How to Rest (6)
How to Rest (6)
Was this fucked or what.
I checked the notification that had been blinking incessantly on my vision interface one more time.
【Welcome to your login. "Real Mage"-nim.】
"...Hm."
To be clear, it wasn't that I hadn't been careful.
Because the fastest way to track someone is to locate them in the 'Net Space.'
I hadn't logged in even when I went onto video sites like YouTube, and even when watching streaming broadcasts, I stifled the urge to chat and stayed logged out.
But I never imagined that 'auto-login' was enabled in the OTT program module.
I'd forgotten all about it because I hadn't had time to watch movies lately.
I pondered briefly.
...It's only been a day.
Like hell they'd track me over just this one thing.
The fact that none of the housemates were 'net hackers' who could track my location also added to my easygoing thinking.
Of everyone I knew, the only one who could manage any kind of professional 'hacking' was 'Drex' at best.
Fortunately, Drex was away on his honeymoon right now. He was probably having a great time.
I shook off my pointless worry.
- Deolkeong.
It was then that Eve came rushing through the door.
What's this? What's going on?
I tucked away my vision interface for a moment and turned my head toward where Eve was.
"......"
I didn't know the exact reason, but Eve was wearing only a white apron over the outfit she'd shown me earlier.
No matter what, you have to wear an apron when cleaning.
I wondered if she'd been programmed that way.
What's with that outfit?
But before I could ask Eve that question, she asked me something first—and quicker.
"...Did you, by any chance, log into the net network?"
...How did she know.
I nodded as if it were nothing.
"Yeah, the auto-login was on."
"......"
Just as I'd thought earlier, I wasn't really worried.
After all, it had only been a day, and I'd been logged in for just a very brief moment.
I figured there wouldn't be a big problem.
But that, apparently, was my mistake.
Eve let out a short sigh.
"...We need to get out of this area immediately. Monolith's network team is currently tracking us."
"?"
...No, wait.
Why the hell would they be tracking me.
I tilted my head in response.
No matter how 'ordinary' Chairman-nim might have seemed, he occupies the chairman's seat of a megacorp overflowing with all sorts of schemes.
There's no way someone so important would 'surely' fail to separate public and private matters and issue company orders to track me down.
I looked at Eve, my eyes conveying that thought.
"......"
"......"
Ah.
So 'surely' is what bites you in the ass.
I saw Eve's silence and understood.
28. How to Rest (6)
Fortunately, it seemed we still had plenty of time.
Eve slowly explained to me.
"I have placed jamming on the tracking line, but."
"Then aren't we fine?"
"That is, in the end, a temporary measure. I estimate our location will be exposed soon."
"And the cause of that is me."
"......"
I briefly dodged Eve's pointed stare, hidden in her silence.
Eve continued speaking.
"I did try to block the tracking as much as possible, but tracking based on the 'traces' left on the net is unavoidable."
I knew nothing about the net side of things.
I nodded and listened to Eve's words.
"Furthermore, if they use Monolith employees to check the city's internal surveillance cameras, or vehicle black boxes, our location will be discovered in the near future."
"Come on, they're megacorp employees. You think they've got that kind of free time?"
There's no way they'd check all of that one by one.
I waved my hand, dismissing it as pointless worry.
"I hacked into Monolith's internal network to confirm. They've been tracking us for over 24 hours now."
"......"
......Chairman-nim?
Just what kind of orders did you give the company?
I felt slightly dizzy.
I clutched my throbbing temple and asked Eve again.
"...Still, we've got enough time to escape, right?"
"That is correct. However, I recommend leaving this area as quickly as possible."
"......"
In the end, it was peace broken by my own hand.
I first apologized to Eve.
"Sorry."
"No. It was already an anticipated variable."
...That, in its own way, sounds like my credibility is in the gutter, which is a bit sad.
Then Eve murmured in a small voice.
"...Still, not being able to execute even part of 'the plan' is a bit regrettab—."
It must have slipped out without her realizing.
Eve, who had spoken, was also surprised and stopped talking.
"What kind of plan was it?"
"......"
Eve fell silent.
Maybe it was because there were so many emotionally expressive people around.
Compared to when I first met her and now, it felt like she'd become incredibly adept at expressing emotions.
Eve lowered her head slightly.
It was a gesture of checking her own outfit.
After a brief silence, Eve opened her mouth again.
"It is nothing."
"?"
"I'll prepare for the escape in advance. You may come down once you are ready."
She's so obvious about changing the subject.
But I had no desire to dig into something Eve clearly wanted to hide.
I deliberately pretended not to notice and moved on.
Getting out of Redwood was the top priority anyway.
Beyond the door, I could see Eve's back as she went down the stairs.
Escape preparations, huh.
"......"
But was there anything to call escape preparation?
We hadn't exactly brought anything with us.
I casually looked around.
In my case, all I had to do was put on the coat I'd taken off, and all preparations were complete. That said, I also didn't feel like rolling around in bed until the last possible moment.
Hm.
Then suddenly, a room I had never once entered caught my eye.
It was the room next to the bedroom I had been staying in.
I opened that door purely out of curiosity.
Had Eve finished cleaning this room as well?
There wasn't a speck of dust even on the windowsill.
The room seemed to be used as storage.
Various objects were aging with the passage of time.
"Huh?"
I spotted a 'shopping bag' sitting in the middle of the room.
Had Eve forgotten and left it behind?
The shopping bag was printed with the maker's logo of the clothing store where Eve had bought her clothes.
Now that I thought about it.
I never saw what clothes she bought.
I picked up the shopping bag without much thought.
I really had no particular thoughts.
Anyway, to escape this house, we had to erase the traces of us having been here. Taking all the things we'd brought with us was only natural.
"......"
And I stopped moving.
The 'contents' inside the shopping bag were far outside anything I'd expected.
The clothes were definitely from a clothing store.
The clothes were right.
It was just...
A bunny girl suit, a china dress, a police uniform, and so on.
It was filled with various kinds of 'costumes.'
......Hm.
Was this what it felt like to open Pandora's box?
It was certain.
This was 'something I shouldn't have seen.'
Setting the shopping bag back down on the floor was an almost instinctive choice.
I carefully muffled my footsteps and slowly walked out of the room.
"Are you finished with your preparations?"
"...Yeah."
Right on cue, Eve came up to the second floor.
I was careful with my answer.
It was practically certain that Eve (occasionally) hacked into my vision interface and watched me.
Was she bluffing, or was she genuinely asking because she didn't know?
But reading emotion from Eve's expressionless face was something close to impossible.
And then, a flash of insight shot through my mind.
If I hadn't done the auto-login, there wouldn't have been any tracking from Monolith.
And naturally, the two of us would have spent the night together.
Could Eve's earlier 'plan' have been, perhaps...
"......"
Eve.
What a scary kid.
I shook off the goosebumps and looked at Eve.
* * *
Actually, strictly speaking, there was no need for Lee Si-woon and Eve to flee so hastily.
Because when the group at the Golden Smile Condominium held their discussion, the Chairman had said, 'I'm not going to come fetch you right this moment, but I do think it's essential to know your location.'
The Chairman had no intention of bringing the two of them in immediately either.
But.
Nothing in this world ever goes according to plan.
The further down the chain of command an order from a far-distant superior travels, the more bizarrely it becomes distorted—a fact proven throughout history.
Inside the Monolith headquarters building.
The President, having heard the Chairman's orders, said:
"Find out this person's location."
The Senior Managing Director, having heard that order, passed the contents down to the person below them.
"The President said to track this person's location in real time."
And further below that.
Managing Director, Director, Department Head, Assistant Manager, and so on.
As the communication proceeded in order.
The result was:
"They're saying to go grab this bastard right now, right? But the order documents here just say to track the location, it seems."
"Come on, you've lived in Neon City for what, a day or two? Obviously when an order comes down from above, you've gotta read between the lines and understand it properly. Just go grab him."
"...Hm, understood."
The Monolith regular employee, a mere cog in the corporate machine, thought, I guess that's how it is, about their superior's orders.
And a moment later.
All hell broke loose in the previously peaceful world of Net Space.
《Neon City, Redwood Bulletin Board》
[Am I seeing this wrong right now?]
(Numerous photos of airships)
Is today the last day of Redwood or something?
Is this a Purge Day thing, where we're supposed to go raid the neighbor's house?
— Average Orc lol lmao
└ Then why are you lurking on the Redwood board if you're not an Orc? (Poster)
— I can see it from my place too lmao
[Live coverage of the current situation]
Right now helicopters just landed in front of my place.
There's this house that's been abandoned for fucking ages since the people left the area, you know?
Right now they're breaking down the door and going in. Nobody's probably even there
— Keep the updates coming
— I'm watching it right now too yeah That's probably the house of the brother who left for New Mexico. Fr no idea what's going on
[I saw the helicopter markings and it's Monolith]
What the hell?
— Hey delete this post;; Don't you know you'll get sued if you post this stuff on the net?
└ For real? (Poster)
└ Yeah delete recommended
* * *
...This was more full-scale than I thought.
Countless tactical helicopters and aerial MPVs were flying toward the direction of the house I had been in.
"......"
I swallowed hard, my mouth dry.