Chapter 50: Rising International Tensions
"...Oh?"
That was a much faster response than I'd expected.
My eyes lit up as I asked.
"Where?"
[Tower of Fate – Japan, Floor 55: "Goblin Mana Stone Mine."]
Floor 55, huh?
That was a familiar floor.
I'd visited it quite often to harvest Contribution Points from Hunters who had grown nice and plump.
It was also a place that came up particularly frequently on Hunter Inventory.
Was that because rankers liked to bully people there?
No.
It's a land flowing with milk and honey.
In fact, the Mana Stone Mine on Floor 55 was famous as a place where even low-rank Hunters had a chance to strike it rich.
Anyone could mine Mana Stones there as long as they brought a mining pickaxe.
Of course, you still have to deal with all the goblins crawling around.
But if you were lucky, you might even get your hands on a top-grade Mana Stone.
Naturally, that made it one of the areas where PvP was most active, as Hunters fought over the valuable resources.
Stories about people turning their lives around on Floor 55 appeared on Hunter Inventory from time to time.
Then a question suddenly occurred to me.
"Does Japan also have a Mana Stone Mine on Floor 55?"
[Yes.]
[The Towers of different countries may differ in their specific terrain and geographical features, but they share the same general concepts and themes.]
So the floors in other countries' Towers follow roughly the same themes.
I'd previously traveled around the world with my Gate ability, visiting the Towers of Japan, Russia, and various other countries.
Thinking back, the terrain I'd encountered hadn't been identical to that of the Korean Tower, but the general concepts had always matched.
For example, if Floor 25 had a desert theme in Korea, then Floor 25 would also be a desert in Japan, China, the United States, and the Middle East.
The same general concept, but different details.
A grin spread across my face.
Let's bring down the price of Mana Stones in Korea.
The maintenance costs of my wings and Laser No. 1 were already ridiculous.
Time to plunder Japan's resources. Let's go!
Pyongyang.
Orc Great General's Munitions Factory.
Late at night.
A shadow slipped over the perimeter wall.
I am an intelligence agent dispatched by the Chinese Communist Party.
His Chinese Hunter Inventory nickname was Void.
He was an elite spy with an A-rank invisibility ability, and he had never failed a single mission.
The reason was simple.
Because this is my very first field assignment!
Zero missions.
Zero victories.
Zero defeats.
An undefeated spy!
That was Void.
So this is the place I've heard so much about...!
As he took his first step inside the building, he briefly held his breath.
Metal pillars towered upward, reaching almost to the ceiling.
Enormous metallic machines engraved with mysterious patterns glowed faintly in the darkness.
He had undergone rigorous training throughout his life in preparation for this very day.
But he'd never experienced such an overwhelming atmosphere before.
So this is technology that humanity is incapable of reproducing.
As expected of a trained agent, Void quickly suppressed his amazement and reminded himself of his mission.
First, secure the weapon blueprints. This is the highest priority.
If he accomplished that alone, half the mission would be complete.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an eighty-percent success.
Second, secure a sample of the Gatling Laser, if any remain.
The Chinese Communist Party leadership already knew that every recovered Gatling Laser had been transferred to the United States.
The second objective was therefore merely a precaution.
The third and fourth objectives were also things he was only supposed to attempt if he had the opportunity.
However, Void believed he had plenty of room to accomplish them.
And he had good reason to think so.
After all, he'd already managed to infiltrate the building.
Investigate the Munitions Factory's operating conditions and hack into its management system.
Void took a small USB drive from inside his clothing and examined it.
It contained an infiltration program personally designed by one of China's most skilled Hunters in the field of hacking.
Once he plugged it into the management system, they would be able to extract the factory's internal data remotely.
The problem is getting close enough to connect it.
Void examined the patrols moving along the corridor ahead.
Soldiers belonging to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command were moving back and forth at regular intervals.
I believe they're called KATUSA soldiers. The Korean troops seem to have relatively lax security.
Void immediately activated his invisibility ability.
His body gradually faded, as though dissolving into the air.
Suppressing even the sound of his footsteps, he slipped between the patrolling soldiers.
Good. Everything is going smoothly so far.
At one point, a guard stopped walking and glanced around, apparently sensing something unusual.
Void held his breath, pressed himself tightly against the wall, and slipped past.
His heart was pounding wildly.
Yet he showed no outward sign of agitation.
That was the mark of a professional and the result of his rigorous training.
The Korean soldiers are easy enough to slip past.
Void smiled, feeling proud of the results of his training.
Soon, he spotted an area that appeared to be the main control room.
Even the surveillance equipment installed throughout the building was useless against his ability.
My invisibility doesn't merely make me invisible to the naked eye. I can completely fool thermal imaging and infrared equipment, too.
He carefully gripped the USB drive and approached the terminal, searching for a suitable port.
But then...
"Who's there?"
A low, cold voice came from behind him.
"...!"
Void was so startled that he whipped around.
He was definitely still invisible.
He had completely suppressed both his footsteps and his presence.
Yet a woman was standing there, looking directly at his exact position.
She was wearing the uniform of an American military security officer, but her bearing was distinctly different from that of the other soldiers.
Don't tell me...!
Her eyes.
Her presence.
Neither belonged to an ordinary soldier.
And she'd seen through an A-rank intelligence agent like him in an instant?
Is she S-rank?!
By the time that thought occurred to him, it was already too late.
GRAB!
An enormous hand seized him by the back of his neck.
Despite his invisibility, the woman's movement had been perfectly accurate, as though she could see him clearly.
"Urgh... H-How?!"
"Asian male. Armed. Intruder apprehended."
She delivered a brief, precise report over her radio.
A moment later, a deafening alarm began to sound.
BEEEEEP!
The sound of soldiers rushing toward them came from every direction.
