Chapter 82: Hong Kong (1)
“Wha……?”
Diesel asked back, wondering if he had misheard her question.
“You an if I’m seeing soone?”
At that, Sis brushed the hair at her temple back.
“Yeah.”
Then, with the sa faint smile she always wore, she continued.
“Don’t get any weird ideas. It’s because of getting into the Black Market.”
“What does that have to do with it?”
“To enter there, you have to wear a mask, and it’s a bit easier if you pretend to be a couple. But if you’re already dating soone, doing that would be kind of rude to them.”
Diesel didn’t really understand what she was talking about, but under her continued prompting, he answered without thinking too hard.
“So, do you?”
“No. I don’t.”
“……Then that’s fine.”
After hearing his answer, Sis turned her head back toward the window.
Silence followed.
“…….”
“…….”
The question had been unexpected, so he had answered first, but when he thought about it carefully, he couldn’t see how being a couple would help with entering an auction house at all.
‘Wait. Then does that an she wants to pretend to be a couple with right now?’
Sis’s words from earlier suddenly ca back to him, and he ended up asking again.
“You’re saying we should pretend to be a couple?”
“Yeah.”
“You and ?”
“Why, you don’t like it?”
Why on earth did they have to do that?
He really wanted to ask, but sohow it felt like he shouldn’t, so he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“…….”
As the atmosphere grew awkward, Diesel turned his gaze back to the catalog.
“…….”
When he glanced at Sis, her cheeks were faintly flushed, as if she were a little tipsy.
With an unusually stiff expression, she took a small sip from her cocktail glass and spoke.
“But you know, now that I think about it.”
“What.”
“Diesel, you’ve got a ton of won around you, don’t you?”
“……Do I?”
“Don’t you? For starters, everyone in your clan is female, and then there’s and Madam, River, Seol-ah, and before that, even Seriel and Raksha.”
“Well…… I guess you’re right. It wasn’t intentional, though.”
“…….”
Once again, an awkward silence settled in.
“It’s kind of hot.”
As Sis fanned herself with her hand, a round sparrow-like drone appeared and blew out a whirring breeze.
Along with it, the air inside the Aerodyne grew slightly cooler.
“Did you know? Seol-ah read your fortune.”
“What are you talking about now?”
She read his fortune?
Hearing it for the first ti, Diesel frowned.
“Ah, don’t get too upset. She said she just happened to pick it up while spiritually protecting you.”
“…….”
Spiritual protection.
Among the miraculous powers coming from other worlds, ‘spiritual projection,’ which pierced straight through a person’s fate, was a surprisingly dangerous ability.
But there were ways to deal with that eerie gaze.
What Sis had just ntioned—‘spiritual protection’—was one of them, a service that shielded the target from all kinds of special projections from other worlds.
However, because it required trendous effort and cost, it was sothing only wealthy VIPs usually received.
‘She was doing that for ?’
He had had no idea.
And not River, but Chae Seol-ah had been the one doing it.
‘River’s religious herself. So why was Chae Seol-ah protecting …….’
Maybe there had been a reason why that elf shaman had always been so cold toward Diesel until now.
“Anyway, even if it’s a fortune reading, it’s just light, curiosity-level stuff. You know, simple things like money luck, health luck, love luck. About the level you’d get from a street fortune-teller.”
Even so, if it was a fate perceived by a high-ranking shaman like Chae Seol-ah, it couldn’t be completely aningless.
“But the result was kind of funny.”
Even Diesel, who normally had no interest in fortune readings, was starting to feel a bit curious.
“What was it?”
At his question, Sis narrowed her eyes as she replied.
“You’ve got a fate that gets tangled up with a lot of won.”
“…….”
After dropping that line, she stared straight at Diesel for a while.
As if she were watching for his reaction.
“Hmm…… really?”
“You don’t seem to like it?”
“Is that supposed to be a good thing?”
“Well. If you don’t think so, then I guess it isn’t.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Oh, maybe you don’t like won?”
What was this supposed to an now?
At the strange turn the topic took, Diesel let out a dry laugh.
“No, that’s not it. I don’t know why you’d ask that, though.”
“Then maybe you just don’t have any desire at all?”
“Well, about that…….”
Did he?
He thought back for a mont, then answered.
“……I think I do.”
“That’s enough, then.”
Sis tossed the words out and turned her gaze back toward the window.
He had no idea what exactly was “enough.”
‘What’s gotten into her today?’
Sotis her thoughts were completely unreadable.
Maybe a hacker was a hacker, after all.
“…….”
Once again, the quiet hum of the engine filled the cabin.
‘Let’s just finish looking at this.’
Diesel turned his eyes back to the catalog he had been reviewing and morized the items he needed.
‘For now, I should buy as many magic books as possible. I’ll probably need parts for Matrix reinforcent too…….’
He sorted through items that seed helpful for improving his abilities and set priorities.
As he did, searching for things he could ask Sis to bid on for him—
Near the very end of the catalog, he found one item that caught his eye.
「Magnus’s Business Card」
A business card belonging to the legendary craftsman Magnus, who created artifacts.
As Diesel’s gaze lingered in one place, Sis, who had been glancing at him, spoke offhandedly.
“That one’s a pretty popular item too.”
“Huh?”
When Diesel looked up, she hurriedly turned her eyes back to the window.
“So it’s not just an ordinary business card?”
“……Right. Magnus is the kind of guy you can’t et without a business card.”
“So if you have it, you can et him?”
“Not necessarily. That old man’s extrely moody. Honestly, no one even knows whether he’s alive or dead.”
“Hm…….”
That made things a bit ambiguous.
Even if he could et Magnus, Diesel couldn’t quite picture what kind of benefit he’d gain from it.
As he was thinking that, Sis asked,
“How much of that do you have left?”
“The molar artifact you gave ?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve used almost all of it. I think I can probably use it one more ti.”
“Then the business card should be pretty useful. Artifacts made by Magnus can be recharged using just that card.”
“Oh…… really?”
New information made Diesel listen more closely.
“They say Magnus doesn’t like getting involved with other people much, so he built that kind of function into his business card. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you can recharge artifacts with the business card that lets you et him, you’d end up using the latter more than the forr.”
Recharging artifacts.
If that was the case, it was more than worth investing in.
Thanks to that molar, he had saved his life several tis already.
He had been feeling regretful that he couldn’t use the artifact’s power any further as it was.
‘So this is the end, then.’
After skimming through the catalog to the very end, Diesel closed the hologram.
At so point, the interior lighting had grown dim.
“Done looking?”
“Yeah.”
“Then take a look outside for a mont.”
At Sis’s gesture toward the window, Diesel naturally turned his head.
“Huh…….”
“Pretty amazing, right?”
An incredible sight lay there.
‘This is insane…….’
Beyond the pitch-black sea, within the darkness—
A gigantic curtain, like sothing woven from silk, covered an entire vast continent like a do.
“That’s isolated China.”
“…….”
Faced with a scene that defied belief, he stared blankly for a mont.
He thought he had already experienced quite a lot since opening his eyes in this new world, but this was more astonishing than anything else.
“First ti seeing it?”
“Yeah.”
“Is this your first ti abroad at all?”
“That’s right.”
After answering, sothing suddenly ca to mind, and he added,
“Co to think of it, I’ve been to the Moon. I guess that counts as abroad too.”
At that, Sis let out a small chuckle.
“True.”
For a while, Diesel and Sis quietly admired the irrational scenery beyond the window.
Then Diesel muttered softly,
“So there are monsters inside that.”
Monsters that occasionally slipped out from China.
That also ant monsters existed within that isolated curtain.
But Sis’s answer was a little different from what he expected.
“Not necessarily.”
“Really?”
“Monsters aren’t only in China.”
Supernatural phenona appearing all over the Earth.
When such phenona manifested in the form of living beings, they seed to be called monsters.
“Then why do people say monsters are flowing out from China?”
“It’s probably one of two things. Either the Chinese inside are deliberately driving the monsters out, or……”
“Or the monsters are escaping the curtain on their own?”
At Diesel’s words, Sis smiled faintly.
“Yeah. No one knows what the cause is, though.”
“Hm…….”
“What’s certain is that the cycle at which monsters appear is getting shorter and shorter. And their danger ratings are rising too.”
Diesel recalled sothing River had once said.
—After sealing the nation’s gates with the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall for nearly a hundred years, the Central Plains are showing signs of rising again.
Could this be related to that?
‘Co to think of it, I wonder what happened to Japan.’
He knew it had taken heavy damage from countless anomalous disasters, but he didn’t really have a sense of how bad it was.
‘I should start paying more attention to what’s going on in the world.’
If he was going to gather those who possessed the power of Seeds, he would inevitably have to go to other countries soday.
Just like River had scoured Siberia to find Herja.
With all those thoughts swirling in his head, he gazed at the vast curtain spread outside the window.
As their destination, Hong Kong, drew near, the scenery changed in an instant.
It felt like encountering a brilliantly lit squid-fishing boat in the middle of a pitch-black open sea.
‘So this is Hong Kong…….’
A city packed tight with towering skyscrapers—Hong Kong.
Signs made of flashing pillars of light blazed noisily.
It looked like a dragon trying to land on land from the sea.
Even though the path to the continent was blocked by the massive barrier called the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall.
“We’ll arrive within ten minutes.”
As the Aerodyne gradually slowed down, Sis took out a mask and handed it to Diesel.
“Here.”
A hologram mask that decorated the wearer in various appearances.
Perhaps because it wasn’t powered on yet, it just looked like a pitch-black disk.
“This is the mask we’ll use at the Black Market, so choose one in advance. It’s custom-made, so it takes a bit of ti.”
When he put it over his face, an interface appeared before his eyes.
From simple masquerade masks to massive holograms that covered the entire upper body, there was an enormous variety.
[Can I just pick whatever I want?]
At Diesel’s already-modulated voice, Sis nodded.
“There are so I made myself under the custom section.”
Just as she said, when he scrolled down, a whole lineup of characters that looked like they ca straight out of creative works appeared.
Each one was of a quality that looked like it had been made by a professional designer.
[You made all of these yourself?]
“Yeah. Want to recomnd one?”
[Well…… sure.]
At Sis’s gesture, a character that looked like it had been drawn with pencil was selected.
It was a face smiling brightly, wearing a hat like an emoticon.
“This one’s called ‘The Smiling Man.’ He’s a character from a classic animation. You could say he’s a famous hacker.”
[Hm…….]
“You don’t like it?”
[No, it’s fine. Let’s go with this one.]
Since it didn’t seem like an important choice, he picked casually.
A short while later, Diesel felt the Aerodyne descending, and it gently landed atop a dedicated external parking area.
Then, with the sound of air releasing, the door opened—and a familiar face was there to greet them.
“Welco. Little Sister, Diesel. I will escort you to your room.”
Standing there was soone smiling who looked exactly like So Ryeo-jin.
At Diesel’s curious expression, Sis gave a brief explanation.
“Hwayang Hotel has locations all over the world, not just the Underground Great Hall. You can assu they exist in every city where Ghostcatcher activity is active.”
Was one half-android nad So Ryeo-jin operating multiple hotels through many bodies, or were they separate individuals with their own consciousnesses?
With that question in mind, he followed the guide into the hotel.
‘Still such a unique atmosphere.’
Passing through a lobby where vintage Eastern and Western items were strangely mixed together, they headed to the room.
“Please have a comfortable night.”
After finishing the brief guidance, the staff mber bowed elegantly and disappeared.
Once alone in the room, Diesel called out to Sis.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“What is this?”
“What do you an, what?”
At her deliberately evasive answer, Diesel said in disbelief,
“Don’t tell you only booked one room?”
Then, as if it were nothing, Sis took off one of her earrings and placed it on the table by the window.
“Why, you don’t like it?”
“…….”
“You were fine doing it with Kang Da-hee.”
“No, with her it was…….”
Diesel’s gaze shifted toward the bed.
“At least there were two beds.”
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