Chrono Drive

"I'm not making any more of it for free."

I wasn't a sucker, and I sure as hell wasn't crazy enough to cook this stuff for nothing. This was an immunosuppressant that cut Chrome Syndrome by a full twenty percent. From Suji's side of the table, she'd want it even if she had to throw her entire fortune at my feet.

"I'll pay the price. Obviously. Don't worry about it."

Suji's answer was sharp. But I couldn't stop here. I needed to hold the reins.

"Hand over full access to the manufacturing lab. Do that, and I'll keep producing immunosuppressant for as long as the materials hold out."

"You want us to give lab privileges to someone who isn't even in the gang? You've lost your mind."

The gang member who'd mixed that botched immunosuppressant cut in.

"Boss! This is insane! We can't hand over the lab! Do you have any idea what it took me to build this after we got dumped in the Lower District?!"

Suji said nothing. Ghost Signal, though, laid her wide open.

He's not wrong. That was my brother's rule, but...

She was starting to waver. Fair enough — having some outsider wander in and out of the lab would undercut her authority. But was this really the moment to be hung up on pride?

"Your hands stopped shaking. That was an early cyberpsycho symptom, wasn't it?"

"Watch your mouth."

Suji bristled. Bringing up cyberpsycho symptoms clearly didn't sit well with her.

"If you just give me some time, I can make the exact same drug that bastard cooked up!"

The gang member jumped in, sensing an opening. The heat landed on him instead.

"You? You can make it? Are you serious? You, who couldn't even get a second look for the garbage you were cooking when we were still in the Upper District?"

"B-Boss! You survived on my drugs, didn't you?!"

"There's a guy here who can make something dozens of times better than that junk. Give me one reason I should keep using you."

Suji turned her gaze on me and went on.

"Fine. Jinwoo, was it?"

We'd never even introduced ourselves. She must have remembered Lucia calling my name earlier.

"I'll give you lab access, like you wanted. We'll talk details upstairs."

"B-Boss!"

The gang member cried out, looking thoroughly wronged. Suji's eyes had gone ice-cold.

"If it stings that badly, make a better drug than Jinwoo. Whine one more time and I'll take your head."

At that, the gang member wilted and shut his mouth. I felt a little sorry for him, but what could you do? In this world, skill was survival.

I've got a manufacturing lab now.

The equipment was shoddy, but I'd take what I could get.

"Follow me."

Suji turned and headed up the stairs. Lucia and I followed.

Back in her office, Suji sank into the sofa and let out a long breath.

Scan.

The progression had dropped from ninety-two percent to seventy-two. Meaning the immediate danger of her going cyberpsycho and taking my head off was gone.

I made it... I actually made it. Who the hell is this guy?

Suji's inner voice came through clear as a bell.

"As promised, I'm handing you the lab. Credits, too. Dumdum — register this guy for the master key."

"Boss, are you serious? He's an outsider..."

"Did it sound like I was joking?"

"N-no, ma'am! I'll take care of it right now!"

Dumdum flinched and came toward me. He started to press a device against the back of my neck, then stopped.

"The hell? You don't have a socket? What a pain. Fine — use this card key. Lose it and you're dead."

This was a good situation by any measure. I had a lab, and I could earn credits. But I wasn't done.

"Suji. One more condition."

"Let's hear it."

"Your gang handles all the material supply. I'll focus on making the product. And the protection fee Lucia's been paying — that's waived, starting today."

Lucia's eyes went wide. She stared at me.

So the affinity going up registered even without Ghost Signal switched on. Good to know.

"Fine. That's easy enough. Your drugs are going to be this gang's firepower anyway."

"Wise call."

"But don't get any ideas. If you so much as think about screwing with the formula..."

"I won't. I just want to get to the Upper District, that's all."

Suji let out a short laugh.

"The Upper District, huh. Dreaming big. Then again, with the kind of drugs you can make, it might not be impossible."

The deal was sealed.

"I'd like to head back and rest for today. I'll start work in earnest tomorrow."

"Suit yourself. Dumdum, see them out."

We stepped out of the abandoned factory, and Lucia walking beside me gave my arm a poke.

"That was pretty cool, you know?"

"What was?"

"The protection fee thing!"

"You repay a debt. Who was it that washed me and fed me?"

"Hmph. So you do know how to be grateful. You reeked so badly when we first met! Good thing I took you in. Well done, me."

Lucia hummed under her breath and walked on ahead. I lengthened my stride to catch up beside her.

"Earlier, when Suji drew her blade — there was no movement at all. What was that?"

It had been genuinely uncanny. I hadn't taken my eyes off her, and somehow the edge of a sword was already at my throat. Had she teleported?

"That military-grade gear I mentioned last time."

"Military-grade?"

Lucia answered without looking over, her tone matter-of-fact.

"The official designation is the Armatech 'Falcon' Chrono Drive."

Chrono Drive? Chrono — that was the Greek word for time, wasn't it?

"Don't tell me activating a Chrono Drive makes time slow down or something?"

Lucia nodded.

"Bingo. You're a sharp one, Mister. Finding that thing in a junkyard was impressive enough — the fact that it was still in working condition was the real miracle."

"Time slowing down. I don't even know what to say to that..."

Had science really come this far? I couldn't wrap my head around it. For someone who'd spent his career wrestling with molecules at a pharmaceutical company, technology that chewed up the laws of physics and spat them out just didn't feel real.

"What, jealous? A mister who never got chromed."

Lucia stuck a cigarette in the corner of her mouth, lit it, and glanced over.

"Twenty-six doesn't make me a 'mister.'"

"If you say so."

She snorted a little laugh, then turned to look at me with a suddenly serious face.

"I'd rather you didn't install any chrome."

"Why?"

She exhaled a long stream of smoke.

"People as kind as you are rare in this world. I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like you to live a long, long time."

Live a long time — that was almost romantic, coming from her.

"I'm probably the only person in this world without a cyber socket, right? Just a leftover the world moved on from."

At that self-deprecating question, Lucia blew a puff of smoke straight into my face. The scent of vanilla hung in the air.

"That's what makes you special."

She said it with a little wink of a smile.

Affinity went up again. Dependency, too.

No penalty for the numbers climbing, so I didn't dwell on it. Her last words, though, kept circling back. Special, huh.

"Let's hurry. We've got a celebration to throw tonight."

Lucia walked on ahead.

The moment we stepped inside the shop, she pulled the shutter down over the entrance.

Clack—!

Lucia pulled two cans of beer from the fridge and tossed one my way.

"Congratulations. You just took a step toward that Upper District dream of yours."

The cold bite of the can settled against my palm. I cracked it open and answered.

"You're coming with me."

"Aww, but I've gotten attached to this place."

We knocked back our beers over idle chatter. The sharp fizz sliding down my throat felt like it was washing away the day's exhaustion.

"Haaah—"

Lucia covered her mouth and let out a faint yawn mid-sip. We'd been drinking, sure, but the sun was still up. It was broad daylight.

Come to think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of it...

I remembered the line that had been sitting on Lucia's status when I'd scanned her with Ghost Signal that morning.

"You that tired?"

Lucia rubbed at the corners of her eyes.

"Must be the night clinic hours. I always crash around this time. That's just how people live down here, I guess."

"Are you actually sleeping properly? The more I think about it, your sleep quality is way too low. That's what's doing it."

"What is this, a diagnosis?"

She snorted, then added, "Come to think of it, my sleep got like this after I came to the Lower District. You never know when someone's going to kick the door in, so never sleeping too deep just... became a habit."

Something in my chest pulled tight. It was one of the conditions I'd handled countless times at the pharmaceutical company — a sleep disorder born of compulsion.

I could make a drug for her, couldn't I?

The thought flickered through my mind. I set the empty can on the table.

"No more night clinic. I'll bring in the credits from now on."

Lucia's eyes went round, then she giggled.

"Wow. What a dashing mister."

"I'm not joking."

I stood and headed for Lucia's workbench.

"Thanks for throwing the party. I should return the favor."

"Return what? We haven't even started yet! Just drink more."

"Give me a minute."

I scanned the assortment of drugs and unidentifiable solutions scattered across the workbench.

The system chimed in, but I didn't need the help this time. The knowledge I'd studied to work at a pharmaceutical company was more than enough. The nerve stabilizers and cheap painkillers Lucia usually prescribed to her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠patients — combine those with a few nutritional compounds, and I had a formula. With practiced hands, I mixed the solutions and compounded the drug.

Ding—!

A clear liquid in a small ampule. I held it out to Lucia.

"What's this?"

"A sleep aid. No side effects, so trust me and drink it."

Lucia eyed the ampule with suspicion, then popped the cap and downed it in one go.

"Ugh—! Bitter! That's disgusting! This actually works, right?"

"You saw what I can do."

"True. But is this a placebo? I'm getting sleepy all of a sudden..."

The words had barely left her mouth before her eyelids grew heavy. She staggered toward the bed and collapsed onto it in a heap. Her muttering faded, and soon the only sound was the steady rhythm of her breathing.

"Sleep well. Even in this world, people still need their rest."

I pulled up the blanket that had slipped to the foot of the bed and drew it over her shoulders.

Now I needed to get ready too. Before heading to the Nemesis lab tomorrow, I had to get my stats and perks in order.

I sat quietly in a chair and opened the system window.

Status.