While Alex was talking with Dorio, discussing various ways to alleviate Main's cyberpsychosis symptoms, she listened attentively, memorizing everything he said. Dorio was already familiar with the standard methods of dealing with cyberpsychosis — disabling implants and using braindance.
However, Alex's suggestions seemed so simple that they surprised her. Alex quickly warned that it was just a theory he hadn't been able to test yet, as he hadn't captured a cyberpsycho for experiments. He recommended following the instructions in the research he had shared with her earlier. Dorio wanted to ask a few more questions, but they were interrupted by a loud shout.
«G.I.R., get out of the car, quick!» Rebecca yelled as she pulled the poor G.I.R. by the legs.
Alex and Dorio turned around and saw a comical scene: Rebecca was tugging on G.I.R. with all her might, his legs stretching out like those of a rubber doll. From the outside, it looked like a little girl was dragging a green dog with elongated limbs.
Rebecca had already thrown G.I.R.'s legs over her shoulder, putting all her strength into pulling him out, but G.I.R. continued resisting, loudly proclaiming that he wouldn't leave until he finished watching his comedy show. Dorio laughed at the situation, while Alex just rubbed his forehead.
«Looks like there's never a dull moment with Rebecca,» Dorio commented with a smile.
Alex sighed. She was right. Ever since Rebecca and Lucy had moved in with him, the apartment had indeed gotten noisier.
«Yeah, ever since they moved in, life's become a lot more lively, but as they say, there's always a 'but',» he said with a slight smile.
Dorio gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. She knew what Alex meant. At that moment, Falco approached, overhearing their conversation.
«And what exactly is the issue here?» he asked.
Alex pondered, recalling the challenges of living together.
«Well, for starters, I'm living in the same apartment with four girls. Gloria's an angel, the most responsible of them all. Valerie's a reclusive teenager, binge-watching shows all day. Lucy leaves her things and spare parts scattered everywhere, living like a cat. And Rebecca—she's a true gremlin: always making noise and trying to steal something from my workshop. And that's not even mentioning the laundry scattered in the bathroom and the hair clogging the drain,» Alex said, counting on his fingers.
Falco silently patted him on the shoulder, unsure of what to say. He knew many men would dream of being in Alex's place, but there were always hidden challenges.
Lucy, overhearing the conversation, rolled her eyes. She hadn't seen Alex complain since he always cleaned up using magic. It amused her that he joked about it that way.
After finishing the conversation with Dorio and Falco, Alex decided to check on Kiwi, who was sitting in the van. He walked over to the back door of the van and opened it, finding Kiwi intently reviewing data on a tablet.
Hearing the noise, Kiwi turned and saw Alex. He climbed into the van and sat next to her. She raised an eyebrow, scooting over a little to give him some space. Alex glanced at the tablet screen and saw footage from cameras surrounding a building—a scavengers' hideout.
He immediately realized what the place was. Turning his head to Kiwi, who was watching him, he initially considered introducing himself as usual but decided to crack a joke first.
«I've got something for you,» Alex said, reaching into his pocket and forming his fingers into the shape of a heart.
Kiwi rolled her eyes, having seen this trick with Lucy before, and pushed his hand away.
«Yeah, thanks,» she responded sarcastically.
Alex laughed and decided to get down to business.
«Any civilians nearby?» he asked, glancing at the tablet.
Kiwi shook her head and handed the tablet to Alex.
«No, it's clear. They recently brought in a new batch, and while they're extracting implants from their victims, we have time to act,» Kiwi said, pointing to the footage of scavengers unloading people from a van.
Alex nodded, realizing that time was on their side.
Alex reviewed the footage, stroking his chin in deep thought. Kiwi, not interrupting his thoughts, simply sat next to him, waiting. Alex asked her to hack the building's data to get the full layout.
Although Kiwi didn't fully understand why it was necessary, she silently complied. Alex carefully studied the blueprints, switching perspectives and examining the building from different angles as if searching for weak points. Kiwi, watching him, refrained from interrupting, though she was curious about what exactly he was looking for.
The process was suddenly interrupted when Alex, glancing around, noticed something important. He turned to Kiwi with a question:
«Where's Pilar? I don't see him.»
Kiwi smirked, guessing what he was looking for.
«He's on another job right now. He said he'd be back later, but chances are he won't make it.»
Alex shrugged. If Pilar were here, he'd probably already be annoying his sister, and getting what he deserved for it.
«Well, alright,» Alex replied indifferently.
After finishing his analysis, Alex marked several vulnerable spots on the blueprint and handed the tablet back to Kiwi. She automatically took it, looking at Alex, expecting an explanation.
As Alex was about to leave the van, Kiwi grabbed his arm and pointed at the tablet, expecting clarification about his marks.
«Why did you mark these?» she asked, gesturing toward the spots he had chosen.
Alex tilted his head slightly, then answered:
«These spots are ideal points for the assault. I just wanted to make sure we have good positions.»
Kiwi nodded and sent the information to the whole team so they could choose the best spot to start the attack.
Alex climbed out of the van and immediately saw Rebecca, who had finally managed to drag G.I.R. out of the car. Now he stood there, angrily kicking the tire. As Alex got closer, he lightly tapped him on the head.
«Don't mess with the car,» he said.
G.I.R. looked at Lucy with a hurt expression, seeking support, and she reluctantly decided to comfort him. Meanwhile, Alex headed to the trunk, opening it and pulling out several cases. Rebecca's eyes lit up, and she rushed forward, trying to grab one of the cases. Alex stopped her with a gesture.
«I'll hand out everything to everyone myself,» he said calmly.
Falco and Dorio, intrigued, also approached.
«What've you got for us?» Dorio asked as Alex closed the trunk.
Alex laid out three cases on the trunk and began opening them one by one. In one was a strange-looking pistol, in another, shotgun shells, and in the third, unusual square plates.
«Let's start with this,» Alex said, pointing at the pistol. «This is for G.I.R. He's been pestering me with his requests, so I prepared something special for him.»
G.I.R., hearing that Alex had made a weapon for him, immediately broke free from Lucy's embrace and ran over to Alex, climbing up his leg and jumping onto the trunk. Grabbing the pistol, he began loading it, ready for action. The others looked at Alex, waiting for an explanation.
«It's a bolter. It fires rocket-assisted bolts that accelerate mid-flight and explode inside the target,» Alex explained, pointing to the rounds G.I.R. was loading into the magazine.
Rebecca's eyes sparkled again. She reached for the bolter, but G.I.R. quickly hid it behind his back, not willing to share his new toy. Rebecca turned to Alex, demanding that he make G.I.R. give her the weapon. Alex, placing a hand on her head, began to pat her hair, trying to calm her down.
«You'll see it in action at home. And this—this is for you,» he said, pointing to the case with the shells. «Special incendiary rounds for your shotgun.»
Rebecca jumped up joyfully, planted a kiss on Alex's lips, and quickly started stuffing the shells into her pockets, as if afraid someone might take them away. Falco and Dorio, watching the scene, exchanged glances, surprised at how dangerous these «gifts» turned out to be. Their attention soon shifted to the third case, which held the mysterious plates.
«And what's this?» Falco asked, pointing at them.
«These are breach plates,» Alex began explaining. «You attach them to any surface, activate them, and they blow up the wall. Then, a flashbang goes off. Perfect for a quick assault.»
Alex began handing out the plates to the group, even giving one to Falco just in case, though Alex wasn't sure if Falco would participate in the raid. Kiwi, who had just exited the van, received her plate, looked at it curiously, and then noticed the other team members holding the same devices.
She glanced around for an explanation and soon got one from Lucy, who briefly explained the plates' purpose. Kiwi nodded, silently accepting it.
At that moment, the group's tablets pinged with the building's layout, where Alex had marked weak points for the assault. The team began discussing and choosing their attack points, coordinating their actions.
Alex stood off to the side, smoking and waiting for the discussion to finish. Once everyone had finally chosen their positions, Falco turned his attention to Alex, who appeared completely nonchalant.
«Where's your weapon?» Falco asked, looking him over.
Alex paused for a second, realizing that all his gear was in his inventory, which wasn't easy to access right now. He needed to find an alternative. He quickly looked around and spotted a nearby brick. Picking it up, Alex returned to the group.
«Meet my new friend, Joseph,» he said with a grin, tossing the brick in his hands.
Lucy, with a smile on her face, stepped forward and stood in front of Alex. He raised an eyebrow, waiting to see what she would do. Without a word, Lucy grabbed the brick and threw it aside.
«No,» she said calmly, turning to look Alex in the eye.
Dorio, Falco, and Kiwi barely held back their laughter at the sight of Alex naming a brick his «friend» and Lucy unceremoniously discarding it. Alex frowned, clearly offended, and looked around again for a new «weapon.»
He spotted a metal rod lying near a trash bin and moved toward it, but Lucy stopped him again:
«No,» she said, noticing his intent.
That was too much for the others, and they burst out laughing, watching as Alex tried to arm himself with random objects while Lucy kept shutting him down.
Alex muttered under his breath about the unfairness of it all and how Lucy was ruining all the fun. She rolled her eyes but was clearly enjoying the situation. In the end, Alex approached the trunk and, rummaging through it, pulled out a fire axe.
«How about this one?» he asked, raising the axe and showing it to Lucy.
Lucy sighed heavily but nodded in approval, resigning to his choice.
«That's better,» Alex remarked with satisfaction, slinging the axe over his shoulder.
He took off his coat, revealing a T-shirt underneath, and tossed it onto the car's back seat. Then he moved toward the building, followed by the rest of the group. Each member headed to their designated positions, marked on the map.
Alex and Lucy climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, and he peeked through the window, scouting for targets. They waited for the others to confirm their readiness.
«Moon Demon team in position,» Lucy reported over the internal comms, causing Alex to almost choke in surprise.
He looked at her in surprise, while Lucy stood there with a satisfied smile on her face. It seemed like she had decided to have some fun by choosing such a codename. Alex understood why: Lucy had always dreamed of the Moon, and he himself was often called a Demon, so the combination made perfect sense.
«Codenames? Are you serious?» Falco said with a smirk.
Alex laughed too, realizing that the idea of codenames was surprisingly good. It reminded him of the titles in the world of Danmachi.
«Not my fault, it's all Lucy, she's just having some fun,» Alex said with a grin, deciding to throw Lucy under the bus.
«You know, I actually like this idea. Maybe we should come up with a nickname for the whole team?» Falco continued, amusement in his voice.
«A nickname? We're just a bunch of weirdos,» Kiwi remarked in her usual flat tone.
Alex rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help agreeing—every member of the team did seem to have their own quirk.
«Mighty Eight?» Falco suggested.
«Nine. Don't forget about our minimarine, he'd get offended,» Alex smirked.
At that moment, GIR's indignant shouts could be heard, as he insisted that he was part of the team, even repeating, «Part of the crew, part of the ship,» which triggered another wave of laughter.
«Alright, then it's 'Mighty Nine',» Doriou said, laughing. «I can already picture Main proudly declaring himself the captain of the Mighty Nine!»
The team continued to joke around, imagining the scene, but soon they got back to business.
«Everyone in position?» Rebecca asked.
The responses were affirmative. Kiwi connected to the building's cameras and reported, «I'm in. There are three on your floor. A group in the basement, and a few more on the second floor near the terminal. Small groups on the other floors.»
«Then set the plates at your positions. Lucy and I will start from the fourth floor. And, by the way, don't even think about going down to the basement near GIR,» Alex warned, peeking through the window to make sure the room ahead was empty.
Alex's words caused some confusion among the group. Rebecca quickly explained that GIR was notorious for the extreme brutality of his methods, and to be around him, one would need a stomach of steel. Everyone agreed to steer clear of the basement where GIR would be carrying out his work.
«We're starting. As soon as I give the signal, activate the plates,» Alex said, slowly opening the window.
Lucy slipped through the opening immediately. She crept up behind one of the scavengers sitting at a computer, and, wrapping a wire around his neck, strangled him.
Alex followed, hiding the body behind a couch to make sure it wouldn't be found too soon. Then he stood by the door, attracting the attention of another scavenger in the hallway. Hearing the noise, the scavenger went to investigate, but the last thing he saw was an axe crashing into his face.
As Alex pulled the axe out, another scavenger came out of the back room, unaware of Alex's presence. Alex threw the axe, which hit the scavenger squarely in the head before he could even comprehend what had happened.
«We've cleared the fourth floor. Get ready,» Alex said, communicating with the group.
He placed a breach plate on the floor in the center of the room and looked at Lucy, who nodded, signaling that she was ready. Alex began the countdown and tightened his grip on the axe.
When he said "three," explosions echoed throughout the building. The plate detonated, and Alex jumped down, landing on the back of a scavenger buried under the collapsed ceiling. Without hesitation, he drove his axe into the scavenger's head. Lucy jumped down gracefully after Alex and immediately began shooting at the nearest target.
While Alex and Lucy were clearing the third floor, GIR burst into the basement, where the scavengers were disassembling their victims for parts. Rebecca stormed in from the back of the building onto the first floor and shot a scavenger point-blank in the chest.
When she saw what the new ammunition could do, she was already thinking about how she would ride Alex all night. Instead of igniting the target, the pellets simply burned through the scavenger's body.
Doriou charged through the front entrance, taking down two scavengers with her bare hands. She grabbed a disoriented scavenger by the neck and slammed his head into the wall.
Amid all the noise, Kiwi was making her way to the second floor to reach the terminal and download data. When she finally got to the terminal, gunfire erupted, and she had to hide behind a table to avoid getting shot.
«I need help,» Kiwi said, contacting the team.
Alex, who was dealing with scavengers on the third floor, heard Kiwi's call for help and immediately started looking for her location.
«Cover your head, I'm coming in,» Alex said, positioning himself directly above the group shooting at Kiwi.
Kiwi heard Alex's words and covered her head with her hands, not understanding why he asked her to do that.
«Covered,» Kiwi replied.
Alex raised his hand and struck the floor. With his blow, the floor beneath him collapsed, and rocks falling from the ceiling tumbled down on the scavengers shooting at Kiwi. Alex quickly killed them and peered over the table where Kiwi was hiding.
«A hero has arrived to save a beauty in trouble,» Alex said, giving a thumbs up.
Kiwi lowered her hands from her head and looked at his satisfied face. She rolled her eyes and stood up, brushing off the dust that had settled on her from the ceiling collapse. Ignoring his mumblings, Kiwi connected to the terminal to download the data. Alex decided to relax, sitting on the table next to Kiwi and lighting a cigarette, watching her hack the terminal.
Meanwhile, on the first floor, Rebecca was causing chaos. With wild laughter, she shot at everything she could, knowing that the new type of ammunition could literally burn through walls and bodies.
She didn't even need to aim to know where her targets were. The scavengers hiding behind walls didn't even have time to comprehend how they died. All they saw and heard before their deaths was the insane laughter of the girl and their smoking bodies.
Those who didn't fall victim to Rebecca were dealt with by Doriou, who literally smashed scavengers' faces into their skulls with her fists.
In the basement, GIR was staging a bloody massacre that would send chills down anyone's spine if they saw it. Torn bodies were scattered all over the basement, and chunks of flesh were flying in all directions. The scavengers who wanted to escape couldn't leave the basement because GIR had blocked all exits.
Alex sat next to Kiwi, waiting for her to finish. When Kiwi completed the download, she looked at Alex, signaling that she was ready.
«Alright, everyone, Kiwi is done. It's time to wrap it up,» Alex said, contacting everyone.
Everyone agreed. Alex jumped off the table and looked at Kiwi. Suddenly, he noticed some movement behind her and heard a strange noise, like someone dragging a heavy machine gun. Without thinking, he quickly pushed Kiwi to the floor, covering her with his body.
«Are you trying to say that Lucy and Rebecca aren't enough for you, and now you want to try me?» Kiwi asked, looking at Alex in confusion. «You could have at least waited until we finished the job,» she added, rolling her eyes.
Alex was about to explain his actions when gunfire from a heavy machine gun erupted in the next room. Bullets pierced the walls, leaving destruction in their wake. Alex pressed himself against Kiwi even tighter, shielding her from the barrage of fire. Kiwi's eyes widened in surprise as she realized he was genuinely protecting her.
Meanwhile, the team heard the shots and tried to contact Alex to find out what was happening.
«We're pinned down by gunfire,» he explained briefly. «Don't move if you don't want to be turned into mincemeat.»
«GIR, fire from the railgun, target is three meters from my position,» Alex commanded.
GIR, just finishing his slaughter, activated his x-ray vision to accurately locate Alex. Seeing him and Kiwi hiding behind the table, he recalibrated his arms, transforming them into railgun weapons. As he aimed at the target, he began to charge up.
«Everyone out of the house, quickly!» Alex shouted, warning the others.
The team swiftly evacuated the building. At that moment, GIR fired. The heated projectile pierced the basement ceiling, shooting upward and leaving a bright plasma trail behind.
The gunman holding the machine gun sensed danger approaching, but he didn't have time to comprehend where it was coming from before the projectile slammed into his groin and passed through his body, blasting his head into pieces.
Pilar, running up to the building, heard the shot and quickened his pace, hoping to reach his team in time. As he got closer, he noticed a projectile soaring from the roof, leaving a glowing trail behind it.
«Is that a falling star?» Falco wondered, watching the scene unfold from his vehicle.
When the shot fell silent, the group returned inside and saw a massive hole in the ceiling, revealing the sky above. Alex and Kiwi descended, covered in dust and dirt. Everyone shifted their gaze to Alex, then to the hole, their thoughts clear: they knew GIR could use the railgun but hadn't expected such devastating power.
Alex wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Pilar, who burst into the building with a bundle of grenades in his hands.
«Get ready, you bastards!» he shouted, kicking the door in.
Doriou immediately raised her hand to stop him. Everyone saw the grenade in his hands and realized it was a flashbang. The grenade wasn't dangerous, but no one wanted to spend the whole day with a headache.
«Pilar, we're already finished,» she said.
Pilar looked around, noticed that everyone was unharmed, and with relief, tucked the grenades away.
«Damn, you guys really scared me. I thought it was a complete nightmare in here! When I heard that loud shot, the house nearly collapsed! What the hell was that?» he asked, hiding the grenades in his pockets.
Alex shrugged and explained,
«We were pinned down, and GIR shot the gunman with the railgun.»
«Where's that little bastard?» Pilar asked, looking around.
At that moment, the door to the basement crashed open, and GIR appeared, covered in blood and pieces of flesh. Everyone's eyes widened at the sight—GIR looked like a walking nightmare, with a blood-soaked flag fluttering behind him.
«Well, now everyone's definitely dead,» Pilar murmured quietly, turning away from the gruesome sight.
Alex grimaced and approached GIR. In one hand, he held a chainsword, and in the other, a bolter. Alex knew he couldn't clean him with magic, so he decided to resort to an old method. He grabbed GIR by the head and shoved him under the faucet to wash off at least some of the blood and guts.
«Alright, let's search this place; maybe we'll find something valuable, and we won't have to pay for drinks,» Doriou suggested with a smile.
While Alex tried to clean GIR, the others began to search the building for loot. They found several bags of cash and cases filled with implants. Kiwi attempted to connect to the virtual accounts, but the garbage men kept everything in cash.
The group gathered on the first floor, all watching in astonishment as Alex scrubbed GIR with a sponge while GIR tried to fend off his attention.
Those who didn't know GIR's peculiarities asked one question: isn't he a robot? Why wash him with water?
To be continued...