Broke Hero (3)
As I stepped into the room, two guys and two women were knocking back drinks. The sleaziest-looking dude among them reacted to me entering and started blabbering away.
That floating thing next to the sleazeball... a chat window, right? Right beside him hovered the ARC (Augmented Reality Chatting) that appears during broadcasts—an augmented reality chat overlay.
This fucker... is he seriously streaming this right now?
Platforms vary, but broadcasts have a thing called "freedom," so this kind of content flies. But if I'm in it? That's a whole different story.
"What're you doing? Sit your ass down if you're here."
The sleazeball eyed me and patted the spot next to him.
The chat window floated blatantly next to the sleazeball. Crazy bastards... are all his viewers just straight-up pervs?
But on the flip side, I got it. If I were one of those viewers, wouldn't I spam the same shit? Except I'm the target of the sexual harassment here. Flip it around, and yeah, this crap would piss anyone off for real.
I sat next to the sleazeball, and he immediately glued himself to me, asking,
"So, what's our little bunny's name?"
Our little bunny? When the fuck did we get chummy?
No. Hold it in. Pro mentality, pro mentality. Not that I'm a pro, but I forced a smile and answered,
"Uh, it's Elly."
"Ooh, Elly. Pretty name."
He winked, >ㅁO wink. What the actual fuck? Did this guy swallow a whole stick of butter? Why's he so goddamn slimy?
I wanted to deck him so bad, but I swallowed my rage three times over and kept it locked down.
"Alright, Elly. Throw a peace sign for the VIPs. Peace."
"Huh?"
"You know, peace? V-sign. Like this. V."
I'm not asking 'cause I don't know what a peace sign is, asshole—I'm asking why the hell I gotta do it! I shuddered, plastered on a fake-ass smile, and raised both hands toward the direction he pointed, forming V-shapes with my fingers.
"P-peace."
All I could feel was the urge to kill them all. If I could, I'd start with this sleazeball right next to me...
"Hngh?!"
Suddenly, something brushed my chest, then started groping it.
"Wh-what the hell...!"
"Giving the VIPs some vicarious thrills. Damn, the feel is top-tier."
The sleazeball groped harder.
"Hngh♥ St-stop... ahn♥"
Why the fuck is this happening? I should feel disgusted and pissed, but why's my brain treating it like it feels good?
"Alright, vicarious fun ends here—the rest is paid service, VIPs."
He pulled his hand away and handed me a drink along with some white crystal-looking shit.
I had no clue what the white crystal was, but judging by the chat reaction, it was bad news. And the Prince faction cracking down with fire in their eyes? No way... this is?
Something flashed in my mind: APO (Angel Pixy Opium). Nicknamed heaven drug—a type of narcotic. Normally, drugs get broken down by body nanomachines, so they don't work. But APO paralyzes the nanomachines for a moment, letting the drug flood your system.
In this cyberpunk world where drugs shouldn't even exist anymore, APO is like rain in a drought for junkies—the one and only high you can get. That's why it sells for insane prices.
Addiction rate? 50-100 times worse than fentanyl, the king of old-school opioids. Fentanyl would've melted your organs on contact and killed you. But in this era, everyone's augmented and evolved humans, so APO addicts you without wrecking your body. Which probably makes it even pricier.
But a drug's a drug. Once hooked, you're done for. And this asshole's offering it to me?
Does he need to turn people into junkies? Fuck the money—this sleazeball's face needs rearranging. I was about to spring up and knee him in the mug when—
BAM—!
The private room door exploded inward with a crash, and someone burst in.
* * * *
"See? I knew it, didn't I?!"
The intruder was a woman with light purple hair, pistol in hand.
She's using an archaic dialect from this era. Which means... no way?
One person came to mind. If I hadn't gotten nabbed by the cops and exposed as invincible during questioning, I'd have gone to meet her: Myeongdong's prince, Lee Jung-woo.
She's the only one in this era using Gyeongsang-do dialect—specifically Busan style.
Though, is that really Busan dialect? Beats me.
"Whoa, look at all this stacked up... impressive, real impressive."
Lee Jung-woo eyed the mountain of APO on the table and clicked her tongue.
"Hey, you... your name Han Jeong-woo, right?"
She aimed her gun at the sleazeball, who trembled and stammered,
"Y-yes, that's me!"
"Whoa, you piss me off. Hey! Turn off the stream, now!"
"Y-yes, got it! Stream off!"
The sleazeball frantically killed the broadcast, and the chat vanished with it. Finally, some relief.
"You're a disgrace to all Jeong-woos. A total embarrassment."
Lee Jung-woo tsked at him like he was pathetic, then yelled toward the door,
"Hey, you lot, get in here!"
A horde of burly goons poured in at her call. Each one bigger and meaner-looking than that perverted bald musclehead.
That guy's an office drone, so probably just errands and grunt work.
The one rotting in the slammer now was small fry among small fry.
"Duk-cheol."
"Yes, boss."
"Remember before? What happened to the last bastard distributing APO."
"Of course, boss."
"You guys handle this one today."
Lee Jung-woo patted the shoulder of the guy called Duk-cheol. He nodded—"Leave it to us, boss"—then KO'd the sleazeball with one punch, slung him over his shoulder, and marched out. The other goons followed suit.
"Hey! What're you staring at? Get outta here, quick!"
"Hiiik!"
The sleazeball's buddies—three guys and girls, whatever—bolted in terror. Soon after, screams echoed from outside.
"What about you? Not going?"
Lee Jung-woo eyed me, still standing there gawking at her.
My plans had gone way off the rails, but overall? This worked out. I decided to talk to her.
"You're Lee Jung-woo, right?"
"Why ask my name now?"
"I need a favor from you, Jung-woo."
"A favor? You're a riot. Spill it."
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.
"Lend me some money!"
I bowed politely, asking straight-up for a loan. Lee Jung-woo blinked in shock, then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! You're not just a riot—you're full-on nuts!"
After a good long laugh, she sobered up, her face turning dead serious like a switch flipped.
"Why the hell should I trust you with money?"
Her tone was ice-cold, nothing more, nothing less. But I'd seen this coming.
Lee Jung-woo's hunting for something. And I know where it is.
Knowing what she's after and its location—that was my ace. Lee Moo-hyuk had revealed it when he pulled her to his side. I'd saved it for later, but if he used it, it'd be worthless. Might as well play it now.
"You're looking for the pendant of Yi Ho-chang, the late boss of Sangun faction—your father, right?"
Her already frosty vibe turned arctic. She jammed her gun barrel against my forehead.
"Where'd you pick that up?"