“So, did you do it then?”
“Yeah . It wouldn’t do to test it during an actual fight . I felt as if the flow of time had slowed down the moment I turned it on . It’s as if all sensations leave your body and you don’t have a care in the world . After all, you can see your entire body in your brain monitor . It’s almost as if you can see yourself from the outside and control your body . ”
Karman was a military man, so he was more concerned with his current state than Zaza, who mainly worked in intelligence . And so he had already checked his new features .
Pain, heat, and coldness were now just numbers displayed as information . He could look at how the numbers were affected to see what damage he was taking .
He tried cutting himself with a high-frequency blade as a test . The appropriate numbers dropped . However, they returned to normal after a short while and the cut on his arm disappeared .
“So it has a self-repairing feature…”
“Aye, it seems that it does . And when in battle mode, the Powered Suit—no, the Powered Armor, can be controlled remotely . You can call it and make it do some scouting or simple combat automatically . ”
“…Really!? I guess it just does everything now . ”
Electromagnetic storms could block nearly all forms of transmissions with the exception of the military’s secret satellite transmissions . So it was shocking that these suits could communicate wirelessly .
And yet the modification surgery they had underwent now allowed them to not only communicate wirelessly, but control things remotely through ‘Telepathy Line . ’
It was all very hard for Zaza to comprehend .
Maybe he should try pushing it—the devil whispered into his ear .
However, Zaza had a will of iron .
He knew that they were all looking at him now and smirking .
(No . I do want to test it out in case of an emergency, but not now . I don’t want to become their plaything…)
Zaza thought .
“What is it, Zaza? Don’t be so modest . You should test the power out if you really want to . ”
“Yes, Zaza . I’m looking forward to seeing it . You should go out and fight with Karman!”
But why?
They were treating him like a toy . He wanted to say .
“Ramiris is right . We should see which of you is the strongest once and for all . Don’t worry . As long as you take less than 80% damage, you will be able to auto-repair . ”
“Exactly . We used ‘Demon Steel,’ so a little damage won’t mean much to you anyway . ”
Veldora was insisting that Zaza and Karman have a test fight .
Even Beretta was nodding . He agreed that such a thing was not likely to lead to any lethal wounds .
Did they want them to fight so bad then?
Perhaps they had betted money on which of them would win…?
Such things went through Zaza’s mind .
He decided that he had to find out .
“Hey, Mister Veldora . You wouldn’t be betting any money on this, would you? Like, which of us is stronger . The one who is a fighter or the one with more firepower . Surely you and Ramiris would not do something so pointless?”
He knew it was a little on the disrespectful side, but he still asked this through squinted eyes .
The result…
“O-of course, not? Of course, we are not doing something like…that?”
“Wh-what are you saying!? Zaza! Who do you think we are? Why would we modify you just to test something silly like that?”
“Oh, Zaza . I am glad you did not lump me in with these two . So you understand then? I have no interest in such base things!”
As Zaza predicted, Veldora and Ramiris had become very suspicious in their behavior .
While they strongly denied having any such intentions, their behavior was a clear answer in itself .
But what was most surprising, was the Beretta seemed to be a part of it .
“Mister Beretta, were you betting on this too? Which of us were you betting on winning?”
While Zaza only thought about it, Karman asked him straight up .
Beretta heard this and froze .
(Is this Karman a fearless hero!?)
Even Zaza was surprised and did not know how to react .
“Ho-hohoho . How absurd, Mister Karman . Mister Veldora and the others would never involve themselves in gambling . ”
It was Sharma who saved the day .
“You are too wise, Sharma . Zaza and Karman here are very narrow-minded . You have to look at the bigger picture!”
“Ye-yes . Master is right!”
“I won’t say anything this time, but be careful in the future!”
After Sharma came to their rescue, Veldora and the others quickly caught on and made a successful escape .
It went without saying, that this was possible because Zaza did not say anything .
And so the fight between Zaza and Karman was dismissed .
As they had covered up the fact they had been placing bets, Veldora and the others were now too afraid to push for it .
Regardless, the party continued on their way to their destination without much event .
No, there were some problems…
The automated battle machines that patrolled the area .
Monsters that mutated due to the radiation . These were not Super Beasts .
And there were also armored cyborg bandits that were not part of the resistance, The Light of Dawn .
Monsters without human hearts that lived in the ravaged land .
Such threats would not let these unusual busses go without interruption .
And so they were targeted . However, Karman’s men were able to deal with them swiftly .
“These features are insane…”
“I’m surprised, really . You just turned at a right angle, didn’t you?”
“Yeah . I was moving at the speed of sound, and yet I could easily change course… My body is one thing, but how can my brain withstand that burden?”
“I don’t know . I don’t understand it at all…”
There was no need for Zaza or Karman to go out .
Super abilities and super firepower .
Their notions of what was possible had been destroyed the other day, and now Karman’s men were obliterating the enemy with overwhelming power .