01

01.

City nights are beautiful.

The city comes alive with colorful lights that swallow up the stars in the night sky, and pedestrians bustling through the streets.

Shops are decorated with colorful neon signs, and the streets are packed with customers.

If you look up, you'll see huge, irregularly shaped buildings.

The placement of the buildings, which completely ignore the city's landscape, is breathtakingly dense.

The citizens walked in silence, looking down at the ground.

Raising one's head to the heavens would only lead to frustration, so they simply conform and live their lives in their own way.

Some live as minions of giant corporations, others as mercenaries.

Some are criminals, while others are just ordinary citizens.

The problem here is the criminals.

In this city, criminals fall into three main categories.

Those who commit crimes by accident, those who commit crimes for a living, and those who are just plain crazy.

It's true that criminals have their reasons.

Being poor in a city where everything is about money is a pretty terrible thing.

You have to pay to feed yourself, deal with your periods, and sleep.

It was a crazy world in many ways.

So it's not surprising that people were in a state of disrepair.

In this megalopolis, NOVA, there are dozens of incidents a day.

There are shootings in hair salons, gang wars, and slum alleyways turned into slaughterhouses.

In this situation, the police are not playing around.

They're trying to keep the city as safe as possible with limited resources.

Proof of this is that the police have the highest annual death rate in Nova City.

Poorly trained and poorly armed officers were no match for the monsters with body modifications.

While others are wielding prosthetic limbs and wielding all sorts of crazy weapons, the police are stuck with old-fashioned automatic pistols.

When police officers go out to subdue criminal suspects, they make many sacrifices.

As a result, officers become psychologized and demoralized.

When another crime occurs, the police react ineffectively, and the public criticizes the police for their incompetence.

The next time there's a crime, the police are more aggressive, and the cycle repeats itself.

Without proper support, there was no way for the police to get out of this cycle of misery.

So, the police made a crucial decision.

They decided to wipe out their budget and create a new organization that specialized in taking down violent criminals.

"...And that is the beginning of us, the SWAT team."

"Oh..."

A faint murmur of agreement escapes from the new recruits as the team leader with a handsome beard finishes his speech.

Inside a cramped transport armored vehicle.

Pressed against each other, the SWAT team members are passing the time in their own way.

The rookies have just finished listening to their team leader's speech, while the veterans are furtively checking their weapons.

They know all too well the reality of the SWAT team.

No matter how much they try to pretend they're something special, they're just a little better armed and trained.

They are no different than any other regular police force.

"We are the pride of the Nova City Police. Be proud of yourselves, and live up to that honor!"

"Yes, sir!"

It wasn't like team leader didn't know that, but he didn't want to demoralize the new recruits by telling them the truth.

The last thing they needed was to be reminded that they were certified meat shields right before they went into action.

No one complained about the team leader's words, and the vehicle carrying the SWAT team continued on its way.

"We'll be on the scene soon. Prepare to disembark!"

"Prepare to unload!"

The shout from the driver's seat gets everyone moving in unison.

They turn toward the door for a quick exit, ready to jump out at a moment's notice.

Boom!

Finally, the transport skids to a halt.

The team leader pulls down the face shield to cover his face and gives them one last piece of advice.

"Remember. Rush in the back door, subdue the suspect, and secure the stolen weapon. If he resists, shoot to kill."

"Understood."

"All aboard!"

Boom.

At the team leader's signal, the back door of the vehicle swings open.

Quickly pouring out, the officers line up on either side of the vehicle.

They're all dressed in black combat suits and thick face shields.

Calmly lined up, they waited quietly for their next order.

Meanwhile, all around them were the police officers who had arrived first and had the scene under control.

The spattered blood, honeycombed bodies, and ragged police car doors suggested that there had been quite a fight.

This is a small bar on the outskirts of Nova City.

The second floor was used as a store, and the third through fifth floors were occupied by residents.

The condition of the first and second floors, where the gunfire had been going on for a while, was obvious at first glance.

All the windows were shattered, revealing sharp edges, and the walls were deeply pockmarked with countless bullet holes.

The new recruits swallowed hard at the sight of the carnage.

Soon, they would be inside that dangerous building themselves.

They were highly trained, but training doesn't protect you from being shot at.

Just as a seasoned mercenary who'd been through the wringer could take a pistol shot from a ghetto kid, they were mere mortals who could easily be killed by a blind bullet.

But so be it.

It was their job to take down dangerous criminals.

[Alpha team, standby].

"Team Bravo, standby."

[Team Charlie, standby].

By now, the other teams have arrived on the scene and are ready to go.

The Alpha team leader, who has overall control of the operation, quickly gives instructions.

[ On cue, Alpha Team bursts through the front door and heads up to the second floor. At the same time, Bravo Team enters through the back door to join Alpha Team and secure the rear. Charlie Team will cover the outer perimeter, over].

"Copy that, everyone, move!"

At the team leader's command, Bravo's men move silently.

It was a clean, uncluttered movement.

Quickly flanking the building's exterior walls, they stood on either side of the heavy metal security doors, waiting for the signal to move in.

"Bravo Team, standing by to go in."

[Charlie Team, outside perimeter, all clear].

[Understood, on my signal, Alpha and Bravo will breach simultaneously].

At the Alpha team leader's response, the men fixed their weapons.

Except for the frontman, who was armed with a bulletproof shield and a pistol, each man had his finger on the control knob of his rifle.

After a minute that felt like ten, the signal finally came from Alpha Team.

[Prepare to breach. On the count of three, we're in].

"Confirm."

The frontman and the crew member standing across from him made eye contact.

They exchanged an unspoken signal of readiness, and he raised his overly massive right arm.

It was a combat implant he had personally received.

The heavy titanium alloy fist had enough destructive power to breach the door.

[3, 2, 1, breeching].

Tsk-!

With a loud bang, the thick metal door was ripped off its hinges and sent flying.

There was no time to waste.

The frontman immediately rushed inside with his shield in front of him.

The rest of the crew followed, one after the other.

The first thing the frontman sees is the body of the shopkeeper slumped in front of the warehouse door.

A long, dried bloodstain on the floor subtly indicated that he had somehow struggled to survive.

"This is Bravo-2, we have one civilian casualty. Location is in front of a warehouse."

[Confirmed, Bravo-2. Proceed].

"Confirmed."

"All right, Ian and Max, watch the door at twelve o'clock. Robert, Dinah, clear the inside of the warehouse, and the rest of you cover the rear."

"Confirmed, moving."

At the team leader's command, frontmen Ian and Max stepped around the bodies lying on the floor.

They kept their eyes peeled for the door that supposedly led to the main hall where the Alpha team had rushed in, while Robert and Dinah opened the warehouse door.

Rattle-

The doorknob swung around and caught on the lock, stopping.

"It's locked from the inside."

"I'll try to hack it."

As she said that, a faint light began to flicker in Dinah's eyes.

She was using the computer implanted in her brain to unlock the electronic door lock.

Beep.

The low-end, cheap door lock was easily unlocked.

"Hack successful. Unlocked."

"Entering. Three, two, one."

Boom-!

Robert kicked the door roughly open, and Dinah pointed her gun inside the warehouse.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot, I'm a civilian!"

"Help!"

Someone shouted, startled by the sudden noise.

Robert and Dinah began to respond calmly.

"It's the police! Get on your knees with your hands above your head!"

"Oh, okay! Okay, don't shoot!"

Hiding inside the cramped warehouse were two civilians.

The man, who appeared to be an employee, and the woman, who appeared to be a customer, meekly followed the officers' instructions.

This was a very wise choice.

Disobeying police orders in this situation would have been a hornet's nest.

"This is Bravo-4, we have two civilians inside the warehouse."

[Copy that. Make sure the civilians don't get caught in the crossfire].

"Confirmed."

"Room clear."

Placing electronic handcuffs on the wrists of the two civilians, Robert and Dinah joined the men waiting in the hallway.

Before entering the door leading to the main hall, the team leader tapped his radio.

"This is Bravo-1, Alpha Team, what is your location?"

[This is Alpha-2, we've cleared the hall and are standing by to enter the second floor].

"We're entering the hall to join you. Be careful of mistaken fire."

[Confirmed. Opening the door and signaling...]

Suddenly, the radio contact with Alpha Team was cut off.

Panicking at the unexpected turn of events, the team leader tried to reconnect.

"This is Bravo-1. This is Bravo-1. Alpha Team, please respond."

Luckily, the reply came back quickly, but the team leader was far from reassured.

The call back was urgent.

[...Sighted! Suspect sighted!]

[Police! Drop your weapon... Holy shit!]

Bang!

Bang!

The team leader stiffened at the gunfire that immediately began coming from upstairs.

"This is not good. Get inside the hall quickly."

"Confirmed, entering."

Raising his shield, Ian roughly kicked the door open.

"Move! Move!"

Moving quickly through the battle-scarred hall, the Bravo Team members immediately pointed their guns at the stairs to the second floor.

"Tsk..."

In front of them, an Alpha Team member gasped for air with a gaping hole in his neck.

Seeing the man clutching at the bleeding wound and struggling to stay conscious, the team leader radioed in.

"This is Bravo-1, we have a casualty, requesting medical assistance!"

[Copy that. Assist Alpha Team as soon as possible].

Swallowing hard at the stiff, formal instructions that came back, the team leader glanced at the situation on the second floor.

Tut-tat-tat-!

Taang-!

The loud gunshots that could still be heard were a vivid reminder that Alpha Team and the suspect were still engaged.

The team leader hurriedly tapped his radio.

"This is Bravo-1! We're entering the second floor!"

[Quick...! We need backup...!]

"Damn it, Ian, lead the way!"

"Entering!"

Ian, the frontman with the shield, took the stairs first.

Since the suspect had already noticed the SWAT team's presence, there was no point in making a stealthy infiltration.

Ian and his men ran up the stairs like mad.

They barely had time to catch their breath when they reached the second floor.

"Shit...!"

The second floor was littered with the bodies of Alpha Team members.

The injuries of the soldier they'd encountered on the first floor paled in comparison.

At least he had his limbs attached.

"This is Bravo-1! Alpha Team, multiple casualties!"

[Understood. Support Alpha Team as soon as possible].

"Copy! Alpha Team, this is Bravo-1, status report!"

The team leader shouted into the radio as he ran through the mangled bodies of his men.

Alpha's reply was slurred and weak.

[This is Alpha-1...! Suspect is armed with a military rifle and combat implants...! Multiple casualties...!]

"Where are you?!"

[We are on the third floor in room 303... suspect is believed to be in room 308...!]

Alpha Team was outnumbered.

There was no time to hesitate.

"Throw a shock grenade and move in. Max!"

"Shock grenade ready."

Pulling a yellow grenade the size of a potato from his hip, Max removed the safety pin.

"Throw!"

"Throwing shock grenade!"

The grenade left Max's hand and flew up the stairs to the third floor.

An explosion followed.

Tsk-tsk-!

"Move in!"

At that word, all the men moved their feet in unison.

Ian, who was in the lead, appeared in the hallway on the third floor before anyone else.

"...!"

In other words, he was the first to be exposed to the suspect's sight.

The shock grenade didn't have the desired effect.

Without hesitation, the suspect pulled the trigger.

"Look out-"

Ian didn't finish his sentence as he ducked for cover.

Pfft!

The beam from the suspect's rifle instantly melted his bulletproof shield.

The surface of the shield sublimated and disintegrated in an instant as it came into contact with the incredibly high heat beam.

A hole had been punched through an iron fortress that no firearm could ever pierce.

It was purely coincidental.

Ian was in such a hurry when he saw the muzzle pointed at him.

He was in such a hurry that he stumbled.

The beam pierced the shield, narrowly missing Ian's head.

Pfft!

"...Team leader!"

Instead, it blew up the head of the team leader behind him.

His head was blown off, but the high heat of the beam cooked the wound, and he collapsed without a drop of blood.

Stumbling down the stairs, Ian immediately picked himself up at the horrific sight.

He didn't even have time to reel from the shock of what had happened.

Across from them, the suspect at gunpoint yelled excitedly.

"Don't come any closer, you sons of bitches, with this gun-"

Shot-

A shot through the window shattered the back of the suspect's head.

As he unwittingly exposed himself to the window, Team Charlie sniped at him.

The impact knocked the suspect's eyeball halfway out of his head, but he was still alive.

His body, enhanced by combat implants, struggled to fend off the sudden attack...

BANG-!

Puck-!

"...Suspect killed."

...but it wasn't strong enough to withstand the slug rounds fired from long range.

The suspect's head was crushed like a watermelon, and he died instantly.

Alpha Team Leader Ellis stumbled out of Room 303, his face a mask of fatigue.

The shotgun in her hand still emitted a thin stream of smoke.

Just in case, she poked the muzzle of the shotgun deep into the suspect's body.

He didn't react, even though the very hot muzzle made contact with his skin.

In fact, you'd be forgiven for thinking he was dead by the time his head was blown off.

Strange things happen naturally on this floor.

It's not uncommon for a decapitated body to move and decapitate an officer.

Luckily, the suspect they'd subdued this time tended to die gently.

"Situation over. Medical team on the way."

[Confirmed. Medics are on their way in].

"Confirmed. We're leaving the scene."

Finished communicating with the command team, Elise turned her head and stared blankly across the room.

The bodies of her men, torn apart by the firepower of military plasma rifles.

Beyond them, a Bravo team leader with his head blown off, and an idiot standing dumbfounded with a dented shield.

After exchanging glances with him for a moment, she smiled wryly.

"...I guess you're Bravo's team leader from now on."

"...Wow."

Ian Rogers, 24.

Promoted to team leader after two years in the SWAT team.

Of course, the only good thing about being a team leader is a little more pension.

That's assuming you don't get killed in action.

A position where the rewards are modest and the responsibilities snowball.

It was literally a spring that stepped on a landmine.

Poor Ian.

How could he be so unlucky?

But it turns out I'm that asshole.

Fuck.