Ch.128Work Record 020 – Cyberpunk Action Drama (4)

After taking a deep breath, I play the teaser video. First, a pastoral and peaceful melody begins to flow—quite different from the usual image of Heroism & Hope.

The advertisement’s setting is a garden. It’s more splendid and beautifully decorated than even Farmers Inc.’s indoor gardens, suggesting it’s one of N-Enter’s artificial gardens. Setting-wise, it might be from N-Enter.

When I think of N-Enter, I immediately recall their dispute with Farmers Inc. I can still vividly remember the face of that mercenary who tried to resist until the end, saying there wouldn’t be a second chance.

At the same time, I have good memories too. N-Enter was the company that created that pure white island in virtual reality where Eve’s memories of Creek were erased.

If everything were simply gray, I could just turn off my concerns and say it was always that way. But for me now, black and white were too distinct.

On screen, a man wearing the same costume as me tends to a garden. As he leisurely trims virtual trees with garden shears, a narrator with refined pronunciation speaks.

“The job of Gardner, codename for ___ from the ‘Gardeners’ division of ___, is simple. He tends gardens. Shall we see how gardens are created with Gardner?”

The music would be more fitting for a public service announcement from Farmers Inc.’s Wasteland Restoration Institute. The man on screen lifts large garden shears. He faces an overgrown tree.

As the shear blades gently part, a criminal’s head is severed. The image of Gardner holding two high-frequency blades like scissors appears, and the background flickers.

It alternates between garden and city. The city displays police lines with an unknown company logo stating, “This is the Gardeners’ operational area.” The garden remains peaceful.

“Protruding branches must be cut. No garden exists for just one tree. After a few snips, we have a clean, well-trimmed tree.”

With each cut of the shears, the gentle vibration of high-frequency blades mingles with screams. The high-pitched screams abruptly end with the penetrating sound of the vibrating blades.

So they made this in just half a day. I continue watching the video in disbelief. After surveying the garden with satisfaction, Gardner makes a displeased grunt at something.

It was some unidentifiable weed. I might have seen it during the localized dispute between Farmers Inc. and N-Enter. Honestly, all weeds looked the same to me.

“Oh dear. It’s mint—the garden’s arch-enemy. No problem for Gardner, though. Gardner?”

The Gardner on screen nods briefly, bends down, and grabs the mint. He pulls out a criminal’s head along with the spine. He shakes the mint root, extracted without damage.

“If any residue remains, mint grows back. It’s quite resilient. Such persistent weeds require persistent gardeners, and heinous crimes require…”

The virtual reality flickers again before shutting off completely. It fades out slowly, showing a gardener standing with just one high-frequency blade on a blood-soaked street.

Soon, only the eight letters spelling “Gardener” remain on screen. That’s how the teaser ends. Shouldn’t this Gardner character be the first one locked up? His mental state is terribly abnormal.

Security teams don’t need to feel guilt when killing criminals. It’s something that must be done. However, this absence of guilt should come through reality, not fantasy.

One must clearly recognize that what they’re doing is killing, and that one person without the right to kill has determined another person is worth killing.

That’s just like a megacorporation’s patent department brainwashed by holographic gardens… Ah, right. That’s the feeling they wanted. They might have created the perfect advertisement in just half a day. I sigh lightly.

Reactions generally fell into two categories. Serena’s fans were somewhat anxious.

They wondered why a new character was being introduced so close to the new year—was it an attempt to use her to boost the new character’s recognition? Is screen time the issue? It could appear that way.

Among megacorporations, the entertainment industry is particularly susceptible to customer influence. It’s like a wave. You can ride it, change its course, or block it, but the wave remains powerful.

If that’s the case, I should study up a bit. Neglecting research on my work just because I personally don’t like it would be a failing grade. It’s inefficient.

At the very least, I can see how Heroism & Hope handles this public opinion. The most common word I see is “bundling.”

People don’t want to see someone they like being used as a tool. However, this probably isn’t bundling. The target markets are different.

On screen, Serena plays the role of a model student. She speaks articulately, occasionally shows her charm with energy, but becomes utterly serious during missions—that kind of model student.

But the Gardner character I’m playing is the complete opposite. He doesn’t reveal his face or name, has a censored past, and mercilessly slices criminals—an overwhelming presence.

So the markets will likely develop an antagonistic symbiotic relationship. The company will probably pit Serena Vanderbilt against Gardner… as long as they don’t encroach on each other’s market share. I contemplate this.

I have no talent for marketing. I’m just extrapolating based on the relationship between Belvedere and Fitts & Morrison. I shouldn’t get too immersed in the entertainment industry, but I also shouldn’t just take the money and run. That would be a waste of time.

The flight was mostly uneventful. When I heard a commotion from economy class, I grabbed my small evil-extractor and went to check, only to find a Pathfinder in-flight security officer had already crushed a criminal with his prosthetic knee.

I guess I don’t always need to perform miracles and save the world. I mutter this insincere, pretentious thought to myself. Organizing my thoughts with such pretentious ideas has been a long-standing habit.

The journey was uneventful and unremarkable. Not so for my work. I take a breath of Detroit’s air. It smells of blood, happiness, death, affluence, show business, and life. A discordant place.

Approaching the airport exit, I notice an unusual boundary line: “Everything beyond this line is on camera.” Whether this is entertainment industry humor or truth, I step across.

A Heroism & Hope vehicle was already waiting for me. I load my weapon cases and get in.

The city has a grayish tone. Not the bright smoggy gray of Los Angeles, but an ominous color with thick, dark clouds covering the entire sky.

Clouds sometimes shine with various colors. This is due to the black skyscrapers and city lights reflecting off the cloud layer. It’s a somewhat stifling landscape.

As I stare at this oppressive cityscape, the driver speaks up.

“Weather’s strange, isn’t it? Since this was a city full of industrial complexes, they’re using climate control drones from some bankrupt entertainment company to keep the sky gray—they think it suits the city. If you need sunlight…”

Several advertisements for tanning services appear in my field of vision. The penthouse will probably have decent facilities. Humans can’t survive without sunlight, especially children.

We weren’t heading directly to Heroism & Hope. The car makes a wide turn, showing me a boundary line: “Beyond this point, you will not be protected by Heroism & Hope’s security team.”

Citizens would want to live inside that line, while criminals would think three times before infiltrating. This seems to be what they mean by “somewhat separated.”

“This is the boundary! Usually companies invest heavily in mobile units instead of dividing areas like this, but Heroism & Hope… how should I put it? They breed criminals for their productions.”

“Breeding” is the perfect word. After showing me the boundary, the driver finally drops me off at Heroism & Hope headquarters. He waves briefly.

“We make what people want! Whatever that may be. Have a good day, freelancer!”

Around the headquarters, I see some children walking home from school without armored school buses or anything similar. The security here is certainly excellent.

On a large holographic billboard, I see Serena without her reinforced suit. It’s a perfume advertisement she would likely never use.

Everyone probably knows this, but seeing such a large advertisement suggests that “City protector Serena Vanderbilt uses this too” is a simple yet effective marketing strategy in this city.

Inside the building, I take the elevator alone. I try to press the button for the mercenary management department that arranges mercenary contracts, but the button remains inactive as the elevator selects its own destination—the top floor.

The top floor of this branch headquarters building. There must be a penthouse. As soon as I exit the elevator at the top floor, I see the face of my handler.

He gestures lightly toward the now-completed costume, like an artist introducing his masterpiece.

“Thanks to our marketing team’s efforts, Gardner should become quite a decent character. Though he’s a temporary character without official background, conceptually he’s a patent department operative who survived a failed mission at N-Enter.”

Just as I expected. After confirming that I’m leisurely examining the costume, the handler clears his throat lightly and continues.

“We’ve done our best. I was wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow’s character debut…”

I recall what I thought about on the plane. They wanted a plan, and I could provide one. The goal is to show that Gardner is the complete opposite of Serena’s character.

“Please ask two regulars to bring detonators that can trigger bombs in the extras’ heads. And arrange for reinforcement of regulars and extras in case we’re discovered.”

I take a deep breath. My mind was working clearly, just like when I was revived by the Chairman’s hand and caught Manager Herbert Laurel. I calmly review the rest of my plan.

“I’ve never worked in the entertainment industry, so this might just be armchair theory, but personally… I think Gardner should be the complete opposite of Serena. That way, our market shares won’t overlap.”

“Not encroaching on Serena’s market share was indeed our top priority. Interesting. Seeing that you want detonators, I assume you plan to use them. I’d like to hear more.”

Good. I’ve cleared the first hurdle. At least my plan wasn’t so naive that it didn’t deserve consideration. After taking a deep breath, I carefully packaged what I had understood about them.

“Of course I’ll detonate them. The extras must know this is entertainment, right? No one would expect heads to explode inside the camera angle. They’ll believe they have a chance to fight.”

I need to do this like when I killed Jeffrey. If they understand, I need to use that understanding. Rather than following someone, I need to make them follow me. Faster. I repeat this to myself again.

“Then I’ll betray that expectation. I’ll dispose of the extras easily, and while the regulars think the high-frequency blade isn’t my main weapon, I’ll slice them with it. But…”

“You won’t just use the high-frequency blade, will you?”

“Ah, yes. Of course not. The training program you sent included methods to kill people using anything at hand. I’ll handle all but one using weapons I’ve acquired from them.”

I paused there, as they would naturally know the rest. The important thing is creating the scene. The handler nods briefly, seemingly approving.

“And you’ll properly stage the scene while cutting down the last regular, correct? Have you seen the teaser video?”

“Should I finish with two blades crossed like the garden shears in the teaser?”

“If possible, please do. A vicious, rule-breaking, ruthless solution! I like it. The temporary character might get quite a spotlight, but…”

He weighs something in his mind before continuing. Having a plan accepted is always gratifying, no matter where or when.

“Let’s first see how big a market share a character like Gardner can bring in. And… I’d like you to attend the next episode meeting. Not all freelancers are like you, Mr. Arthur…”

I recall what I thought on the plane. They wanted adaptability, and I could provide it. My purpose is to show that Gardner is the complete opposite of Serena’s character.

“I think my greatest strength is adaptability. I’m not here just for the money, right? I’ll help improve city security by assisting Serena, and there’s much to learn.”

The handler chuckled briefly at my confident statement. His gloomy, powerful eyes began to look directly at me.

“Very well. I’ll assign you episodes for catching real criminals, not just extras or regulars. And I’m not sure if we’ve brought in an unknown freelancer or a freelancer who’s still unknown.”

“Either way, an unknown freelancer is an unknown freelancer. I look forward to working with you during my two-week stay in Detroit!”

I kept my answer vague and received the costume. It’s now my outfit. My job. The assigned task will be handled cleanly. As always.

I shouldn’t get too immersed, but I needed to control the situation. Only then could I choose how much to get involved when immersion became inevitable. Though I was on a business trip, there was much to learn.

Still, my immediate concern was the debut scene. I created a virtual reality set resembling that press conference hall. I identified the positions of the regulars sent by Heroism & Hope and trained.

After five or six hours, I could get a feel for it, and after eight hours, I could draw a definite outline. The process of drawing that outline was incredibly enjoyable.

What had been a double-digit expected hit count just moments ago dropped to a single digit simply by adjusting the order in which I handled the regulars. The improvement process itself was enjoyable.

Of course, the Heroism & Hope handler who saw me locked in virtual reality training for eight straight hours looked at me like I was a madman… but that wasn’t a big problem. Tomorrow was approaching.