Chapter 29 – Unwanted Obsession (3)

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 29 – Unwanted Obsession (3)

The world spun round and round.

The ground I stand on is no different. Even though I’m standing on solid ground, it feels like I’m on a boat, rocking with the waves.

Why did I end up drinking so much?

I wondered about that too.

I managed to resist the strong urge to just lie down and sleep off the alcohol (forced), so I suppose that’s something.

Otherwise, I’d probably still be upstairs drinking.

If only I had installed some sort of ethanol combustion cyberware in my stomach.

But alas, there was no room left in my fragile body for such implants.

Today was a day I envied the booze hounds of cyberpunk.

That’s how strongly I felt the effects of the alcohol.

Leaving the sleeping Natasha behind, I stepped outside of No Answer.

Smith, the toothless orc, followed me out.

“You’ve had quite a lot to drink. Allow me to take you home.”

“…It’s fine.”

Ugh.

I almost vomited just pretending to be okay.

Perhaps Smith noticed my condition because he insisted once again.

“You don’t have to refuse. If Boss finds out you went home on your own, I’ll be in trouble.”

“Ugh. Haah… It’s really okay. Besides, I can just grab a taxi from here and get home quickly.”

I waved my hand dismissively.

Was it because of the alcohol?

I kept bursting into foolish laughter.

“I’ll let Boss… Natasha know that I was taken good care of by Mr. Smith.”

And at that moment, a commotion erupted from inside No Answer.

Loud voices and the sound of something crashing and tumbling mixed together.

“Hey, sounds like a fight broke out in there? Don’t worry about me and hurry in to see what’s going on.”

“…Hmm, I appreciate your consideration, Mr. Shun. Please inform Boss for me.”

“Of course.”

Confirming my response, Smith moved his massive body back into No Answer.

Even as he went inside, he kept looking back at me as if to escort me further.

Why make a fuss about going home?

I couldn’t understand it.

“Eve, can you call a taxi for me?”

[Confirmed.]

“Haah.”

I took a deep breath.

The air coming through the mask felt cold.

Since it was late and I was in the lower district, the taxi fare would probably be double.

But it was okay.

The credit coming in from the unearned revenue (Eve’s streaming) was substantial. Thanks to that, a lot of the burden regarding money disappeared.

Thanks, Eve!

Despite the location, the taxi arrived at my destination quickly.

I naturally sat in the back seat of the taxi.

I glanced at the display screen of the taxi.

The destination was correctly entered as “North Houston.”

Hmm.

I felt more nauseous once I got into the taxi.

No matter how drunk I was, I probably wouldn’t throw up, but I turned my gaze away from the thought.

Neon signs, LED lights, and holographic advertisements flashed by outside the window.

The city sparkled brightly regardless of the late hour.

Should I sleep?

No, what if I get mugged?

I yawned loudly, contemplating as we continued to drive.

“…..”

Suddenly, a sense of unease pricked at my body.

For some reason, the vehicle in the adjacent lane seemed suspicious.

A battered 4WD MPV started to stick close to the taxi I was in.

Just as I began to feel something was off about the MPV encroaching into my personal space…

The side door of the MPV swung open.

Someone with a masked face emerged, carrying a shoulder-mounted weapon.

“?”

– BANG!!

* * *

A ringing sound echoed in my ears.

I lay on the ground, gazing up at the dark sky.

Soon, the interface appeared before my eyes.

《An error has occurred. Calls to the private medical service ‘Hill & Run’ call has been interrupted.》

…What kind of error is this?

I paid a lot of money for that subscription, and if it doesn’t work when I need it, then what’s the point of subscribing?

I’ll have to cancel it for the next month.

Annoyed, I angrily shut off the screen.

[Confirming a small-scale electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that has blocked the signal, I explain.]

“Ha.”

Upon hearing Eve’s response, I rise from my seat.

Thankfully, I immediately activated a defense spell upon seeing the missile.

Otherwise, I would have been toast.

I don’t seem to have any injuries.

The taxi I was in looks completely wrecked. Flames and smoke billow from it.

The fact that I was attacked on the overpass is clear.

I assess the situation around me.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there are no other cars around besides ours.

The MPV that fired the missile stopped near me.

Several people get out of the vehicle.

Their attire looked familiar—I recognized them from the surveillance camera footage Natasha showed me.

They’re Smile John’s henchmen.

I rolled on the ground once.

My head was still spinning from the alcohol.

Nevertheless, one thing is certain: I’ve been attacked.

Smile John’s henchmen placed a hologram projector on the ground.

Next, a hologram materialized, forming the shape of a smiling emoticon, accompanied by beams of light.

【Hello! It’s Smile John!】

“…”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

【…】

I wondered if he expected a response.

“Um, well, hello.”

I responded politely for now.

I definitely didn’t use formal tone after watching the video of him shooting someone for speaking informally earlier.

I had my own reasons.

【Sorry for the sudden situation! The taxi driver was driving too enthusiastically, so we couldn’t help it!】

I couldn’t understand what nonsense he was spouting.

I didn’t take a manned taxi here.

There was no reason to entertain his nonsense, but I needed to buy some time.

I asked Smile John.

“So what’s the matter? Or rather, why are you targeting me?”

【Haha!】

Smile John laughed with an annoying tone.

It sounded like a malfunctioning TV.

【Oh, how impatient you are, jumping straight to the point without even a light icebreaker! Most people living in Neon City are like that, but wouldn’t it be nice to live a bit more leisurely?】

More nonsense followed.

I seriously wanted to punch him.

I spoke in a low voice, almost inaudible to anyone else.

“…Eve, can you track where that hologram is being projected from?”

[I’m already tracking… It is located at least 500 square kilometers away, I calculate.]

“…Hah.”

He’s quite far.

That meant tracking Smile John’s main body from here was practically impossible.

But then, Smile John suddenly asks me.

Oh, by the way. Did you just ask Eve about my location? Or hacking, perhaps? I’ve detected a hacking signal. Tsk.】

What? How?

I tried to maintain my composure.

It wasn’t because I was caught hacking.

I was puzzled by how the other party knew about Eve’s existence.

【How could I know about ‘Eve’? You seem curious. Well, how could that be?】

[Translator – Peptobismol]

The hologram spun around.

The smiling mouth grew bigger.

【This was supposed to be a secret, but actually, I created Eve.】

“…What?”

【In fact, I saw everything, including when Shun gave the AI a name. Haha!】

Who the hell is this bastard?

There was no one I could think of.

Since Eve herself was an AI that did not appear in the game, I couldn’t determine this guy’s identity any further.

To label him as a remnant of enemies from the main storyline wouldn’t fit, as Catherine and I had already rooted out their organization long ago.

It meant there was someone I missed or left behind.

But who could it be?

【I wasn’t originally interested, but then I got a bit curious!】

Smile John continued without stopping.

【When I first made her, she was just an ordinary AI. But after Shun took her, she has become almost like a super AI! Isn’t that fascinating? Haha!】

Smile John stopped spinning.

The black eyes of the emoticon turned towards me.

【But why do you hate going out so much? Thanks to you, there isn’t much information obtained, data-wise.】

Is what he’s saying true, or is it a lie?

[…Unable to verify with the contents of the database, all information related to the creator of this AI has been deleted, I deny.]

Eve also says so.

My head was spinning from the unexpected situation.

I felt the alcohol rush coming back.

【So, being almost the only super AI… I think it’s time to take it away. That’s why I came here in person!】

In person?

Hiding behind a hologram, that is.

Now, every time I see this smiling emoticon face, I start to get angry.

If I could just punch it once, as I thought earlier, it might’ve relieved some tension.

Unfortunately, cyberpunk technology didn’t allow for hitting holograms yet.

【What do you want to do? If you cooperate and hand over Eve nicely, we won’t do anything to you and just leave.】

‘Smile John.’

I still had no idea who he was.

Neither gender nor name was known.

But that wasn’t important now.

What was important now…

Was that through the conversation I carried on with Smile John, even using polite language, I gathered enough ‘mana.’

Whether it was because of the alcohol or because he said he wanted to take Eve away, I felt incredibly hot after a long time.

“Let me just say one thing.”

【Speaking informally─.】

“Fuck off.”

The whole world turned white after that.

A moment of silence.

A huge lightning bolt struck down from the sky.

━━━━

The thunder that erupted struck directly onto the overpass.

Streetlights shattered and scattered, and the city lights around disappeared in an instant.

The entire vicinity was engulfed in darkness in an instant.

I create a gust of wind to blow away the smoke.

The road in front of me is in ruins.

The MPV, Smile John’s henchmen, and even Smile John himself are nowhere to be found.

Whether they fell under the road or were shattered into pieces, I didn’t care.

It seemed like I acted too recklessly, but…

“Ah, that feels refreshing after a long time.”

The stress was relieved.

The alcohol seemed to be wearing off a bit.

“Eve.”

[I’m here.]

“Did you want to go back?”

[I absolutely deny it.]

“Is that so?”

Taking Eve away… how could they?

She’s mine.

“…”

Now, what should I do?

First, I need to call Smith and ask him to clean up the mess.

And it looked better to run away before the NCPD arrived.

If I get sued for damages due to the collapsed road by mistake, it could interfere with my happy (subjective) life in Neon City.

My face captured by surveillance cameras or black boxes will be erased by Eve as usual.

And…

Although I roughly resolved the situation for now.

This doesn’t mean my entanglement with Smile John is over.

Of course.

Eve just told me that she was tracking him, and his main body is somewhere far away.

Certainly, he’ll come back later.

……

But that’s a problem for later.

Well, somehow things will work out.

For now, I just want to go home quickly and get some sleep.

“Haah.”

I let out a deep sigh.

[Could you have suffered because of me…]

“Do I have to walk home, huh? What did you say?”

[…]

Eve fell silent.

Now, the problem was how to get down from the overpass.

* * *

The next day.

After completely sobering up, I thought I might have gone a bit overboard.

《This is NCB24 News. Last night, a strong lightning strike occurred in the business district. It can be confirmed that there are holes in the city’s defenses. The City Security Department announced that the city’s defense systems are functioning normally, but there is widespread public doubt about the city’s safety. As doubts arise about whether such incidents are physically possible, experts say─》

“…”

I turned on the news.

[Translator – Peptobismol]