Plan B

Even though it was a shame that Han Yugyeong had to head back to her family home, since I was already in Korea, I figured it was time to move on to Plan B.

The Plan B I had in mind was a train journey following the route from Seoul to Pyongyang, then Hamhung, and finally to Kraskino (Краскино).

Eight years ago, during the Third World War that had ended, North Korea collapsed and was unified with South Korea. But the countless missiles and artillery barrages had completely devastated the region, turning Pyongyang into a flat wasteland. Corporations hungry for speculative investment swarmed in and began rebuilding it.

Without any proper urban planning, the city was developed purely on greed and desire. As a result, Pyongyang had transformed into a chaotic cyberpunk metropolis overflowing with neon signs.

Of course, it was packed with the latest technology and undeniably flashy, but the city was excessively complicated. Unlike most new cities, its alleys twisted together like a spiderweb.

With that distinctive cyberpunk atmosphere and various factions flocking to the place, it was a city where quite a few major events occurred in The Youngest Son of a Japanese Conglomerate Family. I had been planning to take a look around myself.

Hamhung was just a stop on the way to Kraskino, and Kraskino itself was Russian territory that had been ceded to Korea during the Third World War. On the Russian side, they had received Kravtsovka and the western Leopard Land National Park. China had been given the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Korea’s territory had expanded considerably.

“Sorry…! Next time, I’ll come to Japan.”

“Something this big happened. There’s nothing we can do about it. Who would’ve thought someone would actually collapse a building?”

After we finished packing our luggage, Han Yugyeong and I said our goodbyes at the apartment parking lot exit. She had to return to her family home, and I needed to catch the train to Pyongyang, so we had both come down with our bags.

Han Yugyeong reached into her pocket and held something out to me. It looked like some kind of ID card.

“Since there was a terrorist attack, they might restrict train travel. So this…”

“What is it?”

What Han Yugyeong handed me was a Vanguard employee ID. When the hell did she get me hired?

Given the recent deterioration of public security in Korea, Vanguard was treated as a security organization. An employee ID from a bodyguard company like that would be exempt from the controls on leaving Seoul. She must have prepared it just in case.

“Thanks.”

I slipped the Vanguard ID into my pocket and pulled Han Yugyeong into a tight hug. Then I gave her a light kiss on the lips.

Maybe because she had been crying, the kiss tasted faintly salty.

As we were kissing, Dixon soon arrived in his car.

“Mr. Jin, please be careful. Pyongyang isn’t like Seoul.”

“The people in Pyongyang are the ones who should be careful around me.”

Dixon let out a small chuckle at my answer. We bumped fists, and he helped Han Yugyeong into the car. I asked him to take good care of her, gave Han Yugyeong one more kiss, and watched as the car carrying her drove away.

I stepped out to the roadside and hailed a taxi. I went straight from Han Yugyeong’s place to Seoul Station and headed for the boarding gate to catch the train I had reserved in advance.

Just as Han Yugyeong had predicted, armed police officers carrying rifle-shaped electric shock guns were checking people’s IDs and asking why they were leaving Seoul.

About two-thirds of the passengers were allowed through. The remaining third were denied permission to board. Was something suspicious about them?

With the building collapse incident still fresh, they seemed to be filtering people very strictly. Of course, the complaints from the crowd were intense, but the armed officers with their shock guns simply responded in dry voices:

No matter how unhappy they were, no one wanted to get electrocuted in front of everyone. The citizens who had been denied boarding grumbled as they pulled out their smartphones to cancel their tickets.

“Excuse me. Please show your ID and train ticket.”

“Ah, yes.”

I showed the armed officer the Vanguard employee ID I had tucked in my pocket and the Pyongyang-bound train ticket on my smartphone.

The officer examined the ID, compared it to my face, then checked the destination on my phone before asking,

“Why are you traveling to Pyongyang?”

“I have business there. It’s a work trip.”

The armed officer nodded at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my answer and let me through, then asked the person behind me for their ID.

I had booked my ticket with plenty of time to spare in case something like this happened, but the individual inspections took so long I nearly missed the train.

I barely made it onto the Pyongyang-bound train and stared out the window. The scheduled arrival time was two hours later, at 4:20 PM.

As I watched the scenery moving past outside the train, I felt a slight thrill of excitement. I was on my way to the most cutting-edge city in the entire world right now.

Japan was also building a cyber city tentatively called Neo Tokyo, but it would still take about a year before it was fully completed. Other countries were discussing cyber new cities as well, but it was only natural that Korea—with its obsession over being the world’s first—had quickly created Cyber Pyongyang.

The problem was that it had been built in such a rush that it had many flaws, but the general attitude seemed to be that being first in the world was enough.

Lost in thought, I soon arrived in Pyongyang.

When I got off the train, people with cyber implants—something you rarely saw even in Seoul—were wandering around everywhere. Tourists like me wouldn’t know, but I had heard that because the city was so heavily cyberized, daily life became inconvenient without at least a few cyber implants.

Hmm. With my Purity Advocate trait that required me to avoid any modifications, this was a city I could never live in.

“Disposable wristwatch-style devices for sale!”

There were street stalls targeting tourists selling cheap disposable watches that could connect to Pyongyang’s VR network, but I didn’t even glance at them.

That was because I had already reserved a high-end device through the Dark Merchant app on my way to Pyongyang. The VR devices sold at these stalls could be scams, and in the worst case, they might even hack your account. It was far better to pay a bit more and buy an authenticated device from a verified Dark Merchant seller.

Ding.

When I checked my phone, I saw a message had arrived from the Dark Merchant app. Since it supported direct chat with sellers, it was quite useful.

I replied immediately.

The moment I sent the message, a skinny woman approached me, waving her hand cheerfully. One of her arms was mechanical. She was quite beautiful.

Since cyber implants were common here, plastic surgery was also freely available. Pyongyang was a city full of artificial beauties. I couldn’t tell if this woman had undergone surgery or not, but she was so thin that although her face was pretty, it wasn’t particularly pleasant to look at.

“DragonTa…? Ryuta-nim?”

“Ah, yes. I’m…”

“Just call me DarkMerchant. If you switch to Korean keyboard, it becomes ‘Geosang.’”

Ah, I see. She must have noticed my momentary confusion at her name and realized this sort of thing happened often.

“Yes, DarkMerchant-ssi. The item…?”

“Here it is.”

The VR device came in the form of a watch and a pair of sunglasses-shaped VR goggles. I took the device and pressed the receipt confirmation button on the Dark Merchant app.

Once she confirmed the points had been deposited, DarkMerchant smiled brightly and nodded.

“Thank you! Would you like me to help set it up?”

“That would be great.”

DarkMerchant connected the device to my smartphone, watch, and sunglasses. The moment I put on the sunglasses, the true face of the cyber city Pyongyang was revealed.

Whenever I focused on an object, its information and price popped up. It really felt like a game.

I looked at the cheap disposable VR device at the nearby stall. A warning screen immediately appeared.

So it really was a scam. The vendor flinched when he saw me looking, but still kept shouting “For sale!” at the top of his lungs.

When I stared at him in disbelief, DarkMerchant gave a small laugh and said,

“Even if you report them, they won’t get punished. They pay bribes to the autonomous police every month.”

“That’s why they can do business so openly.”

“Hehe. Pyongyang is full of scammers like that, so please be careful. With a proper VR device, you won’t have to worry about getting scammed. Well, it’s time for me to go. Thank you for using our service! If you need anything while in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pyongyang, look for this DarkMerchant~!”

After saying goodbye, she disappeared back into the crowd.

I started walking as well. Since I only planned to sightsee for about a day, I brought the wrist device to my mouth and said “luxury hotel.” A mini-map-like display appeared in the upper right corner of the sunglasses.

It was fascinating. It really felt like a game.

I figured a regular hotel might get my luggage stolen, so I searched for a luxury one. Not that I had much luggage—just some clothes and my passport—but it would still be annoying to get robbed.

I picked one of the suggested hotels and followed the directions. Arrows appeared on the road, so I could navigate easily without getting lost.

When I entered the hotel I had been guided to, two armed security guards holding guns stood at the entrance. Was this really Korea? It definitely felt alien.

As I approached the counter, a hotel employee greeted me politely and sent what looked like a menu to my field of vision. Upon closer inspection, it was a rate chart. I chose a mid-range room at 367,000 won per night and received guidance.

When I made my selection and held out my wrist, I felt my smartphone vibrate as the payment went through.

My room was 703. The hotel employee who had done something at the door kindly explained,

“The room information has been registered to your wrist device, so you can use it as a key. Please be careful not to lose the device.”

Oh! So I could open and close the door with this? How interesting.

I set my suitcase down in the room and sat for a moment. I needed to look up some good restaurants. Since I had things to do after dinner, I should eat a hearty meal.