Chapter 9: It’s just how I usually am(2)

Yo.

The cyberpunk genre tends to follow similar themes.

A bleak society appears. It’s called a dystopia.

A fixer shows up. Usually, the protagonist takes on this role.

And then, a mega-corporation emerges as the mastermind behind everything.

In short, cyberpunk revolves around a fixer protagonist uncovering the truth of the world.

At least, that seemed to be the case with this game.

“Rojon, doesn’t this Stella Corporation seem suspicious? They’re poking their nose into everything.”

I waved the emblem of Stella Corporation, which I found in the raided abandoned warehouse.

All three missions we’ve completed so far had traces of Stella involved.

At first, I thought it was just a successful corporation, but by now, the developer’s intent was becoming clear.

This flimsy setup was practically the developer telling players, *“Hey, don’t you think Stella is suspicious?”*

“……”

“Is there any chance you could tell me the intent behind the game beforehand?”

At Mos’s question, I gave a small chuckle.

“If you knew, it wouldn’t be fun.”

Mos stared at me silently for a moment, then shrugged.

“Well, that’s true.”

“Did you just delegate everything to others without getting involved in the actual game development?”

“This is a solo project.”

What is he even talking about?

At my response, Mos made a strange expression.

“Solo project…?”

“That’s why only my name is listed as the developer. Not crediting co-authors is a violation of research ethics. Please be kind to graduate students—”

“This quality is from a solo developer?”

Mos was slightly taken aback.

I puffed out my chest with pride.

“I did everything—coding, art, modeling, music, and story. All of it.”

“But why do you talk like that?”

“Talk like what?”

“Why are you acting like it’s your first time seeing me?”

Ah. So that’s what he meant.

“I told you, I tend to forget things easily.”

“This feels a bit beyond just forgetting.”

“No, seriously. I forget things all the time.”

I shifted the conversation and walked deeper into the abandoned warehouse.

There, I saw a guy who looked like the head of security waiting with his subordinates.

I drew my sword.

Petals blossomed as the enemies were shattered. The incoming bullets gracefully curved back in a circle.

After defeating all the enemies, Mos spoke in disbelief.

“Is this a developer-only account? Why are you using two martial arts?”

“I can theoretically use all martial arts if I do everything manually. The system assist had an on-off option, so I thought it might work, and it did.”

“…You thought it might work?”

Mos once again made a strange expression.

I gathered the serum found in the warehouse.

Mission clear!

“Why did the Stella Corporation get involved?”

The middleman murmured while examining the serum we brought.

After that, a predictable plot twist followed.

There were rumors that the Stella Corporation was very interested in biotechnologies these days, along with stories about their ailing chairman.

It was clear that the Stella Corporation was hinting at crazy acts to extend the chairman’s lifespan.

The creator’s thoughts were all too apparent. Such a rookie.

I smiled as I looked at Mos.

Did Mos really catch on to all of the creator’s shallow tricks?

He covered his mouth with his hand, lost in thought.

It was a waste of time to take so long to infer such an obvious story.

Mos. Disqualified as a gamer.

“Malangmabbak, do you need a story comprehension expert by any chance?”

“…Let me ask you one thing, Yurim.”

“Feel free to ask anything.”

“Does this game even hold up?”

“My game will never crash due to a bug.”

A developer fights against bugs, but I’m different. That’s just not my skill set.

“Well… that’s not exactly what I meant, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“Is that so?”

“Let’s go.”

It definitely sounded odd to talk about bugs when he said, “Does the game even hold up?” It felt like a question you’d ask when the balance of the game was thrown off.

I stared at him in doubt, but Mos ignored me and resumed the game.

I followed him.

It probably isn’t anything serious.

As the game progressed, the outline of the story became clearer.

My guess is this: Stella Corporation is secretly conducting research on immortality. If they succeed, the world will be dominated by those who possess longevity.

However, there are no clear results regarding that.

I found traces of various research projects, from telomere reversal to designer babies and brain uploading, but none of them had even produced a prototype.

This indicates failure.

So, I understood why Stella was so desperate to achieve results.

What I’m curious about is this.

Why is Stella so deeply involved in the underworld?

It’s common for corporations to hire fixers to handle dirty work. If they didn’t, the profession of a fixer wouldn’t even exist in the first place.

But there’s a limit to everything.

Leaving traces all over the place like this is excessive.

What kind of research are they conducting that involves everything from brothels to drug dens? If they were simply studying aging, there wouldn’t be a need for such drastic measures.

“Could it be that they’re conducting human experiments? Looking closely, the lists seem to suggest they’re just snatching people away.”

“Well, who knows?”

“Rojon, why are you so unmotivated? I’ll add a maid in the DLC, so please put in some effort to figure this out.”

“I do like maids, but I don’t expect every game to have them…”

It seems I’ve caught onto the fact that the Stella Corporation has even resorted to human experimentation for their aging research.

But I still didn’t know who the final boss was. Even though the story was heading into the latter half, I had no clue. Was it the president of the Stella Corporation? Would that old man really try to confront us after rejuvenating himself? It felt vague.

For now, there was simply no connection between us and the Stella Corporation.

Even though the Stella Corporation appeared frequently in the game, that didn’t mean we had established an antagonistic relationship with them.

We had merely accepted a request. To put it bluntly, from the player’s perspective, it didn’t matter whether the president of the Stella Corporation became immortal or not.

If we were to fight against the president of the Stella Corporation in this state… it would feel forced. That would make it a garbage game, so what kind of conclusion were they aiming for? Could it be…?

A light bulb flickered and turned on in my mind.

Why do we keep encountering the Stella Corporation? The answer emerged in my mind.

The tax accountant is the culprit.

Ultimately, it was the intermediary, the tax accountant, who gave us the commissions. Therefore, the tax accountant could manipulate our actions if they wanted to. They probably heard rumors about the immortality technology and became greedy. I should have caught on when I noticed their tone was suspicious, regardless of who the inspiration was.

But I didn’t. This filthy traitor.

It was likely that we would soon have to raid the Stella Corporation. If the tax accountant intervened, it would be easy. At that moment, when all the truths would be revealed and we were about to get our hands on the immortality technology, the tax accountant would definitely shoot us in the back.

I glanced at Mos.

I could tell him the truth, but I chose to keep it hidden. That way, we could enjoy the twist even more.

Just as I expected, the situation suddenly changed. The hounds of Stella were chasing us. It was an excessive response considering the number of workshops we had disrupted.

The principle of “let the underworld handle its own affairs” was clearly being violated. It must have been the tax agent manipulating the information from the middle. So obvious.

I made my way into the CEO’s villa with Mos, evading the hounds’ pursuit. Our mission’s goal was to confront the CEO and cancel the hunt order.

The villa was a grand mansion with a swimming pool, and naturally, it was heavily guarded.

We engaged in a final showdown with the head of security.

Every step he took seemed to shake the ground, showcasing his power as a final boss. However, there was something off about him.

The final battle felt a bit underwhelming.

If this were truly the last confrontation, it should have been more spectacular.

This was a missed opportunity to incorporate everything I had in mind, as it would be too late to add anything now.

From a creator’s perspective, this felt like an underwhelming execution that left plenty of room for improvement.

Clearly, the real final showdown with the tax agent was still ahead.

After almost eight hours of working together, we swiftly took down the security chief.

I descended into the mansion’s basement with Mos.

Stopping in front of a massive iron door, I muttered softly,

“Does this actually open?”

“Probably,” he replied.

I placed my hand on the panel in front of the iron door, and soon it opened.

[Activity Level 89%]

Activity level…?

The number displayed on the panel piqued my curiosity, but I decided to move inside first.

The basement of the mansion was adorned with pristine white tiles, resembling the sterile environment of a hospital’s operating room.

Various machines filled the space, giving it the feel of a research lab.

As I scanned the room, I soon spotted my target.

In the center lay the chairman of the Stella Corporation, connected to an oxygen ventilator.

“?”

I furrowed my brow.

No living being can survive without oxygen. Every creature breathes in air to take in oxygen, and humans are no exception.

Yet the chairman’s chest lay completely still.

What’s going on?

Had the tax accountant already intervened? Or had this been planned all along?

If so, who had set the hunting dogs on our trail?

It made sense if they had issued the order and then died afterward, but…

Something crucial was missing from the puzzle.

But I didn’t know what it was.

“Malangmabbak-nim, something’s off.”

“A point.”

“What do you mean?”

“That the mean-spirited creator intentionally hid information. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”

“I think that’s right.”

*Click.*

I heard the sound of a gun being loaded from behind.

And there were only two people here right now.

I cautiously turned my body and spoke.

“Malangmabbak-nim?”

Bang!

The gun fired.

I quickly twisted my body to dodge the bullet and shouted in shock.

“What if the original betrays us!”

“It’s not like you can ask me that. The person who made this game is you, Yurim-nim.”

Here is another interesting novel suggestion for you. Please give it a read.

The Game Character Who Became a Saint Wants to Cover Up Their Dark History