Chapter 115
“Uh... yes, I think that's it. Where did you find it?”
When I asked, Tony answered nonchalantly.
“It was rolling around in the Warehouse. I found it while Cleaning up. I asked boss and Sey first, but they both said it was their first time seeing it, so I figured it was yours.”
The Warehouse?
Why would the Memory Stick be in the bar's Warehouse? I definitely... ah.
I fell into shock and my mouth dropped wide open.
Wondering why it was in the Warehouse, I remembered.
That day, I had brought it to the bar to get Tony's help in checking what was inside the stick.
‘I asked about where to sell the prosthetic arm, but I couldn't mention the Memory Stick. Since the Troublemaker Detective was there too, I thought it would be better to ask about it later...’
Then things got too busy and I missed the timing, and on top of that, an accident broke out.
The conflict between the Luddite gang and Miss Schneider, and the terrorist Attack on the bar were what happened.
When the atmosphere turned unusual, I slipped away in the middle and headed to the Warehouse.
There, I thoroughly armed myself with the weapons and Protective Gear left by the customers, preparing to stand in Ned Ludd's way.
I remember taking the Memory Stick out of my pocket and placing it on a nearby box during that Process.
Since I couldn't know what would happen, and it would be a disaster if it broke from an impact, I planned to Leave it in the Warehouse for a moment and retrieve it later.
But a lot of things happened...
The Cyberdive, Explosion, fainting, bar repairs and Remodeling, an interview with the Chairman, and a company Dinner left me completely out of my mind.
I had completely forgotten about it, and only now did I get the Memory Stick back.
Thinking about it now, leaving the stick in the Warehouse was A Stroke of Genius.
Considering how much I rolled around back then... If I had just Taken it with me without thinking, it would have been broken long ago.
‘Or not. It's a relief the result was good, but I could have completely lost it.’
After I collapsed, weapons were returned to the customers, Investigation personnel came from the DCPD, and Mitsubishi Construction did the repairs and Remodeling...
During that time, the contents of the Warehouse must have changed several times, and many people must have come and gone.
Even though it went through a Process where it wouldn't be strange if it suddenly disappeared somewhere in the middle, the fact that it returned to me perfectly intact was, when you think about it, nothing short of a miracle.
I was having those thoughts.
“Anyway, it's a good thing it's yours. Take it.”
Saying that, Tony casually tossed the Memory Stick.
I tried to catch the thing flying over my head lightly with one hand...
Whoosh—thud.
I missed and ended up dropping it.
Ah, fuck.
My face burns red with embarrassment. I should have just caught it with both hands.
“...”
“Ahem, my hand still isn't moving well. Because of that, Ramos Fizz.”
“Uh, ah. I guess so.”
Tony is clearly taking my side, but it feels like my shame is only increasing.
It's not an excuse. My fingers were really trembling from muscle pain, so I couldn't catch it.
But saying anything more here would only make me look pathetic.
Fortunately, after quietly bending down and picking it up from the floor, it wasn't broken.
As expected, Man Hunter wouldn't use a Memory Drive fragile enough to break just from being dropped on the floor once.
He would have put valuable things inside this, like his slush fund, Secret Account, or Virtual Safe Key.
Thinking about that suddenly made me feel good again.
My financial situation had gotten much better with the hefty bonus I received from Dragon President at dawn, but money is naturally better the more you have.
Since I had practically forgotten about it for a while, it felt like an Unexpected harvest, making me even more pleased.
It was like the feeling of absentmindedly searching the pocket of clothes I hadn't worn in a long time and discovering a forgotten 50,000 credits.
And this wasn't even 50,000 credits; it was a Memory Device that might be full of electronic checks worth hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of credits.
“Of course, how much money is left inside is unknown.”
It's the slush fund of none other than that cunning Bounty Hunter, Man Hunter Alexgey.
Unless he were an idiot, he would have set up a Security Lock so that the money couldn't be easily withdrawn without his Bio-ID,
or he might have already moved the money inside the Memory Stick to his own account through another route.
Unlike Ned Ludd, who disappeared into a handful of ashes, Man Hunter Alexgey only had his arm cut off and was still perfectly alive.
It had been a whopping five days since I first found this Memory Stick, so he would have had plenty of time to do so.
“Thinking about it like that makes me feel a bit disappointed again.”
Should I have opened it right after finding it, after all?
My stomach ached a little, wondering if I had missed the golden opportunity due to needless worry and blown the chance to get a huge sum of money.
Human hearts are fickle; it was just a moment ago that I thought I hit the jackpot by finding something I had completely forgotten about, but before I knew it, I was harboring different thoughts.
This must be greed, as expected.
Not only was regretting something that had already passed a long time ago meaningless, but also acting so hastily could have caused problems.
‘Because he might have installed a Virus Code or ICE that attacks immediately if it's not a terminal matching his Bio-ID.’
Comforting myself like that, I looked forward.
There was no need to worry about a Virus or an ICE Firewall. Wasn't the most capable Talented Person to solve such problems sitting right in front of my eyes?
He's a Former Net Diver whom it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call an expert in this field.
I have Connections like this, so I must use them.
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say; since it came up, I planned to ask Tony right away.
I hold up the Memory Stick and speak.
“Did you happen to see what's inside this?”
“No. It's not mine, so there's no reason to open it. It's dangerous, and it's not good manners either.”
I figured as much.
At Tony's Answer, I let out a Meaningful laugh, “Hehehe...”
“What's with that laugh?”
“Actually, I don't know what's inside this either.”
“...? You said it was yours.”
“Yes. It's mine now, because I ripped it off its previous Master. It's just that I haven't been able to open it yet.”
When I said that much, Tony's eyes widened as if he roughly guessed how the situation was turning out.
“Don't Tell me...!”
“Yes. That's right. This is the secret Memory Device hidden by the Bounty Hunter, Man Hunter.”
As I said so and explained the rough circumstances of how I found it and why it had been neglected until now, Tony also let out an exclamation of “Ooooh...!” and looked excited.
The power of money that instantly makes even the lethargic Tony overflow with passion! This is the power of Capitalism.
“The possibility is really high. Man Hunter's slush fund should be at least hundreds of thousands. It's a shame a lot of time has passed, but... ah, you should have told me a bit earlier.”
“What could I do when I was out of my mind because of the trouble those bastards from the Luddites caused.”
It was true that it was my fault for completely forgetting about it in the middle. But anyway.
I cleared my throat and brought up the main point.
“Since it's a bit burdensome for me to check it Alone, let's open it together.”
“For free?”
“We'll split whatever comes out of it 8 to 2. Naturally, I'm the 8.”
“Hey, let's make it a clean half and half. How about 5 to 5.”
“Who gets the 5?”
At the casually thrown question, Tony stared blankly for a moment as if his brain had stopped, then frowned and looked at me.
It was a look as if he were staring at a Crazy person, so I quickly clarified.
“It's a joke, a joke.”
“What a weird joke to make.”
Tsk. It was a famous joke in my neighborhood... It doesn't work at all here.
Every time this happens, I acutely realize that the World I live in has changed.
I smiled awkwardly and changed the subject.
“Anyway, 5 to 5 is too much. It's my loot. Do you know how much I suffered cutting off that arm?”
“Then 6 to 4. Checking that isn't an ordinary job either. I'm telling you, it requires Technique! Do you think it's easy to find someone reliable like me? Besides, if I hadn't found it for you, you would have kept forgetting about that memory.”
“7 to 3. That's a separate issue. I can't give you any more than this. This is the maximum. Rather than giving you more, I'd rather Leave it to a separate dealer.”
At my Ultimatum, Tony narrowed his eyes and glared at me for a long time, but when I stood straight without budging, he clicked his tongue with a “Tch.” sound.
“Sigh, you're not falling for it. I thought I could make some money.”
“Be satisfied with 7 to 3. If you get too greedy, you'll get into trouble. Deal?”
“Okay, deal. That's not bad for pocket money.”
Deal Concluded!
Tony and I smiled and shook hands.
A win-win situation. It was a trade where everyone benefited.
After hitting it off like this, I felt incredibly reassured, as if I had gained an army of thousands.
A feeling that things were going to work out well wafted over me.
With this slush fund, plus putting the unsold prosthetic arm up for auction, how much money would that be?
He's not Man Hunter; he's nothing short of a giving Treasure Goblin...
My goodness, I already felt like I had become a rich person.
Thank you, Man Hunter!
* * *
"Hmm, definitely. There's a lock on it. There's an ICE too. The level isn't that high, but... it looks like it'll take some time. Since I didn't bring my equipment, I'll install a bypass whenever I have free time during my shift, but I'm not sure when it'll be finished. If work isn't busy, I could do it quickly..."
That was the conclusion that came out of Tony's mouth after he took the Memory Stick I handed him, connected it to a terminal, and manipulated it this way and that.
I spoke while admiring the aura befitting a Former Net Diver.
"Then won't it be finished quickly? It's raining like Crazy right now, and it doesn't seem like many customers will come."
At my words, Tony shook his head.
"No. The way I see it, today will actually be the peak."
"You think it'll be the peak?"
"I think an unprecedented number of customers will flock in today. It's going to be filthy busy."