NOVEL WEB Chapter 160
“I expected some troop losses, but wow. This is way worse than I thought. It’s definitely Heros Company. I might need to adjust the plan a bit.”
“Maybe you going to support Hanchō was a blessing in disguise, Blanca. Otherwise, our forces would’ve been whittled down even more.”
“So this is Heros Academy… I never even got to sightsee when I was part of Heros Company, and here I am now. Life is just… funny, huh? The future really is unpredictable.”
They chattered away as usual. They seemed a bit cheerful, but I couldn’t tell if they were trying to hide their tension.
I just couldn’t understand others at all.
“…Blanca, you seem a bit quiet. Are you hurt? It’s okay, we still have time to tend to your wounds.”
“I’m fine. Let’s move. They’re still flying around out there.”
My body was unscathed. My mind, I still had no clue. But I knew we couldn’t afford to hesitate. We had to hurry now.
There was no time to care for anyone else or look back.
They resumed moving, saying, “If you say so,” but for some reason, they felt quieter than before.
They didn’t say why, but since I had no idea, I didn’t complain as it felt slightly better this way.
“Is this the principal’s office? What is this, not even a bank vault is this secure. Hmm… let’s see, I’m sure I have the password and fake fingerprints in my pocket…”
While rummaging through their pockets, I quickly unlocked the thick iron door based on the information I had memorized.
“Well, no need to search now! Quick, Blanca. Maybe I shouldn’t have come in the first place. Can you check outside for me? Just in case.”
“Of course.”
I let them inside, while I stayed outside on guard, figuring out what we had in the principal’s office and the information room.
Naturally, nothing came. Nothing was supposed to come.
The heroes were wasting time trying to grasp the unprecedented situation, and the police were short on firepower; military forces were still dragging their heavy gear and coming in slowly.
There might be aerial support, but they wouldn’t drop bombs. No matter how ruthless they were, there’s no way they’d openly bombard a school.
At worst, it would just end up as reconnaissance.
Everything was going according to plan. Considering we’d been simulating for years, it was to be expected, but I never thought it would go this smoothly.
…No, maybe I never thought we’d actually raid the Academy like this.
All this time, we were just preparing, and I thought I’d keep hanging out with my friends while maintaining this precarious double life.
It was a complacent, narrow-minded thought.
Normally, I’d laugh at my own foolishness, but I just couldn’t muster a smile. Right now, I felt like I had no thoughts at all. I just wished this would all be over as quickly as possible.
“…Alright! It’s done. Not the best flavor, but at least it feels somewhat worthwhile to tear through. No major ruckus, right, Blanca?”
They had a somewhat sour expression, tossing the USB back and forth. From their words, it seemed like the information wasn’t all that impressive.
“Yeah. Now let’s move on to the next stage. They’ll be waiting in the broadcast room.”
“I was going to do that anyway, Blanca. I know you’ve waited long enough, but being too hasty could mess things up.”
They spoke to me in a soothing tone and made a call.
“Hey, it’s me. We can start. Oh, and let me know how far the military forces are. Hmm… near the Gaesong Intersection… very close! They seem to have been working hard!”
They tried to joke with me, but I didn’t know how to respond, so I just pretended not to hear.
It seemed they had no intention of forcing me to answer, as they told me to forget what just happened and continued fiddling with their phone to get the footage currently being broadcasted.
If you’re wondering what footage, it was of course an expose. Filled with Heros Company’s corruption that the Liberators had been gathering and the dark truths they were trying to hide.
Genetic manipulation experiments. Torturous experiments. Systematic human trafficking of Ainjos and non-citizens.
And, the details of the experiments I had endured along with the story of the girl who survived that horrors.
So far, it was still the early part, only showing their figure, but I would appear around the middle.
This was being aired on public channels, so it wouldn’t be long before it got cut off, but we had spread the video online through all sorts of methods besides just hijacking the airwaves, meaning Heros Company couldn’t possibly control it all.
This should plant the seeds of distrust in society.
There’s a big difference between having a vague feeling that something’s fishy and knowing for sure about the foul deeds.
As for the heroes’ credibility dropping… I couldn’t be too sure, but that was something the citizens would decide.
At least in the video we shot, we made the heroes look like ‘victims manipulated by Heros Company’s sense of justice.’
If, after all that, dissatisfaction towards the heroes erupted, then the heroes would definitely have issues.
“Looks like it’s turning out well.”
“Hmm, maybe I should’ve tidied my hair or at least added some effects. Looking at this, I kind of look like a NEET.”
“The message is what matters.”
“Surprising that you’re not saying ‘you do look like a NEET!'”
“That kind of banter has to be done considering the time and place. Now let’s go. If we take too long, we might have to deal with both the heroes and soldiers at the same time.”
They mumbled something about being unable to talk back and then used another device to give the order to the executives to move to Stage 2.
“Well, it’s all the same whether it’s yours or mine… let’s use mine. Blanca, save yours. You never know when you might need it.”
They said that as they gestured for me to come closer.
I obediently stepped forward and got closer, and then they crushed a black orb.
Stage 2.
It was a raid on a research facility marked six months prior near the outskirts.
The reason we dragged it out until the military forces reached the Academy was to minimize the troops stationed at the nearby military base.
“…Phew, I feel like I’m going to hurl. Alright, Justitia, Jack, Aileen, Hanchō, Blanca… Butler and Wei are non-combatants, hmm, everyone’s here.”
We must’ve been the latest ones; by the time we instantaneously teleported to the waypoint near the research facility, all of the Liberators’ forces had already arrived.
Despite maybe the waypoint being the cause, their faces didn’t seem great, but their morale and excitement were sky-high.
“Everyone, you all did great! But it’s too early to relax! Our debut is not over yet. Rather, it’s just about to begin!”
They took a moment to pause, pointed at the research facility in front of us, and shouted.
“…Let’s liberate everything that’s oppressed. Let’s topple the oppressors, the tyrants!”
The soldiers charged toward the research facility with battle cries.
This was anything but a raid; it looked like a truly ragtag offensive. But the forces meant to guard the facility were way too insufficient to hold them back.
All the heroes must’ve been deployed to the Academy, just as the military had.
It wasn’t strange for them to react overly sensitively since the very heart of the heart—the Academy was being raided.
Even the guards trying to protect the facility were soon overwhelmed by sheer numbers and turned into a beehive.
…Today felt like it was going to be an exceptionally long day.
– – – –
“Alright, Blanca. It’s your turn now. Don’t overdo it. If speaking is too painful, I can speak for you.”
“No, I’m fine. Just let me set the mood, shift aside a bit, Boss.”
The girl appearing on the screen wasn’t a complete stranger.
Even though I’m not great at remembering faces, I definitely remembered that one. How could I forget? She was the Ainjo girl my granddaughter brought home as her first friend.
I had been swept into the dimensional rift with that girl, so I’d even seen her face when she was rescued.
At that time, I had no interest. I didn’t even know that she was my granddaughter’s friend.
But… Who would have thought that our granddaughter’s first friend would hold such a massive secret?
The flat tone of the girl on the screen was discussing something that could never be uttered lightly.
To the weak-hearted, just thinking or hearing about it would cause them to faint, it was a tale of horrific and disgusting experiments.
Even for someone like me who had experienced such things, a wave of revulsion towards Heros Company naturally washed over me, it was that ugly.
The girl calmly recounted something akin to torture.
“You might not believe me, so I will provide evidence. Here are the experimental records and coordinates of the research facility where I was confined, classified as confidential by Heros Company. I wouldn’t recommend you go there, but if you want to, feel free. Umm… that’s all. There’s nothing more to say.”
“Should I set up a new life elsewhere…?”
As I muttered that, they placed a hand on my shoulder, saying we could leave anytime but advised us to observe a little longer.
“More importantly… I’m worried about Lapiz.”
I wanted to say I thought she would pull through, but… I couldn’t assure it, to that extent.