Corpo Age

Chapter 127: Tracing the Trail

Flo - Halls Corporation

A woman with a fit athletic build and an eye-catching red cyberarm stormed into the lobby of the Goodwin Hotel. The staff flashed her a smile as they were trained to do, treating every guest with utmost respect up until she skipped the line to one of the reception counters.

“Open room 1217 for me. It should be under the name Erza Santaff.”

The receptionist’s internal panic was clearly shown on their face as they struggled with how to respond to the sudden inquisition. Thankfully for them, one of the managers had already noticed the situation and swiftly came in to save the day. The manager gestured for the receptionist to step back while they dealt with Flo.

“Ma’am, I’m afraid we cannot open any of our rooms belonging to other guests for you. You should—”

“Save your excuses and open it. I’m her co, and she’s gone missing. Let me in to take a look.”

“In that case, madam. Her belongings will be deposed off after her time with us has come to an end. I can promise to inform you when we throw her belongings into the trash—”

The manager’s words were cut short when the menacing-looking woman slammed her cyberarm onto the marbled counter.

“How about you open that door right now or I throw you into the trash from here? We may make a scene, and there may be a few walls in the way, but I’m strong enough to do it.” Flo declared as her red hand crushed a section of the marble top into dust.

The manager began to panic as he glanced around, seeing the expressions of his other guests. He loudly declared no and slammed his hand on the countertop as well before leaning in to whisper into Flo’s ear.

“Fine, fine. If you compensate us for the damages you’ve caused, I’ll do it.” Flo smirked and subtly nodded. “Follow my lead and don’t make a scene.”

“If you do not want to make afoul of our corporate security, you better follow me!” The manager proudly declared, ensuring everyone in the lobby had heard him.

Flo shrugged and grinned as she followed the man along while exchanging texts with her invisible backup team that lurked around her.

*You guys can wait outside.*

*Flo, seriously? Was that necessary? You know your company’s pretty good at stealth, right? We could’ve just snuck our way in.*

*It’s better this way. No need to cause a fight with the corp behind this place if they find out.*

*What do you mean? You just walked straight up to their lobby and started a fight!*

*Nah, this is just a minor incident. Now if they find a mysterious corporation’s spec op teams sneaking into their property, on the other hand, that’s when it starts becoming a serious problem. This is the best way to indirectly bribe them, otherwise even if they want to take a bribe, they wouldn’t dare to with their company looking over their shoulders.*

*...Whatever you say. Just give us more warning next time and watch your back while you’re in there alone. Who knows if they want to teach you a lesson instead?*

*Trust me, I’ve been doing this for a long time.*

It didn’t take long for the grumbling manager to bring Flo to the 12th floor through the staff elevators, to where Erza’s room was. The manager gave Flo a meaningful look as they stood outside the room. The experienced mercenary immediately transferred over some credits to him, which more than covered for the damaged counter in the lobby.

The man nodded and with a slight brush of his master keycard, the door immediately clicked open.

“There.” The manager welcomed Flo in. “Your friend’s got this room for another three days. I trust that you know how to see yourself out when you’re done?”

“Yeah, I’ll play nice and use the doors.”

Shaking his head, the manager high-tailed out of there with surprising speed. Just as Flo had predicted, there was no ambush, no additional guards, and was actually led to Erza’s room. She could immediately tell it was genuine upon spotting the contents of the room.

Clothes were neatly packed away in a suitcase or hung on the rack. There was a lot of ammo in one of the suitcases, and several empty weapons cases. Flo swiftly looked past all that and reached into the collar of a jacket that was hung up.

It took some effort before she found what she was looking for and moved on to the clothes on the next hanger. After that, she thoroughly searched the entire room before being satisfied.

Once she was done with the room, she quietly left and returned to her own hotel. Knocking could be heard right after she closed the door.

She opened the door with a smirk as she believed the boys must’ve taken her warning to heart, and didn’t dare to enter their hotel with their stealth tech on.

“So? Did you find any clues?” Andrew asked as he brought up the rear.

“Yes, I’ve gotten to know more details about what Erza was up to in the prior days before she lost contact.”

Andrew waited with bated breath to hear her continue, only to be left disappointed by the stifling silence that followed.

“...Go on?”

“No, I’ll keep the details to myself. All you need to know is that my initial prediction that she had run into trouble while out in a wasteland dungeon was wrong. Instead of looking outward, we should be looking inward.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Inward?” Peng parroted with a confused look as he looked down at his own chest.

Andrew shook his head as he placed a hand on his long-time friend’s shoulder.

“Not inside you, silly. Inward as in the inner parts of Lion City…where the actual residents and power holders live.”

Erza - Mercenary

Several days before losing contact with Flo

“Tell me, why did you sign up for such a boring ‘tour guide’ job?” A woman in her late twenties asked in a business-like manner while adjusting her lensless glasses.

“Why else besides it align with my goals? I’ve always wanted to see remnants of the civilization before us, so I guess I’m just like your clients in that regard.” The large woman sitting on the adjacent bar seat responded while flashing a wry smile.

“I see. So this is a retirement gig, then?”

“...Is that a problem?”

“No, I personally prefer it, if you ask me. The only people who are better than having a well-experienced member join our team are those who are both well-experienced and can entertain our clients by chatting about the dungeons we bring them to.”

The woman stared at Erza, awaiting some sort of expression or questions, but received no response and just a smile, so she continued.

“We’d be happy for you to join. We’re drafting up the formal documents now, but the pay is around this ballpark. Is that acceptable?”

“Yeah, I’m not in it only for the money, anyway.”

“Ok, then. Come over to the private booth where I can introduce you to our other members while we wait for the bookworms to do their thing.”

The two ladies sent the bartender a tip as they got up, which made them gesture back appreciatively, finger-gunning their way.

They didn’t travel far and soon arrived in a private room where the glass walls were all cloudy, hiding the entire room from view.

They went in and two other ladies were waiting within, zoned out while on their optics.

“Wake up Lara, Eli. We’ve got a new member for the next gig.”

The two girls looked like young teenagers, but Erza could tell they were at least mid-twenties from the skin around their necks. She would’ve liked to view the back of their palms as well to be sure, but they both sported silver cyberarm replacements. They had the same hairstyle with a short bob cut, but different colored hair.

The first one to answer was the one with neon purple hair, Lara.

“Hi.”

“Hi, the name’s Erza.”

She only nodded back in response as her eyes began to glow once more, but luckily, the other girl introduced herself almost immediately after, cutting short any awkward moments before it manifested.

“Hi, I’m Eli. Don’t mind Lara, she doesn’t like speaking. I hope we’ll be friends from now on!” The pale pink-haired girl responded cheerfully.

After somehow dealing with the chatty Eli, Erza plopped herself onto the sofa and took a big gulp of her drink.

These three are who I’ll be working with for the next week or so, but I have a feeling it’s going to feel much longer than that…

Erza - Mercenary

A few days later

“Fascinating. I believe this is where our ancestors once kept their strategic arsenals such as their famed missiles, with the range to reach anywhere in the world. What do you think, madam Erza?”

“Hmm, maybe, but I think it’s possible it was a research center for military aircraft as well.”

An old man thoughtfully took another scan of the spacious area he was in. He was surrounded by cold metal walls, but the ceiling stretched far above him, lightly all the way up to the surface. He was staring at everything longingly, as if it was still functional and not the derelict ruin that it now was.

“I can see that as well. Very fascinating indeed.” He smiled at the large woman beside him. “I would love to speak more about what our ancestors had accomplished with you, even after this expedition is over today.”

“It would be a pleasure, sir, but I have other engagements tonight.”

“I see, that’s a shame… Maybe another time? My offer will remain open to like-minded individuals such as yourself. Now, I believe it’s about time this trip came to an end, I believe?” He turned his gaze to another woman, wearing lens-less glasses, who had been standing off to the side.

“Of course, sir.” She quickly turned to the rest of the entourage and barked out new orders. “You heard the man, ladies. Don’t lose focus and escort our client back.”

At her words, two young women quickly took point, holding out a particularly large weapon for their frame. The weapons had a specialized scanner integrated into them, showing their users a plethora of data about their surroundings.

“Medium-sized drone swarm incoming in thirty seconds. Do you want to divert?” The young woman with pale pink hair, Eli, alerted her team.

“Let’s deal with it so our client can get back in time for dinner. Erza, you’re up.”

Grunting in response, Erza swiftly changed out the ammunition on her trusted grenade launcher to one that was more suited against drones. She then pointed her weapon in the direction of where her companions indicated the enemies were coming from and waited.

Exactly thirty seconds after the warning from Eli, a swarm of silent drones came into view as they turned the corner and Erza immediately pulled the trigger. The grenade sailed through the air until it was just in the middle of the cluster of drones before it abruptly fried all the surrounding electronics.

Erza quickly fired several more times for good measure before going on standby to reassess their situation.

“All targets eliminated. We’re good to continue moving.” The pink-haired girl swiftly informed her team.

With a nod of support coming from the other young woman with purple hair, the team resumed their escape and soon made it back to civilization.

Once they returned, they dropped off their client next to the dome that shielded its inhabitants from the rest of the world, where only true Lion City residents could enter.

“Madam Erza, this is my contact info for when you’re available to discuss the relics of the past with this old man. I hope to hear from you soon.”

“Thank you, sir. I definitely will when I have the time.”

The old man smiled at her polite answer and soon disappeared past the security checkpoint.

“Aren’t you popular, Erza? I swear that man is trying to make you his mistress or something.”

“Come on now, Eli. I don’t think Mr. Lee is that type of man from our conversations.”

“Yeah, and he’s too old to be looking for romance.” The leader with the glasses chimed in. “Anyway, good work on the gig, everyone. I have to go, but the payment is already sent to your accounts. Feel free to check it.”

“Bye boss.” Eli quickly turned her back to her team leader as if she had already disappeared, ignoring her existence. “Lara, and Erza, want to have dinner to celebrate another job well done?”

The purple-haired girl shrugged, while the giant of the three nodded stoically. Erza had learned in the short time she had worked with the group that staying silent was the best way to keep the young woman from rambling.

“Okay, cool. I just have to go to the clinic real quick for my checkup. How about we meet up in two hours?”

The two non-chatty friends nodded and Eli swiftly disappeared into a taxi.

Erza also called for a ride to return to her room for a short break. She wanted to rinse out all the sand she had accumulated, but first, she had to perform maintenance on her equipment.

Just as she finished and was about to undress in the washroom, she suddenly received a text from the friend she was scheduled to meet in a short while, along with the address to what appeared to be the clinic she said she was visiting.

*I need your help, Erza! I’m pinned down and there are so many of them!*

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