All masters of cyberpunk

Episode 4

4. Subsurface contact

“Floated.

 

The jerk. I could feel the heavy pressure just by looking at it.

 

What can I say?

 

It’s like the eyes of a beast.

 

Even I, who knew everything about her, felt chilled at the sight of her white bones.

 

To be old is to have survived.

 

In the community, it was a joke, but in Seoul 2056, it’s not just a joke; it’s a reality.

 

“It’s an honor to meet you, old man.”

 

I rose from my seat and bowed respectfully toward her.

 

The old woman looks at me, honored but still unappreciative.

 

“Enough with the niceties. Who are you, creeping in here at this time of night?”

 

“My name is Lee Do-jin. I’m a new member of the Seven Hills Guild today, a D-class Hunter. I was previously from the Liberation Village.”

 

“Is that right?”

 

“Yes, Grandmother, it’s true.”

 

Lee Do-jin nodded and said. She is Choi Hyun soo’s closest confidant and practically knows everything about the Chilgok Guild.

 

She must have gotten to know him, at least somewhat.

 

“I heard that Kim Sang-yup died today, but who replaced him?”

 

“He was originally a decoy in the same group, but he officially became a guild member after defeating the attacking Gargoyle by himself.”

 

Single-handedly defeating a gargoyle.

 

She pauses for a moment at this major, which is more verifiable than any other.

 

“Hah! Single-handedly defeating a gargoyle… I guess you’re not a dummy.”

 

“You’re being flattering. I don’t think I can hold a candle to Mr. White Bone.”

 

I meant it.

 

Look at that tech body on his arm right now. Military-grade tech bodies, a far cry from their crude civilian counterparts.

 

It’s made of super-alloy, has armor protection equivalent to that of an armored personnel carrier, and even has a 66mm double-barreled rocket launcher built into it, though it’s currently concealed.

 

With that kind of firepower and performance, it should be able to mortally wound even the superhuman Hunters.

 

“What’s the purpose of this letter?”

 

“Nothing yet, because I don’t know the full story.”

 

“Speaking of the whole story,… the son of the factory.”

 

I nodded instead of answering.

 

“I know he’s just psychotic for now. A nanomachine to sabotage the Daegu Industrial Union.”

 

The Daejeon Green Zone is doomed by an invasion of mutants from the outside.

 

It is the Daejeon Industrial Union’s development of nanomachines that has driven the final nail in the coffin.

 

The nanomachines were developed with malicious intent by the Hunter Guilds of Daejeon, a city on the front lines of the war and completely marginalized by Sejong, Daejeon, and the relatively safe central government.

 

It was a kind of mechanical virus that deliberately destroyed technical bodies.

 

A month later, the androids and drones that are the mainstay of Daejeon’s defense were released from the labs of the Industrial Union Headquarters.

 

The barrier is breached, and the entire city is swept away.

 

However, it’s too early to tell.

 

Her power is enough to break the industrial union in question, but there’s no telling what the consequences will be.

 

In fact, there are seven different endings, some of which involve the deaths of both people in front of you.

 

“You have to make sure you’re in control of the situation.

 

Once I was in the game, the biggest ‘cheat’ I could utilize was my prior knowledge of Seoul 2056.

 

In order to utilize that knowledge reliably, the big picture of the scenario had to be continuous.

 

Definitely.

 

Auntie Oewol didn’t expect me to know that much, and she looked a little surprised.

 

“Ha, you’re from Daejeon, but I thought you were from the liberated village.”

 

“I’m from there, yes. Let’s just say I’m technically in the same position as your granddaughter.”

 

I turned my head toward Lee and smiled brightly.

 

Of course, I get a wary reaction in return. She seems to be reassessing my identity for now.

 

I decided that would be enough for today.

 

I’d eaten, and staying longer would only waste time without accomplishing anything.

 

I gulped down the cold water in my cup and stood up.

 

“Well, I’ll be heading back now, but I’ll be back often.”

 

“Someone welcomes you back, Kana.”

 

The reply came back bluntly, but the old woman’s expression didn’t faze me.

 

“I’m sure you’ll need me, and… it’s been an honor to meet you, and I’ll see you in a little while, Mr.White bone.”

 

Chilgok

As I pulled a handful of cash from my pocket and placed it on the table, Aunt May waved her hand as she crushed the cigarette she had in her mouth into the ashtray.

 

“Higo, ma chiara. I don’t take pocket change. Instead…….”

 

 

 

Her tech body flips over with a loud metallic clang, and the muzzle of her big, beautiful, double-action launcher is pointed at my face.

 

“No more playfulness like earlier, okay?”

 

It’s bloody, bloody, bloody.

 

He doesn’t disappoint.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Jumma, you seem to have a different attitude than your son these days, and I like that.”

 

“Does Grandma think that’s all true?”

 

“She hides a lot of things, but she has her reasons, and if she’s so open about it, it makes her more trustworthy.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

“What son of mine doesn’t have a story all the way down here in Daejeon? It’s the same.”

 

Mrs. Oewol shuffled back into the kitchen as if satisfied.

 

“You too, Inje divi jara. Go to work tomorrow, child.”

 

“I will.”

 

Lee Do-jin had mixed feelings.

 

Kim’s death hadn’t come as a surprise. His qualities as a hunter weren’t that good in the first place for a B-class sub.

 

He didn’t know the subject matter and sometimes flirted with her.

 

If she hadn’t been the granddaughter of the great-grandmother called Baekgol, she would have crossed the line long ago.

 

Her job as secretary of an obscure guild, ranked nineteenth out of twenty-eight, was a cover in the first place.

 

In a world ruled by force and money, the Hunter’s Guild is the group most closely associated with them.

 

With no single central government but rather each city’s Green Zone forming its own autonomous government, the various agents secretly dispatched from each city’s Green Zone inevitably attract attention.

 

If you’re a large guild in the top 10, you’re bound to attract the attention of local governments.

 

A mysterious man named Lee Do-jin intervened.

 

The arrival of a mysterious man named Lee Do-jin only added to the confusion.

 

‘That man knew my identity completely.

 

Her dispatch was top secret.

 

It was an undercover assignment known only to those in high positions in the central government’s Ministry of Homeland Intelligence in the new capital of Daejeon.

 

Lee Do-jin knew her identity like the back of his hand.

 

It’s no wonder Haan, a veteran agent who’s seen it all, is wary.

 

“Who the hell are you?”

 

There were a million questions he wanted to ask, but he didn’t give himself the chance.

 

He’d just come, shoot, and leave.

 

He was a very irritating type.

 

He was also the type of person Haan was most afraid to deal with.

 

Judging from the circumstances, he was probably an agent of the central government, as he had been told.

 

“What’s really going on in Daejeon?”

 

Seoul and Daejeon.

 

If they’ve both sent agents, it means that something is keeping a close eye on Daejeon.

 

For now, it’s the best she can do to keep an eye on Lee Do-jin.

 

Whether he’s a collaborator or a competitor,.

 

Or an enemy to be eliminated, only time will tell.

 

She just hopes he doesn’t get too friendly, since she’s strictly on an undercover mission.

 

Oh well.

 

“Good morning, Mr.Haan. You’re quite dressed up today.”

 

“Huh…….”

 

Haan failed to keep a straight face at the sight of the man who greeted him as soon as he arrived at work.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“So, you don’t have any special plans for today?”

 

“The Guild Leader is out on a business trip to the city; he probably won’t be back within the day.”

 

“Hmph, so that’s why.”

 

The offices of the Seven Songs Guild were deserted.

 

Even though the guild wasn’t a large organization to begin with, there were more than a dozen employees who came to work yesterday.

 

When I nodded in understanding, Haan handed me a cup of mixed coffee and added, “It’s an unspoken rule.

 

“It’s like an unspoken rule. Mr. Dojin hasn’t been invited to join Motokbang yet, so it’s only natural that he doesn’t know.”

 

I smirked and gulped down the mixed coffee in one gulp, as if there was something I didn’t know.

 

It’s sweet and spicy, a flavor I’m used to in the military.

 

I guess the coffee company didn’t go out of business in the game.

 

No matter how ridiculous my situation of being possessed by the game was, I was a big fan of Seoul 2056.

 

Whenever I experience these small details in person, I’m moved a new.

 

Or, to be more precise,.

 

It’s more of a feeling of familiarity than excitement.

 

I’m not sure why it feels familiar, but it does.

 

I’m notorious for over-immersing myself in games.

 

“Do you want me to invite you to join Motok? I don’t think the guild leader would mind.”

 

“No thanks; it’s not like I’ll be there for long anyway, but why is Mr. Haan here?”

 

“I’m the secretary, and besides, I don’t have to worry about running into any saboteurs.”

 

“I see you’re not hiding anything.”

 

“What’s the point of hiding it from everyone?”

 

K-fighter grandma’s blood. He seemed to have inherited all of her confidence and no-nonsense spirit.

 

“Then why don’t you go away? You’re the saboteur I was talking about.”

 

“Well, honestly, do you have anything to go on? You’ve already got eyes on every computer network in Chilgok-no, Daejeon.”

 

“…….”

 

I crumpled the finished paper cup lightly, landing it squarely in the trash can.

 

“Since you have nothing better to do, why don’t you accompany me today?”

 

“What?!”

 

“You have a car, and I don’t want to walk all the way to the city.”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

I asked.

 

There are only two places in Seoul 2056 where a jobless Hunter would go.

 

The first is a stale, cigarette-filled bar.

 

If not that, then

 

“The Hunter Management Bureau office, of course.