Chapter 76
The story continues off the page
Floaties for Everyone
Swim lesson at the water park, and she's demonstrating on you
“Bwahahaha!”
How long has it been since I last laughed at Meracle’s financial statement?
No, this might be the first time.
That just showed how smoothly things were going for Meracle right now!
Money was pouring in at an unprecedented rate.
[Meracle Financial Statement]
- Monthly rent for the 2nd and 3rd floors: 5 million won.
- Labor costs: 3.5 million won (Kim Yang), 2 million won (Renea).
- Interior loan interest: 1 million won.
- Other operating expenses: 2 million won.
At the very least, more than 13 million won was going out every month.
But if this month’s sales stayed as strong as they had over the past week—.
Projected sales: 70 million won.
If I subtracted 13 million won in expenses and set aside another 10% for VAT...
The money that would end up in my pocket this month.
Roughly 50 million won.
“Ahh, it’s sweet! So sweet! It’s sweeet!”
As I sat writhing in my chair, Kim Yang, who was online shopping beside me, frowned.
“J-just. Shut up.”
“Kim Yang! Call an ambulance! Your boss is gonna collapse from diabetes!”
“U, uh, what do I do.”
“Should we just convert too?!”
In just a few days, Yeoeumhoe had been upgraded in my mind from a cult to customers with tragic backstories.
“Ah... I hope Yeoeumhoe stays forever. I’m seriously going to die from how sweet this is.”
“D-die.”
We’d need to account for Yeoeumhoe’s special circumstances, but at this point Meracle could probably start competing with the other matchmaking agencies by scale.
My dream of getting a solid apartment in Seoul under my own name was starting to feel realistic.
“This is so good. Seriously. Yeoeumhoe is the best. I’ve fallen in love with them.”
Of course, because of how matchmaking agencies work, customers usually only stay for the short term.
Whether they succeed or not.
As time went on, members naturally drifted away from the agency.
Then we’d just run marketing again and bring in new customers.
‘Should I push promotions? Tsk, or maybe we should hold our own marriage-hunting party?’
While I was thinking over all sorts of business plans, one thing suddenly came to mind.
“Kim Yang.”
“Ugh, again—! Why, why?! I’m, I’m busy.”
“Is looking at your clothes what you’re busy with?”
“I-I am busy.”
Look at you goofing off in your spare time just because it’s almost quitting time.
I casually reached over to Kim Yang’s keyboard and closed the screen with a shortcut.
“D-do you want to die, kid?”
“How about we buy the company a car?”
“...A car?”
Kim Yang, who had been about to explode and say something, seemed intrigued and opened her eyes wide.
“R-really?”
“Yeah, how long are we supposed to keep riding the bus?”
“L-last time. B-bicycle.”
“Right, we used to get around on bicycles and e-scooters. But now we can probably afford a car, can’t we? We’ve even got a parking lot at the building.”
“R-right. Boss.”
The moment I mentioned buying a car, look at that—suddenly it’s boss again.
I heard that if we lease one long term, we can get subsidies or tax breaks. Of course, we’d need some business-use records, but—
“Uh, what car?”
We’d have to see. Hmm, since it’s come up, why don’t we look?
When I went to a long-term rental site, a neat row of cars was laid out before me.
They looked cheap at first, but once I clicked in, all sorts of extra charges piled on and the price shot up, which was disgusting.
“We’d probably be better off looking at sedans, right?”
“O-of course.”
Lumien GT.
Taelim Seras.
Neoline VANT, and so on.
I hadn’t known before, but the moment I realized I might be able to drive one, I suddenly started salivating.
“Holy shit, do rich people worry about this stuff every day?”
“O-ohh—.”
Kim Yang, pressed close to my side and looking at the cars with me, was also marveling.
Then one model immediately caught my eye.
“Shinra’s Argent S! How about this one? I want this!”
“Ah, Argent? I-I don’t really know cars.”
“This is it. Definitely this one! I always thought that if I ever made a lot of money later, I’d buy this as my entry-level dream car!”
“Entry-level?”
It’s a full-size sedan, so I could even haul all our employees around.
Just as I was thinking it had to be this one, Kim Yang frowned.
“Th-this one... it’s expensive, though?”
“Huh...?”
It turned out to be a model that wasn’t included in the benefits, so it was far more expensive than the others.
“.......”
“S-something else.”
“But—”
“Something else!”
As Kim Yang slapped my shoulder and hurried me to scroll down,
Raychen came into the office.
I figured it was quitting time, so he was heading out on another date, but—
“A guest has arrived.”
When Raychen stepped aside politely, a graceful woman hidden behind his large frame came into view.
“Yu Yena?”
“You’ve changed a lot. I thought I’d walked into a different company.”
Yu Yena was looking around in admiration, but my gaze was on the two bags she was carrying.
“What’s going on? And what’s with those?”
“I came because there’s something I need your help with.”
“Me?”
“.......”
Yu Yena shot a quick glance at the others.
I stood up instead.
“Let’s go to the counseling room over there.”
“Sure.”
“Raychen and Kim Yang, get ready to head out. Ms. Renea?”
“She said the toilet was clogged, so she’s clearing it.”
“...I see.”
Even at 1,902 years old, she works hard.
I should follow her example.
When we entered Counseling Room 1, Yu Yena immediately set the bags down on the table.
A heavy thud.
Usually those bags are stuffed with money.
“What’s going on?”
“You know about Yeoeumhoe, right?”
“Of course.”
Aren’t they our lovely customers?
“I need your help to uncover the truth behind the radio.”
“My help?”
She hesitated for a moment, as if the subject was hard to bring up. Was that slight averted gaze due to guilt?
“I believe this Yeoeumhoe incident is a planned scam caused by a personal information leak.”
“I know it’s a scam too. It looked that way at a glance, didn’t it?”
“Right, you never really believed in that kind of thing.”
Yu Yena gave a small smile.
But I still had questions.
“But it’s strange. They say a dead person’s voice comes out. Is something like that possible?”
“It isn’t impossible.”
“...So there is someone you suspect?”
At my question, Yu Yena flinched. In that faint surprise, she gave a small nod.
“Strictly speaking, it’s not a person.”
“Not a person?”
“I think the mastermind behind this incident is Axis, the supervisory AI of Cyber City.”
“Hold on... this is getting way too big.”
It collects personal information and uses it to produce the voices of the dead.
I’d heard that in Cyber City, where AI is highly advanced, there are lots of scams like deepfakes and voice modulation.
Axis is Cyber City’s supervisory AI, and as part of the Tower Management Bureau it also has the authority to interfere with other floors.
It’s possible.
It’s possible, but would Axis have any reason to do that?
“Whatever it is, I’m not doing it. I’m the president of a matchmaking agency. I’m living a normal life just fine, aren’t I?”
“I’ll give you a reward.”
“A reward? What kind? You didn’t come here lugging cash around in some cliché way, did you?”
“.......”
Yu Yena hesitated, then slowly held the bag out.
Click—the lock released, and cash appeared inside.
“It’s 100 million won. Since there are two bags, that’s 200 million.”
“We have a lot of Yeoeumhoe believers among our customers. And you want me to help disband them?”
“You know it’s temporary. By next month, they’ll probably all be gone. The Tower Management Bureau has no intention of letting Yeoeumhoe continue for long.”
“.......”
“It isn’t just about the money. You don’t want the members to become war worshippers either, do you?”
War worshippers.
That had a rather heavy ring to it.
Then the door opened, and Renea, holding a vacuum cleaner, was about to come in before spotting us.
“Oh?”
“Ah, Ms. Renea. Good timing.”
“Hm? What is it?”
This worked out nicely.
I had something to tell you.
“Tell Kim Yang I’m buying the Shinra Argent S on installments.”
“Argent? Shinra... a car?! We’re getting a car too?!”
“It’s mine.”
“.......”
Where do you think you’re putting your hand on my shoulder?
Two hundred million just fell from the sky, so I should be the one to take it, not the company.
“Tch, how nasty and petty. Then from now on, take me with you when you go to work!”
Renea grumbled and went back outside.
As I quietly took the bag, Yu Yena nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright, then I’ll tell you what you’re curious about now. Why I put Axis down as a suspect.”
Yu Yena answered as if she’d already read my mind, even though I hadn’t asked.
“To put it simply, after narrowing down the possibilities one by one, that was the only thing left.”
“.......”
“The fact that Yeoeumhoe hadn’t spread to the Old Martial World was also important. There aren’t any electronic devices in the Old Martial World, so it would have been hard to check personal information.”
“So, in your view, it’s a scam, and you want me, someone from the 7th Floor, to go retrieve an item I used to have?”
“That’s right... Remember what you told me before? The medal. That it was stained with the blood of old friends.”
“.......”
A medal.
An object with its own share of memories attached to it.
I’d once told Yu Yena, who I’d dated before, the clichéd story attached to it.
“I’m sorry, Juseon.”
Facing her apology, I let out a sigh.
“Well, it isn’t difficult. I was already thinking it was a scam too.”
“.......”
“They won’t find out about me, right?”
“I’ll make sure of that. The existence of the 7th Floor must never be revealed. It’s too dangerous.”
“Then that’s fine.”
In fact, there was an even easier way.
“Oh right, there’s a customer named Beloa who’s close with the Yeoeumhoe leader. If you connect with Beloa, you’ll be able to meet them quickly.”
“Really? That makes it much easier. It might get resolved faster than I thought.”
As Yu Yena nodded, satisfied with the deal, I had a question.
“But still. If you think Axis did it, shouldn’t there be some convincing evidence?”
“You’re right. That’s why I sent Seoram over to Cyber City.”
“Ryu Seoram?”
The scale really was huge.
“I have a capable hacker I know personally in Cyber City. I’m making contact with them and looking for evidence.”
“Hah... everyone’s really going through it.”
I was the only one happily sitting on a pile of money.
* * *
The Cyber City hacker group, ‘Dead Packet,’ was what you’d call white-hat hackers.
They did work for the public good and only carried out things they personally judged to be morally right.
People like that are usually financially strapped.
But Dead Packet, thanks to their outstanding skills, had no trouble dealing with well-heeled clients.
The vice president of the Neo Seoul Hunter Association, Yu Yena, was one of them.
What Dead Packet was doing today was bigger than expected.
Each of them wore glasses that looked like goggles, and instead of keyboards, they were tapping away at the air with glove-like devices on.
“Haaahm.”
Ryu Seoram, who had come because it was supposedly a serious matter, was just yawning in back.
There was nothing for Ryu Seoram to do, so boredom settled in.
“Huh? Leader, there’s one file left here.”
“What about the access logs?”
“They’re normal.”
“Hmm, maybe it’s a trap? There could be malicious code left behind, so run a scan first.”
Dead Packet was hacking into the records while evading the eyes of Axis, the city’s central AI.
Listening to them chatter, Ryu Seoram yawned again.
‘What the hell are they talking about.’
All Ryu Seoram wanted to do was watch baseball.
“Nothing special. It’s just a normal video. About a minute long?”
“Hmm—.”
The mohawk-haired man leading Dead Packet removed his goggles and turned to Ryu Seoram.
“What should we do? Should we check it first?”
“What is it? I don’t really know, so you guys handle it.”
“Hmm, well. If it were an important video, they wouldn’t have left it lying around this easily.”
The video was played on a large screen so Ryu Seoram could see it too.
The place was a dark laboratory lit only by the glow of computers.
A stooped old man was breathing heavily as if he were at death’s door.
“Holy shit... that’s Olbekrimer, right?”
“Whoa, a video from when he was still alive?”
‘Olbekrimer?’
Who the hell is that, you nerds.
Before anyone could say that, the leader explained for the customer’s sake.
“You can think of him as the master who built today’s AI system. Axis was Olbekrimer’s masterpiece. He was a crotchety old pain in the ass, but his skills were undeniable.”
He was dead now, though, the leader added.
Ryu Seoram got the gist, nodded, and kept watching the video.
- Axis, you’ve worked hard all this time.
The old man said, leaning back comfortably in his chair.
The atmosphere was exactly that of leaving a final testament.
Dead Packet’s team members swallowed hard and focused.
A giant of the AI industry.
This could be a historic moment, the chance to hear his previously unknown final words.
- You have certainly done much for me.
A faint smile.
He seemed to be looking back on his memories with Axis.
- It suddenly occurred to me. You’ve always devoted yourself to me, yet I feel I’ve never done anything for you in return.
- I deny that. Master, you have given me many memories.
- Hah, was that so? Then that’s a relief... still, I can’t feel at ease about where I’m going.
Olbekrimer closed his eyes tightly.
The cables and lines stuck to him were now disconnecting one by one, as if to say this was the end.
- Speak, Axis. As thanks for having devoted your life to me, this time I want to hear your wish.
- ....
Axis remained silent for a long while.
Its breath grew thinner and thinner.
- Speak.
In response to Olbekrimer’s question, Axis...
- I wish for humanity’s extinction.
Wheeeeeeng!
The screen went black, the power cut out at once, and everything around them went dark.
“Wh-what?!”
“What the hell is happening?!”
“Emergency power! Connect it!”
“No use!”
Dead Packet panicked, pounding on devices that wouldn’t even light up.
Ryu Seoram calmly looked toward the entrance.
“Something’s coming.”
Not just one or two.
A considerable number.
“Looks like they were waiting for us? The response is way too fast.”
As Ryu Seoram loosened his shoulders and headed for the entrance, muttering in a sharp tone, Dead Packet’s leader widened his eyes as if they would split and shouted.
“Fuck! That Axis son of a bitch! It was a trap! The video itself was the trap!”
“A trap?”
“AI can’t attack humans! That’s the basic premise! But there are a few exceptions. One of them is if it decides the city’s survival protocol has been compromised!”
“Huh? What are you talking about?!”
He shouted in frustration at another team member who asked in panic.
“Axis is classifying everyone who just watched that video as dangerous factors infringing on the city’s right to survive! The moment hackers on its lines watch the video—”
it can legally kill hackers under the program’s rules.
“It spread that on purpose to kill anyone trying to hack it!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The sound of mechanical armor echoed from outside.
The moment everyone focused on the small steel door—
Plop.
A glowing sphere dropped from the ceiling vent.
“It’s a pump bomb!”
“Shiiit! Get down!”
The hackers hurled themselves in every direction as the bomb fell among them.
And at the center, Ryu Seoram ran the other way—straight toward the bomb—and covered it with both hands.
“Customer, what are you doing! Get down, now!”
“It’s already over! We’re all dead—!”
Boom!
The explosion that burst in Ryu Seoram’s palms released nothing but acrid smoke and heat.
The damage was so light it almost seemed like a dud.
“Damn, it’s hot.”
Ryu Seoram brushed off his hands.
Ryu Seoram glared at the mechanical soldiers breaking through the entrance and shouted.
“I’ll clear a path, so follow me!”