The All-Master of Cyberpunk,

Episode 5

 

 

5. More Than Money

 

 

“It’s nicer inside than I thought.”

 

“…….”

 

I planted my ass in the passenger seat, avoiding the stinging gaze of Ihaan.

 

Daejeon’s Avanteo X.

 

It was as common a vehicle in Seoul in 2056 as the model it was based on.

 

It was also one of the cars players could purchase in-game, so she often drove it around.

 

“Of course, there’s no reason to buy it.

 

I even drove a Ferrari Future Cruiser, a supercar that was considered endgame content.

 

It’s no wonder I’m not impressed with the more common civilian vehicles.

 

“Fasten your seatbelt.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“We’re going to the North District office, right?”

 

“I guess so. We don’t need to travel across the district.”

 

The North District, where the Chilgok Guild is located, is an increasingly slumlordized area, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of business.

 

After all, while I’m a hunter by trade, my actual position in Seoul 2056 is more of a legal mercenary and fixer.

 

There are “raids” where guilds organize expeditions and send them outside the Green Zone, just like when I was possessed.

 

There was also a means of earning rewards called “Requests,” where you could pick up a request at an administration office and collect the reward.

 

After all, mercenaries are freelancers, so there’s that.

 

From a guild’s point of view, the more their hunters are mentioned in the administration, the more recognizable they become.

 

“There may be requests from other areas, but we need to take care of what we need to take care of first.

 

This is the stance I’ve taken for now.

 

Besides, it’s never too late to learn more about my new perk, Pure Organism, before making a move.

 

I fasten my seatbelt, and Ian starts the car and skillfully pulls out of the alley.

 

In the real world, we’d have had a bit of trouble with the illegally parked cars in the alleyways, but the streets are incredibly quiet.

 

It’s a testament to the fact that I have a pretty good job and that I’m able to maintain a car in this environment.

 

It costs more to maintain than it brings in, so it’s probably more profitable to take it to the local junkyard and sell it.

 

“But why don’t you take public transportation? It’s not that expensive, even if the monorail has gotten annoyingly far apart lately.”

 

“I don’t take public transportation.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I don’t have an economy chip.”

 

I spread out my palm, clean and unmarked, and showed it to Ian, and her eyes widened.

 

“I knew you weren’t wearing a tech body, but you didn’t even have the basic devices you need to live implanted?”

 

“I’m kind of allergic to machines.”

 

“There are quite a few TechBody rejects, even if they’re not from the Liberation Village, but I’ve never seen anyone without even a basic chip implanted.”

 

“Isn’t that why you made your contract with Guild Leader Choi contingent on a cash payment?”

 

“One hundred percent cash payment. It’s not unusual in the hunter world, so I didn’t realize.”

 

It’s a cyberpunk world, after all.

 

Traditional electronic payment systems like cards and bankbooks have all been replaced by chips.

 

Cell phones have long since been replaced by holographic devices implanted into the body in the form of watches or glasses, leaving no room for cards.

 

“So, how do you manage to live?”

 

“Well, I have a guildmaster looking after my house, so that’s one thing, and I have to eat at places that only take cash.”

 

Aside from a few hassles, life hasn’t been too disruptive.

 

In fact, in slum areas like where she lives now, she prefers to pay in cash.

 

For example, at places like Auntie Oewol’s traditional pork soup restaurant in Busan.

 

“Oh, that’s why my grandmother’s…”

 

“It was a double entendre.”

 

I replied, crossing my arms over my chin and looking out the window.

 

The sky was stupidly clear again today.

 

Of course, the city was still gray with neon lights.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“We’re here.”

 

Haan’s Avanteo stopped in front of a branch office building that occupied the former town hall.

 

It was a government building, so it was much nicer to look at than the fancy and shoddy buildings around the guild.

 

“Thank you, sir. I’ll treat you to a meal later.”

 

I thanked Lee-Do-jin from the bottom of my heart for following me.

 

I would have to maintain this tacit cooperation with her until I left the Daejeon Green Zone.

 

“Never mind; there was nothing to do anyway. As Chilgok’s secretary, I need to keep an eye on the hunters’ requests.”

 

“Being a secretary is such a troublesome job.”

 

“Does anyone who knows anything about it do it?”

 

She grumbled, but meekly parked the car and followed me in.

 

We walked into the office.

 

Sitting at the reception desk was a man who was obviously tired.

 

He wore black horn-rimmed glasses and had a bushy haircut.

 

His expressionless, irritated, and strangely subdued tension was the epitome of an ordinary government employee.

 

“This is the North District office of the Hunter Management Agency. What brings you here?”

 

“I’m Lee Dojin, a D-ranked Hunter from the Seven Hills Guild. I’m here to see if you have any orders for me.”

 

“Ah, if you’re a D-ranked Hunter, could you please check the board over there first? We only accept requests from C-ranked hunters.”

 

Oh, right, there’s a setting for that.

 

You don’t really start getting requests in-game until after you’re ranked C.

 

So, technically, this was my first time visiting the office as a D.

 

“Oh, I see. Excuse me.”

 

“Yes, yes, please check it out and come back.”

 

I did as he said and went to the bulletin board to check the officially posted requests.

 

“Get rid of a pack of dogs… Get paid for a pack. Isn’t this some kind of pay-to-play place?”

 

I figured that since I was paying the Hunter Management Bureau to handle the requests, the quality of the requests would be similar to what I would get through a guild.

 

The quality of the requests was much lower than I expected.

 

“It can’t be helped; in this industry, D-class hunters are practically considered commoners with guns, which is why most of the work goes through the guilds.”

 

“Hmph…….”

 

Chilgok is just lending his name anyway; who am I to raise the reputation of the damn guild anytime soon?

 

But if that’s all the requests I’m going to get, I’d rather not.

 

This isn’t even bounty hunting.

 

Wild dogs are one thing, but feral cats?

 

“I don’t see any requests that look good to me.”

 

Haan, who was checking the board with his arms crossed, interjected.

 

Most of the requests I’ve never even heard of in the game were handled in the first place.

 

But that’s who I am.

 

I’m the guy who’s been immersed in Seoul 2056 for so long that he’s been using his annual leave to travel abroad.

 

You could say I’m the world’s first deceased titleholder.

 

Someone who was obsessed with the game always had an answer.

 

“This looks good, right?”

 

I asked, and amongst the stacks of requests, I found a piece of paper that stood out like a sore thumb.

 

 

MOST WANTED.

 

Underdog Bikers.

 

 

The infamous bikers of Daejeon City were still at large.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Even if they’re just bikers, they’re dangerous on their own! It’s a criminal organization in the first place, and there might be unidentified manifesters!”

 

“It’s okay. In fact, it’s good, because the sooner we get it, the better.”

 

“Naeh? What do you get?”

 

“A ride.”

 

“What’s that…….”

 

I shrugged off Haan’s question and showed the request to the officer, whose eyes lit up for a moment.

 

“These guys have a request up? I was wondering when.”

 

“Do you know them?”

 

“Aldamada, yes. They’re probably the only ones running amok in the North Ward these days, with their poor home education and their exhausts blaring at dawn.”

 

He gritted his teeth and tapped away at the keyboard.

 

He’s obviously been through a lot.

 

“And the police haven’t been called yet?”

 

“Eh, you know the drill. You know we don’t have the manpower to deal with petty criminals like this unless we raid the police or government offices ourselves.”

 

It made sense.

 

The city is protected by a wall, but not every neighborhood is safe.

 

The southern district alone, which is currently slumlordized, is home to a variety of gangs.

 

It’s only because it’s in the northern part of the city, which is under the influence of Lee Do-jin’s grandmother, Grandma Oewol, that such vandals are installed, but if it were any other area, it would be full of paras and murderous thugs, not bikers.

 

In other words, the demand for policing in the Daejeon Green Zone was already beyond the capacity of the existing police force.

 

The criminals, whose only activity was playing puck pong on a motorcycle or robbing passersby, were not even on the police’s radar.

 

“You said you were Mr. Lee Do-Jin Hunter, right?”

 

Gone was the annoyance of just a few minutes ago, and the officer quickly finished the paperwork.

 

“Here’s the authorization to use force. The fee is two million won for the capture of the leader. If he’s killed, it’s 500,000 won.”

 

“Wait, two million won! Mr. Dojin, that’s too much for Suzutasan.”

 

In fact, Haan was right.

 

As the name Bikers suggests, this isn’t just a community of a few people in name only.

 

According to in-game information, the organization has a total of 50 members.

 

Even in Seoul 2056, this would be considered a gangster organization.

 

Of course, it’s not the kind of request that Ihaan would have made a big fuss over, as it’s an early request.

 

After all, if they want the money, it’s only right to let them have it.

 

In a world where 20 million won is worth pennies on the dollar, there’s no reason to waste precious time on a tenth of that.

 

But money isn’t the only thing I need right now.

 

“Didn’t I tell you that I can’t take public transportation?”

 

“Well, I did, didn’t I?”

 

I smiled lazily as I looked at Haan, who seemed to be trying to remember.

 

“Well, since we can’t rely on Mr. Haan to help us every time we need to move, we might as well get one this time.”

 

The Underdog Bikers are a fairly large biker gang.

 

Of course, the majority of the gang’s vehicles are scooters, which are commonly referred to as “delivery motorcycles” in the real world.

 

But there’s one item that doesn’t belong in a biker gang.

 

A Harvard Davidson.

 

I could already hear the distinctive rumble of its exhaust in my ears.

 

There’s nothing like a little speed to get around these ruins.