Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The Road to Hanseong's Lowest Layer
Seo Tae-woong and Kim Moo-young, sitting across from me in the car, wore puzzled expressions.
"Young master, clinics specializing in artificial bodies are usually located in the city's bustling districts."
"That might be true for clean artificial bodies registered in the central system's database."
But unfortunately, what I was after wasn't anything like that.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, an arrival chime sounded, and the car pulled to a stop. I stepped out the door, and right before my eyes stretched the exact landscape I'd imagined.
A mountain of trash. The final dumping ground for every scrap of waste spewed out by the massive megacity of Hanseong. In this space where you couldn't even breathe without a respiratory aid, hulking transport drones and laborers were processing the refuse.
"You said you had no idea why we'd come to a dump like this, right?" I pointed with my finger at one spot. "Take a look at the workers at that waste processing plant."
"Workers, you say?"
Only then did they notice the laborers hauling waste from the trash heaps.
Crunch, craunch—!
Most of the workers at the plant wore filthy clothes and sported faces worn down by exhaustion. Scrap metal being crushed by rusty mechanical arms. And people lifting and moving hunks of it that had to weigh hundreds of kilograms.
The reason people were doing the work instead of transport drones was simple: people were cheaper than machines.
But that wasn't the issue.
Finally, the two of them looked at the reinforced exoskeletons grafted to the workers' spines and the artificial arms making up both their limbs.
"Those arms...?"
Kim Moo-young hadn't caught on yet, but the seasoned Seo Tae-woong quickly spotted the anomaly.
"Artificial bodies capable of that level of strength are Grade 3 or higher. They're definitely not products permitted for ordinary laborers..."
"But these people are using them without a care. Why do you think that is?"
Seo Tae-woong answered immediately.
"Unregistered artificial bodies... with the security modules removed."
"Correct."
Seo Tae-woong's face darkened at my words. Fancy calling them unregistered—they were straight-up garbage. Overdue junk past their usage limits. Not only did they lack security modules, they didn't even have the bare-minimum safety features to prevent rejection reactions. The toxins leaking from that unsanitary metal would eat away at living tissue, and the rotting nerves would bring agony like the whole body was on fire. If they kept hauling ass around the dump with those strapped on, the workers' remaining lifespans couldn't be more than four years at best.
"Well, whether those poor bastards die of disease or get crushed under a drone, it's none of our business."
"......"
"There's just one thing we need to figure out. Where these people got their hands on artificial bodies like that."
"......Young master, don't tell me?"
Before Seo Tae-woong could finish, I started walking toward the interior of the trash hill.
The enormous garbage mountain that had buried an old city beneath it. The moment I pushed open the massive doors nestled inside and stepped in—
"Two arms for 70? You call that a price?! Hey! Give me back my arm, you crazy son of a—Guhk?!"
"That's a sweet deal, you retard. We've got arms coming out our asses—quit whining... Next!"
"Haetae Industries third-gen artificial bodies in stock! Brand new! Factory-sealed, unopened!"
"Alright, today's auction item, the 16-year-old full human set—420! Sold at 420!"
Amid the chaotic clamor, a massive dome stadium from the old downtown appeared. Makeshift shacks of corrugated metal, signs cobbled together from scrap, and countless artificial bodies hanging like slabs of meat in a butcher shop.
"There's a place like this right in the heart of Hanseong...?"
"Whoa..."
Their shock at the unprecedented sight didn't last long. Seo Tae-woong turned to me with a question.
"Young master, how did you even know a place like this existed?"
Oh, sharp question. I grinned mischievously as I replied.
"Of course I know. I came back from the future, after all."
"......So you don't want to say. Understood."
It's the truth. Such a faithless guy.
As I thought that, something bumped into me amid the swarming crowd.
"Young master!?"
"I'm fine. Just a bump."
The shadow that collided with my chest bowed its head in apology.
"Ah, sorry about that, bro!"
A kid flashed a smile, apologized, and bolted off.
Seeing Kim Moo-young rush over with a "That was too obvious, you okay?", I let out a quiet sigh.
"Pickpocket. Good technique."
"A pickpocket? Most money's kept in accounts these days—what's there even to steal...?"
"He got something. Let's see, in my case..."
I rummaged through my pockets for a moment. Well, well.
"Ooh."
I checked my pocket and muttered with a chuckle.
"My ID token got swiped."
"Heh heh, space out like that and it'll vanish in a flash!"
The pickpocket kid grinned smugly and dashed through the black market.
The kid arrived at a church set up in one corner of the black market building.
"Scored big time!"
He burst in triumphantly, and his friends swarmed around him.
"Hey! Jeong Haesang stole something!"
"What'd you get? Food?"
"Dunno yet! Gotta open it!"
"Open it! Open it! Hurry!"
But that didn't last.
"Haesang."
"Eek."
A man's voice called the kid's name, and one man walked out from the back of the room.
"Did you steal something again? How many times have I told you not to...?"
The young man sighed, carefully clutching the cross around his neck. His eyes mixed affection and worry for the kids. He looked like any other young man in Joseon, but his presence seemed out of place here.
"Stealing from others is wrong. And the outside world's dangerous—I've told you that so many times..."
"Open it! Hurry!"
They won't even listen.
The priest thought that as he snatched the stolen item from the gleeful kids.
"Aw!"
"Ah, Father!"
The kids reached out in disappointment, but the man called Father was firm.
"Bringing something without knowing what it is—if it was a vital life-support device, then what?"
Gotta return it to the owner before more trouble.
With that thought, the priest pulled the item from the pocket.
"......Huh?"
Inside the pocket gleamed a jade-green ID token.
[Recipient: Andong Kim Clan XXth Generation Kim Chang-un]
"Huh."
"Ooh."
"Ah......"
The item that popped out of the pocket. And the name written on it.
The older kids clamped their mouths shut one by one. No mistaking it, even if they rubbed their eyes and looked again. An ID token. Not just any, but one from the Andong Kim Clan, the pinnacle of power among the prestigious clans.
They froze for a moment, clutching the radiant token. Then—
"Ehe."
The culprit who stole it muttered softly.
"We're screwed."
"Hmm, ahem."
I was strolling leisurely in search of my stolen ID token. In a lawless hellhole like this, strutting around in flashy noble garb like mine would draw every fly in the area—but luckily, nothing happened to me.
"Whoa, crazy?!"
"That's a Grade 1 artificial body...!"
"One twitch of a finger and we're mush. Run, run!"
My bodyguard was none other than Seo Tae-woong. With a full-body Grade 1—the highest-grade—artificial body turning him into a human weapon, no one could touch me. Hell, just approaching recklessly would turn them into ground meat.
"Young master, even with Aburi here, aren't you being too carefree?"
"What? The token's not going anywhere, and the tracker function's active. Might as well sightsee while we're at it."
Answering Seo Tae-woong's worried tone, I found the location the signal indicated.
A concrete building at least a century old. Covered in dust, it was hard to make out, but I recognized it easily.
"There's even a church in a place like this."
"A church, you say?"
"Yeah. A church in a den of illegal weapons and artificial body deals—funny, right?"
The word "church" made Seo Tae-woong activate his ocular interface right away.
"The surface structure's a front. Multiple heat sources and metal objects underground. From the shapes, those are..."
"Looks like this'll be easier than I thought."
I brushed past Seo Tae-woong and flung open the door.
"Young master!"
Seo Tae-woong followed, shouting about the danger. But the moment we entered the building, he had no choice but to let his outstretched hand drop limply.
Inside the shabby church, waiting for me was...
"W-We have committed a grave sin! Please, spare our lives!"
A man flat on the floor, holding out my stolen ID token. And huddled around him protectively were a bunch of kids.
"Yeah! Please, just spare our lives!"
"Or at least, couldn't you settle for just the one priest's life?!"
"Kids? What are you saying?"
"Father! This is following God's teachings right now!"
"Self-sacrifice! If Father gives himself up, we all live!"
"Kids? What are you even saying?!"
Huh, what is this? Watching from the sidelines was pretty entertaining.
As I took in their chatter amid the fear, I quietly called to Seo Tae-woong.
"Lower your weapon, Tae-woong."
"Young master, these are thieves who stole a noble clan's ID token. And besides..."
The man trembling behind the kids. Seo Tae-woong narrowed his eyes at the necklace around his neck.
"A Catholic disrupting Joseon's order and preaching false beliefs. Now that we've found him, we can't just—"
"Order? Is grinding precious commoners into the dirt of a dump what your fine Joseon order looks like?"
"......!"
"Stand down, Tae-woong. That's an order."
At my firm tone, Seo Tae-woong slowly powered down his artificial body.
Of course, that didn't mean I was suddenly taking the Catholics' side. It was just that, judging by the church's layout, this priest...
Looks like he could be useful in a lot of ways.
"Father?"
"......!"
The honorific from a noble like me startled him, and he bowed his head.
"P-Please, no need for such courtesy! We are but..."
"You committed a grave sin. Spare our lives only. That's what you said, right?"
"Y-Yes?"
He blinked blankly for a moment.
"Ah, yes! We—we failed to recognize your nobility, and our children were rude...!"
"Psh, rude? Over a measly ID token."
Measley ID token.
Did that surprise him instead? The priest's eyes widened as he lifted his face to look at me. Seo Tae-woong and Kim Moo-young reacted the same.
Well, of course they wouldn't get it. We yangban lived and died by those names, that honor.
"Names that will flutter away like trash in a single revolution—what's so precious about that garbage?"
"Wh-what? Excuse me?"
"I'm talking about this side of things. Anyway, let's see..."
Ignoring the priest's confused double-take, I leaned in close to his face.
Kind face. Angelic smile. The most innocent look in the world. Then I stared right at the priest.
"For the price of your life plus a gag fee, grant me one favor."
"F-Favor... you say?"
His face drained of color as he asked in a trembling voice.
"Yes. A favor."
At least there was one silver lining.
"Let's take a look at the church basement."
In this black market full of untrustworthy scum, I'd dug up a real gem.