The Chairman Goes Out (1)
The Chairman Goes Out (1)
The middle layer.
Among the areas belonging to the business district.
If I had to pick the most famous—and by far the busiest—area,
without a doubt, the name 'Center Plaza,' the central business district, would spring to mind.
It was home to the headquarters of numerous corporations.
And there were countless franchises of every type—cafes, restaurants, lodgings, and more.
It was only natural.
And at that moment, I
was sitting inside the tallest skyscraper at the very heart of Center Plaza.
When I turned my head slightly, the entire massive urban ecosystem spread out neatly beyond the transparent glass wall.
The giant dragon hologram, which usually looked as if it were up in the sky, was now swimming very low, as though underwater.
I wondered if a difference in height alone could make it look so different, but
I supposed it was unavoidable at several hundred meters up.
This place was the headquarters of Black Monolith Corporation.
The 152nd floor of Monolith Tower.
Considering the building had 153 floors in total, this was practically the top floor.
From the outside, it looked like a massive obsidian tower that refused to reflect light.
The interior, however, was vastly different from its outward impression.
Even just walking through the hallways, elevators, or restrooms,
luxurious decorations were a common sight.
The 'real' plants placed in every corner brought the space to life.
The air quality inside was so clear that I felt no discomfort at all, even with my mask off.
The 152nd floor—and the fact that this room was the reception room, the very last stop before meeting the Chairman-nim—
made the space feel like another world entirely.
I forced my trembling hands to move.
I lifted the teacup that had been placed on the round table of natural wood.
A sip.
I held the tea in my mouth.
Its flavor and aroma lingered throughout my entire mouth.
The rich, subtle sweetness was exquisite.
I didn't know its name, but I was sure it was nothing as ordinary as green tea.
Coincidentally, I was hungry too, so I filled my stomach with the fine refreshments and tea.
It was advantageous to eat now.
It was probably insanely expensive, after all.
This was the magic of cyberpunk, if you could call it that.
The moment the words 'natural' or 'real' were attached to food or goods, the price jumped several times over without breaking a sweat.
If I let this golden opportunity slip away
just because I was a little tense, I wouldn't be a true citizen of Neon City.
"Hoo."
Even so, I let out a short sigh.
...Maybe I should have just found another way.
I found myself regretting that I'd even contacted him.
Even if I did nothing at all,
the people around me were probably tracking Smile Zone at this very moment.
I'd gotten carried away by the momentum and acted without thinking.
I regretted it belatedly.
I should have just stayed home and played games.
9. Chairman-nim Is Coming Out (1)
Would it be all right to take some refreshments home with me?
Just as I was thinking that,
the automatic door, engraved with an elegant pattern, swung wide open.
It was a man with his black hair neatly slicked back.
He gave off the impression of a bold young man, but—
Where was this place?
The bloodless, tearless cyberpunk world.
It was also a place where you couldn't guess a person's real age just by their appearance.
Thinking back on my memories,
he was older than me.
I recalled him being roughly twice my age.
The Chief of Staff of Monolith Corporation.
If anyone was the real power in the corporation, it was him.
Just—what was his name?
I couldn't remember it.
He approached me.
"We've met a few times before; it's a pleasure. I'm 'Justin Borg,' in charge of the Chairman-nim's secretarial office."
Right.
That was the name.
I rose from my seat and casually shook his offered hand.
"Pleased to meet you too. I'm Lee Si-un."
"Of course I remember, Lee Shun-ssi."
"......."
I didn't pay it much mind.
It was a world where few people could pronounce it correctly on the first try anyway.
Even though we'd already met several times,
mispronouncing it was unavoidable.
Or maybe the translation module he was using was just particularly finicky.
Anyway.
His name was Justin Borg.
He was one of the characters who appeared in the game.
He held the position of 'Chief of Staff,' serving directly under the Chairman-nim.
Because of that, he could exert power beyond his official authority.
He probably had more influence than most presidents of affiliated companies.
"You didn't have to contact the Chairman-nim directly. It would have been perfectly fine to just reach out to me."
"......Ah, I was so out of it I didn't think of that. I apologize."
"No, it's not something Shun-ssi should be sorry about."
He said that with a smile, but—
to be honest,
this man, objectively speaking, disliked me.
No, not just me.
It would be more accurate to say he disliked everyone living in the lower or middle layers.
You could just chalk it up to a sense of authority basically engraved in his bones.
Since he lived in the upper layer, I understood.
Most people living in the upper layer went about their lives with the same mindset as this Chief of Staff.
They were basically elites, no different from nobles living in a cyberpunk world.
But since this was a somewhat official occasion,
he wasn't stupid enough to let that show openly, being the Chief of Staff of a megacorp.
And no matter that I was just some ordinary mercenary,
for now, I was here as a guest of the Chairman-nim.
He couldn't exactly act openly hostile toward me.
Incidentally, I had become aware of this fact
through a sub-quest that appeared in the game.
It was a quest about digging up hidden personal lives.
It was a memorable piece of content for many reasons.
That was why I still remembered it even now, ten years later.
Well, anyway.
Even knowing his true colors,
he hadn't actually harmed me.
He had never taken an openly hostile stance toward me.
That was why we were able to talk with a smile now.
There was no need to build walls unnecessarily.
In short, we could just be seen as distant acquaintances who only knew each other's faces.
The Chief of Staff asked lightly,
"Come to think of it, are you still doing mercenary work these days?"
"Ah, I'm taking a bit of a break recently, but the ones you saw with me before are still at it."
Before I knew it, the tea I had finished had been refilled.
It seemed even someone at the Chief of Staff level had quick hands.
"Haha, the offer we made before still stands. I'm referring to bringing you into our corporate security department. I also mentioned that even if not security, a contract on the private mercenary side is possible."
I answered while drinking the expensive (probably) tea.
"Well, I appreciate the offer, but the guys I'm with still don't like being affiliated anywhere."
"I wasn't trying to pressure you. I was merely letting you know that our offer remains unchanged."
He was a true professional.
How many people could hide their feelings this well?
A person who could smile and offer a scouting proposal,
even in front of someone they disliked.
It seemed you definitely had to be at this level to hold the position of Chief of Staff.
His mechanical eyes displayed a circular ring of light. It was a sign that information was being transmitted through his vision interface.
"Hmm, the Chairman-nim says his morning work is all finished. He says it's fine for you to come up."
"...Ah, then I'd better hurry."
I was about to have another cup of tea,
but when I came to my senses, the tea I hadn't drunk was already in his hand.
Well, if the Chairman-nim calls, you do have to go right away.
I checked my condition briefly.
Well, there shouldn't be any issues, right?
My mask was, naturally, left off.
And I had changed into a clean, neat suit.
To add, it was the high-end suit Catherine had bought me for the concert.
No matter the occasion,
my skin wasn't thick enough to go meet the Chairman-nim wearing a ballistic-grade coat.
Still, I had to be cautious.
I walked toward the massive circular elevator situated at the center of the room.
This was the only elevator that could go to the Chairman-nim's office, an elevator that traveled back and forth to just one single floor.
Soon, the elevator doors closed.
Judging by the vibration I felt, it seemed to begin ascending at a very slow speed.
[Heart rate level 150 confirmed. I recommend you take deep breaths.]
I took a slow, deep breath at those words.
You'd have to be inhuman not to be nervous here.
Maybe if I'd replaced my heart with cyberware, but I still had a perfectly good human heart.
Since it led directly to where the Chairman-nim was,
there were no surveillance cameras.
"Of course I'm nervous."
Thanks to that, I was able to answer Eve comfortably.
Then, several small screens appeared through my vision interface. Small, lengthy strings of text lined up beside them.
From the content, they appeared to be news articles.
People of different genders and appearances were pictured in each one.
[After searching the net space, I can confirm that the position of Chairman of Black Monolith Corporation appears to be held by multiple people.]
"Multiple is correct."
In reality, different people had frequently been observed acting in public.
[However, according to the corporation's own announcements, they state that there is only one Chairman of Black Monolith Corporation. I question this.]
"One is also correct."
[Query.]
My answer to that was simple.
Just then, the elevator doors opened.
It seemed to be true that the entire floor was used as an office.
A panoramic view of a vast room unfolded before my eyes.
All the walls were made of glass.
Even at a glance, it was a view where you could take in all of Neon City at once.
And in the center,
a massive executive desk sat.
A man was sitting in front of it, attending to his work.
His white hair, neatly swept back, suited him well.
Several scars were etched across his face, and white smoke billowed from the cigar clenched between his lips.
The middle-aged man, the Chairman-nim, confirmed my presence.
Then he casually crushed the barely-smoked cigar somewhere.
In the cyberpunk world,
there probably weren't many people who could casually toss away a barely-smoked cigar made from natural tobacco leaves.
"Well, it's been a while."
"......Yes, it has been a while. Chairman-nim."
He gave a single nod.
I slowly walked toward him.
The top-ranked megacorp.
The person at the very apex of a corporation boasting nearly a million employees.
His known age easily surpassed three digits.
It was an age that far exceeded the known scientifically impossible lifespan, even in this world.
There was a separate reason that made it possible.
"You're in that body today."
"Well, I've been keeping to it lately. It's comfortable for work, and I can smoke as much as I please."
"Haha."
Whole-brain digitization technology.
It was because he possessed the wealth and technology to change bodies whenever necessary.
Incidentally, this person
was a woman the first time I saw them.
I'd heard their original birth gender was also female.
They were the most famous gender-fluid person in this cyberpunk world.