＜ Episode 15 ＞
It is difficult for people to see themselves objectively.
Because no matter how cold-hearted a person may be, he has a generous heart towards himself.
That’s why you can’t see yourself objectively and collapse after trying too much.
If it were everyday life in society, it would be possible to rise again on the basis of failure and succeed in the challenge and become a memory, but the world John lives in is not such a place.
A world in which one minor mistake leads directly to the existence or nonexistence of life.
So John was trying to see himself as objectively as possible, and thanks to past training and experience, he gained the ability to objectify himself to see himself as other people.
Analyze yourself thoroughly.
Analyzing himself with a cold gaze that is neither indulgent nor ignoring, without any addition or subtraction, is something John does almost every day as a ritual.
There were many problems that John thought of after analyzing himself like that, but the most urgent was his physical ability.
As I got used to using this ability, my physical ability steadily increased, but it was not clearly outstanding.
Above all, defense is an issue.
The cyborg, whose entire body was covered with a shell, was able to maneuver sufficiently even if a part of the body was damaged, and the more the technology develops, the stronger it becomes, just as there is a possibility to break through the battlefield with shells by securing steel-like protection at a cost. .
Those who have mastered martial arts or magic have the power to ignore quite a few bullets due to the nature of their abilities.
Those who have mastered shamanism will be able to obtain powerful long-range defense through the target they borrow their power from.
But the talented person is ambiguous.
Because of the wide variety of abilities, depending on one’s innate ability, one might be able to obtain strong defensive power, but John’s ability was not in that category.
‘I don’t know if the output gets stronger.’
I don’t know if John’s overall capabilities increase and he can unfold his powers and abilities just by imagining it, but isn’t it now?
That’s why John wanted someone who could advise him on this ability, and Miller put on a troubled look.
The world of talented people is narrow and closed.
Wizards are united in the name of School, and martial arts users share their vision in the name of Munpa.
Shamans borrow power from the outside in the first place, so it’s out of the question.
If a person with a special ability is at the level of giving advice to others, it means that he has fully developed his ability, so it would be almost impossible to meet such a great person.
That’s why Miller had a troubled look on John’s request, but he didn’t ignore his request, and now he’s got a piece of information.
“It is a possibility. I don’t know if he can advise you or not.”
John nodded at Miller, who erased his smile and looked at him with a hard face.
“That’s enough.”
It was an almost impossible request, but somehow someone caught even a hem of the string.
John had no intention of disparaging Miller’s efforts.
“Because he is in a slightly special position, I didn’t even know he had superpowers. Thanks to you, I got some pretty important information, so I didn’t suffer just like that.”
“A special location?”
“My name is Ivan Pushkin.”
“···for a moment. Is it Pushkin?”
John did not neglect to gather information on Area 53, and the current power map of Area 53 was embedded in his head in considerable detail.
And Pushkin is a name that has a lot of weight in his head.
“yes. The former boss of the Pushkin Mafia. I’m in lockdown now.”
“···Damn it.”
John’s face crumpled.
***
Area 53 is an area of entertainment and consumption.
The story is that if there is honey, bees are attracted, and District 53 is a bloody neighborhood that may be blowing blood somewhere in the back alley even at this time.
In this place where several organizations disappear and appear every day, the Pushkin Mafia is a huge organization that has been firmly established for quite a long time.
They have strict discipline and rarely touch ordinary citizens, but they do not hesitate to shed blood on hostile organizations or those who invade their territory.
The people John now cannot handle are the Pushkin Mafia, but John’s face naturally crumpled as the former boss there.
“…I’m looking into it more, but for now, there’s only this person.”
“···yes. It was an unreasonable request.”
Looking at Miller, who slightly averted his eyes, John was lost in thought.
You have to develop your abilities somehow and fill in the missing parts.
Because he worked diligently for 3 months, he was establishing himself in District 53 to some extent, but isn’t that not enough?
No matter how good John is, he could be killed because of the whim of a passer-by, or someone who has a grudge against John might hire a fixer and try to kill him.
In the end, the only way to survive in Luna is to have overwhelming power.
Since he was the former boss of the Pushkin Mafia, he was said to be in confinement, but he would have bodyguards attached, and even if he did meet him, it was unlikely that John would tell him what he wanted.
‘But I can’t help it.’
I don’t like to die on the road without knowing anything.
If there is a road, shouldn’t we struggle at least?
“Give me the info.”
In that respect, John is not a hesitant person.
***
“after.”
With a sigh, she took off her coat and threw it away, then threw herself onto the bed.
A cushion that was on a different level from a cheap slum bed wrapped around his body, but John, who was complicated in his thinking, did not enjoy that feeling.
“It’s a simple place for a retired boss. But for that kind of thing, the guard is too much. . . . I may not have retired on my own.”
While looking at the data, John’s head began to race wildly.
Considering the appearance of Ivan, who is not as old as he thought, and the current situation of his retirement when a talented person should be active for a long time, there was a high possibility that Ivan’s retirement was not voluntary.
The main purpose of the guards for Ivan may be surveillance, not security. I felt that the difficulty of the mission had increased significantly as I had to break through those people and contact Ivan.
“···Damn it.”
John took a cigarette and blew out the smoke with a vain expression.
– How to strengthen abilities? why are you curious about that? Well, from the point of view of ordinary garbage, you might be curious. No big deal. You can collect experience points, open the skill window, and take a tech tree. Kick kick kick!
It felt like the voice of the day was playing in John’s ears.
“Damn it.”
His stomach twisted at the thought that players in a different situation would be comfortable with his strength, but John soon stood up from his seat with a calm face.
Denying reality doesn’t help at all.
John knew very well that doing what he could at that time would bring him one step closer to survival.
“…I’ll have to find a way to trick the guards first.”
John’s eyes sank deeply as he unfolded the floor plan of the mansion Ivan was living in.
***
Although it is said to be a district for entertainment and consumption, District 53 also had high-end residential areas, and that was the place where Ivan was living alone.
Looking at the mansion, which seemed relatively small compared to the grand mansions surrounding it, but which, with John’s current finances, a visit would be a luxury, John checked his plans.
“You are over-armed. There are even optics there. Surely that’s surveillance.”
After checking the guards through the high magnification scope, John hardened his expression.
They were armed with excessive firearms to be called bodyguards, and it was clear that they had undergone optical equipment, seeing as some of them flashed their eyes.
“The houses around are also hanging. It is probably used as a residence for the guards.”
The power of the Pushkin Mafia was felt once again on the scale of using two huge mansions, which seemed like a million dollars to be ridiculous, as lodgings for guards.
“…If that amount of people and funds are spent on surveillance, it would be better to kill them. I see something.”
His face crumpled at the difficulty of the mission, which rises in real time, but nothing changes what he has to do.
How long would it have been to continue watching from a distance with such a frown on his face?
The surveillance, which began in the morning, continued until the sun rose again after the sun had set and the night streets were full of excitement.
During that time, John did not move.
In order to minimize physiological activity, he did not put any food in his mouth, and his lips were moistened with water, so his body was tired, but John got rid of it with his own power.
“… I could do it for a week at this rate.”
John muttered as he removed the scope from his eyes.
The most difficult part of intensive monitoring and sniping is to endure and maintain the body condition, but with this ability, it was covered neatly, so I thought that with this power, I could become a legendary sniper.
“I secured the movement line, and I also checked the detection device.”
John, who checked the situation once again while looking at the messy memo, finally stood up from his seat.
Duduk.
There were twitching noises all over his body from holding the same position for too long, but John didn’t care.
“It’s running now.”
After gathering information and checking the scene, there was only execution left, but John’s face was unexpectedly calm.
In any case, the success or failure of any operation can be known during the preparation process.
John invested a full day and was confident that the infiltration would be successful.
“…but the problem comes next.”
Will Ivan Pushkin answer his question?
Will John have the answer he wants?
What will you ask for in return for an answer?
Are you sure the answer is correct?
Countless questions popped into John’s head, but soon John shook his head.
“You’ll know when you meet.”
John muttered softly, erased his traces, and left.
***
The lights around the mansion made it hard to believe that it was nighttime, and the shifted guards were looking everywhere with bloody eyes, but John was walking through them.
‘Certainly genuine is different.’
Even though John, who was wrapped in an optical camouflage that showed stability on a different level from Gilbert’s, passed between the guards, they didn’t feel strange at all, so John realized the difference between Luna and Slum all over again.
It wasn’t that easy.
This was possible because he knew the routes of the guards he had taken the time to secure in his head, and he completely assimilated his body temperature with the surroundings with this ability to avoid the heat detectors.
In order to kill the presence, the lines of the body were kept to a minimum, and the sound was suppressed by wearing tights that clung to the whole body.
The shoes also had specially treated soles to silence all sounds, so the money John spent on this infiltration was by no means trivial.
In this way, John’s footsteps, which evaded the guards and surveillance devices and infiltrated the interior of the mansion by taking advantage of the shifts between the guards inside and outside the mansion, stopped.
It was because I saw a middle-aged man sitting alone in a fancy chair in a large room, drinking vodka.
A face that looks stubborn, a solid body, and even an atmosphere that covers the whole body.
John was able to find out that Lee was Ivan Pushkin, and that’s when he was about to reveal himself.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been a guest. sit down It’s quite drinkable vodka.”
Ivan’s eyes were fixed on where John was standing.
＜ Episode 15 ＞ End