Darkness envelops the interior.
A vagabond, covered in scabs and dust, chuckles softly.
“…Why kidnap people? What a ridiculous question to ask!”
Red blood drips down his neck, caked with grime.
His eyes are already glazed over.
Perhaps he had overdosed on Mental Care Drugs; pleasure is evident on the face of the old vagabond.
“Naïve, dumb kid,… heh heh.”
After laughing for a while, the vagabond lifts his head.
His gaze falls on a man standing across from him as he grins, exposing yellowed teeth.
“Here in Neon City, the most abundant and useful ‘material’ is people.”
The vagabond begins to explain with an air of nonchalance, as if giving a donation.
“Let’s see. The most basic buyers are weapon manufacturers. They’re always short on test subjects. Oh, and the bioware companies are similar. They need raw materials just the same.”
His eyes gleam with madness.
He licks his blood-soaked lips and mumbles jokingly.
“But, selling to gangs is the easiest. No follow-ups to worry about, and cleanup is actually pretty tidy.”
The vagabond rocks back and forth violently.
“Heh, is that surprising? They just need a hole.”
Though his whole body is tied up with ropes, he drools out of sheer vulgarity.
Suddenly, after wriggling in the chair for a long time, the vagabond stops.
“Hey, you know how many people go missing every year, every month, every day in Neon City? A hell of a lot, right? And obviously, the lower-class areas where the great NCPD doesn’t search have even more!”
The vagabond leans forward.
His gaze pierces the standing man.
“It doesn’t matter about gender or age. These days, it’s a ‘fair world’. Doesn’t matter if it’s a kid or an adult, man or woman, credits are credits.”
He seems to be mocking.
Whether by intention or not, the vagabond curses the man.
“So, whoever you’re looking for, that person’s probably been cut up and is now being kept as someone else’s pet─.”
– Crackle!
A huge spark erupts from the man’s hand.
“……!!”
All bodily responses of the vagabond are paralyzed by the high-voltage current, and he spasms in place.
Unpleasant smells, steam, and urine seep out from his body.
The vagabond’s once-proud head droops down exhaustedly.
Silence settles in the room.
“……”
The man who just incinerated the vagabond with electricity, Lee Siwoon, silently gazes down at his body.
This was an event that occurred shortly after Maya had gone missing.
—
41. A Truth Like a Lie (6)
…This city really lacks warmth.
I glance at the kidnapped children and naturally recall Maya’s face in my mind.
A bitter unease envelops my entire body.
If Maya hadn’t received assistance from Dr. Terra, the Bioware expert, or if she hadn’t met me at all, she would still be unable to live a normal life.
And,
Even now, as she leads a normal life, those memories would remain in her heart like stains.
Plus, the ones trapped behind the glass wall are all ‘children’. They look to be about ten years old.
No matter how much the moral compass has vanished in this cyberpunk world, even if a fake kid like Bill pops up to create confusion in the world,
Children are beings that must be protected.
I cease the use of the invisibility magic.
To the children, it must have seemed like Catherine, Eve, and I just popped into existence from thin air.
Without turning my head, I ask Catherine and Eve while looking at the children.
“They all seem to be kidnapped, right?”
However, it wasn’t Catherine or Eve who answered my question.
“Ghost. It really is a ghost, right…?”
A child approaches the glass wall. Their round cheeks stick to the glass like rice cake.
First, I decide to clarify the misunderstanding.
“Hey, we’re not ghosts.”
“Not a ghost ghost!”
“…I seriously said I’m not! Look, I’m alive and moving! But you all are kidnapped, right?”
“A living ghost!”
“……”
“Ghost, ghost! Ghost punch!”
Believing in fantasies is a privilege of children.
But hearing the crazed voice of the child made my head spin slightly.
…Right. I should just play along with the vibe.
I lowered my voice a little.
Glaring ominously at the child with a gloomy atmosphere.
“…Heh heh, that’s right. I am a ghost.”
“……What? Guess it wasn’t real after all.”
Boring, the child muttered and then dashed to the bed.
The bed wasn’t in great shape either.
It was a simple structure of a mattress and fabric. However, the child stared at me like I was some fortress.
Don’t panic.
Blood is iron, heart is glass…
“……”
My heart, made of glass, merely cracked a little.
Anyway,
While I was making a ridiculous expression, Eve cautiously approached me.
“All data related to the ‘children’ subjects are categorized under ‘Magic’, ‘Mana’, and ‘Test Subject’.”
“…So, it is indeed kidnapping?”
“Statistically, it’s over 99.96%.”
That was basically saying 100%.
I never expected such things would happen in a city where citizens pay taxes.
Did the mayor know about this? Was that why he spoke such strange lies about the ‘Mana Power Plant’?
…I don’t know.
Whatever the case, I couldn’t know right now.
I approached the glass wall again.
Earlier, in my haste, I had thought of breaking the glass, but now that I thought calmly, it didn’t seem necessary.
Moreover, the glass was probably ‘tempered glass’. Unless you were the strongest man on Earth, breaking it cleanly would be nearly impossible.
I gently traced the glass wall with my fingertips.
“Eve.”
“Yes?”
“Can you maybe open this up?”
A small gap existed between the glass walls.
This must be the ‘door’.
And unless it’s a mechanical device, everything in the world doesn’t evade Eve’s hacking.
Eve nodded in response to my request.
“Signal interpretation complete, opening the wall.”
The glass wall that had been blocking the small space slowly descends to the ground.
There seemed to be around ten children.
However,
Even though the space was opened, none of the children stepped outside.
The child who earlier shouted ‘ghost’ was the exception; most of the children eyed us warily with a mix of fear.
…This is a bit troublesome.
It would be awkward to drag them out by force.
But persuading them was difficult; my persuasion skill wasn’t good at all. If I had known, I should have watched videos on ‘I’s Conversation Techniques’.
As I pondered what to do, I heard the voice of one child.
It was that girl who seemed excessively fond of ghosts earlier.
“…I don’t know who you are, but… if you aren’t a ghost, we’re not coming out.”
A rather unexpected statement.
Where in the world is there a ghost?
“…No one else can be trusted.”
However, her words carried sincerity.
Looking back, it was strange that the little one kept looking for ghosts just a moment ago.
Feeling something odd, I sorted my thoughts.
Believing that much in ghosts likely meant she had experienced some ‘event’ where ‘ghosts’ were confirmed.
And to the child, ‘ghosts’ seemed like very trustworthy beings.
In this, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
I slowly walked toward the little one.
The child, as if struggling to wrap herself in a piece of cloth that hardly counted as a blanket, slinked away slightly from my direction. Given the cramped space, she could not move far.
I spoke to her in what I hoped was the kindest voice I could manage.
“Hey there, kid. Just curious… did this so-called ghost only speak to you?”
I recalled the existence of the ‘Wizard’ who had helped Teddy and Dal from the incinerator.
That wizard was always unseen, only heard through voices.
The child’s eyes turn round.
Her big eyes blink in surprise.
“…You know about ghosts too?”
—
I listened to the little one’s simple story.
Apparently, the occasional ghost, who appears without a form, kindly helps all the children.
Whenever they cried helplessly or missed their mothers while hiding under the blankets, voices would come from somewhere.
“…I thought you were a ghost since I couldn’t see you!”
The child whispered softly.
The other little ones gathered around us, nodding in agreement.
I instinctively wanted to pat the child’s head but halted as my hand approached.
She was a fragile child, marked by many scars.
She would fear even the slightest of my gestures.
Of course, that wasn’t the case for Catherine.
“So cute.”
“…Don’t pat my head.”
“I don’t like that? I’m going to keep patting!”
“……Aww!”
Catherine gently pats the heads of all the children.
Though a few startled kids attempted to flee, none could escape Catherine’s touch.
The children didn’t seem to be entirely opposed to her affection, gazing at her with curious expressions.
Perhaps it was because Catherine was in ‘Gyeomjok Mode’, aligned with the children’s mental age. She took good care of them.
Seeing that, I thought Catherine could become a good mother… No, I quickly shook that thought away and scanned the surroundings.
First and foremost, getting the children out was a priority.
“…Hmm, what should I do.”
Ultimately, the method is the problem.
I contemplated several rescue methods.
While I was lost in thought, Eve approached me subtly.
She seemed to have something to say.
“It’s not everyone.”
“…Huh?”
So, does that mean we leave some behind?
Or are we sneaking them out one by one?
But Eve’s next sentence completely derails my predictions.
“There are multiple other ‘isolation rooms’ of the same type, not just here. Therefore, the people in this place are not ‘all’ of them.”
“…How many more are there?”
I asked, wanting to know.
With her usual calm tone, Eve continued gently.
“The number of ‘children’ detectable through surveillance cameras or data is currently 209.”
……
What the hell?
That’s an absurd amount.
With that number, even if Catherine, Eve, and I worked hard, it would be impossible.
Even if you have the legend of Neon City, the super-AI of the cyberpunk world, and just an ordinary wizard, physically, it seemed impossible.
…That leaves only one option.
“What do you plan to do?”
Eve asked calmly as if she would respect any choice I made.
I looked at Eve and also at the kids clinging to Catherine and muttered softly.
“Avengers.”
“……?”
Assemble.
First, I called the chairman.
—
A staff member guarding the Waste Heat Power Plant looked up at the sky with a blank expression.
“…Is this a dream?”
Above the sky, numerous tactical helicopters and air MPVs, along with a few air vehicles carrying personnel from the Golden Smile Condominium, hovered.
