Chapter 163
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163
While resting in my room, I reviewed the investigation records left by my predecessors.
It was no exaggeration to say that they, too, were users of Akies Victima. They had tracked Kinuan by finding connections in things an ordinary person would never have noticed.
Kinuan hid himself through contradiction, deliberately choosing actions anyone else would avoid.
‘There’s absolutely no way.’
The moment you thought that, you lost him. Logic, armed with rationality, could never find Kinuan.
Intentional irrationality was his weapon. He never moved as others predicted.
‘Irrationality and illogic.’
I didn’t have to look far for an example. This was exactly how I had cornered the Emperor.
‘It’s ironic. Those with higher cognition and advanced thought have no need for elaborate logic or planning.’
When the facts are simple and the benefits are clear, an ordinary person and a user of Akies Victima will reach the same conclusion.
But when the facts are muddled and the benefits uncertain, their judgments diverge completely.
Even users of Akies Victima don’t act with a perfect prediction of a specific outcome. They simply accelerate the chaos, knowing that the more variables and confusion they introduce, the more advantageous their position becomes.
So, if a situation isn’t in my favor, I just need to make it more chaotic. Just as I did during the Storm Era.
…Now, I understood.
This was also why Kinuan had personally dealt with the assassins targeting Fransek.
‘He just wanted to inject greater chaos into Akbaran. The larger the unpredictable chaos grew, the more options he would have, and the stronger his influence would become. He acts like the very incarnation of chaos.’
And in the end, Kinuan would have chosen the option that benefited him most.
My brow and the bridge of my nose throbbed as blood rushed to my head. Time to call it a day.
Clink.
I reached out and picked up the thermos of tea. The flavorless liquid sloshed inside. Tea was ridiculously expensive, but it was one of the goods handled by Japa Trading.
Sip.
I closed my eyes and drank. My overheated nervous system began to stabilize.
Tea contains ingredients known for their calming properties, but the physiological effect was minimal.
The stabilizing effect I felt was a psychological mechanism.
‘A thought-stopping routine.’
The more proficient one becomes with Akies Victima, the harder it is to consciously stop thinking. Faced with a difficult problem, shutting down your thoughts becomes nearly impossible. Your mind races until the problem is solved or you collapse from exhaustion. The only way to stop is to completely deplete your energy.
If I wracked my brain like that every time, I would go mad. I had experienced this firsthand during the Storm Era.
‘The reason Kinuan drank tea so often… must have been a routine to stop his thoughts.’
I was copying Kinuan. Sedatives would be more effective, but taking them every time I needed a break would lead to unbearable side effects.
By drinking tea with its mild sedative properties, I was sending a signal to my brain, telling it that it was time to rest. Thankfully, my brain got the message.
‘I'm still learning from Kinuan.’
An old memory made me chuckle. The entry requirement for Akies Victima came to mind.
‘To learn by stealing.’
There was a reason Kinuan had offered me tea every time we met.
‘Whatever his intentions, he taught me well.’
I took it easy for a week. I knew my own unstable condition better than anyone.
While resting, I reviewed my predecessor's records and gathered information about Border City. I also checked on the Empire's movements and news as much as I could.
I also visited Lapis for a check-up on my new prosthetic body.
In the corner of the mechanical maintenance room sat a junk monitor. Lapis often left television broadcasts running while she worked. Border City had hundreds of channels.
—Snake, snake, snake, healthy snake meat, tastes great too, snake, snake, snake. Raised on a sterile farm. You can even fry the skin and eat it as a snack. Did you know? I like men who are like snakes, la-la-la-la-la.
I frowned as I sat in the maintenance chair. An advertisement was playing on the monitor.
A human woman, her private parts barely covered in snakeskin, danced and sang. To someone from the Empire like me, Border City's broadcasts were shockingly—almost appallingly—unrestrained.
To put it bluntly, every channel looked like a brothel advertisement. The complete lack of regulation was palpable.
“La-la-la-la, snake, snake, snake…”
Lapis hummed along as she inspected my prosthetic body. As a Tarpa, she had the build of a human child, putting her at eye level with me as I sat.
“Turn that broadcast off. Listening to that song is going to drive me insane.”
“You'll get used to it. Anguis Regina is the hottest singer in Border City these days. She's the flagship idol raised by Japa Trading…”
Lapis rambled on like a devoted fan.
“More importantly, what about the retinal display?” I cut her off.
Lapis brought over a metal box from a table.
“I ordered the combat-spec version as you requested. But it won't be as responsive as a prosthetic eye.”
Lapis took an ampoule of nanomachine liquid out of the box. Nanomachine procedures were incredibly expensive.
Drip, drip.
She squeezed three drops of the liquid into each of my eyes. A faint crackling sound echoed as it thinly coated my corneas.
I blinked a few times, my vision distorting with refracted light.
“Hmm, looks like it's settling in well. I'll insert the chip now. It might sting a bit.”
Holding a chip injector, Lapis lifted the hair near my right temple.
Phut!
A thin chip slid beneath my skin—a subcutaneous implant to control the retinal display.
Whir.
As the chip synchronized with the nanomachines, the distortion in my vision vanished. A virtual interface cascaded across my field of view.
In many ways, it was a nostalgic sight.
“How do I remove it?”
“You're asking how to remove it right after getting it? That’s a bit hurtful.”
“If it gets hacked, I lose control of my vision. I can’t just trust it blindly.”
Unlike cybernetic prosthetics, chips are vulnerable to hacking because they don't receive direct control signals from the brain. Unless it's an independent device with no wireless connectivity, the risk of being hacked is always there.
“If you destroy the control chip in your temple, the whole thing will deactivate.”
My pupils were probably darting everywhere as I processed the flood of information. The wireless sync between the retinal display and my other equipment was nearly complete.
The auto-tracking pistol and terminal, which took longer to sync, finally finished.
Beep.
A message popped up in the corner of my vision. It was a summons from Japa.
* * *
I headed to Japa's office at the top of the building.
Japa stood with his hands clasped behind him, looking down at Border City. His back seemed more melancholy than usual.
“I need you to do a job for me, Luka.”
“Wasn't my only job to find Kinuan?” I replied as I flopped onto the sofa.
The snack basket on the table was filled with “Lethal Poison” flavored candies. A label on it read: 1/1000 chance of death. I was actually curious what it tasted like. I hated to admit it, but Japa Trading's products always piqued one's curiosity and desire for a challenge. If I were ten years younger, I would have been obsessed.
“It's a search for a missing person. It might be difficult for others, but for you, it should be as easy as a walk in the park. It will help with your rehabilitation, too.”
Japa slowly turned to face me. Backlit, his face was cast in shadow.
“If you're going to put me to work outside of our contract, there needs to be a reward.”
“You're stingier than I thought. Considering how much you've taken from me… Hoyoo-ot-ho… For your information, it is incredibly rare to hear a Tajirun call someone stingy.”
Hearing him say that did prick my conscience a bit. Finding Kinuan was an incredibly difficult task, but Japa's material support had been equally immense.
“You know that material support isn't what I'm after.”
I prepared myself as I watched Japa's tongue. He always flicked it three times before saying something important. Flick, flick, flick…
“When Giselle Custoria went missing… she had a security chief by her side. That person is still in Border City.”
Good. It was a good thing I had prepared myself.
‘You kept that hidden all this time!’
I almost flipped the table and screamed. Of course Japa hadn't mentioned it; information was a crucial bargaining chip to keep me on his leash.
There was no reason to get angry. Japa was a merchant, and we were business partners. In fact, I was the one benefiting more from this transaction.
‘Be rational. Be rational.’
I took a short, deep breath and interlaced my fingers.
“It seems you and your stepsister were close,” Japa said, clearly sensing the shift in my emotions.
“We went to school together. There was a kid who kept following Giselle around and bothering her, so I taught him a lesson. We became close after that.”
…Which was true, to some extent.
“In any case, if you do me this favor, I will tell you the whereabouts of the security chief.”
It was a deal I couldn’t refuse. Japa was a seasoned businessman.
* * *
Border City had residential areas exclusively for the wealthy, and I had just arrived at one of them.
The 21-story luxury high-rise had tight security starting from the first floor. Guards armed with excessively heavy weaponry patrolled the area in full-body combat suits. It felt like walking into a military base.
As I stood at the entrance, an armed guard stared at me.
“This is an entry pass guaranteed by Japa Trading.”
I held out an LCD card where security codes flowed like water. It was a pass Japa had issued to me in advance. Japa was one of the investors in this luxury building.
While my pass was being checked, a commotion broke out.
“I-I-I-I'm Anguis's boyfriend! Ask her! Ask her! Anguis, I'm here! Anguiiiis!”
I glanced back. A few guards stormed out and began beating the shouting man with metal batons. I heard bones snap.
“They're going to kill him at this rate,” I muttered.
The guard in front of me chuckled.
“Even if they do, he’ll just come back once he heals. If we just send them away, they show up every day. He's not the only one. Half of our security duty is dealing with Anguis Regina's stalkers.”
“Is Anguis Regina really that popular?”
When I asked, the guard showed clear surprise, even from behind his helmet.
“Did you seriously just ask about Anguis Regina's popularity? You're definitely not from Border City. Snake, snake…”
“Spare me the song. Seriously, it's like everyone's under some mass hypnosis…”
I grumbled as I walked past the guard. Then, I faced a dilemma.
It was a 21-story building, but there were twenty elevators. They had installed private elevators for each floor. Talk about a ridiculous waste of money.
Hiss.
I boarded the elevator heading to the 19th floor. The interior was about the size of a small room.
True to its nature as a private elevator, it was packed with personal belongings. Bright accessories and cosmetics lined the shelves, and one wall of the elevator was entirely a built-in wardrobe.
Hum.
The inside of the closing elevator doors was plastered with photos of Anguis Regina. She was Japa Trading's exclusive idol. The very woman who sang that song I was sick of hearing…
…And the person I had to find.
‘Anguis Regina has gone missing.’
Sometime yesterday, or perhaps the day before.