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Standing before what easily seemed like over a hundred engineer applicants, the first thought that crossed my mind was the weariness of whether I’d even be able to go home today.

After being informed that I had to speak with two Mega Corp interviewers… that weariness turned into worry about how far I could get with my game knowledge and shallow experience.

Finally, after hearing that Aaron Dreyfus was waiting inside, it solidified into intense suspicion.

To borrow an expression that employees of Heilong would use… second to none.

Limited to this city, he was a true power broker with only a very few individuals above him.

Other Mega Corp branches might object, but basically, what would possess a power broker who could move trillions of Credits and corresponding forces with just a flick of his finger to play the role of an interviewer?

…Unless he was a member of the founding family, an incident like the previous terror attack would have to occur to bring out someone as busy as him.

“……Mr. Dreyfus is inside?”

“…Yes, that’s right. He keeps urging us through the security channel that he wants to finish quickly and rest, so please….”

It didn’t seem like there was any more information to be gleaned from the police officer, who was fidgeting with his clasped hands, his forehead practically buried in them, as if at a loss for what to do.

Besides, he seemed to run hot, constantly tugging and flapping the hem of his riot gear… it was a little awkward to keep staring.

“……Sigh.”

In the end, I left him alone and moved my heavy steps towards the interview room deep inside the annex.

It seemed like someone on the police side didn’t have a suitable name to sell, so they brought up someone who might plausibly have met me… does that mean they’re from the mercenary industry?

A double life as a cop and a mercenary… maybe I should take them as a role model for the future…?

Screech…!

The soles of my shoes rubbed against the smooth floor.

From around noon until now, when the sun had yielded its integrity. I arrived at the door of judgment, which had produced countless angry, bad, and strange people.

Regardless of who was waiting for me inside, I turned the doorknob to open the way, determined not to easily concede the upper hand.

“……Ah! Ivory Hacker! I was worried you had just left after waiting too long? Or… should I call you Miss Valentine?”

“You son of a…!”

Before the door could fully open, I reflexively grabbed the handle again at the sight of the grinning man… this damn door! It only looked old-fashioned, but now that I saw it, it seemed to be an electronic opening and closing device controlled by the central system.

I briefly considered hacking this thing and slamming the door shut on Dreyfus, who was watching my struggling form with great amusement, but I realized that this was all a butterfly effect caused by a single trait manifestation and gave up.

“Hoo….”

“This isn’t an interview, so there’s no need to be so nervous, Miss Valentine.”

…What on earth does he mean by saying it’s not an interview? I glared at the smirking man, who was pretending not to even be able to distinguish between a deep breath and a sigh, and took a seat in the chair prepared across from him.

Then… I observed the monster I had to face.

His suit, which I had mistaken for yellow in the chaos immediately after the terrorist attack, was now revealed to be a custom-made piece that recreated even the subtle texture of gold.

His hair, swept back without a single stray strand, represented his thorough work ethic, and his squinting eyes, which made me doubt if he could even see properly, represented the tightly locked windows of his heart.

The numbers engraved under his eyes and on his neck caught my attention, as if he had gotten a tattoo there.

I wondered if it might be an important clue… and tried to recall if I had seen it anywhere.

“…So, may I ask… why you came out here in person…?”

…Wait, that’s an AnDroid serial number. ……What the hell, is this guy…?

“Ahahaha…! Came out in person? I’m just lying comfortably in my office bed right now, so you don’t have to worry about me on purpose, you know?”

“…….”

The back of my neck was burning.

It wasn’t that I felt betrayed, since there was no trust or anything to begin with, but I was just ashamed of my intuition for not noticing in this semi-enclosed space without any particular guards.

Moreover… his exaggerated gestures of spreading his arms wide, his frivolous tone. Now that I realized it was all just a puppet show, it became even more difficult to read his intentions.

“Wow~ I don’t know about Miss Valentine, but today was really crazy, you know? I just volunteered for the interview duty by controlling a surrogate body… but the Elysium Corporation said they would match the level, and the branch manager himself popped out! I was so nervous, you know?”

Dreyfus joked that the strict standards of the branch manager had made this cyber engineer recruitment a complete drought.

…Elysium Corporation. A Mega Corp specializing in virtual space-related technologies such as Cyberware, electronic equipment, and communications.

I don’t know who the branch manager in this area is, but he must have had a frustrating day getting involved with this snake-like man.

……Wait, then why isn’t he here?

“Where is… the Elysium interviewer…?”

“He gladly went back first after I said I had a talented internal candidate in mind, you know?”

“……I see.”

The scattered atmosphere subsided at my subdued reply.

His beaming expression was still the same, but the depth of his thoughts became deeper and stickier.

Trivial tricks and a prepared seat.

The fact that Aaron Dreyfus, the head of the strategic planning department of Paradise, whose every move could be interpreted politically, had taken the time for a mere hacker remained unchanged. The moment to hear his intentions had finally come.

His arms, which had been waving freely and taking all sorts of gestures, were neatly gathered on the desk.

“…The Elysium branch manager said this, you know? That not all Network Hackers are cyber engineers, but all cyber engineers are Network Hackers. And that if the quality of civilian resources continues to be bad like today, we might have to consider using Enama’s test-tube baby system more actively.”

“Ugh……!”

I was speechless at the blatant expression of ‘civilian resources.’

Fortunately, I knew about Enama’s test-tube system in advance, so I was barely able to hold back the facial muscles that were about to contort. …Humans who are cultivated and raised by the company from the beginning to secure overwhelming loyalty and trust, the tracker training process.

“In that sense, someone like you. Someone with talent whose origins are impossible to fathom and a corporate-friendly civic consciousness, we really wanted to provide you with a position…?”

“…Thank you for the high evaluation.”

I swallowed the sarcasm and nausea of who was calling me corporate-friendly.

An excessively powerful necessary evil. That’s the definition I’ve given to Mega Corp, so I wish they wouldn’t arbitrarily distort a person’s beliefs just because I leaked some information.

Tap tap… tap tap….

The AnDroid’s fingers tapped the desk rhythmically.

“But… you’re very clever, aren’t you? Even though I openly handed you a lottery ticket with the winning numbers, you’re trying to just dip your toes in instead of jumping right in…?”

“That’s….”

Before I could choose the right words, a thin line split open and the snake’s white eyes, which had been hidden, were revealed.

I had the illusion that his shadow, which wasn’t particularly large, was gradually swelling in size and filling the room.

“You seem to have quite a bit of sentimentality… I recommend you just officially join the company this time. That way… those mercenaries… and the future of other Miss Valentines. Won’t be peaceful and safe, you know?”

“!!”

Bang—!!

I slammed the desk and stood up from my seat without realizing it at the sensation of fangs that had already reached just inside my neck. …It was too much of a difference in our positions and life experiences to grasp how much of it was a joke and how much of it was serious.

Even though there was a real human inside, not an artificial intelligence, I couldn’t feel any warmth at all.

Could it be…… could this be it? The reef I brought upon myself? …If you were going to cause an accident, you should have done it when you had nothing to protect, you idiot Anastasia.

I squeezed out my voice, clutching my arm that had begun to tremble with overwhelming injustice.

“…May I ask… why you’re going this far.”

“…? Ahahaha!! Isn’t it simple? If you find gold on the street… you just pick it up before the owner shows up, you know?”

The snake chattered in an attitude that had become frivolous again, as if his future subordinate had taken an attitude of submitting to his persistent persuasion.

“……Ha.”

And… I was relieved to hear that answer.

The emotion that humans feel most strongly and have the most difficulty shaking off is fear. Especially the fear of the unknown.

If he truly wanted me to submit… Dreyfus shouldn’t have revealed his base desires so early.

But thank you. Thanks to you, even the bitter self-reproach and sadness that lingered in my mouth could be covered with hot anger.

An extra who only managed to get his name on the character encyclopedia after coming to Neo Haven Prime, how dare you treat someone like something you’ve acquired…?! You’re on the same level as Horatio, you bastard…!

Grind…!

Even the sensation of my teeth grinding became a good seasoning.

You said you highly valued my talent…? Then I’ll raise the size of that gold nugget to the ceiling of the headquarters building where you’re comfortably lying down, so stop with the petty tricks right now.

“…Mr. Dreyfus? I’d like to give you a return for the business card you gave me earlier… would you extend your hand…?”

“Hand… you say?”

As if this was the first time this had happened, he politely grasped the hand that was extended with an interesting expression.

There’s no way there would only be signals sent unilaterally to control the AnDroid body. If it’s not an automated task for me to see him and act accordingly, but this meticulous man is operating it himself, then there must be signals or data being transmitted from that side as well.

So, the only gift I can give is this instead of a pledge of allegiance.

“…….”

I closed my eyes and entrusted my mind to the Halo of Cyberware and the comfortable darkness that floated across my retina.

I swam in the sea of countless signals and radio waves that flowed through the inside of the AnDroid. If I couldn’t find it by floating on the surface, I dove deeper.

…Limited to situations where I’m not disturbed, though. If I can stretch a moment infinitely, that means I’m given infinite opportunities and infinite chances to win.

While manufacturing a bomb in my head, I constantly searched for a delivery person to deliver it to the owner.

….

…….

Shared visual data being transmitted to Aaron Dreyfus. I finally found it.

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

After confirming the acceptance letter transmitted through Cyberware, Aaron cheerfully bid farewell to… the best Network Hacker he had seen, who was quietly trying to leave the room.

“I trust you know where to contact us if you ever change your mind?”

“…Thank you for your generous treatment.”

He stared at the little maestro bowing her head through the eyes of the machine.

What he thought was a simple rough stone was actually a finished jewel….

Of course, depending on who handles it, that could become a disaster that destroys all order. Or, conversely, it could become a weapon that puts an end to the tiresome power struggles between Mega Corp.

……As expected, Aaron came to the conclusion that if he wasn’t going to kill her right away, he needed to drive a wedge in to prevent her from acting rashly.

“Then, as a final… warning. …If you don’t harm Paradise’s business, I will also wait quietly, according to the gift I received.”

“……”

She left the room without answering, at the declaration that clearly drew the line between them.

…Click.

He issued a return order to his android prosthesis and then took off the control goggles he had been wearing.

The commotion in the upper echelons of Paradise headquarters, which was always noisy due to the chairman’s eccentric personality, seemed even more intense today.

…No, it was definitely more intense because of the employees running around in the hallway.

No wonder, the goggles, Aaron’s retina, the office computer, and even the electronic photo frame.

All of them were broadcasting the same phrase due to the virus and strange radio waves they had received.

• If you want to obtain pure gold, first show the dignity to match. –

“……This is quite troublesome!”

Hoping that this devilish touch had not reached the chairman’s office, Aaron began a new task to package this plausible reprimand as a surprise moral education organized by the planning department.