Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Unbeknownst to Myself (7)
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The moment I heard the level-up notification sound, the first thing I did was shout "Status Window!" out loud.
Of course, as expected, nothing appeared in front of my eyes.
Still, just in case, I tried shouting it again later at the grocery store,
and wouldn't you know it, Nova happened to overhear me at that exact moment, leaving me to suffer in agony for days afterward.
The self-loathing I felt from those cold eyes (lenses)...
Couldn't be put into words.
Anyway.
The "unnecessarily cheerful female voice" that only I could hear had too many sloppy aspects to be called a proper system.
It popped up out of nowhere every day, said its piece, and vanished.
Honestly, I still hadn't figured out the exact trigger for when that voice appeared.
'It's all up to her whims.'
Sometimes it was a Random Encounter, sometimes an achievement unlocked, sometimes something else.
That's why I'd been ignoring it completely, but who would've thought I'd suddenly discover something status window-like now.
I usually fell asleep in under 30 seconds with my head to the ground, so I never even imagined such a feature was hidden.
As I closed my eyes and focused my mind, red root-like branches extended out in the pitch-black darkness.
The roots, arranged in various shapes, pulsed like living blood vessels.
Among them, one point shone with an especially bright light, like the North Star.
Thanks to the trait I gained from leveling up, I'd escaped a desperate crisis.
Though it left me with the feeling that I'd lost something every man—and human—must possess: my pride as a man.
The world of competition is a harsh one.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there were no traces of "something" left on the asphalt road where the opponent had been.
There was a chance the heavy rain had washed it into the canal below.
I double-checked the condition of the Pac-Man mask with its new eye hole,
then slowly rose from the truck's hood, where I'd been lying at an angle.
The truck's engine compartment, which had cushioned me so softly, bore a massive human-shaped dent in the shape of a big "X."
"What is this, some gag comic...?"
Someone once said the back can endure seven times more than the front.
My back didn't hurt as much as I'd expected.
My vision was sharpening bit by bit too.
The problem was...
"Ow."
I checked my ankle again.
It was bad enough that a "LIVE" label in the top right corner wouldn't have seemed out of place.
It had looked completely shattered when I first injured it, and then I'd even kicked with the broken foot in a fit of rage.
Well, what could I do?
I just had to trust in my regeneration.
As I stood on my gimpy foot, I spotted a kid running toward me from far away.
"...Bro!!"
He came rushing over, slipped on the wet road, and fell flat spectacularly.
"Whoa!"
Grimacing in pain, he quickly got up and scurried back toward me.
Gio glanced toward the road's guardrail and asked me,
"B-Bro, did you take that guy out?"
"You just said that, and now he's respawning."
"...?"
Speaking words you absolutely shouldn't after taking down an opponent...
I limped toward where he'd fallen, dragging my broken foot.
Gio flailed his arms like he wanted to support me, but I couldn't lean on a kid half my size just because my leg hurt.
Roooar...!!
The canal's water poured down with the ferocity of a waterfall.
With rain still falling in sheets from the sky, the water level was deep, filled with dozens of vicious whirlpools.
I recalled the MegaCorp employee's appearance as he clutched his vital spot and fell,
then shook my head.
He'd been a truly strong opponent, but in the end, just a living creature.
No one could survive falling from this height unprepared.
Gio seemed to think the same, wiping rain from his face and saying,
"...He's probably dead."
"Yeah."
"From what I know, there's a crusher down there for processing foreign objects. The polluted water heads to the Area 50 dump too."
"...Hmm."
"No way he survived. Falling from this height... Even if he's a MegaCorp employee..."
"Enough."
"Huh?"
How many survival flags was he raising?
At this rate, even someone at their funeral would sit up in the coffin...
In the end, whether the guy lived or died, I had no way to confirm.
Of course, even if he did survive, a life without balls would be nothing but suffering...
Could this city's tech revive a castrated man?
I didn't know.
'Not my problem anyway.'
Lifting my gaze from the canal, I saw Gio looking up at me with sparkling eyes.
"Anyway, Bro, that was awesome!!"
The young kid waved his arms wildly, recreating the battle scene.
His excitement came through loud and clear.
"He flew like this, then bam! Into the truck. Honestly, I thought it was over there... But I couldn't just watch. Remember what I said to him?"
Gio cleared his throat and put on a solemn voice—or rather, like Doraemon going through puberty.
"Hey, you corporate dog-licking asshole bastard—!"
"Yeah."
"If I hadn't drawn his attention, you couldn't have won. Right?"
"...Tch."
"Come on, admit it!"
I ruffled Gio's rain-soaked hair roughly.
The kid's small head bobbed around like a rice ball.
"You should've just run away. Don't brag about acting recklessly."
"No, but you did get my help! He suddenly clutched his gut and staggered because of your kick, right?"
"...Yeah."
With the rain pouring, Gio up on the canal probably hadn't heard our conversation.
Maybe that's how it looked from afar.
I remembered what the guy had said.
- ...I didn't know there was still a psyker out there not caught by the psych bureau. Well, this being Area 49 makes it possible.
For some reason, this (insane) city seemed to drag psychics away by force.
Whether for experiments or a special unit, I didn't know.
But getting this power exposed wouldn't be good.
I nodded nonchalantly.
"Well, you could say that."
"See?!"
Gio kept chattering noisily after that.
There must've been a weak spot in the gut. Or maybe luck made a tube from his internal combustion cyberware pop out. Falling down there, he's definitely dead—
"Enough. Stop yapping and let's check the truck's cargo."
"Oh, right...!"
Gio's face lit up with anticipation.
Our goal wasn't the MegaCorp employee, but the contents of the truck he was driving.
Even if this canal road was deserted, who knew when another weird variable might pop up.
Especially since it was stuff from 'MegaCorp.'
Better to grab it quick and bolt than linger.
Hopping on one foot, I moved to the truck's cargo area.
The truck wasn't some special metal vault.
It was wrapped in steel plates, but no separate locks.
Considering how strong the guy riding it was, this had to be the right truck...
With a nagging doubt, I slowly lifted the steel plate upward.
.
.
.
And closed it again.
I calmly assessed our situation.
The kid, who hadn't seen inside yet, stood on tiptoes behind me, full of curiosity.
"What? Why close it? What's in there?"
"......"
"Huh?"
No matter how I thought about it, my conclusion didn't change.
We're screwed.
Gio's face went pale as a sheet after checking the truck's cargo.
Could've been hypothermia from the rain, but sadly, no.
"...Bro."
The large truck's cargo hold was filled with
"What the hell is all this...?"
all sorts of 'weapons.'
Really, truly.
A ton of weapons.
I asked Gio in a dazed tone.
"...You said it was just some expensive stuff."
"N-No, usually it is... Like pricey art such as paintings or sculptures, or rare critters like endangered iguanas at most."
The contents were valuable.
Just not what I'd expected—that was the problem.
Honestly, the tension crawling over me now was worse than when that MegaCorp guy's eye stabbed at me earlier.
Decision time.
I looked down at the still-frozen kid
and shoved all the bills from my pocket into his hands.
"For now, you head home."
"...W-Why the money all of a sudden."
"So you can take these weapons and sell 'em somewhere?"
Pricey valuables would've been fine.
But with weapons involved—MegaCorp, Black Square, gang organizations—who knew how deep it went.
"Remember. Nothing happened to you today."
Gio swallowed hard at my warning.
I pushed his back.
"I'll come visit when I have time, so use that to buy the kids something nice."
Honestly, it was a ridiculously small amount for the cargo's value, but Gio nodded slowly, satisfied.
The kid, true to Risk City resident form, had grasped the severity.
"...Come play later for sure."
"Yeah."
I watched Gio's back as he scampered off from the cargo hold and thought.
I couldn't just leave the weapons.
That would leave evidence.
It was the worst possible move I could make.
Having already succeeded in the heist, I had to deal with this truck and cargo somehow.
First, I pulled out my terminal from my pocket.
"Gotta tell Michael to bring another truck from the grocery store..."
But the terminal's screen looked off.
Nova's emoticon was still there.
[😵]
Because its eyes were spinning dizzily.
I tapped the side of the terminal.
"Nova?"
[Temporary connection loss detected. Hello, World. Nice to meet you. Model NovaRec─, static. Is the user's body alright?]
"...Yeah, I'm fine."
Seems like it glitched out while I was fighting the MegaCorp guy.
Hearing I was okay, the emoticon's face turned into a bright smile,
[😀]
then quickly flipped back.
[😟]
Then Nova rattled off like a machine gun.
[The user must take better care of their body. Injury status─.]
"Sorry, but."
No time for scolding now.
"More importantly, contact Michael right now. Ask if he can bring the truck from the grocery store here as fast as possible, carefully, ideally avoiding surveillance cameras."
[...Message sent.]
First things first: deal with the truck and cargo.
Man, I really just wanna shove it all into the canal...
'A truck I can't drive with a standard Class 2 license.'
The large truck, with its autonomous driving completely offline, was blocking the road like a Snorlax.
Please, no one show up in the meantime.
As I anxiously scanned the surroundings,
I spotted a large capsule at the very back of the truck.
'That...'
I brushed my hand over the faded lettering.
Seeing that, I let out a small sigh.
'...At least I accomplished what I came here for.'
Anyway.
I'd succeeded in retrieving Nova's body.
Michael rubbed his forehead as he stared at the weapons strewn across the grocery store floor.
"...Didn't you say you were just going to retrieve the android's body?"
"W-Well, yeah."
This time, even I had nothing to say.