"Tactical Operative?"
"Just sent them now."
"...I see."
A Chinese mafia corporation.
Tactical Division Coordinator for the Heishuqai.
Hei Lü leaned back in his old chair.
Through his mechanical eyes, surgically implanted long ago, he gazed at the irregularly positioned buildings packed tightly together.
This was Chinatown, Sin sector, known as one of the most congested areas in Neon City.
Hei Lü took a sunflower seed from the small table, put it in his mouth, cracked the shell, and spat it out.
Appreciating the view through the open window without glass, he spoke to his assistant standing guard behind him.
"Hei Wang was a good Shāshǒu (Hitman). Though he ended up in prison with Chrome Psycho symptoms, he was our operative, connected by blood."
Hei Lü spat out another sunflower seed shell with a "ptui."
"Blood debts must be paid in blood (xuè zhài xuè cháng). As they say, when drinking water, remember its source (yǐn shuǐ sī yuán)."
Finishing his words, Hei Lü rose from his chair.
He approached the open window.
"The reason I leave the headquarters building to enjoy this view, and why I specially cultivate sunflower seeds to eat, is for similar reasons."
For just a moment.
Hei Lü's sharp, narrowed eyes turned toward his assistant standing behind him.
"All to remember the past."
Knowing that the past the man spoke of was easily decades old.
His subordinate, Hei Lü's assistant, simply bowed his head and maintained silence.
After observing his quiet assistant, Hei Lü turned his head back to look outside.
"The disorderly cluster looks like an ancient fortress (chéngzhài)."
Hei Lü continued speaking.
"Of course, back then there weren't any 'neon signs' or 'hologram' lights like now."
A hint of nostalgia passed through the man's eyes.
"So sometimes I'd rather see the past than these streets covered in holograms."
The lights of this city would never go out, though.
As Hei Lü swallowed those words and continued surveying the Chinatown landscape.
At that moment.
The view outside the window changed.
The holograms disappeared, and the lights vanished.
The lights that should never go out had gone out.
In this surreal landscape, Hei Lü's mouth—which seemed like it would never show surprise—fell open blankly.
"Huh?"
And then.
An unknown woman's voice was heard.
[Target confirmed.]
Immediately after that.
16. What It Means for AI to Live (3)
I made my way through cobwebs.
Ugh, how musty.
I stopped and asked Eve, who had paused behind me.
Since I was walking in front, I naturally turned my head to look back.
"...What are you doing?"
This was after the old man told us about a hidden passage that would allow us to escape through the back of the antique shop.
I did wonder why an ordinary antique shop would have a "secret passage."
From what I heard earlier though.
It seemed like he was secretly gathering intelligence on Heishuqai too.
I decided to accept that he might have his own reasons.
It would be strange to worry about every little detail anyway.
Eve, who didn't have a speck of dust on her clothes despite walking through the dusty passage, answered my question.
"I've located the Heishuqai 'Tactical Division Coordinator' who issued the relevant orders."
"...How did you find that out already?"
I wondered how she had already found this person when we'd only been walking through the secret passage for a short while.
Eve slightly puffed out her chest as she spoke.
It looked like an expression of confident pride.
"I hacked into and connected with the city's neural network."
"...Is that something you can connect to so easily just because you want to?"
"There was a 'minor issue' where a power outage occurred in the relevant area for a brief moment, but no human casualties resulted."
I cleared away a cobweb blocking my path.
A spider large enough that I wouldn't have dared touch it without gloves scurried away from my hand.
Looking back again, I saw Eve staring at me expressionlessly, as if there had been no problem at all.
It was hard to believe what I was hearing.
...How is that a minor issue, Eve?
Living in this city, I had never once heard of a power outage occurring.
Come to think of it, there was a similar power disruption when Eve threatened the Koozaka Vice President.
...It should be fine.
At this point, there was nothing I could do about what had already happened.
I shook off a spider trying to climb onto my foot and continued questioning Eve.
"So does that mean we don't need to run away anymore?"
"No, we do."
"Huh?"
Eve elaborated.
"Heishuqai's Tactical Operatives have already been dispatched, so we need to be careful."
I thought that shouldn't be a problem, but.
Eve's gaze seemed to grow increasingly stern, so I nodded emphatically.
"You're right. Good thing we took the secret passage."
By the way, the "vintage computer device" for Eve and my "retro game console" that we purchased at the antique shop were entrusted to the old shopkeeper for drone delivery.
That's why we went out in the first place.
I couldn't give them up even if Heishuqai's Tactical Operatives were pursuing us.
Maybe because we were in the lower levels.
Or because it was a secret passage.
Old halogen lights swung from the ceiling.
It was surprising that such lighting was still in use.
In the distance, a faint light appeared at the end of the passage.
We were approaching the exit of the secret passage.
"Alright, let's get out of here."
The exit door itself was very old, but the lock attached to it was state-of-the-art.
I wonder if this is how you open it.
I fiddled with various parts and opened the old door to step outside.
A vast open space stretched out, completely incongruous with Vanta Market under the cloud-covered gray sky.
Well, we made it out safely.
Now I just needed to figure out how to deal with Heishuqai's Tactical Operatives.
That's when I thought.
"...What's that."
In the distance, through the clouds,
Something large was falling, spewing black smoke.
Before I could identify what it was, Eve grabbed my shoulder from behind and said,
"Please be careful of the impact."
"?"
"To minimize human casualties, I'm making it fall onto the open area at these coordinates."
Making what fall?
But before I could ask Eve about the identity of the falling object.
What appeared to be a tactical "aerial MPV" crashed from the sky first.
- KWAAANG!!
A powerful shockwave and flames erupted.
I don't know who was inside.
But it looked like survival would be difficult.
Through the spreading flames, I confirmed the emblem engraved on the aerial MPV.
A black flame logo spreading outward.
It was the symbol of Heishuqai.
Which meant.
This crashed aerial vehicle belonged to Heishuqai.
Hmm.
I turned my head toward the artificial intelligence, wondering how many times I'd had to look back at her today.
Eve faced me with a demure posture.
"It's over."
"......"
Well, if this was going to happen, we really didn't need to use the secret passage....
Even as I looked at Eve with such thoughts, she just stared back at me with an expressionless face.
...Well.
I guess it's fine if the problem is solved.
Though I hadn't expected things to end without using a single spell.
"...Let's go home."
"Confirmed."
Perhaps excited about the computer that would arrive by drone at home, Eve's steps quickened as we walked outside.
"Ah."
Then I stopped briefly.
"What's wrong?"
Eve asked me as I stood still.
"I almost forgot and nearly went straight home."
Eve tilted her head slightly to the left with a puzzled expression.
* * *
Underdog, Dominic Martin, hurriedly returned home.
'Great, I did it!'
He had been incredibly lucky.
To think he would discover the person Heishuqai was targeting at an antique shop in Vanta Market that he visited by chance.
Although the reward hadn't been deposited into his account yet, he could expect a substantial amount, given the corporation's reputation for guaranteeing payments.
He started celebrating alone, dancing in his empty home.
It was fortunate that his acting had been excellent.
An ordinary amateur informant might have been caught and faced trouble.
'Well done, you're the best! Dominic Martin!'
Dominic Martin thought to himself as he breathed a sigh of relief.
He needed to be extremely cautious.
He had no desire to meet the rumored "Meteor" if even one loose end was left.
But he had cut off the connected information line, so there was no worry about being tracked.
'...I'm thirsty.'
Perhaps because the tension had eased.
He suddenly felt thirsty.
'I wonder if I have any rainbow-flavored cola left.'
Koozaka Corporation's new product, rainbow-flavored cola, perfectly suited his taste.
Dominic Martin danced his way toward the refrigerator.
He noticed something strange after opening the refrigerator door.
'......'
Why...
Isn't the refrigerator cold?
Normally, the high setting would make his skin sting with cold.
But he felt no such coldness at all.
The freezer was the same.
Melted ice flowed across the bottom.
Dominic Martin muttered.
"...No way."
It would be fine if just the refrigerator was broken.
But he had a familiar, ominous feeling.
He rushed to check other areas.
He checked the status of various electronic devices. And unfortunately, his bad premonition was entirely correct.
"Son of a—"
A crude curse naturally escaped his lips.
"How is this possible?!"
The sad man's voice echoed throughout the room.
* * *
After returning home, I washed my hands and feet lightly.
Hygiene is important.
I sat on the sofa to relieve the fatigue from going out.
"Well, this should be enough."
We did share a bond as fellow tech enthusiasts.
I never intended to kill him from the start.
The fact that he didn't know my identity was also taken into consideration.
If he had sold information knowing who I was, I wouldn't have let him off so easily.
"A merciful choice."
Eve responded to my comment.
...It doesn't seem particularly merciful though.
I suspect Underdog will have to spend a fortune in credits just to repair all his broken electronic devices.
I looked at Eve, who was sitting in the corner cleaning and assembling the vintage computer.
Even Eve, who would normally be constantly watching me, couldn't resist the appeal of a new gift.
What's so great about that thing?
I guess I'll have to play games with her today.
With that thought in mind.
I expanded my visual interface to pass the time while Eve finished her assembly.
The 'NCB24 News Program' that I had set as my startup program began running.
The cold voice of the news anchor came through the screen.
《Breaking news from NCB24. Mr. Hei Lü, known as a high-ranking official of Heishuqai, has been transported to 'Neon City Central Hospital' by the medical subscription service 'Heal and Run' after reporting sudden hallucinations and abnormalities. The hospital has announced that the cause is currently unknown—.》
Hmm.
I really am a merciful person.
I thought this as I looked at the photo of the narrow-eyed man, Hei Lü, whom I had seen at the party.