## Chapter 152 – (4)
“Umm…”
I lay on the sofa in my office, peering into what they called a cell phone in this world.
There wasn’t much useful information on the phone.
It seemed to have been wiped clean beforehand.
Still, I managed to find Hornet’s number, so I decided to be satisfied with that.
Plus, I got a cell phone for myself.
“But this is a cell phone?”
In my hand was something like a translucent, thin film.
This was what a cell phone looked like in this world, the future.
No wonder I was so bewildered when I first saw it.
I couldn’t understand how this transparent, thin film could function as a cell phone.
How on earth could things like circuit boards and cameras fit into something so small?
Tap, tap.
I lightly tossed the phone, feeling its weight.
It was even light.
The way to handle it was also very different from the existing cell phones I knew.
I couldn’t even turn it on before learning how to use it.
I was only able to use it to some extent after learning directly from the person I stole it from.
Fortunately, once I learned, the usage wasn’t that difficult.
I looked once again at the photo of the woman looking at the camera, naked.
A smile crept onto my face.
She, Yuri, was probably dreaming of revenge.
For reference, I learned her name by looking at her SNS account on the phone.
Even in this crazy cyberpunk world, SNS was still active.
It seemed even more active than in modern times.
And while browsing that SNS account, I found something interesting.
I was able to find traces of Xian, who had commissioned me, on Yuri’s SNS account.
In the blocked list and past posts, no less.
I could concede that being on the blocked list was understandable.
It’s common for gang members and businesspeople to have bad relationships.
But in the past posts, Xian and Yuri seemed to be quite close.
There were selfies and videos of the two of them looking friendly, and even photos of them hugging each other tightly.
Why would these two people, who were so close, block each other now?
Because their positions were divided between the gang and the corporation?
It didn’t seem like just that kind of problem.
“What if these two fought?”
Something smelled fishy.
Xian, who seemed to hate gangs, yet had a gang and a rough man within her walls.
And Yuri, the right-hand woman of an actual gang, and Hornet’s lover.
The past of the two people who were close, and the present where they fought and blocked each other.
I felt like I was starting to get a grasp of it.
“Interesting.”
Maybe I could use this information to pressure Xian.
I had a feeling that this quest might end more easily than I thought.
I smiled and got up from the sofa.
I was thinking of going to what they called the corporate sector this time.
According to Xian, it was a space that reporters were so eager to go to.
A space where even entry was forbidden unless you were a businessperson.
Hearing that kind of explanation, I couldn’t resist.
After looking at the cell phone a bit more, I slowly headed outside.
***
“This is a bit…”
I was in an autonomous vehicle, blankly looking at a huge wall that cut across one side of the city.
The people in the other cars were probably the same.
Leaving the driving to artificial intelligence, they were probably blankly looking at this huge wall next to them.
The corporate sector was a place often mentioned in novels.
A city created by corporations joining forces, a city just for corporations.
I thought it was a figurative expression.
But it wasn’t.
It was really a huge city.
Moreover, it was a fortress-like city where all the outer edges were surrounded by walls.
“…There’s not a single graffiti on this wide wall.”
In this world where gangs and outlaws blatantly existed, there wasn’t a single graffiti on this big, long, white wall.
I didn’t know if they didn’t do graffiti, or if they erased it all.
This neatly maintained wall seemed to be explaining how powerful the corporations were.
The cars lined up slowly moved, and soon it was my turn.
At the place written as “Checkpoint,” a tired-looking man was checking passes.
“Haru, the window—ah, never mind.”
I was going to order Haru to lower the window since we arrived at the checkpoint.
But as if that much was common sense, the artificial intelligence Haru lowered the window before I could even order it.
The world has really gotten better.
After coming to this world, I kept thinking like this, and I felt like I had become an old man.
“Welcome. I’ll check your card.”
“Surprisingly, a person is checking.”
“It’s job creation. Well.”
The man chuckled at my question and took the temporary pass card to check it.
Since it was a card, I naturally thought he would just tap it on a machine, but a person was checking it directly.
The man looked at the card, nodded, and returned the card.
“It’s a Nobody Corporation temporary pass. You’re cleared.”
“Nobody… Ah, thank you.”
I received the card back and slowly entered the corporate sector.
As soon as I entered, I saw buildings soaring high into the sky.
[Entering the corporate sector.]
[Updated map information for the corporate sector.]
I was only able to get map information after entering this area.
In other words, you couldn’t even check the inside with a map from the outside.
“Take me to Nobody Corporation.”
[Setting destination.]
The car slowly changed direction and started moving.
The appearance of the corporate sector’s streets was so overly organized and clean that it didn’t feel human.
For a place that reporters were so eager to come to, there wasn’t even a single piece of trash on the street, let alone a scoop.
It was a boring and clean place.
Of course, it was up to me, the reporter, to see if the inside was just as clean.
[Arrived at destination.]
“This is it?”
I saw a building with [NOBODY] written on it in English.
What was unexpected was that the first to fourth floors looked like ordinary shopping arcades.
Of course, the things they were selling were things I had never seen before.
“What is that—”
I saw something I couldn’t believe even while looking at it with my own two eyes, and I hurriedly got out of the car.
And, as if possessed, I ran to the entrance on the first floor.
When I confirmed with my own two eyes what products Nobody Corporation handled, I couldn’t help but gape.
A woman approached me, walking towards me.
Thump. Thump.
It was a regular pace and an unbelievably beautiful appearance.
[Welcome to Nobody.]
[Try making a humanoid to your liking.]
[You can create humanoids with various appearances and roles.]
It was definitely the clear voice of an announcer, but it wasn’t this woman’s voice.
The voice was natural, but it didn’t have any emotion.
No, in the first place, the woman in front of me wasn’t a living being.
Nobody Corporation was a company that made humanoids, that is, robots that resembled humans.
Even now, faces and body parts that looked almost exactly like humans were on display on the walls.
Next to them were the prices and who they were modeled after.
Among them were famous actors, idols, and singers.
“Is this okay…”
[All models have completed contracts with the individuals.]
“…”
If so, I had nothing to say.
I carefully decided to record humanoids in my shopping list as well.
If the first floor was a place to assemble humanoids by assembling pre-made parts, the second floor was in charge of custom orders.
In addition, the 3rd floor was in charge of repairs, and the 4th floor was in charge of humanoid experiences.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money to buy a humanoid right now.
Come to think of it, it was about time to start saving money.
I could always sell gold as usual.
Then, someone came down with quick steps from afar.
“Xian.”
I was about to raise my hand in greeting, but Xian was faster to come and grab my hand.
I was dragged along by that hand without knowing why.
Xian’s pulling ended only after arriving at a secluded alley next to the Nobody building, a place that smokers would like.
“What’s wrong?”
“I saw the parked car and wondered… Why did you come?”
Xian frowned and asked.
She didn’t seem happy about my visit.
“I was curious.”
“Haa… Listen carefully. If it’s revealed that you and I are related, we’re both done for. You know how much corporations hate reporters, right?”
She held her head for a moment as if she had a headache at my light answer, and then poured out her words.
Of course, I didn’t know.
However, I nodded, pretending to know well.
They hated reporters that much?
Enough to put my and Xian’s positions in danger?
“…So? What happened to the gang’s ledger?”
“Not yet, but I got this instead.”
I shook the thin film instead of the ledger.
It was a cell phone from this world.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a phone of a girl named Yuri.”
“Yu, Yuri? How did you…”
Xian’s eyes were shaking as if there was an earthquake.
She was pretending to be calm, but her eyes were shaking, and even her legs were trembling.
“How about we look at it together?”
At my suggestion, Xian swallowed hard.
Then, slowly and carefully, Xian stood close to me.
