Chapter 68: Bait

The light green liquid inside the rectangular geometric life-support chamber rapidly receded. The cables plugged directly into the flesh disconnected one by one, and the upper hatch popped open with a soft hiss.

"——Asshole! This isn't over yet!!!"

Immediately following this, a completely naked, dripping wet man jerked his eyes open, tore away the scattered cables, and crawled out. Unable to suppress his roaring rage, he shouted, "The Enlightened! And that piece of trash! I'm going to scrub your memory cores until you're brain-dead! Stuff you into Petri dishes! Damn it! I—"

[Respected Mr. Koji Yamashima, you appear to be in an "agitated" state. Would you like me to me—]

"Get lost!"

A micro-drone hovering via anti-gravity drifted closer. Just as its crystal-blue projection spotlight flickered on, the man violently lashed out with a backhand slap, which the drone nimbly evaded.

However, the drone ceased discussing physiological conditions. Instead, its tone shifted, and it apathetically repeated its broadcast.

[Mr. Koji Yamashima, according to Supervisor Gabay's message, he wishes for you to report to him immediately upon waking.]

Upon hearing the name "Gabay," the frantic look in Koji Yamashima's eyes subsided slightly, and he growled, "I know!"

Fifteen minutes later.

When Koji Yamashima had dressed, tidied himself up, and stepped into the conference room located on the top floor of the skyscraper, his expression stiffened slightly as he gazed at the figure ahead.

This subtle change in expression was fleeting, but it was clearly captured by his prosthetic eyes.

Thus, Dennis smiled and took the initiative to greet him.

"Good evening, Koji Yamashima."

"Same to you, Dennis."

Koji Yamashima gritted his teeth, spitting out the words one by one, before ignoring the other man entirely and turning his attention to another figure.

The holographic projection in the center of the conference room rotated and shifted continuously, accurately rendering the entire architectural and topographical layout of Paloth.

A man in a sharp suit was staring intently at the holographic projection without raising his head.

Looking at that seemingly permanently cold face, Koji Yamashima did not dare to meet his gaze. He lowered his head slightly and whispered, "Lord Supervisor, I'm sorry, my mission failed."

"The bait we dropped did fish something out; the targets were Harold and Juniper from the Enlightened, but... I am deeply sorry! I failed to hold them down!"

"Oh? Juniper and Harold?"

Dennis spoke with a hint of amusement: "After the heavy blow we dealt them last year, those are the only remaining members of the Enlightened's First Operational Team in Paloth. That truly counts as a big fish. Relying solely on a 'Bog Fiend' and your Second-Circle 'Consensus' certainly wasn't enough to take them down."

"Even so, it shouldn't have been a matter of not even lasting a few minutes, Koji Yamashima, right?"

"...Lord Supervisor, besides Harold and Juniper, there was also a mercenary."

Hearing Dennis's words, Koji Yamashima ground his teeth, making a cracking sound. Forcing himself to ignore the man, he continued, "That bastard is also a psychic, likely a First-Circle 'Transcendent.' He teamed up with Harold and shattered the 'puppet' I was controlling."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Dennis's eyes lit up slightly: "Was their gender—no, gender doesn't matter. Koji Yamashima, do you need my help? My fee would only require—"

"Dennis! Take your disgusting thoughts and get lost!"

Koji Yamashima let out a low roar, suddenly fixing a fierce stare on the man: "Ridiculous! Pitiful! No matter how much you rack your brains, you will never become one of us 'psychics'!"

Dennis did not speak.

His expression soured instantly.

"What, looking to throw punches? Even if we are both Senior Executive Agents, your 'Light Cone' exoskeleton isn't here! Do you even have the right to fight me?!"

A burst of white radiance suddenly flared within Koji Yamashima's pupils, and he roared, "If you don't want to be found stark naked when you regain consciousness, you better—"

"Enough."

At that exact moment, the man finally raised his head and uttered the syllable.

Yet Koji Yamashima turned a deaf ear, the psychic glow in his eyes intensifying even further—

Then, a bone-chilling sense of mortal danger enveloped him.

"——I said, enough."

Before the words had even finished echoing, a hand that looked indistinguishable from that of a natural human clamped around Koji Yamashima's throat, lifting him entirely off the ground.

The next moment, he was violently hurled aside, crashing through a chain of tables and chairs.

"Koji Yamashima, you are a psychic of the 'Consensus' Path. You understand the dangers of mental loss of control better than I do."

Gabay looked coldly at the disheveled man: "Haven't you noticed? Over the past few days, you've already been showing signs of 'losing control'! The so-called consensus is the consensus between you and others. Through massive exchanges of psyche and memory, 'Consensus' psychics who suffer a mental breakdown and become raving lunatics have never been in short supply!"

Gabay's prosthetic eyes flashed.

"Starting from now, your authority and duties are temporarily suspended. You are going to undergo 'mental recalibration,' 'psychological counseling,' and similar treatments. You may return only when your stability is fully restored—consider this punishment for your failed mission."

"...Understood, Lord Supervisor." Koji Yamashima muttered.

After Koji Yamashima departed, Dennis spoke up.

"Supervisor, since Koji Yamashima is temporarily off duty, do you need me to take over his mission—"

"Hmm, how are you coming along with the matter regarding 'Song Shi'?"

"I have already arranged personnel to monitor related targets, such as the Romond Orphanage and Malico's daughter," Dennis replied immediately. "On the other hand, following the lead of 'Keng,' I tracked down that Song Shi had previously forged an identity and taken out underground loans. We are currently screening the organizations that issued those loans and will have results shortly."

"Mm."

Gabay nodded slightly: "One thing at a time."

"Once you wrap up the 'Keng' case, you can take over Koji Yamashima's mission—the First-Circle 'Transcendent' mercenary can be yours, but 'Song Shi' must be brought back to me."

"I understand, Supervisor."

Dennis lowered his head, the corners of his mouth curling upward into a faint smile.

"——Dennis."

Gabay spoke suddenly.

"Hm?"

Dennis looked up to see the supervisor staring straight at him, his gaze icy.

"Mind your boundaries. I can tolerate your little experiments behind my back, but don't cause too big of a commotion—especially without letting the people from the 'Scientific Ethics Review Committee' find out, or else you know the consequences."

A chill ran through Dennis's heart, but an unnameable surge of anger quickly followed. *You people—*

"...Understood, I know."

Suppressing the emotion forcefully without letting it show on his face, he replied in a low voice.

When Dennis too had departed, leaving the massive conference room occupied by only one person, Gabay stared once more at the holographic projection.

Accompanied by his gaze, the entire holographic projection began to shift. Amidst the convergence of massive data streams, high-precision pixels endlessly reassembled until finally, they transformed into a pleasant-sceneried, expansive complex of buildings—

Not long ago, this high-end sanatorium, semi-affiliated with 'Emerald Pharmaceuticals,' had suffered an attack, resulting in the immediate deaths of three mid-level executives who were vacationing and recuperating there.

And even earlier, similar attacks had occurred sporadically, though on a scale far smaller than this one, leading to no one cross-referencing or connecting them.

A brand-new, premeditated, and targeted anti-corporation armed organization.

"The personnel targeted in these recent attacks are all connected to the 'Old Industrial Zone Explosion' from back then."

"...Heh."

Gabay suddenly let out a laugh.

"I originally thought you lot would take the bait, but I never expected to fish out that bunch from the Enlightened instead."

"Heh, but it doesn't matter. With bait as large as the 'Tri-Phase Foundation Project' cast out, you—all of you—cannot possibly resist taking a bite—"

From the very beginning, it had never mattered whether Koji Yamashima could hold down those who took the bait.

That fellow's sole purpose was merely to leak a fraction of the "Tri-Phase Foundation Project."

And then.

Whether it was those "attackers" or the surviving "Enlightened," he would use the "Tri-Phase Foundation Project" to draw out every single bug hiding in Paloth, crushing them one by one.

——And thereby hand in a brilliant performance report for his impending promotion and transfer!