Chapter 87
Gunshots and screams.
And pools of blood covering the floor.
Vance Kim could still vividly recall that day's events whenever he closed his eyes.
What happened that day.
The hellish carnage at Club 「Moebius」.
“Aaaahhh─!!”
A foul, urine-like stench rose from his soaked pants, but Vance Kim paid no attention to his appearance and sprinted solely toward the exit.
The inside of the club was already filthy with brain matter and entrails anyway.
As he was shoved forward by the fleeing crowd and went sprawling with a clatter, a lifeless head suddenly appeared right in front of Vance Kim's face.
“Eek, eek…!!”
He couldn't properly remember whether he'd run on two legs or crawled on four.
All that kept flashing through his mind was the sight of a filthy-looking homeless man with a crooked smile firing a pistol indiscriminately toward the stage.
Even after slaughtering dozens of people in an instant.
His expression had been utterly peaceful.
- What about the bill?
As if that were an everyday occurrence.
When he came to his senses, Vance Kim had safely arrived at his studio apartment.
Only his palms stained dark red told him that everything he had gone through was real.
It was a long time afterward that Vance Kim learned the incident had been a war between the Hakuga-gumi and an unidentified homeless gang.
[I told you not to work in such a strange place, no matter how much money they paid you!]
“…Mom.”
Vance Kim was mentally fragile enough to turn to parents he hadn't contacted for a long time.
If it hadn't been for someone's whim, he'd have become a corpse there too.
(Of course, it hadn't actually been a whim.)
[Good grief, you idiot. That's why you should've paid your taxes properly. If you'd learned a trade instead of taking time to change your name after watching Korean dramas─.]
“I know that, too!”
The familiar nagging actually put him at ease.
That call ended with him being introduced to a new job.
[I asked your uncle and found you a safe logistics job. So don't go screwing around with alcohol like some entertainer; renew your driver's license and get ready to go there!]
“…I said I know.”
In fact, mass shootings in Risk City were practically regularly scheduled events, occurring several times a year.
But after actually witnessing dozens of gang members die in an instant, Vance Kim no longer wanted to work in such a dangerous place.
For all its faults, work connected with megacorps was the safest.
No matter how violent and fearless a gang was, they wouldn't dare touch logistics operated by a megacorp.
Thus began his first day at work─.
While waiting among the rows of trucks.
When the window of the truck beside him rolled down, Vance Kim unconsciously shifted his gaze.
And.
“…Huh??”
That face that still appeared in his dreams.
Those sharp, mad criminal eyes.
Were staring fixedly at him.
“Vance Kim?”
Ah.
* * *
[ Ryan Eliens Company RC49-B hub ]
[ Logistics Transport Team ]
[ Ian Scott ]
Fortunately, there was no problem with the ID card recognition.
He put the ID card used as a pass back in and waited his turn.
Had Michael brought a genuine item, or was the megacorp sloppier than expected….
Judging by the bored expressions of the personnel who looked like logistics center guards, the latter seemed more likely.
“Yaaawn….”
Look at that.
A fly's gonna get in his mouth.
Either way, it was good news for us.
Before long, the trucks pulled forward one by one.
Thick metal pillars rising from the floor automatically restricted the vehicles' movement.
And at last, our turn came around.
Through the open passenger-side window, a disgruntled face resembling a bulldog that had missed dinner peeked in.
“…Hmm, I don't recognize either of you. Are you new hires who just started?”
His attitude wasn't particularly friendly.
Since he'd bothered to offer an unnecessary greeting, he had clearly grown suspicious after seeing the highly suspicious bulk sitting in the passenger seat beside me.
Apparently not expecting an answer, the guard held out his hand to us again.
“Documents.”
“…Here you go.”
I handed the documents I'd gotten from Michael straight to the guard.
I had no idea how he'd obtained something like this, but at least to my eyes, it looked completely genuine.
The guard frowned as he read the words on the electronic document.
“NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)…? Hah. Without even looking, I bet it's drugs, sex toys, or illegal animals.”
He tapped the electronic document with his other hand, then suddenly said something strange to me.
“But…. Didn't your seniors at the company tell you what you're supposed to do?”
“…Excuse me?”
I answered reflexively, then noticed a strange playfulness mixed into his gaze.
Apparently this sort of thing was the same everywhere.
Was he trying to treat us like toys?
‘…Tsk.’
Since we'd be the ones in trouble if we caused a commotion, it seemed we'd have to play along to some extent.
Just as I was about to rub my palms together like a sycophant and ask what I was supposed to do.
The brown bear─, Mikhail Romanov, sitting in the passenger seat discreetly passed a tightly rolled wad of bills beneath the electronic documents.
Clearly not his first time doing this, the guard naturally accepted the bundle of bills where the overhead camera couldn't see it, then grinned with satisfaction.
“Good. Then neither of us needs to make things uncomfortable.”
After stepping back several paces, he brought his mouth to a small microphone.
“Contents confirmed. Let them through.”
The metal pillars blocking the road descended.
I slowly pressed the accelerator and drove out of the logistics center checkpoint.
Well, there were still trucks lined up ahead, so we'd probably have to wait a little longer before entering the center.
With a small sigh, I asked Mikhail without turning my head.
“How did you know he was asking you to slip him a bribe?”
“……”
No answer came.
Ah, had he said he'd temporarily replaced his vocal cords?
I stopped him before he opened his mouth.
“Never mind. Forget it.”
Then I checked whether I had cash on me and said to Mikhail, whose face remained expressionless,
“I'll pay you back for the money you gave him later.”
At that, a huge palm opened with a snap.
It was covered in countless thin and thick scars.
What was I supposed to do with that….
“Oh, you don't need the money?”
Mikhail nodded.
He was a homeless man living on the street, so it wasn't as if he had much money….
I only thought that far before recalling Mikhail's origins.
Come to think of it, he used to be a corporate mercenary.
If so, he might really be refusing because he didn't need it.
“Tell me if you need it later.”
Mikhail nodded at me, then tapped the truck's dashboard with fingers twice as thick as other people's.
Soon afterward, he pointed his thumb toward the truck behind us.
He seemed curious about the driver's identity because he'd seen me greet the driver of that truck earlier.
Hmm.
“We're not exactly acquainted…. Should I explain that he just knows what I look like?”
Through the rearview mirror, I could see Vance Kim, trapped with no room to move in any direction.
When I focused my attention over there, the conversation between Vance Kim and the guard came through clearly.
“…Didn't your senior tell you anything?”
“N-no, sir….”
“Tsk. I guess we'll have to open it up and inspect the goods. Get out of the truck!!”
“Wh, what?! B-but the cargo hold really only has ordinary alcohol in it!”
Apparently, he was a little slow on the uptake.
He failed to notice the signal that the guard wanted a bribe and got out of the vehicle.
The guard glared at him with an extremely displeased look.
“Did you think we'd just let you through without checking? Do you take a megacorp for a fucking joke?”
“No, but then up ahead….”
“Up ahead what?!”
“…Nothing, sir.”
Seeing that, I didn't think he would report us right away, but….
Still, I thought we should have a little talk with him.
* * *
[Um…, sir. Could I use the restroom?]
[…….]
[I really need to go. I, uh, could you please move aside instead of blocking the door….]
[…….]
[…Ah, never mind. There must be restrooms on the other floors too. Uh, sorry about that. Go ahead and do your business.]
[…….]
Leaving Mikhail behind, successfully performing guard duty at the door at almost Snorlax level.
I turned my head and looked at Vance Kim.
He stood with his back pressed tightly against the clean restroom wall, his face full of fear.
“I-I really didn't see anything. I didn't say anything just now, either! So, so please, just spare my life….”
“I'm not going to kill you.”
“…Huh?”
Did he take me for some kind of villain….
It was true that we'd come here to do something bad.
And although I was aware that, judging only by my recent actions, I was closer to a villain than a hero.
That didn't mean I intended to hurt an innocent citizen for my own purposes.
That was the minimum line I upheld.
As for villains who had committed crimes….
They deserved to get shot and die.
“Calm down first.”
“Y-yes, yesyesyes….”
But Vance continued trembling like an aspen leaf.
I began seriously considering how to persuade Vance Kim.
Was there no suitable method?
Something that wasn't overly violent, yet would keep him from telling others about our actions.
A method like that.
Brrrrr.
Just then, the terminal tucked inside my pocket vibrated faintly.
What was that?
I quietly checked the terminal's screen.
───────────────
Title : Vance Kim / RCMMF74112
Real name : Vance Robert Jr.
Birth weight : 2.621kg
Current address : 13, New Sector Ave, AREA 49, RC
Favorite foods : Neo Life gel, alcoholic beverages
Family relations : Sean Robert Sr., Sophia…….
·
·
·
───────────────
This was clearly inside the restroom, so there shouldn't even be any cameras installed in here.
It was a message that made it easy to guess who had sent it.
‘Nova Novaya….’
It was packed with information so detailed that it even listed Vance Kim's birth weight.
But wasn't listing his entire cyberweb search history going a little too far?
‘…If I tell him this, isn't it just plain blackmail?’
Even so.
This….
“…Hmm.”
Come to think of it, it wasn't such a bad option.
We had no intention of taking Vance Kim's family hostage, after all.
“Vance Kim. Your real name is Vance Robert Jr. You weighed 2.616 kilograms at birth, which was on the lighter side compared to average. And your favorite foods are….”
“…Gasp!!”
Vance Kim's eyes went round.
* * *
We were able to reach an amicable agreement.
Though I wasn't sure what Vance Kim thought of it.
Anyway.
I drove the truck straight on, looking for the area where we were supposed to unload the goods.
“G2, G2, G2….”
Is this it?
Looking up, I saw a zone number painted in large white letters above.
Now all we had to do was unload the cargo here and sneak away without being noticed by anyone else.
In fact, we'd already failed at the “without being noticed by anyone else” part, but still.
The firearms loaded on the megacorp truck, as well as the mechanical apparatus containing an android body….
Still, having two people to handle the heavy lifting meant it wasn't as difficult as I'd expected.
“……”
“…What.”
I asked Mikhail, who continued staring down at me.
He had been like that ever since we came out of the restroom and I didn't kill Vance Kim.
It wasn't that I asked because I didn't understand the meaning of his gaze.
“You think I should've killed him there?”
“……”
Mikhail gave a small nod.
How clumsy must my actions have seemed to a homeless man who had even worked as a corporate mercenary?
Still, it couldn't be helped.
I wasn't a character in a game, and he wasn't an NPC in a game.
At first, I had even spared Bogus, who had brazenly driven a truck into the grocery store.
Later, though, I killed the owner of Hole Paradise, who had kidnapped and modified countless androids.
That must have been the turning point.
The point when I'd realized villains in this world were truly harmful.
After that….
On our way to kill Bansho Takemaru, we'd also wiped out all the members of his organization.
“If we get caught, then we get caught. Fortunately, Vance Kim…. He doesn't even know my name.”
And the consequence was.
Whyyyyyyyyy─!!!
[A report has been received of an illegal intruder inside the logistics center. Internal workers, please remain at your current locations.]
Naturally, it was something I had to bear.
I would have to apologize separately to Michael, Rivera, Nova, and the others who had gotten dragged into it with me later.
Of course, to Mikhail as well.
“Sorry.”
“……”