The mont the AI dissolved into the air like mist, an overwhelming exhaustion suddenly washed over .
At the sa ti, the distorted reality around began to shatter like a broken glass pane.
“What...?”
I muttered to myself.
The assimilation zone was unraveling before my eyes.
The pixelated shadows slowly returned to their original forms, lting back into the ground one by one.
The suspended droplets of water regained the laws of gravity and plumted to the floor, while the walls, which had wavered like liquid, gradually solidified.
Aria scanned her surroundings, her expression filled with disbelief.
Inside her helt, data patterns flickered and swirled wildly, like a digital storm in chaos.
“The assimilation... it’s disappearing?”
There was a clear tone of shock in her voice, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
And of course, that was the only natural reaction.
In this cyberpunk world, an AI assimilation zone was like an inescapable curse—sothing that could never be fully eradicated.
It was the worst catastrophe of this era, sothing even the corporations had given up on.
Yet now, right in front of , the zone was vanishing as effortlessly as mist fading in the morning sun.
An assimilation zone... disappearing?
A strange unease crept over , despite the surreal spectacle unfolding before my eyes.
Sothing that should have been impossible was happening.
There was a slight chance that a corporation had secretly developed technology to eliminate assimilation zones, but it seed unlikely.
Even the corporations had suffered massive losses because of AI assimilation.
As I stared up at the slowly disintegrating remnants of the zone, I heard the hurried footsteps of Aria approaching.
She looked as if she had discovered sothing.
“Old man.”
She strode toward a collapsed figure erging from the shadows. Checking the man’s bio-monitor, she reported,
“He’s the one who sent the distress signal. He doesn’t seem to be in critical condition.”
It was the rcenary who had called for rescue.
He was unconscious, but his breathing was steady and rhythmic.
Aria quickly reached into her backpack and pulled out a portable dical transport device.
To , it looked like an absurdly compact foldable stretcher, but I figured there must be a reason for using such a tool.
CRASH!
The final barrier—a black mbrane that had wrapped around the entire building—shattered like glass, breaking into countless fragnts.
And with that, the assimilation zone was completely gone.
The world around us ca into sharp focus.
Beyond the ruined hideout, an ominous alleyway stretched into the darkness.
A vehicle, presumably the one Aria had arrived in, was parked in the alley.
Beyond that, a massive wall of sandstorm lood on the horizon.
And amidst the chaos, soone was moving swiftly, organizing the aftermath.
“...Amber?”
She was supposed to be resting at the office.
What the hell was she doing here?
****
Amber watched the assimilation zone vanish before her eyes, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief.
“What the hell... just happened?”
Her voice, filtered through her gas mask, carried a chanical echo, but the astonishnt in it was undeniable.
“I don’t know either.”
A responded with a slightly tired voice, but Amber was still looking around, as if struggling to believe what she was witnessing.
Her confusion didn’t last long.
As if she had more pressing matters to deal with, she quickly composed herself.
“We’ll talk about the details later.”
Amber said this while watching Aria and A walk toward the vehicle.
All that remained where the assimilation zone had been was the abandoned building that had served as the gang’s hideout.
The Needle Brain gang’s insignia—a skull impaled with countless needles—looked strangely desolate.
“What were you doing here?”
A blinked drowsily before asking Amber.
“Aria sent a ssage saying she might have engaged with corporate operatives, so «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» I ca to check.”
Amber gestured at the traces left behind in the area.
“Getting tangled up with a corporation is never a good idea.”
While Amber and A were talking, Aria had already loaded the unconscious rcenary into the vehicle.
“I’m taking the old man to the hospital.”
Amber nodded, and Aria turned to A.
“Thanks for today.”
With that, she got into the car and drove away.
As Aria left, Amber glanced at A and noticed sothing off.
She seed... sluggish, more fatigued than usual.
Normally, she would have disappeared without a word, claiming she was going out for pizza.
“You okay?”
Amber asked, her eyes filled with concern.
A gave a small shake of her head.
“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
Still unconvinced, Amber gave her a light push on the back.
“The job’s done. Go get so rest. I’ll send the paynt once everything’s confird.”
A slowly nodded, then trudged off toward the sandstorm barrier.
Amber watched her go, murmuring to herself.
“I’ve never seen A look this exhausted before...”
Then, shaking off the thought, she turned back and quickly started erasing any traces left behind.
She couldn’t let the corporations find out that Seoul Office rcenaries had been involved here.
****
Shortly after Amber left.
Unfitting visitors arrived at the alleyway where the Needle Brain gang’s hideout stood.
A woman wearing red sunglasses, followed by a man walking cautiously behind her.
Their crisp suits stood in stark contrast to the rundown, shadowy district.
Even their slow, deliberate steps carried an aura entirely different from the rcenaries that lurked in these streets.
The red lenses of the woman’s sunglasses faintly glowed in the darkness.
Each ti her tallic heels struck the ground, a sharp sound echoed through the alley.
She was deliberately spreading her presence, using various tools to make sure she was noticed.
“This is where we lost the signals of two of our operatives.”
The man spoke carefully.
There was a trace of tension in his voice.
Reporting failure to a superior was never comfortable.
The woman’s gaze swept over the alleyway. She seed indifferent, yet she missed nothing.
“But there’s nothing here. No bodies...”
She slowly turned her head toward the Needle Brain gang’s hideout.
The gang’s insignia—a skull pierced with needles—was faintly visible on the building’s exterior.
And if everything had gone according to plan, there should have been traces of the AI assimilation.
But there was nothing.
“No assimilation zone either.”
She walked slowly along the building, brushing her fingers against the wall.
Every trace had been wiped clean.
Sothing had definitely happened here, but the only thing she could determine was that soone had deliberately interfered.
And in this district, packed with rcenaries and gangsters, narrowing down the culprit was almost impossible.
A flicker of irritation crossed her face.
She fell into thought for a mont before exhaling a deep sigh.
“Hah...”
Her breath lingered briefly in the cold alley air before vanishing.
Then she turned to the man.
Her lips curled with a hint of disappointnt.
“Soone prevented the AI from being born. Make sure this doesn’t happen again. The ‘Circle’ project is our company’s core priority.”
The man said nothing, only bowed his head deeply.
Without another word, the woman started walking toward the alley’s exit.
The sharp click of her heels echoed through the empty streets.
The sound continued until she reached the aircraft she had arrived in.
On its side, painted in blood-red letters, was the na—
Hexa Core Armory.
****
On the way back through the sandstorm, A felt an unfamiliar kind of fatigue weighing down on her.
A strange heaviness pressed against her shoulders, and even the stairs she usually leaped over with ease felt like a struggle.
“I’m back...”
“Kyuu.”
As she stepped through the always-open door, a familiar sound greeted her.
cha Angler.
The creature was watching TV, the soft blue light from the screen casting a dim glow in the dark room.
It turned its head slightly toward A before shifting its gaze back to the screen.
...So tired...
A could barely stand. The exhaustion felt like it could knock her out on the spot.
She didn’t even have the energy to turn off the TV.
She collapsed onto the bed, sinking into the mattress.
And, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she used an empty pizza box as a pillow.
The TV continued playing.
[Breaking news from Babel Network. Black Bio Corp’s food production plant has been completely shut down due to an ard takeover by Low-Tech Street gangs early this morning.]
[With Black Bio Corp’s synthetic protein and cultivated at production lines coming to a full stop, Babel’s already crumbling food crisis has now reached a critical level.]
[Babel City has activated ergency food distribution, and citizens are advised to remain within designated zones patrolled by riot suppression drones.]
As the news segnt ended and a loud comrcial began, A drowsily cracked open an eye and muttered under her breath.
“...Too loud...”
Hearing her, cha Angler switched off the TV.
Silence settled over the tiny apartnt.
With the TV’s glow gone, the empty pizza box beside her—labeled Black Bio Pizza—faded into the darkness.
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