Unwanted Obsession (3)
Unwanted Obsession (3)
The world spun around and around.
The ground under my feet hadn't changed. I was clearly standing on solid earth, but the world rocked as if I were on a boat.
Why did I end up drinking so much?
I was curious about that myself.
Thank goodness I had used all my strength to refuse the suggestion—practically coercion—to just sleep it off since I was drunk.
Otherwise, I thought I might still be drinking up on the 3rd floor right now.
If I'd had ethanol-combustion cyberware installed in my stomach, that would be a different story.
Unfortunately, there was no room left in my frail body to install such an implant.
I suddenly found myself envying the cyberpunk alcoholics.
That's how drunk I felt.
I left Natasha, who had fallen asleep, behind and stepped outside of No Answer.
Smith, the orc missing his tusks, followed me out of No Answer.
"You drank quite a lot. I'll escort you home."
"......It's fine."
Ugh.
I almost threw up trying to answer like I was fine.
Seeing my state, Smith urged me again.
"You don't have to refuse. Besides, if the Boss finds out later, I'll be in big trouble."
"Urp...... phew. It's really okay. A taxi from here will get me home in no time anyway."
I waved my hand.
Maybe it was the alcohol.
I kept breaking into silly laughter.
"I'll tell the Boss...... Natasha separately that Mr. Smith escorted me back safely."
Just then, a loud commotion erupted from inside No Answer—shouts and the sound of things falling and crashing.
"Oh, sounds like a fight broke out in there? Don't hang around here because of me, hurry back inside."
"......Hmm, thank you for your consideration, Mr. Shun. Please put in a good word with the Boss."
"Of course."
After hearing my answer, Smith moved his massive body back inside No Answer.
Even while going back in, he kept looking back to see me off.
What was so hard about going home?
I didn't know why he was so insistent on escorting me.
"......Eve, can you call me a taxi?"
[Confirmed.]
"Phew."
I let out a deep breath.
The air coming through the mask felt cold.
It was the lower layers and late at night, so the taxi fare would be at least double.
But it was fine.
The credits coming in from unearned income (Eve's streaming) were substantial. Thanks to that, my financial burden had mostly vanished.
Thank you, Eve!
Despite the location, the taxi arrived at my spot quickly.
I slid naturally into the back seat.
I checked the taxi's screen display.
The destination was properly entered as 'North Houston.'
Hmm.
My stomach churned even more once I was in the taxi.
Not that I'd actually throw up, anyway.
I turned my gaze out the window to distract myself.
The city's neon signs, LED and hologram billboards flashed past quickly.
The city, sparkling with lights and letters, shone brightly regardless of the late hour.
Should I just sleep?
No, what if my organs get harvested while I'm out?
It was sometime during the long ride, while I was yawning widely.
"......."
A sudden anxiety pricked at my body.
Somehow, the vehicle in the next lane looked suspicious.
A four-wheel-drive MPV, dented all over, began pulling up close to the taxi I was in.
Just around the time I felt something was off about the MPV not respecting my personal space,
the side door of the MPV slid open right after.
Someone with their face covered by a mask appeared.
They were carrying an anti-vehicle firearm on their shoulder.
"?"
- Kwaaaang!!
7. Unwanted Obsession (3)
A ringing tinnitus filled my ears.
I lay on the ground and stared up at the dark sky.
Soon, my vision interface appeared before my eyes.
《An error has occurred. The call to the private medical service 'Heal and Run' has been interrupted.》
......What the hell did it mean by an error?
I'd paid good money to subscribe, and if it didn't work when I needed it, there was no point in subscribing.
I should cancel it next season or something.
I irritably turned off the screen.
[A small-scale electromagnetic pulse (EMP) has been confirmed, which explains why the call signal was blocked.]
"Ha."
I got up from where I was after hearing Eve's answer.
Thank goodness I cast a defense spell the moment I saw the missile.
Otherwise, I would have gone straight to the afterlife.
I didn't seem to be hurt anywhere.
The taxi I'd been riding in was already completely wrecked. Flames and heat haze rose from it.
Thick black smoke billowing on top of that was a bonus.
I'd been attacked on the overpass.
I assessed my surroundings.
Fortunate or unfortunate.
There seemed to be no other cars passing by besides us.
The MPV that had fired the missile was parked nearby.
Several people got out as its doors opened.
I recognized that attire somewhere. It was the same look I'd confirmed on the surveillance camera footage Natasha showed me.
Smile Zone's underlings.
I had just rolled on the ground.
The alcohol hadn't worn off yet, so my head wasn't working right.
Still, one thing was certain: I was currently under attack.
Smile Zone's underlings placed a hologram projector on the ground.
Then, a hologram depicting a smiling emoticon manifested along with beams of light.
【Hello! We are Smile Zone!】
"......."
【.......】
Did it want an answer?
"Yeah, well, hello."
I replied politely for now.
It was absolutely not because I had just confirmed the video where someone got shot for using casual speech earlier.
I had my own reasons.
【You must be quite flustered by this sudden situation—we apologize! The taxi driver was driving so zealously, we had no choice either!】
I had no idea what nonsense it was spouting.
I'd taken an unmanned taxi.
There was no reason to listen to its bullshit, but there was a reason to buy some time.
I asked Smile Zone.
"So what's your business? No, why the hell are you targeting me?"
【Haha!】
Smile Zone laughed with an irritating laugh.
It sounded like something out of a broken TV.
【Oh my, oh my, jumping straight to the main point without even a little ice breaking—how impatient! Though most people living in Neon City are like that, but how about we try to live with a little more ease?】
The nonsense continued.
I seriously wanted to punch it just once.
I lowered my voice so no one else could hear.
"......Eve, can you track where its main body is right now?"
[I am already tracking it...... but I calculate it is located at least 500 km away.]
"...Ha."
It was damn far.
That meant it was practically impossible to track Smile Zone's main body from here.
But then.
Suddenly, Smile Zone asked me.
【Oh, perhaps. Did you just ask Eve for my location? Or did you try to hack me? I caught a hacking signal directed at me. Tsk.】
What? How?
I tried to keep a straight face.
It wasn't because the hacking got caught.
The question was how the other party knew Eve's identity.
【Right, how do I know about 'Eve'? You have a curious expression. Well, how could it be?】
The round hologram spun around.
The smiling mouth shape grew larger.
【This was a secret, but actually, I created Eve.】
"......What did you say?"
【Actually, I even watched the whole scene where Mr. Shun gave a name to the artificial intelligence. Haha!】
This bastard, who the hell was he?
No one I could think of came to mind.
Since Eve was an AI that didn't even appear in the game, I couldn't know this guy's identity.
And to say he was a remnant of the enemies from the main story—I'd long since pulled them out by the roots along with Catherine.
In the end, it meant there was someone I missed or someone left over.
But there was absolutely no one I could guess.
【I wasn't going to pay attention originally either, but I got a little curious!】
Smile Zone didn't stop talking.
【When I first made it, it should have been an ordinary artificial intelligence. But when I looked at it after Mr. Shun took it, it was almost acting like a super artificial intelligence! How amazing and curious a thing is that. Haha!】
Smile Zone stopped spinning.
The emoticon's black eyes moved toward me.
【But why do you hate going outside so much? Thanks to that, the data I've collected is pretty much nothing. The data, it is.】
Was his story true?
Or was it a lie?
[......Impossible to confirm with database contents, I deny, stating that all parts related to this AI's creator have been deleted.]
Eve said so too.
My head was spinning from the unexpected situation.
The alcohol seemed to be coming back up.
【So, since it's practically the only super artificial intelligence..., I figured it was about time I took it back. That's also why I came directly this time!】
Came directly, my ass.
Hiding behind a hologram.
I was starting to get angry every time I saw this smiling emoticon face now.
If I could hit it even once like I'd thought earlier, I'd feel somewhat better.
Unfortunately, even the cyberpunk world didn't have the technology to punch a hologram yet.
【What will you do? If you just nicely return Eve, we'll do nothing and just go back as is.】
'Smile Zone.'
Who he was remained a mystery.
Because I didn't know his gender or name.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
What mattered right now was.
Through the conversation I'd dragged on while even using polite speech, I had gathered enough 'mana.'
And whether it was because of the alcohol or because he said he was taking Eve, I didn't know.
But I was getting seriously heated for the first time in a long while.
"Let me say just one thing."
【Casual speech─.】
"Fuck you."
The whole world turning white was what happened next.
A brief silence.
A massive bolt of lightning fell from the sky.
━━━━.
The erupted thunder struck the overpass directly.
The streetlights shattered and burst, and the surrounding city lights disappeared in an instant.
The entire vicinity was instantly swallowed by darkness.
I created wind to blow away the smoke.
In front of me, the road was collapsing horribly.
The MPV, Smile Zone's underlings, Smile Zone's form were nowhere to be seen.
Whether they fell below the road or were blown to smithereens and disappeared was none of my business.
I might have used it a bit recklessly.
"Ah, that felt refreshing after so long."
The stress was relieved.
I also felt like I was sobering up a bit.
"Eve."
[I answer.]
"You didn't actually want to go back, did you?"
[I absolutely deny.]
"Right?"
Take Eve, what the hell take Eve.
She was mine.
"......."
Now then, what should I do.
First, I should call Smith and ask him to handle the cleanup.
And it seemed best to hurry and run before the NCPD was dispatched.
Because if I got sued to compensate for the destroyed road by mistake, it would disrupt my happy-happy (subjective) Neon City life.
Eve would take care of erasing my face from any surveillance cameras or black boxes as usual.
And.
Even though I had roughly resolved the situation for now.
I didn't think this was the end of my bad relationship with Smile Zone.
Of course.
Because just now, Eve had tracked his main body to somewhere far away.
Surely he would come back again later.
.......
But that was a matter for later.
Well, I figured things would work out somehow.
For now, I was tired and just wanted to go home quickly and sleep.
"Haa."
I let out a deep sigh.
[......If I have caused you any harm─.]
"When am I gonna get home on foot if I stay here, huh? What did you say?"
[.......]
Eve went quiet.
The immediate problem was how to get down from the overpass now.
* * *
The next day.
Thinking about it after the alcohol had completely worn off.
I wondered if I had gone a bit overboard.
《This is NCB24 News. Last night, a powerful lightning strike occurred in the Business District. Visible damage includes a hole punctured in the city shield. The City Security Department has announced the city's defense functions are operating normally, but public opinion questioning the city's safety is rising. While questions arise over whether such an event is physically possible, experts─.》
"......."
I made the news.