Chapter 50
The phrase uishikju (衣食住) refers to the three things essential for a person to live properly.
Simply put, it is a single term encompassing clothing, food, and shelter.
As someone from South Korea, where owning a home in the heart of the capital region is difficult, I looked up at the newly built ‘building’ and murmured my admiration.
“It’s bigger than I expected.”
“…That’s all thanks to Hot Dog Man taking care of it.”
They had kept happily hammering away even at night.
Even though it had been built by assembling prefabricated parts, I never imagined they could put up a perfectly functional building in just a few days.
Just as Rivera had initially said, the first floor of the building was left wide open so the space could be used for parking or as a walkway.
‘A pilotis structure….’
With the new space available, the homeless people scattered around the vacant lot naturally gathered between the pillars supporting the building’s weight.
“Hmm, I suppose we can take shelter from the rain here now.”
“The squirt had a pretty good idea.”
Although this meant the homeless had occupied the first floor of the building where the children stayed, Rivera did not seem particularly concerned about it.
I habitually stroked Rivera’s hair, which was conveniently positioned at a height easy to touch, like an escalator handrail, and asked her,
“Um, are you sure this is okay?”
It was so soft that I found myself fidgeting with it without realizing it.
It felt like stroking the Pomeranian I had raised at my old country home.
But unlike that ferocious beast of a Pomeranian, Rivera merely trembled slightly from time to time and did not seem to dislike it.
“…Mm, yess.”
“?”
“I-I really am okay.”
That strange sound startled me.
Anyway.
Michael, who had stealthily approached from behind me, added an explanation on that point.
“There shouldn’t be any major problems regarding public safety. Everyone staying here now belongs to an ‘organization.’”
“Normally, it’s a cliché that the Beggars’ Sect or the Hao Sect are poorly managed.”
“…What are those places?”
Places like that existed.
Michael did not seem to be expecting an answer either, because he continued what he had been saying.
“Anyway, it really should be fine. That’s exactly why I’ve been running around so busily these past few days.”
While I was busy with other things, Michael seemed to have put considerable effort into managing the homeless people.
Come to think of it, he had refused when I suggested going to Black Square, saying that his schedule was too busy.
“With Mr. Walter’s help, we’ve successfully treated most of the people who had been forced to act violently because illegal malware was installed in their heads. Of course, the technicians and scrap dealers who were already on our side had to work very hard too.”
“Oh?”
“We’re also properly looking after those with low cybernetic coordination or severe neuralgia caused by going without maintenance for a long time.”
When Michael looked toward the homeless people warming themselves over the flames of a drum that had been moved beneath the building, those who noticed his gaze waved roughly.
“Yo, Michael….”
Then he abruptly stopped waving.
“…No, the boss is standing next to you. Thank you for providing our daily bread again today─.”
Not every homeless person was like that, but some of them were idolizing me with genuinely devout attitudes.
‘Man, this is a lot.’
From my perspective, I felt like my insides were burning, but I could not simply stand there doing nothing, so I lightly waved back at them.
“T-The boss looked at me…!”
“Hot Dog Man!! Hot Dog Man!! Hot Dog Man!!”
Let’s stop looking into this.
I had no idea how they had managed to select and gather only lunatics like this.
“I’m quite satisfied.”
“…So the craziest one was standing next to me.”
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
Fortunately, Michael had apparently not heard me muttering, because he tilted his head and continued his explanation.
“So no one here should exhibit the symptoms commonly known as Chrome Junkie.”
“Chrome what?”
“Chrome Junkie. It’s a neologism referring to people who have developed neurological problems after downloading malware incorrectly or installing too many implants without considering their cybernetic coordination.”
A pale halo appeared over Michael’s irises.
He seemed to be looking up the term on the Cyber Web wiki.
Another victory for Namuwiki today.
“In short, they’re addicted to chrome.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone like that yet.”
“If you cause a disturbance in District 49, you generally get treated with lead bullets.”
Ah, physical therapy.
I quickly glanced over at Walter, who had claimed a spot beside one of the pillars and sat down.
Other technicians may have helped, but it was ultimately Walter’s arrival that had changed things.
‘…But how long does that old man plan to stay here?’
The last time I checked, it seemed he had even found a mattress and started sleeping there.
What was an old man like him doing, putting himself through this?
Walter was still staring up at Rivera’s newly built home sweet home with an expression suggesting he was deeply contemplating something.
“……I see. So that’s one way to do it.”
Just as I began to sense something ominous.
Michael, having noticed my gaze, wrapped up what he had been saying.
“Well, this scene would have been impossible without Hot Dog Man in the first place. For me, for the other homeless people, and for Mr. Walter as well.”
He looked at me with an expression that made me feel extremely burdened.
I felt like poking him.
“Everyone has received a great favor from Hot Dog Man.”
“Expired food?”
“If I were kicked out of here, wouldn’t I starve to death in the near future?”
The value of food that was perfectly hygienic, delicious, and even warm.
It could not even be compared to the ‘mystery skewers’ or ‘mystery jerky’ sold on the streets.
“Wouldn’t I have drunk cheap vodka made from Biopharm potatoes until it bored a hole through my skull and collapsed in an alley somewhere…? I might even have crawled into a trash can to escape the wind and rain, only to be carried all the way to District 50.”
Michael gave a quiet chuckle, his expressionless face seeming to recall our first meeting.
Back then, his beard had made me mistake him for a man in his fifties, but I never expected him to turn into a sharp-looking corporate executive once he had tidied himself up.
As we looked at each other and laughed.
I remembered that I was still stroking Rivera’s hair and looked down at her.
“Rivera.”
“……Yes?”
Perhaps she had been lost in thought, because Rivera startled and answered my question.
“…Sorry. I was lost in thought too.”
“……”
I hadn’t even said anything yet.
Well, Rivera too had been living in a (home with no electricity, rain leaking in, and bugs crawling around) before gaining a new place to live, so she was probably extremely happy.
It was only natural that she was distracted.
“When are you planning to move the kids into their new home?”
“Ah….”
Since it could be dangerous, I figured it would be best to have them follow the route I took.
The best option would be to drive the truck and move everyone together.
But at my question, Rivera clasped both hands cutely and muttered,
“Um, they’ve already all moved….”
“…When?”
“A little while ago.”
I hadn’t sensed them at all.
Now I understood why the megacorp had wanted to use them for assassinations.
Even so, they were all cute kids.
Just then, the homeless people gathered to one side began murmuring noisily.
“Has anyone seen the box of popcorn I left here? I said we’d eat it together.”
“…What the hell? Who took all the sandwiches we were supposed to share? You know it’s one sandwich per person, right?”
I listened to their conversation and looked back at Rivera.
A quiet silence hung between the two of us.
Because I had a pretty good idea who the culprit was.
“…I-I’ll bring them back!”
“No….”
She must have been really hungry….
There was still plenty of food stocked in the grocery store anyway.
That also meant the merchandise was not selling, which made me a little sad, but by now I had more or less given up hope that proper customers would ever come.
I was somewhat bewildered by the contradictory situation in which nothing was selling but more and more goods were going out.
I figured I could ask Nova to increase the food orders a little later.
Come to think of it.
“But where’s Nova?”
At my question, Michael and Rivera looked at each other.
Of course, Rivera was still hiding her face behind her shaggy hair, making it difficult to tell where she was looking, but since she was short, it was obvious whenever she lifted her head.
Michael spoke first, followed by Rivera, who whispered with a breathy sound.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know.”
“…Isn’t she on the ceiling of the grocery store?”
That’s a turret.
I scratched my head and slowly looked over at the grocery store building.
Then maybe she was inside the warehouse.
* * *
Deep inside a shadow-dark alley.
A two-man gang was struggling to unload a large load from a vehicle.
“…But are we really allowed to do this?”
“If they tell us to do it, we do it.”
The men, who looked barely old enough to be adults, wiped the streams of sweat running down their foreheads and busily arranged the goods.
One man, who seemed particularly indecisive, drew out his words.
“B-but still. I heard that building is managed separately by a mafia family….”
“So what?”
A sharp voice cut him off.
“You don’t fucking want to make money? All we have to do is blow up that entrance with the weapon they gave us, and they said they’d pay three large bills apiece! …With that money, we could get out of this life at the bottom immediately and move to a residence in the District 30s.”
Since they seemed to be close friends, they casually bumped each other’s shoulders.
“Might as well play in the big leagues. Right?”
“……Yeah.”
“Good.”
And then.
The man nodded and pulled an ‘antitank weapon’ out of a box, hefting it heavily onto his shoulder.
The weapon, with ‘Antitank Rocket Launcher’ elegantly engraved into it, looked as though it would deliver more than enough force to the grocery store to match a truck.
Just as the grocery store entrance was about to be destroyed yet again.
“Halt.”
““…?!””
At the woman’s voice that came from somewhere, the two men’s movements froze like ice.
In the darkness, white irises caught the light.
After confirming the woman’s appearance, the two men sighed in relief.
“…What the fuck, I thought we’d been caught.”
“Phew, phew….”
Apparently, they did not see any weapons on her, so they felt no particular need to remain wary.
The only thing remarkable about her was that she was extraordinarily beautiful, like a model stepping out through a billboard.
“Hey, sis. We’re busy right now, so if you want us to keep you company, come back later.”
“…I heard Hall Paradise went completely under. Are you an android that escaped from there?”
The two men had completely different reactions.
Her appearance was so unreal that it naturally brought androids to mind.
No matter how advanced cosmetic technology had become, changing the very structure of one’s face still cost a considerable amount of money.
“Heh, hehe…. Don’t be like that. How about we take her with us when we run later?”
“Aw, this crazy bastard…. You were trembling in fear a minute ago.”
The other man laughed as though he could not believe it.
“Sure, do whatever you want. Better than freaking out and making a scene because you’re nervous.”
As he finished preparing to fire the antitank weapon at the grocery store, the man whose attitude had flipped like a coin walked toward the woman, scratching his crotch.
“W-we’re gonna be rich soon, okay? We can buy you anything—booze, drugs, food.”
Looking closely, I could see the man’s pupils repeatedly dilating and contracting every second.
He had clearly injected electronic drugs through the smart chip implanted in his head.
“Whoa, the size of those breasts….”
The woman, Nova, stared blankly at the hand of the man slowly approaching her.
It was definitely a hand made of the exact same organic compounds.
Why did it feel so unpleasant that her emotional signals were fluctuating wildly?
She could not understand it.
At the same time.
The man’s elbow bent backward.
“…Huh, wha??”
Although the electronic drugs kept him from feeling pain, he could not help panicking when electrolyte fluid and blood gushed out like water from a broken pipe.
Ignoring the man who had fallen hard on his rear, Nova fixed the remaining man with a sharp gaze.
“This is your final warning. Halt.”
“You fucking—what the hell are you─.”
Along with a natural curse, the muzzle of the antitank weapon resting on his shoulder turned toward Nova.
Having now begun to pay attention to the security outside the grocery store─.
Before any noisy commotion could break out,
she kicked off the ground and surged forward first.
* * *
“What? I couldn’t see you. Where did you go?”
“I went for a short walk.”
“Aha.”