Plan B
There were no restaurants in Pyongyang's Technology Special Zone with any kind of long-standing tradition. In a city that had been completely flattened by bombing and rebuilt from scratch on barren land, it was impossible for traditional eateries to exist. Even if something could be called traditional, it would only go back about eight years at most.
The chefs who had fled during the war had returned to Pyongyang, but the megacorporations had already claimed all the prime spots. That left them with two choices: work as underpaid line cooks for those same corporations or set up shop in the newly rebuilt satellite cities surrounding Pyongyang.
As a result, Pyongyang's food enthusiasts often traveled to places like Nampo or Pyongsong for decent meals. But I didn't have time to head out to the satellites. I had work to do tonight, so I needed to eat something good while I was still in the city proper.
After searching by rating, the highest-ranked restaurant in Pyongyang's Technology Special Zone turned out to be an Italian place. Pyongyang and Italian food... that combination felt incredibly mismatched.
Yeah... if the old me, before possession, had claimed that Pyongyang's best restaurant was a pasta joint, no one would have believed it.
I headed to the top-rated Italian restaurant, Italiano - Paese di Pyongyang. Its biggest advantage was that it was the closest highly-rated spot to the hotel where I was staying.
“Benvenuto! Welcome!”
After receiving a cheerful greeting from a rather cute waitress, I took a seat. The moment I sat down, the menu automatically appeared on my sunglasses display. Hmm. I wasn't fully used to it yet, but it was definitely convenient. I scanned the options and ordered vongole pasta, carbonara, and bolognese. That should be enough to fill me up.
While I waited, I pulled out my smartphone and checked the surrounding area. It was a dark web map app I'd downloaded from the Dark Merchant for a hefty amount of points. It showed useful information for people operating in the shadows—like CCTV locations and patrol routes for Pyongyang's autonomous police. I had similar apps for Tokyo and Chiba, but I hadn't bought them yet since I had no immediate use for them.
There weren't many CCTV cameras in Pyongyang. Nearly ninety percent of the population was constantly connected to the Pyongyang Cyber Network through their VR devices, so there was little need to install physical cameras everywhere. Every movement was automatically logged by the central VR cyber system, making traditional surveillance redundant.
“In that case, I'll stop by the hotel first, remove the device, and...”
As I muttered to myself, the waitress approached with a smile, carrying my food. True to its top rating, the portions were generous and the aroma was incredible.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks.”
I kept glancing at my phone while practically inhaling the pasta. Switching between the three flavors kept things interesting, and I finished the meal without getting tired of any one taste.
When I reached for a napkin to wipe my mouth, I noticed a phone number written on the one tucked under the plate. Ah... did that waitress slip this in here?
I looked up and caught her giving me a small smile. She was pretty, and her figure wasn't bad either. I raised my hand to call her over. Her face flushed slightly as she hurried to my table.
“When do you get off today?”
“Ten o'clock!”
Ten... that was pretty late for a restaurant. But it worked out perfectly for me. If I handled my business and then met up with this cute waitress afterward, it would make for a solid alibi.
“Then... let's meet at the bar in the Pyongyang Platinum Hotel around ten-thirty.”
“Okay... ehehe. Is there anything else you need?”
“Do you have any drinks you recommend here?”
“Oh! Our granita is really good.”
“Then I'll have two of those. One's for you.”
I had no idea what granita was, but while she was passing the order to the kitchen, I quickly looked it up. It was a traditional Italian slushy-style drink made with champagne, sugar, fruit, and shaved ice. Sounded tasty.
I finished both granitas she brought out, then stood up from my seat. When I waved at her, she winked back at me. It was a little past six now. Since it was July, the sky was still bright.
After the meal, I took a short walk around the area before returning to the hotel. I figured I'd start the job around eight, once the sun went down.
Before that, I needed to disable the VR device. People with cyber implants couldn't remove theirs, but tourists like me could disconnect easily. Of course, Pyongyang's autonomous police knew about this loophole, but since installing CCTV was expensive, they only placed them at critical points.
I spent the next two hours preparing for tonight's operation.
“It's dark now... though with all these neon signs, it's not exactly pitch black.”
Even after sunset, the streets remained bright thanks to the dazzling glow of countless neon billboards. I left the VR device in the hotel room and slipped out through the window. That way, the system would still register me as staying inside, giving me a perfect alibi. I descended by kicking off the walls of the adjacent building and the hotel itself, landing smoothly on the ground.
I had memorized all the CCTV positions, but to be safe, I put on a mask before heading to the northern district of the Technology Special Zone. This area was packed with research complexes for various megacorporations, including, naturally, the BS Group's facility.
With the BS Group currently split in half due to the successor war, this was the perfect time to steal something valuable.
What I wanted from BS Group were materials related to tech wear and cyber suits—armor-type technology. Since the BS Defender was developed using foundational research from this very Pyongyang complex, obtaining the data here would give me a powerful new weapon.
“That's the place.”
After about thirty minutes of a brisk jog that was somewhere between walking and running, the BS Group research complex came into view. Avoiding the cameras had doubled my travel time from what should have been fifteen minutes. The complex looked incredibly intricate, but since I'd visited it multiple times in the game, I knew the layout like the back of my hand.
I scaled the outer wall, using Shadow Dominion to create footholds, then leaped over the top. The razor wire on the wall was electrified, so I had to clear it without touching anything.
Instead of heading for the largest building, I stealthily made my way toward a medium-sized research lab. Thanks to Shadow Dominion, I could hide within shadows, making infiltration surprisingly easy.
Having used the ability so frequently lately, my proficiency with Shadow Dominion had increased enough that I could now cover my entire body in shadow. This let me blend perfectly with the darkness whenever guards passed by, avoiding detection entirely.
The place I was targeting was the fifth floor—the top level of the lab. That was where the confidential data was stored, including the materials I wanted.
Since there were no windows on the fifth floor, I had to enter through the fourth and take the internal stairs up. I approached a section of the wall where few people passed and began climbing. It was easy. With Shadow Dominion creating handholds and footholds, it was like climbing a ladder.
In no time, I reached the fourth floor, clinging to the wall just below a window. I closed my eyes, focused, and used Master's Senses to scan for any human presence inside.
Hmm... it's quiet. Did everyone go home? Or is this section just empty? I quickly opened the window and slipped inside.
The room I'd entered was a storage area for unused documents. That explained the lack of people.
I carefully opened the storage room door and stepped out. Sure enough, the hallway was deserted. Looked like everyone really had gone home. I quickly found the stairs leading to the fifth floor and hurried up.
Ah, two people. They were guards. As expected of a high-security area, they looked like elite personnel. Their equipment seemed top-notch too.
Suddenly, an idea struck me. After thinking it through, I formed a shadow blade at my fingertips. Then I charged at the two guards at full speed. With shadow blades in both hands, I slashed at their vital points, tearing and shredding them apart.
Caught completely off guard, the two guards collapsed, spraying blood from their necks and faces. No matter how well-equipped or elite they looked, they were still just security guards. Taking them out was easy.
Their corpses now looked as if they'd been mauled by a wild beast's claws. This should create plenty of confusion for Park Il-soo and Park Il-man, who were currently locked in a bloody succession war within the BS Group. If the guards died with wounds similar to those on Park Sang-beom, everyone would suspect both brothers. Those who already suspected Park Il-soo would think he'd taken revenge using the exact same method, while those suspicious of Park Il-man would assume he'd repeated the same brutal technique.
I stepped over the guards' bodies and approached the fifth-floor entrance. The reason I'd spent two hours preparing after dinner was for this password. It was a dynamic code that changed daily, so after struggling with the calculations, I'd contacted Han Yugyeong—the smartest person I knew—and had her solve the formula for me. The fact that she'd cracked in just twenty seconds what had taken me an hour to even begin was honestly shocking. The intelligence gap between us was bigger than I'd thought.
The formula for cracking this password was something I'd scribbled down after possession, thinking it might come in handy someday. If I hadn't recorded it early on, I probably would've forgotten it by now.
Looking at situations like this, it seemed like intelligence really was important... but with so many other stats I needed more urgently, intelligence and other less critical ones always took a backseat.
I carefully entered the password on the keypad, making sure not to make a mistake. After a soft beep, there was a heavy clunk as the lock disengaged and the door swung open. Inside the massive machinery-filled room, a single computer was humming in the center.
It was an AI system that automatically organized and sorted all the data sent from the BS Group's research wing. I sat down at the terminal, plugged in a hacking USB, and began transferring the files I needed.
First, I grabbed the most important one: the Next Generation Tech Armor (12-11) file. Then I selected several other promising-looking documents and copied them over. The transfer speed was so fast that it took less than two seconds to secure everything I'd chosen.
With a little time to spare, I browsed for anything else useful, but the sheer volume of data made it impossible to review properly on the spot. I wasn't an expert in this field, so aside from what I already recognized, most of it was meaningless to me.
I simply picked a few files with interesting names and added them. Things like AI Algorithm Improvement - Final - Final Final 3. This should fetch a decent amount of points if I sold it on the Dark Merchant.
Interestingly, the Dark Merchant was known for paying generously for any data related to AI. I decided that on my way back to the hotel, I'd stop by their Pyongyang branch.