Sword Art Online Vol. 15 – Alicization Invading Chapter 14 - Subtilizer (The One Who Steals Souls) 3 | P a g e 1 He slowly raised his eyelids. It seemed he had fallen asleep unaware. The sofa of Italian make he brought in last week was apparently too soft. With his body still engulfed in the supple leather, he glanced at the smartwatch on his left wrist. Afternoon, two-twenty. Getting up, he gently straightened up his back while walking closer to the glass wall in the south. As its entire surface was switchable glass and presently transparent, it permitted an unbroken view of the waterfront from this executive room on the forty-third floor. The harbor quietly glittered in the illumination from the neighboring skyscrapers. Numerous large ships were moored at the long wharf. These intimidating silhouettes with their sharp edges were not of luxurious cruisers. They were the warships of the Third Fleet under the United States Pacific Fleet. San Diego, California’s second city, had long been its base. The economy circled around the gigantic naval base where over twenty-five thousand affiliated to the military resided. However, new industry sectors experienced a boom in recent years. High-tech industries dealing with information, communication, bio-technology, and such. And there were those corporations who fused military affairs with high technology as well. Primarily entrusted with security services and training by the military, large companies, and other related sectors, these so-called private military companies even deploy manpower to fight directly on the front lines. Gabriel Miller, the chief technology officer of «Glowgen Defense Systems» that had its headquarters in Downtown San Diego, gazed down upon the port’s night view and revealed an unconscious smile. The dream he saw in his short nap earlier was invigorating, however slight.