Ch.282Work Record No. 040 – Faith Alone (2)

“The method isn’t particularly special. It wasn’t one brilliant, genius idea that turned the tables… They say Fitz & Morrison reached some kind of agreement with their competitors.”

I did wonder how Enzo knew all these things… If I had to guess… someone from the Las Vegas Strip probably told him.

There was a conspiracy targeting them. It was a matter of the company’s survival, and they needed supplies. Was Enzo’s nickname “Cash Alchemist” really that famous? I’d only heard it within the company.

Then perhaps… Enzo might have a colleague working in Las Vegas. He seemed to know the chaotic internal situation in Las Vegas quite well, and in such circumstances, it would make sense to seek help.

But he probably wouldn’t have much attachment to it. When suppressing NFD, Enzo didn’t show any emotional fluctuation. Or is his poker face just so impressive that I can’t read him?

Either way, it was too early to jump to conclusions, and in such situations, I’ve always made the same choice. To trust. I had no desire to betray others in my mind out of fear they might betray me.

“Since they want to destroy the Las Vegas Strip, which operates contrary to Fitz & Morrison’s management philosophy, while keeping the vested interests… they’ll probably have a proxy handle the matter and just replace the operating entity.”

That operating entity would be more friendly to Fitz & Morrison than the current management, at least less irritating to the eye… and might even station Fitz & Morrison’s forces at an excessively high cost.

Fitz & Morrison would provide them with administrative services and receive money in return… It’s just a facade, but at least it would draw less criticism than swallowing them whole.

“Ah. It sounds like you want me to take on that proxy role… but I just heard about this? I’m also someone who couldn’t possibly know about the internal situation of the Las Vegas Strip…”

I deliberately take a step back to draw out Enzo’s reaction. As we arrive at the exhibition hall parking lot, Enzo smiles as he releases the steering wheel, handing control over to the parking management AI.

“That’s unlike you. I meant that I could be that liaison for you. An old colleague shamelessly needs to borrow my hand in this situation… Yes, they contacted me.”

Every word was a clue. A clue that he himself used to be in the Las Vegas Strip. A clue that he was no longer there, and that they had parted on bad terms, bad enough to use the phrase “shameless.”

“I don’t understand why everyone wants to see me kill something.”

Though I said it jokingly with a laugh, Enzo leisurely responded with the phrase I often use.

“You’re someone with expertise but no hobby. Since you have no hobby, one can feel at ease watching you, and since you have expertise, watching you is quite enjoyable.”

I get out of the car after the automatic parking is complete. I put Hubris back over my shoulder and headed into the exhibition hall, keeping Small Evil inconspicuously tucked away. The theme of the exhibition was… technologies of the new era.

I quickly scan the security personnel at the exhibition hall. I spot several Lobsters, patrolling in a somewhat loose formation. It’s obvious which mega-corporation is hosting this exhibition.

Whether these were truly technologies of the new era or attempts to recover technologies lost during that war wasn’t clear… but it seemed to be the latter. Many of the technologies were quite ominous.

I frowned just looking at technology that could inject specific images or knowledge into people’s minds using minimal electric current, but Enzo shook his head while showing me a prototype.

The prototype… looked like a small mine. It seemed that if you attached something like that to a ceiling or the floor above, it would spread current around. It could be considered as interfering with brain waves.

“It’s quite a gentle device, despite your expression. The original pre-war technology that this is derived from was actually meant for space exploration.”

We live in a world where many people are terrified at the mere sight of anything being launched into the sky, let alone space exploration. While many satellites have been deployed, people are no longer sent up.

The very term “space development” feels like a relic of the past. Perhaps this era, despite being called an era of high speed, harbors too many taboos and fears.

Even considering that, I couldn’t understand how mind control technology could be used for righteous purposes, but Enzo, with a kind smile, provided quite a reasonable example.

“For instance… imagine controlling someone through a communication method that takes two hours. Crime reports come back two hours after the crime occurs, and when you send punishment, they receive it two hours later.”

Enzo was someone who had experienced at least a bit of the time before that war. Anyone who can be open-minded where I am narrow-minded can be my teacher. Right now, I decided to make Enzo my teacher.

“You might be able to maintain control with a two-hour delay, but what about two years? Would you rely on the morality and goodwill of the person on the other end of the communication line for those entire two years? Or…”

Enzo pulled up a small holographic image from his prosthetic hand. They were images that seemed to symbolize peace and love, along with a few simple principles he had written on the spot.

“Would you install such images in their minds to prevent such actions at the source? There is potential for abuse, true, but sometimes this is the only method available. In short…”

“You mean this exhibition is full of items you want to hand over to the Boogeyman for hunting down the Las Vegas Strip that Enzo so despises?”

Honestly, I couldn’t imagine what I could do with these tools. I had no desire to brainwash people. And if this only showed images, I even questioned whether it could be considered brainwashing.

But it was good to consider. I couldn’t just go anywhere and meet people and talk to them. Some people are naturally wary and reject strangers without reason.

It could be used to build bridges. If I injected images related to me into people who didn’t know me at all, and then I appeared as depicted in those images… they might be more inclined to listen to me.

After all, the Las Vegas Strip is in disarray, and the only reason they haven’t been threatened is because the gangs around them are spread out even more chaotically. Could I use this as a starting point to unite them?

It was still uncertain whether I would take on the job, but that seemed like the approach I could take. Laying groundwork with such a device, leading one gang, creating a winnable fight.

The fact that the Las Vegas Strip divided labor for all its members to survive fundamentally meant there were cracks. There would be vulnerable points everywhere. Is the Las Vegas Strip unique in this?

Hollow Creek is the same. While they seem united under the name of religion, the inquisitors who receive protection in exchange for some oppression and the cult leader are complete strangers.

And if the Eves, the cult leader’s lovers, can be abandoned… then they are strangers to the cult leader. If people cannot see each other as equals, they are all strangers, and that divide can be exploited.

It might become a good educational experience… but not right away. Fitz & Morrison would need time to plan, and finding suitable targets for image injection would also take considerable time.

As I continued to formulate ideas in my head, Enzo’s voice returned. It was a voice that seemed to quietly fade away. It certainly wasn’t the roar of a beast… but it still gave me chills.

“I don’t hate it that much. Perhaps I could forget about it and live on, or find vicarious satisfaction by caring for other gang victims. That’s how I’ve been living. But…”

A layer of coldness was added to Enzo’s fading voice. He seemed even more calm. Whether the nervousness that would make his voice tremble had disappeared, or the reason for trembling had disappeared, I couldn’t tell.

“At the moment of death, I don’t have enough affection left to forgive them, nor enough loyalty to save someone who should die. If they’re going to die anyway, I’d like to have played a part in it. That’s about it.”

I didn’t press him about what had happened. Just as he brought me here and told me these things for purely personal reasons, I would accept the job for purely personal reasons.

“Even if such a conversation did happen, it would take months to implement. Can you be patient until then? People obsessed with revenge… tend to get hasty.”

I’d seen it so many times that I wasn’t sure whose example to give. But Enzo still showed his kind smile as he moved on to the next booth. In between, his voice leaked out.

“I know well enough that some dishes taste better when eaten cold, so don’t worry. I’m just happy that someone like Arthur is putting effort into such matters.”

It’s a joyful thing and a good opportunity for me too. Although I had decided to kill a mega-corporation, I had never actually seen one die. This would be my first attempt.

And the fact that I might be able to make that first attempt with a mega-corporation backing me… felt like quite an enticing plan. It’s the best opportunity I could grasp.

Enzo, for someone who had experienced something, wasn’t particularly aggressive about revenge… but he wasn’t passive either. He was a type of person I’d never seen before, proceeding methodically like daily work.

As I continued looking around the exhibition hall a bit longer, I could see a direction forming. Until we saw the image injector, we had been naturally wandering around the exhibition hall, but now we were gradually heading toward the center.

And at the center of the exhibition hall… there was Fitz & Morrison, as expected. I could see what appeared to be a sister product to the Calliope module I was wearing, a voice module prominently displayed.

The Calliope module inflicts pain. It was literally a suppression weapon that could cause quite terrible pain at close range through a combination of high-frequency and ultrasonic waves… but that one was the exact opposite.

It was a voice module that started with the voice and pronunciation most people generally prefer, and then used a program installed in the computing assistant to read the other person’s reactions and produce the voice they most want to hear.

Compared to the image injector, it seemed quite modest, but still appeared to be a fairly useful tool. Even if the other person knows you’re using it… that could be seen as a kind of sincerity in itself.

Enzo slowly, once again with a somewhat fragile-looking smile, pretended to stutter a bit… creating an opportunity for me to naturally make contact with Fitz & Morrison.

As he approached the booth and told the experience staff his name, I wondered where the person who had been speaking so fluently until just now had disappeared to.

“Inz, Enzo Casetti with a reservation. I’m the negotiation representative from Yagyeong, a mercenary staffing company that’s an official partner of Belvedere, and this kind of module is… well, a dream come true for negotiators.”

The Fitz & Morrison representative saw me as an employee of Yagyeong who had come with him. When I naturally let him check my freelancer license… his eyes widened noticeably.

If I wanted to seize the opportunity, all I needed to do was casually mention to Mr. James, who would be handling security for the event, some information I had supposedly picked up somewhere. The choice was in my hands.