Chapter 184
Try to bypass it if you can!
You can’t, right? So help me!
If you’re going to keep squatting in my head, at least earn your keep like this!
As if reading my shameless thoughts, the System Assistant spoke slowly in a somewhat angry voice.
[You really are a… Understood. I will help you, Test Subject. I will take care of the robot.]
Somehow, the artificial intelligence’s tone seemed a little different from usual.
Before I even had time to harbor doubts, Hina pulled at my clothes from the side as if to tear them. She was asking why I was just standing still doing nothing when I said I would handle it.
She looked ready to kick me if I stayed spacing out like this, so I had no choice but to jump up.
I stepped forward confidently in front of the anxious gaze of the high school girl with half doubt and half expectation, as if telling her to just trust me!
And… well. What should I do?
Actually, there was no need for me to do anything. The In-Head AI would take care of controlling the patrol robot on its own!
Still, I had to pretend to do something to reassure her. I pondered for a moment, but nothing came to mind, so I struck a dramatic pose and reached my hand forward.
Snap!
A crisp finger snap was heard, as if performing magic!
At my refreshing finger snap, Hina shot me a glaring look from the side that seemed to say, “What the fuck kind of retarded bullshit is this?”
Squeezing my leg tightly with her fingernails, she maintained a low posture, appearing extremely angry and afraid. It was far from reassuring her…
Ah, seriously. Just wait and see.
I was about to give a relaxed smirk.
Vrrrm.
Hina wasn’t the only one who heard the finger snap.
The patrol robot, which had at some point approached right before my eyes, was clearly sending an ominous vermilion gaze my way.
On its waist, there was a whole rifle attached, never mind a pistol. It looked ready to pull it out and start blasting at any moment.
At this point, I felt a sense of crisis.
Huh?
No way, right?
System Assistant, you didn’t just tactlessly mess with the camera lens so the robot could still hear sounds, or stab me in the back just because I spoke a little obnoxiously… right?
The moment an ominous thought struck me and I was about to step back, the patrol robot extended its arm to me with a polite gesture.
Soon, a stiff voice popped out.
[Residents, please refrain from using the emergency stairwell except in emergencies.]
“…”
Phew. This artificial intelligence bastard! I was terrified for a second!
Playing hard to get when you’re this good at your job.
Though I’d been anxious moments before, outwardly I put on a calm expression, as if I knew this would happen, and gave an obnoxious smile toward Hina behind me.
See that? This is the kind of person I am. Treat me better from now on.
[How can a person be so shameless…]
I heard the System Assistant muttering something in my head, but I ignored it lightly.
When I stayed still in place, the patrol robot whirred and asked.
[Are you perhaps lost? If you would like guidance, please state your residence address.]
“No. It’s fine. I’ll leave now.”
As soon as I opened the door and stepped out of the stairwell, Hina, who had been quiet until then, jumped up and shouted.
“Wow, crazy! What the fuck was that? Is this the hand butcher?”
“I told you. I’d handle it.”
“This makes no sense. You suddenly went out and snapped your fingers, so I thought, “What the fuck kind of retarded bullshit is this?” But how the hell did that work? What kind of trick did you use? That’s sick! Can you do it again?”
Meanwhile, she really was thinking exactly what I expected… Still, the way she looked at me seemed different from before, so I liked that.
It was funny for me to act all high and mighty over something the artificial intelligence did, but whatever.
What the AI in my head did was basically what I did.
Naturally, I couldn’t explain the mechanics, so I just said one meaningful sentence.
“Let’s just say I had a hidden trick up my sleeve too. Don’t try to find out more.”
Kya. Even I think that sounded cool. It makes me look like a big shot.
Hina seemed to think the same, sticking close to me and chattering away.
“Honestly, since you didn’t do much on the way here, I was thinking, 'He’s called the hand butcher, but isn’t he just a total beggar?'”
“…I guess I don’t look like a beggar anymore?”
“Of course. The hand butcher is the hand butcher after all. An industry professional is really different!”
What do you mean, con? I vehemently denied it and said no, but you forcefully clung to me and dragged me all the way here…
“Hey, what would I even gain from conning you? I told you I’m not taking any money.”
“I’m just saying. You know. Let’s go, Master hand butcher. I will trust and follow you!”
I wonder how long that groveling, submissive attitude will last.
It probably won’t even last ten minutes… but still, having the girl who always snapped at me cater to my mood like this felt pretty good.
“It’s over there, right? The place where that person lives.”
“Yes.”
“They aren’t inside right now, right? Should we just stake out and wait until they come?”
“You catch on quickly. Let’s do that! I’ll pick the door.”
Somehow, it feels like I’m getting more and more in sync with this kid. If anyone saw us, they’d think we were a two-person robber gang…
“By the way, didn’t you say you were calling one more person to help? Who is it? They still aren’t here. Isn’t it getting too late? Can they even make it here alone?”
Hina asked while disabling the security device.
I pondered for a moment before answering.
“Probably someone trustworthy. Well. I’m sure they’ll find their way here just fine.”
They go alone in and out of places worse than this, anyway.
At my answer, Hina tilted her head and tapped on her Cyberdeck.
“It’s open. Let’s go in!”
* * *
Late at night.
The door burst open with the sound of the Electronic Locking Device unlocking.
As if announcing the house owner’s arrival, the lights in the dark room flashed on automatically.
The figure striding in was a woman of beautiful appearance with flowing blonde hair and blue eyes.
Wearing tight leather pants as if to show off her voluminous figure and a jacket as red as blood, she walked while dragging an unidentified figure wearing a pitch-black plastic bag over its head with one hand.
“Uweeegh!”
Even though the dragged figure bumped into the threshold on the way and let out a pitiful groan, the fatally beautiful woman didn’t even look back.
“Honey, stop exaggerating. I’m sure I told you that I hate hearing you squeal. This is your last warning. I might just make it so you can never do it again.”
In contrast to her alluring voice, the content was brutal. The figure inside the plastic seemed to catch the meaning as well, panting and desperately shutting its mouth.
“Good, that’s a good boy. See, you can listen well.”
The woman lightly patted the top of the plastic as if handling a puppy, and set the dragged reporter down on a metal chair.
Soon, she wrapped him round and round with a carbon cable, tying him up so he couldn’t move an inch. At a glance, it wasn’t something she was doing for the first or second time.
Chwak - As she pulled off the plastic, the terrified face of a middle-aged man appeared.
He trembled just from meeting her sensual gaze, as if fear had been planted deep into his bones.
The woman gave a faint smile, as if she liked it.
“Yes, that’s how it should be. You can open your mouth now.”
“…P-please! I didn’t do it. I just did as I was told. I had no intention to -”
“Shh. Saying you can open your mouth doesn’t mean you can be noisy, does it, honey?”
She spoke as if whispering into the man’s ear.
“You had no intention to? You should have made that excuse before you ripped off my money. I’m disappointed, honey. Pulling tricks when you know who I am? It’s not like we’ve only been working together for a day or two.”
“…That was my mistake. I’ll prepare compensation in whatever way I can.”
“Compensation? Sounds good. Actually, normally I would have thought about stopping there.”
“Normally.” That meant she had changed her mind then.
The woman brought her face so close she was practically licking the man’s cheek, and grabbed the damp nape of his neck.
“Something happened recently that really ruined my mood… You really never know how the world works. Anyway, I’m in a bad mood right now. You could say it’s that time of the month? So, honey. Our Braincraft Inc. director? I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’ll work. Have you prepared a farewell greeting to your fox-like wife and rabbit-like kids to pass on?”
Her long fingernails gradually dug into the middle-aged man’s skin. Blood seeped out, and just as the man was about to let out a groan of pain -
Clack.
A small noise was heard from somewhere.
Instantly, the woman stopped her tormenting and jumped up from her spot.
She sent a throat-slitting signal to the man, who was panting in relief thinking he had survived, warning him to shut his mouth or she would kill him immediately. Then, she slowly moved her steps.
With eyes flashing and shining like those of a feline beast, she looked around her house once, then stared at the bedroom with a distinctly guarded stance.
The door was open as always, and no trace of a person could be seen inside either.
Even so, she didn’t seem to have any doubts that it was just the sound of the wind or a noise from the upper floor.
A certain conviction was present that there was someone else in this space besides herself and the middle-aged man.
As she walked and quietly let her sleeves drop, her fingertips transformed inside into sharp silver hooks and bent inward.
Shrrng -
With the sharp blades raised, she slashed sideways the moment she stepped into the bedroom entrance without a trace of hesitation!
Clang - !
A noise rang out from a direct collision with something hard.