novelraw Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Chapter 143
-The next news.
-The ruling and opposition parties continue their fierce debates over the Special Law for Adaptees proposed by the Fusion Progressive Party.
-This bill, spearheaded by Representative ‘Zyle Stormwalker’ of the Fusion Progressive Party, places restrictions on the production, wearing, and use of ‘Arcane Modules’ of Lv.3 or higher. It is widely regarded as legislation targeting the top two corporations in the business hierarchy, ‘Stingray Group’ and ‘Millennium Technology.’
-Representative ‘Zyle Stormwalker,’ who introduced the bill, raised his voice at a press conference, declaring, “The reason this city remains trapped in the clutches of megacorp power is because of the corporations’ military strength that defies common sense.”
[Zyle Stormwalker (Fusion Progressive Party / 45): “The ‘Arcane Module’ is a dangerous weapon that must be used only for the survival of humanity left in this city. Yet, at present, such strategic weapons are being recklessly mass-produced and used solely for corporate profit without any restraint……”]
-Meanwhile, Representative ‘Raymond Beresford’ of the ruling Free Nexus Party, regarded as the rival presidential candidate to Zyle Stormwalker, rebutted strongly.
[Raymond Beresford (Free Nexus Party / 58): “The Special Law for Adaptees is legislation that utterly fails to understand the principles of a free economy. It is a foolish attempt to completely weaken humanity’s vanguard—‘Adaptees’ and the ‘Arcane Module’……”]
As the news played alongside me, Serena began a call with someone.
“Yes, Father. I saw the news. You looked amazing out there. Mr. Aaron and the Chairman will be thankful too. Yes, of course…… What? ‘It’s only natural since it’s for your future son-in-law’? No, it’s not like that yet…… Yes, I’m with him right now.”
“……”
As she said that, Serena glanced toward me, sitting in the office.
Surely, with cyberware communication, a simple ‘thought’ would be enough for dialogue. But she deliberately raised her voice while speaking—clearly so that I would overhear it.
“……”
Uh, well. I guess I should be grateful……
But it was a bit much, so I pretended not to hear. Truthfully, I was far too busy with other matters to pay attention.
As I feigned ignorance while sorting through documents, Maria entered the office.
“Young Master.”
“Yeah. How did it go?”
“I’ve made sure all the articles were taken down. The prosecutors dismissed it as mere gossip and didn’t react. It seems Lady Kallia exerted her influence.”
As I had requested, Kallia, who had strong connections with the media and broadcasters, had pressured the major outlets not to pick up the rumor that first surfaced—‘Aaron Stingray is a murderer.’
Of course, this wouldn’t last long.
For now, thanks to Stingray’s careful cover-ups of my past crimes, there wasn’t any tangible evidence, so the matter had fizzled out. But Millitech and Omega Investment wouldn’t just sit still.
‘At most, maybe a week.’
After that, the “Aaron Stingray Murderer Theory” would slowly resurface.
Once public opinion heated up, the government and prosecutors would be pressured into opening an investigation. And then, those prosecutors fattened by Millitech’s money would go on a frenzy digging into every crime I had committed.
‘I need to take care of the other problems before that happens.’
Currently, Stingray Group was locked in a battle against Omega Investment’s aggressive stock acquisition methods that defied human understanding.
If, on top of this, the so-called “Crown Prince Risk” exploded, it would become nearly impossible to hold the front line.
‘And if that happens, the main office might cut ties with me.’
For now, they judged it better to join forces with me rather than discard me, which was why both the Stingray Chairman and Kallia were lending me their support.
But given our Stingray family’s nature—where something like ‘familial love’ simply didn’t exist—there was always the chance they’d suddenly stab me in the back.
Perhaps that was exactly the situation ‘Motherboard’ desired.
No—perhaps all my desperate struggles to break free of this situation were already part of Motherboard’s grand strategy.
A sudden wave of unease struck me.
What if every move I was making now had already been simulated by Motherboard? What if even her miscalculation of how many ‘Game Changer’-grade items I possessed was intentional?
What if Serena or Kara, who were siding with me now, were actually both traps Motherboard had planted to strangle me later?
Then, no matter how hard I struggled, I would be nothing more than Aaron the monkey in the palm of Motherboard’s Buddha hand.
‘……If that happens, there’ll truly be no turning back.’
I would be forced into an ultimate armed struggle.
The original story would collapse completely.
Even more than when the protagonist had died, the scenario to come would face an enormous crisis.
I didn’t want things to go that way, so for now, I had no choice but to do what I could.
‘Alright. I’ve left the media, business, and politics to others. What’s left is……’
The transmigrator-related issue entrusted to Kara.
The [Showcase] issue entrusted to Lexus.
My own task—destroying Motherboard.
For the first matter, Kara was currently roaming the city, investigating the key characters Motherboard had influenced through direct contact.
Since we needed to adjust the flow of the scenario, it was essential to confirm just how much and in what ways Motherboard had altered the original work.
Honestly, I would’ve liked to provide support from Stingray’s Intelligence Division, but they claimed they had no capacity left, being tied up in blocking the Special Law for Adaptees.
And really, since this was a ‘Transmigrator’ issue, it wasn’t something ordinary people should meddle with. So that part had to be fully entrusted to Kara.
“……”
Phew.
I let out a short sigh as I rose from my seat. The work piled up like a mountain, but it was about time I got moving. The weight of the ‘key’ tucked in my pocket felt heavy.
“Are you leaving?”
“Alright.”
I nodded.
“Please keep my seat open while I’m gone.”
“Of course, my lord.”
“Please take care of yourself.”
Maria bowed politely, and Serena looked up at me with a worried expression.
I met her gaze without answering.
Outside the Stingray offices, I parked in the flying-vehicle-only lot. This time, instead of using a human driver or an automatic AI driving unit, I planned to drive myself.
Flying sports cars were parked in the lot, and a level-3 anti-rain was pouring from the sky. Level three, and the downpour was sharper than usual.
When I approached the sports car, it recognized my biometric response and slid the door open. I sat in the driver’s seat and naturally took the wheel.
‘It was my first time driving a car myself since coming to this world.’
And it was a flying car, too.
Even though I was planning to plow straight into enemy territory, I couldn’t hide how excited I felt.
I started the engine and lightly pressed the accelerator.
Vvvvvrrrr!
The sports car’s throaty engine note tore through the air. It was the sort of sound that made a man’s heart tremble.
I shifted gears manually and the speed rose in an instant as the car exited the parking lot. As the wheels left the ground, a feeling of weightlessness washed over me.
Skyscrapers pierced the sky.
Holographic billboards and neon signs.
Rain lashing down and the wipers cleaning the windshield.
Savoring all of that, I sped along the ownerless road in the sky. I left the Academy’s large building and headed straight for Sector A, and following the navigation I arrived above the Omega Investment building.
Looking down, I saw a wide compound and a large building. The logo [OMEGA INVESTMENT] on top was half-hidden by steam.
The tremendous heat and steam radiating from the building made the surrounding air uneasy. On the ground, turrets and military drones—like the Academy’s defensive systems—guarded the building.
[Warning. This area has a high incidence of accidents.]
The navigation’s voice warned me.
That meant there were more than one or two drivers who’d been caught by the turbulence caused by that damn building. I hovered around the building at a bit of distance and spoke.
“How long will it take, Ciel?”
[All set~! I made all nearby CCTV go dead~!]
“Good job.”
Perfect.
I turned the wheel and aimed the car at the Omega Investment building.
Woooooooo! Wooooooo!
Enjoying the sound, I tapped the accelerator a few times, then floored it and shifted gears.
Waaaaaaaah—!
The vehicle broke the 100 km/h mark in an instant. A warning message flashed across the front smart glass.
[Warning. This is private property of ‘Omega Investment’. Under New Valhalla City Property Law Article 68, Clause 3……]
What am I supposed to do with that.
I ignored it and pressed the accelerator harder. The speedometer climbed to 250 km/h.
Before long, the Omega Investment building’s façade filled the windshield.
It seemed like we would crash any second, but I didn’t hesitate and pushed the accelerator even harder.
Kraaaash—!
Time slowed down.
The bumper buckled against the building, glass shattered, airbags ballooned. But, annoyingly, the exterior of the Omega Investment building didn’t show a scratch.
Ah, what a shame.
I’d planned to punch a shortcut through it, but the outer wall was far tougher than I’d expected. I had no choice but to work my way up from the first floor.
The car’s body, having hit the wall, lost momentum and began to fall to the ground. When it hit the ground, the frame crumpled again.
I ended up stuck like a bird in a cage, but that posed no problem for me. I tore the bent steel frame off with my strength and stepped out of the vehicle.
As I dusted off the dirt from my clothes, numerous electric signals registered on my sensors.
[Warning. Warning. This is private property of ‘Omega Investment’. You ignored prior warnings and intruded, therefore, under New Valhalla City Property Law Article 71, Clause 1—]
Clack. Clack.
Dozens of military drones surrounding me simultaneously aimed their weapons. The automated gatling turrets on the distant outer wall also turned their heads in unison toward me.
[-You will be summarily executed.]
“Really? Summarily executed….”
I answered nonchalantly.
Something like this had happened before.
An Adaptee had once fallen into Omega Investment’s compound because of turbulence, and that person had died fighting military drones that tried to summarily execute them.
Omega Investment then sued the bereaved family, claiming compensation for the drones they’d damaged while fighting the Adaptee.
Of course the bereaved protested that it was outrageous to demand money after losing a family member, and the court ruled in the family’s favor, saying the deceased’s actions had been for ‘self-protection.’
The result was, at least, a happy ending.
But thanks to that precedent, the laws in this half-mad city became even more absurd.
The law that allowed shooting dead anyone who entered corporate private property after multiple ignored warnings remained, while at the same time allowing a trespasser to use ‘measures to disarm a weapon’ as justified self-defense if a gun was pointed at them.
In that case, things like ‘drones’ and ‘automatic turrets’ were recognized as ‘weapons.’ In other words, destroying a drone could be treated as ‘causing the weapon to be dropped.’
If you asked me what kind of shitty law that was—
I didn’t know either.
It wasn’t my precedent to make.
‘Bureaucrats, really…’
Well, what could I do.
This cyberpunk city being half-insane was the problem. But because of that, even if I made a mess here—
“‘It was self-defense.’”
Did that explain why I’d come here?
It was, after all, an ‘accident.’
I fell here by ‘accident’ and, to protect my body—really, I didn’t want to do it even one gram—but to survive, I had no choice.
I had to make a mess of this place.