-like robot appeared, its eight legs clicking ominously against the floor.

Startled, Sabrina clenched her fists, ready to fight the robot. But I quickly grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

Unless David’s plan had already started, attacking now would only ruin everything before it even began.

"Then what do you expect me to do? We can’t just run away!"

"...."

Shh. I pressed a finger to her lips—a gesture that carried two meanings. First, to tell her to stay quiet and not cause a commotion. Second, to warn her not to talk about what she was about to see.

"Ah, wah?!"

Using telekinesis, I applied pressure to Sabrina’s knees, making her legs buckle, then caught her mid-fall in a princess carry. With a quick push of telekinetic force, I launched us both into the air, easily clearing the spider robot crawling below us.

Sure, Sabrina and I were about the same height, and I was even skinnier than her, so the sight must have looked pretty ridiculous. But who cared? Telekinesis made up for any lack of strength or balance, so there wasn’t a problem.

"Kyah!"
"...!"

Sabrina squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a pitiful scream as she clung to my neck with all her might.

If I hadn’t reinforced myself with telekinetic barriers, her grip alone might’ve snapped my neck. It was a close call, and I couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat as I landed softly and soundlessly on the ground.

The spider robot creaked and clicked its way forward, disappearing into the distance. Sabrina, looking utterly bewildered, peered up at me from my arms.

"You, you! Was that… magic just now?"
"...."

I don’t know. I’m not telling you anything. I gave her a casual shrug and a brazenly unapologetic look.

What’s that? You’re asking why I’d openly use telekinesis like that?
So what? With her personality, it’s unlikely she’d tell anyone, and even if she did, who’d believe her?

Besides, unless I knocked her out and dragged her around unconscious, there was no avoiding her finding out. My plan relied entirely on telekinesis. Why bother hiding it?

It was a purely rational decision.

"Hmph! Don’t think I’m going to thank you or anything!"

While I mulled this over, Sabrina blushed furiously and quickly scrambled out of my arms.

Was she embarrassed about being helped by someone who looked as weak as me?

I dusted off the borrowed suit, just in case, and then turned to her with a silent, questioning gaze, one that said: I have a better idea. What do you think?

"...Do you have another plan? Something better than me trying to catch up with my brother?"
"...!"
"Then… we’ll go with your plan. What are you thinking?"

Oh, this was working.
I confidently nodded at her cautious question.

Your plan? A 5 out of 100.
My plan? 120 out of 100. No, 150.

But time was a bit tight. There were still variables to account for.

We’d better hurry.

I held my hand out to her, signaling for her to take it. She hesitated, fidgeting awkwardly before finally reaching out and grasping it.

Gotcha.

The moment she held my hand, I pulled her close, catching her in my arms once more. Then, with a burst of telekinesis, I stuck us to the ceiling and darted forward, rapidly crossing the narrow space between the floor and the ceiling.

"Eek, eeek! I knew it! I hate this kind of thing!"

Ignoring her whining, I swam through the small gap like a fish cutting through water. Before long, we reached the elevator shaft.

"Huff, huff… is it over now?"

Oh, this part’s going to be even scarier.
I gently patted Sabrina’s head, like one would reassure a nervous child before a vaccine shot, then flung us down the open vertical shaft.

By now, she didn’t even have the energy to scream. She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, utterly frozen.
Unbothered, I reveled in the rush, my stomach dropping as if I were on an amusement park ride. Using telekinetic force as a platform, I propelled us upward quickly.

How far up had we gone? When we reached the target floor, I instinctively sensed it and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a descending elevator. I tucked us into the narrow space between the ceiling and the floor.

Ah, how do I describe this feeling?
Like stretching after crouching for a long time, or sprinting at full speed after a long rest. It was the perfect blend of exhaustion and exhilaration. I couldn’t help but smile.

"Ugh… Sis… Brother…"

Oh, stop exaggerating.
I gently set Sabrina, who was on the verge of tears, on the floor and scanned the surroundings.

The area was filled with wires, equipment, and dust—expected, given it was above the ceiling.

We were almost done.
Moving quietly to avoid making noise, I located a section of the ceiling that seemed promising and carefully dismantled it with telekinesis, peeking down.

Not here. What about this one? Nope, not here either. Then…

After repeating this about four times, I finally found what I was looking for.

"Fox, what are you… Why are you suddenly messing with the floor—wait, is that…?!"

Sabrina, who had recovered by now, peered over my shoulder, her eyes widening in shock.

And rightfully so. Below us were dozens of combat robots, their very presence radiating menace.

If I remembered correctly from the original story, there were exactly twenty of them. Sabrina’s face grew grave as she took in the overwhelming sight.

"If those things are on the move… even my idiot brother…"

Exactly.
Combat robots? At that level, they weren’t just combat robots—they were killing machines.

Bullets would barely leave a scratch, and even explosives would need to be specialized to dent their armor. Their arsenal wasn’t any less terrifying, equipped with everything from missiles to mono-molecular cutters that were nearly impossible to defend against.

With my relatively weak telekinesis, fighting more than one at a time was a guaranteed losing battle. The best option in that scenario was to run.

But if they’re just sitting there peacefully, waiting for activation? That’s a different story.

That was only the case while they were inactive, waiting for their signal in the hangar. Right now, they were the easiest targets imaginable.

Telekinesis can interfere with their internals if I concentrate.

From the safety of the ceiling, out of sight of the CCTV cameras, I reached out toward the combat robots. Fine threads of telekinetic energy extended from my palm, infiltrating deep into their systems.

They had protection against water, dust, and even magic, but they didn’t seem to have considered psychic powers. Big mistake.

After about four minutes of focus, I felt my telekinetic threads slip into their circuits.

Time to break things. Snap!

Fixing things is hard, but breaking them? Always easy.
I crushed the circuitry inside the robot’s head, effectively rendering it useless.

One down. Nineteen to go.

The timing’s tight, but I can manage.

As I got the hang of it, I found ways to speed up the process. Within 40 minutes, I’d successfully neutralized all twenty combat robots. I felt a wave of satisfaction, like I’d just climbed a mountain.

Now, with only Lexi left to deal with, there was nothing stopping David.

Just as I let out a long breath of relief, the lights around us flickered and went out.

Sabrina, who had been silently watching me, jumped in alarm, glancing around nervously. But I immediately realized what this was—David’s plan had begun.

At last, the Nemesis Terror Incident was truly underway.