Living as an AI (1)
Living as an AI (1)
I stirred from a deep sleep and opened my eyes.
The clock displaying the 'current time' blinked in one corner of my vision interface.
I instinctively sat up in bed.
Normally, I would have just stayed lying there, logged into the net space, and killed time.
But thinking back to what had happened before I fell asleep, it was hard to just lie there with my mind blank.
First, I checked my physical condition.
The fatigue that had weighed so heavily on my body before I slept was now completely gone.
...Just how many hours did I sleep?
When I checked the time, I couldn't help but be startled.
Only a mere two hours had passed since I went to sleep.
I kept thinking rationally.
My shitty physical traits.
And my state of extreme exhaustion.
The mental fatigue from Eve's appearance.
Etc.
Considering all these possibilities.
Rather than waking up after only two hours.
The idea that I had been sunk in sleep without waking once for fourteen hours sounded far more convincing.
I really did sleep for a long time.
Since I was up, I looked around.
I could see the cramped corner of the room I lived in.
But as if to confirm that my memories before sleeping weren't a dream.
Furniture with luxurious designs, completely mismatched with my room, now decorated various spots.
Also, a delicious smell wafted from somewhere, and the sound of rhythmic chopping—toktoktok—could be heard.
I looked in the direction of the sound.
The back of a woman preparing food while wearing a maid outfit came into view.
It was Eve.
Considering both my past life and my current one.
I had never been married.
But I thought, this must be what a newlywed home feels like.
Of course, that would only be possible if I had the eccentric hobby of dressing my partner in a maid outfit.
Eve turned around and set the dish she was holding down onto the dining table.
All sorts of dishes were already placed on the table.
As if possessed by something, I got up from the bed, pulled out a chair at the table, and sat down.
"......I'll enjoy the food."
"Confirmed."
I also wanted to ask how she knew when I would wake up, and why she had prepared so much food.
But considering the sincerity of setting the table like this, I figured it was more important to eat first and leave a review.
I scooped up a spoonful of the soup placed at the very front.
Ooh.
This flavor.
It was as if a universe was being born inside my mouth!
It tasted incredibly good.
It was so good I could believe it was made by a professional chef who had trained for at least several decades.
.......
But why, though.
While it was definitely extraordinarily delicious.
I felt like I had tasted this flavor somewhere before.
Eve watched me eat the food with relish, nodding her head repeatedly with an expressionless face.
I carefully asked Eve.
"...Well, it's delicious, but where did you reference the recipes from?"
"I hacked and referenced the recipes of the exclusive chef in charge of the Monolith Chairman's meals."
"Ah."
I let out a short exclamation.
So that's why.
It was a taste I had experienced before.
16. What It Means for an AI to Live (1)
I checked my message notifications.
It was a notification saying the package I ordered had been delivered to my front door.
A package, huh.
Though I hadn't ordered anything.
That question of mine was resolved when I saw the box Eve brought in from outside.
"This is the 'legacy input/output device' I ordered."
It was the computer Eve had ordered to play games.
"Since there were no stores selling it commercially, I purchased this from an individual seller."
"So you mean it was a secondhand trade?"
"Correct."
Ah, she used 'Karrot'.
That explained why the delivery took so long.
But for some reason.
Eve's reaction, holding the box, was strange.
Her expressionless mask hardened even further.
"...The weight does not match what was specified in the product specs. It is lighter."
She shook the box, and checked the numbers and names written on the invoice multiple times.
"The current contents are estimated not to be a mechanical product. It appears to be around the size of a palm, with no special devices installed."
Having said that much, Eve began to tear open the packaging while still holding the box.
.......
After spending a brief moment inspecting the box's contents, Eve quietly set the box down.
I craned my neck to check inside the box.
There, a solid 'brick' was sitting.
"......."
It seemed even a cyberpunk super AI had no real recourse against secondhand scams.
Eve's expression crumpled ever so slightly.
"...Confirmed. This constitutes an act of fraud."
I could feel a hint of anger breaking through her expressionless mask.
I offered her some words of comfort.
"You just have to chalk it up to bad luck. From what I know, those guys usually use borrowed-name accounts, so even if you report them, it's hard to catch— Ah."
I stopped mid-sentence.
Wait.
Now that I thought about it, this was Eve, who had effortlessly dug up the personal information of 'Underdog,' someone who seemed like a professional information broker.
There was no way someone like her would just get scammed by some petty fraudster and let it go.
Rather, the unlucky one wasn't Eve.
But whoever had tried to scam her.
Eve was muttering something to herself, so I stepped closer and listened.
"Location and name confirmed. Attempting to seize bank accounts via hacking... success."
Eve's white pupils were imbued with a mechanical light.
She seemed totally absorbed in remote hacking.
I spoke to Eve, who was turning the scammer into a beggar in real-time.
"Is there any stock elsewhere?"
"...This was the only one being traded secondhand in Neon City."
Of course there wouldn't be anywhere selling it new.
Eve unconsciously tapped her foot.
That gesture felt very human.
"...Hoo."
It was like seeing a puppy drenched in the rain.
She seemed thoroughly disappointed.
I spoke up then.
"...Then, shall we go there?"
"May I ask where you are referring to?"
Eve looked at me with her eyes shining.
As for where.
"Little Shinjuku."
I was talking about the black market known as the 'Vanta Market.'
For reference, it was also the place where I bought my computer.
* * *
True to its reputation as the area with the highest Japanese population in Neon City.
The further we walked inside, the more Japanese-styled decorations and buildings steadily came into view.
The black market.
Vanta Market.
Well, they called it a black market.
But it didn't actually have the dark atmosphere of black markets you see in movies.
It was also a place where the local residents casually dropped by to buy groceries or supplies.
There weren't any specific entry requirements.
Nor was the access strictly controlled.
Inside, you could even frequently see NCPD officers.
Those guys couldn't resist shopping either.
In short, it was just an ordinary.
Place that sold 'various kinds' of goods.
It was just that among those various kinds.
Illegal goods were included as well.
Was this the first time I'd been here since coming back with Catherine after we went to a concert?
Nothing had changed between then and now.
Unidentifiable food smells floated around, and the faint scent of gunpowder wafted through the air.
And the strongest smell of all.
"Hey, what do you mean you don't have it!"
"I said we don't have it because we don't!!"
Was the raw scent of people living their lives.
Like any market in the lower layers, it was a gathering place for every kind of human being, which explained it.
...But that voice.
I felt like I had heard it somewhere before.
I turned my head to check who it was.
There, the person I called 'Info Jeonbungi No. 7'.
A man, Underdog, was in a heated argument, raising his voice at a dwarf who appeared to be the store owner.
What was his name?
I remembered it as Dominic... or something.
Anyway, why was he causing such a scene here?
The store owner's voice grew even louder.
"You dummy!! You think it's easy to get your hands on a product like the 'Lone Spider'?! What the hell did you do with the one you took last time!"
......Ah.
That item.
I happen to have it, actually.
For reference, it was the same one I used to eavesdrop on Catherine and Julia's conversation last time.
Though I almost got caught by Catherine immediately, it was definitely a high-performance drone.
I looked back at Eve.
Eve was still sticking to the maid outfit. I really wished she'd change into something normal.
"...That Lone Spider, where did I leave it?"
"It is at this location."
"?"
Right after Eve's answer, it happened.
A photo was transmitted through my neural computer chip.
In the photo, which looked like it was taken from a distance, Eve and I were both visible together.
"To ensure the safety of the human 'Lee Si-woon', except in special cases like the sewers, I have it set to follow along his path."
Following that, several more photos were transmitted.
They were photos taken from different angles.
"......."
Hmm.
But somehow, I felt like every single photo was focused on my face, which was wearing a mask.
I decided it must be my imagination and moved on.