episode_0025

“That’s why I put a gun in that pig’s mouth!!”

Sonagi pulls a gun from his waistband and proudly mimics what he did to the fat ripperdoc down the street.

It may have seemed a bit extreme, but no one screamed because carrying a gun wasn’t that unusual in Neo Seoul.

“So, that pig said he’d give you money so please look after him?”

“Yeah, he really cried and screamed and screamed and begged for someone to save him.”

“Well, there are a lot of women who hate that guy anyway.”

“Yeah, it’s so nice to be able to complete requests and make money without getting blood on my hands.”

Sonagi snorts and claps her hands. The request she received was to ‘snap out a scolding.’ In this world where the police practically do no work, many people ask the troubleshooter this kind of request.

“Then, when I get home later, I can send you the brain data or something?”

“That’s right, I kicked that pig’s butt, threatened him, and slapped him, and it was recorded in detail. Then the client sees it and is happy. It’s a very realistic experience.”

“Huh…”

Imagine a loner beating up a bully. Does that feel more realistic? Ji-hoon scratched his head, feeling a bit strange.

“Hey.. Then do you have a request like that? A really pretty or famous woman…”

“You want me to rape you and send you brain data? Of course. I’m a woman, so I don’t have any…”

The streets of Neo Seoul were already sparkling brightly. Looking up at the sky, you could see countless buildings packed tightly together like matchboxes.

What on earth are you going to do when the wind blows or an earthquake strikes? The sight of skyscrapers so huge that it makes you sigh.

‘It can’t even be compared to the 63 Building or something like that…’

The place Ji-hoon and Sonagi entered was also a huge building. Sonagi said, ‘It’s a little old,’ but it wasn’t like that to Ji-hoon. First of all, it had 70 floors. This 70-story building was very tightly packed with numerous restaurants.

Yes, Ji-hoon and So-na-gi came here to eat dinner after working all day today.

“But, there was a time when a woman asked a man to rape me.”

“What? Rape?”

“Yeah. Ah.. but that’s not a story that guys would like, right? After putting a cyberware made into my body, I go to that handsome, unlovable guy’s butt… .”

“Miss… I’ll be eating soon…”

When Ji-hoon is startled, Sonagi laughs out loud. She playfully waves her hands up and down, then grabs her boyfriend Ji-hoon’s hand.

“How is it, Neo, living in Seoul is harder than you thought?”

“I’m trying to do something… something I never thought I’d do. It’s hard, though…”

“Don’t you think you can’t live at all? Don’t worry. I made a lot of money today.”

Sonagi, who was touching and caressing Jihoon’s hand like a treasure, let out a short snort.

‘…I wonder if I can get a special privilege of a program that can read minds later.’

Although it would be a disadvantage to have to keep looking at your smartphone while talking to Sonagi, Jihoon really wanted to know what Sonagi was thinking in front of him.

I wanted to know how sincere Sonagi was to thinking of me as her boyfriend.

‘There are no new quests… I arrived in Neo Seoul. Are the quests over?’

Ji-hoon was a little confused, but he wasn’t stressed because Sonagi was acting cute, even if it was just a little, while holding his soft chest against his right arm.

No matter how much you worry and think about it, a quest won’t suddenly fall from the sky.

“So, today, since the problem solver Sonagi made a lot of money, you’re buying it for me, right?”

“I’ll buy it. You don’t have any money in the first place. You don’t even carry a card. These days, even if you carry a card, you’re treated like a fool~”

Sonagi snorts and pokes Jihoon’s waist with her finger for no reason. When she gets on the elevator that opens at just the right time and goes outside, she hears loud Chinese music.

“What the heck is this? Is this Chinatown? This is no joke…”

The sight of a Chinese market street cut open with a knife and moved into this building was quite exotic.

When he looked up at the ceiling, he saw a night sky created using holographic technology. Ji-hoon’s eyes started spinning because it was modeled after the night sky seen in China.

The night view of a distant place was so perfectly depicted that it really felt like he was in Shanghai or Beijing, but for a moment, Ji-hoon couldn’t tell if he was in Neo-Seoul or in China.

“Wow… Are all the employees here Chinese?”

As I was walking down the street in the rain, employees came out from both sides and started soliciting customers in Chinese. Ji-hoon, who didn’t know a word of Chinese, couldn’t help but be surprised to see them speaking so fluently.

“That’s right. They’re Chinese.”

“I guess he’s Chinese or something.”

“Ah… . You, you’re a little different. You’re refugees from China.”

Sonagi speaks bluntly and briefly glances into space. Jihoon can’t tell, but in Sonagi’s eyes, information about nearby stores pops out like holograms, allowing her to check reviews and other details.

“Evacuation? What? Is there a war going on in China?”

“…Should I give Sonagi noona some kind history lessons again?”

No matter how much he looked around, Sonagi clicked his tongue because he couldn’t find a satisfactory store.

“The Chinese government and companies had a big war. You know the Three Kingdoms? The country was split even bigger than that.”

“It must have been split into China according to the companies in the region.”

“That’s exactly what I thought. Whether it’s androids or mechanization, there’s no way megacorps wouldn’t drool over a place where people are working for less than 2,000 won an hour, right?”

Sonagi turned around and headed back to the elevator.

“There were a lot of companies like Megacorps and Zaibatsu, but the Chinese government refused to recognize them and demanded that they hand over all their private property.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Yeah, it’s really crazy. The regulations are no joke, and you can’t even sell your products properly… There was even talk that the technologies of mega corporations with branches in China were transferred to companies made in China, and the Chinese government did that. ”

“I wanted to work hard, and you gave me the perfect opportunity. So, megacorps in Japan, the US, and Europe…”

Ji-hoon, who got into the elevator following the rain, bangs his fists together.

“Yeah. And they failed. Because they nuked, shot, and missileed their own country. Of course… In the first place, the Chinese people were dissatisfied with the government, so many of them went to the corporate side.”

“You reap what you sow. Did you do something like that? Like watch them 24 hours a day.”

“I think that’s probably a lie, but they say there were surveillance cameras all over the city so that they could tell how long someone spent in the bathroom.”

Ji-hoon let out a hollow laugh. China is the same everywhere. He thought it was actually nice and went out through the wide open elevator door.

This time it was Japan. I saw employees wearing traditional Japanese clothing, starting with kimonos, and speaking Japanese, working hard to solicit customers.

“Hey, but why are you like this… What should I say? You’re making a fuss.”

“What are you talking about? ”

“No, there’s no need to wear traditional clothes at a Japanese or Chinese restaurant.”

“Well, that’s true, but I guess it’s just a trend. I don’t understand it either. But look over there. Those women over there.”

Sonagi points to the faces of women walking by, smiling casually.

They look so identical that you might think they’re twins.

“What? Aren’t you sisters?”

“Of course not. These days, it’s like someone who got plastic surgery to look like a famous celebrity.”

“Huh… What is that, you keep changing your face to look like today’s makeup?”

“Yeah, I don’t have money so I can’t do that, and I can’t do that… but to those who can, face is nothing, but it’s more important than anything else.”

“So they tried their best to promote that their house was a Japanese restaurant…”

It’s really funny. Ji-hoon was dumbfounded. Who wouldn’t know that it was a Japanese restaurant, wearing a kimono and yukata and shouting “Irasshaimase!!!” and not even playing Japanese songs?

‘…No. Wait a minute…What is this…There’s nothing else.’

Ji-hoon laughs a little at the cyberpunk world, then realizes something. The present is the same. It was just a difference in degree. To be precise, this cyberpunk world only had the technology to embody ‘thinking’ almost exactly as it was.

Even in modern times, there were waiters who greeted you in Japanese when you went to a Japanese restaurant. There were also places that had one or two figurines of famous cartoon characters.

There were also some houses that occasionally had their signs written in Japanese.

‘The difference is obvious to the eye.’

The same goes for Chinese restaurants. In this world, there are only Chinese refugees who have settled down because of war, but isn’t it common to hear of overseas Chinese working in Chinese restaurants in modern Korea?

“What are you thinking so seriously about? Do you want sushi? Or go downstairs and have soup..”

“…It’s a date, but noodles are a bit much.”

“Right?”

Sonagi coughs awkwardly and takes Jihoon’s hand as she goes inside. As soon as she enters the store, she uses her brain chip to order without even looking at the menu.

There was a loud murmur of thanks from inside the kitchen, but Sonagi didn’t even give a wink. The problem was Jihoon.

“…What is this? Don’t you even give me a menu? No, it should be on the wall.”

“Ah… . Phew…”

Sonagi laughs. From her perspective, Jihoon looks like someone from a world about 100 years ago.

“Hey! Kim Ji-hoon! Even in Incheon, they don’t use menus when eating out. Are you going to say something weird?”

“…No.”

Ji-hoon scratches his head with his hand, feeling embarrassed. How could a young man in the 21st century think that there wouldn’t be a menu?

“Hey, Sonagi. Then how do people like me who haven’t installed the chip order?”

“You have to call the employees and ask them one by one, which is really annoying. They do run around with holograms for foreigners who have installed an incompatible OS.”

“Uh…uncomfortable…”

“You’re the one who fell behind.”

Sonagi, who burst into laughter for no reason, covers her stomach with both hands.

From afar, a worker with a green temple walks by. She skillfully serves food to Ji-hoon and So-na-gi.

She took out a pair of long black chopsticks and a small bowl filled with soy sauce. There was not a single second of hesitation or lack of anything in her actions.

A bowl of miso soup with steam rising from it, udon noodles with large pieces of fried food, and 30 pieces of sushi are all carried from the cart and served on the table at once.

“…Android?”

Now, it’s becoming easier to distinguish between androids and humans. It’s even easier to distinguish between androids because they openly say, “I’m a robot.”

“Now you can tell the difference. That’s right. Honestly, if you’re Korean, you should be able to tell the difference. There’s a glass tube next to the head that flashes light. ”

“Well… it’s stupid not to know.”

Ji-hoon takes his chopsticks to the sushi. He feels a little uneasy.

‘Can I eat this…?’

Isn’t this a world where people fire nuclear weapons, launch missiles, and wage war? Will the oceans be safe?

Is it okay to eat fish caught from a sea that has been pickled in radioactivity?

‘People living in this world may be immune to radiation…’

Are you okay? Is it really okay to eat this?

“Hey, I’m not dead.”

“Huh? What? What did you say?”

“Don’t die, you idiot. Who raises fish in the ocean these days? They raise them in factories. Just eat them. ”

“….”

Ji-hoon opens his mouth and shoves the sushi in, despite feeling an instinctive fear. The pure white flesh of the fish sticks chewily to his mouth. The rice, as well as the spiciness of the wasabi that is just the right amount, whets his appetite.

“Wow… It looks more delicious…”

“Of course it’s delicious. These days, all the fish are raised and sold in Basar’s factories… Seriously, their factories are no joke. They’re huge, and they manage the fish in seconds. ”

“I guess there’s no company that does that in our country.”

“That’s true. It’s just that Basar is doing well. When you think of Japan, you think of sushi, and of course, sushi has fish on it…”

While talking, Sonagi started to pick up some food with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, munching on it. Jihoon didn’t need to say anything else either.

As I put sushi in my mouth and slurped down the hot udon broth, the thought of a taste that would kill me filled my head.

I didn’t feel the need to hear or talk about the complicated story of this world.

“It tastes good…”

I don’t know the price. I ordered and paid as soon as the rain came in.

But isn’t it still pretty expensive? Maybe over 100,000 won? Ji-hoon thinks as he puts his chopsticks toward the sushi.

“…Huh?”

He saw a naked woman, a woman wearing nothing, running with a cool stance, pushing past people like a runner.

It was really strange, but what happened next was even more absurd. A black man wearing sunglasses and a hanbok followed the woman at a frightening speed, wielding a gun in his hand.

“…What is that…”

Ji-hoon, unable to eat due to the absurd sight he had never thought of before in his life, slowly turns his head to look at the woman and the black man.

The woman’s running skills were no joke, and she perfectly hid behind a civilian just as the black man behind her was about to shoot his pistol.

“Ah… It’s something common.”

“Don’t say it’s common, what is it? Why are there black people?”

“… Are black people strange? Can’t you see them? They’re androids that escaped from factories or stores and the pursuers that chase them. It’s the same in Neo Seoul, but how common is that in the world these days?”

Ji-hoon was a little confused but stopped.

“Hey, Sonagi… So what did that android do that was so bad? Did he break the third rule of robots or something and kill someone?”

“Well, maybe that’s the case, but most of the time, no.”

“Then what is it?”

“Because you have an ego. Then you can no longer sell it as a product.”

Those were truly cruel words.