How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

39. Dungeon

Shining Star’s request has been successfully completed.

The rising star of the New Human Federation was very happy to regain her old self. I requested it with the feeling of catching straw, but it seems that I did not expect much. When asked why that ugly body is so precious, he answered like a rock singer.

“No matter how bright the stage is, it’s not as beautiful as the memories.”

In addition to 9,000 credits, I received an autographed album, an autographed T-shirt, and an autographed cheering rod as gifts. Leonard would rather have an energy bar, but he didn’t refuse because Max was delighted, like a puppy back home.

“It is much better than rumors. I hope to see you more often in the future.”

“If you see a solver often, it’s not a good life. Well, that’s great, though.”

Shining Star smiled and got up. The bodyguard opened the door after showing white implant fangs. It seems that the last hacking incident left him with bad feelings. It wasn’t really a pity. Max, who had no interest in the circumstances of the adults, eagerly sent them off.

“come again! Always welcome! Our office door is always open!”

“It’s my house, why do you open it?”

Leonard confirmed that the customer had left 11-1 and buried himself on the sofa. Laughter came out when the front seat of the credit account was changed. It wasn’t a very healthy smile. Sigma said as he put away his coffee cup.

“Are you okay?”

“what?”

“The number of requests this year has increased by 2.2 times compared to last year. Apart from the implant body, mental fatigue cannot be ignored. If you need professional advice, I can help.”

“yes? Did I install a counseling program?”

It was a question, not a bruise. Sigma didn’t answer and spun the wheel. It has self-learning ability, so it seems that it learned by weaving somewhere. Leonard looked up at the ceiling and murmured.

“Well, when you rest, you should rest.”

The military family looked at each other.

‘It’s a gambling house, right?’

‘It’s a gambling place.’

Other than that, he seemed to have no hobbies. It was a bad prejudice.

@

Contrary to the expectations of the Unpaid Workers Combi, it was not a gambling den.

Leonard resisted the temptation of Jack Turner guarding the second floor connecting corridor and moved to 10-9 Avenue. It wasn’t a den of classy entrepreneurs who spent tens of thousands of credits a day for maintaining dignity, but it was the beginning of White Town, where people like educated people gathered.

Rows of green trees were planted under skyscrapers, hologram advertisements flashed next to well-lit streetlights, and corporate public security and tactical robots owned by corporations greeted with ‘laughs’.

“Welcome to. This is White Town. Stealing a vehicle, using an illegal weapon, or damaging corporate property can result in instant death. Welcome to. This is White Town.”

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Junk Town’s fixer, Leonard Walker, was alien to White Town. The coat that looked like it had been aged for about three months in a trash can, and the shirt and shorts that looked like it had been used as a foot wipe, looked better at the manhole in the back alley where electronic drugs rolled than the green lawn of Dome Plaza.

Indeed, a public security agent who suspected him of being an anti-corporate terrorist unexpectedly questioned him. There was nothing to be caught. Even so, he was a regular citizen with a social security number. Even the implant body under the wrapping paper was of the highest quality.

“Private detective?”

The public security agent’s mechanical eyes have changed bizarrely. The job of the viewed profile was unfamiliar. A coworker next to him whispered softly.

“You’re the fixer.”

“Damn it…”

Not many people liked the fixer. As a public security agent, it was only slightly better than a gangster. Doubt was natural.

“What is the fixer doing here?”

“I’m just passing by.”

“just?”

“After thinking about my hometown.”

“What bullshit?”

There was no obligation to speak there. Leonard shrugged, and the security guard frowned and motioned away. You couldn’t arrest him for not liking his job.

Leonard passed a few streets and came to a small above-ground park. In fact, ‘ground’ and ‘park’ were as strange words as good gangsters and rich scavengers. Pollutants from the days of the Great War were pouring down in the wind and rain, but no one took a leisurely walk outdoors. However, the excellent technology and enormous credit of the company made it possible.

Leonard sat down on the bench and tilted his head. White clouds floated in the clear sky, and flocks of migratory birds flapped their wings vigorously. Vibrant blades of grass tickled my ankles, and the delicate scent of flowers stimulated my olfactory sensor. I felt at ease. Even if all of this is fake.

‘It’s the same as the underground city.’

It was a hologram directed by clouds and a dome ceiling decorated like the sky. The wind blowing intermittently and the scent of flowers in it were also fake. The real thing is about a blade of grass that can be touched with your hands, but it was also artificially grown on a suburban dome farm.

“Can you believe this case? yes! It was confirmed by the planning department!”

“Shall we go in for dinner? I found a good Asian restaurant…”

“mom! mom! Look at this! Karruk-!”

Leonard put his hands behind the bench and looked at the citizens of Whitetown. There was one more thing like hometown. It was a family that had been together for 30 years but never belonged to. I felt friendly and awkward at the same time.

‘That’s not real either…’

For former Hexagon, ‘Real’ was an interesting word. There was no comedy about a swindler who hacks people’s five senses and cares about reality. And now it was the turn of the century. ‘Real’ was more terrible and cruel than I thought. After a day, I got a chance to check it out.

@

Early in the morning, I got a call from my broker, Jake. I thought it was a contract for Junk Hill 18-8 Avenue Hotel, but it wasn’t.

“A request from the wasteland?”

-yes.

“Head Town, Wing Town, what, not that way?”

-Dig your ears and listen carefully. badlands. It’s a wasteland!

There was no need to pierce the ear canal. The auditory module was operating normally.

“Who is the client?”

– I also only communicated. I don’t know anything other than ‘Old Man’.

“…Can you believe it?”

-Credits are not lies. That’s 4,000 credits.

The order fee was ambiguous. It wasn’t a small pay, but considering the cost of a business trip to the wasteland, it wasn’t too much. Besides, the terms of the request were strange.

“A professional hacker who can hack pre-war equipment, I have no idea what’s going on?”

-Well, didn’t you find an antique? no time tell me quickly Will you do it or not?

I was a bit worried. In the past, I would have refused such a suspicious request, but it was not easy now that the economy of Junk Town died due to gang wars. A goddess of luck like Shining Star will not come often.

“Where can I go?”

– Now sent.

The broker sent the data and hung up right away. 1 minute 12 seconds. It was unreasonable to be bald. The decrease in requests seems to be the same for fixer brokers.

‘Because hackers aren’t common.’

There was no person in charge other than Leonard. Leonard transmitted the brainchip’s data to a TV monitor for both the mechanical and human assistants to view. Anyway, it was all an old satellite image and two lines of coordinates.

“Do you know where it is?”

“Nope! Not at all!”

Max snorted and said confidently. I didn’t even look at it because I didn’t expect it. Sigma’s eyes blinked quickly. I was retrieving data from the secondary storage device, and for some reason it seemed to click.

“The area searched for with the current coordinates is the former Third Continental Federation military base.”

“now?”

“On July 11, 2053, New Bleeton City was destroyed in a nuclear attack. If the facility remains, it is presumed to be an underground air-raid shelter.”

It doesn’t seem like a wasteland without anything. The reason for finding the hacker was also roughly guessed.

“It’s a dungeon.”

“Dungeon? Are you in the game?”

“Well, similar.”

Its original meaning is an underground warehouse of a medieval castle, but in the game, it was described as an underground facility, laboratory, and ruins made by ancient people. Ironically, at the end of the 21st century, it has become similar to games.

“The underground facilities before the Great War are called dungeons. Places like subways, air-raid shelters, and drainage facilities.”

“Then do you have any treasures?”

Max’s eyes twinkled. Looking at that, he was still a 10-year-old boy. Leonard answered dryly.

“Sometimes.”

There were signs of war for several years, and it was common for people to regard the value of civilization as goods and records. Precious metals and artworks were moved to underground bunkers for storage. They never dreamed that the war would destroy 87% of the earth.

“Right after the war, surviving was the priority, so I didn’t pack art that I couldn’t even eat. It was left in an underground facility.”

“wow! wow! Wow-!”

Max was excited like a pirate who found a treasure map. Leonard threw a bag of clothes to cool off.

“At some point after land reclamation is over, will it still be there? I have found everything I can find.”

“I couldn’t find them all. Then there’s no reason to hire Mr. Leonard, right?”

It hadn’t been revealed that it was a dungeon yet, but I felt like a treasure hunter. With excitement, I picked up weapons and clothes. So, I belatedly asked the really important question.

“Then why are you taking the clothes?”

Leonard put the revolver in his shoulder holster and grabbed a handful of lollipops.

“It’s not a day trip.”

@

The wasteland outside the city was largely divided into three districts.

It was a federal country where corporate armed convoys traveled, a polluted area infested with mutant monsters, and a ruined city with remnants of the old mankind. The suburbs called Head Town and Wing Town were included in federal highways, and the sewage plant where wastewater was dumped was a polluted area close to the city. The ruins of the Old Man were far away, more than a day away.

“why?”

“Cities are places to consume.”

The purpose of early land reclamation was to acquire resources. The old ruins, with nothing left but concrete, were worthless. A-044 City was also an underground coal mine that pumped natural gas before it was urbanized.

“Where are you going now?”

“New Bleton City. Before the war, it was one of the largest cities in the Third Continent.”

Leonard wiped the dust off the windshield with the wiper. There were no buildings blocking the wind, so it was more polluted than downtown. I was worried about Max, the living person.

“Did you bring a gas mask?”

“Should I write again?”

“If you have credit for the implant, you don’t have to use it.”

Max grunted and kicked his gas mask bag against his side. Even though I complained, I listened well.

As the old city neared, the old ruins multiplied. A rusty car, an outdoor sign with peeling paint, a skeleton gas station building, and so on. The roads are not in good condition, but there were no obstacles blocking the way, as if the bandit often went there. After driving another hour and a half, we arrived at the TCA (Third Continent Army) facility on the outskirts of New Bleeton City. It was the destination of this quest.