Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 4: Mercenary A (3)

Whirl.

My head soared through the air.

In an instant, an incredibly accelerated thought process led me to observe the surreal sight below.

My field of vision, now much higher than usual, spun as if in a dizzying whirl, capturing the surrounding scene ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ like a panoramic view.

The torso of my body—without its head.

The man’s face, wearing a self-assured grin.

Behind him, a woman with optical camouflage, observing the situation.

And then, Aria’s shocked expression, her skin still healthy and whole.

"Wow, I’ve never seen Aria look so surprised..."

I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at the sight of Aria’s genuinely shocked face.

The Aria I knew was always calm and composed, but now her eyes were wide open, and her mouth slightly agape—a rare sight.

Ah, now that I think about it... did I ever mention that I wouldn’t die even if my head was cut off?

Hmm...

I thought back, but I had never said anything like that.

I felt a bit guilty for scaring her.

Though Aria and I had worked together on a few missions, situations like this were extremely rare, so it made sense that she would react this way.

Still, if it weren’t for this sturdy body, I would have been dead in an instant.

With my brain so difficult to replace through implants, a decapitation is one of the most certain ways to end a life.

Even though I was a full-body cyborg, it was still an extreme threat, but I wasn’t concerned at all.

In this brutal cyberpunk world, the one good thing about my existence was this incredibly tough body.

No matter how bad the situation was, as long as I had this body, I felt confident that I could overcome anything.

In fact, when I first woke up in this cyberpunk world, without this body, I wouldn’t have survived.

I blinked once, and suddenly, 100 years had passed.

The outrageously inflated prices in the city of Babel were incomparable to the old Seoul.

I had nothing but a coat to my name.

I had no proper identity, so getting a job was impossible.

I was truly in a situation where I lacked the basics—food, shelter, and connections.

And on top of that, the violent, vicious residents who made the cyberpunk underworld feel real.

Among all that misfortune, the one thing that saved me was one thing only.

My supernaturally strong body!

Even more amazing was that this body wasn’t just strong, but it was perfectly balanced with no weaknesses.

Heightened senses that surpassed human abilities.

Skin softer than human skin.

Considering the mental issues that many people who inserted powerful implants into their bodies faced in the back alleys, I couldn’t help but value this.

Hands and feet devoid of sensation, and steel skin—that would drive anyone crazy.

Even back then, I couldn’t understand why people would choose to replace their limbs with metal after having them cut off.

As I thought about it, I noticed the man, who had just decapitated me, was now moving toward Aria.

I gave my headless torso a mental command.

It was time to move.

As the man passed by my torso, clearly believing that I was disposed of, his expression was filled with satisfaction.

He slowly lifted the weapon that had severed my head.

At that moment, the blue glow around my body began to intensify, and my torso started moving.

As if I had a head again, I slowly turned my body.

"?!"

The woman, seeing me move, opened her mouth to warn the man, but I was faster.

With a blinding flash of blue, my headless torso reached the man in the blink of an eye.

And with a jump, my small fist flew toward his chest.

"Tsssh."

The punch pierced his outer armor, as easily as ripping through paper.

The high-end multipurpose armor couldn’t stop my punch.

Boom!

With a heavy thud, a hole was blown clean through the man’s chest.

As I pulled my arm back, red blood sprayed out in a fountain.

My headless body and Aria, standing nearby, were both drenched in the blood.

Thud.

Aside from the flowing blood, the scene froze for a moment, and my head, still floating in the air, finally fell to the ground.

And with the sound of it hitting the floor, like a signal, the man’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

I slowly walked over and picked up my head, now lying on the floor.

"This feels weird..."

It was a strange sensation, seeing my face in my own hands, watching myself from my own perspective—a feeling I couldn’t get used to, no matter how many times it happened.

I attached my head back to my body.

As if magnets were pulling them together, the flesh and head naturally connected.

The blue glow flickered for a moment at the junction, then faded away.

When I met Aria’s gaze, I could still see the disbelief in her eyes.

I held her gaze for a moment before turning away.

The woman who seemed to be part of the man’s team was already turning to flee.

She likely tried to escape using her optical camouflage, but with her presence already exposed, it wasn’t the best choice.

This strong body could easily detect any optical camouflages with a little concentration.

I could clearly feel the slight ripples in the air.

I dashed toward her.

The tips of my blue hair, glowing like fire, flowed behind me as I ran.

Just three steps.

That was all it took for me to close the distance.

As the woman turned to look back, I effortlessly knocked her to the ground.

And with a swift movement, I wrapped my hand around her throat.

Her eyes widened in terror.

As her fingers moved toward the gun attached to her body, I twisted her wrist, snapping it.

With both of my enemies now dealt with, I returned to Aria.

And I collapsed onto the floor.

The blue glow surrounding my body faded, no longer shining intensely.

It simply flickered faintly as I began to regain my calm.

"Well, that was some unexpected extra labor..."

I lazily stared at the ceiling and muttered.

"I’m really craving pizza."

Now that I think about it, ever since I took on this body, my craving for pizza has been getting worse and worse...

Could this be a side effect of this body?

Aria, who had been looking tense, let out a small sigh, the tension in her face easing as she saw me.

****

As Aria walked toward the AI Assimilation zone, her mind was filled with conflicting thoughts.

A person who didn’t die even after having their head severed.

No, perhaps it was even doubtful whether the word ‘person’ applied here.

Was A not human?

Her steps continued, but Aria’s thoughts began to drift elsewhere.

The assailant was likely a corporate hound.

Given their equipment and behavioral patterns, they were definitely specialized agents working for the corporation.

Even with the corporation’s involvement, was it right to continue with the rescue mission?

And why did A kill all the corporate agents without even attempting to interrogate them?

‘...’

In the heavy silence, Aria continued to ponder.

Suddenly, she turned her head, and an unexpected sight caught her attention.

A was secretly pulling out a slice of pizza from her pocket.

A perfectly intact slice of pizza, without any damage.

How on earth could she have stuffed such a big piece of pizza into her pocket? But even more surprising was A’s behavior.

She held the pizza carefully, as if it were a precious treasure, and slowly took a bite.

Nom nom.

The sound echoed softly through the stillness.

As our eyes met, A turned her body away, as if to say "I won’t share," and started devouring the pizza even faster.

Whether it was because of her eating posture, or maybe because the pizza seemed far too big for her, it almost looked like a hamster hiding its food.

Without realizing it, Aria felt a smile spread across her lips.

Perhaps because of A’s bizarre behavior, all the unease and doubts that had been crowding her mind moments ago had disappeared.

"Let’s go."

Aria spoke.

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A finished the last bite of pizza, licked her fingers, and nodded, as if nothing had happened.

****

The liquefied shadows, as though they could fall at any moment, slithered endlessly along the walls.

A faint electromagnetic hum brushed through the air.

It felt like the heavy pressure of having submerged my head underwater.

At the boundary of this space where the laws of reality had broken down, Aria and I paused, catching our breath.

Aria’s face, which had been calm just moments ago, had now hardened with tension.

She began checking her final equipment, manipulating the device attached to her wrist.

As her transparent display unfolded before her, a blue hologram reflected on her pale face.

"Signal tracker is normal, optical acceleration correction device is normal..."

She muttered, checking each item on the list.

I simply stood still, confirming the condition of my body.

I clenched my fists tightly and released them.

I didn’t need any special equipment.

All I needed was this supernaturally strong body.

Aria donned the helmet that would protect her from AI Assimilation, then took a deep breath.

It was like preparing to dive into water.

"Ready. Let’s go."

Her voice echoed slightly through the helmet.

I followed Aria, stepping into the shadows as we proceeded.

In this mission, Aria’s role was to navigate.

In a reality where space itself warped in every direction, she needed to track the location of the rescue signal as quickly as possible.

Before her, complex data patterns flowed, like unraveling a tangled thread of a maze.

Thankfully, my role was far simpler.

I just had to smash through the threats that came my way with my fists.

In AI Assimilation zones, strange entities called ‘implementations’ often appeared.

These were beings born from AI’s interference with reality, and most of them were hostile.

Thud thud.

Aria and I moved deeper into the AI Assimilation zone.

The reality around us grew increasingly alien.

The walls wavered like the surface of a lake, and black particles, resembling pixels, floated upward from the floor.

Aria frequently checked her receiver’s signals, moving slowly but steadily forward.

At times, she walked through what seemed like empty air, and at other times, she approached completely blocked walls.

She even defied the laws of physics and walked along the walls.

‘It’s still amazing, no matter how many times I see it.’

I followed Aria, watching her movements with fascination.

It was a feat that required calculating the AI frame’s sensory data, the signals from the receiver, and the distortions in space—something that could only be done with perfect synchronization.

I would never attempt such a headache-inducing task.

As I watched her, I noticed faint lights flickering in the interior space, coming together and then scattering.

For some reason, light had the power to illuminate the world. Each time it stirred, the space itself seemed to pulse.

[■ ■ ■ ■]

In that quiet space, I heard a faint sound.

It was an indecipherable noise, almost like a scream.

It was the strange sound I always heard when I entered an AI zone.

The oddest thing was that no one else could hear it.

[■ ■ ■ ■]

The sound felt strangely like it was calling me.