Chapter 295: Middle-aged Men Should Stop Believing in Miracles and Magic
Within the inner circles of the K.G.C.C, there had long been a chilling rumor.
Some people rose to power after a single phone call. Others? They vanished without a trace the very next day after receiving one.
Czarny knew well that this wasn't just some spooky urban legend whispered behind closed doors. It was a fact. An open secret among the upper echelons of the entire K.G.C.C.
At the center of this shadowy system sat the Chairman of the K.G.C.C. Officially, he was also the chairman of Rose Papers Union. Unofficially? He was known simply as "Newsman"—Kain.
His favorite method of handling business?
Phone calls.
That's it. One phone call, and your fate would be decided.
The strange part?
Most people had never even seen his face. Those lucky—or unlucky—enough to have interacted with him had done so through the same thing that now sat ominously on Czarny's desk:
A phone.
But Czarny knew better than most—those tales about disappearing after a call weren't some horror story cooked up to scare new hires. No, it was a routine. A reality.
Here at K.G.C.C Headquarters, people like him were just consumables.
Once you outlived your usefulness, you were treated exactly like what you'd become—trash.
To make matters worse, this Kain, this "Newsman," had a twisted sense of humor.
He had imported machines from Colombia—marketed as high-end "cleaning robots."
But everyone knew exactly what those robots were actually cleaning up.
So when Czarny heard the heavy mechanical whir echoing down the hallway, it didn't take a genius to guess what was coming.
The towering robot emerged from the shadows like a grim reaper clad in steel, its "face" a cold, expressionless screen that flickered with a flash of red light.
Then, with its massive claw-like arms, it scooped him up as effortlessly as plucking a chick from a nest.
Czarny was no fighter.
He was an office drone.
A paper pusher.
A coffee sipper.
He wasn't like one of those blond-haired, middle-aged action heroes who could toss aside a newspaper and proceed to take down an army with their bare hands.
Nope.
He was just Czarny.
Which meant all he could do was hang limply in the robot's grasp and watch helplessly as it began moving toward the exit.
He didn't even try to struggle.
What was the point?
This machine had no feelings.
No empathy.
No logic beyond its programming.
It couldn't understand his pleas. It wouldn't care if he begged.
It had been given a command.
And now, it was executing it.
Even though the machine could've just crushed him right then and there, it didn't.
Czarny had a pretty good guess why.
Most people in the K.G.C.C knew that the Chairman was a clean freak. No, worse. A full-on germaphobe.
Even though no one had ever seen his real face, it was painfully obvious from the company's strict hygiene policies.
There was no way the Chairman would let something as unsightly as bloodstains ruin the aesthetic of his pristine office, especially not the phone he loved so much.
Czarny figured it out immediately.
He wasn't being spared.
He was just being relocated.
Disposed of elsewhere, like proper trash.
He closed his eyes, pretending he had already accepted his fate.
But his clenched jaw, the sweat on his brow, and the way his hands kept prying at the mechanical claw clamped tightly around his waist told a different story.
He was still trying to fight back, still trying to breathe.
After all, how many people in history could truly say they were at peace with their own death?
Czarny certainly couldn't.
He knew better than to expect mercy from "Newsman."
A man like that didn't need mercy.
He stood at the top.
And at the bottom, people like Czarny were a dime a dozen.
There were likely dozens of others just waiting for him to vacate the position of "spokesman" so they could swoop in and take over.
No value.
He knew too much intel.
That made him a liability.
And liabilities?
They were erased.
Czarny couldn't imagine any other ending for himself.
The only way out of this hopeless trap… would take a miracle.
But miracles didn't exist.
He had long stopped believing in such things.
Magic? Sure, he'd heard the stories, the whispers, the fairy tales.
But miracles?
Nope. Not on this cold, bloody earth.
As the robot carried him out of the room, it entered what was supposed to be a restroom… though it reeked of blood that hadn't quite been cleaned up yet.
And at that moment—more than ever—Czarny knew.
There were no such things as miracles.
The claw around his waist began to tighten, slowly, methodically, as if it were trying to crush him in half.
But then—
A cough.
It echoed in the room.
Soft, almost casual.
The next instant, the pressure around his waist vanished.
Czarny fell.
Hard.
His back slammed against the floor, pain blooming across his body—but that pain… it wasn't death.
Which meant… he was still alive.
He blinked, stunned, trying to understand what had just happened.
This wasn't a dream.
He had really been pulled back from the brink of death.
Saved.
Saved?!
Could it be? Did a miracle actually happen?
Still breathing heavily, he turned his gaze toward the robot, only to find something else.
A teenage boy stood there, back turned to him.
In the boy's hand?
A severed robotic arm, sparking violently with exposed wires and live electricity.
Czarny didn't need to guess what had just happened.
That broken arm had been the one holding him.
Which meant…
This boy was the reason he was still alive.
"…Who are you?" Czarny asked, voice hoarse and trembling. "Why… why did you save me?"
The confusion in Czarny's eyes deepened.
He was absolutely certain of it—he had never met this boy before in his life. There was no way they had ever crossed paths.
And in this world… kindness never came without a price.
Especially not to someone like him.
Middle-aged men didn't get saved by mysterious strangers for no reason.
"Hmm… I guess it's because I need a guide," the black-haired boy said casually, turning to Czarny with a friendly smile. "Someone who knows the inner workings of the K.G.C.C, maybe?"
He grinned, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"But if I'm being honest, I was mostly just… curious about this thing right here."
Of course, there was only one person it could be—Steven.
He wasn't lying to Czarny.
If his goal was to dismantle the K.G.C.C from the inside out, then physical evidence wasn't enough. He needed a witness.
And later, when the time came to take over this broken-down corporate nightmare, he'd need someone to help manage it.
Steven had no intention of playing corporate overlord.
He had better things to do.
So if he could pick someone experienced—someone already thrown away by the K.G.C.C—why not?
Czarny seemed like a solid candidate.
But more than that… What really caught his attention was the hulking, mech-like robot standing in front of him.
It looked like something straight out of a sci-fi flick—sleek lines, tech-heavy build… an obvious contrast to other parts of the world, like Ursus, where most soldiers were still swinging cold weapons around like it was the Dark Ages.
Seriously. Robot warfare over here, and sword-and-shield brawls over there?
This world's tech tree was so crooked it could snap.
Still, this robot had a sluggish gait, and its construction… left a lot to be desired.
He effortlessly snapped the broken robot arm he'd wrenched free in the previous moment, then tossed it aside like trash.
"It's pretty decent against normal people, maybe," he muttered. "But even a rookie operator from Rhodes Island could break this in less than a minute without breaking a sweat."
Cracking his knuckles, Steven turned his gaze to the robot, which had clearly entered attack mode.
"Alright, let's see if your offense is better than your defense," he said, stepping forward.
The robot charged.
Its remaining arm launched what appeared to be a blade—but it wasn't even heated. A giant axe shot out instead, aimed straight for Steven's head.
It looked menacing.
It sounded deadly.
But the reality?
He didn't even bother dodging.
He just put on an iron helmet.
Clang!
The axe struck him dead-on—and bounced off like it had hit a wall.
Steven didn't flinch.
The robot, on the other hand, couldn't handle the recoil and was blasted backward, tumbling across the room like a cheap toy.
He let out a sigh and shook his head, disappointed.
"Feels worse than an iron golem…"
This was supposed to be high tech?
He had clearly overestimated these people's engineering capabilities.
This thing was practically a mass-produced mook, a low-tier enemy fodder you'd beat in one punch in any half-decent RPG.
Without giving the machine another chance, Steven flickered forward in a blur, and with one clean motion—
Twist.
He ripped the robot's head clean off.
Sparks flew.
The towering menace collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
It was over in seconds.
And only now did Czarny, still sitting on the floor, finally snap out of his stunned stupor.
He stared at the boy who had just dismantled the impossible, mouth agape, eyes wide in disbelief.
"You… what did you just do?"
This thing wasn't just any machine.
It was a high-end Colombian combat unit, one reportedly powerful enough to defeat even a knight formally recognized by the Knights' Association.
And yet this boy…
He had taken it apart like it was made of LEGOs.
Who is this kid?
How did he get here?
Why did he save him?
And that line about needing someone who knew the K.G.C.C… what did it mean?
All Czarny could conclude was one thing:
This boy—this mysterious, terrifying boy—was clearly an enemy of the K.G.C.C.
"I just dismantled a toy," Steven replied casually, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Why so shocked?"
Then, as if remembering something, he gave Czarny a mischievous look and added:
"Or do I need to speak in this voice," he said, coughing lightly and suddenly switching to a deeper, more commanding tone—Evol's voice—"for you to realize who I am and what I'm really after?"
He smiled again.
This time, it wasn't quite so friendly.
<+>
Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 349: A Good Citizen of Ursus[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/140157231?collection=55713[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=[4]expanded[5]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/140157231?collection=55713
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/140157231?collection=55713
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded
[5] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded