Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

I had a dream.

Sometimes I dream of the nostalgic days, and sometimes I dream of the painful ones. But this time, it was clearly the latter.

Everything around me was filled with blood and debris. Walls, ceiling, floor—everywhere I looked was just red.

Even a glance made it obvious. There had to be at least dozens of people for this to be possible. This was not the amount of blood that a single person could spill.

The smell of blood, sharp and piercing, twisted my features involuntarily. It was an instinctive reaction I had not controlled.

It wasn’t my first time seeing a corpse. Ever since I came to this Cyberpunk world, I had seen countless.

However, I had never encountered a situation so severe that the phrase “mountain of corpses” came to mind. I barely swallowed the bile that had risen to my throat.

Someone spoke.

“It’s not that you’re late.”

No, I was definitely late. I replied.

Even though I knew everything, even though I had played the game, if I had moved just a little bit faster, this wouldn’t have happened.

Through the shadows, I caught sight of a large glass wall. Heavy rain was pouring down through the splatter of blood that had been painted thickly.

And then I awoke from the dream.

My whole body was drenched in sweat. Shhhh, I heard a sound and turned my head.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, as I had seen in my dream, rain was falling.

Ah. Did I forget to switch the wall switch after drinking with Drake yesterday?

With a sluggish movement, I approached the window. When I pressed the sun-shielding switch, the entire glass transformed into a dark concrete pattern.

What a shitty dream.

I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes. But it didn’t seem like I would fall asleep again.

6. A Rainy Day (1)

Chrome Psycho.

Also known as Chrome Junkies, how they emerge and the reasons for their birth remain unknown.

It was easier to understand them as a type of indiscriminate crime spree or a kind of crime committed by people with anger management issues.

But there was one difference.

Typically, Chrome Psychos were fully armed with “chrome” and cyberware.

In other words, the scale of the incidents was different.

This topic was frequently broadcasted on NCB24, the news channel of Neon City where I lived.

In a way, it was only natural.

In the already high-crime world of a Cyberpunk game, when picking the city with the highest crime rate, Neon City could not be skipped.

The fact that even the comparatively lower crime rates in the upper and middle classes were included hinted at how many incidents occurred in the shadows of this city.

As I mentioned earlier, the exact trigger for the emergence of Chrome Psychos has not been precisely revealed.

However, when calculating the occurrence rate based on statistics, it appears that “Chrome Psychos” tend to appear particularly on “rainy days.”

For some reason, the reason for this remains unknown as well.

But today, I felt like I might just know why.

“Ugh, my joints ache.”

[Confirming. This symptom is quite normal for ‘humans’ of above-average age, I understand.]

“No, that’s not it.”

It’s the implant surgery area that hurts.

I moaned silently.

Perhaps it was to be expected.

Even if it was just a dental procedure where metal was placed on teeth, on rainy days, the “implants” would hurt for people.

Because in my case, some parts of my body were replaced entirely with chrome.

On humid days, pain would be expected.

Of course, there might be differences in severity from person to person, but even having cyberware implants added to just my skeletal structure and some muscles would make me feel this way.

How about those who had undergone even more Chrome? How much pain would they have?

I didn’t even want to imagine it.

Chrome Psychos must have committed crimes out of frustration from their pain. I confirmed in my mind.

“I even have a headache.”

[The headache is due to the drink synthesized from alcohol consumed with dwarf Drake, I think.]

Anyway, my head hurt too.

I had one complaint about living with Eve: the facts were way too harsh.

With the rain pouring and my body aching, I promised I would not, absolutely not, go outside no matter what happened today.

During that time, a message notification caught my eye on one side of my vision interface.

Upon checking the time, I saw it was a message received while I was still sleeping.

It was Catherine.

Sender: ‘Neon City’s Best Freelancer’

– As I said yesterday, I’ll go get checked by Drake.

– Be careful to avoid any trouble while I’m gone.

Why does she keep trying to come around my place when she has so many houses of her own?

I briefly recalled last night’s memory.

I had forgotten the promise to go in early and ended up drinking heavily with Drake, only returning home after dark.

Thanks to the cheap synthetic alcohol, my memories weren’t very clear, but a faint recollection remained of delivering a heavy apology bow to Catherine.

Was that why? Catherine’s tone in the message felt more relaxed than yesterday.

I quickly replied, wishing her well and to return safely.

There was a time during the past week when I was dragged into No Answer after not contacting her, so it felt easier for me to reply as soon as things were alright.

So, what should I do now?

There were various choices.

I could watch net streaming, variety shows, movies, or news programs.

Heck, just wandering around Net Space would be enough to pass the time.

If I were to express any regrets, when just sitting at home like this, playing a game would have been the best.

The problem was that I had no games I could play.

It would be a struggle to enjoy the classic classic games I had played until recently.

In fact, there was a hidden truth that it was not a normal game, and I had already hit max level.

It wasn’t because I felt guilty about recommending a warrior to someone when I turned off the game.

Anyway, it was difficult to casually log back in again.

That left the option of either finding another similar classic game or enjoying a plain virtual reality game.

Unfortunately, the “high-spec data module” I ordered online still hadn’t arrived.

Thinking about it was strange.

I had surely ordered it a while ago, yet it still didn’t seem to be coming.

Why was it not arriving yet?

I decided to log into the net site operated by the delivery company.

Checking delivery….

Tracking number checking….

Hmm.

·
·
·
Your package has arrived at [Neon City], [L9 Terminal].
Your package has departed from [Neon City], [Lower-Class Area], [Redwood].

Your package has been lost. (Reason: Theft)

“……”

This is why I can’t stop hating Orcs.

Of course, there is a possibility that it might not have been Orcs.

If calculated by probability, maybe about 0.01%.

“…sigh, should I just go out and buy it?”

I decided to handle the compensation procedures later.

Honestly, if my goal was to get it quickly, this was the right choice.

For me, it was a matter of being too lazy to go out to buy something and wanting to get it at a lower price.

What should I do? Should I go or not?

If I had known my package would be delivered to the Orcs, I would have asked Drake to grab one for me when I met him yesterday.

While I was pondering this, Eve spoke up.

[Information. As a result of searching in Net Space, there is a cyberware specialty store selling products at an average of 14.25% cheaper within a 1km radius, I inform you.]

The AI that wants me to go outside tempts me.

It hadn’t been long since I resolved to stay home today and not go out.

Should I break that resolve and go out now?

Especially with the rain outside?

Thinking like that, underestimate me all you want.

After a long deliberation, I made my decision.

“Let’s take a break today.”

[……. ]

Not that I didn’t want to.

I still had my pride.

If I order again, it will arrive someday.

Or I could just buy it when I go out for other errands.

I lay back down on my bed.

Happiness.

What’s so special about it?

Just rolling around in bed can bring happiness…

I wondered what I had been worrying about.

So how about watching net streaming?

I manipulated the vision interface with familiar movements.

One of the good things about falling into this Cyberpunk world was being able to project a screen into the air while lying down and watch whatever I wanted.

What’s worth watching now?

Ah, Eve was streaming.

I don’t know what principle it follows, but even while living with me, Eve continued to stream without stopping.

It looked like she was multitasking at a high level.

What a coincidence.

I intended to watch Eve’s stream by touching her name in the hologram.

[Human viewers, that’s it for today.]

And simultaneously, the stream turned off.

“?”

The chat reactions were ablaze.

— ????

— ?

— Did the stream just stop for me?

— Emergency stop, what’s going on, Master…

— Open the door!! Reopen!!

— The age of artificial intelligence is over! Humans, rise!

— ??????

If this situation were as I anticipated, the reactions of the people would be understandable.

“Streamer Eve?”

[I’m not sure why you’re asking, I ask.]

“The stream just stopped?”

[The predetermined broadcast period has already ended, I kindly reply.]

“I don’t think so?”

[……. ]

…This is how it plays out, huh.

I wouldn’t fall for Eve’s pathetic tricks. Then I would watch another stream.

After a brief search,

“……There’s not much to watch.”

Was it because it was a weekday during the day?

Sadly, there wasn’t much going on.

Thinking about it, I don’t recall a time when there were so few streams available.

This was peculiar.

I decided to change my goal.

If there’s nothing worth watching, I could just find a replay of Eve’s stream.

For someone like Eve, who streamed almost daily, there would be plenty of archived footage left.

I had confirmed that last time I checked, so I knew it for sure.

……

But why is there nothing?

That was strange.

Very strange.

None of Eve’s videos remained.

Checking the reactions on the Net Space bulletin board, that place was bustling too.

Many were discussing the sudden disappearance of Eve’s videos.

Calculating by time, it seemed they vanished from the moment I began searching for replays.

Most people were left wondering if this could happen physically.

Hmm.

“Do I really have to go this far?”

[I don’t know what you mean, I’m lying.]

“…….”

So don’t say you’re lying without at least saying something.

That’s how it felt.

Like a puppy throwing a tantrum because it wasn’t taken for a walk.

…Well, it can’t be helped.

In the end, I began to prepare to go out.

My coat even has waterproof features.

So, just grabbing an umbrella on top of my usual preparation for going out would be enough.

Since it was close, I figured I would be back soon.

Little did I know, if I had foreseen meeting a Chrome Psycho on the way back, I definitely wouldn’t have gone out.

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