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I was waiting for Japha in the hallway outside the operating room. I looked down through the window at the outside of the building and saw a crowd of people. It was because of the news of Anguise Regina’s injury.
“What the hell is going on! Hoya… … No, Angus was shot?”
Jafar came running down the pure white hallway, followed by the Equusian mercenaries.
“He tried to commit suicide, so I shot him. Did I do a good job?”
I tilted my head. Jafar staggered as if shocked.
“Anguis is an idol! An idol!”
“These days, technology is so good that regeneration is not a problem. And there’s plenty of money to be made.”
I observed Japha as I spoke. He was excited and raised his long nails and pointed at me.
“I asked you to find the person. I didn’t ask you to injure him! Common sense… … .”
“If you need common sense, you should have found someone else besides me. If you want to chase Kinuan, you have to bury common sense and move forward.”
Jafar fidgeted outside the operating room.
“If Angus goes wrong… … .”
“It’s just a gunshot wound to the knee. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’ll heal cleanly without a scar. Seriously, if you were going to be this worried, you should have sent security and kept an eye on it.”
I got annoyed. Jafar’s eyes widened sharply.
“I respect Anguise Regina’s privacy, provided that I can contact her at least once a day.”
“That woman expected me to come looking for her. Every time I hire an Archie’s Victory user, the same thing happens again and again. The idol runs away, and the detective goes looking for her. It’s like she’s testing my abilities.”
Jafar closed his mouth. I twisted the corners of my mouth so that my cheeks twitched.
“… … Your circumstances are none of my business. And you won’t ask me any more questions about why you hired me to chase after Kinuan. I’ve experienced enough of the complicated human relationships in the Empire. So don’t complain about my work either, and just give me the compensation you promised.”
“Next time something like this happens, you’ll have to use non-violent methods. This isn’t a request, it’s a warning… … .”
Jafar spoke fiercely, followed by a few words of Tajrun that were expected to be profanities.
“I’ll give you one warning, too. I’m not your subordinate. If you leave the job to me without considering the circumstances, something like today will happen again. If Angus Regina is not an ‘important commodity’ to you but a ‘precious being’, you should have told me in advance.”
Jafar just stuck his tongue out. It seems like what I just said was spot on.
“I brought you back into this world. I hope you’ll show me at least a modicum of respect.”
“I never asked to come back to this world.”
“Mr. Luca is a much more broken person than I thought. Anyway, here’s the compensation. I keep my promises. I hope you do the same.”
Jafar handed me the data chip.
I took the data chip and passed Jafar. Jafar stayed there as if waiting for Anguis Regina’s surgery to be over.
“Hey, Mr. Luca. It’s noisy outside, so please go out the back door quietly. I’ve prepared a vehicle for you.”
Jafar spoke in his usual voice.
‘Anguis Regina and Jafar have some kind of relationship. It’s not just between idol and employer.’
There was no need to dig up their relationship right away. If it was related to my work, it would come to light naturally, and if we spent more time together, we would come to know about it, even if we didn’t want to.
More than that, my interest was in the ‘data chip’.
‘The person in charge of security when Giselle went missing.’
The security chief is still in Border City.
Beep.
I inserted the data chip into the terminal. A picture appeared before my eyes, and beneath it, a history appeared in a jumbled manner.
… … It was unexpected, but on the other hand, it was expected.
* * *
It was reported that Angus Regina fell down the stairs and broke her leg. It was thanks to Jafar’s good gags here and there. If a popular idol had been shot, all sorts of speculations would have poured out.
I headed to the slums of Border City. There were no roads that vehicles could enter the slums. There were only alleys between the tightly packed buildings.
Even in broad daylight, homeless people and vagrants were lying on the street, using it as their bed.
Boom! Boom!
Some were tearing their heads against the wall or the floor. They would repeat the action even when their heads were torn and bleeding. This was a common behavioral disorder among drug addicts.
“Kirit, karat, gurrurur… … .”
I looked to the side, hearing an unfamiliar noise. Shadows were swaying in the damp, dark alley.
Thud, thud.
A homeless man wrapped in rags walked towards me. There was an excessive amount of sticky bodily fluid oozing out from under his feet. Starting with this, the homeless people who were lying down approached me one by one.
Clank.
I pulled out my auto-tracking pistol from my coat. As soon as the sleek, high-tech weapon appeared, those who were trying to get close to me hesitated and retreated.
As I approached the center of the slum, the streets became wider and vacant lots appeared. The streets were also lively. Gangs with bad energy were squabbling and glancing at me.
I stopped walking.
‘This is it.’
I saw a building from which smoke of a color that was hard to define was leaking out. Colorful smoke was coming out of every crevice, including the windows. Smoke was even coming out of the cracks in the walls.
‘Drug den.’
It was one of the worst places in any city. It was a place where people who were destined for destruction stayed. There was also a hospital building next to it, but it was not a facility for treating people.
I went into the drug den building. There was no door at the entrance. There was no need to close the door since no one was running away.
“Is this your room?”
The man at the counter looked me over and said, He was wearing a complicated mechanical filter mask. It must be a necessity for working here.
“Looking for someone.”
“There is no one here. There is only a corpse.”
I stared into the hallway. I could tell just by looking at the doors that were so close together how narrow the room was. The sound of the air conditioner running could be heard from the ceiling.
“When you’re done with your business, leave quietly. There won’t be any fuss.”
Instead of a credit chip, I took out a gold piece. Gold is used as a physical currency within Border City.
The man picked up the gold piece and nodded.
Thud, thud.
I walked calmly down the hallway. There was a small window in each door, so I could see inside.
The layout of the rooms was all the same: a bed, a toilet, and a television playing meaningless programs.
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The helpless addicts sat or lay like corpses. The drug’s physiological effects seemed to be quite pan-racial, and half of the addicts were aliens. Of course, most were mammalian aliens with a lot of biological overlap with humans.
Squeak.
I went up to the next floor. Every time I stepped on the rusty iron stairs, there was an unpleasant sound.
I stopped walking down the hallway on the next floor. Feeling uneasy, I took a step closer and examined the interior more closely. I saw a familiar shadow.
Rattling.
I opened the door.
A man with his head bowed was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was large and had prosthetic limbs.
Swish.
The man sensed the presence and instinctively raised his head. His grim face remained the same even after time had passed.
-I like snakes. I want to meet a man who is like a snake. Entangled snakes do not easily come off.
Anguis Regina’s song flowed from an old television. The picture was blurry and there was a lot of static.
Knock knock.
I pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the man.
“Gabriel.”
I called the man’s name.
The person who protected Giselle Custoria until the end was Gabriel. He was also the head of the 4th security team of G&G Cybernetics.
You’ve made a lot of progress for a gangster from the lower levels, Gabriel.
Gabriel’s eyes were cloudy. He had a hard time coming to his senses.
“It’s me. Luca, Lucius Custoria. Do you remember me?”
A light briefly flashed through my previously hazy pupils.
I calmly waited for Gabriel’s reaction.
“Lou, Ka?”
Gabriel looked at me. His hair and beard were long like a savage’s. Between the tangled hairs, unknown parasites were jumping around.
“… … Let’s get out of here for now.”
“Good, boy.”
Gabriel was in a weakened state. I grabbed him and tried to raise him up. My prosthetic arm vibrated as it exerted its strength.
“Leave me alone, I don’t deserve to live. I am, I am… … a coward, no, a mean, thing.”
“That’s something I’ll have to decide after hearing the story.”
“You are an illusion. My conscience is in your form… … .”
Drool dripped from the corner of Gabriel’s mouth.
“I’m in reality. Drink some water and come to your senses. Do you have any stimulants?”
I stood up and searched the room.
“Lies. You came down from heaven to save me? Hehehe… … .”
I will be in heaven. I will be at the very bottom of hell.
I stopped myself from saying those words, because a cracking sound came from Gabriel’s mouth.
Ugh.
Gabriel’s body suddenly began to tremble. His complexion also turned pale.
“Hey, you… … .”
I grabbed Gabriel’s chin and pulled it down. A broken capsule popped out of his mouth. The liquid was dangerous, just by its purple color.
‘fu*k, fu*k!’
I put my finger down Gabriel’s throat and made him vomit.
“Uww, ugh. Ugh, ugh.”
Gabriel bent down and vomited out the drug, which was diluted in pale stomach acid.
However, Gabriel’s pulse and heartbeat were gradually weakening, as if the drug was being absorbed rather quickly. What was even more annoying was that there was a happy smile on his face.
“You little punk, you, if you come back to life, you’ll be killed by me.”
I clenched my fist hard.
Wow!
The circuits on the back of my hand lit up and the output increased at an incredible rate. Lazuli 21 is a very good body.
I extended my fist and slammed it into the wall.
Kwa- Ang!
The wall shattered as if it had exploded. Concrete fragments flew outward. Pedestrians on the street screamed as they were hit by debris.
There was a hospital next to the drug den. It may not be a hospital that saves people’s lives, but it would have medical staff and facilities.
Knock!
I carried Gabriel on my back and pulled up the output of my legs. The vibrations around the soles of my feet made pebbles float up.
Boom!
I ran straight to the hospital building. It was about twenty meters away, but it was no problem.
Gurrrrrr!
I broke through the outer wall of the hospital and went inside in one go.
“Ugh, ugh! What are you, huh?”
“Cough, cough.”
There were several people who were shocked, but it was none of my business. I kicked and pushed past those who blocked my way and made my way down the hallway.
I went into the operating room after seeing the sign. I saw four medical staff dissecting a piece of flesh that I couldn’t tell if it was a corpse or a living person. I glanced at the operating table and saw that the patient’s stomach was empty, and next to it, there was a freshly removed organ emitting hot steam.
As expected, they were not people who practiced medicine. I wondered if I should use the word ‘medical staff’, but no word came to mind right away.
bang!
I pulled over the empty operating table and placed Gabriel on it.
“Save this man. His vitals are rapidly declining after he inhaled a purple drug in a drug den.”
I explained the situation. The oldest member of the medical team stepped forward.
“Hold on, hold on, this is normal… … .”
I raised my auto-tracking pistol and aimed it at his head.
“If the treatment fails, you will all die here. Well, you won’t feel bad about it. You won’t be the kind of kids who can proudly tell your children about what happened.”
“You don’t seem to know what you’re doing… … .”
The elder asked. He must have a wealth of medical knowledge. I pulled the trigger toward a young-looking man among the medical staff.
bang!
Blood flowed from the face of the man with a bullet hole in his head. He hesitated and fell down helplessly.
“If you keep saying you can’t do it, try throwing up again. I’m going to knock you out one by one.”
I kicked the door leading out into the hallway, warning him.
bang!
The fallen door hit the wall and dented it.
I slowly closed my eyes, temporarily awakening my auditory vision.
Rattle, rattle.
Down the stairs, armed gangsters were coming up. They were the guards for this damned facility. They were hunched against the corners of the walls, their guns cocked.
“Phew.”
I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.
… … The corners of my mouth kept twitching.
Yes, I know that I am frustrated now. Half-hearted violence did not satisfy my desire.
I am a bad person. Fighting and violence are like eating and s*x to me. No, they are even more unbearable desires. My mind cannot stand peace.
I’ve been patient for a long time.
