CHAPTER 329: LOOTING.

[Is this the point where I should start projecting that individual’s face over yours?]

’Yes.’

Though he hadn’t bothered scanning the building with Spatial Awareness, Dante wasn’t too worried. He entered the building through a blind spot in the security system, ensuring no one would see him before he dismissed his armor. Since he only wore it for a few seconds, the strain barely affected him, and his mind remained clear after.

Preparing to move, Dante first took out a duffel bag. He then prowled through the corridor, significantly slowing his advance. It was an act more than anything, intended to portray the image of an intruder carefully moving through the building but missing a few security cams.

The room with his target was around the corner, and knowing what was happening there, he expected to see at least a couple of guards at the door. Volcan picked them up soon enough, putting them on the miniature map in the upper left corner of Dante’s vision.

’Blind them.’

As he gave that command, Dante equipped a gun, one with a silencer attached. Leaning against the wall, he waited for the right moment.

"Agh!!"

"Wha-aa... aaAAAAA!!!"

Hearing the screams, he dashed out from behind the corner, instantly taking in the corridor and everything in it. He took aim right away. The guards weren’t too far from where he was, so he didn’t have to worry about missing any shots. The index finger of his right hand curled, pulling the trigger. The gun jerked back with a faint pop, and another one followed right after.

Blinded by the flash bang, the guards could only rub their eyes and cry. One of them suddenly went static then collapsed to the ground. The second one froze when he heard the loud thud behind him, and when he turned to check, still unable to open his eyes, a hole popped at the center of his forehead.

The second body hit the floor. It was unclear if anyone in the other rooms or the lower floors heard it, so Dante decided to hurry just in case. Just as he was about to approach the door, a bad feeling stopped him from getting close. He brought up the screen with the feed from the Scorpio-bot inside the office, and what he saw made him glad he hadn’t turned the doorknob.

The dark haired man inside appeared to have heard the guards’ cries, which is why he was hiding behind his desk, pointing a gun at the door. Obviously, he didn’t have a silencer on. If Dante had opened that door, the man would have fired a few shots. That alone would ruin everything, whether any of the bullets hit their target or not.

’Volcan.’

[Understood.]

On the screen, the dark-haired man opened his eyes wide then squeezed them shut, dropping his weapon just so he could rub them with both hands. Dante didn’t like flash bangs. He was sure no one did, and that’s what made them an effective weapon.

Once the man fell to the floor, Dante rushed into the room and finished him off, one bullet to the head. He heaved a sigh and looked around the room, his gaze stopping on the gap behind which the Scorpio-bot was hidden. Since he was already here, he decided to retrieve it now.

’Alright...’

His next move was to toss the items in the safe into the duffel bag he was carrying. He started with the shards, not bothering to count as their number clearly exceeded a hundred. He took the stacks of papers as well, and as for the binders, he decided to scan and store them instead.

Deep inside the safe, there were a few gold bars and a jewelry box as well. Those went into the Storage, too, greatly reducing the weight he would have to carry. The safe was empty, and so was the briefcase on the desk. Even now, it didn’t look like anyone had noticed Dante’s intrusion, which worked out for him just fine.

He sneaked out of the office, making sure the security cams captured his face and the tattoo covering its right side. Just as he was about to reach the area he entered from, he pretended to notice that he was being filmed, looked straight at the camera, then ordered Volcan to disable the building’s security system.

~[ ]~

When he returned to the camp, Dante was met with Finn’s astonished eyes.

"How!!?"

Barely a minute had passed since he finished looting the safe, yet somehow he was able to make it back to the roof they were hiding on.

"I run really fast." Grinning, Dante tossed the black duffel bag in front of the boy. "Let’s call it a day and go eat something good."

Though he already knew what was inside it, Finn still went and opened the bag. The sight of the red nuerosteel Shards made his eyes sparkle.

"We should be on the lookout for stuff like this," Dante said. "Well, not that we would find them very often."

The Shards were a huge bonus, but in the end, they weren’t what they came here for.

"Hold on," Finn put down the shard he had picked and shook his head. "I was talking about the way you changed your face! How did you do it?"

Dante raised an eyebrow at him.

"The same way we use Ghost Mode, of course." He said. "We have the AIs operating the security systems edit the footage, but instead of removing us from it, they just project someone else’s face over ours."

"That’s... insane..." Casting his gaze down, the boy seemed to think for a moment. "I need to learn how to do this."

While Dante stored the bag, Finn worked on retrieving the Scorpio-bots. They considered leaving them there for the time being, but since they already did most of the Diving, there was no need to do so.

Just as they were about to leave the building, someone came to check on the office Dante had raided and discovered the corpses left behind. By the time the panic set in, the Raven was already roaring as it raced through the streets.