"By the authority of Executioner Geo—all personnel, protect me!"
Reaching down to shove his spilling entrails back into his abdomen, a severely disfigured Geo dragged himself backward as a swarm of executioners rushed forward to block the pursuing enemies.
Without a second hesitation, Xiao gave the order. The Liu Association Fixers immediately clashed with the remaining grunts, turning her head to shout at Putato: "Vanda! I'll pin down the rest of the Executives!"
Hearing that, Putato knew the battle was practically decided. All that was left was to claim Geo's head!
"I heard most of you Void Fist guys are old war veterans. What's wrong? Thinking about switching careers and becoming a deserter now?"
Putato tossed out the taunt purely to draw Geo's attention back to him, but he immediately noticed the man's expression twist into a dark, vicious scowl as he locked eyes directly on him.
"What the hell do you even know?!"
Geo violently kicked open a green military wooden crate and bellowed, "The Smoke War—that grand war where multiple Wings of the World clashed! One Wing fell, and a new Wing rose from its ashes. Sounds epic as hell, right? But the ones dying in the dirt were us!"
SWISH!
Four green ampoules were wedged between his fingers, his face flushed with rage as veins bulged across his neck.
"I led those damn idiots and risked our lives for K Corporation, and on our final mobilization order, it was to go collect our unpaid wages, damn it!"
"And what's worse, some absolute moron at the top decided to use our leftover deployment budget as a deposit to hire elite mercenaries instead. How the hell is a bunch of disabled veterans supposed to compete with that?! We had to dodge all our old rivals and run all the way to the Outskirts just to survive!"
Geo savagely jammed all four ampoules straight into his right arm, then reached back into the wooden crate to grab two more glowing red-and-gold ampoules, jabbing them straight into his left arm with zero regard for safe dosage limits.
"This kind of life is worse than being a stray dog! Since The City is too cheap to hand veterans like us who crawled out of the meat grinder so much as a doghouse to live in, then we'll just march right back onto the battlefield!"
"By the authority of Executioner Geo—I order you to execute a fight-to-the-death protocol! Keep tearing at the enemy until every single one of them is ground to dust!"
Putato's eyes widened as he stared at those executioners, who had practically lost their minds. They had completely stopped caring about their injuries, launching into frantic, suicidal counter-attacks. Meanwhile, Geo's physical form swelled by a full size as he charged straight toward him with thunderous steps.
BOOM!
The burning Brand of Fire forced Geo to stumble back a few paces in agony, but he gritted his teeth through the pain and locked right back into brutal, close-quarters combat with Putato. The heavy, deafening sounds of their impacts echoed across the rooftop like war drums, making everyone's hearts hammer frantically against their ribs.
"In those moments of utter despair, we couldn't even answer what the hell we were supposed to do tomorrow?! Only Void Fist gave me an answer—gave me Truth!"
"The Association? You lot are the ignorant sheep, actually believing you're out here maintaining order in The City. Does that kind of bullshit even exist?!"
The terrifying rebound force from their blows made Putato and Geo simultaneously spew a mouthful of hot blood, yet their weapon swings only accelerated.
Just looking at those eight ampoules Geo had shoved into his own body made Putato's scalp tingle. Whatever Void Fist was using, it sure as hell wasn't just standard-issue stimulants!
"The Director? She'll take you out to a victory banquet, but will she shed a single tear for the comrades who died? The order she just gave to send her subordinates to their deaths was given without a single blink!"
"My right eye went blind crying for my brothers, and what about her? Has she ever even looked at a comrade's tombstone?!"
CRACK!
The remaining ampoules, overheating under the intensity of the Brand of Fire, abruptly shattered. Geo let out a harsh curse, while the Liu Association members, having heard enough, fired back in furious indignation.
"Hmph! What would a guy like you know? We trust Director Xiao!"
"Hahaha! It's the exact same ridiculous, effective brainwashing as their 'rules,' just repackaged as 'professional duty,' 'mutual trust,' or whatever other fancy name they give it! And then you idiots willingly march off to die for it! The only actual difference between us is that you lot happen to be standing on the Corporation's payroll!"
"Are you family? Are you lifelong friends? Hell no! You're just blindly following orders!"
THUMP!
Putato, maintaining a cold, unreadable expression the entire time, finally caught the exact micro-second Geo's stamina bottomed out. With a vicious swing, his Crusher cleaved completely through Geo's right arm right down to the joint, showering the ground with a spray of blood.
Geo's face instantly twisted in agony as the blood-soaked stump was rapidly cauterized shut by the Brand of Fire. Yet, he refused to retreat or dodge a single inch, pressing the attack relentlessly.
"When you start listening to her at first, it's just because she's your superior by default. Then, once you see she actually has tactical competence, you arbitrarily decide it's safer to just follow her lead. And finally, you fabricate some fake 'comradely bond' to justify blindly trusting her without condition!"
"That's the magic of big Corporations right there! They rebrand brainwashing into something you can comfortably swallow no matter how powerful she acts, doesn't she still have to answer to her higher-ups?! She's just holding the leash to you bunch of house-mutts!"
BANG!
Now down to one-armed, Geo rapidly lost the upper hand. His left wrist was sliced clean off by Putato once again, but this time, writhing clumps of flesh rapidly regenerated from the stump. Gritting his teeth, Geo desperately tried to scramble backward.
RIP!
The Spiral Spear slanted upward, tearing clean through Geo's entire chest cavity and leaving him collapsing to the deck with his pupils dilated.
"Any last words?"
Stepping a boot squarely onto the crazed Geo's head, Putato channeled a brief burst of energy through his Spiral Spear and flicked his wrist, blowing apart an executioner lunging in to provide backup.
"The answer is—there are no answers! The only truth in The City is that there's no goddamn truth at all!"
"And out of all the trash I've cut down, you were definitely the toughest piece of garbage. Give me your name before you go!"
"Vanda."
"Hahaha! Vanda, go fuck yourself!"
THUMP!
Brains splattered everywhere.
After such a protracted ordeal, the battlefield on the top-tier observation deck suddenly fell dead silent. The only remaining sounds were distant screams and the clashing of blades; aside from slaughter, nothing else lingered.
With their commanding officers wiped out, Void Fist rapidly collapsed into a rout. By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, the Liu Association had completely brought an end to the entire engagement.
"Vanda, do I really look all that cold and heartless to you?"
Standing at the edge of the platform, Xiao watched as Chun directed personnel to collect the bodies. A significant number of Liu Association Fixers had perished during that final, desperate counter-offensive.
Putato turned his head, looking somewhat perplexed at Director Xiao. She didn't strike him as the type of person easily swayed by emotional rambling. "Not at all. Besides, you've been pretty good to me. That promotion we talked about, we can get that sorted out today, right?"
Xiao turned back to meet Putato's gaze. "You know that's not what I meant. And... you really are an exceptionally reliable Fixer. It's been an absolute honor working alongside you. Your promotion credentials will definitely be cleared and processed before midnight tonight."
Hearing that, a wide grin spread across Putato's face. "You're the Director. Staying composed is part of the job description; otherwise, how are your subordinates supposed to feel safe following you?"
"Besides, that guy was a mercenary, and you're an Association Fixer. You don't need to lose sleep over some suicide mission."
Despite her heavy, somber mood, Xiao couldn't help letting out a faint, quiet chuckle, and chose not to press the matter any further.
The moment Putato remembered tomorrow was Saturday, he instantly recalled K Corporation's confidential weekend commission. He decided he was going to take that single day off to give himself a proper break; otherwise, with how fast things were piling up, who knew when he'd ever find time to just go out and unwind.
"Anyway, I still feel like what Geo said at the end had some truth to it."
"Like what?"
"The answer is that there is no answer."
...
"Brother! You're finally back!"
Katae bounced off her computer chair with a squeal of excitement, wrapping his arms around Putato's waist like an octopus and hanging onto him refusing to let go. All his built-up longing was poured into rubbing his forehead against Putato's chest.
Tossing his pneumatic syringe onto the coffee table with a casual flick, Putato collapsed straight back onto the sofa. An overwhelming wave of mental exhaustion washed over him, but he still forced himself to dig out his communicator and toss it onto Katae's head.
He still had to tune in to the Urban Girl's livestream, plus wait for the notification regarding Xiao's promised promotion.
Clinging to Putato, Katae felt all his anxieties instantly melt away. A long-overdue wave of pure happiness washed over him, heavy enough to let him drift off to sleep without needing any sleeping pills.
[ Brandon:
- Roland [100,000 Ahn ]: Is the Urban Girl doll made out of cheap, bargain-bin materials or what?
- Olga [100,000 Ahn ]: An Urban Girl, huh? Quite the gap moe, I guess.
- Yang [100,000 Ahn ]: Is the Urban Girl running a whole Corporation now? Do Proxies even need money?
- Tamaha [100,000 Ahn ]: Praying to the Urban Girl that the bastard who stole my motorcycle gets strung up from a streetlamp.
- Parui [100,000 Ahn ]: The Index makes money way too easy. At least nobody's starving inside...
- Sasa [100,000 Ahn ]: We're even gonna project the Urban Girl's livestream on a screen at me and Darcy's wedding!]
Tamaha?
Total stranger to him, but Putato was intimately familiar with the whole "stolen motorcycle" ordeal. Was this guy one of his past victims, perchance?
[ Putato:
To Roland: All levels are equal in The City.
To Yang: It's all part of The City's ecosystem. ]
[ Shamisen: Boss, I've already filed all the trademark and copyright patents for the Urban Girl. We're launching the virtual idol concert tomorrow, and on top of that, we need to recruit a dedicated Security Department division.]
[ Putato: Make sure the streaming servers and the processing factory here in the building are fully guarded. Don't let anyone raid us on day one.]
[ Obana: Boss, I believe the company is finally running smoothly. Maybe it's time to restructure and clean house regarding our staffing overhead, seeing as labor costs are currently our biggest operational expense.]
"Brother, your skin is so nice, and your hands are so pale. Is this bandage wrap some kind of special Workshop product?"
[ Putato: Good point, Obana. Starting now, you report directly to Mo.]
[ Obana: That's not how this works! Boss, with all due respect, I might be a recent hire, but my management capability is indisputable.]
Ha. Letting this girl manage a processing workshop was already pushing it. Putato could already picture Obana scalping and reselling knock-off Urban Girl dolls on the black market; that was within his acceptable margin of error.
If she actually got put in charge of livestreaming operations or logistics, she'd turn into a corporate parasite in no time flat.
[ Putato: My mind's made up. I wanna ask you about something else instead. Do you know a mercenary representative named Geo? He claimed he got chased all the way out to the Outskirts by K Corporation when he went to collect wages with his crew.]
[ Obana: Uh, how am I supposed to remember every single random merc? Either they disobeyed orders during a raid and got docked pay by the Corporation, or they hired out-of-house mercenaries to pocket black-market kickbacks, or they were sold out when the Corporation reached a temporary ceasefire with the opposition.]
[ Obana: That kind of stuff happens all the time, right? You hire mercs precisely so they can take the fall for you. When you're cashing the check, you should already know you're just a disposable bargaining chip.]
[ Putato: Obana, if anyone under your watch at this processing plant ever has to go collect unpaid wages, I am going to peel your skin off.]
[ Obana: Oh, come on, Boss! I guarantee nobody's going unpaid under my watch.]
"Brother, your face is so soft, and it feels so warm against mine."
Gently pushing Katae aside, Putato snatched up his jacket, sprinted over to the high-rise building that had been converted into the processing plant, grabbed a startled Obana right out of her office chair, and planted a solid punch straight into her shoulder.
"Don't play dumb with me! I'm telling you right now, I mean what I say!"
"Master, can we please use our words like civil people instead of throwing punches?"
Obana pitifully cradled her left cheek before letting out an exaggerated sigh, adopting a "whatever happens, happens" attitude. "Fine, fine. I get it, you wanna play the good guy, go right ahead. But you can't just take your bad mood out on me whenever you feel like it. Think about how embarrassing it is if the other employees see this."
"Hmph!" Putato's expression softened slightly as he let go of Obana, instantly hunching over to check her computer.
Behind him, Obana immediately started pleading in a worried tone: "Master, Master, hitting me felt great, honestly! I've just been so stressed lately, violence is the only way I can de-stress. Come on, hit me again!" She wrapped her small frame tightly around Putato's right arm, refusing to let go.
Completely laser-focused, Putato ignored the short-stack entirely and quickly located a string of un-deleted communication logs.
[K Corporation Fried-Chicken-Chain Management System: Identity verification failed. This employee ID has been revoked and expunged. Please log in again.]
[Anonymous Email: Dior, it's me, Obana. I'm not dead yet. Even my burner accounts got wiped out, we need to talk.]
[Dior: Apologies, Sir/Madam. Employee Obana was killed in an underground transit line explosion. Please do not impersonate or exploit the deceased.]
[Email delivery failed: You have been blocked.]
"Huh. Looks like you've been completely written off." Figuring K Corporation probably decided that tracking down a single rogue employee wasn't worth the bandwidth, even resorting to an automated canned response, Putato felt the rock in his stomach finally drop.
Without her K Corporation backing, nobody in their right mind would give Obana the time of day anymore, meaning she had zero leverage to ever retaliate against him.
"Putato! You goddamn bastard!"
Provoked by Putato's barely concealed schadenfreude, Obana completely broke down, collapsing straight onto the floor. Her small body rolled back and forth across the tiles in a tantrum, her long, wavy green hair tangling wildly around her upper body as she abandoned all dignity and howled in bitter tears.
"I clawed my way up from the gutter of the Backstreets for years, and worked my ass off just to pass those exams and get scouted! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into getting that promotion?!"
"My body stopped growing permanently because of those pharmaceutical trial tests! And you little shit had the nerve to call me a short-stack! I'm gonna bite your face off, you asshole!"
Watching Obana glare up at him with bloodshot eyes, Putato didn't get angry at all. Instead, he just flashed a calm smile, squatted down, and let Obana grab fistfuls of his collar, lunging forward to take a spiteful bite out of his right cheek.
Within seconds, Putato's face was covered in a mix of saliva and bite marks. But he could clearly tell that, right this second, Obana had dropped all her defensive facades. Her rage and grief were 100% genuine. Unbothered by the sting, he teased her flatly: "That's just how it goes, isn't it? When you take money from a Wing of the World, you should already know you're nothing more than a disposable, tradeable poker chip."
"This is all your fault! It's all your fault!"
Obana stopped her pointless, angry biting. Looking up at Putato's indifferent expression, a tidal wave of sheer grievance choked her up. Letting go, she pounded her fists against the floor and wailed: "I have nothing left! All thirty-two years of my life went down the drain for nothing! Once your ID gets expunged, you lose your K Nest residency status instantly! With a record like mine hanging over my head, no other Wing of the World is ever gonna hire me!"
"Now I'm stuck rotting away in this literal garbage dump with an asshole like you for the rest of my life! You owe me!"
Putato actually hadn't expected Obana to have such a bizarrely pure, naive side to her tantrums. Without missing a beat, he whipped out his communicator, snapped a stealth photo of her, and then started consoling her. "Fine, fine. When the time comes, I'll make you the founder of the new L Corporation. All you gotta do is keep pulling your weight at work."
"Liars."
Though she doubted it out loud, Obana stopped thrashing around and stared at Putato suspiciously.
If anyone else had made a claim like that, Obana would've considered herself brain-dead for believing even half of it. But Putato had a track record of pulling off crazy stunts!
Plus, she had done some digging on her own beforehand, piecing together Putato's general timeline from his days at Good Office up until now. This guy definitely had some kind of game-breaking, world-shaking secret up his sleeve.
Obana didn't care what that secret was, just like how she never cared about the real, underlying headline behind Green Journey. She just saw an opportunity in front of her. Furthermore, Putato, despite being a violent, muscle-brained maniac, was actually quite reliable in every other practical aspect. That was the real reason she hadn't quietly fled LAUGH and gone into hiding.
"I can drop a tiny bit of my master plan for you. L Corporation is about to face total annihilation, and once that happens, I'm gonna infiltrate their central headquarters and swipe their Singularity tech. When that day comes, LAUGH is gonna evolve into a brand-new Wing of the World."
Obana stared at him with her mouth hanging wide open, completely forgetting how to cry. It took her a solid minute of blank staring before the corner of her twitching mouth finally formed words: "You absolute moron, Putato. Do you seriously think my brain stopped developing just because of my body?"
Putato casually picked up Obana's hem and wiped the dried saliva off his face before answering smoothly, "You're a talented investor. I only need to lay out one absolute truth for you right now, and when it happens, you'll realize everything is unfolding exactly according to my master plan."
"What truth?"
"Lobotomy Corporation, one of the Wings of the World, also known as L Corporation, is going to meet its end before the year is out."
Obana stopped pressing for details. Instead, her expression morphed into something unreadable as she stared hard at Putato. Her split-second, high-speed emotional pivot gave Putato a good laugh. Finally, she plastered on a completely artificial, bootlicking smile.
"Master is so amazing."
"Don't look at me with that face, or I won't be able to stop myself from indulging your specific, masochistic little fetishes."
Putato figured that while Obana was slippery and morally bankrupt, she made for a solid corporate investor, at least during the recent monopoly war, she genuinely pulled her weight when it came to sabotaging K Corporation's main hub.
After a moment of visible hesitation, Obana forced an "adorable" smile, plastered a look of blatant, unconcealed disgust toward Putato right across her face, and uncomfortably wriggled her butt up into the air while leaning over her desk, shivering slightly.
"You're seriously into this kind of stuff?"
"You've got it all wrong, you idiot Putato! Back in the day, I only ever played solo with candles and clothespins, maybe added a little auto-erotic asphyxiation and a TENS unit for good measure. Don't act like you aren't just jonesing to unleash your inner sadist on someone."
"Consider this an extra equity investment on my part. I'm completely broke right now anyway! If you hadn't just sat there and tolerated me taking a chunk out of your face earlier, I would never agree to play games with someone else. Just remember to write down every single punch you throw as a contribution bonus on my ledger!"
Damn it!
This peak ultra-capitalist mindset was genuinely incurable.