The Black Dragon Society

"Yoo Jinwoo, huh... I'll remember that name."

Ryusaki let out a soft snort of laughter.

I had walked away from my very first deal with a haul of premium ingredients, all free of charge.

Of course, her "generosity" came with an agenda tucked neatly beneath it.

'You'll bring the payment next time, won't you?'

That was what her expression seemed to say as she sat there with her legs crossed.

'Oh, I'll bring it all right.'

Just like the drug she'd tried to sell off for twenty million credits — made from the leftover residue after extracting what I needed.

"So, are we done here, then?"

I asked, glancing over at Suzy with a sense of relief.

'What's wrong with her face?'

The look she was leveling at Ryusaki was anything but friendly.

Did these two have some kind of blood feud I didn't know about?

"Done, you say?"

When Suzy finally opened her mouth, Ryusaki tilted her head with a puzzled smile.

"Got something more to say, Suzy?"

"You claim I use a lot of your product? Funny, I don't recall that."

Apparently, what Ryusaki had said at the entrance had gotten under her skin.

"Do you have any idea how many people I supply? You're not the only customer on my list."

Ryusaki gave an amused little laugh.

"You've used my product without even knowing it, sweetie."

Then she added, twisting the knife:

"Ah, then again, your brother probably used more of it, hmm?"

"Why is my brother suddenly part of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this?"

"I did business with him all the time. Why are you being so touchy about it?"

At Ryusaki's perfectly reasonable point, Suzy cleared her throat and straightened up.

"The clothes you're wearing — that's Black Dragon Society fabric, isn't it?"

Ryusaki ran a hand over the material of her black qipao in response.

"Your gang went up against the Black Dragon Society once, didn't it? And the result — you all got chased down into the Lower District. Your brother died too, if I remember right."

Maybe I was imagining it, but her tone carried a distinctly provocative edge.

"Just answer my question."

"You're seriously going to brand me as Black Dragon over a qipao? Give me a break."

Ryusaki's voice sharpened with real anger now.

"Boss, please calm down."

Alex raised a hand toward Ryusaki as she started to rise from her seat, then turned a warning look on Suzy.

"Don't you realize you're causing a problem? Why would you drag personal feelings into a business deal?"

"Lackeys don't get a vote. Stay out of it."

"Why, you little—"

Wow. I can't breathe in here.

Why did Suzy always have to go for the jugular?

I exhaled a silent sigh. She was truly a master at wrecking an otherwise perfectly good deal.

From the look of things, Ryusaki was thoroughly furious at being lumped in with the Black Dragon Society — the very people she despised most.

There was no sign of the tension easing on its own.

'Let me check something first.'

I needed a key to unlock this situation.

'Hm. Yeah, I can see why she'd be in a bad mood.'

Getting told she was in league with the people she hated most in the world — of course she'd bristle.

Speaking of which — the Black Dragon Society.

A name I'd heard plenty of times back when I watched the TV news.

'So the Black Dragon Society is the target of Suzy's revenge. Never would have guessed.'

This world was a megacorp world, ruled by sovereign mega-corporations.

The Black Dragon Society was a gang in name only — in reality, it was a massive organization with the firepower and influence of a mid-sized corporation.

According to the information I'd dug up on my own, even back in the Upper District, Nemesis had been nothing more than a third-rate gang. Just scraping by.

In a word, going up against the Black Dragon Society was like throwing eggs at a boulder.

"The Black Dragon Society, huh..."

The moment I murmured those words, Ryusaki's gaze snapped to me.

"Suzy's planning to get revenge on the Black Dragon Society."

Before I'd even finished speaking, Ryusaki doubled over, clutching her belly and howling with laughter.

"PWAHAHAHA—! Revenge? You're serious? Those Nemesis gutter-rats, getting revenge on the Black Dragon Society?"

Laughing so hard she actually ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wiped away tears — it was quite a sight.

"You laughing at me?"

Unable to hold back, Suzy kicked her chair back and surged to her feet. Veins stood out on the back of her clenched fist.

"Suzy. Leave this to me."

I pressed a gentle hand to her shoulder and murmured the words.

A flinch.

Her shoulder trembled, just slightly.

Her eyes wavered as she looked back at me — but then she let out a rough breath and sank back into her chair.

This was where all that carefully accumulated affection and dependence paid off.

"...Fine."

With Suzy calmed down, I turned my head back toward Ryusaki.

She was still watching us, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I'm going to join Suzy's revenge."

Her laughter cut off dead.

"Are you insane too? Going after the Black Dragon Society? A lone pharmacist? And one who hasn't even been cyberized, at that?"

Ryusaki stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

"The Black Dragon Society ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doesn't collapse just because a few bullets fly. They carry corporate-grade equipment — even elite military units."

"I know."

"And you're still going after them?"

"I made a promise to Suzy."

"Ahem."

Suzy cleared her throat and turned her head away. Her cheeks, I noticed, had gone faintly pink.

So that's how it is — cheesy lines like that actually work on her.

"Big dreams, little pharmacist."

Ryusaki shook her head.

Her tone was mocking, but somewhere beneath it, her eyes looked faintly lonely.

Pretending I knew about her past with the Black Dragon Society and offering sympathy would have been an amateur move. The smart play was to act oblivious and wait until she opened up on her own.

Ryusaki rested her chin on her hand.

"Did that woman put a spell on you? Helping her get revenge... you really are a foolish man."

"I want to get into the Upper District."

At my firm answer, Ryusaki narrowed her eyes, then let out a soft laugh.

"Well, now. That's a problem I could actually solve for you."

"R-Really?!"

I leaned forward urgently before I could stop myself.

Ugh. Did that look pathetic?

Ryusaki pounced on the opening immediately, shooting a jab at Suzy.

"So this man's goal isn't your revenge at all — he just wants to climb up to the Upper District, hmm?"

Suzy's icy glare came flying at me and lodged itself squarely in my chest.

I'm dead. I snuck a glance at Suzy's face — the crease between her brows had deepened into a fault line.

In fairness, if Ryusaki could genuinely get me into the Upper District, hitching my wagon to her would be the efficient choice.

Suzy the vengeance-driven pretty face, or Ryusaki the capable, money-flush merchant? No matter how I looked at it, siding with the useful one with deep pockets seemed better for surviving this treacherous world...

"Kidding! That was a lie. Just hiding out and staying alive is about all I can manage as it is."

Ryusaki stuck out her tongue and snickered.

'What a naughty little thing. I ought to tease her right back, good and proper.'

"Jinwoo..."

Suzy called my name in a voice heavy with disappointment.

"It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding, I swear!"

I waved my hands frantically, but she had already turned her face away.

Damn you, Ryusaki. She was a merchant through and through — a master at toying with people's hearts.

Ryusaki dropped the playfulness and put on a serious expression.

"So, Jinwoo. What do you want to do once you're up in the Upper District?"

I steadied my breathing. This was no time for jokes.

This was my fundamental purpose — the single reason I had to survive in this world.

"To develop a drug that fully cures cyberpsychosis. That's my goal."

The instant the words left my mouth, Ryusaki's eyes wavered, wide and shaken.

Even Alex, standing beside her, flinched hard enough to jolt the shotgun in his hands.

"...A complete cure for cyberpsychosis?"

Ryusaki repeated the words as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"The corporations couldn't manage it in decades, and you're going to do it?"

"The corporations don't want a cure. Selling suppressants is more profitable than curing anyone — that's why they never tried."

I gestured at the premium ingredients laid out on the table.

"Me? I'm more curious about it than I am about money. Even if it costs me my body, if the world becomes a better place for it, isn't that worth attempting?"

It was the sense of mission I'd carried in my chest since my days at the pharmaceutical company.

Fine, I'd been flung into a mad world — but I wasn't about to throw away my pride as a pharmacist along with everything else.

For a long while, Ryusaki said nothing.

At last, she let out an odd little laugh and spoke.

"You really are a lunatic. A certified, grade-A lunatic."

The wariness that had lived in her eyes seemed, just a little, to have thinned.

"I'll admit I'm curious how far that crazy dream of yours will take you."

That was when Suzy, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up.

"I'll apologize, Ryusaki."

"Hm?"

Ryusaki's eyes went round.

Frankly, I was just as stunned.

That foul-tempered, prickly Suzy — bowing her head first?

"I thought you were one of the Black Dragon Society's people. I'm sorry. I was too on edge."

Wow. Character development.

The Suzy who always led with a blade to the throat, apologizing this calmly and completely.

Ryusaki stared at her blankly for a moment, then clicked her tongue and looked away.

"Whatever. It's fine. I'm sorry too — I shouldn't have brought up your brother like that."

Then she smoothed over the mood and changed the subject.

"By the way — are you really going through with this revenge? Against the Black Dragon Society?"

"Of course I am."

There wasn't a shred of hesitation in Suzy's answer.

"It won't be an easy road. But I'll root for you."

Ryusaki added that last part as though she already knew exactly how it would go.

"I don't know where you got that Chrono Drive, but it won't be enough to take down the Black Dragon Society."

At her words, Suzy's brow furrowed.

Ryusaki, completely unbothered, drove the facts home.

"You'll go cyberpsycho long before you get anywhere close, you know?"

"I'll be the one preventing that."

When I said it flatly and without room for doubt, Ryusaki's gaze swung back to me.

"Heh. I figured you'd say that."

She gave a shrug, then shifted her eyes to Suzy.

"So if you're really doing this, Suzy — prepare properly. You're far too hasty right now."

Suzy pressed her lips into a tight line, chewing over Ryusaki's words.

And not one word of it was wrong.

Charging in on vengeance alone was a perfect recipe for dying like a dog in the street.

"...I know."

Suzy answered quietly.

Ryusaki twirled a strand of hair around her finger, then tossed out a favor as if it cost her nothing.

"Every trade day, I'll bring you intel on the Black Dragon Society's boys. There."

"...!"

Suzy's eyes went wide.

For Nemesis, buried down in the Lower District, getting ahold of Upper District intelligence was harder than plucking stars from the sky.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"You'd bring us information? Why?"

At Suzy's question, Ryusaki gave an elegant shrug and answered coolly.

"Because I feel like it. What, you don't want it?"

That was what she said — but what she was thinking was a different story entirely.

Thanks to keeping the Ghost Signal running the whole time, her hidden motives had come through loud and clear.

'If Suzy's revenge succeeds, that's a win for me, no? I've got nothing to lose. And besides, Jinwoo — if it's that man's drugs, I really think I could pull off something big.'

Kindness with a calculator running behind it, as always.

Well, for us, there wasn't a single downside to the offer.

Suzy hesitated for a moment — then bowed her head deeply toward Ryusaki.

"...Thank you. Whatever information you bring, I'll receive it gratefully."

Proud, stubborn Suzy, bending so many times in a single day.

Which meant the revenge meant that much to her.

Ryusaki, looking thoroughly satisfied, stretched luxuriously and turned to Alex.

"All right. Alex, the time?"

"Cutting it close, Boss. The regular patrol begins shortly."

At Alex's heavy rumble, Ryusaki rose from her seat.

Smooth the hem of her qipao, she moved toward the door.

"See you next week. I'll contact you about the place and time in advance, same as this one."

Ryusaki paused at the threshold and looked back at me, holding my gaze.

"Until then, Doctor Pharmacist."

With a little wave, she and the towering Alex disappeared down the tunnel.

"Jinwoo."

Suzy called to me as she picked up her bag.

"Yeah. Let's go."

We gathered up the bag Ryusaki had left behind and made our way out of the tunnel.

'How much is all of this worth, anyway?'

Ingredients we couldn't so much as glimpse down here in the Lower District.

I'd use these to make Suzy's medication, and the leftover residue would become delivery product for Ryusaki. Clean loop.

That aside — Suzy's revenge.

Just as Ryusaki had said, for the current Nemesis it was a reckless, almost suicidal challenge.

But I had the system. And now, at last, I had proper ingredients too.

"Jinwoo."

"Hm? Yeah?"

Midway through the walk, Suzy turned her head to look at me.

"If someone offers to take you up to the Upper District... are you really going to leave me behind and go?"

Wow, she just won't let it go.

Still, an apology was owed.

"Sorry about earlier. But did you forget my goal?"

"Developing a cure for cyberpsychosis?"

"Right. And with a perfectly excellent clinical trial subject sitting right beside me, why on earth would I leave? I might not manage the Black Dragon Society revenge with you — but I'm not abandoning you. I mean it."

I didn't want to cut ties so easily, not with a bond we'd already forged.

More than anything, without me, Suzy was guaranteed to slide into cyberpsychosis. If I abandoned her to that fate, I'd never sleep a peaceful night again as long as I lived.

"...'Clinical trial subject.' That's such an uncomfortable way to put it."

And with those parting words, Suzy hurried ahead of me, quickening her pace.