Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Talking Machine (8)
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Suddenly, a plot from some action movie flashed through the waves of my memories.
The movie's story was utterly ordinary.
An Albanian mafia boss operating in France kidnaps the daughter of a former CIA SAC—Special Activities Center—agent, only for the entire gang to go boom in a simple tale of vengeance.
Nothing particularly special about it.
It wasn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but it made for decent time-killing entertainment.
However.
Against all expectations, the film became a massive hit in both America and Korea...
The sleek, weighty action scenes were undoubtedly a major factor in its success.
But the conversation between the protagonist and the mafia boss also garnered cult-like popularity.
- I don't know who you are or what you want. But if you don't let my daughter go, I will find you. I will find you and I will kill you with my own hands.
- ...Good luck.
In truth, the mafia boss's reply was more like "Hahaha, good luck with that." But online, it was more often translated literally.
What's the key takeaway here?
The lesson I learned from watching this movie as a kid was simple:
Don't run your mouth until you're absolutely sure you've won.
Any gamer who's lived in the modern world has experienced how a single word can turn the tide of battle and reverse the outcome.
Taunting the enemy jungler, calling out the skill gap with the enemy carries, or typing "gg" in chat before burning down their base.
Thus, the wisest move is to tea-bag on the victory screen.
And yet.
This damn bastard doesn't even know that basic fact.
Mocking, smug, provocative.
Pretty sharp tongue on this one.
This ought to rack up about 0.75 grocery stores' worth of rage.
I recalled the truck crashing into the grocery store entrance, veins bulging on my forehead, then calmly steadied my breathing.
I couldn't lose my temper here.
That would just mean dancing to the enemy's tune.
But I didn't fully suppress the anger either.
I gathered the bubbling heat inside me, clenching my teeth until a bitter metallic tang filled my mouth.
I just quietly held it down.
Saving it to unleash later.
"Whew... Alright, calmed down."
"……."
"By the way, you said it can't speak."
"……."
"Personality module, huh. What a shitty world this is, full of creepy crap. Damn. Should've just played Animal Crossing..."
The massive android didn't slow its pace at all, no matter what I muttered.
Both sides were hemmed in by the prison bars.
The suffocating presence drew closer.
The android reached out boldly, as if to grab my collar.
With our size difference, if it got a hold, escaping wouldn't be easy.
But my experiences so far made me overconfident.
'Let's see how tough it is.'
I lashed out with a kick without much thought.
In martial arts, kicks without spin are more for checking an opponent's movement than aiming for a KO.
Like a Muay Thai deep kick or a Taekwondo front kick.
Since even hulks over 100kg hadn't withstood my kicks before, I expected the same here.
Thwack!!
"?"
But the feel was completely different from before.
My kick to the android's abdomen only pushed it back a few dozen centimeters.
No matter how much my dynamic vision had improved.
I couldn't react to physically impossible movements.
"...Hold on, time-out."
My collar was seized.
It gripped like a steel vise.
Only now did I grasp what it meant to have a fully cybernetic body.
My body lifted into the air.
"Urk...!!"
The direction was straight toward the opposite wall.
My feet hit the ceiling, shattering the light fixture.
Bang!!
I landed on my back—best case scenario—but the impact was full force.
The air in my lungs expelled naturally from the pain.
Chunks of cracked concrete dirtied my clothes as a bonus.
"……!!"
Before I could even groan, the android slammed my body in the opposite direction again.
Light and effortless, like a toddler playing with a toy.
Without hesitation.
Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!
I escaped the android's assault only because the front of my shirt tore.
I rolled, braced against the floor, and stood.
"Whoa, shit..."
I brushed off the spot on my collar where it'd grabbed me.
My body had gotten so tough that nothing felt broken—no, my shoulder blade was throbbing badly.
No time to grimace and head to a hospital.
The hulking figure that had merely walked before was now charging at me.
'So it walked on purpose at first.'
No personality module, no emotion module.
But it clearly knew how to take down an opponent.
At the same time.
My knee shot out like a compressed spring, striking the android's jaw.
A highly successful ambush.
Yet even in the slow-motion flow of time, the hulking figure's eyes stared straight at my face.
'Feels like my knee hurts more.'
I dodged its hands, grabbed its shoulder, and flipped to the other side.
Then kicked off the ceiling and landed on the floor.
Last time, luck from my shirt ripping saved me, but counting on that again seemed unlikely.
"Doesn't even flinch in pain."
As expected of an android.
Its whole body was practically a solid metal chunk.
Thinking back, even a pistol shot hadn't pierced its skin when we first met.
Ignoring the stabbing pain in my back, I pondered how to deal with this android.
Meanwhile, its movements didn't stop; every swing of its fist whistled through the air like a sledgehammer.
Dodging by tilting my head, the prison bars right beside me bent like taffy.
"Whoa."
A gasp escaped me involuntarily.
Cold sweat dampened my back as a bonus.
One solid hit, and I wouldn't walk away unscathed.
'Can't get stuck here forever.'
My priorities couldn't change.
The top one was Walter's daughter—Anna's—safety.
I needed one overwhelmingly powerful strike more than ever...
"……."
I turned toward the open passage.
The iron door had long been smashed, so no need to open anything.
With the android's bulk, shaking it off would be ideal, but...
Thud, thud, thud!!
A heavy body with immense power meant equal speed.
The terrifying sounds chased me relentlessly.
Seemed like that wouldn't work.
I passed through the underground parking lot and raced up the spiraling ramp.
"Hey, new face..."
"Isn't that the raider bastard?"
"...Shoot first, ask later!!"
Along the way, I ran into a few other gang members, but none withstood my attacks like the android.
I leaped up the dozens of meters of incline in one go.
And arrived back at the entrance of the now-deserted Paradise Hall building.
"Ugh, persistent bastard..."
"……."
The android still hadn't fallen behind.
Same expression, same form as the start.
It charged at me.
'Good, out of the basement now...'
This time, I didn't dodge and run.
Because a good idea had struck me.
I slipped into the android's embrace,
and pulled the 'terminal' from my pocket.
Never thought I'd use the one from Walter here.
Remove battery, press button, throw—that was the method, right?
'Button, button... Whatever.'
Should've prepped it earlier.
Nah, it might've dodged if I did.
I shoved the entire terminal into the android's mouth.
It was gaping stupidly like 'ahh~', so it wasn't hard.
Still under a comma's worth of time.
'A bomb shaped like a battery ought to blow with this.'
If not, I'd just run again.
Honestly, throwing it from afar as intended was safest, but Walter said the blast wasn't that strong.
Couldn't miss this one-shot chance.
Soon.
I uppercut the android's jaw from below with my palm, forcing the terminal deeper.
Crunch.
The battery crushed with a sound.
I ducked immediately, and intense heat washed over my back.
Whoosh—!!
Like white phosphorus, unquenchable flames erupted from the android's face.
Even a simple firecracker shatters windows in a sealed space.
The explosion from its mouth popped off the top of its jaw like opening a beer bottle.
Ugh.
'Anyway, dealt with...'
Did I jinx it by saying that?
The flailing android's arms clamped around me tight.
"Fuck."
Head blown off and it's still moving?
I'd underestimated this android.
Lifting my head, the android's half-face—lower jaw only—was right in front of me.
"……."
"……."
If its eyes were still there, it'd be looking down at me.
Couldn't let it end like this; as I tried to wriggle free from its grasp—
The android's jaw and head twitched slightly.
From up to down.
A bow, of sorts.
No voice, but it was clearly saying something.
And then.
An utterly unexpected woman's voice boomed in my head.
What the hell is this?
Not a Random Encounter,
a level up?
Every time this happened, the fact that I was inside a game hit me crystal clear.
Come to think of it, this was my first time directly taking a life.
...Whether an android counts as a life is debatable.
Soon, its arms drooped limply.
I slipped free without issue.
"...Hmm."
I clenched and unclenched my fist, then looked at the android still standing upright.
Even after the fight ended and power shut off.
It stood on its own two feet.
I wordlessly nudged its shoulder.
The android's body slowly toppled backward.
...Thud.
With that low sound, a thought struck me.
It was said to have no personality module or emotion module.
But the android's final moments looked like it had something to say.
"Tch..."
I blinked a couple times and let out a small sigh.
Pushed aside unnecessary thoughts.
More pressing matters right now.
11th floor of the Paradise Hall building.
Inside the boss's office, decorated like a luxury mansion in Area 20.
The owner of Paradise Hall, Ishida, savored a glass of translucent wine leisurely.
But despite the relaxed actions, his mind grew increasingly uneasy.
'...Why no signal yet.'
No contact or signal from the android bodyguard he'd personally modified.
If it were a normal mercenary, it'd have been killed five times over by now.
'Guess I need to check again.'
Ishida operated the remote, activating the holographic display on the wall.
Or trying to.
"...Hm?"
But the screen wouldn't come on.
Tapping the remote a few times only made thick noise ripple across it.
The moment he frowned in foreboding—
—Crack.
A crack appeared in the window.
Ishida's gaze naturally turned there.
And then.
Crash!!!
Someone shattered the reinforced glass effortlessly and entered the building.
The face I'd seen through the cameras.
The one I thought would be swimming in his own blood by now.
"Phew, what a pain—free soloing a cliff, no, a building..."
"……."
"You there, mister. Say something. Let me check if it's the voice I remember. Nah, that thing. 'Good luck.' Exactly like that."
Couldn't stay silent forever.
Ishida cleared his throat cautiously and spoke.
"...Good luck."
At his response.
The man rumored to be a madman among the gang—Hotdog Man—flashed a huge grin.
"Found you, you fucking bastard."