kscans

Chapter 248 - Earth's Strength and Technology

I faced the armed men, knife in hand.

Seeing my weapon, one of the foreigners scoffed. And why wouldn’t he? Facing a gun with a knife is beyond reckless. But that was fine. The more overconfident an opponent is, the easier they are to take down.

I channeled lightning magic into my legs, augmenting my muscles. In an instant, I appeared before the foreigner on the left. His face was a mask of confusion, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I slashed at his right hand, the one holding the gun.

I could have just made him drop it, but that would be a hassle later. The pain forced him to release the weapon, and I followed up by slashing both of his thighs. That was all it took to immobilize him. The whole exchange took barely a second. He writhed on the ground, clutching his legs in agony.

The other three, stunned, were still processing what had happened. But his scream seemed to snap them out of it, and they quickly aimed their guns at me. But Tina moved just as swiftly, slashing at the foreigner on the right. The man collapsed, a gash across his back.

That left two. The one in front of me raised his gun.

"Lightning Strike," I said.

A bolt of lightning shot from my index finger.

It flew in a straight line and struck the man directly. When it was over, parts of his body were scorched black. He wasn’t electrocuted to death, but he wasn’t moving either.

The foreigner facing Tina fired his gun. But Tina simply shifted slightly to the right, dodging the bullet. She had activated her ‘Spatial Awareness’ skill. The man fired two or three more shots.

But she evaded every one, closed the distance in a flash, and slashed both his legs. Subjugation complete. Frankly, they were weak. The only thing I’d been wary of was their guns; everything else was no threat at all.

Kuroda, who had been watching, approached us, clapping. "Wonderful… To think I would witness magic and someone dodging bullets with my own two eyes. It pays to live a long life, doesn’t it?"

"It’s not a show," I said. "Besides, even if there aren’t many people around, I figured we should end this quickly." I scanned our surroundings.

Even though the road was under construction, there were no workers. I didn’t know if it was a break or a holiday, but I was relieved we wouldn’t be getting anyone else involved. The area was surrounded by buildings, creating plenty of shade despite the clear sky. Furthermore, they seemed to be abandoned. It was the perfect location, all things considered. A little too perfect, which felt odd.

"Indeed," Kuroda said. "In that case, please leave the disposal of these men to us."

His men in black suits swarmed in and apprehended the foreigners.

The moaning men were taken away without any resistance, dragged into one of the abandoned buildings.

"Were you expecting this?" I asked.

Kuroda replied, "In my line of work, these things happen often. And manipulating the flow of information around here is a simple matter." He said it with a hint of pride.

As expected of him. We got back in the car and headed for the hospital.

Upon arrival, we made our way to the isolation ward.

I seemed to be on a VIP list of some kind, as we were allowed through without question. We went to the back and knocked. The person who answered was Bardos.

When he saw me, he boomed, "Yo! Shinsuke, Tina! Glad you could make it! Come on in!" He threw the door wide open.

Inside, Rumily, Milfy, and Matilda were playing a card game. It looked like UNO.

"Huh? You have this card game over there, too?" I asked.

Bardos laughed. "Nah, we don’t. We were just so bored, I asked a nurse to bring us something to play with. She explained the rules, of course. It’s simple and fun. You guys have all sorts of great games here."

I noticed other card and board games on the table as well.

Tina asked, "Rumily… how’s your leg?" Her voice was filled with concern.

Right, Rumily had been asleep at the castle, so she and Tina hadn’t had a chance to talk.

Rumily replied, "You don’t need to worry. It doesn’t hurt that much, and I’m not having any trouble for now. My only concern is that life here is so convenient, I might get too used to it." She gave a wry smile.

Overhearing this, I understood. The standard of living in this world was much higher than in theirs. There was no danger from monsters. No brazen murders in broad daylight. You could call it peaceful… at least on the surface.

"Don’t worry," I said. "I spoke with the person in charge after we dealt with that…"

A short time ago.

After getting out of the car in the hospital’s underground parking lot, Kuroda informed me that the clone was complete and told me how long the attachment surgery would take.

"It should be finished in a month, at the earliest."

I was stunned. "A month?! You said it would take a year. Did your research advance that quickly?"

In response to my surprise, Kuroda explained, "It was decided that the research on the Reverse Slime wouldn’t be conducted solely by this hospital, but as a joint project with various other hospitals and research institutions. When I explained the situation, they all offered their full cooperation."

I was still skeptical. "They believed you about another world? I didn’t think they’d be that open-minded."

Kuroda chuckled. "Heh heh. Anyone would believe it after seeing that slime. I don’t know what their true feelings are, but they all said, ‘It’s an honor to help a hero.’"

If their sentiment was genuine, it was a welcome thing to hear. But in a world so full of deception, it was hard to accept at face value.

I pushed those thoughts aside. "I’ll take their words as they are. Thank you for everything." I gave him a slight bow and headed to the hospital room.

When I recounted this story, Milfy exclaimed, "What?! That soon?! I was prepared for it to take several years."

The other four were just as surprised.

"I was surprised, too," I said. "It just goes to show how much the medical technology here has advanced without me realizing it. Anyway, I’m going to take a walk around the hospital. I want to see the layout for myself."

As I was leaving the room, Bardos said, "Hold up. I’m coming with you. Gotta get my body used to moving again."

As he followed, I said, "Are you sure? You stand out a lot here with your size."

Bardos grinned, unconcerned. "It’s fine. I walked around a bit yesterday. People were surprised, but there was no trouble."

That in itself was a problem, but what’s done is done. No use dwelling on it. I decided to move on, and Bardos and I left the room together.

After we left the isolation ward, a nearby nurse approached us. "Oh, Bardos-san? Is something wrong? Is there anything you need?" she asked, looking worried.

Bardos replied with a gruff smile, "Nah, it’s nothing like that. Just taking a walk. Don’t mind me."

The nurse said, "I-I see. Well then, I’ll be on my way. If you need anything, please let me know right away." She hurried off, her face slightly flushed.

I asked, "Bardos, did you do something to that nurse?"

Bardos looked puzzled. "Hm? Nah, I just talked to her a bit when she came to the room and when I was walking around yesterday. Nothing special."

"I see. Well, that’s fine then," I said. "The last thing I need is more unnecessary trouble." I mumbled as I started walking.

From the nurse’s expression, I assumed she was scared. It was understandable; talking to a man that huge would naturally make anyone shrink back in fear.

As an aside, this particular nurse was a huge martial arts fan. Specifically, a fan of heavyweight pro wrestlers. When she met Bardos, she wanted to talk to him about all sorts of things, but she was too shy to speak up.

In other words, Shinsuke’s assumption was completely off the mark.

Of course, who knows when he would ever learn the truth.

When we reached the main hospital floor, patients of all ages were waiting.

"This is surprising," I remarked. "I thought it would be mostly elderly people and injured folks, but there are healthy-looking people here, too. Are they visiting someone?"

As I wondered this, one of the men in black approached. "It’s a health check-up," he answered. "A routine screening for a certain company."

I turned around. "You’re one of Kuroda-san’s men. What are you doing here…? Oh, right. Surveillance."

The man in black replied, "That’s part of it. But there’s more…" He glanced outside.

I casually looked outside as well. I saw an old man in a wheelchair with a nurse, a young man with an injured leg on crutches carrying a backpack, and a woman with a bandaged arm sitting on a bench with a book next to her.

As I watched them, I thought, I see. Something’s off.

One person in particular caught my eye.

Bardos said, "Huh? I don’t see anyone strange."

"Not at first glance," I replied. "But when you consider the nature of their injuries, one of them is clearly out of place. Well, if they’re going to make a move, it’ll probably be tonight." I looked at the man in black.

He said, "That’s what we believe. The matter in question is proceeding smoothly. For those who want in, it’s a race against time."

Hearing this, Bardos asked, "Should we make a move?" A faint battle aura emanated from him.

"Don’t," I said calmly. "This place is different from back home. The slightest fight and the police—the soldiers—will come running. They should know that, too, so they’ll make their move at night, when everyone’s asleep. All we have to do is wait. They’ll come to us."

Bardos suppressed his fighting spirit. "Got it. I’ll follow your lead here, Shinsuke. But if things go south, I’m moving on my own."

"Fine," I said. "Infighting is the biggest waste of time there is. Let’s go with that."

After a brief discussion with the man in black, I started walking again.