“Sis.”
“…….”
“Sis?”
“……Yeah?”
Inside a luxurious limousine.
Sis had been staring blankly out the window.
“Are you really okay?”
“…….”
Ever since facing the Empress’s Eye in the hotel room, her condition had not been very good.
“If it’s really that bad, how about we just go back to Seoul? It’s not like the Black Market only opens today.”
“No.”
At Diesel’s words, Sis replied firmly.
“That would actually be more dangerous. If it’s that woman, she’ll be thoroughly monitoring all flights and sea routes around Hong Kong from now on.”
“Then what if we hide somewhere nearby…….”
“Diesel.”
“Huh?”
She turned her face and looked Diesel straight in the eye.
“Don’t you trust me?”
“…….”
“I’m not so weak that I need to hide like that.”
Was that really true.
She was a hacker known as the ‘Empress,’ after all.
Just looking at the programs she handled, it was clear what level she was on.
“Honestly, I was a bit flustered just now too, so I didn’t handle it properly.”
Sis continued with a small smile.
“If it were me from a few years ago, I wouldn’t even have dared to face her. But it’s different now.”
As she said that, she clenched her fist tightly.
As if trying to shake off her own anxiety.
“For now, let’s proceed as planned. Let’s focus on the party coming up first.”
The Black Market opened at exactly 11 p.m. tonight.
But before that, there was a lavish banquet held in the ballroom.
“No matter how much of a Black Empress she is, she won’t be able to openly make a move inside the Black Market.”
The Black Market was a place where big shots from all over the world gathered.
As such, its security was more thorough than anywhere else.
But you never knew what could happen.
‘I should prepare as well.’
Diesel possessed immense power obtained from the last job.
A new mana star, the attribute-awakened mana called White Thunder, and even a high-grade lightning spirit.
Given the nature of the place, there might not be an opportunity to fight, but perhaps a situation would arise where he could test that power.
‘A hacker from Despotis…….’
The problem was whether she was the only member of Despotis.
Each member was an absurd existence in their own right, so if there were other members present, it would be a very troublesome situation.
Despotis was generally known to prefer operating alone, but no one knew their exact objectives.
‘If they were an ordinary terrorist group, I could at least guess their motives…….’
An individual collective that moved solely according to personal needs.
Their only common trait was that they felt no hesitation in committing crimes.
[We will arrive shortly.]
The android driver informed them politely.
At the same time, Sis put on a mask.
[Ready?]
Her modulated voice echoed.
In response, Diesel nodded and pulled a pitch-black mask over his face.
[Move a bit closer.]
[…….]
Sis, wearing a lesser panda hologram, whispered to Diesel.
The fluffy fur covering her entire body rippled in all directions.
Beside her, Diesel stood awkwardly, wearing a hologram mask of The Smiling Man.
‘They said it’d be easier if we were a couple, but is this what they meant…….’
As it turned out, entering the Black Market required a ‘partner.’
For those without one, the hosts assigned a high-end android to accompany them, but if you already had a partner with you, they didn’t force it.
[They’re androids that monitor guest behavior. There’s no benefit to keeping one beside you.]
[But it doesn’t seem like we have to pretend to be a couple, does it?]
As Diesel said, not everyone around them who was paired up looked like lovers.
Most seemed more like simple companions.
[Are you arguing again?]
[No…….]
[It’s just that this way has its conveniences.]
[What convenience could that possibly—.]
[If I say so, then just accept it.]
Sis lightly pinched Diesel’s arm and dragged him off somewhere.
They arrived at a gorgeously decorated ballroom.
‘Whoa…….’
A massive chandelier illuminating the wide hall glittered brilliantly.
Outside the windows, a disturbingly pitch-black sea undulated, as if to announce exactly where this place was.
But that sight wasn’t what surprised Diesel.
‘Everyone’s already busy.’
In contrast to the quiet and composed atmosphere of the ballroom, the Electrosphere was extremely chaotic and noisy.
In Diesel’s vision, he could see ultra–high-grade firewalls surrounding the ballroom, and under their protection, countless closed communications interconnected like a spiderweb.
Sis also glanced around and muttered as if deciphering the conversations taking place.
[Human trafficking, smuggling of fantasy creatures, contract killings, terrorism commissions…… Just as expected of the Black Market. Every single deal is filthy.]
People gathered at the Black Market not simply for the main auction.
In this place considered extrajudicial, there was much more to exchange than just bidding on items.
High-level intangible transactions that couldn’t happen anywhere else in the world were being conducted in secret beneath the black sea.
[But there are people not wearing masks.]
Diesel looked toward tables positioned high up in the distance.
Sis slightly turned her head and said,
[A few of them seem to be disguised with mental-type magic. And a few…… are the kind that don’t need disguises at all.]
The reason people wore masks at the Black Market wasn’t simply to match the dress code.
As this was a place where transactions of staggering items took place, there was nothing to gain from openly revealing one’s identity.
However, there were also those who did not need such disguises.
[There’s an elder from a Joseon yangban family, a princess from somewhere in Europe, and even the youngest son of an AAA-grade corporation.]
Matching their status, the level of guards surrounding them consisted of nothing but absurd monsters.
Just by looking at their cyberware, skilled individuals who seemed to be at least level 5 or higher were swarming everywhere.
While scanning the surroundings like that, Sis suddenly spotted someone and came to an abrupt halt.
[Diesel.]
[…….]
[Over there.]
Following her gaze, I saw a person sitting there wearing a pitch-black mask.
‘The Black Empress, Melissa.’
A woman dressed in a simple black dress.
Even though her entire face was covered by a sleek black hologram, an indescribable presence could be felt.
‘That’s Sis’s real older sister?’
From the very first impression, her atmosphere was completely different from Sis’s.
Just sitting there, an air of classical dignity naturally flowed out of her.
The occasional motion of raising her hand to bring a glass to her lips carried an elegance as if she had learned aristocratic etiquette.
[How did you recognize her? Did you hack the mask or something?]
[No.]
Sis stared at Melissa for a while at Diesel’s question, then turned her head.
[That woman isn’t even properly protecting her mask. At a glance, it’s barely a grade-6 firewall.]
Barely grade 6.
That alone told me just how high-level this place was.
If it had been a firewall protecting an ordinary shopping district, it would have been absurdly high-grade, but here, grade 6 was relatively light security.
[So she set a trap?]
[Yeah. She probably already knows I’m here.]
A hacker capable of using a grade-6 firewall as bait.
Still, it felt like too flimsy a basis to pinpoint a target.
‘Is she really sure?’
Perhaps reading that doubt, Sis added an explanation.
[But there’s another real reason.]
[What is it?]
[That mask hologram she’s using.]
[……?]
[I made it for her, a long time ago.]
So that was it.
I was reminded anew that the two of them were sisters.
Just what had happened for her to hate her this much?
Sisters not getting along was nothing unusual, but their current relationship went beyond that—it felt like outright enmity.
‘Maybe it’s only Sis who hates her.’
One side chased, the other ran—a decidedly one-sided relationship.
I grew increasingly curious about the story entangled between them.
As I was looking over at the Black Empress in the distance with that thought—
Suddenly, she turned her face in my direction.
‘…….’
I slightly turned my head away, just in case I drew suspicion.
Fortunately, the gaze directed this way was brief.
‘She didn’t notice me, right?’
As I worried, given who the opponent was, Sis spoke up.
[It’s fine. I’m protecting you.]
The lesser panda hologram broke into a gentle smile.
Then she linked her arm with mine again.
[Let’s go over there.]
She pulled me along and sat down at a secluded table where the chandelier’s light barely reached.
It was a prime spot from which the entire ballroom could be monitored, yet Sis’s attention was focused on only one place.
[For now, I don’t see any other Despotis members.]
Around the Black Empress, Melissa, there was only a single partner who looked like a butler, and no other suspicious movements at all.
[For now, it seems like only the two of them are moving. Of course, we should keep watching.]
As she said that, Sis brought a long cocktail glass to her lips.
Seizing the brief moment of leisure, I asked what I had been curious about for a while.
[What kind of person is she?]
[Huh?]
[Your eldest sister.]
It wasn’t just personal curiosity.
I felt like I would eventually clash with the group called Despotis someday.
It didn’t seem like a bad idea to gather information in advance for that time.
[Hmm…… well…….]
Sis trailed off, then—uncharacteristically—spent quite a while thinking.
Eventually, she arrived at an answer.
[My idol.]
[……?]
[More precisely, someone who used to be my idol.]
For someone who had been the idol of that great hacker, Little Sister.
I grew even more curious about how their relationship had gone wrong.
But somehow, it didn’t feel like something I could easily ask about.
[Curious?]
As if she had sensed my curiosity.
Sis asked seriously.
[Of course I am.]
[Why?]
[Why? Well…….]
She was a hacker from Despotis, after all.
I was about to answer that, but it felt wrong somehow, so I changed direction.
[She’s your sister.]
[…….]
Sis stared straight at me.
To the point where it felt like she might be hacking and reading my facial expressions.
Then, cautiously, she began to speak.
[You know I have another older sister, right?]
[Uh…… Zeon’s mother?]
I recalled the hacker I had worked with at the spirit research facility.
[Yeah. Zeon is my second older sister’s daughter. I’m the youngest of three sisters.]
She lowered her gaze.
As if recalling memories she didn’t want to remember.
[My second older sister was my friend. The only person in the world I could trust, and my best friend who understood my heart better than anyone.]
[…….]
[And my eldest sister…… Melissa was an incredible person. Someone I always admired, like an idol. For me, who grew up without parents, she was also like a mother.]
Sis clenched her fidgeting hand into a fist.
[But now…… she’s my enemy.]
[Enemy?]
[Yeah.]
Then she looked back toward Melissa.
[Because…….]
The hand clenched into a fist trembled slightly.
[The one who killed my second older sister was that woman.]