Chapter 4 : The Man Whose Heart Stopped

Maria's voice sounded strangely unstable now.

"So my direct monitoring over him temporarily weakened."

"...And?"

Another brief silence followed.

Then—

"...His heart stopped."

The atmosphere froze completely.

Aoi's eyes widened slightly.

"...What?"

"That's the information I'm receiving."

Maria sounded confused herself now.

"But the strange part is..."

"I'm still connected to him."

Aoi immediately stood up.

"What does that even mean?"

"I DON'T KNOW."

For the very first time—

Maria actually sounded shaken.

"If his biological signals fully disappeared, the connection should've collapsed."

"But it's still active."

Aoi immediately grabbed her pistol again.

"Where is he?"

"Signal still on the ground floor."

"But weak."

Maria quickly stabilized herself again.

"...No."

"We don't have time to panic yet."

Aoi immediately started moving toward the exit.

Meanwhile, Maria forcefully changed the tactical display again.

"We still have two bombs remaining."

One red marker blinked violently.

"The second bomb now has approximately fifteen minutes remaining."

Then another marker appeared.

The rooftop explosive.

The main one.

And the timer attached to it continued falling mercilessly.

13 Minutes Remaining

Maria's voice lowered quietly.

"...And if the rooftop bomb activates..."

"...Everything ends."

Meanwhile—

On the ground floor, my body remained motionless among the blood-covered tiles.

From the outside...

It genuinely looked like a corpse.

Blood covered most of my clothes.

Part of my face too.

The gun still rested loosely in my hand while several dead terrorists surrounded the area, creating the perfect illusion that I had killed some of them before being shot down myself.

No heartbeat.

No visible breathing.

Nothing.

Exactly as planned.

Then—

Seven terrorists rushed into the area.

"What happened here?!"

They immediately spread out while checking the bodies one after another.

One crouched beside me.

His gloved fingers pressed against my neck.

"...Dead."

Another checked my chest movement.

"No breathing either."

Good.

The combat chip suppressing my biological signals was still functioning perfectly.

To them—

I was just another corpse.

The terrorists quickly continued inspecting the massacre around them.

One of them cursed angrily.

"So this bastard was the one causing trouble."

Another immediately shouted toward the others.

"Forget him."

"Find the civilians!"

"If needed, kill a few hostages to force the others out!"

The moment those words left his mouth—

My eyes opened.

And immediately—

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The rifle in my hand erupted violently.

The terrorists didn't even have time to process what was happening.

Bullets tore through the group at point-blank range.

One dropped instantly.

Another collapsed backward.

A third tried raising his weapon before two shots slammed directly into his chest.

The confined hallway exploded into chaos.

Twenty rounds.

Seven targets.

No hesitation.

No wasted motion.

Some died immediately.

Others collapsed screaming while unable to move properly after severe injuries shattered their arms and legs.

One terrorist stared at me in absolute horror while clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"H-How...?"

His entire body trembled.

"Y-Your heart..."

I slowly stood up from the floor while blood dripped from my clothes.

The fake blood mixed with real injuries now.

"...You people really trust technology too much."

I rolled my neck slightly.

A disturbing crack echoed quietly.

"Who exactly told you that heartbeat, breathing, and eye movement are impossible to fake?"

The surviving terrorist looked completely frozen.

Like he was staring at a ghost.

Meanwhile, some of the injured terrorists desperately tried crawling toward their dropped weapons.

Too slow.

I picked up a combat knife from the floor calmly.

"...Well."

My voice stayed emotionless.

"It's time to end this."

One knife flew across the hallway instantly.

THK.

The blade buried itself into a terrorist's throat before he could scream.

At the same time, I grabbed another rifle and aimed toward the remaining wounded men.

Several of them stared at me with pure terror now.

And honestly...

I almost pitied them.

Almost.

"...If you have families."

I slowly spoke while aiming the rifle calmly.

"...Then I apologize."

None of them answered.

Some were too injured to speak.

Others simply stared in fear.

"But you already knew someday something like this might happen."

My finger rested against the trigger.

"When people choose violence as their life..."

"...eventually violence chooses them back."

Silence filled the hallway.

Then finally—

"...Go to hell."

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

The remaining terrorists stopped moving.

And just like that—

The hallway became silent again.

Only the smell of blood and gunpowder remained.

Meanwhile, Maria's panicked voice suddenly exploded inside my head.

"YOU'RE ALIVE?!"

I winced slightly.

"...Volume."

"YOUR HEART LITERALLY STOPPED!"

"Temporarily."

"THAT'S NOT A NORMAL SENTENCE!"

I sighed tiredly while wiping blood from my face.

"We'll discuss philosophy later."

"Status report."

Maria immediately stabilized herself again.

"First bomb successfully disabled."

"Terrorist count reduced significantly."

"Approximately eleven active hostiles remaining."

"And Aoi is currently moving toward the second bomb location."

I lightly adjusted the rifle in my hand.

Good.

Still manageable.

Meanwhile, Maria's voice softened slightly again.

"...You scared me."

For a brief second—

I stayed silent.

Then quietly answered:

"...Sorry."

The AI became quiet too.

Then finally—

"...Should I reconnect the shared channel?"

I started walking toward the dark upper hallway.

"...Yeah."

"Connect me back to her."

The shared connection reactivated instantly.

The moment the channel connected—

"...HELLO?!"

Aoi's furious voice exploded directly inside my head.

"You absolute idiot!"

At the same time—

I casually threw a knife across the hallway.

THK.

One terrorist dropped instantly before even understanding what happened.

Meanwhile, I continued walking calmly toward the bomb location on my floor.

"...So you're okay now?"

"DO I SOUND OKAY TO YOU?!"

I winced slightly.

"...You know shouting directly into neural channels hurts."

"You literally stopped your heart!"

"Temporarily."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER!"

Honestly...

Hearing the usually calm commander completely lose composure was strangely entertaining.

I couldn't stop a faint smile.

"Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

Her voice remained furious even while running across the upper floors.

"You know what kind of panic you caused?!"

"We only knew each other for a few hours."

"...THAT ISN'T THE POINT!"

I blinked once.

"...Then what is?"

A brief silence followed.

Then immediately—

"Shut up and finish the mission first!"

"...Fine."

At the same time, two terrorists near the bomb location suddenly noticed the body that had collapsed from my knife throw earlier.

"What happened?!"

They instantly raised their rifles while searching for threats.

Too slow.

I rushed forward before either could properly aim.

The rifle in my hand swung violently.

CRACK.

The first terrorist collapsed immediately after the impact shattered his jaw.

The second barely tried pulling the trigger before I smashed the rifle stock directly into his throat.

Both dropped hard onto the floor gasping.

No gunshots.

No alarms.

Meanwhile, Aoi was still angrily talking through the connection.

"And don't you EVER pull something like that again!"

"...You sound surprisingly worried."

"..."

"Aoi?"

"...When this mission ends..."

Her breathing sounded heavier now from running.

"...I'm seriously going to kill you myself."

I laughed quietly.

"I never expected Commander Aoi to use words like that."

"Stop making jokes!"

Despite the anger—

There was relief hidden underneath her voice too.

And honestly...

That made my chest feel strangely lighter.

Meanwhile, I finally reached the bomb on my floor.

Unlike the previous one, this device was smaller.

Simpler.

Probably designed as secondary support.

Good.

Without wasting time, I crouched immediately.

"...Maria."

"Already scanning."

Several holographic structures appeared instantly.

"Same wire logic as previous bomb."

"Red and blue simultaneously."

"Good."

This time—

I didn't hesitate.

SNAP.

The wires were cut together instantly.

The timer froze immediately before shutting down completely.

Second bomb disabled.

At the exact same moment—

Alerts exploded inside both the Republic of Ind and JP Federation command centers.

Second Bomb Neutralized

Cheers erupted across the operation rooms instantly.

Several officers nearly collapsed from relief.

"We actually got another one!"

"Two bombs down!"

"Only one remaining!"

Meanwhile, high above the mall—

Aoi finally reached the final staircase leading toward the rooftop.

Her voice entered the channel again.

"...I found the last one."

I immediately stood back up.

"It's okay."

I checked the remaining ammunition calmly.

"I'll come there too."

And somewhere above us—

The final countdown continued ticking closer toward zero.

I moved quickly through the dark maintenance corridors toward the rooftop level while Aoi's voice continued through the shared connection.

"...I found the final bomb."

Her tone sounded strange.

Confused.

Immediately, I frowned.

"What happened?"

"...No guards."

Silence.

I stopped walking for half a second.

"...What?"

"There isn't anyone here."

At the same time, Maria immediately scanned the entire rooftop sector again.

Thermal Scan Active
Movement Detection Active

"...Confirmed."

Maria sounded confused too.

"No hostile presence detected near the rooftop bomb."

That alone immediately felt wrong.

Very wrong.

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"Maria."

"Yeah?"

"Scan the bomb itself."

Several seconds passed.

Then—

"...It's real."

The holographic structure appeared instantly inside our visual systems.

Active Explosive Confirmed
Detonation Status: Live
Remaining Time: 06 Minutes 31 Seconds

So it wasn't fake.

Then why leave it unguarded?

"Scan the entire mall again."

Maria immediately obeyed.

"No additional bombs detected."

"The rooftop device is the final explosive."

I stayed silent for a moment.

Then finally—

"...Forget the bomb for a second."

Both Aoi and Maria became quiet.

"Track the remaining four terrorists."

Several scans rapidly updated.

Then Maria suddenly paused.

"...Found them."

"Location?"

"...Security control room."

Immediately—

Everything clicked together inside my head.

Of course.

I slowly exhaled.

"Aoi."

"...Yeah?"

"Defuse the bomb."

"What about you?"

I adjusted the rifle in my hand calmly.

"...I'm going to meet the real leader."

A brief silence followed.

Then—

"...Be careful."

I smirked faintly while continuing forward.

"You too, Commander."

Meanwhile, high above me—

Aoi immediately crouched beside the rooftop bomb and started disabling the wires carefully.

The exact same mechanism as before.

Meanwhile—

I finally reached the security control room.

And unlike earlier—

I didn't hide my presence this time.

There was no point anymore.

The moment I pushed open the damaged metal door—

Four armed terrorists immediately turned toward me.

One of them almost pulled the trigger instantly—

"STOP."

A calm voice interrupted him.

And sitting calmly near the central surveillance monitors—

Was the son of Kael Veyron.

The terrorist leader.

He slowly smiled while staring directly at me.

"...So you finally came."

I stared back emotionlessly.

"...So you're the one behind this."

The young man laughed softly.

"By now, you probably already figured everything out."

Honestly?

Yeah.

I did.

He slowly stood up from the chair while keeping one hand inside his coat.

"All this happened because of you."

"...Wrong."

My answer came instantly.

"It wasn't me who arrested your father."

The man's smile faded slightly.

"If it had been me..."

I slowly stepped further into the room.

"...your father would've died before reaching prison."

The atmosphere immediately became heavier.

The terrorists around him tightened their grips on their rifles.

Meanwhile, the young man quietly laughed again.

"...You're colder than the rumors say."

"Your father killed children."

I looked directly into his eyes.

"Hundreds."

"And the government still kept him alive."

Disgust naturally entered my voice.

"Politicians back then were idiots."

"They protected monsters while pretending to care about justice."

The young man slowly tilted his head.

"...You really hate us that much, huh?"

"It's not hate."

I answered calmly.

"It's poison."

"People like your father turn everything they touch into poison."

The leader laughed quietly again.

"...Interesting."

At that exact moment—

The door behind me suddenly opened again.

Aoi entered silently while aiming her pistol directly toward the leader's head.

"Drop your weapons."

Immediately, the remaining three terrorists pointed their rifles toward both of us.

The room turned into a deadlock instantly.

Meanwhile, Aoi spoke coldly again.

"...This ends here."

But strangely—

The terrorist leader didn't look nervous at all.

Instead—

He smiled.

Then slowly pointed toward one of the surveillance screens.

The image displayed the hidden maintenance room where all the civilians were hiding.

My eyes narrowed instantly.

And then—

I saw it.

A bomb.

But not electronic.

No visible timer.

No digital signal.

No wireless connection.

Old-fashioned.

Mechanical.

Which explained everything.

Maria immediately sounded frustrated.

"...That's why I couldn't detect it properly."

The leader smiled wider.

"I realized the operation was failing the moment I saw you on camera earlier."

"So I prepared insurance."

He slowly raised a detonator device in his hand.

"Because of you..."

His eyes darkened.

"...seven hundred people are about to die."

Silence filled the room.

Aoi's grip tightened slightly around her pistol.

Meanwhile—

I simply stared at him calmly.

Then quietly answered:

"...Is that so?"

The leader frowned slightly.

And then—

I spoke without emotion.

"...Then pull the trigger."

Everyone in the room froze.

Even Aoi looked at me sharply.

But I continued calmly.

"...I don't give a damn about your threats."