episode_0017

“Huh…?”

For the past three days, Luna had been combing through Rossboard’s Helstream to find John Doe’s whereabouts, even subduing Ricardo “Bello” Sanchez, the Helstream’s boss, who lay collapsed on the floor. She was flustered by the young man who appeared at the sound of her voice.

Of course, John Doe was of East Asian descent, so he looked much younger than his age, but if one looked closely, one could guess his age. The man in front of her, however, looked as if he had just barely become an adult.

Yet, this man, wearing only a lab coat, knelt as if it were obvious that he was John Doe.

“Wait… wait… Did John Doe, that bastard, tell you to pretend to be him?”

She had obtained highly accurate cooperation from Ricardo after spending a considerable amount of time, so she was certain he was here, but to think he would even set up a look-alike stand-in.

Luna’s anger level rose, but she couldn’t point a gun at the kid in front of her, so she treated him with her own brand of kindness.

“No, I am the John you know.”

“If you keep messing with your Noona like this, even Noona won’t tolerate it…”

There was no time for word games here.

She didn’t want to use aggressive methods on such a greenhorn kid.

As Luna’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light, the man claiming to be John Doe profusely sweated cold sweat and shouted.

“Ah, I’m really him! The John Doe who lives in the shabby Unit 6708, 17th Mega Apartment, where your bar is, who first drank synthetic peach-flavored highball, and who got paizuri from those huge tits when we were drinking together last time!”

“Wh-wh-what, what?!”

The boy’s indignant shouts continued, and at the end, he mentioned a secret rendezvous known only to her and him. Luna desperately covered the boy’s mouth.

“Oh ho~ So you two are like that, Oppa?”

“Ugh… Damn it. Her breasts really are huge…”

But the speed of sound cannot be stopped by something like that.

It was only natural that the fact reached the ears of those inside this cramped clinic.

With each comment spoken, Luna felt a burning heat rise in her face.

If she had a cyberdeck plugged into her head like a Decker, wouldn’t it have displayed a brain overheat warning?

“Besides that, before I leave…”

“Shut up! I’ll believe you, so just shut up!”

Her face crumpled and wrinkled under the grip of the hand covering it, but Luna gritted her teeth, mortified to the point where she couldn’t even care about that.

“You goddamn bastard… What a mess this is…”

“It’s an amusing scene, but how about we start talking seriously now~ Luna Anthony Taylor.”

“…You.”

Luna Anthony Taylor.

Mason Black, who had called her full name in a playful yet flirtatious voice, and Luna’s gazes clashed.

***

In the cramped clinic, I, Mason the clinic owner, Luna who came to find me, and finally, the tin can whose soul had been completely ripped out by Luna, sat facing each other.

“Damn it, friend. If the guys coming to get you were such big shots, you should’ve said something.”

“…I haven’t even been a mercenary for a month yet?”

I never imagined that four people, no matter how chaotic the situation, would completely crush the Helstream, a large gang from Rossboard.

How could I have predicted a situation like an unsellable AI-generated pulp novel, where my ten-year-long best friend, a bartender, was actually a legend in the mercenary world?

“I never imagined that Mason Black would be living in such a flimsy abandoned house. I thought he’d suddenly gone missing and been kidnapped by a corporation.”

“I ran wild too much and drew too much attention~ You’re not in such a different situation yourself, are you?”

Moreover, these two knew each other.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say they were aware of each other because they were deeply involved in the mercenary industry, rather than knowing each other personally.

It goes without saying that mercenaries generally have short lifespans.

Because they gamble with their lives, generational change was very fast, with the exception of a few unique individuals.

So, mercenaries refer to roughly 10 years as one generation and group them that way, and Mason was said to be the techie of a legendary team that was active one or two generations ago.

‘So he’s at least close to 40…’

I was reminded again how terrifying anti-aging procedures are.

Though I wondered if age really meant much in an era where most of one’s body could be replaced with machines.

“So why did John turn into such a kid? Is he really the real John to begin with? He’s not a clone, is he?”

“I guarantee that Oppa is the original. It will require a somewhat lengthy explanation.”

Once I brought up the secret rendezvous known only to us, Luna accepted that I was John Doe for now, but she still couldn’t shake off her suspicious gaze. I awkwardly scratched the back of my head and listened to Mason’s explanation.

It wasn’t largely different from the explanation he gave me, but it was a detailed explanation revealing the mechanism.

A virtual solution injected into my body.

The body is continuously optimized due to ultrafine particles, implemented with technology normally difficult to achieve with modern technology, though it’s unclear whether it’s bio- or cyber-based.

The internal situation was akin to continuously receiving simple procedures that could enhance the body comparable to bioware or even regenerate missing body parts, simply by identifying body tissues as resources, breaking them down, reassembling them, and converting them into energy or new tissue, provided that nutrients were continuously supplied externally.

The explanation continued that the conversion to a younger body was likely because it sought a more efficient form than an adult body, which requires a lot of energy.

“Why did you remove the cyberware?”

“Hmm~ Oppa’s body shrinks, but external inorganic cyberware doesn’t shrink to match the size. Inserting cyberware adjusted to your current body size should be fine, right?”

“Why are you asking it as a question?”

“Well, this is the first time I’ve seen a case like Oppa’s? And besides, there’s no 100% for a techie, you know?”

This utterly unreliable sex bomb is a legendary techie?

But what could I do?

I, who had no eye for that kind of technology, could only nod up and down with a sour expression, agreeing.

“…So, to summarize, you accidentally discovered a prototype drug that a corporation was secretly transporting, accidentally got hit by a bomb, fell, and it entered your body, and accidentally worked normally, and accidentally turned out to be a drug that produced effects unobtainable even with top-tier bio-procedures?”

“Amazing, isn’t it? I’m amazed too.”

Luna, as if the little bit of common sense she had left was gone, clutched her forehead.

“I’m not interested in that kind of procedure, but you got your hands on a crazy item, friend. If it weren’t for my family getting completely trashed because of that, I would’ve congratulated you.”

“Tsk… So what now? The item that needed to be delivered is gone. Should I deliver myself?”

“Oh. That’s a good idea.”

Luna’s sharp gaze pierced Ricardo, who clapped loudly as if he hadn’t thought of that.

It was quite awkward to see a cyborg who looked like he could make a child cry cowering before Luna, who was 10cm shorter than him.

“Absolutely not. If Megacorp finds out about your condition, you’ll definitely be imprisoned and become a test subject.”

“I don’t want to get involved with corporations either. Damn it… I’ve gotten entangled in something troublesome.”

What sin did I commit for God to make me go through something like this?

For me, an atheist (which holds several meanings), it’s truly unfair.

Anyway, I didn’t want to end my life as a test subject kept alive in special solutions in a deep underground lab at the Megacorp headquarters, so my head started to ache.

“Damn it. I haven’t even achieved my dream yet!”

Actually, what percentage of people could achieve their dreams in this shitty city anyway?

“What’s your dream?”

“Lining up bouncy asses on a bed and conducting an orchestra.”

“Just die.”

“Aaargh!! My skull’s broken! It’s 100% broken!”

*Thwack!* I was just joking, but Luna’s fist pounded down on my crown, and I could only grab my head and roll around on the floor.

“And why aren’t you wearing anything underneath!”

“Haaargh! Damn it… I just woke up, you know?!”

After a little commotion, I finally calmed down and wondered what to do next.

“The good news is that the corporation hasn’t moved yet. It means it’s an item that must not be leaked externally by the corporation that received it, to the point where we need to be careful with our actions.”

“In other words, if I’m caught, I’m truly fucked, right?”

I wanted to ask her to deny it, but Luna only nodded, not denying it. What could Luna do?

This damn bad luck was the problem.

Still, if I were to find a good point, perhaps it was that all the pain vanished and my body felt as light as if it could fly.

It might just be thanks to having all the heavy subcutaneous armor plates removed, but looking at it positively, there was this good point.

“Hmm~ The location data transmitted by the case Oppa brought was cut off, so they’ll be secretly tracking it. They might think it’s damaged, but the voice contract I exchanged with the corporate soldiers has already been uploaded to the corporation’s database, so they’ll know about Oppa’s existence. As the prime suspect who stole the black case.”

“Shit.”

I wished they would just think it was destroyed, but unfortunately, Megacorp isn’t a joke.

They could upscale the footage from corporate surveillance satellites and know that I entered the transport vehicle, and they could also track the Eclipse Point resident code registered in my neural socket.

Of course, such actions against a mere civilian would be a waste of time and capital, but if Megacorp gets serious, they’d have the ability to track me to the ends of the earth.

“It would be best to lay low for a while and observe the situation.”

Luna had no intention of selling me out to the corporation and devised a plan to hide me.

At that sight, with tears of emotion, I couldn’t help but have my erection spring up in homage to Luna’s tits.

“…Why are you putting it up?!”

“Ah, a mistake.”

“Maybe I should just hand you over…”

Avoiding Luna’s gaze, as she didn’t hold back her chilling words, I asked.

“But where should I hide? I don’t know any hideouts that are safe from the corporations.”

Even if I were to lay low, this was the problem.

Where on earth was I supposed to hide?

Luna’s bar?

If they started investigating me, wouldn’t Luna, who I’m acquainted with, be the first one they search?

Luna groaned, agonizing over it, and then Mason raised his hand.

“How about staying here, Oppa? This place has soundproof and protective facilities, so no one can find it unless they know it?”

“…What’s your game?”

Luna fiercely showed her vigilance towards Mason, who had suddenly volunteered to help, but Mason’s pink eyes glinted as he moved his facial muscles into a wide smile.

“I’m just personally interested in Oppa~ I’m curious about the solution’s identity too… And I’ll even re-do your cyberware procedure, modified to your current size. How does that sound?”

“What is it? Am I going to get my organs stolen?”

The conditions were so good that I wondered if I’d wake up on a Megaseed fishing boat, but still, it was a gamble worth taking.

“Would you believe me if I said the adjustments to your installed cyberware were so crude they were unbearable to look at?”

“…”

Luna’s expression soured.

“Oppa, it’s morning~”

“Oh, a pre-pack. What’s the occasion?”

I looked at the pre-pack on the table, consisting of synthetic goose liver, pre-made sauce, and a mashed starch mixture, and my mouth watered.

It was the fifth day of living with Mason.

I was enjoying a satisfying life with pre-pack meals that couldn’t compare to the kibble that came out every day.