Chapter 88
I had definitely witnessed a similar sight somewhere before.
My First Day of Work at Dragon's Lair. During the Stop-and-Frisk at the Kabuki monorail Platform, a Psycho gang member caught in the Inspection had suffered a similar fate. And that guy's affiliation back then was of Work at Dragon's Lair. During the Stop-and-Frisk at the Kabuki monorail Platform, a Psycho gang member caught in the Inspection had suffered a similar fate. And that guy's affiliation back then was of Work at Dragon's Lair. During the Stop-and-Frisk at the Kabuki monorail Platform.
A Psycho gang member caught in the Inspection had suffered a similar fate.
And that guy's affiliation back then was...
“Dead Cell.”
A madman terrorist gang stood on par with the Luddite gang.
They were the type to undergo high-risk cyborg Implant procedures like eating meals, and treated killing people and ripping out their chrome and cyberware as lightly as having a snack.
The assailant subdued by the Patrol Officer over there was the same. You could tell at a glance they were of the same breed.
His outward appearance—the shape of his LED prosthetic eye, the color of his fiber-optic hair, the look of his Metal Tattoo—was slightly different from the guy back then, but the fact that he committed Crazy acts was exactly the same.
Since that was last Monday... I guess I've witnessed a Dead Cell gang member being arrested by the DCPD twice in just the past few days.
And only here in Asian Town, at that.
It was clearly an abnormal occurrence.
Asian Town is quite a distance from Sprawlfield, Dead Cell's home base. The Yakuza have a tight grip on it, so there's no room to squeeze out any profit either.
Yet there had to be a reason they kept showing up around here, as if they were holding Regular meetups.
The DCPD searching for Dead Cell like they were hunting for lice was also Suspicious. Good lord, turning an entire game center/arcade upside down just to catch a single member.
Even though they were a gang with a Red Notice Order issued against them, just like the Luddite gang, it had never been to this extent.
I heard that because Dead Cell was a good partner for exchanges regarding “ethically problematic” Technology or research, even the corporations didn't necessarily try to root it out.
What was the reason the City police, known as Corporate Hounds, were overreacting to Dead Cell's movements like this?
“You bastards crossed a Major line this time.”
“He was a guy who knew something. The intel wasn”t completely wrong.'
The Patrol Officer's voice that I heard at the monorail Platform came to mind.
I brushed it off as nothing much at the time, but thinking about it now, it seemed Dead Cell had caused some Major Incident.
What did that Dead Cell gang member say back then?
“Crossing a line just ”cause we plucked one stray pubic hair from a great Megacorp is typical of you cop bastards licking corporate assholes...'
The sight of him screaming with such madness before being beaten half to death by the Patrol Officer was still vivid.
It was a scene of brutal violence that was hard to forget.
Did those Dead Cell bastards cause some incident related to a Megacorp, and is that why the DCPD has been chasing those bastards continuously from then until now, if I were to make a deduction based solely on what I heard back then?
Whatever it was, it seemed they had caused a truly serious Major Incident.
It looked like those Psycho gang bastards had thoroughly provoked the Megacorp's temper.
There was a reason why the City police had been showing such sensitivity lately and why stop-and-frisks were so frequent.
Whether they attacked a Megacorp's Factory or subsidiary, or stole Technology... There were so many Possible Candidates that it couldn't be narrowed down to just one.
And the current situation wasn't exactly a time to be making deductions leisurely either.
"...Ke, urgh."
Tossing aside the Dead Cell gang member, who had fainted with his cluster of glowing red eyes rolled back and a gasping sound, the Patrol Officer looked this way, his exoskeleton—splattered with blood and aqueous fluid—moving with a whir.
Behind him, two of his subordinate patrol officers were escorting the assailant out of the center, having placed electronic restraint devices on his hands and feet.
Excluding those two, the remaining Patrols pushed through the murmuring wave of VR Derelicts and gradually approached my direction.
With all eyes focused on me, I smiled awkwardly and raised both hands in a Sign of Surrender.
Just as I was debating whether I should kneel as well, a rough-looking male Patrol suddenly approached and grabbed my body from behind, bending me over.
"Ack."
This was why I hated standing out.
Whether in a good way or a bad way, if you stand out at a scene where the DCPD has been dispatched, you have no choice but to be investigated.
That was the rule.
Even so, they were letting me off easy.
If they had eyes, there would be no way they wouldn't know that I had saved them from the Dead Cell terrorist's Energy Beam.
Right now, I stand out in a good way, so they are giving me somewhat fair treatment.
If I had stood out in a bad way, they would have started by kicking my legs out to make me kneel and slapping Electronic Handcuffs on me.
"Please Cooperate with the Investigation."
Because the suit's Combat Mode was activated, I suppressed my body's reflexive urge to Counterattack and accepted the patrol's Joint Lock.
Frowning, I nodded and let him run a background check on my Identity.
It's Fine. I was a little anxious, but still, this wasn't a bad situation.
They had already caught the culprit, and I was someone with absolutely no connection to Dead Cell, no matter how you looked at it.
I had even thrown my own body to save the Patrols and civilians. If anything, I felt like I should be receiving a DCPD commendation.
At most, it would end with a bit of Interrogation or Investigation.
It wouldn't go as far as a Detailed Examination where my Fake ID would be discovered, probably.
The problem weighing on my mind was that I might look a bit Suspicious.
Even if I were a member of the City police, if a man wearing a pitch-black Darth Vader Mask and a stiff suit suddenly displayed Extraordinary Martial Arts skills and helped Arrest a criminal, I'd probably think, 'What's with this bastard?'
Putting it like that, I really did seem like a Crazy person. Considering this place was a VR game center/arcade where bottom-feeders gathered, it was even more so, a character completely unsuited for the location.
Please, I just hope they see me as an exceptionally righteous vigilante...
I knew in my head that the chances of me being dragged away weren't that high, but I couldn't help feeling nervous.
This was while I was undergoing the Identity check in an uncomfortable posture with an anxious heart.
[Release him.]
My eyes widened. When I lifted my head, the multiple helmet lenses of the Patrol Officer were spinning busily, shining on me.
"Yes? B-But. According to regulations..."
The Patrol Officer spoke once more to the flustered Patrol.
[I said release him. There is no need to investigate. He is someone I know. The data is also on file.]
"U-Understood. Keep up the good work, then."
The Patrol Officer backed away, sweating profusely in a manner unbefitting his large build.
The Patrol Officer air-washed his gauntlet, then reached out a hand and helped me up.
[Nakamura Aaron-san, correct?]
"...Yes. Thank you."
I had a hunch due to a strangely familiar feeling, but at that moment, I realized it for sure.
If it was a DCPD Patrol Officer who would still remember my name, I only knew one.
I guess I hadn't felt a sense of déjà vu from my First Day of Work for nothing.
No wonder the sight of him beating down the Dead Cell gang member felt so refreshingly familiar.
It was that Patrol Officer who had interrogated me at the monorail Platform, and whom I had run into a few times since, and with whom I had become Ever so slightly acquainted.
I hadn't Recognized him at a glance because Patrol Officer uniforms were so uniform, but the Patrol Officer must have figured out my Identity just by seeing my air-purifying mask.
[Would you care to have a brief conversation?]
He said that while looking deeply at me with unseen eyes behind his mechanical lenses.
Because the hand that had helped me up was gripping my forearm tightly, I realized that I couldn't refuse.
I stammered as I spoke.
"Y-Yes. Of course."
[There is a good place to talk nearby. Let us go there.]
Saying so, the DCPD Patrol Officer dragged me away while holding onto my arm.
Surely a “good place to talk” didn't mean the City police Asian Town Branch or something like that.
Being dragged away helplessly, I cried out internally.
Ah, no. My day off. My game score. I need to recover it...!
* * *
About 10 minutes later.
The Patrol Officer suddenly asked.
[Is the coffee to your liking?]
A coffee shop was bathed in yellow lighting with jazz-funk music playing. The sign and menu Board reading "COFFEE" glowed softly.
The “good place to talk” meant a cafe.
I wondered if it might be some secret DCPD cooperative business, but it wasn't that either.
It was a more normal and ordinary coffee shop than I could have imagined.
A cozy and warm atmosphere enveloped the surroundings. Or at least, it definitely would have, if not for the person sitting next to me.
Cold sweat trickled down.
Sitting side-by-side with a Patrol Officer wearing an Exoskeleton Suit in an already cramped seat, I found the pressure was no joke.
Even more so considering that this very Patrol Officer had caused the customers in the cafe to flee in terror just by showing up a few minutes ago.
Even the Robot Barista had handed over the coffee cups while trembling. It seemed DCPD Patrol Officers really were terrifying.
Cough.
I had been drinking the coffee I ordered in that Awkward and stiff atmosphere, so when he suddenly spoke to me, it went down the wrong pipe.
What I was drinking almost came out my nose, so I wiped my mouth and nose with a tissue as I spoke.
"Ahem, hem. Yes. It's Fine."
The taste of the coffee? I had no idea.
I couldn't possibly say it given the atmosphere, but I didn't really like coffee in the first place... and how could I even taste it anyway? Not when a living Bio-Weapon was staring intently right at me from right next to me.
I was at the point where I didn't even know if the coffee was going into my nose or my mouth.
Since it was just Instant Coffee—nothing more than an extremely diluted concentrate mixed with various synthetic compounds, caffeine, and Synthetic Milk—there was no way it would taste that amazing anyway.
But I couldn't say that to the Patrol Officer. Especially since I didn't even buy this, that Yangban had bought it for me.
[That is a relief.]
The Patrol Officer replied in a flat voice, took a sip of his Espresso through a straw connected to his helmet, Flinched briefly, and then spoke.
[First, I believe I must start by thanking you for your help. It is shameful to Admit, but if Nakamura-san had not stepped in, there would have been many casualties. Many among the Patrols would have been killed or injured as well.]
"I only did What needed to be done. I couldn't just stand by and Watch people die. And you can call me by my first name instead of my last name."
[Would that be alright? I have heard that Japanese people only call each other by their first names when they are truly close.]
"Well. This is Dusk City, not Neo Tokyo."
And I wasn't even Japanese.
Calling me Nakamura-san would only make us both uncomfortable.
At my words, the Patrol Officer nodded.
We shared cheesy, heartwarming conversation as if doing an interview, and I took another sip of coffee.
Then, as if getting to the main point, he brought up a new topic.
[In truth, I was quite surprised to see you fight the criminal just now. It seems you have learned Martial Arts. I did not notice it at all last time.]
That was entirely thanks to the suit, and I didn't have the Kinetic Drive back then.
Of course I would have looked like an ordinary person who didn't know how to fight. I actually was an Ordinary Person, after all.
But I couldn't just tell him that straight out.
Having nothing to say, I just smiled awkwardly.
Surely he wouldn't Arrest me just because being good at fighting was Suspicious. I chose to believe the City police wasn't that much of a dead-end Organization.
As I stayed quiet, the Patrol Officer observed my lack of reaction... then tapped his coffee cup and spoke.
[The fact that you are from Neo Tokyo, and the fact that your record is excessively clean... I have thought you were Suspicious for a while now.]
"..."
[Seeing this incident, I have somewhat gotten a grasp on it.]
Got a grasp on what?
He spoke to the flustered me.
[Are you perhaps dispatched from the higher-ups... that is, from the corporation side?]