NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 15 - 15 minutes
Chapter 15 – 15 minutes
Lost City is a mega-city.
Its overwhelming scale is matched by an ancient history that dates back to the era when dragons—yes, the very dragons you’re imagining—still existed.
A long time ago.
It all began with the union of the great seven families and a visionary who first discovered cyberspace.
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After countless conflicts and adjustments, Lost City transitioned from an unstable centralized government to a decentralized system of district autonomy.
This shift led to fierce power struggles between the city government, families, and corporations.
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As time passed, population density became a major issue, prompting the city government to expand residential areas.
However, during this expansion, a war erupted between corporations and families.
Investors withdrew their funds, and the ambitious government-led project collapsed overnight.
The abandoned districts from that time are now known as the 40s.
Over the years, gangs and war criminals took control of the area…
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Jin scrolled through the display from bottom to top.
When his thumb stopped flicking because the screen wouldn’t go down any further, a message popped up: “If you liked this post, please subscribe and enable notifications.”
Instead of following the request, Jin opened the comment section.
—The history of Lost City is like air. It exists, but no one cares.
—Can someone summarize this in three lines?
—All those purist bastards should just die. All those purist bastards should just die. All those purist bastards should just die. All those purist bastards should just die.
Same everywhere.
Jin made a sour face, then turned off the screen and tucked his device away.
He glanced sideways at Fenrir, who was gripping the wheel.
This is awkward as hell.
Jin sighed and turned to look out the window.
When was the last time he was in a car with such an uncomfortable atmosphere?
Probably when he drove his ex-girlfriend home after catching her cheating on him during a trip.
Even then, she was a real piece of work—despite their relationship being over, she couldn’t even bother to say “thanks,” “sorry,” or “take care” before hopping out of the car.
She must’ve called her new guy right after, saying, “We’re officially over now, so we can finally be together.”
Should’ve just left her at the rest stop.
“Phew.”
Jin sighed again.
Not because of his ex’s betrayal, but because the heavy air in the car was just as suffocating as back then.
There was only so much he could do to distract himself—scrolling through his device, looking up random info, or staring out the window.
Eventually, he made up his mind.
Like it or not, they were in the same boat.
He couldn’t stay sulking forever.
They were grown men, after all.
No point acting like kids.
So, after clearing his throat, he spoke up.
“Uh… how much longer until we reach the meeting point?”
“…”
“Is it far?”
Fenrir ignored him once but not twice.
Jin saw his nose twitch above the oni mask before he finally answered in a blunt tone.
“Another two hours.”
“Still?”
“You say that like we’re just heading to the next town over.”
“Well, no. But honestly, this is kinda new for me. It’s my first time leaving Downtown.”
Jin’s offhand remark as he gazed out the window made Fenrir narrow his eyes.
“Is Downtown your hometown?”
“Nah. I have a different hometown.”
Fenrir looked at him like he was talking nonsense, then shook his head and refocused on the road.
Jin could feel silence creeping back in.
Panicking, he quickly spoke up.
“Oh! I’ve got a question.”
“…What?”
Fenrir frowned as he asked.
Jin racked his brain for something to say.
“When you transform into a beast, does your underwear rip every time?”
“…”
And so, silence returned.
***
All districts require entry through a gate as a standard rule.
Naturally, Fenrir and Jin needed another way in.
The two had come to Mute Town to destroy the logistics warehouse, meaning they couldn’t afford to have their faces captured by cameras while passing through the gate.
That was precisely why they had a rendezvous point.
Since they couldn’t enter through proper routes, they had to opt for illegal ones.
And the one helping them with that was a man from the resistance who introduced himself as Albus.
“Here, put this on first.”
As soon as they confirmed each other’s identities at the meeting point, Albus handed them gas masks without hesitation.
“Hmm?”
Jin took the mask and put it on, wondering if it was meant to conceal their identities.
But that wasn’t the case.
The place Albus led them to was an old sewer with contaminated water flowing freely.
“The factories in the area dump their waste illegally. Their purification systems are completely shut down, so the water is filled with heavy metals, and the COD levels are over 300. At that point, it’s basically poison.”
Jin flinched at that.
This shit was straight out of Fallout.
“…Hold on. If they suddenly release more waste, won’t we get swept away?”
“Don’t worry. The next release is scheduled for the day after tomorrow.”
That didn’t sound reassuring.
Jin furrowed his brows, though the gas mask hid his expression.
“And besides, there’s no better way to avoid TB’s eyes than moving through here.”
With that, Albus continued leading them deeper into the sewer.
Their vision was limited, and breathing was uncomfortable.
They walked for what felt like an eternity until Albus finally stopped in front of a metal ladder leading to the surface.
He gestured to two large bags placed neatly on the ground, evidently prepared in advance.
“Our guys nearly busted their asses carrying those. But you two should have no problem, right?”
Curious, Jin picked up a bag and immediately felt its weight.
It must have been at least 50kg.
Even if the actual weight was lower, an average adult male would struggle to carry it.
But that didn’t apply to superhumans.
Jin casually shouldered the bag like a child carrying a backpack for a school trip, and Fenrir did the same.
“…As expected.”
Albus let out a small sigh of admiration before explaining.
“Inside are two high-structure demolition explosives and a remote detonator. The detonator has a 100-meter activation range and is set to detonate 120 seconds after activation. If placed correctly, it’ll bring the entire building down in an instant, so make sure you get to a safe distance. Not that I need to tell you that.”
After going over the bombing procedure and their rendezvous point, Albus clapped his hands together.
“That’s all from me. Any questions? If not, let’s part ways here.”
He then turned to leave, adding one last thing.
“Good luck.”
Once Albus had disappeared, Jin and Fenrir climbed the ladder and pushed open the manhole cover to step onto the surface.
Jin took off his stifling gas mask and looked up.
The sky had already turned a deep indigo.
Fenrir, who had fastened his oni mask over the lower half of his face, gave a slight hand gesture.
“Let’s go.”
Mute Town wasn’t anything special.
The damp, shadowy alleyways that seemed like something could jump out at any moment were no different from those in Downtown.
If there was a difference, it wasn’t something worth dwelling on.
Jin reminded himself that he wasn’t here for sightseeing but to complete a mission.
The bags on their shoulders didn’t hold picnic mats and lunch boxes—they carried bombs capable of leveling a building.
Maybe that was why.
His heightened focus made him more acutely aware of his surroundings.
The cold moon’s quiet wails.
The darkness seeping into his skin.
The subtle yet pounding rhythm of his heartbeat.
The thick scent of cigarettes from the guards’ idle chatter.
“It’s confirmed. Six of them.”
Jin pulled his head back from peeking around the corner and reported.
Fenrir, who had his arms crossed, responded.
“Three teams of two. No AI turrets. The security is lax.”
“Lax? Aren’t they all beastkin?”
Like you.
Jin didn’t say that last part.
It felt borderline racist.
But Fenrir replied as if he’d read his mind.
“You’ve got the wrong idea. TB isn’t a beastkin-exclusive group anymore. With control over an entire district, they can’t afford to be selective. Those guys over there are just opportunists siding with the victors or mercenaries hired for cash. The original TB members have long been promoted to executive positions. None of them would be stuck on night patrol.”
“That makes sense.”
Jin nodded.
After all, there was a reason founding members always got special treatment.
They had been together through hardship and struggle.
Though they hadn’t come from the same womb, they were brothers!
The sworn brotherhood, loudly proclaimed, was an age-old tradition of victors dating back to ancient times.
“Of course, there might be officers inside the warehouse. But it doesn’t matter. If we run into them, we eliminate them. That’s all.”
Fenrir spoke as he pushed himself off the wall.
“Shall we get moving? You haven’t forgotten the plan, have you?”
“We plant the explosives at the designated locations and immediately leave the building. We trigger the detonator together once we regroup, but if fifteen minutes pass and the other person hasn’t shown up, we detonate it alone. That’s correct, right?”
“Yeah.”
Fenrir nodded, cracking his neck from side to side.
“Don’t slow me down.”
The next moment, his figure vanished under the moonlight.
A cloud of dust billowed up.
His retreating figure was already far ahead.
He was incredibly fast—unbelievably so for someone carrying explosives weighing dozens of kilograms.
They said a wolf could reach speeds of 60 km/h.
Fenrir had already reached the guards, who had been casually chatting.
“Who…?”
By the time they sensed movement and turned their heads—Fenrir was already behind them.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
Without a moment’s delay, they clutched their throats and collapsed.
Behind their falling bodies, a hand dripped with blood.
At its tips, sharp claws glistened.
Partial transformation.
Jin marveled at the sight, tightening the straps of his backpack.
There was no time to stand idly by.
The agreed-upon fifteen minutes started now.
Boom!
Jin also kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
However, instead of charging through the warehouse’s main entrance like Fenrir, he took a wide detour to target the back door.
A four-story concrete logistics warehouse wouldn’t collapse easily with just a few explosives.
To bring it down in one go, they would need something like a seismic bomb or a bunker buster.
That’s why they had obtained intel from the resistance about the structurally weak points.
Fenrir would handle the basement and first floor.
Jin would take care of the second and third floors.
Their paths wouldn’t overlap.
And they couldn’t afford for them to.
If two solo operators caused chaos in different locations, their enemies would be thrown into even greater disarray.
Jin pressed down firmly on the tips of his toes.
The back of the warehouse grew closer.
Lined-up cargo trucks stretched in a row, and beside them, a guard stood smoking a cigarette.
“Ssshh… Hoo—”
Oblivious to the fate awaiting him, he leisurely exhaled smoke.
He was so relaxed that he even held out a pack of cigarettes to his companion.
“Want one?”
“Sure.”
“Shit, this sucks.”
His fellow guard, taking a cigarette with his front teeth, grimaced.
He pulled out a lighter from his pocket.
Click.
Just as he was about to light the cigarette—
Crash!
His companion’s face slammed into the wall.
Blood splattered.
“…Huh?”
The guard, staring blankly at his crushed companion, belatedly noticed a hand gripping the back of his head.
“Enem—!”
He never got to finish.
Before he could even raise his gun, a fist crashed into his face.
Thud.
The guard, his face caved in, slumped to the ground.
Jin had gained experience points.
No need to check whether they were alive or dead.
Without hesitation, he pulled open the steel door and stepped into the building.