Chapter 55

“Boy, who are you?”

A gaze that seemed to pierce through everything.

Eyes so sharp and full of vitality that it was hard to believe they belonged to an old man well past 150 years old made me quickly rack my brain.

‘How the hell…?’

Where did it go wrong?

What mistake had I made that allowed this old man to discover my true identity?

‘Don’t tell me this old man is a Transmigrator too?’

No, impossible.

If he was, he would have already killed me, his competitor, long ago. For similar reasons, it was also unlikely this was the work of the Ashita-kyo.

That meant I must have done something else that gave me away.

I thought it over, but there were far too many possible reasons… and at the same time, none at all.

Sure, my overall behavior since transmigration hadn’t been exactly like Aaron’s, but I prided myself on always keeping my attitude toward those around me flawless.

It was just that it hadn’t worked on the Stingray Chairman.

And maybe that was only natural.

Could the Emperor who had ruled this city for nearly two centuries have been just some old man who only knew how to move money around? No way.

His insight was what had built the vast empire of Stingray. I must have severely underestimated that.

Or maybe he possessed some scientific technology capable of reading people’s emotions in ways I didn’t know about.

‘No, now’s not the time for this.’

Since my identity was exposed, I had to respond somehow—whether by fleeing, attacking, or feigning ignorance.

In the span of a moment, countless thoughts raced through my head.

Run?

Even if I escaped from here, could I really get out of the grasp of the Stingray Empire?

And if I ran, what about the Academy? What about Iri and Miyu? What about Silence?

All the relationships I had painstakingly built since transmigration would collapse in an instant. That was a choice I could never take.

Then attack?

Even though my specs now couldn’t compare to Aaron at his peak, I was still strong enough to chew up most high-level Adaptees.

My total module output level wasn’t particularly high, but I had two game-changer-level modules equipped, and my physical specs were overwhelming.

And above all, the Stingray Chairman himself wasn’t an Adaptee. If I truly wished, I could snap that thin, wrinkled neck of his with just a finger.

But then what?

If I killed the Stingray Chairman here, I’d just become the Emperor’s murderer.

After that, Benedict or Kallia would take the chairman’s seat and send assassins after me until the day I died.

‘Besides, there’s no way this old man met me one-on-one without having any sort of safety measures in place.’

I weighed various other options, but in the end, realistically, I only had one choice.

In less than five seconds, I completed my train of thought and decided to keep acting as Aaron.

“…What do you mean by that?”

Naturally, of course.

Just like the real Aaron Stingray—always confident, lofty, and arrogant.

I still had the ego of this body, so this much wasn’t difficult.

Until now, I had managed to get by without those close to Aaron discovering my identity by acting this way. All I could do was hope it worked this time too.

“…”

The Stingray Chairman stared at me with his cloudy, pale-yellow eyes. His sunken eyelids cast deep shadows.

Then, he finally spoke.

“Boy.”

What would he say?

“May I test you?”

In that instant—

Five wavering shapes dropped from the ceiling to the floor.

They were like slimes made of air. Almost invisible to the naked eye, but the refraction of light betrayed their presence.

And at the same time, I realized what they were.

‘Stingray’s ninjas…!’

Since the original novel of this world was a cyberpunk story heavily influenced by orientalism, corporations often called their specially trained assassins “ninjas.”

The five ninjas slowly approached me while releasing their stealth.

Their cloaking modules—which even my [Lv.3 Trauma Scanner] hadn’t detected—powered down, revealing their near-transparent forms.

Black clothes, metal masks that hid their faces, and searing blades radiating a deadly red heat.

One carried a chain scythe wreathed in flickering blue flames, another had massive blades extending from both arms like a mantis.

One held shuriken, another a dagger.

Each weapon burned with flames of a distinct color—red, blue, green, purple, and orange.

‘Damn it.’

I cursed inwardly.

Their appearance meant my acting had failed to fool the Stingray Chairman.

‘Shit, I’ve always wanted to see these guys at least once, but not like this…!’

Really, the design of this ninja squad had something that thrilled hardcore fans of the genre. If it weren’t for the current situation, I would have been trembling in excitement inside, snapping pictures like crazy.

But there was no time to waste now.

I immediately entered combat mode.

Module Online, [Cloud Spider]

Module Online, [Techblade]

Black leather gloves covered my hands, and in my left hand appeared a long single-edged blade with a dark crimson body.

‘No time to play around…!’

If I let my guard down against Stingray’s ninja squad—specialized in killing people—my head would be gone in an instant.

I had to go all out from the start. The moment the gloves, threads, and blade were fully deployed, I flicked my fingers.

Chaaahhh—!

Invisible threads whipped toward my enemies like blades. But unlike the opponents I had faced before, they blocked those threads with astonishing skill.

“Tsk.”

Clicking my tongue, I flicked my fingers again.

The threads darted toward their necks like living tentacles. However, the ninjas effortlessly deflected my attacks and began to close the distance.

And then—

Several of them activated cloaking modules and vanished from my sight. I reversed my grip on the blade and stabbed backward.

[Khhhk…!]

The purple one’s stealth broke, revealing him impaled through the chest on my blade. He dropped the weapon he had been holding high above his head and went limp.

‘Just as I thought…!’

Of course, this ninja squad had appeared in the original novel.

There had been a detailed fight scene with the protagonist, and their method of repeatedly revealing and re-hiding themselves to confuse the enemy had been particularly memorable.

By combining my novel knowledge, Aaron’s innate physique and combat sense, and the abilities of the [Lv.4 Weapon Recognizer] module, I had taken one of them out right at the start.

“Oh-ho…!”

While I focused on the ninjas, the Stingray Chairman had moved farther away from me. Even though he had lost a subordinate from the very first move, for some reason, his expression looked pleased.

‘What is he thinking?’

He had clearly said it was a “test.”

That meant this fight had a purpose, but at the moment, I had no basis to figure out his true intention.

Could it be that he wasn’t simply trying to kill the one who had taken over his son’s body?

But before I could reach a conclusion, another ninja charged at me, swinging mantis blades blazing with orange flames.

I swung the blade still lodged in the first ninja’s body to block the incoming attack.

Kkkadddd!

When the Techblade’s edge clashed with the mantis blade’s, sparks exploded with terrifying force.

But of course, my blade’s performance was far superior.

At first, it seemed as if our strength was evenly matched, but in the next instant, my blade split the opponent’s orange-flamed weapon clean in two.

Kkaaaang—!

The moment the enemy’s blades were sliced apart, I used my right hand to control the threads of [Cloud Spider]. I needed to prepare for the attacks from the other three who had vanished.

As expected—

Srrkk! The green-flamed shuriken flying at my back split cleanly in two, blocked by the web of threads I had already spread out.

I barely had time to feel relief for stopping that ambush when I felt my left-hand blade stab into something.

“…!”

The orange one—who had just lost his weapon—had thrown himself onto my blade.

I felt the sensation of my blade easily piercing his clothes and skin armor, tearing through his muscles and organs.

And then—

Grab!

Coughing blood, he seized my arm. His grip was unbelievably strong for someone who had just been stabbed in the gut. I couldn’t move properly with his hand clamped on me.

‘Damn it!’

One second?

No, more like 0.25 seconds.

I instantly grasped their intent and quickly manipulated [Cloud Spider].

The web-like threads I had already spread wrapped around the airborne fragments of the green-flamed shuriken before they even hit the ground.

The threads cocooned the pieces in an instant, and a surge of flames erupted from inside the cocoon.

‘Just as I thought—the shuriken were bombs…!’

Fortunately, the explosion was contained inside the cocoon. But the situation was far from over.

[…]

With a silent shout—

Another ninja dropped from above me. In both hands, he gripped a chain scythe blazing with blue flames, its hungry teeth gleaming.

And that wasn’t all.

The green one—presumably the one who had thrown the earlier shuriken—came charging from behind me, flashing more green-flamed shuriken.

‘Damn it…!’

My left arm was still trapped by the orange one, and it would take time to release the [Cloud Spider] threads from cocoon form.

And the red ninja with the superheated blade was nowhere to be seen. I had to account for him as well.

Checkmate.

There was no move left.

Was I really going to lose this pathetically? Just as that hopeless thought crept in—

—May I test you?

The voice replayed in my head.

Something sparked in my mind.

Beyond the shoulder of the ninja blocking my way, I saw the Stingray Chairman’s grinning face.

Yeah, maybe…!

“Hhhup…!”

Module Offline, [Cloud Spider].

I disengaged my primary weapon and gripped my left-hand blade with both hands. Then I poured all my energy into my arms, legs, and module output.

Sensing it, the one holding me tightened his grip. But I twisted my wrist back and forth, ripping deeper into his insides with the blade.

In raw strength, I barely had the edge.

And with a blade that cut anything it touched, I didn’t need much force.

[Kkghhk…!]

I could see the pain on his face.

At the same time, I felt the grip on my arm weaken slightly. Skewering him like a kebab, I charged forward.

My target—the Stingray Chairman.

I pushed harder off the floor and in an instant reached the front of his wheelchair. Then I drove the blade forward with all my strength.

Ssssssht!

Like stabbing tofu, the blade sank even deeper into the orange ninja’s body. At this rate, I could pierce straight through into the Stingray Chairman’s head.

But at that moment—

The last red one, who had been hiding all this time, appeared in front of the Stingray Chairman.

As if waiting for the moment, he stabbed his fellow’s back with a blade flickering with red flames—his real target being me beyond him.

‘Just as I thought.’

It was such an obvious move that I merely tilted my head slightly. The superheated blade grazed my cheek with the smell of burning flesh.

Regardless, I pushed forward with even more strength in my hands.

In one line, I skewered not just the orange one, but also the red one behind him. And the final ingredient for this human kebab would be the Stingray Chairman’s forehead.

But in that moment—

The Stingray Chairman—

Smiling as if he had been waiting, raised his hand.

“Stop.”

The tip of my blade halted precisely in front of the Stingray Chairman’s nose.

At the same time, the chain scythe and shuriken aimed at my neck also stopped. If they had been half a second later, my head would have been gone.

I looked at the Chairman, and the Chairman looked at me.

Either of us could take the other’s life with just a small move.

But I was the first to release my grip on the hilt, deactivating the [Techblade] module. In turn, the chain scythe and shuriken withdrew from my vital points.

When I looked back, the ninjas bowed and naturally melted into the darkness.

“…”

With the module deactivated, the single-edged blade dissolved into the air, and the bodies skewered on it fell to the floor.

Regardless, the Stingray Chairman wheeled himself closer until he could look me in the face. I straightened my disheveled suit and met his gaze.

To me, the Stingray Chairman said,

“You’re usable.”

“…Thank you.”

I barely held back a sigh of relief.

“Did I pass the test?”

“You’ve just barely made the cut.”

“That’s a relief.”

The Stingray Chairman chuckled at my reply and said,

“You managed to figure out my intention.”

“I was lucky.”

It really was by chance.

During the fight, the moment I saw the Stingray Chairman’s face, I sensed something off.

‘The old fox of the financial world.’

The Stingray Chairman was a man of cunning and meticulous planning. If he had discovered my identity and intended to eliminate me immediately, he would have ensnared me in a far more thorough trap.

He wouldn’t have used the word “test,” and to eliminate even the slightest risk, he would have retreated to safety the moment the fight began.

So why had such a man stayed to watch the battle? Of course, it was to test me.

Then, what was he testing?

What about the one who had stolen his son’s body?

‘The answer is—qualification as an heir.’

Then why?

There was once a line in the original where the Stingray Chairman spoke to the protagonist.

I couldn’t remember exactly, but it was something along the lines of, to rule this city, you must be able to cut down even your own parents without hesitation.

It had been a scene where the protagonist, who valued human relationships, clashed ideologically with the Stingray Chairman, who valued money and honor above all else—but it had helped me here.

‘The Stingray Chairman wanted to see my ambition—whether I had the nerve to aim for the Emperor’s throne without fearing him.’

It was a way of thinking I could never understand, but that was just the kind of person he was.

After all, weren’t all the children he raised as heirs born in laboratories through genetic manipulation?

In the end, what mattered to the Stingray Chairman—

Was not simply inheriting his “genes,” but also possessing the “spirit” of an Emperor.

And the final qualification was…

“When I ‘made’ you three siblings, do you know what intention I put into each of you?”

“Respectively, ‘military strength,’ ‘technology,’ and ‘connections.’”

“You know well. Who told you?”

“I realized it on my own.”

A. Aaron.

Aaron Stingray was the symbol of military strength.

The Stingray Group needed overwhelming combat strength to protect the organization and the raw “power” to smash any danger that came.

Thus, Aaron was raised as a weapon of war.

B. Benedict.

Benedict Stingray was the symbol of technology.

What brought wealth to the Stingray Group was the “technology” underlying the development of diverse products.

Thus, Benedict possessed greater talent as a technician than his siblings.

C. Calia.

Kallia Stingray was the symbol of connections.

The Stingray Group could reign as the Imperial Family because it maintained good relations with other corporations.

Thus, Kallia excelled at managing relationships and winning affection—even befriending a sociopath like Aaron.

“Your original value was ‘strength.’ As long as you have the decisiveness to stop at nothing and sufficient power, you have enough qualification to challenge.”

“…Are you really fine with this?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The Stingray Chairman answered instantly.

“I don’t have much time left anyway.”

“…”

“In nearly 200 years of life, I’ve seen countless things, but this is the first time for something like this. What magic did you use?”

“…”

“Never mind. You don’t have to answer. I’m not really curious. Do you know why?”

“Because that’s not what’s important.”

“Exactly.”

Aaron Stingray had been sick.

In other words, he had been at risk of losing his identity, and was on the verge of losing the qualification to challenge for the heir’s seat acknowledged by the Emperor.

Then I transmigrated.

I cured Aaron’s illness and, while not back to his peak, had regained enough power. I could even grow far stronger than the original Aaron.

Great strength.

The Chairman expected only one thing from me.

“Now that I’ve confirmed what’s necessary, I won’t interfere further. Do as much as you can.”

And then, the Stingray Chairman declared clearly, as if proclaiming it to the world,

“You are my son from this day forward.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep