episode_0051

The night view of Neo Seoul really has a strange charm.

I’ve gotten used to the neon signs that are so flashy that they hurt my eyes, but I can’t help but look away every time they emit such a strong light.

Ironically, it was impossible to take in the night view of Neo Seoul at a glance even if you rode the giant Ferris wheel. Neo Seoul was endlessly filled with skyscrapers decorated with neon signs. Even on a fairly tall Ferris wheel, you had to tilt your head up to see the endless rooftops.

‘When I see a night view like this, I feel like the saying that Seoul’s real day only begins when night falls is not a lie…’

Looking at the splendid night view of Neo Seoul, I felt like I wanted to live in this city forever. The splendid billboards that filled the huge buildings that seemed endless were still showing advertisements that stimulated people’s desires.

There is nothing they can’t do if they can sell something. A woman’s chest, a man’s abs, even an act that looks like they’re having sex. It doesn’t matter. The advertisements are so flashy that you can feel the madness of the company, and anyone’s eyes are stolen.

But surprisingly, Ji-hoon could now see the advertisement with indifference. He had become dull. His senses had gradually become distant from those of a 21st century person, and he had now become someone who was somewhat suited to the cyberpunk world.

“Jia.”

“Yeah, Dad.”

“You… . What do you think when you look at Neo Seoul from here?”

Ji-ah surprisingly didn’t say anything and just blinked. She was wearing a black uniform and stared blankly at the night view for a while. It was as if she was checking various points to solve a given task, so Ji-hoon felt a little bitter.

“That’s weird.”

“What is it?”

“There are many hungry and struggling people.”

Jia points somewhere with her finger. There was a darkness there that didn’t fit in with this crazy, flashy Neo-Seoul. Unlike Incheon, there wasn’t even a small flame rising from the drum.

The only lights were small cigarettes that glowed like stars in the night sky, or the lights from computers and electronic devices. Ji-hoon could imagine how many people there were in that darkness.

“Houses. There are a lot of them. There are so many houses where no one lives, that Zia used them when she was on a mission.”

Ji-ah spoke and pointed somewhere. It was a huge apartment. It was large and substantial, and the exterior looked fine, so there seemed to be no problem. Ji-hoon looked at the apartment carefully and immediately knew what Ji-ah was trying to say.

“No one really buys it.”

It was completely empty. If you look at it from the first floor, it looked like there were a few households living there, but in this huge apartment building with over 50 floors, there were not a single house with the ‘lights on’. It was not even midnight, and it was just about 10 o’clock, so many lights were off.

Ji-hoon felt bitterness in the sight that perfectly fit the word ‘cheesy’ and drank the carbonated drink he was holding in his hand.

‘Because Ji-ah isn’t human. Is it because she can’t help but see things like that before anything flashy and flashy? That’s so strange.”

Ji-hoon, who had finished thinking about it, hugged his daughter’s waist to make the most of the date.

“Still, Ji-ah. Later, when Dad becomes a successful person in Neo Seoul, he can live in that fancy building over there. Instead of living in the basement like he does now.”

“I like the basement too. It’s cozy. It’s safe.”

Jia speaks and smiles slightly. It was a smile I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Killing people, reporting to mom, washing up and sleeping is more important than anything else. Jia likes being with her dad and mom.”

“Well, of course. Dad likes playing with Zia too.”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

Ji-ah smiled slightly and reached down to grab Ji-hoon’s hand. Unlike Ji-hoon, she was not looking at the night view of Neo Seoul, but at the clone bodyguards of the future company running around Vassar World.

“Dad, let’s play tag with Jia.”

“Tag?”

How out of the blue. Ji-hoon thought so and looked at where Ji-ah’s eyes had landed and he could immediately understand what she meant.

* * * * *

[LV.10 -> LV.11 achieved!]

‘What… why did you level up?’

Ji-hoon was confused, but now he couldn’t click on the HUD to see why he had leveled up.

Because a loud gunshot had just been heard next to him and he was running while holding someone’s hand.

“Even if I thought about it, really…! This is a ridiculous plan”

Next to him, panting, was a girl wearing a black school uniform, but it wasn’t Jia. Even the stockings were the exact same color, but it wasn’t Jia.

“Dad! Here you go.”

Seeing Ji-ah raising her hand from afar, Ji-hoon quickly lets go of the girl’s hand that is holding his and runs to Ji-ah.

“Here it is! Grab it!!!’

The clone bodyguards of the future company, armed with pistols, blocked Ji-hoon’s path, but it was no problem. The ‘pet girl’ who had been holding Ji-hoon’s hand up until now quickly shot them in the head.

Without spilling a single drop of blood, Ji-hoon quickly grabbed Ji-ah’s hand.

“Dad. Next time, hold hands with 156 and run all the way here.”

“Okay. But are there any kids who got hurt?”

“Yeah, no.”

Ji-ah said without a second of hesitation. Ji-hoon checked with his sunglasses that none of the ‘pet girls’ who came here were hurt and were carrying out Ji-hoon’s orders perfectly.

“Haa, seriously.. Future company kids.. I was just trying to have fun.”

Ji-hoon clicks his tongue and touches the HUD with his hand.

“Iyeah-00156 will move with me from now on.”

After entering a very simple command, a human’s footsteps were heard and a pet girl appeared, holding a gun in one hand. Faster than that, Zia jumped from her spot, put her hand on the wall, made a thud! sound, and climbed the wall to somewhere.

“Okay, so it’s going according to plan for now…”

Ji-hoon and Ji-ah’s plan was simple. They called the ‘pet girls’ in black uniforms here to confuse the clone guards. They foolishly did not react to Lee Ji-ah, who was wearing ‘only a uniform’.

Of course, if she were to wander around openly, she would be caught, so Lee Ji-ah had to climb up the walls, the roof, and move through the employee-only passageway…

Anyway, Jia moves first and takes up position. She picks up the approaching clone guards and uses the sniper rifle to deal with them. Once she is able to move, Jihoon holds the pet girl’s hand and runs to the next point.

Ji-hoon was a little worried because the pet girls who had once joined him were all guarding the place where they had separated and dealing with the clones of the future company was part of the operation.

‘But I guess there’s nothing I can do…’

According to Jia, the hardware and software of the clone guards were so poor that they could never win against the ‘pet girls’. Jihoon wondered if that was really true, but now was not the time to be picky.

“Dad, I’m ready.”

It was a message from Gia.

Apparently when I first got here, I couldn’t call 112 or access the internet. The internet access still wasn’t working, but surprisingly, I was able to make calls and receive messages.

‘This might also be an effect of the upgrade I did last time…’

Now, no matter how much I thought and pondered, I couldn’t find the answer. Immediately after, I stopped thinking and started running towards the point that Zia had marked on the HUD.

“Master, there is an enemy at 3 o’clock.”

“Can you fight back!”

“No. I will engage. Master, please keep running”

Pulling out the submachine gun on his waist, 156 crouched down and did a sliding tackle, naturally using the vending machine as cover.

“Catch me!!!!”

“Catch that guy right now!!!”

The clone guards ran towards Ji-hoon again today, screaming, but they couldn’t do anything. There was 156 hiding behind the vending machine and Zia supporting them with a sniper rifle from afar.

They died as easily as they were born, and most of the visitors who were happily touring Vassar World were not surprised even in this situation where an open gunfight was taking place.

There were also instances where Ji-Hoon would run away to a corner or a corridor without engaging in an open gunfight in front of them, and they didn’t seem to care much about the bang! bang! gunshot sound that echoed throughout the room.

‘I thought these people would scream and run away…’

Ji-hoon clicks his tongue. It was Ji-hoon’s idea to try to minimize the harm to civilians. If he had known that they would be this indifferent, it might have been better to take one or two civilians who were passing by as hostages and use them as shields before running away, as Ji-ah had said.

“Dad, come here. Now, you can run over there.”

Zia, holding a sniper rifle that looked heavy at first glance with one hand, pointed to the entrance of the splendidly lit Vassar World with her left hand.

“What? There’s no security guard? Wasn’t there one when you came in today?”

“Yeah, there was. But I think the clone guys from Future Corporation knocked me out.”

“Then what do the Vassar kids do?”

Are you an idiot? Ji-hoon was momentarily dumbfounded, but Ji-ah shrugged her shoulders as if she didn’t know. There seemed to be some kind of story behind it, but Ji-hoon couldn’t figure it out and didn’t want to find out.

‘Come to think of it, Sonagi said that Vassar Corporation was a Japanese company… Can’t you protest even if they make a mess like this? No, that can’t be the case…’

Even after thinking about it, I still don’t know. Ji-hoon scratched his head once and Ji-ah grabbed Ji-hoon’s hand.

“Dad. From now on, I’m going to run past those people over there, over there, over there, over there, and all the way to the entrance.”

Although Jia only used the word ‘there’ 5 times, it was not a problem because it was clearly marked on Jihoon’s sunglasses and HUD.

“Wait a minute, are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s okay. They’re all famous people. Businessmen, rich people. You can’t kill them by mistake. ”

“Well… if the clones go around killing anyone, the future company will go bankrupt.”

Ji-hoon nodded and grabbed Ji-ah’s hand. After hearing Ji-ah count 3, 2, 1, he started running, putting strength into his legs first.

Ji-ah put strength into her legs to keep up with Ji-hoon’s running. She was holding a sniper rifle in one hand and keeping watch over the surroundings in case of an emergency.

“Hey, he’s running away! Catch… Aaak!”

From afar, the clone guards pointed at Ji-hoon and Jia with their hands, but they did not attack. The pet girls who had been waiting in the dark took care of them and showed a sense of humor by dragging the bodies away and disposing of them.

“One person..! Two people…! I’m sorry, Grandma!”

Jihoon ran towards the entrance while checking the people that Ji-ah had taken pictures of one by one. As he had heard, they were either well-off or famous, so there were always quite a few people around them.

Thanks to that, the red dots moving to target Ji-hoon and Ji-ah were not easily shot.

“…It’s over now.”

The moment the last person is in front of her, Ji-ah pulls the trigger without hesitation. Peek! Even though she was wearing a silencer, the sound was quite loud. Naturally, people looked at Ji-hoon and Ji-ah, but what could they do?

The snipers on the rooftop were dealt with like that. Ji-hoon and Ji-ah didn’t move among the people for no reason. The snipers guarding the entrance to the building were all subdued by Ji-ah’s shots.

“Okay. Everyone worked hard.. Haa, take care of it yourself…”

Ji-hoon really gave the order to take care of everything and go home, and he walked out of Vassar World holding hands with Jia.

“Dad. What are we going to do at home now?”

Ji-ah, who was asking innocently, had no guilt at all about killing someone just now. Ji-hoon felt the same way, so it was not a situation where he could say anything.

“Well… Let’s talk to Sonagi first.”

Since the attack was aimed at her, something might have happened to Sonagi as well.

Let’s go back to the basement, to Hwalbindang, and sort out the situation. Ji-hoon thought as he decided to go home for now.

* * * * *

“So… So, why are you both covered in blood?”

“I went to Vassar World with my dad.”

Ji-hoon, who was standing in front of Ji-ah who answered so innocently and So-na-gi who was speechless because she was so dumbfounded, calmly raised his hand.

“Nagiya. You called me Mom, so from now on, call me Dad.. I just promised you.”

“Really…! I told you to tell me in advance!!!! Kim Ji Hoon!”

Sonagi shouted and raised both hands to hit Jihoon on the back.

“Do you know how much of a fuss those Future Enterprise guys were making when they came looking for us today?! You piece of shit..! Didn’t I tell you to stay home?! Didn’t I?!”

Ji-hoon couldn’t say anything to Sonagi, who was hitting his body and screaming honestly.