I Became the Cute One in the Problem-Solving Team

Chapter 32




As I organized my plans in my mind and gauged when would be the right time to start,

Sabrina, who was walking somewhere, suddenly turned her head and looked at me.

“What’s your name? Oh, wait, didn’t you say you can’t talk?”

“….”

“Then I’ll just call you Fox since you’re wearing that fox mask on your face. Sounds good?”

“…!”

I didn’t particularly mind being called Fox.

I nodded, as if to say that it was fine.

Did that meaning get through? Sabrina made a pouty face and cutely scrunched her thick eyebrows as she said,

“Fox. If you follow me like this, I’ll take it as you’re helping me. But if it looks dangerous, just ditch me and run away. Got it?”

“….”

“Answer me! Oh, right.”

You’re not supposed to be able to answer, are you?

I looked at her quietly as if to say, “What am I even doing?” and she awkwardly perked up her round ears and cleared her throat.

“Hemhem, anyway! If you cling to my ankle for no reason, I won’t let it slide.”

“…!”

“Are you saying not to worry? Seriously, you look weak, but you’re so full of confidence.”

She chuckled at my nodding and then suddenly looked serious as if nothing had happened.

It wasn’t strange.

If someone found out we were here, it wouldn’t just be a simple scolding; it could affect David’s plans. So I guess she thought this wasn’t the time for casual chit-chat.

Sabrina quickly glanced around and said,

“My brother’s notes said this way is a passage that’s no longer in use. It’s an abandoned space since the hotel was remodeled.”

The place we entered was a fairly high and empty corridor.

This was one of the so-called back-of-house spaces, typically used by hotel staff.

After repeated renovations, it naturally became an abandoned passage, and with no CCTV and no signs of other people, it was the perfect spot for sneaky business like ours.

Hehe, it feels like we’re ninjas or something, which is fun.

As I followed Sabrina closely, a sudden question popped into my mind.

Now that I think about it… how does Sabrina plan to move?

“Why are you staring? Are you wondering what the plan is?”

“…!”

“Oh, right. You need to know too. Okay, then let me explain my brilliant plan, you foolish brother!”

But I already knew that.

With sparkling eyes, I let Sabrina’s excited words go in one ear and out the other as I recalled David’s plan.

To summarize his plan, it was as follows:

First, create a big ruckus in the hotel to create an opportunity, then break in forcefully to secure Raine.

And then, together with Raine, evade pursuit with the transportation that was prepared in advance, and it would be over.

Of course, the “big ruckus” involved causing a power outage throughout the entire building while releasing sleeping gas.

And the target we need to break in against? It’s Lexi, the triple-number fixer and the battle robot legion that Nemesis is so confident in.

Plus, even if we successfully escape, the ones we have to evade are the police, who hold immense power and authority in this city…

After hearing all this, it seemed Sabrina intended to beat David to hiding sleeping gas generators all over the hotel, then wait for him to pass by to join him.

‘Um… that’s not a very good idea.’

If I were to rate it, it would barely score 5 out of 100.

If it were out of 10, it wouldn’t even score 1. Trash-tier plan.

Let’s think about it, the essence of David’s plan was its boldness in striking when the opportunity arose, and its unnaturally rapid pace.

Who, in their right mind, would blackout an entire building just to save one person, burning through sleeping gas worth a whole year’s salary for an employee? It would be weirder for anyone to expect that.

But now, two useless baggage are mixing things up?

That would be like throwing dirt on David’s sharp plan.

Therefore, I folded my arms and pretended to think deeply before decisively shaking my head as if to say, “That’s not a good idea.”

“What’s wrong, Fox? Do you have complaints? Are you scared? Then just turn back!”

“….”

“You don’t even have a sharp idea anyway!”

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Who do you think I am, opposing just for the sake of opposing on this group project villain’s team?

I was just preparing to give her confidence-boosting advice, but then… I quietly squeezed my eyes shut at the cold reality that my voice wouldn’t come out.

Not being able to persuade the other party with words is quite inconvenient!

I could only scratch my head in frustration as I faced the frustrated Sabrina.

Thud!

Then, suddenly, I heard something dropping not too far away.

Wait, isn’t this supposed to be an empty hallway?

Sabrina looked as if she wanted to say that as her eyes widened.

‘What… Nemesis isn’t an idiot. They’d definitely be aware of such an annoying space.’

But it was perhaps natural.

What an outside hacker like David might discover, how could Nemesis possibly be unaware?

Moreover, today was a particularly special circumstance where VIPs had to be treated with great care.

It was only natural for them to be on high alert, fearing any unpleasant incidents.

Actually, I’d already seen this scene in the original; it wasn’t surprising to me at all.

“… Ugh! R-Robot…!”

Far away, a giant spider-shaped robot emerged faintly.

Made of steel and machinery, this autonomous scouting robot had eight legs.

Sabrina, startled at the sight, clenched her fists, prepared to fight the spider robot, but I quickly grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

If David’s plan had already begun, it would be okay, but touching that thing now would mean ruining everything before we even started.

“W-What should we do then?! We can’t just run away like this…!”

“….”

Shh.

I put a finger to her lips, clearly showing both meanings in the gesture:

Don’t make a ruckus now because that’d be problematic, and don’t mention anything you see from now on.

“Ugh, woah?!”

I used my telekinesis to keep her from falling, then lifted her in a princess carry pose.

Then, using my telekinesis, I propelled both of us up and jumped over the crawling spider robot.

… Of course, with our height differences being quite negligible and me actually being skinnier, it wasn’t the most visually appealing scene.

But lacking strength or balance could easily be solved with telekinesis, so there was really no issue with the process.

“Gyaaaa…!”

“…!”

Sabrina, with her eyes tightly shut, squeezed my neck fiercely as she let out a pitiful scream.

If it weren’t for the telekinesis, she might have just snapped my neck at that moment!

I quietly broke into a cold sweat as I landed softly on the floor without making a sound.

And as the spider robot moved forward with a creaking noise and disappeared beyond, Sabrina, with a dazed expression, looked up at me and said,

“W-Who, you! Was that… magic?!”

“….”

I don’t know. I’m not telling you. Besides, I can’t talk anyway.

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly and played dumb.

What? You’re asking if it’s okay to use telekinesis so openly?

Well… who cares! Given her personality, I doubt she’d say a word about it, and even if she did, who would believe her?

And unless I knocked Sabrina out and dragged her away, she would have no choice but to realize the existence of my telekinesis. After all, my plan wouldn’t be possible without it.

So there was really no reason to hide it.

This was all the result of rational judgment.

“… Hmph! I’m not saying thank you!”

While I was organizing my thoughts, I wondered what had changed in her mood.

Sabrina, blushing, urgently wriggled out of my embrace.

Oh… maybe she was embarrassed for receiving help from someone who had looked so weak for a while?

I dusted off the borrowed suit out of concern and then quietly stared at her.

It was a silent gaze that suggested, “I have a better idea; how about that?”

“…Do you have another method in mind? Something other than my clumsy joining with you.”

“…!”

“Then… let’s go with your plan. What are you thinking?”

This is working?

I confidently nodded at Sabrina’s cautious question.

Your plan? 5 out of 100.

But my plan? 120 out of 100. No, 150 out of 100!

But time was a little tight.

There were still variables to consider.

‘We should hurry a bit more.’

I extended my hand, as if to indicate we should hold hands.

She hesitated a bit but carefully took my hand.

Hehe, gotcha.

As soon as Sabrina grasped my hand, I promptly knocked her over and pulled her tight into my embrace again.

Then, using my telekinesis, I stuck to the ceiling and dashed forward quickly.

“Eek! I knew it; I’m scared of this! I-I don’t like this stuff!”

Ignoring her whiny remarks, I swam through the small space between the ceiling and floor.

Before long, we arrived at the elevator shaft, where the elevator was constantly passing above and below.

“Phew, phew… is it over now?”

No, it’s scarier here.

I gently patted Sabrina’s head, who looked completely drained of energy, as if giving a preventive injection, then without hesitation, I threw myself down the hole that plunged down to the basement.

At this point, was she too exhausted to scream? Sabrina was just bobbing her lips like a goldfish.

Whatever, I enjoyed the sensation of my insides dropping as if I were on a ride, using my telekinesis as a launch pad to shoot upwards quickly.

How long did I ascend?

As I instinctively reached my target floor, I sidestepped a rapidly descending elevator and slipped into the space between the ceiling and floor.

Ah, how should I describe this feeling?

It was like I’d curled up for a long while, then suddenly sprinted at full speed after a considerable break.

The perfect blend of exhaustion and refreshment hit me. A smile involuntarily crept onto my face.

“Ughhh… Onii-chan…”

Oh come on, stop whining.

Carefully, I placed Sabrina, who was sniffling, down on the floor and lightly looked around.

This place was filled with wires, apparatus, and dust.

Well, it made sense since it was above the ceiling.

Now that we were here, we were almost done.

I quietly moved around, making no noise, intending to loosen the part of the ceiling that seemed promising and peeked below.

‘Not here. How about here? Nope. Then….’

Loosen, open, close, and secure it. Loosen, open, close, and secure it.

After repeating that about four times, I finally found the place I was looking for.

“Ugh, Fox. What are you doing? Why are you suddenly on the floor—ugh, over there…!”

Now somewhat recovered Sabrina rushed over to me with wide eyes, surprised.

And there was good reason for that.

Beneath the ceiling I just opened stood dozens of deadly-looking combat robots.

If I recall from the original, there were exactly twenty of them.

In front of that overwhelming quantity, Sabrina’s face turned stern.

“If those are roaming around… no matter how foolish you might be…”

You’re right.

Combat robots are called combat robots, but at this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them killing machines.

The bullets would barely scratch the surface, and as for the shells, unless they were special rounds, it would be hard to even dent them.

And their combat capabilities? Basic specs would include guns and missiles, plus the unapproachable monomolecular cutters.

With my low-output telekinesis, facing one would be fine, but two or more? It would be best just to run away.

‘But if they’re lying here so peacefully, then it’s a different story.’

But that was only the case while the robots were lying there inactive.

Right now, they were waiting in their hangar, patiently signaling for activation.

For me, this was literally the easiest kind of material to cook.

‘My telekinesis can intervene inside when focused!’

I extended my hand from above the ceiling where the CCTV wouldn’t catch me, reaching out towards the combat robots.

Then, I pulled out thin threads of telekinesis from the tips of my fingers and deeply penetrated into the inside of the robot.

It seemed waterproof, dustproof, and even anti-magic; however,

They didn’t seem to have anticipated telekinesis, did they?

About four minutes into focusing, I finally felt my telekinesis infiltrate the robot’s inner workings.

‘Break down, yapp!’

Fixing them would be hard, but causing a breakdown was always easy.

I roughly squashed the inner circuits of the robot’s head.

Now, that was one down.

Now it was time to handle the remaining 19.

‘Time is… tight, but it should be enough.’

Was it thanks to getting a knack for how to save time the more I did it?

I was able to immobilize all combat robots in just 40 minutes and felt a sense of pride as if I had just crossed over a mountain.

Now if I could just figure out how to deal with Lexi, there would be nothing to hinder David anymore.

Just as I let out a long breath of relief, all the lights suddenly flicked off around us.

Seeing this, Sabrina, who had been quietly watching me, perked up in surprise and looked around.

But I quickly realized that this was a move made by David.

This was finally the real start of the Nemesis terror incident.


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