[Eliminating unauthorized intruder.]
The turret's mechanical voice issued a warning at me.
After hearing that warning, what could I do in this situation?
Run out while dodging bullets and get turned into a beehive.
Or hole up in the laboratory and wait for the turrets to reboot.
"Ah, fuck!"
I didn't hesitate and ran.
If I was going to waste time thinking, it was better to take even one step forward.
[Power restoration complete.]
[Target Lock-On. Immediate Elimination Mode activated.]
Red lasers from the turrets aimed all over my body.
Even then, I didn't stop.
"Fuck!"
The instant the barrel of the turret closest to me began spinning furiously.
[The Nanomachine has synchronized with the user.]
[Assimilation Rate : 98.7%]
[Nanomachine activated.]
[Emergency situation detected for user.]
[Automatically activating Neural Acceleration.]
An emotionless voice stabbed into my ears.
Tingle—.
I felt electricity coursing through my entire body, and time around me began flowing extremely slowly.
'Huh?'
I faltered in confusion.
Then countless translucent blue windows flooded my vision, spewing out information.
[Evantech Security Turret.]
[Uses 20×102mm ammunition.]
[Rate of Fire : 1020 RPM.]
[Operating on emergency power.]
Lines listing the turret's manufacturer and various other information.
As I skimmed over them, the voice spoke again.
[Hackable devices identified.]
[Hack hostile devices?]
In that instant, several of the many turrets were highlighted green.
I shouted without even thinking.
"Hack them!"
The moment I answered, a faint pulse spread outward from me like a wave.
CLICK—.
The turrets highlighted green rotated their barrels.
RATATATAT—!
They immediately began firing indiscriminately at the surrounding turrets, and the turrets that were shredded to pieces in an instant drooped lifelessly.
[Neural Acceleration ended.]
At the same time, strength drained from my body and I felt time return to its normal flow.
[Turret power source disconnected.]
[Rebooting....... Failed.]
[Security System shutting down.]
Apparently my plan had succeeded, because the remaining turrets lost their lights and stopped moving.
"Phew......."
Relieved, I sank down onto the floor.
"Mister! Are you okay?!"
"Young man! Are you unharmed?"
A little while later, the old man and Berry came running over.
"Thank goodness you're safe."
"I'm sorry we're late......."
Berry timidly approached me.
SWISH—.
I reached out and placed my hand on her head.
"I'm fine, so don't worry."
"But...... Mister, your eyes look weird."
"Huh?"
Still sitting, I looked toward a nearby glass window.
My irises, unlike before, now carried a faint bluish tint.
Inside them, something glittered like machinery.
'Good. Looks like it's working properly.'
The voice I'd heard earlier.
That was probably proof that the Nanomachine was functioning.
And judging by the fact that Neural Acceleration, which only worked when the Assimilation Rate was above 90%, had activated too.
'I seriously rolled a lucky character.'
The old man leaned against the wall beside me.
"Was the mission a success?"
"More or less."
The first Nanomachine fragment.
Now I knew that 'Mind' was functioning normally.
All that remained was to get out safely.
"Shall we go?"
"Very well."
"Okay!"
We walked toward the main entrance.
All those turrets and security systems?
[Hacking System activated.]
[Security vulnerability detected in target device.]
[Hack complete.]
It was even easier than eating cold porridge.
'At this rate, if I collect all of them.......'
My current Assimilation Rate was so high that I almost felt sorry for every character I'd raised before.
An inexplicable rush of exhilaration welled up inside me.
"All right, let's go!"
We strode proudly out through the laboratory's main entrance.
"It's a shame we couldn't take any of those machines with us."
I could hear the regret in the old man's voice as he looked back at the laboratory.
I felt the same way, but taking something like that back with us would only cause trouble.
"If we bring back something with a questionable origin, everyone will come running at us. It's dangerous."
"Hm. You're right. Those corporate bastards would never leave us alone."
The old man gave a quiet snort and looked around.
We couldn't exactly return empty-handed.
Just then, Berry patted her own sack proudly with a smug grin.
"Hehe, Grandpa! Want me to share some?"
Was it because of Material Greed, one of the stats she'd gained from Pillager Compression?
It looked like Berry had swept up scrap metal from the laboratory.
'And stuff like this is common enough on the surface too.'
We wouldn't have to worry about anyone questioning where it came from.
From now on, you're not Berry.
You're a metal detector.
"Mister, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
***
[Government-Certified Exchange]
[Iron Company]
We entered an exchange office with signs like those hanging outside.
This was where Miners sold scrap metal and other goods in exchange for money.
Originally, there hadn't been anything special here.
Had things changed over the twenty years that had passed?
If so, some of the information I knew might have changed too.
'I should look into that.'
Anyway, the place was packed with people when we went inside.
Must've been the after-work crowd.
"Hold on. There's something strange in your goods."
"W-What?!"
"You can't put rocks in with them."
"There's something wrong with this scale!"
"Help us first over here!"
It was one of the few government-certified exchanges, so the place was incredibly noisy.
You might get more money at an illegal operation elsewhere, but there was a reason those places were illegal.
One stroke of bad luck and you'd be going straight to prison.
"Welcome."
An employee who made eye contact with me greeted us and walked over.
She guided us to an empty scale.
"We just put the goods on here, right?"
"Yes."
THUD—.
We placed all our sacks on the scale at once.
"Nothing unusual......."
The employee fiddled with the scale for a bit, and the weight soon appeared.
"Take this to the counter and exchange it."
"Okay."
We took the receipt printed by the scale and headed to the counter.
"For 24.5kg of scrap metal, that's 15 Gold and 80 Silver."
The friendly employee greeted us with a smile.
"After deducting the 80 Silver service fee, your total comes to 15 Gold!"
Are you a bunch of crooks?
What kind of fee is 80 Silver?
I grumbled inwardly, but answered.
"Ah, okay."
"Would you like it on a chip or transferred to an account?"
"On a chip, please."
"Of course! Thank you for using our service~."
We took the chip she handed us and left the crowded exchange.
'Roughly ten thousand won per Gold, and 100 Silver equals one Gold.......'
Today's pay came to 150,000 won.
Split three ways, that was 50,000 won each.
We'd spent the entire day working somewhere dangerous.
'That's not even minimum wage.'
That was what I was thinking, but the old man and Berry seemed to feel differently.
"Fifteen Gold in one day. That's not bad."
"I've never seen this much money in my life!"
I handed the chip to the old man.
"I'll leave the party funds to you."
"Just trust me."
The old man answered proudly.
I chuckled and looked at the two of them.
"Then we still have one thing left to do, right?"
"Hm? What else is there?"
"We're doing all this just to make a living. We should actually eat."
Berry beamed and shouted.
"Yay! Food!"
"I'll show you to a restaurant."
"Let's go!"
I smiled faintly and followed after the two of them.
'I think we can afford this much.'
We headed to a restaurant to relax after the day's work.
[You have consumed soup made with 'Tilapia.']
[Satiety increases by 25%.]
'Wow, this is good.'
Food made from a monster fish.
Was whoever came up with this menu a genius?
I scraped the bowl clean.
"It's delicious!"
"Eat as much as you like."
The old man and Berry continued eating.
Having finished first, I sank into thought.
'Tomorrow is the Miners' weekend.'
There wasn't any grand reason to head to the surface immediately on the weekend.
Rest, in its own way, was an extension of work.
I organized what I needed to do in Paradise tomorrow.
'First, I should go to the workshop.'
I had to repay the debt.
After that, the place I needed to go was.
'I should definitely go to the Quest House.'
If you're going to play, you might as well play in the big leagues.
***
Paradise's sky, Eternal Sky.
Its LEDs flickered, announcing the morning.
"Yaaawn......."
I yawned as I got ready to head out.
"Where are you going so early on a day off?"
"I'm going to stop by that workshop from before."
"Be careful."
"Yes, sir."
I patted the sleeping Berry's head, took the chip containing our money, and stepped outside.
BANG, BANG—.
It was early in the morning, but I didn't hesitate to knock on the crow workshop's door.
"Uh...... customer? This early in the morning......."
The same employee from last time opened the door.
Judging by her messy hair, she must've lived and slept here.
"I'm here to repay my debt."
I smiled as I stepped into the workshop.
"How much do I owe?"
"......One moment."
The employee busily rummaged through a drawer.
A moment later, she spoke.
"Five Gold and 60 Silver."
Money I'd worked so hard to earn.
With trembling hands, I handed over my precious money.
"Six Gold received."
She answered, then took out a chip containing 40 Silver and was about to hand it back.
"Wait."
At that moment, the inner door of the workshop opened and the crow-masked figure stepped out.
"Not debt."
"......?"
I looked at the masked figure, wondering whether there was something they wanted to say.
"Request. Do."
"So forget the debt and do one job for you?"
I asked the employee again.
"Y-Yes. That's what the boss means."
"What kind of request?"
Clack—.
The masked figure held out a chip.
It seemed to contain information.
"Important. Check."
"The boss says it contains important information, so please check it."
I accepted the chip.
To check it, I'd either have to plug the chip into my body.
Or use a terminal.
I had neither.
"I don't have a terminal."
"We'll give you one of ours."
"Wait. Over here."
The masked figure and the employee huddled together and whispered.
"The boss says if you complete the request, the debt will be forgiven and you'll receive a separate reward."
"What if I fail?"
"The debt will still be forgiven."
Just hearing the terms, it sounded too good.
"Let me check it first."
"No. If you check it, you have to accept."
The employee answered firmly.
I clicked my tongue and practically snatched the terminal from her.
"So you'll take the request?"
"Well, yes."
There was no downside to getting friendly with people from a workshop.
If I kept taking jobs from them and built a relationship, I might even get various discounts later.
'Let's just check it.'
That was something to think about after I actually succeeded.
CLICK—.
I inserted the chip into the wristwatch-shaped terminal, and the device flashed.
[Chip registration complete.]
[Scanning information.]
A hologram indicating it was loading appeared.
A moment later.
"You want me to do this?"
After reading all the information, I got angry.
Why?
[Collect an Android Core belonging to Pentatech.]
[Core must be from at least a D-Grade Android.]
Pentatech.
One of the Seven Major Corporations of Paradise.
Could this really be the same company I knew?
Just in case, I asked.
"You mean the Pentatech I know?"
"Yes. The major corporation, Pentatech."
"Hah."
I stared at the employee in disbelief.
'She's got a lot of nerve saying something this insane with a straight face.'
To get the Core, I'd have to smash an Android apart.
Fine.
That much was okay.
The problem was.
'You think Pentatech is just going to sit there and take it?'
This was a corporation powerful enough to walk a tightrope above the law and manipulate Paradise however it pleased.
And they wanted me to destroy one of their Androids and bring back its Core?
At that point, the genre would turn into a horror game.
"Say something that makes sense."
I tossed the terminal aside and started walking.
A request was one thing.
This crossed the line.
"50 Gold!"
"Not doing it."
Without hesitation, I opened the workshop door.
Then the masked figure shouted from behind me.
"80!"
"I said no."
I stepped outside without slowing down.
GRAB—.
The crow-masked figure closed the distance in an instant and grabbed my arm.
"One time. Please."
"You're basically telling me to go die. Forget this 'just once' crap."
I violently shook off the hand gripping my arm.
The masked figure instantly stepped in front of me.
SWISH—.
Then the figure pulled the mask halfway off.
A finely shaped jawline came into view.
So she was a woman?
'So what?'
Her mask and clothing had hidden it until now, but once she pulled the mask aside, I could clearly see it.
A strange mechanical device embedded in her neck.
"Please. I beg."
"Not my problem."
I lightly pushed her aside and stepped out.
"Pilgrim!"
The masked woman shouted the word loudly.
"Pilgrim. Know location!"
The instant I heard that, I instinctively stopped walking.
Pilgrims.
Humans who lived on the surface rather than in Paradise.
When it came to the surface, their information network surpassed even Paradise's.
And there were Hidden Pieces you could only obtain with their help.
Information related to Pilgrims was treated as Level-One Classified Information even in Paradise.
'Most Pilgrims appear at random locations. I was wondering how I was supposed to find one.'
And now a location had practically rolled itself right up to my feet.
I looked straight into the masked woman's desperate eyes.
"You should've led with information that valuable."
Now there was something worth putting on the negotiation table.
"Finally, we're speaking the same language."
I gave her a broad grin.