Chapter. 10 Lead and Silver Coins (12)
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“Speed Wagon lives here?”
Along with the communication sound, Ian’s distorted face was demanding an answer from me beyond the window.
Chijik-
“Not here, but around here… I guess it’s about 105 meters ahead? Not here. hmm. “It’s a bit hard to say that this is a place where people live.”
“It’s amazing. So, you’re talking about the place where people live?”
.
.
.
.
Damn it.
When I looked at the direction Ian was pointing through the window, I felt like I had no excuse. I just closed my eyes for a
moment
and got up and slowly made my way through the desolate ruins and darkness for several hours.
After a lot of trouble, I arrived with the speed wagon. No matter how you looked at the meeting point, it was not a place where people lived.
…. Tick!
– Tick! Tick! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!
Tsk!
“Where on earth did you lead me, this bastard…?” ..”
There was no need to turn on the Geiger counter. The radioactive atmosphere was so dense that a fluorescent halo was visible to the naked eye, filling the entire area. To block this high concentration of radiation, the shield’s permeability must be reduced to 0. You have to set it to , but then even if you block the radiation, you won’t even be able to get air to breathe, so you will die soon.
Level 6 radiation zone.
Even mutants can’t live in a place like this.
Crackling –
At that time, I was wondering if I should really move forward 45 meters like this. Noise from the intercom was heard. Instead of speaking, the sound of the Geiger counter first came out instead of talking.
“Hey, Professor Park. Can you hear this? Geiger’s friend is yelling like crazy. ‘Get out of this crazy area right now. ‘Get out! There’s radioactivity! There’s radioactivity everywhere!’”
“yes.”
“Speed Wagon. Even though I’ve only watched the show a few times, I was such a big fan of your show that I could remember his name. Are you close with him?”
“….maybe?”
“So, even if I tell you to just ignore this ‘rescue signal’ and focus on our mission, you won’t even pretend to hear and will go check on it somehow?”
“Uh… well…”
It was difficult to answer easily. Why did I come here? It was to find out what was happening in this radioactive area and the trends of the Artists’ Union. In any case, for the sake of the mission, I happened to be nearby. They went to find a person believed to be an information dealer in this area.
But is that really all?
——-
‘This person is an idiot. I don’t know what he’s doing, but it’s right to filter out 80% of the knowledge about this chat room. ‘
‘How to bury your mother? …. Well, as long as you don’t kill her, just bury her with all your heart. It’s okay. I don’t have a mother either.’
‘I think I explained it well enough for you to understand.’
‘Are you an asshole? Why do you have to do that?’
‘I had a hard time.’
‘We meet separately to talk about business.’
.
.
.
.
———
The conversation with this guy that had been going on since the end of the war, when I knew nothing, flowed like a river in my head.
[Just be honest? It’s because the signal is a ‘rescue signal.’ I’m worried. That’s okay, right? Still, this guy is like a friend too.]
‘It’s embarrassing… And I can’t put my group in danger because of my personal circumstances. If I go, they’ll all follow me…’
Shake it off!
‘Us. Even though it’s an almost horizontal relationship, I’m the leader. Dealing with things emotionally in this way will have negative consequences for both of us.’
Crack-clap-clap-
[Uh, um… shell? Hey…]
‘No, it’s okay. If my guess is correct, he’s a pretty high-level intelligence dealer. There’s no way the sharpest guy in the world couldn’t get rid of me. That rescue signal must be some kind of bait to attract the enemy-‘
[No, that’s not it. Your friend. He’s already gone?]
‘…What?’
Hearing what Hyde said, I raised my head and saw a small shadow that had already jumped out far away, looking around in the green ruins, and a large shadow running after him.
“Those bastards can’t stand it…!”
As I was panicking and preparing to follow him, I saw Vex, who was looking around at the coordinates, jump up as if he had spotted something.
The hand signal that followed was a large circle with his hands. It meant that the goal had been achieved.
“The goal… was achieved.” ?”
Chijik-
“Did you find something? You two are excited to come back.”
As Ezel said, the two came back in a hurry as if someone was chasing them, and made a sign to open the door in front of the car I was in. After a moment of merging the personal shield and the vehicle shield, Ian, who came in first, immediately cursed. “ Damn it
! You idiot! It’s been several days since I promised myself to please think about it and make a move!”
Ji-ik – Soak!
“What’s wrong? I said it was okay because the results were good back then! It was good this time too, so is that a problem?”
“You jumped out so quickly that the car bubble couldn’t be repaired and opened! If I hadn’t turned on my personal shield and blocked myself with my body, even the driver’s seat would have been exposed to direct radiation! Why, at the age of 30, I was smearing shit on the wall with all kinds of radiation complications. Should I go see it?”
“Well, you found this anyway!”
The argument between the two, which continued at a rapid pace as soon as they came in, ended with Bex holding out to me what she was holding in her arms.
“Look at this, Hepburn! Isn’t this what you’ve seen a lot of times before? This is what you were looking for, right?”
Gi-Geek Gi-Geek! Weeee-ing! Giik!!
“Gigeek- Warning. You have touched another person’s private property without permission. According to World Law Article 2749-f543, this is a very serious offense and-”
Gi-Geek Gi-Geek-!
Drone. Although there are dents here and there, it is a drone with a fairly sophisticated design.
The sight of it twisting the alloy steering mechanism around like a captured bird was very familiar. It was not GG’s transport drone, but a house drone like the one Corduro uses as a terminal. House drone The presence of this meant that someone in the House was hiding out nearby, and this was the place where Speed Wagon was supposed to meet…
“No way… Speed Wagon’s drone?”
Geek-
The drone stopped struggling for a moment, rotated its body, and slowly focused its lens on me.
“…Voice- crackling- Confirm. Player ‘professor’. Are you correct?”
Gi-Geek!
“Well… I’m Professor Park, but….” Gi
-Ik!
“Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome. I serve Player ‘Speed Wagon’, and I serve you. Welcome. “I am ‘Genie,’ a top-class learning AI who serves ‘Speed Wagon.’ I will invite Player ‘professor’ and his party to my master’s residence with sincere greetings.”
When Vex
let go of his hand, the round drone started flapping its steering gear and hitting the windshield of the car as if it had been waiting. As if doing so, it would come out of the transparent glass .
As if he thought it could fly.
The expression of Vex, who had proudly held out the drone, sank slightly when he saw that
there was something clearly wrong with the drone. “…That is a learning AI, right? Same model as Corduroy. How the owner behaves. That thing that learns and moves in a perfectly suitable form.”
“Uh, that’s right. I absolutely cannot agree that Corduro copied me, but that’s what the product description says.”
Click, click, click!
Huuuu-
“….Although I don’t know the face, name, or age of the guy we came to see, he is an old friend of yours on the LAN network and, based on information, is a very smart guy who doesn’t know anything.”
“yes?”
“Then there is no way the intelligence department can’t repair a drone due to lack of money, so there is only one situation that can explain the state of that Mojiri AI.”
Ian, who had burned off a cigarette in just a few puffs, chewed the filter and spit it out, saying,
“Speed Wagon, didn’t he have dementia? Did he really die so close to natural causes that he couldn’t control his body, so he made a rescue signal?”
“It can’t be-”
“I will guide you. I will guide you. I will guide you.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“….It could be.” I swallowed the words
I
was about to refute and caught the drone that was constantly challenging the windshield of the sturdy armored truck. Seeing that, the group turned on the shield without saying a
word .
Even if it’s complicated, I would appreciate your understanding.”
In the end, our group decided to accept the invitation. According to Ian’s opinion, ‘Even if there are no elderly people with dementia, we don’t know what the condition of Area 38 is, so if there were a shelter that functioned in such a rough area, it would be useful as a safe house in an emergency.’ This was because.
When the drone called Genie was released outside, it stumbled a little and flew into the ruins. Soon, a vibration so violent that it could be felt through the tip
of one’s toes was felt. What was sticking out from the dusty ground was a half-ruined elevator that was doubtful as to its function as well as that drone. “If you die in vain like this, I will really, really, really blame you, Professor Park.
”
This was what Ezel, who was holding the handle until his hands turned white, said to me when the elevator that was going down creaked and got caught somewhere and shook. After coming down, I found myself in a
mess with the decontamination room (which had stopped functioning) and the welding machine that I often saw in large facilities like the dome. After passing through the fire shutter with a hole in it, I was finally able to arrive at a place where the familiar blue shield was functioning.
“This is…”
“Is it a library?”
From floor to ceiling. Books were packed tightly together, filling the inside of the shield like a building made of bricks. Between the books, there was a path that a small person could barely walk in and out of. “Please be quiet. In
the library.” “Let’s keep the etiquette ticket.”
“You’re talking about etiquette when you lock the door. Let’s go in first. I think I’ll have to clean up here before I can get in.”
As the professor said, he passed through the narrow gap between the piles of books and came inside. A path as narrow as the entrance was winding between books with no end in sight. Behind him, the sound of something collapsing was heard, along with the sounds of Bex and Ezel getting irritated
. “I’m sorry for not organizing it in advance. No matter how much I tell Ginny, I just come back after organizing it to fit my body type.”
A voice laughing and chuckling was heard from a corner of the quiet library. A voice full of a sense of danger, like a dying candle.
“Are you… Speed Wagon?”
“Yeah. Like you’re a professor. Nice to meet you ‘professor’.”
This neatly empty space was filled with nothing but books.
The person who smiled at him from the white bed surrounded by various water bottles was a slender woman whose illness was clearly visible at a glance.
****
Rumble-
“Puh-ha! Ah, look at the dust! “It’s a good thing I was wearing a mask.”
“Metal Joe, you needlessly grew up! You shouldn’t have just let me and Vex pass by since we are the right size! We almost got buried alive because we insisted on going first for no reason!”
Ezel stood up holding Vex’s outstretched hand and looked around at the pile of dusty books. My God. There were so many books. Just looking at the thickness of the dust flying around, I could clearly see how old these books were. At that moment, the owner of the house was looking at the damaged books. Ezel was worried about what he would do if he was asked to pay.
Oh my!
Of course, Ian, who didn’t care about such small things, kicked off the pile of books with all his might and stood up.
“Jimirel, is this a dwarf bookworm’s castle? ”
“Don’t hesitate and just get out. It seems like there’s enough movement inside.”
“It was a novel attempt for a defense facility. Hey Ezel, please blow out my eyes. There’s dust in my eyes.”
Huuuuuk-
tak!
“Ugh! Fuck, this faggot is drooling in my eyes!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been wearing a mask that sticks in my mouth for a long time, so I’m a bit drooling.”
“kill! “You know that if you beat someone to death with a book, you’re not guilty!”
Ian, furious, rubbed his eyes and felt around with his other hand. I tried to bring Ezel to his senses by picking the heaviest and weakest one, but…
“I… I’m sorry, but will you tolerate damaging the book any more than that? “That book you’re holding is a book I really like.”
Stand tall!
I woke up to the sound of a whisper-like voice passing through my ear. The three looked around with the reaction speed of a combat professional and found a dazed professor and a woman with a pale complexion. Bex and Ezel, who noticed the subtle air current flowing between the two, rushed towards the professor, passing through numerous women. Ian’s trained eyes looked at the woman on the bed.
‘Skin so transparent that bones can be seen through. Considering that there is almost no exposed muscle above the acromion, it seems that it is not because of the skin that has been trimmed, but because there is almost no external access. It’s faint, but he looks nervous… Is this shame? Shy? He seemed to be feeling burdened by his own attire, as he pulled his clothes as far back as possible to reduce exposure to the baggy patient clothes. It’s a shame. It looks like he hasn’t been able to change his clothes yet or has become so weak that he can’t change his clothes on his own.’
“Ugh! Let go, dude! “What are you doing all of a sudden-”
“Uh-huh, you defendant, shut up!”
“I have something to investigate for a moment, so please follow me quietly!”
A woman is giggling and laughing with a clearly ill look on her face as she watches the action of the professor and his two friends being dragged away.
However, even in these adverse conditions, the beauty of women could not hide its shine. No, on the contrary, she looked like she was about to collapse at any moment. Her long hair was wet and slightly sticking to her body with cold sweat, and her white, transparent skin stimulated her protective instinct and added an even more unique charm to her appearance.
“Oh my.”
Ian, who had already pushed up the corner of his mouth, joined Bex and Ezel, who had already succeeded in subduing the professor and dragging him behind the collapsed book stack near the entrance, and joined in putting the professor out of her sight for a moment.
It was very interesting to see the professor pretending to be embarrassed without knowing anything.
“What are you doing, you bastards! “Get out of shape in front of people you see for the first time!”
“Was it because of this?”
“what!”
“Why did you come back this way when the area 38 dome, the target point, was right in front of you? Even though I confirmed that it was a dangerous area and suggested retreat, I couldn’t give any reason and was conflicted. It was all because of that woman? huh? “I was upset because I was late for a date.”
With a knowing expression and a loud laugh, Ian punches the subdued professor on the forehead. Bex, who had nimbly escaped just before the angry professor snatched the back with his left hand, also came up with a similar smile.
“Kihihi Hepburn. Are you afraid we didn’t even understand that much? You shouldn’t have just said it. It’s Mr. Jesu’s problem. Are we going to stop it? “I wonder if I actively participate.”
“That’s right. I need to write today down on the calendar. Isn’t this the day that Professor Park’s under-brain, which seemed to be inactive forever, began to function properly? Hmm, if I were to evaluate it as an expert, it’s quite romantic and not bad for a start. Two people who have been sharing their feelings through writing for a long time. They could hardly approach each other, but the moment he saw her rescue signal, the man broke the cherry wall that had oppressed him his whole life and ran to her side beyond all limbs! Wow, that’s pretty cool, Professor Park! You’re flirting with an intelligence merchant! “And such a beautiful woman!”
“It’s not like that! After all, the meeting with Speed Wagon was for business purposes-”
“You seduced a woman for business purposes? Bis du deppert! Do you like something sadistic? I’ll praise you! “You skipped the basic level in an instant!”
“Oh shit! “Please!”
The professor felt unfair.
If I had to pick the most embarrassed person out of the four, it was definitely him.
It turns out that the friend with whom you shared all sorts of idiotic jokes and bullshit for five years was a sickly pretty girl?
A friend who always said [Is he an asshole?] [Are he crazy?] said, ‘Welcome~’ and greeted me with a soft voice. Who wouldn’t be embarrassed in that situation?
It’s not that I’m embarrassed, it’s that I’m truly embarrassed.
However, no matter how hard the professor tried to explain the situation, Ian and Bex covered their ears and continued to say things like how long have they been like that?
So, instead of the two who were already in interrogation mode, the professor asked for help from Ezel, who was quietly watching from behind with his arms crossed.
“Hey Ezel! Say something! You know it’s not like that! You’ve known Speed Wagon as long as I have! “If you think about it, isn’t it worse for you to just spit it out without knowing what to say or not to say?”
At my desperate revelation, Ian and Bex, who had been shaking me off like they were catching a rat, turned their heads towards Ezel. Ezel, who had been sitting quietly with his legs crossed on a pile of books, stood up.
“Of course… I’ve known them as long as the Professor and Speedwagon. “With people like Jokass, takealook, and Noru in the community, we all got along well during difficult times.”
“okay! Am I right? “We are friends with Speed Wagon to a certain extent-”
“But the professor discriminated between Speed Wagon and us.”
“….huh?”
A story that was going in a good direction suddenly took an illegal U-turn.
“At some point, that bastard trash that always called us stopped riding in the back of the speed wagon. It was replaced by the honorific title and speed wagon ‘Nim’. “Unlike us, who were subjected to verbal abuse every day, Speedwagon was given special treatment.”
“Oh my.”
“I don’t think their relationship lasted long either. However, seeing as how the professor’s treatment has changed since he started engaging in outside activities… I wonder if the guy’s cool appearance has ignited a fire. Honestly, the current professor is a superstar. If he walks down the street in Dome, there will be a truckload of female fans who will take off their underwear and run at him. “A man is capable.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Ezel! “Unlike you useless poisonous mushrooms, Speed Wagon always provides quality information and helps me-” “
Thank you for your sharp and reasonable testimony, worthy of the inspection department, Ezel. The defendant confessed. ‘She always supported me during difficult times.’ “I wish I had said this right away.”
Ezel came next to Ian, who looked like he was dying of fun, and tapped my shoulder in a friendly way.
“Professor, do you know that?”
“what.”
“The Dom treats the production of condoms or contraceptives as a serious crime. The era of destruction. “The birth of new life deserves to be blessed, and increasing the birth rate is the most important factor for the recovery of human civilization.”
“Wait a minute… Ezel?”
“As a ranker, you have a stable source of income and a reputation that no matter where you go in the wasteland, no one knows your name. Now that you have achieved wealth and fame, you might want to have a family. “I support you, you idiot.”
Ezel wipes under his nose with his finger and gives a thumbs up.
“Hoo. From that perspective, the professor’s dating activities seem like a natural progression. “Don’t deny it anymore, new groom.”
The two people were giving various kind words to the professor in a warm atmosphere, as if they had received a wedding invitation from an old bachelor friend.
Meanwhile, Vex, who had disappeared for a while, came back out of breath, carrying an armful of something.
“Joe! “I went upstairs and brought you the suit you said you had made for us as well for the transaction!”
“Now that I think about it, there was something like that. Well done, Jjarimongttang. “Give me your shirt first.”
“Hey hey!”
“Stay still!” The military uniform I got at the station on our first date. Regardless of style, attire is all about being polite to others! Starting a family is the best moment of Ian-Joe’s life! “I will definitely accomplish this great task for my best friend!”
Wow!
“Take it off, Professor Park! “Take control of your destiny!”
“Let go, you bastards! “Let go of this!!!!”
Three friends with sinister expressions rushed in, each carrying a stylish suit. For some reason, in this situation, no power was applied to the left hand, which could be called asymmetric power.
‘…Hyde?’
[Hwi~ Hwihwi~ Hmm, the scenery here is really nice~]
‘Hyde, you too!!!’
The professor, who had been betrayed by everyone he trusted and had lost the means to resist, was ultimately taken care of by them.
****
Meanwhile, Speed Wagon, the owner of this library, was happily watching the drama of friendship and betrayal taking place in a corner of the library. How long has it been since you heard someone’s voice with your ears rather than through the connector’s speakers?
For her, who had spent a long time here alone, even the sorrowful cries from beyond the pile of books were pleasant to hear.
“Do you think they are much more affectionate people than what was in the data?”
“Shareholder caution required. Ian Desmont A mass murderer with few comparisons among the current wasteland survivors. Although there is no standardized Vex data, he is a cruel person who enjoys killing others with cold weapons. Ezel Raiden may look sloppy, but he is a person who passed the extremely difficult inspection exam and is close to power to the point where he frequently meets with the Inspector General, the highest ruler of the District 47 Dome. Professor Park, no need to say anything. A pseudo-human race mixed with mutations. “It is judged to be too dangerous for the master, who has no combat skills, to get close to.”
“He’s a dangerous person… you’re too negative, Genie.”
Gi-Geek-
“It’s just a reasonable activity to present the right judgment to the owner who is positive in everything. Gi-Geek Gi-Geek Gi-Geek-.”
She gently held Genie, whose voice circuit was gradually failing, in her arms and gently pressed the area where the internal circuit was loose with her fingertips. It occurred to me that the sound of the gears purring resembled the sound a pet makes when it is happy.
Pugh-
“Aww!”
At that time, the area behind the pile of books that had been making a fuss for a while became quiet, and a man with awkward steps came out, almost as if he was going to fall. From the sound of giggling and the leg sticking out between the piles of books, it looked like someone had kicked it.
At that awkward appearance, she laughed out loud, forgetting about her decision with Genie to stick to mysticism.
“Phew! “Does he… really look like a dangerous person?”
“….Negative.”
She couldn’t stop smiling even though she knew it was rude to see the professor wearing a black suit, an anachronistic fedora, and even holding something that looked like a paper flower in one hand.
****
