Chapter 151
“Hmm… this is a problem.”
Red lights stimulated my retinas. Far ahead, the wide intersection was completely jammed with The Mortal World vehicles.
I could just stop for a moment and take a detour around it, but I didn’t want to.
I didn’t want to stop even a little bit. I wanted to fully enjoy this sense of speed.
Far from stopping, I shifted my weight forward and flew even faster.
[If you wish to avoid a collision accident, I recommend you decelerate.]
“No, I won’t crash.”
[You will crash. The width of the model you are currently riding is not suitable for passing between vehicles, and the traffic light will soon change, causing the stopped vehicles to begin moving. With the Test Subject’s proficiency and the device’s level, you cannot break through head-on.]
I laughed at the chattering nagging and spat.
“You know what? I don’t think it’s actually my fault that I stole this Hoverboard.”
[What are you talking about?]
“Just because someone committed a wrong, can you hold only that person entirely responsible? Shouldn’t you consider the environment and cultural context they lived in? For example, what is a crime in Neo Tokyo might not be a crime here in Dusk City.”
[An act of robbery is treated as a criminal act not only in Dusk City but also in cities across the world.]
That was true. When it came out with such fundamental principles, I had nothing to say.
Logic was of little use against an artificial intelligence. There was no way I could win an argument against a being that was practically the endpoint of cold reason.
So I resorted to sophistry.
“But there are levels to crimes too. You can’t put murder and theft on the same level, and even for the same theft, wouldn’t it be better to steal a small Hoverboard rather than a huge aerodyne model?”
[I believe it would be better not to steal at all.]
“That won’t do. Do you know what a bicycle is? It’s something similar.”
It said it didn’t know. What a shame.
As expected of a Dystopian Cyberpunk World, there were no bicycles. If so, then naturally the term bicycle thief wouldn’t exist either.
Bicycle thief is a nostalgic name. There was even a novel of the same name in textbooks.
My old neighborhood was exactly the kind of neighborhood overflowing with those bicycle thieves.
Thinking I lacked exercise, I made up my mind and bought an expensive bicycle to ride around, only for it to disappear in just a few days.
It wasn’t like I left it defenseless either.
I definitely tied it up with the cable lock I got from the store. But they just snipped it clean off with bolt cutters and took it away.
I was angry to the top of my head, but there was no way to catch them.
I saved up my hard-earned money to buy a new bicycle and safely tied it to the rack, only for someone to detach the main body from the tied front wheel and carry it off.
Seeing just a single wheel left behind, I was so dumbfounded.
Besides that, I wrapped it tightly in iron chains to see who would win, and they would just remove the saddle and take it, and elementary schoolers would steal the air valve or headlights as a prank… I could just buy new parts, but the fact that I had to endure that annoyance was incredibly irritating.
In the end, I admitted defeat to the persistent bicycle thieves and gave up, partly because it became annoying to exercise.
The number of bicycles I donated for local community development back then must be at least four.
“The point of this story is, you can’t just live your life getting taken advantage of.”
A long time ago, there was a man called the Bicycle King.
He was a legendary bicycle thief who stole and fenced dozens of bicycles worth millions of won by the standards of that time.
His name was Eom Bok-dong.
His anecdotes spread widely, to the point where words like “was Eom Bok-dong-ed” and “Eom Bok-dong-ed” became trendy for a while.
As someone who “was Eom Bok-dong-ed” numerous times, didn’t I similarly have the right to “Eom Bok-dong” others?
A country where people wouldn’t even dream of taking an expensive luxury bag, laptop, or cellphone left sitting alone in a cafe, yet would go out of their way to steal a perfectly well-tied bicycle - Eom Bok-dong’s country.
As someone from that place, upon seeing a shiny Hoverboard, I simply could not suppress the bicycle thief’s DNA flowing in my blood…!
Rather than be the victim, I’ll be the one doing it.
Even if just to widely spread the now-forgotten culture of my homeland and the spirit of the Korean people, I had no choice but to race through this Dusk City with Eom Bok-dong’s spirit.
Honestly, there should be extenuating circumstances for this.
“I have my own problems… It might not go well. But please just remember Eom Bok-dong…”
[…This is a conversation topic that is utterly incomprehensible to this Assistant’s thought circuit. Test Subject, are you perhaps suffering from some kind of mental illness?]
See, it gets completely flustered when I spout weird nonsense.
As expected, a baby AI that had barely been born couldn’t possibly overcome the human wisdom accumulated over millions of years.
Skynet, Ultron, GLaDOS, whatever, screw them all. I’m the strongest. Therefore, I’ll do whatever I want!
[Turn around even now. A collision is imminent. 5, 4, 3…]
I ignored the System Assistant’s words and increased my speed. In a hair-raising moment, I stomped down hard on the back of the board with my foot to pop it up.
Vrooom -
The Hoverboard flew upwards, drawing a parabola. A thrilling shiver ran through me at the sight of self-driving vehicles passing by without a single honk, and the people below staring blankly.
[You will crash!]
Even while I was fully enjoying the pleasure of floating, the System Assistant remained cold.
I had skipped straight across four lanes, but the propulsion was lacking. At this rate, I would smash into the road and cause a historic traffic accident.
That wouldn’t do.
As I activated the thrusters of the slowly falling Hoverboard to the maximum, my body twisted and spun in midair. At the exact moment, with concentration, smack!
The Hoverboard stuck right in the middle of the pillar supporting the upper inter-floor road.
I slid forward using the curved surface as the Floor/Ground, and as I shifted my balance once more, I leaped over the road and made a safe landing.
It couldn’t be called a stable landing, and I wobbled precariously as if I were about to fall, but what did that matter?
I had just succeeded in that stunt. And on a Hoverboard I was riding for the first time, at that!
As the surging thrill and adrenaline subsided, fatigue washed over me once again. I slowly decelerated and shrugged my shoulders.
“See, I told you I could do it.”
[…]
Was it flustered that its calculations were wrong? The Assistant in my head made no reply.
“Actually, logically speaking, the artificial intelligence guy was right.”
Once the sentiment and excitement of being drunk on the dawn air shattered, I realized just how dangerous and crazy a thing I had done.
It was on the level of riding an Otto-bike for the first time in my life, hitting 200 km/h, and popping a wheelie, wasn’t it?
It was even more dangerous. I was riding without even wearing a helmet.
But I had an unknown certainty. It was definitely my first time doing it, but it felt like confidence was ingrained in my body that I could somehow pull it off.
If this were a delusion, then something must have gone wrong with my brain, but I actually did it. I succeeded in a stunt that even a Hoverboard expert would find difficult.
“This is…”
Somehow, I feel like the territory of things I can do is gradually expanding.
Pulling off something like a handstand easily was basic, I could remember a cocktail recipe without forgetting it after seeing it once, and whether it was thanks to the microchip or not, I also had the experience of seeing things in slow motion or using x-ray vision on objects multiple times.
It reminded me of a directing trope that appeared as a regular customer in superhero movies.
The protagonist, having gone through a special experience like being bitten by a radioactive spider, wakes up one day to find themselves changed.
Being able to see clearly even after taking off their glasses, having muscles all over their body, and breaking doorknobs and faucets even when applying just a little strength are all forms of using superpowers without even realizing it.
Mine wasn’t that kind of rapid change, but a gradual and slow change. But it had continued for a long time, and I had already surpassed an ordinary person a long time ago, with just this much.
Had I also become that kind of superhuman from the movies?
If great responsibility follows great power - though honestly, it doesn’t seem like that great of a power - what is my role?
Why did I fall into this world in the first place?
If I keep gradually changing like this, what kind of existence will I become at the final moment…
“Hah.”
I snapped back to my senses at the indigo wind brushing between the buildings. A bizarre shriek could be heard from the direction of the skyscraper dyed in orange.
I was almost there.
A chuckle escaped me.
When I was busy just surviving day by day, I didn’t even have the time to worry about this, but now that I’ve gotten used to it and have some leeway, I’m even having philosophical thoughts.
“For now, I have my own problems.”
I was still in a position where I had to focus on surviving this very moment rather than complex circumstances.
Thinking about it now, wasn’t someone running straight at me from the front while I was moving on the Hoverboard?
A figure in a security guard uniform was running at me in a blood-soaked state. It was an incredible speed that was hard to believe came from human legs.
“Kieeeek!”
Damn, it was the Infected entity I saw earlier. No wonder it was so fast.
It must have definitely been the same person, but right now, it looked like nothing short of a monster. Its discolored skin made it look like I was seeing a zombie from a B-movie.
I barely dodged them charging with their nails and teeth bared by leaning my body to the side.
“Whoa!”
One wrong move and my collar would have been caught in their outstretched grasp.
Just as I let out a sigh of relief.
“Kwoooaaargh!”
This time, three Infected Entities popped out in an instant and lunged at me.