Chapter 65 - A little curious
Jin arrived in downtown late in the evening.
The cityscape that greeted him was no different from usual.
Neon signs flickering emptily like withering flowers and narrow alleyways filled with shadows.
Graffiti that seemed to embody the world's resentment, overlaid with crude drawings of oversized genitalia.
Vandalism defiling vandalism.
The eyes of passersby, indifferent to the filthy walls, held only a quiet loneliness.
The streetlights illuminating them were cold and blaring, offering no warmth.
The red sunset, gazed upon in search of comfort, only gifted solitude instead—reviving long-buried memories.
People, indifferent as they brushed past one another, never questioned why.
Perhaps they never would.
To them, this narrow patch of sky had always been the ceiling of their world.
And so.
Only a stranger, untethered to this land, sat by a rundown motel window, watching the darkness slowly consume the scenery.
Then, at some point, night fully embraced the city.
Jin quietly rose from his seat and lay down on the bed.
Hugging his pillow, he forced himself to sleep.
That night, he dreamed.
A dream that whispered that all of this was nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
A dream that could never come true.
Jin remained holed up in the motel for days.
Not because he was sinking into depression—no, not quite.
Though the black waves occasionally lapped at his ankles, they no longer swallowed him whole as often.
Anyway.
To get straight to the point, Jin was training.
No, not the kind that involves a serene pond and blooming white flowers.
The kind that involves discipline and forging oneself through effort.
Training, of all things.
Could there be a word less fitting for Jin?
As an Irregular, even breathing (well, not literally) made his body a little stronger.
As long as he had enough experience points, he could master any skill in its most perfected form.
In other words, he could bypass the years—no, decades—of effort that others had to endure.
So why was he suddenly engaging in training that was so foreign to his nature?
Because of that lingering unease gnawing at him.
That discomfort stemmed from the moment he defeated Taha.
From the fire that had surged within him.
...What the hell was that?
Jin narrowed his eyes at the ceiling.
Crossing his arms, he propped his right knee up and rested his left foot atop it.
Then, he absentmindedly tapped his ankle.
To an outsider, he might have seemed to be lounging idly, but for Jin, this was part of his training.
After all, he was seriously contemplating a realm he had never consciously acknowledged before.
"Hmm..."
How had the usually dormant warmth inside him suddenly flared to life back then?
He hadn't been panicking.
Was it because he had squeezed every last drop of mana?
No, he tested that yesterday.
It had just left him exhausted.
Then what was it?
What the hell was it?!
"Ugh."
Jin scrubbed his face with his palm in frustration.
Thinking about that moment made his chest itch.
Like a memory on the verge of surfacing, but just out of reach—enough to drive him insane.
It was like having an almost-sneeze tickling his nose, but never quite coming out.
But this was inevitable.
"The bird struggles to break free from its egg.
The egg is the bird's world."
Wasn't that what some great writer had said?
That those who wished to be born anew must first destroy the world they're in?
Breaking free.
The moment one shatters their limits and moves beyond.
Those who had reached the so-called second tier and beyond had all, without exception, faced their walls with their own hands.
They had groped their way to their limits,
Refused to submit, swinging their limbs with all their might,
And finally, when cracks had spread across the wall, they had glimpsed a new world.
Jin, however, had skipped over that entire process—thanks to the system.
And now, the consequence of that was manifesting as this torment.
What could he do?
That "wall" had collapsed before he even recognized its existence.
So all he could do now was scratch his head and wander aimlessly along an indistinct boundary.
Each day had become suffocating, but that was simply how the world worked.
The smallest insights, the most delicate awakenings seemingly simple yet always the hardest to grasp.
It took a full week before Jin finally left the motel.
It would have been nice if he had made some remarkable progress in that time.
Unfortunately, he hadn't.
Honestly, he had realized that sitting still and racking his brain wasn't going to get him anywhere.
It just wasn't his style.
Since when had he ever been the thinking type?!
Having confidently self-assessed his own shortcomings, Jin resolved to figure things out the way he always had—by throwing himself into the thick of it.
And as a bonus, he decided to lift his spirits with some shopping.
First stop: a clothing store.
"For the love of god! Please! Buy something different! Have some pity on your own body, will you?!"
The shop owner's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears.
As always, Jin picked a bomber jacket, a t-shirt, jeans—
And finished it off with a pair of leather boots.
After paying, he smirked.
"This is my uniform. You should get used to it too."
Afterward, he grabbed a bite at a hot dog stand that only operated in the mornings and bought a new terminal.
Unfolding a crumpled piece of paper, he saved the number written inside.
That's when Albus's words suddenly came to mind.
"Please, at least back up your data."
And so, Jin called Po.
It was one of the few contact numbers he had memorized.
The others were Khalifa and Jenny, perhaps?
Jecky's still had a long way to wait...
Oh, he picked up.
"Po?"
[Jin? Is that you?]
"Yeah, it's me. I called because I need a favor. Can you text me the solo intranet address you sent last time?"
[That won't be difficult. But... are you okay?]
His voice was urgent, pressing against Jin's ears.
He even repeated the question a couple more times, unable to bring himself to say anything more.
A flustered Po—now that was rare.
Feeling oddly amused, Jin chuckled as he replied.
"I'm fine; otherwise, I wouldn't be calling. I'll drop by soon and explain everything. Oh, and I have one more favor to ask."
[Go ahead.]
"Somehow, I ended up with about 100 million credits. So, I was thinking of getting a place. It doesn't have to be big—just a small space would do. Can you help me find something? I don't know much about real estate."
[Of course. Leave it to me.]
"You're the only one I can count on."
Holding the terminal in both hands, Jin gave a slight bow.
Then, Po spoke again.
[Jin, if you don't mind, can I share this number with the manager?]
"Khalifa? Sure, but... why do I have a bad feeling about this? Is she mad at me?"
[You haven't contacted her in nearly three weeks.]
"Ah. I'm screwed. Just go ahead and do it."
[Understood. Then, I'll see you later.]
The call ended.
Almost simultaneously, a message arrived.
Jin naturally clicked the URL.
An app was instantly installed on his terminal. Using his previous experience, he clicked on his profile.
"...Ugh, what is all this?"
A flood of messages stretched endlessly before him, enough to make him dizzy.
There were ten unread pages.
With thirty messages per page, that meant over three hundred messages in total.
Had they really piled up this much?
Bewildered, Jin pressed his thumb on the first message at the top.
[This is Wonder. Awaiting your response.]
[Duplicate message detected (87). Would you like to block this user? YES / NO]
"...Huh?"
A message directly from Wonder, not from R&D.
And he had sent the same message eighty-seven times.
Did something happen?
Jin had already been meaning to reach out to Wonder.
Without hesitation, he tapped on the terminal.
[Just saw this. Sorry.]
Not even three seconds later, an incoming call notification popped up through his profile account.
"Hello?"
[Jin, is that you?]
Recognizing the familiar male voice through the terminal, Jin nodded.
"Yeah, it's Wonder, right?"
[...You're alive. What a relief.]
Hearing the deep sigh of relief, Jin felt a pang of guilt.
He really had been neglecting the people around him.
"Sorry. My terminal was broken."
[I figured. After all, you took Faust's attack head-on.]
"You were watching?"
Jin had already reviewed the bodycam footage himself.
Though, in the chaos of battle, he had completely forgotten about it.
"I'm not sure if it recorded properly."
[Perfectly. It's a shame it didn't capture Taha's final moments, but even without that, I've gathered more than enough of the critical scenes I needed.]
Wonder's voice carried a tinge of laughter.
He sounded absolutely thrilled.
He must be really enjoying this.
Jin scratched the back of his head, feeling a little awkward.
[There's something I need to brief you on. Do you have time for a call?]
"Yeah, go ahead."
Jin nodded, signaling him to continue.
And so, Wonder explained the situation.
Right now, interest in a certain squad was through the roof in Mute Town.
They were calling them The Last Battalion.
Even the name carried an ominous weight.
This so-called squad, hardly even worthy of being called a full unit, had stormed TB's headquarters.
Not only had they neutralized most of their forces, but they had also managed to kill Taha—essentially toppling a military faction.
Naturally, the question on everyone's mind was:
Who the hell are they?
And here was Wonder, holding onto the footage that showcased their feats.
He had been waiting quietly for the perfect moment.
[Now is the ideal time to release the edited footage. If we delay any longer, public interest will fade. I plan to upload it today at 6 PM. What do you think?]
"Do whatever you want. It doesn't matter to me."
Jin's indifferent response prompted Wonder to add,
[Would you like to review the edited version beforehand? I can make adjustments if needed.]
"Nah, I don't care about that."
Jin waved his hand dismissively, as if Wonder were standing right in front of him.
I'm not a YouTuber or anything.
I'm sure he did a fine job.
With that, Jin started wrapping up the call.
"I'm really late in saying this, but… you saved us. Me, my friends. I won't forget this favor. Thank you."
[Think nothing of it. It was all for each other's sake, wasn't it?]
"Still."
[That concludes what I had to relay. Well then, Jin. I'll be in touch again.]
"Yeah. Take care."
With that, Jin ended his second call and let out a sigh.
Even short conversations about work felt utterly draining.
Feeling mentally exhausted, he naturally craved something sweet.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since he'd last had a Khalifa-brand cookie.
Following the flow of his thoughts, Jin instinctively steered his Manticore toward Anekdote.
Honestly, he was a little worried.
Khalifa, as a Linker who prioritized the safety of her Solos above all else, would surely scold him relentlessly for going three whole weeks without contact.
Maybe he should bring a gift?
As he pondered whether to prepare a peace offering, the alley leading to Anekdote came into view before he knew it.
He decided he'd get her a present next time and began walking toward the store.
"...Jin! Jin!"
A voice, forcibly kept low, pierced his ears with a grating rasp.
Turning toward the sound, he blinked.
Huh?
A face peeking out from behind a streetlamp?
And it looked oddly familiar.
A Black man with tightly twisted dreadlocks—
A Linker who had once handed Jin his business card.
His name was…D'Andre, right?
Probably.
Jin remembered him as the guy who had a huge falling out with Khalifa.
Wasn't he notorious for burning through his Solos?
"What are you doing there?"
"Shh! Shh! Shh!"
Pressing a thick finger to his lips, D'Andre gestured frantically.
"Over here!"
What's up with him?
Jin furrowed his brows slightly.
But he couldn't exactly ignore someone calling out to him so desperately.
"What is it?"
"You're here."
As Jin stepped behind the streetlamp, D'Andre's face lit up.
His chrome-plated front tooth gleamed in the sunlight.
"You remember me? From before..."
"Yeah. You're D'Andre, right?"
"Oh, damn."
D'Andre smacked his forehead in exaggerated surprise before curling his lips into a grin.
"That makes this easier."
His eyes flicked toward Anekdote, checking his surroundings.
Then, lowering his voice, he said,
"Jin, take on a job with me. Just one. It's an incredible gig, I swear. You won't be disappointed. Really. I mean it. I swear on my dead mother."
Jin found himself chuckling despite himself.
"Why are you swearing on that?"
Ah, damn.
He shouldn't be reacting like this.
But when someone spoke so desperately, how could he not be at least a little curious?