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Chapter 3

My past, my hometown.

There was a time when a mysterious psychological test called ‘MBTI’ suddenly gained popularity in modern Korea.

Although many people questioned it, saying there was no scientific basis for such a test.

But that’s Korea for you.

A country that boasts world-class football players (Son) and professional gamers (Faker) akin to sages.

There was something I didn’t know.

In the MBTI test, people’s personalities were broadly divided into two categories.

Extroverted (E) and Introverted (I).

By now, everyone would have caught on.

What more is there to say?

I was the epitome of an ‘I.’

That’s why I liked staying indoors.

It was true in the past, and it will be true in the future.

But as you live in the world, there are things that are ‘inevitable.’

Like today, when you just have to go out.

Honestly, why do people have to go out?

For some, it’s a philosophical question.

For others, it’s related to livelihood.

For me, it was neither.

If anything, it could be expressed as a question related to ‘survival’ rather than ‘philosophy’ or ‘livelihood.’

I walked up to the wall and touched the window shade switch.

The color of the dull concrete wall changed instantly.

The entire wall turned into a glass window.

It was still early for evening, but the forest of towering skyscrapers outside the window was already shining brightly.

Various neon signs of different nationalities were plastered throughout the buildings.

English was common, followed by Japanese or Chinese slang.

In addition, there were holograms of giant figures resembling naked women swimming between them.

It looked like the whole city was one big advertising board.

It had been several years since I started living in this city, Neon City, but it still amazed me every time.

It reminds me of the reality that I had entered a world inside a game.

But this time, what I needed to see wasn’t the cityscape.

I raised my head and looked up at the sky.

Beyond the ceiling blinds.

“Oh.”

There wasn’t a speck of blue light; it was filled with gray smog clouds.

“Looks like we’ve got fine dust again today.”

I couldn’t quite remember what sunlight felt like anymore.

It was a peaceful and ordinary cyberpunk day.

* * *

After finishing my shower, Eve asked me.

[Are you going to leave right away? I ask.]

“Uh.”

Since I decided to go out, I shouldn’t linger in the comfort of my home.

The more I stayed still, the less I wanted to go out.

So, being quick on my feet was crucial.

Of course, knowing that my appointment time was running out added to the urgency of my actions.

I should hurry.

There wasn’t anything special about preparing to go out.

Just in case, I put on clothes designed to withstand potential blind bullets.

Additionally, just in case.

I took a gun, an emergency calorie bar, three days’ worth of pills, an ampoule containing nanobots, and updated the civilian medical service which was temporarily stopped.

Lastly, I put on a cyberpunk-style smart mask with air purification functions for fine dust (including various biochemical attacks).

Even though it was a cyberpunk mask, it didn’t have flashing LED lights or anything (though there were such products), but it had many built-in functions.

It had a slightly stuffy feeling, but.

Who am I?

I was someone who had been wearing masks for a long time to avoid the fine dust and viruses that had flown from the continent in ancient times.

This level of inconvenience didn’t bother me much.

In Neon City, wearing a mask wasn’t a necessity like in modern Korea.

It was mostly used by troublemakers or criminals.

But that wasn’t for health purposes; it was different in other cases.

There were various methods for health reasons to prevent fine dust.

For example, directly installing filters in the respiratory system.

Or undergoing implant surgery to replace lungs with cyberware or bioware.

There were many methods.

Of course, races like orcs were exceptions.

Those gentlemen were naturally very healthy.

Many people thought that wearing masks was unnecessary.

In their world, wearing masks could even attract attention and lead to getting shot for not having green skin.

As for me…

I didn’t want to change my healthy lungs just to breathe less fine dust.

One of the major reasons was also because of my body’s various negative traits, which made my physical recovery slow.

There were ways to recover quickly, but.

The side effects were not negligible, so I didn’t think about it further.

Honestly, breathing a little more fine dust wouldn’t immediately send any health warnings.

I felt comfortable living with the cyberpunk mindset that if something goes wrong, I can just go and change my lungs with bioware.

With that feeling in mind, I finished preparing to go out.

Eve said with a slightly diminished voice.

[Is this a basic preparation for humans to go out, I question.]

“You still have no idea how dangerous it is outside the house.”

[That sounds insane; I think.]

“Uh-huh. No bad words allowed.”

This was definitely not excessive.

I also liked things in moderation.

But that was my subjective opinion.

To others, it might seem a bit over the top.

Oh well, what can you do?

It was much better than ending up in the hospital due to lack of preparation. Especially considering the hospital treatment fees.

In this world, most things were privatized by default.

If you live recklessly, living to an old age will be difficult.

“Shall we go then?”

[I confirm.]

It’s about time to head out.

It’s been a whole week since my last outing.

‘Ah, I don’t feel like going out already.’

I opened the front door only to find, unluckily, a familiar “little boy” walking down the hallway of my condominium.

And I closed the door again.

“Oh, darn it. I closed it without even realizing.”

[I affirm.]

I didn’t anticipate encountering a crisis as soon as I opened the door.

I let out a deep sigh.

First, I had to open the door again.

After mentally preparing myself, I slowly reopened the door.

Then the boy said first.

“Hey.”

“…Yes?”

“Do you just close the door in someone’s face without even saying hello?”

“Ah, I was just surprised. Sorry, Sr. Bill (Senior Bill).”

A cheeky voice, but an elderly tone not matching his young appearance.

“I told you not to call me ‘Sr.\'”

“Uh, that… Hello, Mr. Bill (Mister Bill).”

“Oh well.”

Then maybe he should have spoken more like a child.

His name is Bill.

I don’t know his full name, and I’m not interested either.

He was a neighbor living on the same floor as me.

To put it simply,

He’s just a crazy person.

Male. Looks about 10 years old.

But unbelievably, his true age is 95 this year.

But he hates being addressed as an old man.

In the cyberpunk world where all sorts of strange people live, he can be considered as someone with an outrageous personality.

“Where are you going?”

“…Just out for a bit.”

Even though I come from a Confucian society and I’m a law-abiding citizen who respects adults, this guy was a bit serious.

To everyone, he looks like a kid.

But it was difficult for me to approach him with the respect due to an elderly person while treating him like a little kid.

Moreover, he’s a rare pure-blooded conservative in Neon City.

Plus, he’s a narrow-minded person who gets upset if you address him like an old man, so I had to address him as “Mr.”

Even though today wasn’t particularly special, I didn’t expect to run into him as soon as I opened the door…

“So, where are you going?”

[Pulse rate 120, 130, 140. Still rising.]

“…Uh, just to see a friend.”

“Is that so?”

Suddenly, Bill smiled.

“Yeah, sure. You should get out once in a while and get some fresh air. You need to stay healthy.”

“…Yes.”

“When I was your age, I never stayed at home. Nowadays, people don’t go out at all. That’s the problem. No one comes out saying they can do everything at home.”

[I assume he is a crazy person, however part of what he said about going out is correct, I agree.]

I’m going crazy, please quiet down. Both of you.

Thankfully, only I could hear Eve’s voice. Otherwise, I would have been subjected to Bill’s nagging for over 30 minutes.

I quickly made a decision.

Bill’s stories are endless once he starts, so it’s important to cut him off at a certain point.

“Back in my days—”

“Uh, Mr. Bill, I have a bit of a time constraint for my appointment.”

“Huh? You’re acting like I’ve been holding you here.”

“Hahaha.”

You were holding me, you crazy person…

But I didn’t voice my thoughts. Sometimes, silence is the best response.

“That’s right. Well, go ahead.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I answered, I took a step forward.

I had to get away from him as quickly as possible.

Still, it’s a relief he let me go easily.

Does age make people talkative?

There were times in the past when I couldn’t cut off the conversation and ended up being held captive for over an hour.

Honestly, if I weren’t a Korean from a Confucian society, I would have already smashed all of his dental implants and still had energy left.

I endured it well. The me from the past.

It wasn’t until I got into the elevator going down to the lower floor that I breathed a sigh of relief.

[Shall I start guiding you to the appointment location via the navigation route? I ask.]

“…No. I’ll just take a taxi.”

I felt exhausted already.

Taking public transportation would have been fine, but it was already getting late.

So, I decided to take a taxi.

[Taxi…. Are you sure about that?]

“Well, it’s not like I don’t have any credits.”

It should be fine.

* * *

It was not fine.

I had forgotten how insane the taxis in Neon City were.

To begin with, the basic fare is charged as soon as you board a taxi.

And now, on top of that….

+ Call fee.

+ Additional charge per distance.

+ Additional charge for leaving the zone.

+ Additional charge for evening hours.

+ Additional forced tips.

And finally, the tax paid to the city was separate.

I felt dizzy.

I sighed.

“At this rate, I might as well just buy a car.”

[Does that mean you’ll be going out a lot more? I expect.]

“…Um.”

Not exactly.

But not entirely untrue.