Cyberpunk 2050
“Team Leader, we failed to recover the item…”
The voice of the man making the report trembled faintly.
“…Hm.”
The man looked down at the reporter.
“Recovery failure.”
He repeated it in a low voice.
“Tracking failure.”
He took one step closer.
“And the report is late.”
The reporter’s breath caught in his throat.
“When these three things happen at the same time, do you know what conclusion I reach?”
“W-wait a moment—”
-Bang.
A gunshot rang out.
The reporter’s body pitched forward and collapsed. Blood spread across the floor, but the man didn’t even blink.
He set the gun down and spoke.
“Incompetence isn’t a mistake. It’s a hazard.”
He turned to another subordinate standing nearby.
“Scrap the entire recovery team. Double the surveillance intensity in District 6.”
“Yes.”
“And.”
He paused for a moment. In that brief silence, the air in the room froze solid.
“That masked man. Bring him to me within one week—in one piece.”
“But… someone is interfering with us—”
-Bang!
Another gunshot echoed.
The man who had just spoken fell to the floor.
“You.”
He lowered the muzzle and pointed it at another subordinate.
“From now on, you’re the new team leader.”
“Y-yes!”
That was when it happened.
-Click.
The office door opened, and light footsteps echoed.
“Well, well.”
A carefree voice.
“Team Leader Kim. I heard the news.”
The figure standing at the door spoke with a relaxed smile.
“Another failure, huh?”
“…What brings the Director here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
He shrugged.
“I came to deliver orders. Otherwise, why would I bother coming to see the face of some bastard-born mutt?”
Team Leader Kim’s face turned icy.
“Angry?”
The Director glanced at the gun in his hand and sneered.
“You really are pissed. What, gonna point that thing at me and pull the trigger?”
“If you have nothing to say, get out.”
His voice carried barely suppressed rage.
“I came because I do have something to say.”
The Director took one more step inside.
“You really can’t understand words. This is why lowborn blood is no good.”
The air in the room turned frigid in an instant.
Team Leader Kim took a deep breath.
“Huu… There’s nothing to gain from provoking me.”
His voice barely contained his suppressed emotions.
“Just state your business.”
The Director looked at him for a moment, then reluctantly opened his mouth.
“Father says to drop this matter for now and focus on Neon Academy instead.”
“…Understood.”
Team Leader Kim bowed his head.
The Director smiled, seemingly satisfied with the response.
“Then I’ll be going.”
As he turned toward the door, he added as if something had just occurred to him.
“Ah, and I’ll handle the cleanup for this incident myself, so don’t worry about it.”
Team Leader Kim’s expression hardened.
“Well, cleaning up your mess will be a bit of a hassle, but.”
With a mocking expression, the man continued.
“You’ll just have to endure it.”
The Director said that and opened the door.
“Work hard, you lowly bastard.”
The door closed.
Team Leader Kim stood in place for a long time. His clenched fist trembled with force, but he said nothing.
***
I was back to being just an academy student again. But my mind wasn’t calm at all.
I leaned deep into the chair, legs propped up on the desk, scrolling through all the data on Prometheus Armory on the pad in my hand.
‘Hm… The structure is unusual.’
Normally, megacorps have one owner at the top. Even if they put forward a professional CEO on the surface, the real decision-maker is singular.
But Prometheus was different.
Not one owner, but three.
Officially, all three were called “Chairman.”
‘It’s less about dividing authority… and more about setting them up to check each other.’
A structure where blood relatives dominated the company.
‘Completely closed-off.’
A setup like this had only one purpose: to prevent information and power from leaking outside.
‘In a way… it might not be that strange.’
I scanned the list again. All men.
‘In a world where women hold most of the power and authority, a company dominated entirely by men…’
In this world, the core power was mostly in women’s hands.
Yet Prometheus had deliberately and thoroughly built its power structure with only men.
At that moment, the screen changed and a message appeared.
[When are you bringing the panties?]
It was Zero.
I deliberately typed a message to provoke him.
[I have to wait for the right moment. Hold on, you fat fuck.]
The response was immediate.
[This bastard…?!]
I didn’t stop.
[Some impostor pretending to be Zero is barking orders like he wants to die. You really wanna die?]
After a brief pause, the reply came.
[You won’t gain anything from pissing me off…]
[What the fuck are you talking about, you retard.]
Information Reina had leaked flashed through my mind.
Fatass, otaku, dead Dave, and nephew.
Using that, I quietly gathered more intel.
‘If he’s a pervert collecting panties, it’s highly likely he’s male.’
There are plenty of people named Dave in the world. But once conditions start piling on, the pool shrinks fast.
Body type, blood relation, gender—once narrowed down, the target becomes obvious.
‘And finding the nephew of a dead Dave isn’t hard.’
I looked down at the pad and sent one final line.
[Hey fatass, should I just barge into your class right now and beat your ass?]
This time, the reply was delayed.
A moment later, the message that appeared read:
[You must have the wrong person. You’re dead.]
The moment I saw it, I was certain.
“This fucker’s scared shitless right now.”
I immediately sent another message.
[Then it’s fine if I go beat up Lucas Carter in 2nd year right now? By the way, I’ve already looked into what kind of person I am, so you should know.]
No reply came this time.
I stood up and started walking.
Destination: 2nd-year classroom.
***
‘FUCK! How the hell did he know…?!’
Lucas’s legs kept shaking. The thought that his identity might have genuinely been exposed pressed down on his mind—not as a joke, but for real.
‘F-first, I have to deny everything!’
He immediately sent a message.
[Hey, cut the bullshit, alright?]
No reply.
The longer the silence stretched, the faster his heart pounded.
‘R-run away…’
The moment he shot up from his seat—
-Bang!
The classroom door slammed open violently.
“Who’s Lucas here?”
A commanding voice rang out, and eyes instinctively turned. At the doorway stood a ridiculously handsome guy, scanning the classroom with a cocky posture.
“I said, who’s Lucas?”
In an instant, every eye in the class locked onto Lucas.
‘B-Baek Seoyoon… this crazy bastard actually came?!’
His heart sank.
Lucas reflexively looked around. His eyes met a few guys sitting nearby.
They let out small sighs and stood up.
‘Yeah… it’s fine.’
No matter how strong the guy looked, he wasn’t alone.
‘Even if that bastard’s strong, he can’t beat Kyle.’
Kyle.
A fighter who’d wandered the back alleys from a young age to pay for his little brother’s medical bills. The guy who’d taken down ten named fighters alone in an illegal arena, only to collapse on the street unable to handle his own injuries.
That was when Lucas made the offer.
He’d cover all his brother’s treatment costs—and more money on top—if Kyle stayed by his side.
Kyle didn’t hesitate. He became Lucas’s bodyguard.
Subdermal gauntlets, reinforced tendons, reaction accelerators. He’d pushed cyberware implants to—and slightly beyond—his limits.
All funded by Lucas.
‘I even hacked the Neon Academy database with great difficulty to get Kyle enrolled.’
Thanks to that, he no longer had to live as an outcast at school like before.
Lucas felt a strange satisfaction from that fact.
‘But…’
He glanced around the classroom.
‘The problem is… no one still talks to me.’
Suddenly, a baseless emptiness washed over him.
‘No, no.’
Lucas gritted his teeth.
‘Why would I feel sad about this? I’m not an outcast.’
His hand clenched tighter.
‘These idiots just can’t understand me. I’m too far ahead, so they can’t see me at their level—that’s all.’
Muttering to convince himself, his gaze met the man standing at the front of the classroom.
Baek Seoyoon.
‘But if that bastard beat J… that’s kinda scary…’
His heart sank again, but another thought quickly pushed in.
‘No. J had been neglected for a long time, so he just got lucky.’
He forced himself to rationalize it.
Even so, his heart pounded hard once more.
‘Go! Kyle!’
***
The empty school rooftop.
“I’m sorry!”
I looked down at the fatass kneeling on the floor.
The arrogant attitude he’d shown in the classroom just moments ago was completely gone.
“Yeah, fatass.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“What were you gonna do to me again?”
Lucas’s shoulders flinched.
“Speak up.”
“I have nothing to say, hyung-nim!”
“Fatass.”
“Yes!”
“You’re definitely thinking something like this right now.”
I patted his shoulder a couple times as I continued.
“Ah, when I get home I’ll spread every piece of dirt I can find on this bastard. Let’s see him fucked. Something like that—some really nasty thoughts.”
“N-no! How could I dare!”
“Sure you wouldn’t.”
I snorted.
“Your eyes are screaming exactly that.”
I had no real intention of doing anything serious to him.
‘I just got myself a very valuable slave—no way I’m killing him.’
I opened my mouth again.
“Hey, but you were the one begging me to steal panties— mmph?!”
Lucas moved incredibly fast, clamping his hand over my mouth.
“Don’t say that here! You crazy bastard!”
I smacked the top of his head.
-Thwack!
“Argh! That hurts!”
“Don’t touch me with your filthy trotters, you pig!”
“What if someone hears?! Getting expelled won’t be the end of it!”
Lucas looked around in panic.
“Want another hit?”
When I raised my fist, he flinched hard.
“Shit… I’m supposed to be the hyung here.”
“Enough playing around.”
I leaned against the rooftop railing and tilted my head.
“How about we have a nice, honest chat now?”
“…What kind of chat.”
“What else.”
I smirked.
“Panties, obviously.”
“Panties…?”
Lucas gave me a suspicious look.
“You asked me to steal Park Nami’s panties.”
He hesitated for a second, then nodded.
“But I’ve got a question.”
I looked him up and down.
“Park Nami’s face is pretty average. There are tons of prettier girls—why her panties specifically?”
“…Th-that’s…”
“You like her?”
“Huk… how did you know!”
“I’ve got a pretty face, you know.”
I shrugged.
“I’ve dated a bit. Stuff like that is obvious at a glance.”
Honestly, before coming to this world I couldn’t even get near a girl, but Lucas had no way of knowing that.
“Damn it… I’m so jealous…”
“But if you like her, why not just confess? Why steal her panties?”
“…I already got rejected once.”
Lucas’s voice dropped completely.
“So you gave up?”
“It’s not giving up… just…”
“You’re pathetic.”
I sneered at him.
“If you’re gonna give up after one failure, you shouldn’t have approached her in the first place.”
“And besides.”
I tilted my head.
“If the honest approach doesn’t work, there are plenty of other ways—blackmail, kidnapping, training, whatever.”
“Are you insane?! How could I do something like that!”
Lucas’s eyes widened in shock.
“Says the criminal with standards.”
“…Still, blackmail and training are going too far…”
I didn’t like the pig whining, but I held back and continued.
“But was it only Park Nami’s panties you stole?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if you stole other girls’ panties too.”
“N-no…”
“Bullshit.”
I raised my fist.
“How many?”
“N-no, really—!”
“Looks like you still need more training.”
When I lifted my fist higher, he screamed.
“F-forty-seven!!”
-Thud!
“Kek! I told you! Why hit me!”
“Because you’re annoying.”
I said calmly.
“More importantly.”
I looked down at him with his head bowed.
“You didn’t touch Seoryeohwa, Baek Yeon, Lucy, or Ren’s panties, right?”
“Are you crazy?! Those girls are monsters! And Ren isn’t even my type— kek!”
“What the fuck did you just say about Ren?!”
Lucas shouted in a panic.
“My type is normal, delicate, small-chested, fragile girls!”
“Weird fucking taste. But if you ever touch any of my girls again, you’re dead.”
“I won’t! But… Baek Yeon’s your sister, isn’t she…?”
“That’s… huh?”
At that moment, I sensed presences below the rooftop. Not just one or two.
‘Discipline Committee.’
They were clearly coming up because of the commotion I’d caused. Footsteps approached quickly.
“It’s the Discipline Committee!”
The moment that shout rang out, there was no more time to hesitate.
“Fatass, sorry!”
I shouted that and sprinted toward the railing.
“Hey! Where are you going, you bastard!”
Ignoring Lucas’s yell, just before the Discipline Committee burst through the door, I lightly gripped the railing and threw myself over.
***Merry Christmas!***
