10:00 PM
I entered the cafe where I had arranged to meet Raffles. It was tucked away in an alley in Seoul.
As I stepped inside, a man greeted me. His face was hidden behind a black mask, and his mechanical eyes scanned me before he spoke.
"You're the Taker, aren't you?"
"That's right. I'm the Taker. Sorry for being an hour late. Something important came up. But are you Anything?"
"Anything isn't me, it's the Leader. I see you're carrying a pistol inside your coat."
"...I thought it would be impossible to detect from the outside. Do you have X-ray vision or something?"
"X-ray radar. You're not a cyborg, are you? Why are you carrying a smartphone? Do you have a fondness for such antiques?"
"A smartphone is the most perfect device, my friend."
"You're just spouting nonsense. Come with me. The Leader is waiting."
"What's your name?"
"Jackie."
"Ah, you're a foreigner?"
"I'm Korean. Jackie is just an alias I use. Names mean nothing to us."
"So I guess I'll have to operate as a Taker too."
I followed Jackie deeper into the caf . We entered a surprisingly spacious conference room.
Eight people were waiting for me there.
"I brought him. He looks normal enough, and all he's carrying is a pistol," Jackie announced. Their gazes turned to me.
They were all cyborgs.
There were six men and only two women. The women weren't my type at all not even remotely attractive.
The man at the center approached me, saying, "Welcome. I'm Son Jeonghu, the leader of Raffles. I'm the 'Anything' you've been talking to. My comrades just call me Leader."
Anything... No, Son Jeonghu was nothing like the stiff, robotic ?? of his game character. He exuded a gentle, approachable aura, dressed in casual clothes that made him look like a college student.
He appeared to be in his late twenties, seemingly normal at first glance.
But in reality, he's a cyborg every part of his body except his brain is mechanical.
Son Jeonghu was the most dangerous member of Raffles. He was capable of slaughtering children and the elderly with a smile, all in pursuit of his goals.
"I'm Taker. My real name is Sung Yujin. So, I'm officially a member of Raffles starting today, right?"
"It's a bit suspicious, isn't it? We're meeting for the first time, after all. Still, I'm considering accepting you into Raffles. Your abilities are too tempting to pass up."
Son Jeonghu extended his hand. I slowly shook it, my guard remaining firmly in place.
In the original story, Son Jeonghu was a man who didn't trust even his own comrades. He'd ruthlessly discard anyone who outlived their usefulness, even those he'd worked with in Raffles for years.
Son Jeonghu was untrustworthy. It was best to avoid getting involved with him if possible.
My sole reason for contacting Raffles was to obtain the Illusionist in the shortest possible time. Once I had it, I'd immediately end the game on autopilot. I had no particular interest in this game itself.
Machines far more advanced than those in reality? You could find that in other works of fiction too. There was no need to cling to Code: XTK just for that.
"Hold on, Leader. You said before that our opinions would be considered when accepting new members into Raffles."
The man with the mohawk and sunglasses was named Mudan. He had wheels attached to the soles of his feet.
"...Hmm. That's right. Mudan's right. Sorry. I was being a bit autocratic. Does anyone object to Taker joining us? Raise your hand."
At Son Jeonghu's words, Mudan and two others raised their hands.
"We usually decide things by majority vote, so... Taker's membership is confirmed. Still, we can't ignore the minority opinion. Mudan, Train, Hyunji what are your reasons for objecting?"
Mudan spoke first.
"I can't believe this. It's too suspicious. He might be a spy from another organization, or even a government dog."
"That's true," Son Jeonghu agreed, turning to look at me. He stared intently into my eyes and asked, "Are you a spy?"
"No. I'm just an employee at a factory that makes machine parts."
"Then why do you want to join Raffles? If you know who we are, you must know our work is dangerous."
"If I don't use my hacking skills, they'll go to waste. I want to put my abilities to good use and make a difference. I can't stand living a boring life."
"That doesn't explain why you specifically chose Raffles. The government, the police, and other criminal organizations would all welcome your skills."
"I don't trust the government. There are rumors they're kidnapping children for human experimentation. And the other criminal organizations are too small-time. If I'm going to join one, it has to be at least Raffles-level."
Son Jeonghu gave me a fleeting smile before turning his gaze to a large, shirtless man with wires coiled around his abdomen. It was Train.
"Train, what about you?"
"Purpose. We're all here at Raffles for our own purposes. I haven't heard this guy's yet."
"Taker, you heard him. What's your purpose?"
This was a question I'd already anticipated. There were many reasons: vengeance against my parents' killers, hatred for the government, a fascination with crime, and so on. But I gave the simplest answer.
"Money. I want to use my hacking skills to make money. Not petty stuff like robbing banks, though. I think Raffles aligns with my goals to some extent."
"Exactly. We're a small, elite group, and we split the profits fairly. We take on contract jobs and occasionally pull off heists. There's rarely anything boring. You came to the right place."
"...Still seems a bit suspicious. Whatever. The leader doesn't seem to care anyway."
Train muttered, then turned his head away, clearly uninterested in me.
"Hyunji, what about you?"
"You look weak."
The short-haired woman sitting on the desk walked toward me. Her hairstyle was a half-shaved buzz cut, and half her face and both arms were mechanical.
Hyunji stared at me from just three steps away, as if observing me.
"You seem to have trained your body, but that's all. From the outside, you look like a normal person, not a mutant. Since we're a small elite group, individual combat skills are essential. What use is a weakling like you who's only good at hacking?"
"Weak? I could kill you in five seconds."
"...Oh. You've got some nerve, huh?"
Hyunji raised her right arm. A blade popped out from her wrist with a click. Whirrrr. A mechanical hum emanated from her arm. I immediately recognized it: that blade was an ultravibrating blade.
"You don't believe me?"
"I do. That's why I want you to show me your skills, newbie!"
"Quite the initiation ceremony."
I laughed as I spoke.
This situation was exactly what I'd hoped for. It would allow me to firmly imprint my abilities on them.
Hacking successful.
You can hack Hyunji's right arm for 11 minutes.
Hyunji's right arm didn't turn against me; instead, it moved toward her own neck.
"...Huh?"
Panicked, Hyunji grabbed her right wrist with her left hand. But the arm wouldn't stop. The ultravibrating blade trembled just inches from her throat.
"Actually, it took less than five seconds."
"Impossible! You can hack a cyborg? My arm isn't even connected to a network!"
"My hacking isn't the kind you're thinking of. It's a superpower. Whether a machine is connected to a network or completely isolated... I can hack it."
"What?! If that's true, cyborgs wouldn't even stand a chance!"
"Exactly. And cyborgs are common in this world. Now do you understand my capabilities a little better? Don't worry about my combat prowess. Even without hacking, I'm not weak enough to hold you back."
I glanced around. Before I knew it, the Raffles members had surrounded me, their gun barrels pointed at me. The atmosphere instantly turned hostile.
The machines attached to their bodies were all custom-made, not mass-produced models. My hacking ability's duration drops sharply with more complex or advanced machines.
If I tried to hack everyone here... three seconds? That's probably the limit.
If they were purely mechanical, I could have taken them down easily just cut off the power. But they were cyborgs, only partially machine. Hacking them to incapacitate them in three seconds was impossible.
"Alright, alright, calm down. This is just an initiation. Hyunji started it, right? No need to make it a big deal."
Son Jeonghu, the leader of Raffles, intervened.
He circled around Hyunji and me before placing both hands on my shoulders.
"Enough, Taker. Hyunji gets the point. And everyone now knows about your extraordinary psychic abilities. You're more than qualified to be a member of Raffles. I... no, we desperately need your skills."
I relinquished the authority I had hacked from Hyunji's right-hand man. Her arm lowered, but she continued to glare at me with disbelief.
"Hyunji, calm down. You all, put your guns away. Let's welcome Taker, who has become our comrade today."
"..."
No one responded to Son Jeonghu's attempt at levity. They lowered their weapons and returned to their positions.
"Hmm. The situation is settled, but just to be sure, I'll ask. Does anyone object to Taker becoming a member of Raffles?"
"..."
No one answered. No hands were raised.
They had witnessed my ability with their own eyes a rare and extraordinary superpower that couldn't be found anywhere else in the world.
"The atmosphere is tense. Should we order some pizza?"
I chewed on a slice of potato pizza. The taste was pretty much the same here as in the real world.
"Newbie, you're really digging in! You like pizza?"
A man with a goatee spoke up beside me. His name was Yu Geuntae, a sterile-looking middle-aged man who carried something like an oxygen tank on his back.
"It's alright, I guess."
Thanks to this sterile-looking guy, I'd managed to exchange greetings with the Raffles members though all we'd done was introduce ourselves.
"Alright, listen up while you eat," Son Jeonghu said as he returned from a brief absence. He projected a screen onto the wall using his smartwatch.
"We just got a new assignment. It's an assassination job, and the target's information is right here."
I stared at the screen.
There was a photo of a menacing-looking man who appeared to be in his fifties. According to the information beside the image, his name was Mok Sinsu, the boss of Woodgod, a mafia family operating in Seoul.
"The total fee is 15 billion won. We've already received 5 billion won as an advance, and the remaining balance will be paid upon confirmation of the target's death."
Hearing the fee, Yu Geuntae whistled.
"15 billion won? That's steep!"
"Woodgod controls the entire Guro District. Plus, the deadline is tomorrow. They want him dead before the day is over. So, I was thinking of giving this assignment to a rookie."
Hyunji immediately protested.
"Wait a minute! Why suddenly give it to a rookie? We usually take volunteers first."
"This is a skill test for the new recruit. Of course, I don't plan to have them do it alone. I'll assign three more people. Who's up for it?"
Just then, three people raised their hands:
Yu Geuntae, Hyunji, and Ulla.
"Perfect. Taker, what do you think? Interested? The commission will be split equally among the four of you, naturally."
"I'm always up for making money. But it doesn't look like the amount will divide evenly."
"That's for you guys to negotiate. If you can't reach an agreement, call me in. I'll mediate."
"In that case... Sure. But Ulla, is that her? She looks young. Is she up to it?"
I pointed to Ulla, who was standing at the back. She was a woman, the same gender as Hyunji.
Wearing an oversized gray coat, she stood only about 120 centimeters tall. Her face was mostly hidden by a deeply drawn hood.
Of course, I knew her identity. She was in her late thirties, and like Son Jeonghu, her entire body was mechanical except for her brain. Her childlike appearance made her popular among fans of the original work.
She was absolutely not my type.
"Ulla is an exceptional sniper. They say she can make a shot from as far as 6 kilometers away?"
"Ah, right."
I replied with feigned indifference, genuinely uninterested in her.
According to my plan, I wouldn't be stuck with these guys for even 30 days.
I need to give this mission my all. If Son Jeonghu thinks my skills are lacking... he might not take me with him on that day.