Chapter 12
Christmas Eve was a white Christmas, just as the weather forecast had predicted.
So white, in fact, that the roads were blocked.
“This isn’t a white Christmas, it’s a white disaster.”
Sonia, who heard Amon’s mutter, nodded in agreement beside him.
The snow, which had started falling a week ago, continued until Christmas Eve.
Thanks to this, the younger children at the Orphanage were having a festival.
To young children, snow is always a welcome gift from heaven.
But to those who have to clear it, snow is a curse and trash in its very existence.
Most people realize this when they go to the military or get a part-time job.
However, the older siblings at the Orphanage, including Amon and Sonia, tended to realize this truth relatively quickly.
Because they had to shovel and sweep the snow.
Even Sonia, who had been excited about this year's white Christmas, started cursing the falling trash from the sky after about two hours of shoveling.
After a massive snow removal truck, almost as big as a tank, cleared a path, the children quickly pushed the snow from inside the Orphanage onto the public road in front.
This was the most efficient snow removal method in the State of Colorado, where snow falls like crazy.
Pile it up on the side of the road?
Who knows how long and how much snow will fall?
With climate change wreaking havoc on the environment, leaving the snow for later was absolutely not an option.
Because of this, the city’s snow removal method involved citizens dumping snow onto the road, where a snow removal vehicle connected to another dimension would sweep it away.
There were many accidents where people couldn't avoid the approaching snow removal vehicle, but in a world where thousands of people are shot dead every day, nobody cared.
Fortunately, this tragedy didn't befall the Orphanage.
Thanks to Amon and Sonia’s thorough safety control and the children’s cooperation, they were able to continue snow removal without any accidents.
However, not ‘all’ the children were cooperative.
Some of them, dissatisfied with Amon’s instructions, did whatever they wanted.
Most of them were Jimmy and his followers.
The reason they didn't have any accidents despite this was because they didn't participate in the snow removal work at all, not just disobeying Amon's safety instructions.
They only came out with shovels and brooms because they were interested in the special snacks given out after the snow removal work.
They just huddled in a corner, giggling amongst themselves.
Amon left them alone, feeling resigned.
‘Well, at least they're not interfering with the work.’
Anyway, including Jimmy, they were all about to graduate from the Orphanage.
Even in the military, they don’t make senior sergeants work, so there was no need to make them work.
Amon could just do more work, right?
‘Even if the world changes, military seniority never disappears.’
Amon reassured himself and continued working.
Of course, he was angry, and he wanted to flatten their heads with a shovel.
Amon wasn’t a saint.
But, even so.
He forgave them.
Thinking of the Goddess who loved him, and constantly reminding himself how blessed he was, he forgave them.
‘You little shits. I’m not putting syrup in your hot chocolate when we get back.’
Although there was a bit of petty revenge mixed in, Amon forgave them nonetheless.
In any case, after the morning snow removal session was over, the children returned to the Orphanage.
The snow removal vehicle only came to the street where the Orphanage was located in the morning, so there was no point in removing snow in the afternoon.
They returned indoors, basking in the warm stove and chatting with their younger siblings.
“Hyung! I want to clear snow like you!”
Amon couldn’t help but smile bitterly at one child’s words.
It was something an 8-year-old would say.
At that age, snow removal probably looks easy.
But it was something they said because they didn’t know how disorienting it could get after just an hour of continuous shoveling.
Besides, at 8 years old, snow is seen as a toy, not trash.
Amon couldn’t bring himself to say he’d let the child help, so he just mumbled that they could do it when they grew up.
While he was surrounded by his younger siblings, warming his mind with sweet hot chocolate, someone came to the Orphanage.
‘Who is it? Who would come through this blizzard?’
He couldn't think of anyone.
It wouldn't be a government official coming to check on the safety of the orphans.
If government officials worked that diligently, the city wouldn’t be in such a state.
A robber?
Never.
Robbery is done to make a living, and on a day like this, a robber is more likely to get stranded than to succeed.
Besides, there wouldn't be much point in robbing an orphanage.
He also thought of a documentary crew or a cult proselytizing, but he dismissed these possibilities as well.
The fact that someone came through this blizzard meant that they had a desperate purpose, or that they could only come when it snowed.
The most likely possibility was the Police coming to fine them for not clearing the snow properly.
Actually, about two years ago, a police officer had come to fine them for not clearing the snow.
Originally, it wasn't illegal to not clear the snow for 24 hours after the snow removal vehicle passed by.
They couldn't expect people to shovel snow endlessly.
But that police officer fined them.
He was desperate for results, and he thought the Orphanage Principal wouldn't know the law very well.
The police officer harassed the Orphanage Principal, implying that they could offer a bribe if they didn't want to pay the fine.
Unfortunately for him, the Orphanage Principal's thorough legal knowledge sent him packing.
Incidentally, that police officer was found dead the next day in someone else's front yard after trying the same trick on multiple houses.
The person he tried to threaten happened to be a Gang executive.
Anyway, back to the story.
Since there was already a precedent, it was highly likely to happen again this time.
No, it wasn’t just likely, it was certain.
He didn’t think anyone who came through this snow to the Orphanage would be a good person.
With that expectation, Amon focused on the entrance.
What kind of person would come through that door?
As he waited by the stove where he could see the entrance, a Nun opened the door.
What appeared through the opened door was a man in a suit, the very picture of a salesman.
He was a little far away, so he couldn't see clearly, but he had a company badge on his chest.
‘Where is he from?’
It was a company he didn’t recognize.
Amon knew most major companies just by their color or silhouette, but he didn’t recognize this badge.
‘Well, 50 years is enough time for the world to change.’
It wasn’t a big deal since it wasn't the first time he had seen a company he didn't recognize in this world.
Amon focused on the salesman talking to the Nun at the entrance.
He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the salesman repeatedly bowing to the Nun gave the impression that he wasn’t a bad person.
‘No, snap out of it, Amon. This is Cyberpunk.’
Cyberpunk Rule #2:
There are no good corporations.
Especially the bigger the corporation, the lower the probability of it being good.
In this world, "corporation" is not much different from "a Gang with the power to ignore the law and public authority."
So, the salesman could be seen as a gang member dressed nicely, with insurance, and protected by the law.
‘Would such a person bow his head?’
Absolutely not.
There’s absolutely no way it’s out of good intentions.
Amon kept his eyes on the salesman with a look of certainty.
After a while, the Principal took the salesman to the reception room.
Some time later, the Principal, with a kind smile, and the salesman came out of the reception room.
The atmosphere between them was heartwarming, even from afar.
Just as Amon was starting to doubt his own assumptions, the Principal and the salesman approached the stove.
The children warming their hands by the stove and those warming their hearts with hot chocolate all turned their attention to the two approaching figures.
They were all wary of the unfamiliar salesman, but seeing the Principal's benevolent smile beside him, they relaxed their guard.
If she trusted this person, then he must be trustworthy.
That’s how much respect the Principal commanded.
Amon wondered if he should seriously break one of his absolute rules, "Don't trust corporate people."
As he was contemplating his beliefs, the Orphanage Principal, with a kind smile, introduced the salesman.
“This is a representative from Hickzen Distribution, who donated items to the Orphanage the other day.”
Hickzen Distribution.
The children gasped at those words.
It was a natural reaction, as a super-giant corporation that dominated the American distribution industry had suddenly appeared.
On the other hand, Amon’s eyebrows furrowed even more.
It was too suspicious.
Why would such a large company bother to come all the way to the Orphanage through this snow?
His question was immediately answered by the Principal's following explanation.
“They said one of the items donated the other day was possessed by a ghost, and he’s here to discuss compensation. Please tell him what damage you suffered, so he can assess the extent of the damage and compensate you. This company has been consistently donating to us for several years. I vouch for him, so you can trust him.”
Only then did Amon understand.
Cyberpunk Rule #1:
Generally, money and transactions don't lie.
Therefore, this corporate person had at least come with good intentions.
***
Generally, money and transactions don't lie.
This rule precedes all other Cyberpunk rules and is absolute.
It was an absolute rule that everyone had to acknowledge when Amon posted it on the community forum in his past life.
Of course, there were those who questioned it.
- Huh? Don’t corporations kill customers to cover things up?
But this comment misunderstands the rule.
Nowhere in that rule does it say that they won't betray a customer's trust.
To be clear, it says money doesn’t lie.
In the case of that comment, applying the rule means that the corporation will weigh what’s more financially beneficial: killing the customer or leaving them alone and compensating them.
What if the corporation is a military company?
They can kill the customer without any problems.
They’re confident they won’t get caught, they have the power, and even if they do get caught, their image might take a hit, but it won’t be a bigger loss than if they had kept the customer alive.
But what if the company is an insurance company or a security company?
They can't kill the customer.
Their image is built on saving people.
Killing a customer might be beneficial in the short term, but if it gets out, the damage to their image would be beyond imagination.
Who would entrust their life to a company that kills its customers?
They’ll definitely lose more than what they tried to cover up.
So, rather than killing the customer, they prepare enough money to silence them, and they only take action when it's absolutely necessary.
As a result, in transactions involving money, or something equivalent, no one betrays.
Unless the other party is a psychopath or so incredibly stupid that they can’t do the math, Rule #1 is absolute.
The reason the Principal readily trusted the salesman, and the reason Amon opened up to the salesman, was because of this rule.
A ghost possessed an item donated by a distribution company.
The damage to their image would be unimaginable.
However, massacring orphans to cover this up would be too inefficient.
Therefore, it would be much more profitable to settle this as an unfortunate accident and offer compensation, creating a heartwarming image.
Moreover, there was another reason only Amon knew.
‘It’s probably because of me and Sonia.’
A major corporation like Hickzen Distribution would have its own independent information network.
They would probably know that there are Divine Power users in this Orphanage.
That's why they've been consistently building goodwill through donations for years.
If all those years of effort went down the drain because of a single possessed vase, they would be so frustrated they wouldn't be able to sleep.
Combining all this logic explained why a person at the Director level of a major corporation would wear a salesman’s suit and come all this way through the snow.
His Section Chief or Boss must have been on his back.
As proof, the dark circles under his eyes were evident.
‘Poor guy.’
Amon, who used to work at a black company that made him work two days straight, felt sympathy for the Director.
However, sympathy and forgiveness are different matters.
He’d suffered so much because of that possessed vase.
He wanted to demand compensation for emotional distress.
Unfortunately, in a situation where he had to hide his Divine Power, he couldn't say he exorcised the ghost by hitting it over the head with a Bible.
Amon had to be a hero who physically drove away the ghost.
That embellished story was relayed to the salesman.
His eyes turned towards Amon.
‘He'll probably suspect the Divine Power.’
But Amon wasn’t stupid.
He’d already prepared a countermeasure.
Amon and Sonia both wore Silver Anklets under their pants.
When the Principal first gave them to him, saying they were bracelets that ward off ghosts and bad luck, he thought they were something like germanium bracelets.
But he realized immediately after putting them on.
The bracelets had the effect of blocking leaking Divine Power.
Amon could feel a warm energy trapped in his feet.
Therefore, the salesman wouldn’t be able to find anything here.
And as Amon predicted, the salesman, oblivious, prepared to leave.
He seemed somewhat suspicious of Amon, but it was only circumstantial evidence, not enough for certainty.
The Principal hurriedly saw the puzzled salesman off.
“Have a safe trip back!”
Numerous children waved their small hands, bidding him farewell.
He gave the children an awkward smile and left the Orphanage.
***
The salesman in the long coat walked down the street with his frosted glasses still on.
His gait was stately in the blinding blizzard.
Beyond his frosted glasses, his eyes glowed red, looking straight ahead.
With his hands in his long coat pockets, he muttered into the air.
“Yes. Yes. Confirmed. Yes. The Mystical Power user, you say?”
He nodded his head and then, as if worried someone might hear, covered his mouth with soundproof gloves and whispered.
“I’ve narrowed it down to two candidates. Both were wearing Silver Anklets.”
As he spoke, his eyes made mechanical noises as the pupils adjusted.
His prosthetic eyes, as if seeing through everything, gazed beyond the blizzard.
In the midst of a snowstorm that could easily strand someone, the salesman shrugged as if joking.
“The possibility of both being users? None. You know, don’t you? That only one Mystical Power user can be born in a region. It’s fundamentally impossible for two Mystical Power users to be born in the same city.”
Of course, if his words were true, it would be difficult to explain the current situation with two people wearing anklets.
However, the salesman had already prepared a theory to explain the current situation.
“It seems one of them is a Decoy. You know… there's that expression in Japan, isn't there? Shadow Samurai. Ah, is it Kagemusha? Yes. That's it.”
He removed his glove from his mouth and continued his monologue.
“Yes. Understood. I will do as you command.”
His monologue ended there.
The salesman in the long coat walked beyond the blizzard.
There wasn’t a single hesitation in his steps.