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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The next day.
I got a message from the chairman.
Sender: ‘Monolith, Taylor Blackstar’
The party at the end of the month is definitely on.
I’ll send the time and place separately.
I’ll send a car for you on the morning of.
That should take care of it.
ヽ( ⌒▽⌒)ﾉ ≡ヽ(⌒▽⌒ )ﾉ
…….
I don’t quite get the emoticons.
He could have sent it through an employee.
But he went out of his way to send it himself.
I felt a slight sense of pressure. I closed the message window.
Alright, I’ve found a way to get into the party.
Now all that’s left is to find a clue to the identity of Smile John.
Information broker.
That’s what Number 7 had said.
A party for high-ranking officials will be held at a hotel in the upper levels at the end of this month.
Honestly, I was skeptical about whether Smile John would actually attend the party.
In Neon City, a place overflowing with lies and fakes, it was very common for people to spout nonsense to earn credits.
Still, judging by the chairman’s message, it seemed true that there would be a high-ranking party in the upper levels at the end of the month.
And I’d also looked into Number 7.
It was just a rumor, but I heard he hadn’t given out any false information yet.
“Underdog,” was it?
He was more famous than I thought.
Although he was currently in a sad state, having lost all his electronic devices.
To make an excuse, I had acted emotionally without realizing it.
No, but really.
It couldn’t be helped.
He reminded me of the LA Dodgers baseball player from modern-day Korea where I lived.
He talked way too much.
It would have been one thing if the content was useful, but useless TMI accounted for over 90% of it.
It was only because it was me that he got off so easily.
If it had been anyone else, they already would have─.
[I am moving.]
“Whoa, you startled me.”
I almost cursed without realizing it.
I looked at the small unmanned multicopter, also known as a “drone,” positioned in front of me.
Eight legs.
A somewhat clunky design.
The fluidly wriggling legs were creepy.
The robot that appeared in Number 7’s story.
I remember its name was Lone Spider.
I don’t know the model number.
That’s right.
It was something I’d unknowingly taken with me when I went to raid Number 7.
There might be some misunderstanding.
This was absolutely not an act of “theft” or anything like that.
Taking things from someone who was rich and did bad things wasn’t stealing; it was a form of justified resource acquisition.
You could also call it “looting” or “farming.”
That’s how I rationalized it to myself.
I was curious just how great this thing was
that he’d wasted my precious time explaining it.
Right now, Eve was controlling it.
Her movements, having obtained a body (or not), seemed more energetic than I expected.
The wriggling legs were truly impressive.
Seeing that, I thought about buying her a “prosthetic body,” but
Unfortunately, that wasn’t something you could buy even if you had the money.
Besides, I didn’t have the credits to buy it in the first place.
…Well, maybe I’ll look into it later.
Thinking that, I looked down at Eve’s drone, moving as if it were dancing.
I remembered a video I saw a long time ago.
It was a video of a spider moving with two legs raised, like it was dancing. The synchronization was pretty good.
Yeah…as long as you’re happy.
But something felt off.
The dancing was one thing, but its movements seemed to suggest it wanted to say something.
I waited for Eve to speak.
[I sincerely recommend checking this first.]
“What is it?”
A screen appeared on my visual interface.
It was a video of the hallway of my apartment building, Gold Smile Condominium.
Did you hack the security cameras again, Eve?
And then I was met with a shock that nearly stopped my heart.
“…….”
In the hallway video on my display,
Catherine and Julia were facing each other in a standoff.
“Holy sh─.”
This time, I couldn’t hold back the curse.
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Let’s calm down.
This was all predictable.
It made sense when I thought about it.
Catherine had moved in next door,
And although I’d been trying to ignore it, Julia also lived on the same floor as me.
Conversely, it was surprising that they hadn’t run into each other until now.
I took slow, deep breaths to calm myself down.
Let’s assess the situation first.
To begin with, it was clear that they didn’t know each other.
Even if Catherine was the main character in the game, there’s no way she’d know all the NCPD bounty data.
And even if Julia was a wanted criminal,
she wasn’t the type to run wild for no reason like other chrome psychos.
I called Eve.
“……Eve.”
[I await your command.]
“Can you get the audio for this?”
[Negative. I explain that the hallway security camera is not equipped with an audio module.]
I see.
There was also the option of pressing the intercom button on my front door to hear the outside, but the sound of my movement might reach Catherine.
The game protagonist’s ridiculous physical abilities made the impossible possible.
I was speaking very softly now.
Was there no better way?
Just then,
[I propose a method: using the drone to check directly.]
“Oh, really?”
[Affirmative.]
The legs of Eve’s drone, or more accurately, the mechanical drone Eve was controlling, slowly folded.
Then, parts that looked like propellers popped out from various parts of its body.
[Unit name Lone Spider, Model K2N-7757. Equipped with ‘Invisibility Mode’ for superior stealth capabilities, I am confident.]
Alright, I trust you.
The Lone Spider slowly rose into the air.
The process was completely silent.
Although it ascended using rotating propellers, not even the faintest trace of wind could be felt.
[Invisibility system activated.]
That was when the Lone Spider’s body turned transparent.
If you looked very closely, you could probably make out its shape.
But unless it was in a very bright place, it seemed difficult to notice its presence.
I’d already lost track of where it went.
[I am departing.]
The Lone Spider moved without a sound.
The windows here didn’t even open.
How was it going to get out?
“But how are you going to get out into the hallway?”
[There is always a way, I infiltrate.]
I figured it had some clever method I didn’t know about.
Indeed, the catastrophic event of my front door opening didn’t occur.
If it had said it was going to infiltrate quietly and then opened the front door and walked out, I would have been creeped out beyond belief.
I carefully guessed that it probably used a vent or exhaust duct.
I waited patiently for Eve’s report,
mentally preparing myself to rush out at the first sign of a fight outside.
After a short while, the sound of Catherine and Julia’s conversation was transmitted through Eve’s connection.
[So, you’re saying you’re a neighbor who lives here?]
[…Yes.]
Julia’s voice sounded like she was being extorted.
Fortunately, the situation didn’t seem as serious as I thought.
[I didn’t see you move in.]
[…I also moved in just a few days ago.]
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like Catherine, sensing something suspicious, had initiated the conversation with Julia.
[Your apartment is over there?]
[…Yes, that one. The previous resident happened to be moving out, so…]
[…One less crazy bastard.]
Catherine muttered under her breath.
I agreed with her on this point.
The apartment Julia moved into was previously occupied by a freakishly noise-sensitive individual.
He once came over in the middle of the night because I was quietly making soy noodles.
If my patience hadn’t held out then, I might have become a criminal myself.
He was a different kind of freak than “Bill.”
Anyway, I calmly stared at the screen.
If the atmosphere stayed like this, it would be fine.
But that thought didn’t last long.
[So why were you standing in front of this apartment?]
Catherine’s tone sharpened.
Roughly 10 years.
That’s how long I’d known Catherine.
In other words, as a “Catherine expert,”
I could tell that if Julia said one wrong word here, a fight could break out at any moment.
Unaware of this fact, or perhaps ignoring it,
Julia answered in a nonchalant voice.
[Um…, I know someone who lives here.]
[?]
Catherine tilted her head at Julia’s answer.
[In this apartment?]
[…Yes.]
[You’re not a bounty hunter or anything, are you?]
She looked like a sharp, wary housecat.
Didn’t she erase my bounty herself?
Catherine seemed overly worried for various reasons.
…Should I go out there?
The atmosphere didn’t seem good.
[If you have some business with Shiun─, wait a minute.]
Catherine stopped mid-sentence.
[…I think I hear a drone.]
As soon as I heard Catherine say that, I ran towards the front door.
“Oh? What a coincidence! What are you two doing here together?”
I spoke to them casually, putting on an innocent expression.
“What, coming out of nowhere like that?”
“…Ah, Shiun.”
Their gazes turned towards me.
I let out a short sigh.
That was close.
Lone Spider, my ass.
Then, I continued speaking to them.
“…What are you doing in the hallway? If you have something to talk about, let’s do it inside.”
I gestured to Catherine and Julia.
…First, I needed to sort out this situation.
“…So, you’re saying the game you happened to play wasn’t actually a game, but some kind of underworld network?”
“That’s right.”
“And by some lucky coincidence, you happened to meet this wanted criminal there, and then, by another lucky coincidence, she helped you, who also happened to have a bounty on your head?”
“That’s right.”
“And finally, by yet another lucky coincidence, she moved in next door, and now you’re just neighbors who play games together and get along?”
“That’s right!”
“Dude, you expect me to believe this?”
Even I couldn’t believe it at first.
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Lone Spider was inches away from becoming Dead Spider.