BXBX NOVEL Chapter 27 – Unwanted Obsession (1)
Chapter 27 – Unwanted Obsession (1)
I am in the present moment, seated inside a car.
I had thought about it before getting in.
Perhaps because it looked expensive, but the cozy ride was truly exquisite.
If the situation were different, my mind would have been as peaceful as the comfortable ride.
“Are you comfortable in your seat, Mr. Shun?”
Smith, seated in the driver’s seat, said to me.
His gaze, looking at me with a sidelong glance, is reflected in the rearview mirror.
Judging solely by the current atmosphere, it seemed like just a peaceful drive.
“…Well, yes. I’m comfortable. Very much so.”
And on both sides of me.
If only those bulky guys weren’t there, it would have been even more comfortable.
Comfortable, my foot…
I muttered inwardly.
That’s right.
My posture and position right now were akin to being completely isolated.
Except for me, everyone else in the car seemed to have bulked up to some extent, so I couldn’t physically spread my shoulders.
I was squeezed in, quite literally.
With a small laugh, Smith continued speaking.
“Sorry, this isn’t an air vehicle.”
“Ahaha, it’s okay.”
Air vehicle or whatever.
It’s just that my posture is uncomfortable.
He added silently.
“Still, we’ll be arriving shortly. Please bear with it if it’s uncomfortable.”
With that, Smith focused on driving again.
These days, regardless of the vehicle, autonomous driving systems are likely installed, yet he was manually driving, holding onto the steering wheel.
A thoroughly principled Smith-like appearance.
Anyway, it doesn’t seem like much time has passed since we departed, yet we’re already about to arrive.
It seems like he’s driving at an incredibly high speed.
I’m not sure what the regulated speed is here, but it was definitely faster than the other passing cars.
I turned my gaze to the car’s rearview mirror.
Something seems off.
I surveyed the surroundings of the car I was in.
Several identical black sedans were lined up behind this car.
It wasn’t just visible through the rearview mirror.
They were there on the sides, in front, and even diagonally.
It looked as if they were encircling the car I was in.
After confirming that, I cautiously spoke up.
“…Um, Mr. Smith.”
“Yes, Mr. Shun.”
Since he was driving, Smith didn’t turn to answer.
“…By any chance, how many people are with us?”
“Hahaha.”
Smith laughed as if he heard something amusing.
But that laughter sounded somewhat mechanical.
“Escorting Mr. Shun requires some security measures, you see.”
That’s why a few.
A brief silence ensues.
Smith seemed to be silent as well, but after a moment, he spoke again.
“About two teams, give or take.”
Two teams.
[Based on nearby signals, I estimate a total of four teams, I inform.]
Hmm.
Just hearing it made it hard to breathe.
No, physically, I couldn’t breathe properly due to the bulky guys sitting beside me.
“Um, it’s a bit stuffy. Can I open the window?”
There was no answer.
Instead, Smith pressed one of the buttons next to the steering wheel with his index finger.
A monotonous voice came from the car.
《Activating air circulation system.》
[The Orc ‘Smith’ doesn’t seem to have any intention of opening the window, I assume.]
It seems so.
While Smith continued to focus mechanically on driving, he said.
“Hahaha, just in case.”
“Yes?”
In case of what?
Even though he heard my response mixed with curiosity, Smith continued to mechanically laugh and focus on driving.
Surely not.
Did he think I would jump out of the window and escape?
“…….”
It was a better idea than I thought.
If I cast a protective spell, even if I jump out of the running car, I wouldn’t get hurt badly.
Maybe it’s better to break the window and escape like that.
As I was thinking about it,
“We’ve arrived, Mr. Shun. You may disembark now.”
Seems like I pondered for too long.
We had already arrived at No Answer.
* * *
It was still too early for people to be drinking, nearing lunchtime.
Nevertheless, there were many people at ‘No Answer’.
I remember mentioning it once before.
I used to describe this place as a club, bar, or a sophisticated lounge atmosphere.
It wasn’t solely functioning as a club or bar, which was why.
It was natural for there to be a lot of people, even if it wasn’t nighttime.
On the first floor,
There were many rookie mercenaries and a club-like atmosphere.
On the second floor,
There were many seasoned mercenaries and a sophisticated lounge-like atmosphere.
And on the third floor where I arrived just now,
The actual controller of No Answer, and the idol of all the intermediaries in Neon City, at the top.
Rookie mercenaries typically didn’t even know of their existence, only hearing rumors about them.
“Water, or cola?”
“…I’ll have cola.”
“Got it, then rum and coke it is.”
Since when did they start putting alcohol in cola?
I don’t know.
She, the boss of No Answer, Natasha, smiled at me.
A captivating smile was clearly displayed.
While she was momentarily away to fetch cola or coke and rum, I took a deep breath.
Whether it’s because of her beautiful appearance,
Or because she holds a high position in Neon City, I couldn’t tell.
But she was slightly intimidating to me.
While it was somewhat less burdensome when I was with other colleagues while taking on a mission, it felt even more nerve-wracking when she took the lead like this.
Natasha placed the glass of cola in front of me.
Luckily, what came out was pure Coke P, without any alcohol mixed in.
Contrary to the image of No Answer boss.
She was also someone with a playful side.
I don’t know why, but her playful side seemed even more intense towards me.
I took a sip of the cola.
I suddenly wondered why she called me here.
Since I came sandwiched between bodyguards, my throat felt parched.
Natasha sat on the sofa opposite me, crossing one leg over the other knee out of habit.
Her luxurious black hair cascaded around her neck.
In meticulously braided hair, a golden hairpin with noticeable glints of gold was inserted.
Natasha was dressed in a Chinese dress, unlike her usual style.
Her sky-blue eyes pierced through me.
It was truly nerve-wracking.
Natasha was the first to break the silence.
“It seems Smith mentioned that we had made an agreement for you to visit at least once.”
“…Ah, about that. I’ve been quite busy lately.”
It’s because there was a backlog of new games.
It’s definitely not my fault.
“Hmm, not just playing games at home, right?”
How did she know?
[It’s a suspicion anyone could have, I believe.]
Maybe.
Anyway, she seemed to know a lot about me.
I took another sip of cola.
When you don’t have a proper answer, not answering at all is also one of the best options.
If there’s a problem,
Since I didn’t respond, Natasha also remained silent and kept the silence.
Eventually, I tried to change the atmosphere.
I had to come up with another question.
“…Um, why did you call for me?”
“I can clearly see you’re eager to finish the business quickly and go back.”
“…It’s not that.”
It’s not that it wasn’t true; I wanted to go back.
To ‘I’, this atmosphere was too difficult to handle.
She unfurled the fan she was holding, and LED lights and holograms engraved with dragon patterns gracefully appeared on the surface of the fan.
Natasha smoothly concealed her mouth with the fan.
The sharpness of her gaze over the fan was piercing.
“……”
I secretly entertained the idea of using magic to blast through the ceiling and summon lightning to escape.
It was then that Natasha rose from her seat.
She walked slowly towards me.
Since there were only Natasha and me in the room, there was no one to stop her from doing so.
I watched as she approached, frozen like a frog in front of a snake.
I felt a drop of cold sweat trickle down my neck.
I didn’t know what I had done wrong, but it felt like the atmosphere called for me to kneel and apologize.
Natasha approached me while still using the fan to cover her mouth.
Her gaze lingering above the fan was intimidating.
“Maya, was it? The girl you told me about a long time ago.”
I flinched at the unexpected name.
I wondered why Maya’s name was being mentioned here.
And how did Natasha know about Maya now?
Did she hear news through the bioware specialist I entrusted with Maya?
I was taken aback by the sudden mention of the name.
“Curious glance, you know. It’s a fact that there’s almost nothing I don’t know about on this floor.”
Her finger kept moving.
After reaching my eye area, mask, and under my chin, it returned to its original position.
“You’re always living the same busy life.”
…Well, it’s true that I’ve been living busy.
It felt strange though.
It was a different tone from when I said I was just playing games earlier.
Since I had nothing to say,
I sat quietly again.
“Well, that’s one thing. But I didn’t call you here today because of that.”
“What’s happened now?”
Did something urgent come up?
No, if that were the case, she wouldn’t have called only me; she would have called other colleagues too.
It wasn’t like she kidnapped me here just to see my face.
If this was also a twist, then it was quite unexpected.
Natasha took another step away from me.
There was a luxurious-looking table between the sofa where we were sitting.
Walking over to the table, Natasha pressed a button on it.
After a while, with beams of light, a large holographic image was created in the air.
It was a design that turned a smiling emoticon into a 3D shape.
One thing different from a regular emoticon was that there were red veins drawn on its yellow forehead.
It looked like it was expressing laughter mixed with anger.
“Do you know who this is?”
“A smiling emoticon?”
“Hehe, no.”
Was there a separate name for a smiling emoticon? I couldn’t understand the cyberpunk sensibility.
“This is the ‘Virtual Terrorist’ who recently appeared.”
“?”
“His name is Smile John.”
It was more insane than I had imagined.
What’s a virtual terrorist?
Is he someone who commits terrorism in cyberspace?
Or is he like Pete Mack or virtual broadcast streamers, maintaining virtual appearance only for graphics, while actually carrying out terrorism?
Regardless of the case, I couldn’t understand.
I didn’t remember seeing such a foundation of this world’s game when I used to play it.
But…
“Why… that crazy person?”
“Ah, I guess you don’t know yet.”
Natasha sat back on the sofa.
Her intense sky-blue gaze stared directly at me.
“Right now, this terrorist is targeting you.”
“…What?”
Why me?
In a situation I never expected,
I could only stand there with my mouth wide open.
It’s not like I had a hobby of being obsessed with terrorists.