Chapter. 10 Lead and Silver Coins (12)
****
“Speed Wagon lives here?”
Along with the communication sound, Ian’s distorted face was demanding an answer from me beyond the window.
Crackling-
“Not here, but around here… . It must be about 105 meters ahead? Not here. hmm. “It’s a bit hard to say that this is a place where people live.”
“It’s amazing to enter. “Well then, you’re talking about it being black, right?”
.
.
.
.
.
Damn it.
When I looked at the direction Ian was pointing through the window, I felt that there was no room for excuses.
I woke up for a moment and slowly made my way through the desolate ruins and darkness for a few hours.
This is because the meeting point with Speed Wagon, which we arrived at after much trouble, was not a place where people lived, no matter how we looked at it.
… .Tick!
-Geugeuggeukgeuk! Nope! Nope! Grrrggggggggggggg!
widely!
“Where on earth did you lead me, this bastard… .”
There was no need to turn on the Geiger counter. The radioactive atmosphere was so dense that fluorescent halos were visible to the naked eye, filling the entire area. In order to block this high concentration of radiation, the shield permeability must be set to 0. Then, even if the radiation is blocked, you will not even be able to breathe air and will die soon.
Level 6 radiation zone.
Even mutants cannot survive in places like this.
Crackling-
Just as I was wondering if I should really move forward 45 meters like this, I heard noise from vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Instead of speaking, the communicator was greeted with the sounds of a Geiger counter, clicking and clicking.
“Hey, Professor Park. Can you hear this? Guy Geiger is screaming like crazy. ‘Get out of this crazy area right now! There’s radioactivity! ‘There’s radiation everywhere!’”
“Okay… .ji.”
“Speed Wagon. Even though I’ve only watched the show a few times, I was such a big fan of your show that I can remember the name. “Are you close with him?”
“… .maybe?”
“So, even if I tell you to just ignore this ‘rescue signal’ and focus on our mission, you won’t even pretend to hear and will go check on it somehow?”
“uh… . that is… .”
It was difficult to answer easily. Why am I here? This is to find out what is happening in this radioactive area and the trends of the Artists’ Union. For the sake of the mission, this local intelligence officer happened to be nearby… . He went to visit the person presumed to be.
But is that really it?
——-
‘This human being is an idiot. I don’t know what I’m doing here, but it’s right to filter out 80% of the knowledge in this chat room.’
‘How to pay for your mother’s funeral? … Well, as long as you don’t kill him, you can just bury him with all your heart. It’s okay. ‘I also don’t have a mother.’
‘I think I explained it well enough for you to understand.’
‘Are you an asshole? Why do you have to do that shit?’
‘I had a hard time.’
‘We meet separately to talk about business.’
.
.
.
.
———
The conversation with this guy that had been going on since the end of the war, when I knew nothing, flowed like a river in my head.
[Just be honest? That’s because the signal is a ‘rescue signal’. Are you worried? Still, this guy is like a friend too.]
‘It’s embarrassing… . And I can’t put my group in danger because of my personal circumstances. If I go, they will all follow… .’
Shake it off!
‘Even though we have an almost horizontal relationship, I am the leader anyway. Dealing with things emotionally like this will have negative consequences for all of us.’
Crack, tap, tap, crack-
[Uh, um… . husks? excuse me… .]
‘No, it’s okay. If my guess is correct, this guy is a pretty high-level intelligence dealer. There’s no way the sharpest guy in the world couldn’t get away with it. That rescue signal must be some sort of bait to attract the enemy-‘
[No, that’s not it. your friend Did you already leave?]
‘… .what?’
When I looked up after hearing Hyde’s words, I saw a small shadow that had already jumped out and looked around in the green ruins, and a large shadow running after him.
“Those kids can’t stand it… .!”
As I was panicking and preparing to follow him, I saw Vex jumping up as if he had found something while looking around at the coordinates.
A hand signal that follows is a large circular motion with the hands. It means that the goal has been achieved.
“Goal… . “Achieved?”
Crackling-
“Did you find anything? “You two are excited to come back.”
As Ezel said, the two came back in a hurry as if someone was chasing them, and made a sign in front of the door of the car I was riding in telling me to open it. After a moment of merging the personal shield and the vehicle shield, Ian, who came in first, started swearing.
“Damn it! What a fool! “It’s been a few days since I told myself to please think about it and make a move!”
J-Ik – Sigh!
“What’s wrong! Even back then, I said it was okay because the results were good! “It was good this time too, is it a problem?”
“You jumped out so quickly that the car bubble couldn’t be repaired and opened! If I hadn’t turned on my personal shield and blocked myself with my body, I would have been directly exposed to the driver’s seat! “Do I really need to see someone in his 30s pooping on the wall due to all kinds of radiation complications?”
“Well, you found this anyway!”
——————
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——————
The argument between the two, which continued at a rapid pace as soon as they entered, ended with Bex holding out to me what he was holding in his arms.
“Look at this, Hepburn! Isn’t that what you see a lot of times somewhere? “This is what you were looking for, right?”
Giggeek, Giggeek! Weeeeeee! Kiik!!
“Geek- warning. You have touched another person’s private property without permission. According to Article 2749-f543 of the Universal Code, this is a very serious offense and-”
Giggeek, Giggeek!
drone. Although there are dents here and there, it is a drone with a fairly sophisticated design.
The sight of the alloy steering gear being twisted around like a captured bird was very familiar. It was not GG’s transportation drone, but a house drone like the one Corduro uses as a terminal. The presence of a house drone meant that there was a house or someone’s hideout nearby, and this was the place where Speed Wagon was supposed to meet… .
“no way… . Speedwagon’s drone?”
gig-
At that moment, the drone stopped struggling, rotated its body, and slowly focused its lens on me.
“… .Voice – crackling – confirmation. Player ‘professor’. “Is it correct?”
Giggeek!
“that… . It’s true that I am Professor Park, but… .”
Kiik!
“Welcome, welcome, welcome. I am a player who drives ‘Speed Wagon’. Welcome. My name is ‘Genie’, a top-level learning AI that serves ‘Speed Wagon’. With my sincere greetings, I invite Player ‘professor’ and his group to my master’s residence.”
Giik-wiiing!
thud! thud! thud! thud!
When Vex let go, the round drone began to flap its steering gear and hit the windshield of the car as if it had been waiting. As if they thought that doing so would allow them to fly out of the clear glass.
The expression on Vex’s face, who had proudly held out the drone, sank slightly as he saw that there was something clearly wrong with the drone.
“… .That’s learning AI, right? Same model as Corduroy. “It learns its owner’s behavior and moves in a way that perfectly matches that.”
“uh. That’s it. “I absolutely cannot agree that Corduro copied me, but that’s what the product description says.”
Click, click, click!
Whoa-
“… .The guy we came to see, although I don’t know his face, name, or age, is your old friend on the LAN line, and from information I can guess, he’s a very smart guy who doesn’t know anything.”
“Okay… .ji?”
“Then there is no way the intelligence department can’t repair a single drone due to lack of money, so there is only one situation that can explain the state of that Mojiri AI.”
Ian, who had burned the entire cigarette in just a few puffs, chewed the filter and spit it out.
“Speed Wagon, doesn’t he have dementia? “Are you really so close to natural death that you can’t control your body, so you made a rescue signal?”
“It can’t be-”
“I will guide you. “I will guide you, guide you, guide you.”
thud! thud! thud!
“… “It could be.”
I swallowed the words I was about to refute and grabbed the drone that was constantly challenging the windshield of the sturdy armored truck. Seeing that, the group turned on the shield without saying a word.
****
Geuwooung-clap.
“Even though the security procedures are somewhat complicated, we would appreciate your understanding.”
In the end, our group decided to accept the invitation. According to Ian’s opinion, ‘Even if there are no elderly people with dementia, we don’t know what kind of condition Area 38 is in, so if there was a shelter that could function in such a rough area, it would be useful as a safe house in case of an emergency.’
When the drone called Genie was released outside, it stumbled a little and flew into the ruins, and soon after, it felt a vibration so violent that it could be felt through its toes.
Sticking out from the dusty ground was a half-destroyed elevator that I doubt would function as well as that drone.
“If I were to die in vain like this, I would really, really, really blame you, Professor Park.”
The elevator that was going down creaked! Those were the words Ezel, who was holding onto her handle until her hands turned white, said to me the moment she got caught somewhere and was shaking.
After coming down like that and passing through the decontamination room (which was not functioning), which I often saw in large facilities like domes, and the fire shutter that had been chaotically made with a welder, I was finally able to arrive at a place where the familiar blue shield was functioning.
“This… .”
“Is it a library?”
From floor to ceiling. The books were packed tightly together, filling the inside of the shield like a building made of bricks. Among the crowded books, there was a path that a small person could barely get in and out of.
“Please be quiet. “In the library, let’s follow the etiquette ticket.”
“It sounds like etiquette when you lock the door. Go in first. “I think I need to clean up here before I can get in.”
As the professor said, he passed through the narrow gap between the piles of books and entered, and found that a path as narrow as the entrance was winding between the endless books. I heard the sound of something collapsing behind me and the sounds of Bex and Ezel getting annoyed.
“I’m sorry for not organizing it in advance. “No matter how much I tell Ginny, I just organize it to fit my body type and then come back.”
From a corner of the quiet library, a voice was heard chuckling and laughing. A voice full of a sense of danger, like a dying candle.
“you… . Speed Wagon?”
“okay. As if you were a professor. Nice to meet you, ‘professor’.”
A neatly empty space filled with nothing but books.
The person who smiled at him from the white bed surrounded by various water bottles was a slender woman whose illness was obvious at a glance.
****
Rumble-
“Puh-haa! Ah, look at the dust! “It’s a good thing I was wearing a mask.”
“Metal Joe, you bastard, you’ve grown up for no reason! It would be fine if I and Becks passed by because they are the right size! “You just wanted to go first for no reason, and we almost got buried alive!”
Ezel took Vex’s outstretched hand and stood up, looking around at the pile of dusty books. oh my god. There are so many books. Just by looking at the thickness of the dust flying around, I could tell how old these books were. For a moment, Ezel was worried about what he would do if the owner of the house asked him to pay for the damaged books.
Whoa!
Of course, Ian, who didn’t care about such small things, kicked the pile of books with all his might and stood up.
“Jimiral, is this a dwarf bookworm’s castle?”
“Stop fussing and get out. “It seems like the inside can still move.”
“It was a novel attempt for a defense facility. Hey, Ezel. Please blow my eyes. “I got dust in my eyes.”
Huuuuk-
widely!
“Ahh! “f*ck you, you faggot is drooling in my eye!”
“Oh sorry. “I’ve been wearing a mask that sticks in my mouth for a long time, so I’m a little drooling.”
“kill! “You know that if you beat someone to death with a book, you’re not guilty!”
Ian, furious, rubbed his eyes and felt around with his other hand. He tried to bring Ezel to his senses by picking the heaviest and weakest one… .
“that… . I’m sorry, but can you bear to damage the book any further? “That book you’re holding is a book I really like.”
Stand tall!
I woke up to the sound of a whisper-like voice passing through my ear. The three looked around with the reaction speed of a combat professional and spotted a dazed professor and a woman with a pale complexion. Bex and Ezel, who noticed the subtle air current flowing between the two, rushed towards the professor, killing numerous women. Ian’s eyes, trained over time, looked at the woman on the bed.
‘Skin so transparent that bones can be seen through. Considering that there is almost no exposed muscle above the acromion, it seems that it is not because of the skin that has been trimmed, but because there is almost no external access. It’s faint, but he looks nervous… . Is this shame? Shy? He seemed to be feeling burdened by his own attire, as he pulled his clothes as far back as possible to reduce exposure to the baggy patient clothes. It’s a shame. It looks like he hasn’t been able to change his clothes yet, or he’s so weak that he can’t change his clothes on his own.’
“Eup, eup! Let go, dude! What are you doing all of a sudden-”
“Uh-huh, the defendant, shut up!”
“I have something to investigate for a moment, so please follow me quietly!”
A woman is giggling and laughing with a clearly ill look on her face as she watches the action of the professor and his two friends being dragged away.
However, even in these adverse conditions, the beauty of women could not hide its shine. No, on the contrary, she looked like she was about to collapse at any moment, her long hair that was wet and slightly sticky with cold sweat, and her skin that was so transparent that it was pure white stimulated her protective instinct and added an even more unique charm to her appearance.
“Oh my.”
Ian, who had already pushed up the corner of his mouth, joined Bex and Ezel, who had already succeeded in subduing the professor and dragging him behind the pile of collapsed books near the entrance, and took part in temporarily putting the professor out of her sight.
It was very interesting to see the professor pretending to be embarrassed without knowing anything.
“What are you doing, you bastards! “Get out of shape in front of people you see for the first time!”
“Was it because of this?”
“what!”
“Why did you come back this way when you were so close to the target area, the Area 38 dome? Even though I confirmed that it was a dangerous area and suggested retreat, I couldn’t give any reason and was conflicted. It was all because of that woman? huh? “I was upset because I was late for a date.”
With a knowing expression and a “keuhehe” laugh, Ian punches the subdued professor on the forehead. Bex, who had nimbly escaped just before the angry professor snatched the back with his left hand, also came up with a similar smile.
“Keeheehee, Hepburn. Are you afraid we didn’t even understand that much? You shouldn’t have just said it. It’s Mr. Jesu’s problem. Are we going to stop it? “I wonder if I actively participate.”
“That’s right. I need to write today down on the calendar. Isn’t this the day that Professor Park’s under-brain, which seemed to be inactive forever, began to function properly? Hmm, if I were to evaluate it as an expert, it’s quite romantic and not bad for a start. Two people who have been sharing their feelings through writing for a long time. They could hardly approach each other, but the moment he saw her rescue signal, the man broke the cherry wall that had suppressed him his whole life and ran to her side, beyond all limbs! Wow, that’s pretty cool, Professor Park! You’re flirting with an intelligence merchant! “And such a beautiful woman!”
“It’s not like that! “In any case, my meeting with Speed Wagon was for business reasons.”
“You seduced a woman for business purposes? Bis du deppert! Do you like something sadistic? I’ll praise you! “You skipped the basic level in an instant!”
“Oh, shit! “Please!”
The professor felt unfair.
If I had to pick the most embarrassed person out of the four, it was definitely him.
It turns out that the friend with whom you shared all sorts of idiotic jokes and bullshit for five years was a sickly pretty girl?
A friend who always says [Is he an asshole?] [Are he crazy?] greets me with a soft voice and says, ‘Welcome~’. Who wouldn’t be embarrassed in that situation?
It’s not that I’m embarrassed, it’s that I’m truly embarrassed.
However, no matter how hard the professor tried to explain the situation, Ian and Bex covered their ears and kept saying things like how long have they been like that and how they made a good career path in that dangerous area of 40.
So, instead of the two who were already in interrogation mode, the professor asked for help from Ezel, who was quietly watching from behind with his arms crossed.
“Hey, Ezel! Say something! You know it’s not like that! You’ve known Speed Wagon as long as I have! “If you think about it, isn’t it worse for you to just spit it out without knowing what to say and what not to say!”
At my desperate revelation, Ian and Bex, who had been shaking me off like catching a rat, turned their heads towards Ezel. Ezel, who had been sitting quietly with his legs crossed on a pile of books, stood up.
“surely… . I have known them as long as the Professor and Speedwagon. “With people like Jokass, takealook, and Noru in the community, we all got along well during difficult times.”
“okay! Am I right? “I’m always friends with Speed Wagon.”
“But, the professor discriminated between us and Speed Wagon.”
“… .huh?”
The story that was going in a good direction suddenly took an illegal U-turn.
“At some point, the bastards, bastards, and scumbags who always called us stopped riding in the back of the speed wagon. It was replaced by the honorific title and speed wagon ‘Nim’. “Unlike us, who were subjected to verbal abuse every day, Speedwagon was given special treatment.”
“Oh my.”
“I don’t think their relationship lasted long either. However, seeing as the professor’s treatment changed after he started engaging in outside activities… . Could it be that his cool appearance caught fire? Honestly, the current professor is a superstar. If he walks down the street in Dome, there will be a truckload of female fans who will take off their underwear and run at him. “A man is capable, that’s what I mean.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Ezel! “Unlike you useless poisonous mushrooms, Speed Wagon always provides quality information and helps me-”
“Thank you, Ezel, for your sharp and reasonable testimony, worthy of the inspection department. The defendant confessed. ‘She always supported me during difficult times.’ “I wish she could have just said this.”
Ezel came next to Ian, who looked like he was dying of fun, and tapped my shoulder in a friendly way.
“Professor, do you know what?”
“what.”
“In Dome, the production of condoms or contraceptives is treated as a serious crime. The era of destruction. The birth of new life deserves to be blessed, and an increase in birth rate is the most important factor for the restoration of human civilization.”
“wait for a sec… . Ezel?”
“A stable source of income as a ranker, and a reputation that no matter where you go in the wasteland, no one knows your name. Now that you have achieved wealth and fame, you might want to have a family. “I support you, you idiot.”
Ezel wipes under his nose with his finger and gives a thumbs up.
“Hoo. From that perspective, the professor’s dating activities seem like a natural progression. “Don’t deny it anymore, new groom.”
The two people were giving various kind words to the professor in a warm atmosphere, as if they had received a wedding invitation from an old bachelor friend.
Meanwhile, Vex, who had disappeared for a while, came back out of breath, carrying an armful of something.
“Joe! “I went upstairs and brought you the suit you said you had made for us for trading purposes!”
“Now that I think about it, there was something like that. Well done, Jjarimongttang. “Give me your shirt first.”
“Hey, hey!”
“Sseu-eup, stay still! The military uniform I got at the station on our first date. Regardless of style, attire is all about being polite to others! Starting a family is the best moment of Ian-Joe’s life! “I will definitely accomplish this great task for my best friend!”
Wow!
“Take it off, Professor Park! “Take control of your destiny!”
“Let go, let go, you bastards! “Let go of this!!!!”
Three friends with sinister expressions rushed in, each carrying a stylish suit. For some reason, in this situation, no power was applied to the left hand, which could be called asymmetric power.
‘… .Hyde?’
[Hwi~ Hwihwi~ Hmm, the scenery here is really nice~]
‘Hyde, you too!!!’
The professor, who had been betrayed by everyone he trusted and had lost the means to resist, ended up falling into their hands.
****
Meanwhile, Speed Wagon, the owner of this library, was happily watching the drama of friendship and betrayal taking place in a corner of the library. How long has it been since you heard someone’s voice through your ears rather than through the connector’s speakers?
To her, who had spent a long time alone here, even the sorrowful cries from beyond the pile of books were pleasant to hear.
“More than what was in the data… . “They seem like much more affectionate people, don’t they, Genie?”
“Note, caution is required. Ian Desmont, a mass murderer with few comparisons among the current Wasteland survivors. Vex, although there is no standardized data, is a cruel person who enjoys killing opponents with cold weapons. Ezel Raiden is a person who appears to be sloppy, but has passed the extremely difficult inspection examination, and is close to power to the point where he frequently meets with the Inspector General, the highest ruler of the District 47 Dome. Professor Park, no need to say anything. A pseudo-human race mixed with mutations. “It is judged to be too dangerous for the master, who has no combat skills, to get close to.”
“He’s a dangerous person… .You are too negative, Ginny.”
Gigeek-
“It’s just a reasonable activity to present the right judgment to the owner who is positive in everything. Gi-geek, gigig-geek.”
She gently held Genie, whose voice circuit was gradually failing, in her arms, and gently pressed the area where the internal circuit was loose with her fingertips. It occurred to me that the purring sounds of her cogs resembled the noises pets make when they are happy.
Pugh-
“Aww!”
At that time, the area behind the pile of books that had been making a fuss for a while became quiet, and a man with awkward steps came out, almost as if he was going to fall. From the sound of giggling and the leg sticking out between the piles of books, it looked like someone had kicked it.
Seeing that awkward appearance, she laughed out loud, forgetting about her decision with Genie to stick to mysticism.
“Phew! That… . “Do you really look like a dangerous person?”
“….Negative.”
Before she knew it, she was seeing a professor wearing a black suit, an anachronistic fedora, and even holding something that looked like a paper flower in one hand, and even though she knew it was rude, she couldn’t stop laughing.
****
fantasy,
