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Chapter 31

Currently, I find myself in a dark alley in the harbor district. There are no cameras here, and the street itself is obscured by buildings, so there’s no light coming in.

Number 26, nestled in my arms, emitted a feeling of discomfort.

｢It’s stuffy.｣

[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ (just bear with it a bit.)]

｢Yeah.｣

I petted the little guy to calm it down and looked out into the alley. In the distance, beneath the artificially created night sky from the massive dome-shaped screen, the lights from advertisements were dazzlingly chaotic. It may look glamorous on the surface, but I knew well what this city was really like.

‘It’s a sick place.’

It may not be as significant as the ‘Earth’, which serves as MegaCorp’s capital, but this place is no ordinary interdimensional landscape. There are plenty of people who treat human lives like flies, and individuals driven to heinous crimes by hedonism are abundant.

While many come here for tourism or job opportunities, it’s also a place where many depart, but not by choice. That’s the T&C Special Economic Zone for you.

‘So that’s why I chose this place. Now, where should I start?’

This cosmic city is divided into five zones: the Eastern Harbor District, the Western Residential District, the Southern Entertainment District, the Northern Commercial District, and finally, the Central Administrative District that oversees all the zones.

Among them, the two least secure areas are the Entertainment District and the Residential District.

In the Entertainment District, there are places where MegaCorp citizens indulge their secret desires with ’employed’ slaves. Just like the surveillance is lax in real life due to the preferences of high-ranking individuals, it’s the same here. There are hardly any surveillance cameras, but combat androids roam around, apprehending criminals.

Androids are formidable opponents, so I can’t go to the Entertainment District right now. The zone I need to go to is somewhere else.

‘The Residential District.’

Although it’s called the Residential District, it’s more like a slum in reality. It’s where the middle to lower-tier MegaCorp employees and alien races with jobs in this city mainly reside. It’s difficult to call it a safe place, even in empty words. Any city with a concentration of the poor tends to have weak security.

Furthermore, residents of the Residential District tend to spend their daily earnings extravagantly in the Entertainment District. Since many of them live for the day, they won’t think too much if someone from the next-door disappears. As long as you’re cautious of the police and androids patrolling, there shouldn’t be any major issues with gradual growth.

‘Alright, I’ve decided where to go. Now, how to get there.’

There are limitations to moving only through narrow streets. Unlike research stations, the space city is well-equipped with security facilities, and there are many androids patrolling.

A place where you can go anywhere in the city without catching anyone’s eye. I know two routes that meet this criterion precisely.

‘The sewer and the underground subway.’

Both of them are essential facilities responsible for water and transportation, created when the space city was built. As facilities that handle the vital elements of life, water and transportation, they essentially serve as the city’s bloodstream.

‘If it were a game, I’d go through the sewer, but it might be tough in reality.’

Since you can’t extract water in space, this place relies on two methods to supply water to the residents: recycling sewage and periodic water shipments from the outside. In the game, this is just background information, but here, it’s real. The sewage system is likely to be under much higher levels of management than what I know.

‘Unfortunately, let’s go through the underground subway.’

I moved along with Number 26. Sometimes we walked through dim alleyways, and other times we crossed rooftops. In the central administrative district, there are many tall buildings, so someone might catch sight of me, but in this harbor district, there are no high-rises. People on the streets had no clue about what was passing above their heads.

‘Let’s see. The passage should be around here.’

Of course, I had no intention of walking into the entrance of the subway station. Androids and surveillance cameras guard it, and entering there would surely cause a commotion.

I’ve infiltrated this place over a hundred times. While I haven’t always used the same route, there’s a secret passage I frequented the most. Originally, it was a kind of side alley used by the workers who were constructing the railway, but it has been forgotten in people’s memories since the railway was completed.

‘At least this place is mine.’

I muttered to myself as I lifted the rusty manhole cover in front of me.

This place, located at the border of the harbor district, is my own little passage.

***

Among MegaCorp’s noble capital families, the T&C Clan had a particularly strong business-oriented character.

This was not surprising considering that the T&C Clan had its origins in an insurance company located in a city once known as New York.

Perhaps that was why.

The motto of the royal family of Earth, the T&C Clan, was as follows:

‘To stand in one place, one must keep running.’

The Red Queen effect, frequently mentioned in business management, was their survival philosophy. Just as the Yujin family had become kings of Earth through genetic research, the T&C Clan also had a field they focused on for the prosperity of their family.

Space colonization.

Instead of dividing and eating the pie inside, they aimed to increase the size of the pie itself. In pursuit of this goal, they invested significant credits in artificial habitat construction and terraforming technology development.

Initially, they started with space stations within the solar system, then expanded their reach through Mars terraforming and orbital habitat construction. One of the fruits of their efforts is the Space Colony T&C Special Economic Zone, located in outer space.

Planned as a trade hub connecting the solar system and outer space, the T&C Special Economic Zone boasts an astonishing size, with a diameter of up to 60 kilometers. While it is now the oldest space colony, it still holds significant influence due to its symbolism as the first space city.

Thanks to this, even today, countless alien races visit this place to see the historic structure created by humanity.

The office of the contraband animal surveillance team located in the harbor district was noisy today, filled with the sounds of smuggled animals.

“I’m leaving first.”

“Hey, Ras, you crazy bastard! We’re all about to lose it because of those Mountain Crawler bastards, and you’re leaving?”

“I don’t do overtime. Everyone, do your job.”

“What a selfish jerk!”

Ras replied by waving his hand to the team leader who was swearing behind him.

Above his head, a black night sky created by AI adorned the building.

Processed starlight, artificial lights emitted by various billboards, and people wandering the streets like fireflies following that light. Ras willingly blended into the welcoming ambiance of those lights.

‘Who should I play with today?’

Having arrived in the entertainment district via the subway, Ras pressed the digital ordering panel in front of the special entertainment establishment. A hologram appeared in the air, displaying the faces and personal histories of the staff the shop offered, along with their service details.

This was a place where MegaCorp officially ’employed’ individuals to provide special services. It was a place where customers had to obey any request. For someone, it was hell, but for someone else, it was paradise – that was the special entertainment establishment.

‘I’ll take her.’

Ras picked a woman who looked like a coworker. He didn’t feel particularly guilty. He was well aware that the coworker was a regular here anyway.

With a whistle, Ras entered the shop.

Two hours later.

Ras stood in the bathroom of the establishment, washing his blood-stained hands. He occasionally enjoyed this ritual, even though he had replaced his arms with mechanical ones.

Blood and oil, emanating from a living being’s body.

Of course, when blood dries, it smells, and oil can get greasy, so he needed to clean up properly.

‘Was that a bit too much?’

Ras glanced briefly towards the bedroom. The white sheets on the bed were now stained red.

He thought about tidying up a bit and leaving, but then he shook his head. The scattered ‘remains’ would be cleaned up by the shop. That’s what the money was for, after all.

With a refreshed face, Ras left the shop and suddenly felt like having a drink.

‘Let’s have a drink before bed.’

Thinking it was not a bad choice, he bought a few bottles of synthetic liquor and headed for the residential district.

As soon as he exited the subway station, he was met with silence. Unlike the entertainment district, which was noisy due to neon signs, the residential district was quiet.

If he were an upper capital, he would live in the buildings in the administrative district and the upscale residences, but Ras was a low capital. It was better than sleeping in a sleep capsule, but there wasn’t much difference between the residential district and the non-capital residences.

It wasn’t exactly comfortable. The dim and dirty apartment, along with poor security, led Ras and his team to dub the place as a ‘chicken coop.’

“Damn it! Who broke another streetlight?”

Normally, the streetlights should illuminate the streets, but they were all smashed in various places. They would probably be repaired in a few days, but the fact that Ras had to walk through these dark streets until then annoyed him.

Grumbling, Ras took a flashlight from his bag. Light emanated from the end of the flashlight, illuminating his path.

Crunch! crunch!

The sound of stepping on broken glass shattered the stillness of the residential district. It was a route he walked regularly, but today, he had an odd feeling.

“What’s this smell?”

An unpleasant odor wafted up from the road. Ras thought a sewer might have burst, and just then, he noticed a manhole cover.

The manhole cover, usually closed, was slightly ajar.

‘These idiots should’ve closed it if they were doing construction.’

Ras muttered while pinching his nose and walked past it.

Though he was already quite far from the manhole, the smell didn’t dissipate. It seemed like the entire street was filled with an ominous odor.

Something was wrong.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but Ras had a sense that something bad was happening. The smell and the eerie darkness made his steps involuntarily quicken.

He was practically running to his home when he spotted something in the middle of the road.

“Fuck!”

Startled, Ras shouted a profanity-laced cry. The sound of his cry seemed to reach the person who had been in the darkness.

It was a young man.

“Damn, I thought you were a ghost.”

For a moment, Ras had thought he was a monster, but it turned out to be a person. Relieved, he took a closer look at the man.

The man was wearing work clothes, suggesting that he worked in the harbor district. With an ordinary face, he had a red-like ball attached to his side.

‘What the fuck is he doing?’

Ras felt a sense of unease about the man for some reason. Until he arrived, this place had been a pitch-black wasteland. Seeing someone standing still in such a place, holding that strange ball-like object, was suspicious.

“What are you doing?”

“Just heading home.”

The young man responded calmly with a flat tone. His voice seemed entirely ordinary compared to his actions, which somewhat reassured Ras.

“Ahem, Be careful. Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“It’s quite dark, so I thought we could walk together.”

Ras hesitated at the man’s request. He wasn’t thrilled about walking with this unsettling guy, but given the darkness of the street, he eventually agreed.

“…Follow me.”

“Thank you.”

As the man followed him, they set off again down the quiet street. While walking in silence, the man behind him spoke up.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“You’re a cyborg, right?”

“…Well, yes.”

“I see.”

With that statement, the man fell silent.

‘What the hell?’ Ras thought. Was this guy trying to discriminate against cyborgs in MegaCorp? He was about to say something when a strange smell once again tickled his nose.

It was much stronger and more unpleasant than before. Somehow, the smell seemed to be creeping in from behind Ras.

“…”

Ras had been about to curse, but he stopped himself and glanced briefly behind him. When he saw the man, he felt a chilling sensation down his spine.

The man following him wasn’t looking at the light. He didn’t even blink; he was staring directly at Ras.

That alone sent shivers down Ras’s spine, but then he noticed something more.

The red ball attached to the man’s arm was squirming.

‘Damn it!’

He had heard stories before. Among the upper capitals, there were some lunatics who kept only a person’s head alive and played with it.

Coincidence? The object the man was holding was about the size of a human head.

With that thought, Ras couldn’t take it anymore. His home wasn’t far. He left the man behind and began to run.

“Pant, pant, pant…”

When he looked back, the man was still standing in the darkness. It was pitch-black, making it almost impossible to recognize, but Ras could feel it.

The man gazed at him with an expressionless face. Fortunately, nothing happened until Ras reached his home.

Whether it was due to running or fear, Ras’s clothes were soaked with sweat. The urge to drink was long gone, but he was thirsty. Ras uncapped the synthetic liquor, which was dripping with cold water.

He took a long gulp, the heat and tingle spreading from his throat to his entire body.

“…Ugh, I’ll have to report you tomorrow.”

Perhaps due to the influence of alcohol, or maybe because the tension was slowly dissipating, Ras let out a relieved sigh as he realized he had finally arrived home.

“…Ugh, shitty neighborhood. I’ll have to go somewhere else when I save up.”

Muttering about an unattainable dream, he turned on the old virtual TV. The narrow room suddenly became noisy, and a feeling of unease intensified.

Ras approached the window and looked outside. It was pitch black, and there was no sign of anyone.

***

‘He’s gone.’

The cyborg had dashed away for some reason. Ras had a vague idea of why.

‘A subtle sense of discomfort.’

He didn’t outright know I was a monster, but he seemed to sense that something was different. If he had sensitive senses, he might have faintly perceived the subtle chemical signals in my pheromones.

Still, the purpose of my mimicry organs was simply to make it easier to ambush. I had no intention of interacting with humans. This level of adaptation was sufficient.

｢He’s scared of me.｣

[Zzzzzzzzz (Why is that?)]

｢I don’t know.｣

The cyborg seemed to have reservations about me as well, but what had the greatest impact on his heart rate was Number 26. When he glanced at that one, his heart rate reached its highest point.

‘Why would he be so scared of Number 26?’

It’s the first time I’ve seen someone fear Bubble Amoebas, the mascots of healing. Of course, Number 26 is a mutant, but it looks exactly like other Bubble Amoebas, so there shouldn’t be any reason to fear it.

It’s strange how this cute little creature could be terrifying. Cyborgs are truly incomprehensible.

‘Speaking of which, did he say he was a cyborg?’

After the Psyonium effect wore off, I returned to my current metamorph state. To evolve into an Pre-saint, I need to consume one more cyborg.

‘That’s great, I just needed that.’

He may not know it, but I’ve already pinpointed which house he entered. The lingering scent he left behind as he fled still lingers in the air.