A Costly Companion

"Is that so... Sampyeong is already gone..."

Sitting across the table, Hee-cheol nodded heavily.

I dipped a piece of boiled meat made from some unidentified animal into salt, popped it into my mouth, and said, "So the delivery failed. My bad."

"No, Hyung-nim. It couldn't be helped in this case. The recipient is gone, after all." Hee-cheol shook his head with a bitter smile.

I had set out at the crack of dawn to stop by Garden before heading to work. My goal was to report the failed delivery and return the goods. Upon hearing the news, Hee-cheol's expression had darkened noticeably.

"Did you know them?"

"Who, me, Hyung-nim? Well, yes, but they were just a business partner." Hee-cheol poured water into his cup and set it down near the edge of the table, toward the door. "But they were a partner I saw eye-to-eye with."

While he paid his respects in his own way, I finished off the plate of boiled meat in front of me. "Since the delivery failed, I'm returning the goods."

At my words, Hee-cheol smiled wryly and brought over a two-way cable. Our Neck-Hubs connected, and my vision was instantly replaced by a stark white virtual space of Hee-cheol's creation.

I summoned the console and opened the list of illegally modified avatars I was supposed to deliver. "Sexy Jennifer Perfect Body, Taeri Innocent Glamour, Kang-jun Magistrate's Servant Version, Mungchi F Sun Bear..."

Suddenly, CC's message window floated before my eyes. I glanced at Hee-cheol. He couldn't see the message window; he was just smiling.

An avatar? What is she planning to use it for? I wanted to ask, but I couldn't do that with Hee-cheol watching.

...Well, I had no choice.

"Hey, can you sell me one of these?"

Hee-cheol's eyes widened in surprise, but a sly smirk quickly spread across his face. "Why? See something you like, Hyung-nim?"

"It's not that... So, are you selling or not?"

"Of course I can sell it, Hyung-nim. They're all custom avatars tailored to highly specific personal tastes anyway, so regular customers won't touch 'em. I'd have to overhaul them all anyway."

"Then it should be cheap, right?"

His sly grin widened. "Are you really buying one? Tell you what, I'll just give you one. Consider it a substitute for the success fee. Take whichever one you want, Hyung-nim."

The avatars lined up before me. Though beautifully sculpted, every single one of them was practically naked, with certain body parts so heavily emphasized that they were hard to look at with a straight face.

Pretending to ponder deeply, I walked slowly past the lineup to give CC a chance to choose. But CC remained silent. Don't tell me I have to choose.

"This one... No, that's too lewd... Let's go with this. This one."

I chose the avatar with the least amount of exposed skin among the skimpy options. How little skin was showing? Well, it was covered in fur from head to toe, meaning there was literally zero exposed skin.

"Huh? Mungchi? Are you serious?"

MungchiF_SunBear_Hibernation_v_Request.vlend

It wasn't very big for a bear, but the realistic texture of its fur and its overall shape felt the most normal. ...Setting aside the fact that it was wearing fishnet stockings and high heels, of course.

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"No, of course not. Why wouldn't it be okay?"

The other avatars vanished, leaving only Mungchi behind.

"Ah, just so you know, unofficially modified avatars can't be used in Intra-Maetan. You're aware of that, right, Hyung-nim?"

"Really?"

I had never given it a thought.

"Avatars are one of Maetan's primary revenue streams, you see. If you use it in Intra-Maetan, you'll get banned instantly. Better be careful, Hyung-nim."

"I see."

Truly useless information.

"Well, you can still use it for your own private enjoyment on a personal server, Hyung-nim."

So this guy thought I was taking Mungchi to "enjoy" it by myself.

"No, it's not like that."

"It's fine, Hyung-nim. Since I'm in this line of work, I'm well aware of the deep, dark abyss of the furry community. I might not understand it, but I respect it."

The white space dissolved, and the dim, dingy interior of the Garden bar came back into view. Hee-cheol unplugged the USB from his Neck-Hub and said, "If you ever need any modifications, feel free to drop by, Hyung-nim. I can customize it to suit your tastes. It'll cost you a bit, though."

Hee-cheol looked at me with a knowing, greasy grin. I suddenly felt exhausted. I gave up on trying to argue.

"Right. How much for what I ate?"

"Pardon?"

"The boiled meat. Even if prostitution is your main business, you're registered as a bar. You must have a price list."

Hee-cheol blinked in disbelief. "You're... paying?"

"If I eat, I pay. Isn't that obvious?"

"I'm pretty sure you haven't done that 'obvious' thing once until now, Hyung-nim."

One of Hee-cheol's lackeys brought over the bill. The amount written on it was staggering—more than five times what a normal restaurant would charge.

"Is this price for real?"

"Ah, our prices ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are high across the board, Hyung-nim. Since the bar is just a front... if we charge high prices, actual customers won't come here to eat. You can just pay half... no, a third of it."

I tapped my Neck-Hub while looking at Hee-cheol. He plugged the USB back in. Summoning my Neck-Hub's console, I transferred the exact amount of Maetan Points written on the bill to Hee-cheol.

"I paid in full. Consider it back pay for all the free meals I've had."

"Hyung-nim... no, valued customer..."

Hee-cheol looked at me with watery, deeply touched eyes. I pushed open the heavy iron door of Garden and stepped outside.

"I'm already hungry again..."

Was it because my brain had to process calculations while connected to Hee-cheol's virtual space? Even though I had just eaten boiled meat, my stomach was rumbling. In the past, I would have clutched my empty stomach and dragged myself to work... but now, I was rich. I could eat as much as I wanted.

"A full wallet truly brings peace of mind..."

CC's message window floated in the air. "No, I'm heading to the market first." I remembered the hot soup and rice I hadn't been able to eat last time.

"By the way, why do you need an avatar?"

"...I don't care what you do, but make sure you stick to our contract."

"To be a Player, you have to remain a citizen of Maetan. Don't do anything that'll get us kicked out."

Her tone, which practically screamed that she was hiding something, was unsettling, but I decided not to press further.

CC spoke after seeing Maetan through my eyes. Even by the most generous standards, the reality of Maetan was not a pleasant place to live. Over forty thousand people were crammed into a tiny space of barely five square kilometers. Compared to life before the war, it was a miserably wretched existence.

Crude, makeshift structures were crammed into every alleyway to maximize living space. Stagnant, rotten water pooled due to poor drainage. The stench of livestock raised in high-rises and the human waste used as fertilizer in vertical farms blended together, casting a foul odor over the entire city. In the shadows cast by the massive walls, sketchy thugs glared at passersby like predators scouting for prey.

"Is this your first time seeing the world after the war?"

"The Geumgang Defensive Line?"

The Geumgang Defensive Line. It was a battlefield I had fought on as well. We had fought with everything we had to protect the plains and supply lines south of the Geumgang River, but we were utterly crushed by the onslaught of the Machine Species and forced to retreat. It was one of the longest and most brutal battlefields I had ever experienced. We fought a continuous delaying action as we fell back to Mount Gyeryong. Beyond that lay the Nakdong River line—essentially our final line of defense—so I remembered gritting my teeth and fighting like hell.

"Come to think of it, the Satellite Battleships provided fire support a few times back then..."

Conventional weapons were barely enough to scratch the multi-legged tanks and state-of-the-art drones of the Machine Species. To us, the fire support from the orbiting Satellite Battleships was a single ray of hope. Even those heavily armored multi-legged tanks were obliterated in a single strike from orbit.

CC had said she could share my sensory organs. Seeing through my eyes, tasting through my mouth, hearing through my ears... Wait, isn't that a bit dangerous?

CC asked, looking at the massive walls enclosing the city. "To control the entry of mutants and outsiders."

A street stall was grilling meat skewers. The meat was chopped beyond recognition, yet she was trying to deduce what kind of animal it came from?

"That's edible rat. They bred them after the war ended, so it's probably your first time seeing it."

"I've never had it either."

I had been poor, never once able to afford a meat skewer that everyone else ate... But that was yesterday. Now, I was a wealthy man with a whopping 32,000 Maetan Points. I could buy out the entire stall if I wanted to. I walked up to the stall, nodded to the owner, and picked up a skewer.

Without a word, I put the meat in my mouth. I expected it to be dry and tough since it was grilled over an open flame, but it was surprisingly fatty, bursting with rich juices.

CC, who was sharing my senses, gave her review of the taste instead of me.

"You sure are curious about a lot of things."

Like a child, CC showed curiosity toward everything that came into view. She asked what everything was and showed interest in every little detail.

"Do AIs even feel boredom?"

An arrow materialized in the air, pointing toward a crowd of people. A large group was walking in the same direction. They carried long wooden boxes on their shoulders, and a few at the very front held framed photographs.

"That's... not a festival. It's a funeral."

Funerals in Maetan were simple affairs. They consisted of carrying the coffin containing the body around the city once, and then cremating it outside the city walls. Suddenly, the faces in the photographs caught my eye. They were the people who had gone on the out-of-office mission with me. It seemed they had died after failing to have their Neck-Hubs extracted safely.

Perhaps the person inside one of those coffins in the funeral procession could have been me. No, since I didn't have any family, I probably would have been tossed straight into the organic recycling furnace.

"Funerals are supposed to be lonely."

CC was referring to formal military funerals.

CC's arrow pointed to a middle-aged man struggling to follow the funeral procession. Leaning heavily on a cane, his staggering steps looked incredibly precarious.

"Do you know him?"

CC overlaid a crudely drawn beard onto the man's face. The unfamiliar face instantly became recognizable. It was the bearded guy I had fought right before escaping the Internet.

"His body survived, but socially, he's as good as dead."

"Because his Neck-Hub was extracted. Having a Neck-Hub that's directly wired to your cranial nerves forcibly ripped out is bound to leave permanent side effects. Besides, without a Neck-Hub, you can't use any of Maetan's facilities."

A Neck-Hub was essentially Maetan's employee ID card. To access any of Maetan's infrastructure or use Maetan Points, a Neck-Hub was mandatory. While there were a few private shops that accepted barter or physical cash, their quality, convenience, and prices couldn't even begin to compare.

"Since his registration is still active, he won't be kicked out immediately. But without a Neck-Hub, he can't even go to work. He'll be fired for unexcused absences soon. It's hard for an unemployed person to survive here... His life is going to be incredibly rough from here on out."

Of course, Maetan wasn't the only option. Though the journey would be perilous, there were ways to leave Maetan and head to other cities. However, in his state, barely able to move his body due to the extraction's side effects, it was practically impossible. I looked away and took another bite of the meat skewer. CC spoke softly.

It was a simple statement. Yet, those words suddenly brought back the faces of those who hadn't survived. The images of mangled, torn corpses scattered across the battlefield after the smoke cleared flickered in my mind.

"Yeah," I muttered, taking another bite of the skewer. "Yeah. As long as you're alive, that's what matters."

Just as I reached for another skewer, the stall owner blocked my hand.

"Hey, could you pay first?" he asked, looking anxious.

Before I knew it, a massive pile of empty wooden skewers had accumulated in front of me. I must have been eating them continuously without realizing it.

I paid him with Maetan Points and left the stall, holding my last skewer.

"Why am I so damn hungry today..."

No matter how much I ate, the hunger wouldn't fade. Even though I had walked away from the stall, the smell of grilled meat lingered at the tip of my nose, stimulating my appetite.

"...What are you talking about?"

"...Yeah, it is."

My baseline metabolism was already nearly three times that of an average human. Just by breathing, my body burned around 8,000 calories a day. But five times that?

I touched my prosthetic arm with my right hand. It was so hot I flinched and pulled my hand away.

When I rolled up my sleeve, the skin where it met the prosthetic was flushed bright red.

...No wonder the smell of grilling meat had lingered even after I left the stall.

"...Hey."

"...Get out. Right now."