Rocket Delivery
For Jon Bruce, who spent his days repairing drones at construction sites, today had started out just like any other.
The resolution he made upon waking up was also the same.
Survive for three days on his daily wages from the construction site, somehow find a scoop to set the internet forums ablaze, and miraculously catch the eye of a major news agency to become a real journalist...
That was all Jon Bruce ever wanted.
He didn't care if it was a disreputable news agency.
Given how news agencies in Eden were divided by factional alignment, changing jobs wouldn't be easy, but Jon wanted to be a real, honest journalist no matter what.
Because that had been his dream since childhood.
Of course, to achieve that dream, he was currently churning out cheap clickbait articles, but he hadn't lost his childhood dream.
Jon had wanted to be a journalist since he was a boy.
A journalist who did proper field reporting and wrote real news articles.
He resolved that once he built up his career and climbed to a high position, he would become the most honest journalist in Eden.
To do that, he would eventually have to leave any agency and start his own company, but regardless, Jon's ultimate goal was to write the most honest articles.
"...An explosion?"
That was why he couldn't just ignore the sound of the explosion that had reverberated a moment ago.
Jon looked down at the drone he was repairing.
What would happen if he abandoned it right now and ran toward the sound?
Even if it was just a daily gig, he would never be able to work here again. In fact, the manual labor market was so small that he might be blacklisted from other construction sites entirely.
Jon wiped away the sweat mixing with the grime on his face and stood up. The explosions were still echoing. Though intermittent, he knew exactly where they were coming from.
The Eastheim Logistics Hub...
This was a massive scoop.
No news helicopters had taken off, and there were no ECPD sirens yet. The other corporations hadn't made a move either.
But it was only a matter of time. Within five minutes, all kinds of news agencies, corporations, and the ECPD would swarm the scene.
If he could post on his community forum before that...? If he could livestream the situation in real-time and interview bystanders...
A news agency will definitely contact me...
He swallowed hard.
Jon set down the wrench in his hand. He slowly peeled off his oil- and rust-stained jumpsuit and glanced around.
No one was watching.
There were only three people working here, including Jon, and the other two were scary older guys who always dumped their work on him to go slack off.
Which meant no one would chase after him if he ran.
No... this isn't running away.
This step was the first step toward his dream...
Having finished his self-justification, Jon crept toward the locker room. He didn't have a change of clothes, but his reporting gear—which he kept with him at all times—was stored there.
Of course, he could write articles using his built-in nano-computer, but given that he dealt with all kinds of controversies and gossip, a VPN antenna was an absolute necessity.
After gathering his gear, Jon left a note filled with long-winded apologies and slipped out of the workshop.
Thick black smoke was billowing from the Eastheim Logistics Hub. The explosions continued, and still, no news helicopters were in sight.
It was a distance he could cover in two minutes if he ran.
As he sprinted, Jon recalled something.
Just yesterday, an anonymous troll claiming to be a dragon from Earth-2 had posted a map of the hub.
There was a path to sneak into the western sector while avoiding the security cameras. Why he had stumbled upon such information just yesterday didn't matter. Jon wasn't a coward who would let an opportunity like this slip away.
He covered his face with a cap and a mask, then plugged a portable ICE into his ear. To guard against potential hacking, he turned on a pen-shaped voice recorder and hooked a pair of camera glasses onto his cap.
A skilled netwatcher could easily bypass it, but it was a reliable shield against amateur hackers.
Fully prepared, Jon dashed toward the back alley the mysterious anonymous user had pointed out.
Beneath his mask, a smile of anticipation spread across his face. Perhaps it was because he was on the verge of achieving his lifelong dream, or perhaps his journalistic instincts were finally shining.
Whatever the reason, Jon was happy.
At least, he was until he got kidnapped.
"...Um."
"Yep."
"Didn't you say you were going to get along?"
"Yeah."
"But kidnapping him like this..."
"It's not kidnapping. It's temporary protection."
A sigh escaped Angela's lips from behind the flickering static of her hologram.
"Protection, right. Protection. But I don't think Mr. Bruce is going to want this kind of protection..."
"No, the reporter mister will like it too."
Swoo spoke with strange confidence.
Hearing Swoo's tone, a sudden thought occurred to Angela.
"By any chance, is he someone you met on that online community you've been visiting lately?"
Swoo's static-covered avatar twitched.
It was a reaction that clearly asked, How did you know?
Angela swallowed a dry laugh and nodded.
"...Every site you access using my VPN leaves a log."
"Can you see the posts I wrote too?"
"I could if I looked, but I figured you wouldn't like that, so I didn't bother."
"That's a relief."
A relief? What exactly was she relieved about?
Knowing Swoo wouldn't tell her even if she asked, Angela moved on to another question.
"He is a decent person, right?"
"Yeah, he's normal."
"The community you visit has a pretty bad reputation in many ways..."
"It's just a few bad apples ruining it."
"...Specifically, it's known for having a lot of child predators."
"The reporter mister isn't like that."
That was true enough.
Jon Bruce was active in that community under the username 'Reporter' and wrote all kinds of articles.
However, since the only articles that gained traction in that community were of a rather unsavory nature, Jon had also brought over plenty of those types of stories.
...Am I just out of touch with the world these days?
Whenever she thought of online communities, only bad things came to mind. While not always violent crimes, many disgusting offenses usually traced their origins back to such places.
"If he turns out to be a weirdo, I'll punish him."
"Me?"
"No, Mr. Jon Bruce."
"Yeah, okay."
Swoo answered confidently.
Because while Jon was a bit peculiar, he was definitely not a bad person.
A short while later, Jon, tied hand and foot to a chair, began to squirm.
Angela took a step back.
It was Swoo's turn to take the lead now.
Since Angela still didn't understand Swoo's plan, she knew that stepping in would only get in the way.
However, just in case, she made sure she was fully prepared to subdue Jon at a moment's notice.
"Are you awake?"
At Swoo's quiet voice, Jon lifted his head. His eyes widened instantly.
"...Noise?"
"Hello."
The Nightmare of South Peak. The hero of the vagrants. A Class 1 Hazard, and a wanted fugitive hunted by the three major corporations. Yet, a bizarre entity praised by the citizens.
"Noise...!"
His mouth hanging wide open, Jon stared at the static-flickering figure of Noise before him.
"H-How... why... are you going to k-kill me...?"
He sounded terrified, but in truth, Jon wasn't that scared. He knew Noise wouldn't harm an ordinary person like him.
Jon had previously enjoyed a sweet amount of attention by writing posts about Noise.
To garner that attention once more, he had written analysis posts about Noise, and in the process, he had figured out—well, not Noise's exact behavioral principles, but at least the line Noise refused to cross.
And he was certain that he, at least, was not a target.
"You know I'm not going to kill you."
However, hearing Noise speak as if she knew him was a little... no, extremely terrifying.
"U-Uh..."
"You can tell the truth. You want to take a picture with me, don't you?"
Jon unconsciously thought of the camera glasses he had hooked onto his cap. Realizing they were gone, he quickly shut his mouth.
"I'll give your recorder and camera back when you leave."
"T-That... I wasn't trying to take pictures of you, Noise..."
"Yeah, I know. You came to investigate and report on the explosion at the hub."
"You... know me?"
"I do. Your name is Jon Bruce. You're twenty-seven. Your main username on the Eden News Channel is 'Reporter'. And your alt accounts across other channels are 'Repando', 'ReToeSuck', and 'ReArmpitLick'. Right?"
Jon's face turned deathly pale.
Even so, he shook his head with all his might.
"I-I-I-I... I don't know those names... W-What even is that...?"
"Hmm...?"
Tilting her head, Swoo let out an "Ah" and nodded as if she understood.
"I guess you might not recognize them if they're abbreviated."
"Wai—"
Jon's body thrashed violently.
Noise or not, he had to shut that mouth right now.
He would rather have his porn stash discovered than have his community usernames exposed. He would gladly surrender all the Neural Dive videos—his precious Noah's Ark hidden away in his home storage—if only she would spare his alt usernames...
"ReinaChanPantyThief, ReinaToeSucker, and ReinaArmpitLicker. Right?"
"Ah..."
"ReinaWombEntrance? Was that one yours too, reporter mister? Anyway, I like Reina too. She's cute."
Reina was the brand name of a sexroid that had recently gained a reputation for being excellent in Eden, and it was also the very sexroid Draco Legia was currently trapped in.
There was no way Angela didn't know that name.
"Yep, he's definitely a weirdo," Angela muttered in a chilling voice.
"Let's kill him."
"...Yes, please kill me."
Jon gave up on life.