Into the Creations-Chapter 56: [] Code: XTK [3]

10 PM.

I entered the café where I had arranged to meet Raffles. It was a café tucked away in a back alley somewhere in Seoul.

As I stepped inside, a man greeted me. Wearing a black mask over his face, he scanned me with mechanical eyes before speaking.

"Are you Taker?"

"Yeah, I'm Taker. Sorry I'm an hour late. Something important came up. But are you AnnieThing?"

"AnnieThing is our leader, not me. I see you're carrying a pistol in your pocket."

"...I thought it wouldn't be noticeable from the outside. Do you have some kind of X-ray vision?"

"It's an X-ray scanner. You're not a cyborg, huh? Why are you carrying a smartphone? Do you like antiques or something?"

"A smartphone is the most perfect device, my friend."

"You're full of nonsense. Follow me. The leader's waiting."

"What's your name?"

"Jackie."

"Ah, are you a foreigner?"

"I'm Korean. Jackie is just an alias I use. Names don't mean much to us."

"Guess I'll have to go by Taker too, then."

I followed Jackie deeper into the café. There was a fairly large meeting room inside.

Eight people were waiting for me there.

"I brought him. He looks normal, and the only weapon he has is a single pistol."

Jackie spoke, and their gazes turned toward me.

They were all cyborgs.

Six men and only two women. The two women weren't exactly my type. Not attractive at all.

The man at the center stepped forward and spoke to me.

"Welcome. I'm Son Jeong-hu, the leader of Raffles. I'm AnnieThing, the one you talked to. The others just call me Leader."

AnnieThing—no, Son Jeong-hu—had a much softer demeanour compared to the stiff tone of his game character. He was dressed in casual clothes, looking like an ordinary college student.

He appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties and seemed normal at first glance.

'But in reality, he's a cyborg with only his brain remaining.'

Son Jeong-hu is the most dangerous guy in Raffles. For his own goals, he wouldn't hesitate to slaughter children or the elderly with a smile on his face.

"Taker, my real name is Park Eugene. So, I'm joining Raffles starting today, right?"

"I'm a bit skeptical. This is our first time meeting, after all. But I'm willing to accept you into Raffles. Your abilities are too tempting."

Son Jeong-hu extended his hand toward me. I shook it slowly, not letting my guard down.

'In the original story, Son Jeong-hu doesn't even trust his own comrades. Even if they've worked together for years in Raffles, he'll discard them without hesitation once they're no longer useful.'

Son Jeong-hu is not someone to be trusted. It's best not to get involved with him if possible.

I'm only contacting Raffles to obtain the Illusiter in the shortest time possible.

Once I get the Illusiter, I'll end this game immediately. I'm not particularly interested in this game anyway.

Highly advanced machinery beyond reality? That's something I can get from other works of fiction. There's no need to obsess over Code: XTK just for that.

"Wait, Leader. Didn't you say before that when accepting new members into Raffles, you'd consider our opinions too?"

It was a man with a mohawk and sunglasses. His name was Mudan. He had wheels on the soles of his feet.

"...Hmm. You're right. Mudan's got a point. Sorry, I was being a bit overbearing. Is anyone opposed to Taker joining us? Raise your hands."

At Son Jeong-hu's words, three people, including Mudan, raised their hands.

"We usually decide by majority vote... So Taker joining is confirmed. But we can't ignore the minority's opinion. Mudan, Train, Hyunji. What's your reason for opposing?"

Mudan spoke first.

"I don't trust him. He's too suspicious. He could be a spy from another organization or a government dog."

"True."

Son Jeong-hu looked at me. He stared straight into my eyes and asked.

"Are you a spy?"

"No. I work at a factory that makes machine parts."

"What's your reason for wanting to join Raffles? If you know who we are... you should know how dangerous our work is."

"If I don't do anything, my hacking skills will go to waste. I want to use my abilities to make a name for myself. A boring life isn't for me."

"That's not a reason to specifically choose Raffles. The government or the police would welcome your skills too. Other criminal organizations would as well."

"I don't trust the government. There are rumours they kidnap kids for human experiments. And other criminal organizations are too boring. If I'm going to join one, it has to be at least as good as Raffles."

Son Jeong-hu gave me a brief smile before shifting his gaze. His eyes landed on a large, muscular man with his shirt off, exposing his torso. Wires were coiled around his abdomen. It was Train.

"Train. What about you?"

"It's about his motive. We all have our own reasons for being in Raffles. I haven't heard his yet."

"Taker. Did you hear that? What's your motive?"

This was a question I had anticipated. There were many possible reasons—revenge for his parents, hatred for the government, a fascination with crime, and so on. But I went with the simplest one.

"Money. I want to make money using my hacking skills. Not by robbing banks or anything basic like that. I think Raffles aligns with my goals to some extent."

"True. We're a small, elite group, and we split the profits fairly. We take on contracts and sometimes pull off heists. There's rarely anything boring. You've come to the right place."

"...I'm still a bit suspicious, but whatever. The leader seems fine with it."

Train muttered and turned his head away. He didn't seem particularly interested in me.

"Hyunji. What about you?"

"He looks weak."

A short-haired woman sitting on the table walked toward me. Her hair was half-shaved, and half her face and both arms were mechanical.

Hyunji stared at me from a distance of about three steps, observing me.

"You look like you've trained your body, but that's it. From the outside, you don't look like a mutant, just a normal human. We're a small, elite group, so we need some level of individual combat ability. What use do we have for a weakling like you who only knows how to hack?"

"You think I'm weak? I could kill someone like you in under five seconds."

"...Oh? You've got some nerve, huh?"

Hyunji raised her right arm. A blade shot out from her wrist.

Whirrr!

A mechanical sound came from her arm. I immediately recognized it. That blade was what's commonly known as a high-frequency vibration blade.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"I do. That's why I'm asking you to show me your skills, rookie!"

"Quite the initiation."

I laughed as I spoke.

This situation was actually what I wanted. It would allow me to firmly imprint my abilities on them.

[Hacking successful.]

[You can control Hyunji's right arm for 11 minutes.] 

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

Hyunji's right arm turned not toward me, but toward her own neck.

"...Huh?"

Hyunji panicked and grabbed her right wrist with her left hand. But her right arm didn't stop. The vibrating blade was now inches from her neck.

"Actually, it took less than five seconds."

"No way! You can hack cyborgs? My arm isn't even connected to any network!"

"My hacking isn't the conventional kind. It's more like a superpower. Whether it's connected to a network or completely isolated... if it's a machine, I can hack it."

"What the hell! If that's true, then cyborgs are no match for you!"

"Exactly. And in this world, cyborgs are common. Now do you understand my abilities? Don't worry about my combat skills. Even without hacking, I'm not weak enough to hold you guys back."

I glanced around. The members of Raffles had already surrounded me, aiming their guns at me. The atmosphere had turned deadly in an instant.

The mechanical parts on their bodies weren't mass-produced—they were custom-made. The more complex or advanced the machine, the shorter the duration I could maintain control over it.

'If I were to hack everyone here... maybe three seconds? That's about the limit.'

If they were fully mechanical, I could've taken them down easily. Just shut them off. But they're cyborgs, with only parts of their bodies mechanized. It's impossible to take them all down in three seconds using hacking.

"Hey, hey, calm down. This is just an initiation. Hyunji started it, right? No need to take it too seriously."

The leader of Raffles, Son Jeong-hu, stepped in.

He circled around Hyunji and me before placing both hands on my shoulders.

"Stop it, Taker. Hyunji should've learned her lesson by now. And everyone's seen your incredible superpower. In terms of ability, you're more than qualified to be a member of Raffles. I... no, we need your skills."

I relinquished control of Hyunji's right arm. Her arm dropped to her side. She was still staring at me with disbelief in her eyes.

"Hyunji, calm down too. Everyone, put your guns away. Let's welcome Taker, our new comrade."

"...."

No one responded to Son Jeong-hu's words. They lowered their weapons and returned to their seats.

"Well, that's settled. But just in case, I'll ask. Is there anyone who still doesn't accept Taker as a member of Raffles?"

"...."

No one answered. No one raised their hand.

They had all witnessed my abilities with their own eyes. A rare and extraordinary superpower that couldn't be found anywhere else in this world.

"The atmosphere's a bit tense. Should we order some pizza?"

***

I chewed on a potato pizza. The taste wasn't much different from pizza in the real world.

"Rookie, you're eating well. Do you like pizza?"

An older man with a goatee sitting next to me spoke. His name was Yoo Geun-tae. He's a friendly guy who carries something like an oxygen tank on his back.

"It's alright."

Thanks to this friendly guy, I was able to exchange greetings with the other members of Raffles. Though it was mostly just exchanging names.

"Alright, listen up while you eat."

Son Jeong-hu, who had disappeared for a moment, came back in and spoke. He projected a screen onto the wall using his smartwatch.

"We just got a request. It's an assassination mission. The target's information is on the screen."

I looked at the screen.

There was a photo of a man in his 50s with a menacing appearance. According to the information next to it, his name was Mok Sinsu, the boss of a mafia family called Woodgod operating in Seoul.

"The payment is 15 billion won total. We've already received 5 billion as an advance, and the remaining payment will be sent once the target's death is confirmed."

Yoo Geun-tae whistled upon hearing the payment.

"15 billion? That's pretty hefty!"

"Woodgod is a mafia family that controls the Guro District. And the deadline is by tomorrow. They want him dead before tomorrow ends. So, I was thinking of assigning this mission to the rookie."

Hyunji objected.

"Wait, why are you suddenly assigning it to the rookie? Normally, we take volunteers first."

"It's a test of the rookie's skills. Of course, I'm not planning to send him alone. I'll assign three more people. Anyone interested?"

Three people raised their hands.

Yoo Geun-tae, Hyunji, and Woola.

"Perfect. Taker, what do you think? Interested? The payment will, of course, be split among the four of you."

"I'm all for making money. But the payment doesn't divide evenly, does it?"

"That's for you guys to figure out. If you can't agree, call me. I'll mediate."

"Well, then... But Woola, is she okay? She looks young."

I pointed at Woola, who was sitting at the back. She was a woman, like Hyunji.

She was wearing a large gray coat and looked to be only about 120 cm tall. Her hood was pulled deep over her face, so I couldn't see her clearly.

Of course, I knew her true identity. She was in her late 30s, and like Son Jeong-hu, her entire body except her brain was mechanical. She looked like a young girl, which made her popular among fans of the original work.

She wasn't my type at all.

"Woola's an excellent sniper. She can take out targets from 6 kilometers away."

"Ah, I see."

I spoke without much interest. I really didn't care about her.

According to my plan, I wouldn't be spending more than 30 days with these guys.

'For now, I need to give it my all on this mission. If Son Jeong-hu thinks my abilities are lacking... he might not take me with him on that day.'

***

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