Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed – Chapter 38

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Casa del Lusso Gracium Hotel.

True to its Italian name, the building’s exterior was as grand as the Pantheon of ancient Rome.

Buildings constructed in this style were rare in the cyberpunk world.

Thanks to that, it felt like I was abroad, even though it was in the same city.

I took a short, light breath.

I stepped onto the escalator leading to the main entrance.

A security guard resembling a doorman stood at the entrance of the hotel in a formal posture.

The guard spoke to me curtly.

“I apologize, but we are not open for business today.”

“I’m here for the party.”

A brief silence.

“…May I see your invitation?”

I took the paper invitation from my pocket and handed it to him.

The guard carefully examined the contents of the invitation.

There seemed to be a chip embedded inside, as he scanned it with a device.

After a moment, the guard looked at me with a strange expression.

…Did my suit look that cheap?

Even though it looked like this, it was an expensive piece of clothing that would cost Eve several days of streaming to afford.

Well, I understood.

Since this was a regular party, it would be a place where the same people always came.

If someone they’d never seen before, someone who hadn’t even appeared on the news once, showed up claiming to be attending the party, I would have been suspicious too.

But my invitation was real.

Not a counterfeit, but the genuine article provided by Monolith.

“…My apologies, sir. You may enter.”

I mumbled a reply and took back the invitation the guard handed me.

I passed by him and entered the hotel.

Since I wasn’t a real corporate executive,
my actions naturally became cautious.

Even if the probability of being exposed was low, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

[The probability of the individual just now being ‘Smile John’ is 2%, I calculate.]

Eve relayed the results measured using the “Smile John Voice Data” Julia had given me.

2%.

It was a rather ambiguous number.

Well, it was harder to calculate the probability with the same gender or similar voices, so it was natural.

Info Bro had said Smile John would be attending the party, and I wondered if it was necessary to check even the hotel staff, but since Eve was doing it for me, I didn’t worry too much about it.

With that thought, I walked towards the banquet hall.

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Quiet, subtle classical music played throughout the banquet hall.

Since it was still earlier than the time stated on the invitation, there weren’t many people inside.

I wasn’t sure how many people were invited to the party in total, but I guessed it wouldn’t be more than 100.

I looked around.

Some people were gathered in conversation, while others sat in luxurious chairs, taking calls or managing their schedules through holograms.

Large tables scattered around were laden with various dishes.

They all appeared to be made with natural ingredients.

It didn’t seem like I wasn’t allowed to eat,
but I didn’t see anyone eating.

At most, people were accepting wine glasses from waiters and taking a sip.

…It should be okay to eat, right?

No, focus.

What was the reason I came here?

To find out the identity of ‘Smile John,’ who was said to be attending the party.

There was only one thing I had to do now.

…….

I naturally moved towards the table with the food, a plate already in one hand.

This wasn’t because I wanted to eat.

It was the best option for eavesdropping on the conversations around me.

So as not to stand out too much, I kept a considerable distance from the people who were talking, but it wasn’t a problem.

I had a competent AI with me.

I muttered softly.

“…Eve, can you eavesdrop on the conversations nearby?”

[I confirm. However, for accurate data measurement, conversations too far away are impossible, I inform.]

“Well, I can just keep moving around.”

I put food on my plate while focusing my attention behind me.

After a moment, the voices of strangers reached my mind.

[I heard that new product LAD released is incredibly popular in the lower levels?]

[Hehehe, you flatter me. Of course, we’ve already surpassed last year’s sales.]

[As expected, there’s a reason why they say you have to capture the lower level market first. Even the lower levels aren’t completely useless.]

[Although our company started with animal feed—]

And Eve’s voice followed.

[Match probabilities are 3% and 5% respectively.]

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

I continued to move around.

I felt like I could find Smile John quickly
if I just kept wandering around like this.

I tried to maximize my movement path, filling my plate with various dishes.

I made an effort to discreetly position myself within earshot of people’s conversations.

“…Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Although in the process, a waiter spoke to me, looking at me suspiciously.

It wasn’t a big problem.

I kept moving.

But as time passed, more and more people filled the banquet hall.

[This individual is 1%.]

[This individual has already been checked, I inform.]

[5% and 7% respectively.]

This is really hard to find.

It was a more difficult task than I had imagined.

“Sigh.”

I sighed unconsciously.

And there was another problem I hadn’t anticipated.

“…This won’t do.”

[What is the matter, I inquire.]

“I’m so full I’m going to die…”

[…….]

I couldn’t keep wandering around while picking up food anymore.

As a result of trying not to look suspicious, I had eaten a lifetime’s worth of high-class cuisine.

There was no helping it now.

It seemed I would have to wait for the employee Monolith was supposed to send, the one who promised to help me.

It would be better to move with their assistance.

I should rest for a bit.

As I sat down in a chair, holding my full stomach, to take a short break,
a stranger suddenly approached me.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

There shouldn’t be anyone here who knew me.

I rarely took on corporate requests, except from Monolith.

He was a man who looked East Asian.

He had tattoos on his face that resembled braille, but despite his tough appearance, he had a smiling expression.

But how should I put it?

I also sensed a hostile atmosphere.

When I responded, he asked me,

“Excuse me for asking, but are you by any chance of East Asian descent? What is your name?”

His sharp, narrowed eyes focused on me.

…Hmm.

Should I give my real name?

Or a fake name?

And if I gave a fake name, what name should I use?

Flustered,

I gave an answer that was both true and false.

“…Shun Li.”

“Oh, you’re of Chinese descent.”

No.

“I am Hei Lü, Tactical Operations Manager for Heishuqwai.”

Heishuqwai.

The name of the Chinese mafia in Cyberpunk, no different from the Triads.

Honestly, they weren’t someone I wanted to have a long conversation with.

“Ah… I see. Then, if you’ll excuse me—”

As I tried to escape, Hei Lü continued speaking.

“Excuse me again, but may I ask you one more question?”

“…Go ahead.”

“Have you been to Center Plaza recently on a rainy day?”

I didn’t understand what kind of random question that was.

But the atmosphere between us grew tense regardless.

Center Plaza on a rainy day.

Of course, I had.

It was the day I met Maya.

But I didn’t understand why he was asking.

As I just stared at him without answering, Hei Lü continued speaking on his own.

“One of our Heishuqwai mercenary employees had an accident recently.”

“I don’t see how that’s related to me.”

“Ah, the employee’s name is Hei Wang. You see, when we extracted and analyzed the data from the deceased employee’s brain, it seems he saw your face.”

I still didn’t understand.

What did that have to do with me, and why was he holding me up like this?

Frankly, in the cyberpunk world with its highly developed plastic surgery, it wasn’t difficult to steal someone’s face.

[Hei Wang.]

Then, Eve spoke.

[A Heishuqwai combat mercenary, one of the individuals who recently escaped from Pelicanus, a chrome psycho killed by the individual ‘Maya’ at Center Plaza, I inform.]

“Ah.”

I remembered.

“…Was your employee covered in military-grade chrome?”

“Of course, he was a promising combat mercenary.”

He was the chromed guy Maya had killed.

It was a situation that could be misunderstood.

Maya had attacked him from behind, and I was the last person he saw before he died.

And Eve would have deleted the remaining surveillance camera data.

…….

Wait.

Was this a situation I needed to run from?

That thought crossed my mind.

Smile John, who I was supposed to find, was nowhere in sight, and I had gotten entangled with the Chinese mafia, something I hadn’t anticipated.

It would be difficult to escape if a fight broke out in the upper level.

“So, please come with us for a moment.”

Hei Lü politely phrased his intention to encase me in concrete and dump me at the bottom of a lake.

Just as I was wondering how to handle this situation, a woman’s voice reached me.

“Do you have some business with my associate?”

The first thing I saw was her small stature.

About chest-height to me.

But despite her height, there was an air of authority about her.

Her deep purple hair fluttered.

Flustered, I asked before Hei Lü could,

“…Who are you?”

“Is this our first time meeting in this body? It’s me.”

Eyes that recognized me.

And a way of speaking that changed depending on the body.

“…Chairman?”

The most reliable person had arrived.

…….

I didn’t know why she had come in a new body, but she was also the most burdensome person.

You said you were busy….

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