There are too many non-believers in cyberpunk – Chapter 14

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Jimmy, who should have graduated, suddenly appeared.

Sonia was about to greet him out of familiarity, but Amon stopped her.

She could react that way because she was completely unaware of Jimmy’s situation, but Amon wasn’t.

He had heard about Jimmy’s whereabouts from the director.

‘Why is that drug addict…’

After graduating from the orphanage, Jimmy had joined a gang.

He hadn’t studied, hadn’t built any meaningful connections, all he knew was how to bully people, and he had always shown signs of admiring gangs.

It was only natural for him to end up in a gang.

Joining a gang, constantly shooting guns, stealing from people, causing trouble under the guise of protection money, and being chased by the police – that was his daily life.

Then he’d probably get shot, be unable to go to the hospital because he had no insurance, and naturally turn to drugs.

The drugs, started to forget the pain, would eventually become his pastime, and a bottom-feeder gangster, swaggering with a needle in his left hand and a gun in his right, would be complete.

Amon knew very well that Jimmy hadn’t deviated much from that path.

He didn’t feel sorry for him.

He couldn’t blame his environment, because Amon had changed the atmosphere of the orphanage, and Jimmy’s peers were now living diligently.

The excuse that he became a gangster because of his environment didn’t fly.

Rather, Amon was wary of Jimmy.

The thought processes of drug addicts were incomprehensible to ordinary people, so there was no telling when he might suddenly go crazy and try to harm Amon.

And now, that Jimmy had appeared before him.

As if he had no intention of concealing his weapons, his left pocket bulged, and he was accompanied by several similar drug-addled low-level gangsters.

It was clear his intentions weren’t good.

Sure enough, instead of a greeting or anything of the sort, Jimmy rambled nonsense.

“Gi…Gimme my money. You’re a bad guy. A damn bastard…”

Did he even know what he was saying?

The fresh needle marks on his left hand answered that question for him.

Amon quietly hid Sonia behind his back, as if to protect her.

However Jimmy’s buttons were pushed by this, he started to lose it.

“Again! Again, you always took the good stuff! Why do you always get the good stuff?! It’s a problem! That old hag, the director, too…! Old and obsessed with men! You must have sold yourself to the director! You male prostitute!”

Amon frowned at Jimmy’s grammatically and logically incoherent sentences.

Although difficult to understand, he could sense the intensely unpleasant insults within them.

Being falsely accused was unpleasant, but insulting the orphanage director like that was equally offensive.

Sonia, standing beside Amon, seemed to grasp the context, her gaze turning icy.

But the oblivious Jimmy continued his rant.

“You have it good! Always getting favored! Son of a bitch!”

Amon didn’t argue.

Amon was well aware that he was favored by the director.

The director was also human; it was only natural.

Even the Goddess doesn’t show equal love for all of humanity.

Someone capable of that would simply be indifferent to all of humanity.

That’s what Amon thought.

However, that didn’t mean the other orphans didn’t feel a sense of relative deprivation due to the favoritism.

Because of this, Amon, aware of being favored, always lived a life of giving to the other orphans.

Sharing the love.

Even if it couldn’t absolve him, it was at least a reason not to be insulted by someone like Jimmy, who only caused trouble for others.

But there was nothing more pointless than arguing with a drug addict, so Amon decided to ignore Jimmy instead of engaging with him.

However, was it because his pride remained even after becoming a drug-addicted lowlife, or was it because his low self-esteem made him overreact to trivial matters?

Jimmy, seeing Amon’s attempt to ignore him, shouted, spitting with rage.

“You think you’re so great! I’m an adult now! I have friends, I make money… and… and… I shoot guns too!”

Jimmy pulled out a gun and aimed it.

His finger rested on the trigger, prompting Amon and Sonia to instinctively dodge.

But Jimmy, seemingly unaware of the implications of his actions, just waved the gun around.

Amon, judging that further conversation was dangerous in itself, decided to end this bad relationship here.

He happened to have the real sword he received as a farewell gift from the dojo.

But just as he quickly made the sign of the cross and was about to lunge at Jimmy, Sonia stopped him.

“I’ll do it.”

Her words puzzled Amon.

“Why?”

She pointed at Amon and said:

“I said I’d protect you. I’ll show you I wasn’t just talking.”

Amon, with no time to argue with a drugged-up thug, quickly made a decision.

“Don’t get hurt.”

He trusted Sonia.

Sonia smiled brightly at Amon’s words, gripped the sword, and ran towards Jimmy.

The fight lasted one minute.

Within that short time, Jimmy and his companions were subdued by Sonia.

The group, who had been making lewd gestures and whistling until Sonia approached, were now on the ground, unable to get up after being hit with the flat of her blade.

The fact that they were taken down in a minute was partly due to their slowed reactions from the drugs, but the outcome wouldn’t have been much different even if they hadn’t been intoxicated.

After all, for the two who had honed their swordsmanship for two years, a gun without any special engravings was a weapon they could easily handle.

The gap between Sonia and them was vast, enough for her to deflect bullets and knock them unconscious with the flat of her blade.

After subduing the thugs, Sonia left them to the police.

Logically, to prevent future trouble, killing them would have been the right choice.

But Sonia was still too tenderhearted to stab each incapacitated person and confirm their deaths.

Therefore, she couldn’t bring herself to finish them off and wanted to hand them over to the police.

Amon respected Sonia’s decision.

‘Reality isn’t a game.’

Killing someone in a game and committing murder in reality felt completely different.

The weight of guilt in a human mind is substantial, so Amon didn’t want Sonia to carry that burden.

It might be a slightly soft-hearted choice in this world, but sometimes, such innocence was necessary.

Therefore, Amon also decided to spare Jimmy and his group.

However, even if he spared them, he still had something to say.

“If you come within a kilometer of the orphanage, or if I see you outside this city, you’re dead.”

It meant they should stay quiet and out of sight within the city.

It might have seemed like an excessive declaration, but considering that he was sparing someone who had pulled a gun on him, it was quite merciful.

Jimmy knew Amon’s character well.

Amon was kind, but not naive.

He knew Amon was someone who fundamentally pursued good, but didn’t hesitate to enforce the good he believed in.

Having experienced being beaten countless times by Amon, almost to the point of death, Jimmy knew that Amon would absolutely keep his word.

Therefore, Jimmy couldn’t take Amon’s chilling warning lightly.

He accepted Amon’s warning, promising to keep it in mind, and was handed over to the police who arrived after receiving the report.

After handing over Jimmy and his group, Amon and Sonia headed back to the orphanage.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

In the spot where the two had disappeared, Jimmy and his companions were loaded into a police car and taken away.

Inside the car, they hung their heads silently, handcuffed.

Silence filled the car.

Within that silence, Jimmy gritted his teeth.

Remorse?

Such a word didn’t exist in a drug addict’s vocabulary.

His mind was filled with only one word: revenge.

Of course, to get revenge, he first had to escape the police and avoid prison, but he had something he was counting on.

‘That corporate guy…!’

He recalled the corporate guy who had given him this assignment.

A neat suit and slicked-back hair.

A face he felt he’d seen somewhere before, but his drug-addled mind couldn’t quite place it.

What he did remember was that the corporate guy had ordered this attack and promised him more drugs and a $10,000 reward in return.

It was a chance to get back at Amon and possibly get Sonia, but he had failed this time.

‘It’s okay. Once I get my hands on that $10,000…’

With that money, he could get better augmentations and sufficiently avenge himself on Amon.

As he entertained these thoughts, laughing to himself in the quiet police car, a familiar voice came from the passenger seat.

“I’ve confirmed the results of the assignment, Mr. Jimmy. Thanks to you, I was able to identify the Divine Power wielder.”

Jimmy was startled and looked towards the passenger seat.

There, the corporate guy who had given him the assignment was manipulating something on a pad and speaking to him.

Seeing the corporate guy, Jimmy brightened up and greeted him.

The corporate guy, whose displeased expression was hidden from Jimmy’s view, returned the greeting.

Jimmy took this as a positive sign.

“Now, about the reward and the powder… and could you get these handcuffs off?!”

Seeing Jimmy acting as if he was certain he’d be leaving, the corporate guy didn’t hide his disdain.

“This is why it’s so tiring to use baseless drug addicts…”

The corporate guy shook his head and sighed.

As if echoing his sentiment, the police officer in the driver’s seat grumbled.

“That’s why they’re cheap.”

“That’s true.”

Jimmy couldn’t follow their conversation.

He only realized something was wrong when the police cars, which should have been heading to the police station, arrived at the docks.

Soon, Jimmy and his companions were dragged out of their respective police cars.

Only after the situation unfolded like this could Jimmy grasp his predicament.

The situation was clear, clear enough for even a drug-addled fool to understand.

Thinking deeper, Jimmy had violated the first rule of the cyberpunk world.

Money doesn’t lie.

The cost of paying $10,000 each to common drug-addicted gangsters with no insurance or family, versus the price of 12 bullets to their heads.

The two were incomparable.

Any rational person should have sensed something was amiss from the moment the offer was made.

But Jimmy overestimated his own worth, and the combined effect of his inflated ego, the allure of the drugs offered as payment, and his lust for Sonia prevented him from harboring any suspicion.

“Spare me…”

Jimmy pleaded and cried.

But neither the police officer nor the corporate guy showed any interest in his tears.

Without hesitation, they pulled the triggers, aiming for the heads of Jimmy’s companions.

And the police officer, with a practiced hand, tossed the limp bodies into the sea.

There was no emotion in their efficient division of labor.

It was just their routine, their job.

One by one, Jimmy’s companions became water ghosts, and Jimmy’s turn approached.

Staring at the approaching muzzle, Jimmy’s final thought was the taste of salty french fries, a meal he couldn’t remember when he’d last eaten.

Having disposed of the 12 bodies, the corporate guy got into his car and, escorted by the police, headed off somewhere.

“Yes. Yes. I took care of it for sure.”

The corporate guy muttered into the empty air.

Nodding, he spoke respectfully to the unseen presence on the other end of the monologue-like call.

“I’m certain. Mystic Power that manifests during a life-or-death battle can never be concealed.”

The corporate guy spoke into the void with eyes full of conviction.

“Yes. It’s the girl. It’s definitely her.”

The corporate guy, escorted by numerous police officers, cut through the city night.

The Higzen Group logo on his car reflected the red neon lights.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇