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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Inside a dark and grimy room, the hulking dwarf, Drek, gritted his teeth.
‘Damn… those scavenger vagabond bastards.’
The icy curse caught in his throat, swallowed before it could escape.
He’d made the mistake of rushing over, unprepared, the moment he’d heard the news that his girlfriend, Lorenda, had been taken by the Scavengers.
He’d been too hasty.
Ultimately, Drek himself had been captured by the Scavengers and locked up in this dark room.
The good news was that their security was sloppy.
He had long since picked the handcuffs that bound his wrists. There were no other safeguards, so given enough time, he could have hacked the locked door.
The bad news, however, was that Drek didn’t have enough time.
‘At this rate, I’ll be too late. …Please, please!’
Should he have equipped his combat body?
But that would have only delayed him further. Finding the Scavengers, hidden and concealed, was difficult.
The thick metal door blocking Drek’s path showed no sign of opening.
Just then, a voice came from the other side of the door.
“[Is anyone in there? If you’re not a Scavenger, please move away from the door in 5 seconds.]”
An ordinary man’s voice, incongruous with the Scavenger den.
The voice slowly counted down the five seconds.
Drek didn’t move from the door.
If the person opening the door was a Scavenger, he couldn’t miss the opportunity.
But what he heard next forced Drek to back away.
“[Then it’s going to blow─.]”
Blow? What would…?
Drek’s thought was cut short.
A small circle, drawn in fire, appeared on the metal door.
Drek didn’t know what it was, but he instinctively knew it defied the laws of physics he understood.
Immediately after.
BOOOOM!!
The door exploded outwards.
With a deafening roar, dust and debris billowed from the other side.
Drek saw three figures amidst the smoke.
The tired-looking man standing in the middle spoke.
“You don’t… seem to be a Scavenger. Another captive?”
His entire lower face was covered by a mask, obscuring his expression.
But the dark circles under his eyes betrayed his exhaustion.
“Are you mercenaries sent from outside? The other captives? Were any of them a brown-haired woman?!”
“Ah.”
At Drek’s rapid-fire questions, the man, Shiun Lee, raised his hands in a calming gesture.
“Don’t worry. We rescued everyone and are on our way out. And excuse me, but… are you Mr. Drek?”
“…I am.”
“Lorenda told us about you. She seemed to have heard that you’d been captured trying to rescue her.”
That was a relief.
Hearing Shiun’s words, Drek breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
His thick legs gave way, and he collapsed to the floor.
Then the women behind Shiun, Catherine and Andrea, asked him a question.
“Hey, seriously. How did you know the hostages were hidden there?”
“Right, we almost missed them.”
Shiun shrugged nonchalantly.
“A hunch. It’s all good since we saved them, right?”
Meanwhile, he thought to himself.
How did he know? Because he’d played the game this world was based on and roughly knew the quest flow.
‘Originally, Drek’s girlfriend should have already been dead at the start of this quest… I’m glad we arrived in time.’
It was worth hurrying.
Shiun nodded imperceptibly.
“Haha… I’m so glad…”
Drek had imagined the worst-case scenario.
He was relieved that things had worked out.
Sitting on the floor with one hand braced against it, Drek rubbed his eyelids with the other.
After a brief silence, Catherine, oblivious to the mood, spoke.
“Hey, but don’t we need someone who can hack? Things almost went south here a few times.”
“…Heroes don’t learn hacking.”
“I’ll pass too. I’ll have to look into it later at No Answer.”
Shiun and Andrea answered respectively.
They all had valid points.
It was too late to start learning hacking now. It required specialized knowledge and a brilliant mind.
Since they recognized the need for a hacker, it was best to find someone after this incident.
Drek, who had been listening to the conversation, slowly raised his head.
“…Do you guys… happen to need a colleague who’s good at hacking, and skilled too?”
A brief silence.
Catherine cautiously broke the silence.
“…Well, we do need one. But someone skilled enough to be captured here is a bit─.”
“No, we need him!”
“Huh?”
It was Shiun who interrupted.
‘Why else would I have raided the Scavenger’s den and rescued Drek and his girlfriend?’
He couldn’t miss this opportunity.
Shiun continued to persuade the other two.
“Just trust me this once. I have a good feeling.”
“…Well, things haven’t gone wrong when you’ve said that before.”
“If Shiun says so, I have no objections.”
The short conversation over, Shiun walked towards Drek on the floor.
Thanks to Drek’s large build, even while sitting, his gaze reached Shiun’s chest.
“My name is Shiun Lee. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Drek.”
“Just call me Drek. …Lee Shun, Shun, Sihun. Hmm… that doesn’t sound right.”
“People often mispronounce it the first time. You can call me whatever is comfortable.”
“No, I can’t mispronounce the name of my and my girlfriend’s savior. It’s a pleasure to meet you… Shiun.”
That was the first meeting between Shiun and Drek.
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“Alright! It’s over, so get up.”
“…….”
Am I still alive?
[Stopping classical music playback.]
…….
I think I died.
From the tips of my nerves to every joint and bone in my body, there wasn’t a single part that didn’t hurt.
I moved my legs, shaky like a newborn goat.
“The surgery went well. The nano-ampoules seem to have taken effect, and there are no foreseeable problems.”
Drek, who always had a playful grin, smiled broadly once more.
I moved my head and examined my body.
Both arms and legs.
I had implant surgery on all four, but outwardly, nothing seemed to have changed.
“Hey, are you sure you did it right? Why hasn’t anything changed? Wasn’t all that pain for nothing?”
“They’re designed to expand only when you exert force. There won’t be much of a visual difference. Even so, you should be able to easily lift a passing orc now.”
Oh.
That sounded pretty good.
Of course, that didn’t change my fundamental, chronic problem of ‘stamina.’
“What good is lifting an orc if I collapse from exhaustion after a few steps?”
“…Hmm, it’s truly a shame that I don’t have any cybernetic hearts or lungs available right now. If you give me time, I’ll try to find some for you.”
“…No thank you, sir.”
Please refrain.
Living like this for the rest of my life was more comfortable.
Just then, a message notification popped up on my visual interface. The name was Catherine.
There was no need to reply later.
I sent Catherine a message saying I’d be back soon.
“Ah.”
I asked Drek a question that had just come to mind.
“Since we were doing checkups today, wouldn’t it have been better for Catherine to come along and get hers done too? Why split it up and have her come tomorrow?”
Drek had said earlier that Andrea had already come for hers and that Catherine would be coming tomorrow.
Drek answered my question.
“Tsk tsk, you don’t understand women.”
[…….]
Excuse me?
“Why do you think Catherine works so hard to avoid scars or implant lines on her skin? Do you think she wants you to see her getting a checkup? …And from what I can tell, it’s not just Catherine.”
“We’ve lived together for years, what’s the big deal?”
“Hahaha, everyone’s different.”
It wasn’t a very convincing reason.
I just figured that’s how it was.
Leaving Drek chuckling to himself, I headed to the waiting room.
But there, waiting for me, was someone I hadn’t expected at all.
The tuskless orc, the gatekeeper of No Answer.
The mercenary, Smith.
His posture, standing firm with his hands clasped behind his back, was identical to when he was guarding No Answer.
He didn’t show up after hearing Drek’s speciesist comment about carrying orcs around, did he?
“Mr. Smith, what brings you here? Are you here for a checkup? Please, come inside.”
“Haha, no. Hello, Mr. Shun.”
“If not, then what brings you… ah.”
Come to think of it, besides checkups…
There was one more reason for Smith to be here.
“The boss asked me to check if the gift arrived safely.”
Drek walked out from behind me, apparently having seen Smith.
“I told him I’d send a message.”
“He told me to come and check in person anyway.”
The woes of a subordinate who must obey their superior.
Sensing my pitying gaze, Smith continued without changing his rigid posture.
“It’s alright. My hometown, Redwood, is nearby, so it’s good to stop by while I’m here.”
“Oh, you’re from Redwood?”
It was Neon City’s only green zone.
If you wanted to see trees, Redwood was the closest place to go.
Of course, with Cloud Park right next door, the air quality was just as bad.
“I don’t look like it, do I? I hear that often.”
I didn’t say that.
It wasn’t wrong, though.
The orcs living in Redwood, which was considered a slum, were all violent.
However, he was quite different from the typical orc.
Unlike other orcs who showed off their tusks and decorated them with LEDs, Smith had his ground down so they weren’t visible.
“My brethren aren’t too happy about me coming here, but I figured I should see their faces while I’m here.”
“It must be tough, Mr. Smith.”
“Not at all, not as much as you, Mr. Shun.”
I had nothing to say to that factual blow.
“And one more thing.”
Smith leaned his face towards me.
His green skin was quite intimidating up close.
“The boss specifically asked me to have you drop by.”
“…Why?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
The summit of Neon City’s brokers.
No Answer’s unknown boss.
I found that person a bit intimidating. But I couldn’t say that outright.
“…Since I received the gift, I’ll definitely stop by later.”
“Then I’ll let the boss know I’ve relayed the message. When would you be able to come?”
That, I didn’t know.
Nor did I want to know.
“…I’ve been busy with other things lately. I’ll go when things calm down a bit.”
“…Hmm, I understand. You must be tired from the implant aftereffects. I’ve kept you for too long.”
“Not at all, it’s fine. Have a good trip back home.”
Then Drek, who had been quiet, spoke to Smith.
His voice was very friendly.
“While you’re here, why don’t you get a cyberware scaling? I’ll give you a good deal.”
“…Haha, I’m alright. I had one recently.”
That was an understandable answer.
If he’d been waiting in the waiting room, he would have heard my blood curdling screams.
Drek clicked his tongue in disappointment.
But if he’d recently had one, what could he do?
I saw Smith off as he practically fled.
Now then.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Alright, keep in touch. And show your face around more often. Otherwise, I’ll have to drive over to your place and pick you up again.”
“…That’s a bit…”
I couldn’t give him a definite answer.
I didn’t mind riding in Drek’s car like I did coming here, but it was too much of a hassle to come by public transport.
“Hey, speaking of which, can you give me a ride? Let me go back in comfort.”
“…Hmm. Why not? I don’t have any more appointments, so it’s fine.”
Drek nodded at my request.
Good.
I could go back comfortably.
I sank into the plush car seat.
As befitted Drek, who loved hacking and cyberware, his car was also filled with various state-of-the-art equipment.
I looked at the scenery outside the window.
Except for the factory smog blanketing the sky, it was a beautiful, clear day.
Drek, gripping the steering wheel, spoke to me.
“Hey, since we’re out, want to grab a drink together?”
“…Where are we going?”
“There’s a nice bar that opened near my place. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, so let’s catch up.”
“…Hmm, alright. I’m feeling a bit nostalgic seeing you after so long too.”
“Great! Let’s go!”
Even though I loved staying home…
It wasn’t bad to go out and have some fun when I was already out.
I lay my head back against the car seat next to Drek, who was excitedly driving.
As I closed my eyes and relaxed, Eve asked me,
[…Are you sure it is alright to return later, I inquire.]
“What could possibly go wrong from having a little fun?”
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…….
Something went wrong.
“…So that’s why I was late, sis.”
“…….”
I forgot that I said I’d be home soon.
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Lol~ he is boned
o7