Kitty Killer Wasn't Very Cold: The Ultimate Secret of Corporate Warfare

5th The Laytonson's Ghost Assassin, Order 2: Wuling (Part 3) - Pomegranate Leek: 169 The Ultimate Secret of Business Warfare

Four years have passed since Nana last left the old town of Raisington City, but the passage of time seems to have left no trace here.

The dilapidated brick buildings, no more than five stories high, still stand; the roads are still paved with cracked stone slabs and cement riddled with fissures; the overburdened utility poles hang precariously from various power cables, their extent unknown; and the gray sky, besides the ever-present Catastrophes of frigid weather, is mostly filled with coal dust or carbon powder mixed with clay...

Although this street has been designated a danger zone and sealed off by the police due to an explosion in a residential building, the unclaimed buildings that provide ample shade, along with the possible belongings left behind by the previous owners, still attract many people to come here to search for treasure... or to settle down.

Municipal public services... For example, sanitation workers haven't been here for a month because of the gang problems that have quickly gathered on this street, and the police have been avoiding this area ever since the Wilson Apartments bombing.

Various kinds of garbage swayed in the cold wind, and 'marks' indicating that people were in the rooms were casually placed in conspicuous places on the street... Almost every few steps, you could see homeless people or guys who looked like Mercenaries carrying large bags and small bags throwing firewood or fuel they didn't know where they came from into oil drums or tin braziers.

Along the streets, campfires lined the streets, and people gathered in twos and threes around them. Once the area was warm enough and there were people joining in the fun, the 'Mercenaries' would unload their bags and sell seemingly unrelated items such as clothing, kitchen utensils, vehicle parts, or tokens whose uses were unknown.

There is no doubt that this place has spontaneously become a black market that allows people to bypass the local government...

Since it's a black market, various disorder issues are inevitable. Theft, vigilante justice... One minute a homeless man is swallowing his saliva as he snatches a bag of Columbia military rations that even dogs wouldn't eat from a stall, and the next minute he might be taken down by the stall owner's throwing axe or crossbow bolt.

People silently watched as the man lying on the ground let out hoarse screams and howls, then watched as the stall owner, cursing, put away his weapons or crossbow ammunition.

"If you're really hungry, why don't you go to the city and find a factory job?! I've already come to this Black Street to set up a stall, and I have to avoid people like you just to evade taxes? This is fucking bad luck..."

Just as the shop owner, dressed as Mercenaries, retrieved his stolen goods and wiped the packaging bags on his sleeve, two vans quietly drove into the street and stopped beside his stall.

As a group of people in grey municipal uniforms, armed with knives, guns, shields, and ladders, disembarked in twos and threes and began driving away the onlookers, the lead man, a man named Feline, looked sadly at the gloomy sky after getting out of the car. He painfully rubbed his chipped cat ears, then put on a baseball cap with the word "Atlas" emblazoned on it to cover his cold ears.

"Hey, boss..."

Hearing this voice, which seemed to summon a ghost, the Mercenaries at the stall shuddered at the sight of their gray government uniforms.

"Well... I didn't kill that person. I just retrieved what was stolen from me. I was just taking inventory. I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now..."

"Hey, who cares about him... You don't need to run away, it's just a street stall, even the police don't care, why would we care about you... How about this, give me a pack of cigarettes, let's talk?"

Hearing the tone of the other party, which didn't seem to be directed at him, the independent Mercenaries smiled outwardly but inwardly cursed Columbia profanities... After all, the police weren't interfering here; wasn't it all because Atlas was causing trouble here?!

Of course, he could only think this to himself. Anyway, once winter was over, he would be back to making a living in the wilderness or some village, so there was no need to go against these corporate dogs... He so respectfully offered up his cigarettes, which he considered his spoils, and the Mercenaries smiled and lit them for him with a match.

"Hey, why didn't you say so earlier? Come, come... This is... cough, some high-grade cigarettes I brought from Lungmen. They won't burn your throat. Don't be shy, share them with the brothers... They're all yours..."

Looking at the Mercenaries who was cornered by the campfire barrel with a sheepish grin, the man from Feline chuckled and stuffed his cigarette into his pocket... He was from Siesta himself, so how could he not recognize this cheap Siesta cigarette?

When he wasn't on a mission, he would definitely have a good chat with this guy about the water of his home Siesta, but not today, since he came with a mission:

"Alright, enough of this... I remember you've been setting up your stall here lately. Have you seen any strangers recently?"

"Um... look at what you're saying, this street may not have much else, but it's packed with people... in the beginning, there were even students coming here to explore every day..."

Seeing that the man in the Feline was becoming increasingly impatient, the Mercenaries, who was trembling with nervousness as his arm was around his shoulder, quickly added:

"But as you know, after it was confirmed that the police weren't coming, the street was basically divided up by several groups. I can only say that there are definitely no new faces like me, a temporary refugee trying to make a living... As for the gangs and homeless people... I don't know."

Seeing that the Mercenaries was relatively obedient, the man from Feline glanced around and, seeing that his subordinates who had asked the others nearby nodded in agreement, he naturally released the unfortunate Mercenaries and then slipped him a ten-dollar Columbian Dollar.

"Well, thanks for the news... I'll come find you again next time I need something."

"... team leader..."

Ignoring the street vendor's panicked escape, the men in municipal uniforms, though equipped with gear and gear, indicated they weren't armed street sweepers. They leaned close to the man in Feline and whispered in his ear:

"We've found the secret passage Mike mentioned... but because it's so close to the collapsed apartment building, the structure is very unstable, and several intersections seem to have collapsed today... getting in might take some trouble..."

"Was today's collapse... a natural collapse?"

"Probably not, no one here has noticed any unfamiliar faces."

"Then the biggest problem is Mike. He's a complete stranger here... Has nobody here ever seen him before?"

Seeing his subordinates shaking their heads in denial, the captain, whose cat ears were covered by a baseball cap, had deep furrows on his brows that could trap flies. But looking at his subordinates who had completed the initial reconnaissance and found nothing... among them were heavy armored soldiers, guards, and even four Firearms Arts users. The cat-eared captain couldn't find a reason to back down.

"It seems we have no choice but to proceed as planned. Team Two will take control of the high ground, Team Three will block off traffic in the area, and the police station has been taken care of, right?... If there are any oversights, whoever causes problems will have to take the blame."

"Lastly, one team, come with me. Shieldguards in front, Guards at the rear. Explosives casters, be careful to block Originium Arts signals. Everyone, beware of mechanical traps and mechanisms. A slower pace is fine... Let's go see how that idiot Mike ended up in the ICA's hands."

Considering all the methods Atlas had used to ambush the ICA in the past, Captain Cat-Ear believed he had taken all variables into account.

With the second and third teams controlling the surrounding area without any obstacles, the cat-eared captain, who hadn't encountered any problems, increasingly felt that this mission was either a false alarm or a complete trap.

As the group entered the building with its peeling green paint, the flickering lights, caused by the previous blasting affecting the power lines, and the windows reinforced with planks or plastic by homeless people for warmth, made the already dim room even more eerie...

After maintaining formation and traversing several corridors, experiencing incidents such as accidentally soiling a homeless man's bed, kicking over a beer can and table belonging to gang members, and nearly engaging in a firefight with half-asleep Mercenaries, Atlas's first action team finally arrived at the entrance to the 'secret passage'.

It was a secret door that led from a wardrobe in one room to a lower level, discovered only through Mike's communication system.

"However, I remember this building doesn't have an underground structure... Below that should be the sewer system... Is it an illegally constructed structure, or a building attached to the sewer system, similar to a sewer workshop?"

He silently analyzed the situation, but there was no response from the team. After all, everyone knew about their captain's habit of talking to himself.

The cat-eared man understood that simply hesitating outside the door wouldn't reveal the truth. With the entire street sealed off, the ICA couldn't do anything to him unless they also mobilized personnel in response... and if the ICA did that, then his mission would be complete.

Thinking this, with a command, the first squad filed in, carefully and cautiously checking along the way before reaching the deepest part. The cat-eared man frowned as he looked at the person whose entire body was bound with zip ties, even their eyes and mouth were taped shut:

"Mike? Old Mike, is that you?!"

Perhaps it was this call that woke the other party. As the other party began to struggle, the cat-eared man, realizing that this was his target, fiercely checked the surroundings. Only after confirming that there were no traps did he nervously order his men to remove the items from Mike's body.

"Old Mike, you're safe! We've found you!"

"... Damn it... Can't you guys see this is a trap?!"

As Mike screamed in agony, Captain Cat-Ears also heard a soft chuckle behind him.

"Who!"

A group of armed men quickly assumed a fighting stance, but they saw nothing; the sound was coming from the path they had descended...

As the cat-eared captain gave a signal to a reluctant guard, the combatant carrying a long sword reluctantly began to probe the area, but what he discovered was not a trap, but a communicator that suddenly started making calls.

[SOS! SOS! Our high ground is under attack! The attackers are the city defenses--]

[It's a city defense ballista!! Someone is attacking us with a ballista!! Ahhhhhh, the cover, the cover is completely useless!!]

[Evacuation, requesting evacuation!]

It was a tremor that could be felt even without a communicator, as if city defense artillery were raining down on him. For a moment, Captain Cat-Ears felt as if he had been transported back to the Pioneer War era when he fought against Victoria. But he quickly recovered and angrily contacted the other team of his men who were blocking the street:

"The sniper position is under attack! Where the hell are they shooting at us?! Hello? Hello?! Is anyone listening?!"

Just as the cat-eared man started spewing Columbia profanities, a girl's voice, unfamiliar to him, suddenly came through the communication:

They can't hear you anymore... you're next.

"That voice..."

[... Your voice... it sounds so familiar... No, I won't forget this voice.]

Clearly, the other party had also noticed something; the cat-eared man smacked his lips, revealing sharp canines.

"So that's how it is, 'Lycoris'? I always thought the Fourth Squad's failure was just an excuse... I never imagined that the fact that the ICA had a secret organization was actually true..."

As he spoke, the cat-eared man gestured for the others to prepare to break through, since if Lycoris were to attack from the outer perimeter, they would actually be the safest.

Meanwhile, Captain Cat Ears was also listening to the sounds of battle through the communicator, estimating the relative positions of the enemy's main force and his own.

[... You're still alive... Didn't the captain kill you back then...?]

"You mean that little girl in red? Hmm... she was indeed quite powerful, but she died a horrible death. We think we killed another one later... oh well, whatever... Should I congratulate you? You finally found me~"

Such provocation elicited heavy breathing sounds from the communicator, followed by a continuous barrage of Firearms Arts...

The second squad members' pleas for mercy were mixed with their agonizing screams. This act of venting helped them confirm the other side's identity, and the more intense firefight would also increase the likelihood of police and army intervention.

After all, Atlas isn't afraid of this, but it would be great to see Lycoris or the ICA captured. The cat-eared man would love for the fighting to get even more intense... even if it meant wasting more ammunition.

But just as the cat-eared captain was about to leave the secret room during the firefight, the guard who was leading the way back to the wardrobe entrance suddenly saw a blonde girl standing in front of him with a smile, holding a shotgun that looked quite expensive.

"Yo~"

With a woman's soft laughter, the guard groaned and tumbled down the steep stairs, clutching his head. The medic, under the cover of shields, carried the wounded back into the secret chamber, only to discover a ring of blood around the forehead of one of his teammates, a mark left by a headshot.

"... Captain, it's just a concussion, probably from the fall... He only has a scrape..."

Listening to the medic's explanation, the cat-eared captain frowned and peeked out. Then, at the entrance, he saw the girl in red, whose expression was somewhat hidden in the shadows due to the backlighting.

Although the other party even pointed the gun at the floor in a friendly manner, their words sent a chill down the spine of the cat-eared man who had just been relentlessly provoking Takina:

"Ah, I originally just wanted to talk to a few Atlas... but it seems my men have received quite a bit of help from you guys before."

Looking at the red-clad figure backlit by the light, the cat-eared man trembled, as if he had returned to a year ago when he intercepted the ICA escorting VIPs. Back then, the mission that shattered an entire Atlas company and even killed the regimental commander also started in this way.

But soon he remembered that he was no longer the company employee he used to be; they were now backed by the government, and the other side was the illegal organization!

As the uneasy girl cast questioning glances at the cat-eared man, he thought for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed 911.

PS: What is real business warfare...? It's when employees actually fight each other!

So what is the ultimate secret of real business warfare?

Based on the first reasonable deduction, that would probably involve calling the police and summoning higher-ups for further repercussions (scratching head).

PS2: The new outline is still not finished... Waaah, cat-like monster.

Woof woof cat. jpg

5th Laytonson's Ghost Assassin: 170 Takina, go take a walk around the prison.

Even though it was known that 'Black Street' was controlled by Astra and was in direct conflict with a certain force in the city.

But in a city with nearly a million inhabitants... or even on a street outside the city center, isn't it a bit too much to openly and blatantly use military-grade automatic Firearms Arts to spray bullets?!

Amidst the spitting fire of machine guns, whether they were students idly spending their winter break, gangsters recruiting new members, or Mercenaries who had gathered there for the cheap price, they all lay prone on the ground, heads in their hands, huddled in silence, terrified that the hail of steel bullets would follow their screams and rain down upon them.

What? You're asking where the local homeless people went?

As native-born, disillusioned middle-aged and elderly people... some of whom had even experienced or personally received "treatment" from the ICA, they scattered instantly upon seeing the fully armed Blue Lycoris pull a PKM from the trunk of her luxury car.

Unlike those who conservatively waited for the situation to end, the seasoned locals, seeing this commotion, instinctively headed for the city center... just like when the ICA established itself in Laisenton ten years ago.

The chaos today easily reminds these elderly people of Laisenton from years ago.

Laisenton is a free city.

You can curse the banks and capitalists, despise government officials, and even spout nonsense about the conflicts between soldiers caused by the Bolivar War... But there are a few things you need to know to live in this city. Liu

First, even though Loken Watertank's scandal four years ago resulted in Loken Williams being sentenced to over three hundred years in prison, Loken Watertank remains one of Columbia's leading designers and manufacturers of high-precision Orundum components.

The prosperity of Raisington City still rests on the company's several Orundum and Originium component manufacturing plants... The city remains an important high-tech component of Columbia.

Then, this high-tech component of Columbia was allegedly brought down by a mysterious company that employed underage armed personnel.

Some say this company manufactures pharmaceuticals, others say it's involved in military deployment... But whatever the case, Loken Watertank has fallen victim to 'armed minors.' Whether that's the main cause or the final straw, this attribute is a slippery slope that Raisington City must never touch.

Now, after several years, fully armed and seemingly purposeful minors have reappeared in Laisenton... Even the most clueless citizens, who only know how to speculate, can feel their hearts pounding; something big is clearly on the way.

However, Takina herself wasn't interested in the thought processes of ordinary people. After hearing that familiar voice on the other party's communicator, she frowned... looking very unhappy, as if she wanted to take Nana's place and shoot all those guys.

So, who is that person?

As a purple shooting star suddenly appeared in the sky and landed on a rooftop not far from her, Takina spoke in a somewhat dejected tone through Lycoris's own communicator:

"Atlas's combatants... I encountered him before our conflict even became public... My first superior, a red-clad figure, apparently died in their encirclement... I originally thought there were no survivors from that battle."

Why do you think that way?

"... Because the other side seems unaware of the style and hierarchy of our uniforms, we all believe that Lycoris's covert operational rules are still in effect... but this man definitely understands the concept of 'red'... how strange."

[Can't figure it out? In times like these, I suggest you don't overthink it...]

Another bolt of dark purple Thunder struck vertically. Looking at the partially collapsed building three kilometers away, Typhon lay on the blanket, cranking the crossbow handle and slowly cocking it. At the same time, he shared Sami's philosophy of life with his companions:

"Don't dwell on what you can't understand, and don't try to comprehend what you don't want to understand. As long as the problem is solved, that's enough..."

At this point, Typhon tilted his head as he heard the police cars blaring downstairs:

"Also, it seems local law enforcement has been deployed... Just like the teacher said, they were making 'whoosh whoosh' noises and flashing red and blue lights as they headed towards your area... Four, five... about twelve cars."

Hearing Typhon's reminder, Takina replaced the ammo box in her machine gun and clicked her tongue. These police officers had never seemed to care about Atlas's destruction of the city before, so why did they arrive so quickly today?

Perhaps Typhon's reminder had some effect, because despite being completely confused, Takina tapped the earpiece to connect with Nana, who was underground:

"Captain, you heard that...?"

[Ah~ I heard that very clearly.]