The Cheetahs Are Laughing (2)
The Cheetahs Are Laughing (2)
The sky in the cyberpunk world was always dark.
Damp, gloomy, its colors faded like the screen of a malfunctioning television.
But perhaps it was because the building I was in—the Golden Smile Condominium—stood so tall, and conversely, because the ceiling shield forced the clouds lower.
Today, the clouds were especially dark.
Now that I could store mana within my body, I briefly considered clearing the clouds from the sky for a moment, just like I had shown Catherine before.
But that evening, I saw a related article on an NCB24 news bulletin, so I left it as just a thought.
If Eve hadn't concealed the related information, I suspected I would've lost my mind for days thanks to the journalists (crazed for an exclusive) who would have come storming in.
Anyway, after honestly pouring out the feelings I'd kept buried deep inside, my heavy heart felt a little lighter.
Drex leaned back on the other side of the hologram screen. Along with him, his chair let out a painful shriek—'kki-gi-geek'.
[Hooo-.]
Dark-colored smoke billowed thickly like a cloud from the electronic cigarette Drex had clenched between his teeth.
[No matter how much of your body is machine, the one thing that doesn't change is human emotion. Primal emotions like joy, sorrow, anger.]
Drex slightly lowered the smart sunglasses he was wearing. His green mechanical eyes held a round glow.
[And the greatest of them all is 'love'.]
I never knew our dwarf friend had such poetic sensibilities.
Having been born with a fundamentally rebellious temperament, I raised a minor objection to Drex's words.
"Wasn't there an incident long ago where some corporation installed a backdoor in an auxiliary computation device module to control and manipulate people's emotions?"
Drex, who knew me far too well, continued talking without even acknowledging my objection.
[It's true that seven people is a bit much. I do worry about how you'll manage with your weak constitution.]
What does that have to do with having a weak constitu—.
[But it's all something you brought about, Si-un. You reap what you sow.]
Quoting a simple American proverb, Drex set his electronic cigarette down on the table next to him.
Drex grinned broadly, looking utterly refreshed. His golden teeth, gleaming reflected light, revealed themselves through the hologram graphics.
Those green eyes of his were clearly filled with amusement.
[Well, what can you do. Haha!]
That... that bastard. Look at him.
Look at him laughing because it's not his problem.
.......
Of course.
I would have laughed too if it weren't my problem.
"...Haah."
I let out a sigh and thought to myself.
31. The Cheetahs Are Laughing (2)
After ending the call with Drex.
I stayed on the rooftop for a while.
Skyscrapers blazing with brilliant colors, holograms drifting through the air with massive bodies, advertising boards from laser projectors shot onto the clouds as screens.
The city was filled with all sorts of stimulating sights.
The entire city felt like one giant billboard.
Maybe I felt that way even more because of the neon signs blazing in English, Japanese, or Chinese slang.
I thought as I looked at the monorail moving with a billboard hanging from it, or the building that looked like a landmark far in the distance—the Monolith Tower.
The scenery, at least, was absolutely killer.
Maybe it was because I was higher up.
The feeling was different from when I viewed it from inside my home.
"Cough."
Still, it was about time I headed back down.
I'd stayed out longer than I'd planned.
I had rushed out so quickly that I hadn't even put on a mask. I was growing increasingly concerned about my health.
Even though this place was a world inside a game, the cold reality was that I couldn't just press a button and swap out my lungs like I could in an actual game.
Maybe if I used medical nanobots... but who knows.
I didn't want to be stuck in a hospital for weeks.
And all for inhaling some fine dust, no less.
Thinking that, I slowly made my way back inside the building.
"......."
All the elevators were on the first floor.
Hmm.
My deliberation was brief.
I'd just take the stairs down.
It was going down, after all, so stamina wasn't an issue. And with mechanical joints, my knees wouldn't hurt either.
Once I reached the stairway, I stepped slowly and treaded down, one stair at a time.
Though I was a skilled city dweller living in a cyberpunk world, I didn't go so far as to manipulate my vision interface while walking down the stairs.
It was the same reason you don't use a smartphone while walking down stairs.
On top of that, with this body that had absolutely no athletic nerve, I didn't want to end up needing new dental implants if I fell.
Come to think of it, I needed to get that cracked tooth replaced too. When would I even go out to get that done? What a hassle.
As I walked, I thought again.
Dating seven people...
Hmm.
It wasn't illegal under city law. But the social scrutiny would be incredibly intense.
I was already worried about photos of me that were probably circulating as memes across the net. Would Eve handle it?
Especially Andrea or the Chairman, with their high social standing, would have an even harder time dealing with the backlash.
What on earth did I even do.
I had no idea why they liked me this much.
It didn't feel like I'd done anything particularly special.
What should I do from now on?
Acknowledging my feelings and figuring out how to handle things going forward were two separate issues.
At least for me.
- 'I understand all of your feelings. Truthfully, I felt the same way. All of you, come to me.'
Unless I said something like that, sorting out this incredibly tangled situation was going to be difficult.
Honestly, that was just nonsense.
I kept mulling it over as I walked down the stairs.
That was when I slowly began to hear urgent footsteps coming from below.
They looked like employees from Monolith.
"......Huh?"
And an employee whose eyes met mine stopped right in their tracks.
Their presence wasn't strange in itself.
Considering the fact that the Chairman's 'prosthetic body' resided in this building, it was only natural.
On top of that, with various facilities scattered all over, people tasked with managing them were essential.
I gave a slight nod of my head. I usually gave a light greeting whenever I ran into them like this.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"...Ah, yes. Thank you."
I wasn't sure why they were surprised to see me, but I just continued down the stairs for now.
Small voices drifted down from above.
"......Who's that?"
"You know, that guy. The 'Special Management Target'."
"Ah..., that person?"
Letting their conversation go in one ear and out the other, I continued to hasten my steps.
Maybe I should have just waited for the elevator.
This was more tiring than I expected.
.......
But there was something strange.
"...Thank you for your hard work."
"......Yeah."
It was because I kept seeing many employees urgently running up and down the stairs even after that.
I had no idea this many employees were stationed in this building.
At this rate, I felt like I understood why the elevators hadn't moved from the first floor.
For the record, none of us held the old-fashioned notion that employees shouldn't use the elevator.
Anyway.
It looked like they had some kind of urgent business.
Still, since it was internal Monolith business, it probably wasn't something I needed to worry about.
I steadied my slightly ragged breathing, then opened the stairway door and walked out into the hallway toward our home.
"......?"
What the.
Employees from Monolith Corporation, neatly dressed in suits, were standing guard at the front door.
A few of the employees' faces were somewhat familiar.
They looked like employees from the secretarial team that attended to the Chairman.
In my previous life, this would have caused an uproar as a 'conglomerate's abuse of power' scandal. But in the cyberpunk world, it seemed perfectly natural to use company people for personal matters.
"......Um."
"This way."
As I carefully opened my mouth, one of the employees from the secretarial team approached me.
They guided me toward the front door at the very end.
"...What's going on?"
"......."
Even at my question, the employee remained silent, as if they didn't know either.
Was there a reason I absolutely had to enter through that front door?
All the walls had been removed anyway, so it shouldn't have mattered which front door I used.
I scratched my head as I followed behind them.
I had no idea what was going on, but at a time when so many people were working so hard, I didn't have the courage to defy this atmosphere.
"You can enter through this door."
"Ah, yes.... Thank you very much for your hard work."
"......It's nothing."
After I gave a short greeting, they bowed their head to me and moved out into the hallway with the other secretarial team employees.
"......."
This felt ominous somehow.
For now, I needed to go see for myself what was happening.
I opened the front door the employee had guided me to.
- Cheolkeok.
The metal door opened.
And then.
- Peong!!
Along with the sound of party poppers going off, thin shreds of paper fluttered down over my head.
"Congratulations!"
I couldn't hide my bewildered expression.
Was today my birthday?
No, it wasn't.
Of course, the word 'birthday' was unfitting for this body that was a game character.
But regardless, it wasn't the date I had set as my birthday when I created my identity.
"Here, come this way!"
Catherine shouted and grabbed my hand.
I was pulled into the room.
As I was pulled along, I looked around. Decorations were plastered all over the walls. It was decorated as if a real birthday party was being thrown.
...I hadn't even stayed on the rooftop that long, how did they prepare this much?
"Ah."
That was when I caught on.
So this was why the Monolith employees had been in such a rush.
With that thought, I looked at the Chairman. But the Chairman was also watching me with a 'somehow pleased' expression, just like the others.
What on earth was this?
For now, I felt the need to calm this excited atmosphere down a little.
"Today isn't my birthday, though...?"
"It's not because of your birthday."
The one who answered me was Eve.
And on top of that, Eve was even wearing a 'party hat' on her head. I stared blankly at the hat sitting atop Eve's head for a few seconds.
No, I needed to snap out of it.
I shook my head to wake up my confused mind.
Let me think for a moment.
What could there possibly be to congratulate me for, besides a birthday?
.......
Nothing came to mind.
I looked around diligently, hoping to find even a small clue.
And as I did.
I discovered a phrase plastered across the wall in massive letters, like a banner.
【Day 1 Anniversary】
"?"
What in the....
I turned my head and looked at them.