episode_0028

“Bro, Sonagi is completely healthy, so don’t worry.”

A man with dark skin takes his seat with a warm smile.

He was black. Ji-hoon wasn’t exactly a racist, but his appearance was unique enough not to be overshadowed by the glamour of Neo-Seoul.

He looked very unique, with his black dreadlocks, red sunglasses, white coat and bulletproof vest.

“Sigh… Ugh, I really thought I was going to die.”

Sonagi sat next to Jihoon and leaned against him.

Sonagi’s outfit of black dolphin pants and a gray nasi looked a little dangerous, but there was nothing she could do.

Because her arms and legs were wrapped in pure white bandages, she couldn’t wear her usual black suit.

Of course, it was Ji-hoon who changed Sonagi’s clothes.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to just walk out the stairs?”

“Absolutely not. You’ve never been chased by those Megacorp guys. That’s what I’m saying. Their security team is so scary.”

“Yes! It’s just like Sonagi Yang said. Since all the bodyguards of the future company were made with clone technology, if they used the stairs or the elevator, they would have become rats in a poisoned cage. ”

The black man, who spoke with a kind smile, spoke in a strange mix of English and Korean.

But it wasn’t to the extent that he couldn’t hear at all, so Ji-hoon pointed at him with his finger.

“Do you know this person?”

“Of course I know. There’s no one among the troubleshooters who doesn’t know this guy. He’s a legend.”

Sonagi points to the cup in front of him with his chin. The cup contains strawberry juice and has a black straw in it. Jihoon takes the straw and puts it in his mouth, clicking his tongue.

Ji-hoon and Sonagi were a little underground. With the help of a black man who appeared clapping his hands, the two went down to the bottomless underground, but surprisingly, they were able to receive help.

Sonagi was treated, and according to her, was even able to replace the cyberware implants she was using.

“You seem curious about Me’s name.”

“Yes.. I’m curious.”

“It’s Hong Gil-dong.”

“…”

Ji-hoon hoped that the man in front of him was seriously joking.

“Hey, why are you making that face? Is this guy really that name?”

“No.. Hey, Hong Gil-dong is Korean… . No, no, that’s right..”

No matter where you look, this is racism. Ji-hoon was at a loss for words when he tried to say something about his common sense in front of ‘Hong Gil-dong’ right in front of him.

But fortunately, Hong Gil-dong is a very generous person, and he smiles heartily and empties the drink in front of him. Of course, it was cola.

“Me, as you know, could not call Brother, Brother, nor could I call father, father.”

“…Is there a reason?”

“Of course, my mother had dark skin. She tried to make her dream come true in Neo Seoul, but she couldn’t.”

He closes his eyes and continues speaking.

“My father was the CEO of a future company. He was a very famous person. He took advantage of the fact that Mother didn’t have a brain chip installed and got her pregnant without taking responsibility”

“…and…”

“The world didn’t listen to Me and Mother’s story. Most people without chips are either vagrants or the elite, so it couldn’t be helped.”

“That’s right, it’s just like Mr. Hong Gil-dong said. The sons and daughters of noble families or the super rich people living in America or the Middle East don’t have chips like that.”

“Why? It’s so comfortable.”

Hong Gil-dong and Sonagi laugh awkwardly at Ji-hoon’s question.

“Brain chips are advertised as the key to freedom in the cyber world, but they act like shackles in Reality.”

“…Is that what Hong So-yeon said? She told me. She said that if you have a brain chip implanted, you’re connected to the internet 24 hours a day, so it’s damn easy to track you.”

“That’s right. That’s right. At first, when people used brain chips, they thought they would escape reality and gain true freedom, but that wasn’t the case. They just became tools for megacorps to make more money.”

“Yes, it’s just as Sonagi said. At first, it seemed like everyone was given freedom. But nothing changed. As each day passed, more and more things were required of the chip implanted in their heads.”

Hong Gil-dong points to his mouth with a bitter smile.

“Bro. Does what I say sound awkward?”

“Ah.. well, yes, it’s a bit weird, but not so much that I can’t listen to it.”

“That’s because of the memory chip in the old man’s head. It’s so old and outdated, and the translation program is also a pirated version, so it’s completely obsolete.”

“Hahahahahahaha! When I was young, I couldn’t even get this much. Mom was innocent until she passed away”

Ji-hoon listened to the explanation thoroughly, but he still had some questions.

“That… Hey, Sonagi. If this guy is ‘legendary’, does that mean he’s legendary as a problem solver?”

“No, it’s not like that, but it’s similar”

“Then you made a lot of money, right? Then you can easily upgrade the brain chip.”

Sonagi is troubled by his obvious question, and Hong Gil-dong opens his mouth with a smile. ”

“Yes, it is as you said. I certainly do not have enough money to replace the chip in my head, but since I am wanted, it is impossible to get help from Ripperdoc.”

“Of course, there is a doctor in this basement who helps Mr. Hong Gil-dong… and treats me, but he doesn’t change it to the latest model on purpose.”

Ji-hoon hesitates for a moment after hearing what the two have to say. This time, he feels like he knows the answer even if they don’t tell him.

“It’s an outdated OS so you can’t access the internet 24 hours a day, right?”

Otherwise, there’s no reason to bother with something like a wanted poster. Just follow the signal and send the police and security team to arrest them.

“Ha, ha ha ha ha! Miss Sonagi. Your Boyfriend seems very smart”

“Miss.. Seriously. Don’t praise her for something so obvious. She’s so smart. And she’s strong too.”

Sonagi added emphasis to his words for no reason. Jihoon coughed loudly and pointed at Sonagi with his finger.

“And you?”

“It’s the 50th floor underground. I can’t access the Internet even if I want to.”

“…No, what? 50th floor?”

“There used to be a plan to build an underground city… but there was a terrorist attack or something… and an accident happened, so the buildings were not built and the basic infrastructure wasn’t properly laid.”

At Sonagi’s words, Ji-hoon looks around. Except for this old-looking cafe where three people are sitting, there are no cars driving around outside and there are only a few utility poles here and there.

The phrase ’50 floors underground’ was somewhat metaphorical, as the building was not actually 50 stories high.

When Ji-hoon looked outside, he could see a huge underground cavern, which meant that the underground space was approximately 50 floors deep.

“And I’m from Incheon, so you know? My ICE security level is crap. It’s so old that I have to sync it myself.”

“…Then that means you’re not connected 24 hours a day either.”

“That’s right. Well, to use the functions of cyberware or implants, you need to connect to the Internet.”

As Sonagi spoke up to that point, Ji-hoon clicked his tongue. And now he looked at Hong Gil-dong.

It’s a shame, but no one in this world helps others for free.

“…Mr. Hong Gil-dong. Please speak slowly. You didn’t just help us, right? And this smartphone. Did you send us this quest? ”

At Ji-hoon’s words, Hong Gil-dong unexpectedly shakes his head from side to side.

“No, I just heard that you and Sonagi came to the back alley.”

“Did you hear that? From whom?”

“I also have a secret friend.”

Hong Gil-dong winked once. It seemed that he still couldn’t trust Ji-hoon and Sonagi enough to tell them this much.

“..Hey, Sonagi. How much is the bounty on that guy’s head?”

“..blank check.”

“…”

Ji-hoon immediately understood Hong Gil-dong’s feelings. Whether he killed them or saved them, if he just dealt with Hong Gil-dong in front of him, the Mega Corps would give him a blank check. How many traitors had there been up until now?

Ji-hoon, who decided to understand his cautiousness, nodded for a moment.

“Our Hwall Bin Party needs the strength of a talented person like you, Kim Ji-hoon. We need someone who has the strength to fight against the Megacorp that is exploiting the eight provinces of Joseon.”

“..No, bow..what..?”

“Hwalbindang… That’s the one from the old novel, that’s it.”

Only after Sonagi whispered did Jihoon realize that the translation program of Hong Gildong in front of him was garbage. He must be doing his best. ”

“No, but. Hey.. Whoa, I don’t know about Sonagi, but I don’t have that kind of… great sense of justice, right?”

It might be a shame for the man in front of him, but Ji-hoon speaks honestly.

“…I can help you a little now, but I have no intention of ever belonging to that group called the Hwalbin Party or Hwalbin Party.”

“Hahahaha, OK, OK! It’s an honor to have you join us for even a little while. Our Hwall Bin Party hasn’t had a net-runner in a long time.”

“The ICE of the company is really scary. If you fail once, your body will burn up, which is cute, and there was even a time when a remote control program was installed and it almost killed us all.”

Although Sonagi said something creepy, he surprisingly had an expression on his face like it was nothing special.

“Hey.. What kind of gruesome story is that your boyfriend…”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re going to hack using an external device anyway, right? Even if their ICE is activated, there won’t be any problem. Maybe your… smartphone? That won’t work either.”

Hong Gil-dong nods his head as if agreeing with Sonagi’s words.

“Yes, our Ripperdoc agrees with that opinion. Your external device is too old for our security programs to function properly. Also, it is not free from pursuit, literally-”

“Flash in the east, flash in the west. If they suddenly appear, hack, and disappear, it’s just a headache for the company~”

A woman’s voice, with a hint of languidness, is heard, followed by the sound of a teaspoon turning the ice floating in a pure white glass.

The woman who came walking from afar with a knock knock sound had curly pink hair that reached down to her waist.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Damon. I’m a ripperdoc who’s worked with Mr. Hong Gil-dong here for a long time. I fixed your girlfriend too. Maybe sometime…”

The woman waves her hand with a seductive smile.

“Miss, really…”

Sonagi saw the sight and tried to kick Damon’s thigh with his bandaged foot, but failed.

Because it seemed like Sonagi would get upset if she left it like that, Jihoon quickly brought the straw back to her mouth, and Sonagi sipped the strawberry juice again with a slightly satisfied expression.

“Anyway~ I don’t know if our Mr. Hong Gil-dong explained it well~ This guy sometimes speaks strangely. You said Sonagi and Kim Ji-hoon, right? You’re being chased by Mirae Corporation right now~”

Damon spoke leisurely, swirling the teaspoon around to adjust the temperature of the coffee, and slurped as he drank.

She was wearing only a pure white doctor’s gown, but Ji-hoon couldn’t have known that she didn’t have clairvoyance and that she was only wearing a pure white gown over her panties and bra.

“In exchange for hiding under us for a while, you do a few things we ask you to do. How is it? Easy?”

“..Well… It’s not like I can refuse. He said he’d feed me, put me to bed, and hide me.”

“Yeah. Well, from what I heard earlier, it wasn’t that hard.”

Ji-hoon, who confirmed Sonagi’s agreement, nodded. Damon took the map from behind the chair and laid it on the table. The map smelled like dust, and it was something that didn’t fit in the cyberpunk world.

“Then~ Rest for a bit and then come over here and take care of this girl~ You guys know her too~ Just get the program we asked for, okay~?”

A photo Damon takes out with a smile.

The woman in the photo was running away somewhere in a hurry. And her face looked quite familiar.

“This woman… . She’s Park Ji-hye.”

The branch manager of Incheon Central Bank. Her face was unmistakable.

“That’s right~ That woman. Because this woman talked about you guys, Grandma Ha, the fixer, died~ Shouldn’t you get revenge?”