Chapter 31
Suddenly, the plot of an action movie brushed past me amid the waves of memory.
The movie's story was very ordinary.
An Albanian mafia boss operating in France kidnaps the daughter of a former CIA SAC (Special Activities Center) special operative, only for the entire gang to go up in flames—a simple story.
Nothing particularly special.
It wasn't quite what you'd call a masterpiece, but it was a decent movie for killing time.
However.
Contrary to expectations, the movie succeeded in becoming hugely popular in both the United States and Korea….
The polished, weighty action scenes were certainly one major reason it became a hit, but the dialogue between the protagonist and the mafia boss also sparked a cult following.
- I don't know who you are, and I don't know what you want. But if you don't let my daughter go, I will find you. I will find you and kill you with my own hands.
- …Good luck.
In fact, the mafia boss's response should be interpreted as something like ‘LOL, go ahead and try,’ but online, people more often translated it literally.
What was the important point here?
The lesson I learned from watching this movie when I was young was simple.
Don't run your mouth until you've secured victory.
Any gamer living in modern society would have experienced how a single line can change the course of battle and reverse the outcome.
Tease the enemy jungler, say that the carries are on completely different levels, or type ‘GG’ in chat before burning down the enemy base.
Thus, it was wisest to teabag on the results screen.
And.
This fucking bastard apparently didn't even know such a simple fact.
[Then I’ll go check whether the person you’re looking for is here. Ah, it was nice meeting you. Best of luck.]
Mockery, composure, and provocation.
He had quite a sharp tongue.
At this rate, it felt like about 0.75 grocery stores' worth of anger.
Remembering the truck crashing into the grocery store entrance, I made the veins on my forehead bulge, then calmly steadied my breathing.
I couldn't get angry here.
Because that would mean doing exactly what the other side wanted.
That didn't mean I completely suppressed my anger.
I gathered the heat boiling inside me, then clenched my teeth so hard that a bitterly sweet taste rose in my mouth.
I merely held it down in silence.
So I could let this anger explode later.
“Whew…. Good, I’ve calmed down.”
“…….”
“Come to think of it, you said you can’t talk.”
“…….”
“A personality module, huh. Damn, why is there so much unsettling shit in this world? Fuck. I should’ve just played Animal Crossing….”
The huge android didn't slow down at all, no matter what I muttered.
We were boxed in on both sides by the prison's iron bars.
Its suffocating presence drew closer and closer.
The android reached out without hesitation, as if trying to grab me by the collar.
Given the difference in size, if it caught me, I clearly wouldn't escape easily.
But my experiences so far had made me careless.
‘Let’s see how tough you are.’
Without much thought, I launched a kick.
In ordinary combat sports, a kick without rotation is used more to check the opponent's actions than to aim for a KO.
Like a Muay Thai teep or a taekwondo front kick.
But even men weighing over 100 kilograms hadn't been able to withstand my kicks, so I expected a similar result this time.
WHAM!!
A powerful noise rang out, like a baseball bat being swung with all one's might.
“?”
But it felt completely different from anything before.
My kick slammed into the android's abdomen, but only pushed him back a few dozen centimeters.
No matter how fast my visual perception had become, I couldn't respond to movements that were physically unavoidable.
“…Wait, time out.”
It grabbed me by the collar.
It was as solid as if I had been clamped in a steel vise.
Only then did I realize what it meant for his entire body to have been modified with cybernetic prosthetics.
My body rose into the air.
“Urk…!!”
I was sent flying directly away from the android.
My feet struck the ceiling, shattering the light fixture.
BANG!!
I landed on my back safely, but the impact still coursed through me.
The air filling my lungs was naturally expelled by the pain.
Shards of cracked concrete dirtying my clothes were an added bonus.
“……!!”
Without even having time to finish groaning, the android slammed my body down in the opposite direction again.
It was light and effortless, like a one-year-old playing with a toy.
Just like that.
BANG! BANG!! BANG!!!
I was able to escape the android's attack because the front of my shirt tore.
I rolled several times, then planted a hand on the floor and stood up.
“Wow, fuck….”
I ran a hand over the collar he had grabbed.
My body had become tough enough that I didn't think any bones were broken—no, the pain in my shoulder blade was pretty severe.
I didn't have time to make a crying face and go to a hospital.
Because the big guy who had been merely walking until a moment ago was now running toward me.
‘So he was deliberately walking at first.’
He had neither a personality module nor an emotion module, but he apparently knew exactly how to take down an opponent, at least.
At the same time, my knee shot out like a tightly compressed spring and struck the android's chin.
It was a very successful ambush.
But even in the slowly flowing time, the big man's eyes still stared straight at my face.
‘My knee might actually hurt more.’
I avoided the android's hand, grabbed his shoulder, and vaulted over to the other side again.
Then I kicked off the ceiling and landed on the floor.
I had luckily escaped earlier because my clothes tore, but it seemed difficult to hope for such a fluke again.
“You don’t even pretend to be hurt.”
As expected, he was an android.
His entire body was practically a mass of metal.
Come to think of it, even the pistol someone had fired at him hadn't been able to pierce his skin when I first saw him.
Ignoring the stabbing pain in my back, I considered how to deal with that android.
Even as I thought, the android's movements didn't stop; every time his fist cut through the air, it made a sound like he was swinging a sledgehammer.
When I dodged his attack by moving my head, the prison bars right beside me bent like taffy.
“Wow.”
An involuntary exclamation of admiration escaped me.
The cold sweat dampening my back was an added bonus.
One hit and I wouldn't walk away in one piece.
‘I can’t stay locked in here for long.’
I mustn't lose sight of my objective.
The highest priority was Walter's daughter—Anna's safety.
I needed one powerful blow, stronger than ever….
“……”
I turned my back toward the open passage.
The steel door had already been smashed to pieces long ago, so there was no need to open anything to leave.
Given the android's size, it would be nice if I could shake him off like this.
Thud, thud, thud!!
Even if a body is heavy, if it has tremendous strength, that strength makes it fast as well.
The terrifying sound continued following me.
Since that seemed unlikely, I went through the underground parking lot and continued up the winding passage.
“Huh, I’ve never seen that face before….”
“Isn’t that the bastard who attacked us?”
“…Shoot first!!”
I ran into several people who appeared to be other members of the organization along the way, but not one could withstand my attacks like that android.
I sprinted up the several-dozen-meter incline in one go.
I arrived back at the entrance of the Hole Paradise building, which had become considerably quieter.
“Ugh, what a persistent bastard….”
“……”
The android still hadn't fallen behind.
He charged at me with exactly the same expression and appearance as before.
‘Good, now that we’re out of the building’s basement….’
This time, I didn't dodge the attack and run away.
Because I had thought of a good way.
With myself already inside the android's reach, I pulled the ‘terminal’ from my pocket.
I never thought I'd end up using the terminal I'd bought from Walter here.
Had he said to remove the battery, press the button, and then throw it?
‘The button, the button…. Screw it.’
I should have taken it out beforehand.
No, then maybe he would have noticed and dodged.
I shoved the entire terminal into the android's mouth.
Since he had his mouth open stupidly in an ‘Ah~’ shape, it wasn't particularly difficult.
There were still a few comma-seconds left.
‘If it’s a bomb shaped like a battery, this should be enough to make it explode.’
Otherwise, I’d just have to run away again.
Honestly, throwing it from a distance as instructed would have been the safest choice, but Walter had explained that the bomb's firepower wasn't very strong.
I couldn't afford to waste my one chance.
Before long.
I struck upward with my palm beneath the android's chin, which was holding the terminal in its mouth.
Click.
Along with the sound of the battery being crushed.
I immediately ducked my head, and an intense heat reached all the way to my back.
Fwoosh─!!
As if white phosphorus had been scattered inside it, inextinguishable flames exploded, burning the android's face.
Even an ordinary firecracker can break a window if it goes off in a perfectly sealed space.
The explosion that erupted from the android's mouth completely blew away everything above his chin, like popping the cap off a beer bottle.
Ugh.
‘Anyway, I took care of him….’
Maybe it was because I had said something I shouldn't have.
The android, waving his hands through the air, clamped tightly onto my body.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
He could still move even with his head smashed?
I must have underestimated the android too much.
When I raised my head, the android's face, with only the lower part of his jaw remaining, was right in front of me.
“……”
“……”
If his eyes had still remained, it would have looked as though he were staring down at me.
I couldn't let myself be beaten like this, so just as I was about to try to break free somehow─.
The android's jaw and head moved slightly.
A small nod, from top to bottom.
And then.
A woman's voice I had never expected rang loudly inside my head.
【First Kill Achievement Unlocked!】
【Player level increased!】
What the hell was this now?
It wasn't a random encounter,
My level had gone up?
Whenever this happened, I became vividly aware that I had entered a game.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I had directly ended someone's life.
…Though I wasn't sure whether an android could be considered alive.
Was it just an experience-point system?
Before long, his arms drooped limply.
I was able to get free of the android without any trouble.
“…Hmm.”
I clenched and unclenched my fist, then looked at the android, who was still standing without falling.
Even though the fight was over and his power was off, he remained standing on both feet.
Without a word, I gave his shoulder a light push.
The android's body slowly toppled backward.
…Thud.
With that quiet sound, I thought.
I had definitely been told that all of this android's personality and emotion modules had been removed.
But the final sight I saw of the android had clearly looked as though he wanted to say something.
“Tsk….”
I blinked a couple of times, then let out a small sigh.
I pushed unnecessary thoughts aside.
There was something more urgent to deal with right now.
* * *
The 11th floor of the Hole Paradise building.
Inside the owner's office, decorated like a luxury mansion in the District 20s, the owner of Hole Paradise—Ishida—was leisurely enjoying translucent wine.
But despite his relaxed behavior, he was gradually starting to feel uneasy.
‘…Why haven’t I received a signal yet?’
Because he hadn't received any contact or signal from the android bodyguard he had modified himself.
Enough time had passed to kill an ordinary mercenary five times over by now.
‘I’d better check one more time.’
Ishida operated the remote and activated the holographic display on the wall.
More precisely, he tried to activate it.
“…Hmm?”
But the screen did not turn on.
Even after tapping the remote several times, all it did was ripple with thick static.
Just as he frowned, sensing something ominous—
─Crack.
He heard the sound of a crack forming in the window.
Ishida's gaze naturally turned toward it.
Shatter!!!
Someone smashed through the heavily reinforced glass with ease and entered the building.
The face he had seen through the camera.
The man he had assumed would be swimming in a pool of blood by now.
“Phew, mountain climbing, something that was never in my fate—no, building climbing….”
“……”
“Hey, mister. Say something. I want to hear whether it’s the voice I remember. No, wait. What was it again? ‘Best of luck.’ Say that exact line.”
He couldn't remain silent any longer.
Ishida carefully cleared his throat and spoke.
“…Best of luck.”
At his answer, the man who was gradually gaining a reputation as a madman among the gang, Hotdog Man, broke into a huge grin.
“Found you, you fucking bastard.”