NOVEL NEXT Chapter 151
Although the vehicles that broke into the banquet hall turned the scene into a mess, and a breathtaking rampage almost unfolded involving six legendary mercenaries…
Anyway.
The ‘engagement ceremony’ ended up being a success in its own right.
Generally, there’s one main reason for holding an engagement ceremony.
It’s to publicly announce the fact of an engagement to people. These people can be close acquaintances or anonymous citizens.
There was no way that news of the engagement ceremony involving the chairman of Megacorp wouldn’t spread among the people.
It was only natural that, right after the incident, Neon City ignited with the topic of the ‘engagement ceremony.’
One look at my suddenly swelled message list made that clear.
From: ‘Kind Cyberware Shop, 24/7 Consultation’
– Hahaha!
– Didn’t think you would move so fast!
– I saw the news. Congratulations!
– Let’s grab a bite later if you have time.
From: ‘Monolith, Justin Borg’
– …
– …
– Congratulations.
From: ‘City’s Yes Man, Rex Nova’
– Didn’t you say you weren’t that close…?
– You said you were an ordinary person…
A few messages weren’t exactly congratulatory, but that was the gist of it.
But with Rex Nova, I wondered how he even got my number, considering I didn’t remember giving it out.
Did he snag it when I officiated Drake’s wedding…?
…
Well, whatever.
The engagement ceremony was over now.
I prepared to go home.
“Not yet.”
“What?”
However, the chairman firmly refused my request.
“We still have work to do.”
“…Uh, with me?”
“Yep.”
“……”
In shock that I couldn’t go home, I was at a loss for words.
Seeing me like this, the chairman laughed brightly and patted my shoulder.
“So please finish up the ‘security operations.’”
…
So, here I was.
I was still spending time in Monolith Tower.
Side EP. Security Operations (1)
It seemed like the NCB24 news channel had been in a frenzy all day.
“Is that person who appeared on the news?”
“Shh, you’ll be heard.”
“Doesn’t seem like much… I’m really envious.”
“Seven women in one night…”
“…Hik, monster…!”
Even just walking down the hallway, numerous whispers followed me.
I understood.
If I heard news about a person who had an engagement ceremony with seven women, I would’ve thought,
‘The cyberpunk world has truly gone crazy…’
The only difference was that now I was the one involved in that incident.
I tried not to give away my countless handshake requests.
After all, there are loads of newsworthy events out there.
Especially in Neon City, which has its own unique level of madness.
(There’s truly an overload of news.)
I simply hoped that in a few days, this special issue would fade away quietly into the background.
As I arrived at the conference room of Monolith Tower, Justin Borg, who would usually be there, was nowhere to be seen.
Now that I think about it, didn’t he say he was hospitalized?
If I showed up, considering I was the source of his stress, it might worsen his condition, so I didn’t visit.
A few unfamiliar secretaries welcomed me into the conference room.
“Welcome.”
“Glad to see you.”
“May I have your loyalty—”
“?”
I interrupted their greeting with a question.
“Uh, is it okay if I go directly to the chairman’s office?”
“Of course.”
“I swear I heard someone say ‘please’ behind me…”
Ignoring that, I entered the elevator heading to the chairman’s office.
Even though I only announced my engagement, I felt equally awkward about the sudden shifts in reception.
…
Feeling a bit dizzy…
If it’s like this inside Monolith Tower, I could only imagine what the outside atmosphere was like.
I resolved firmly in my heart to stay home after finishing the chairman’s security ops for some time.
The elevator going up to the chairman’s office was pretty slow. So, I got a moment of solitude.
“How’s the atmosphere out there?”
As I muttered to myself, Eve’s calm voice spoke to me.
[Objectively, it’s not bad. All entities are showing their usual daily patterns, but at the same time, facial muscle movements can be monitored.]
“Wow, even saying people are smiling is complicated.”
It was true that I had become the sacrificial pawn for everyone’s happiness. Of course, I didn’t mind that much, but it still felt odd to refer to it as a sacrifice.
It was just that rumors were spreading about me parading around with seven women in Net Space.
…
How did my life end up like this?
As I mulled over the bitterness of solitary life, the elevator doors started to open.
Unlike the noisy outside world, the atmosphere in the chairman’s office was peaceful as usual.
“Did you arrive?”
The chairman stretched lightly upon seeing me.
“…Ugh.”
As a result, two enormous hills made themselves known. Why does it seem to have grown even larger than the last time I saw it?
Wait, what am I thinking?
I shook my head to clear my confused thoughts.
The chairman then stood, stretching out the fatigue. He walked leisurely toward the front of the elevator.
“So, how was it when you checked back?”
The content was cut short, but it was easy to interpret what the chairman was asking.
I had just come back from checking the state at the convention center where the engagement ceremony took place.
Finding the source of the incident was one reason I couldn’t return home quickly, but there were so many suspicious points that it was also partly why I moved deliberately.
Fortunately, since I had my hood up, no one recognized me.
But.
“Nothing’s here.”
[That’s correct.]
Despite my efforts, I couldn’t find any obvious clues.
The chairman chuckled softly as he continued.
“We might not have to call them perpetrators…maybe victims is more appropriate. The psychological assessments of the victims in the car are complete and the reports have just come in.”
“What did they find?”
“Nothing, they’re all clean.”
The chairman manipulated the view interface.
From the spacious office, a huge sofa and a low table rose up.
We naturally settled onto the sofa.
On top of the low table sat a warm cup of coffee steaming gently.
What could be the principle behind that? It’s fascinating.
While I stared down at my hot coffee, the chairman raised his cup with a graceful gesture.
“Moreover, among the accident victims, there are even Monolith executives I recognize.”
“…Really?”
I pondered for a moment.
Abrupt engagement ceremony by my boss (the chairman).
Subordinate (an executive) driving like their feet were on fire.
And of course, the accident, where they had to raid the engagement ceremony venue.
“……”
I briefly offered my condolences to an executive whose face I didn’t know in my mind.
Then, I turned back to the chairman and asked.
“…Do you have any plans moving forward? There are no clues, right? Isn’t this a pretty serious situation…?”
And I took a sip of my coffee at the same time.
“Something will come up eventually.”
“……!”
I nearly spit it out.
I calmly set my coffee cup back down.
“…What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Something will come up eventually.”
…Chairman?
Isn’t this an incident that happened in your own company?
But the chairman’s demeanor remained relaxed.
“Well, since there’s no clue and no way of knowing, there’s no need to get caught up in it.”
“…Oh.”
The chairman lightly tapped the table.
“Besides, I’ve already prepared for everything. And this incident itself is an attack on all industries, including Monolith, right? So we don’t need to rush since the city is already investigating separately.”
“That makes sense.”
…That was definitely true.
While the chairman smiled lightly as he spoke.
“…And right now, there’s an even more important matter at hand.”
“An important matter?”
“Yep.”
For some reason, the chairman’s smile looked a bit intimidating.
A number of massive holographic screens appeared in front of the chairman.
Each screen appeared to be feeds from the city’s surveillance cameras or vehicle black boxes.
…
For some reason, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
A taxi firing an anti-tank missile, people getting thrown out.
That was something that had happened when I first met Pete Mc.
Now, let’s take a look at what was next to it.
The second floor of the Golden Smile Condominium appeared. The glass wall shatters, and me, who had been peacefully present, gets thrown out by a vehicle.
This took place pretty recently.
When viewing it this way, it gave a similar yet distinctly different feeling.
In the first video, it felt as though the shock itself wouldn’t reach my body, while in the latter, it felt like my body absorbed the shock.
Suddenly, why this video…
My doubts were short-lived.
【By the way, do you have any body enhancement magic?】
…
That was my voice.
I remembered that came from a phone call with Merlin.
Hmm.
I cautiously glanced at the chairman.
The chairman’s smile grew longer.
It felt like being before a massive predator. The chairman’s eyes pierced into me.
“Body enhancement magic.”
“……”
“You learned it, right?”
Ah.
At that moment.
The lights in the room went out.
A wall descended inside the glass window that exhibited the outside scene, instantly draping the surroundings in darkness.
And before the night vision function of my eye implant could activate, candles ignited in various places on the floor.
“…Chairman?”
I called out to the chairman with a trembling voice.
“Call me by my name.”
“…Huh?”
“From this moment, all signals in this space have been cut. To put it simply, it’s a blackout. I’ve also cut off the net signals, so you won’t be able to contact Eve either.”
“…Huh?”
I repeated the same clueless response as if I was a fool.
I felt like a bug trapped in a spider’s web.
This is….
I quickly comprehended the situation.
The chairman’s purpose in calling me was not for ‘security.’
Perhaps the engagement ceremony itself might have been to avoid the gazes of others, I cautiously speculated.
“……”
Perhaps due to the soft light.
The chairman’s face, visible beyond the candles, was faintly flushed.
I swallowed hard.