Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 46: Golden Murdock (9)

Not long after the black sphere swallowed the border between Southern and Eastern Babel, the massive anomaly vanished—without leaving a trace.

Titan Tech’s soldiers stared at each other in disbelief.

Their eyes were fixed on the Erosion Zone they had been monitoring at precise intervals, as per protocol, when the black catastrophe shattered like a glass bowl dropped from a height.

“...What the hell...”

The squad leader leaned forward and narrowed his eyes.

Every value on the display panel read normal. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

There wasn’t a single clue about where the Erosion Zone had gone—or how it had disappeared.

“Am I hallucinating...?”

He hadn’t even finished speaking when murmurs broke out among the surrounding soldiers.

Of course they did.

An Erosion Zone vanishing was unprecedented in the entire hundred-year history of Babel.

If the scientists studying the phenomenon saw this, they’d foam at the mouth.

Even Titan Tech grunts had enough common sense to understand how insane this was—and they were visibly shaken.

“First things first. We need to report this. Contact Director Krylov immediately.”

The squad leader reached for the AR interface to initiate communication—but that was when the aircraft descended from the sky.

A sleek, black VTOL. A man in a tailored suit with glowing silver implants stepped out.

It was Beren Hoffman.

“Deputy Director Beren!” The squad leader raised a salute.

Beren nodded with a neutral expression.

His silver eyes scanned the space where the Erosion Zone had just been.

“When was the phenomenon confirmed?”

“03:47. Walker and Mulee spotted it first during a patrol.”

Beren fell silent, thinking.

The soldiers around him had expected some sign of panic or confusion—but there was none. Not a flicker.

Instead, Beren calmly collected himself and issued his orders.

“A scientific discovery. An unprecedented event. Let the research division handle that. Our job is to take action.”

His voice was composed, but firm.

“Now that the Erosion Zone is gone, our top priority is to assess the state of the lab. Prepare the strike team. We’re launching a breach operation in ten minutes.”

With that, the soldiers snapped into motion.

The bizarre disappearance of the Zone didn’t matter right now. What mattered was the job.

And that job was reclaiming Titan Tech’s hidden research lab.

The steel door—scarred and torn by gunfire—was forced open.

Dust and darkness poured from the elevator shaft inside.

Beren stood at the front of the tactical unit, staring down a collapsed ramp.

It looked like an abandoned mine left untouched for decades. But he knew better.

He knew just how valuable this place was.

“Prepare for entry.”

Dozens of soldiers lined up, fully armed, in response to his terse command.

Lights on their helmets cut through the darkness and lit the corridor ahead.

“We have no data on what happens when an Erosion Zone vanishes. Stay alert.”

The first squad stepped forward cautiously.

A thin cloud of dust scattered beneath their boots.

The deeper they descended into the shaft, the more warped their surroundings became.

Pixelated shadows clung to the walls. The halls stretched unnaturally, twisted at the edges of perception.

Fortunately, the traces were fading quickly—perhaps because the Zone had vanished.

“Deputy Director, the structure is unstable. Shouldn’t we move more slowly?” the operations lead asked, carefully.

Beren didn’t even glance back.

“Keep going.”

At last, they reached the entrance to the lab.

Contrary to expectations, the damage wasn’t catastrophic.

Everyone had assumed the Erosion Zone would’ve obliterated the entire facility—but that wasn’t the case.

“Not bad,” Beren muttered.

It was a mess, sure—but once the traces of the Zone disappeared, it looked fully restorable.

Then, a soldier came running up in a rush.

“Sir! We’ve got a survivor!”

Beren’s eyes flashed.

A survivor? From inside the Zone?

“Where?”

He immediately followed the soldier to the central operations room.

There, collapsed on the floor, lay a woman.

“Riley...”

Beren recognized her instantly.

A top-tier researcher in the secret lab. Specialist in AI systems.

Her condition was critical.

A gunshot wound to the abdomen. And shadows—those unmistakable shadows of the Erosion Zone—were clinging to her skin.

Yet her vitals were stable.

It was as if the shadows were sealing the wound themselves.

But with the Zone gone, those shadows were fading... slowly but surely.

Time was running out.

“Med team!”

Beren shouted.

“She’s top priority. Evacuate her to a Tier One medical unit. Now!”

As the medics carefully lifted Riley onto a stretcher, Beren quickly activated the AR interface.

He needed to inform Director Dominic Krylov that the lab had been reclaimed—and that one of their researchers had survived.

That much was enough. This wasn’t a total loss for Titan Tech.

With their capabilities, the facility could be operational again soon.

****

Riley was somewhere warm.

Under a blue sky showered with falling cherry blossoms, she was enjoying a picnic with Whity.

She vaguely sensed it was a hallucination—but she didn’t mind.

Riley.Riley.Riley.

A voice calling her name.

When Riley finally opened her eyes, she was met by a luxurious hospital room.

Just from the décor, she could tell this was one of Titan Tech’s VIP medical suites—reserved for directors and above.

Next-gen medical equipment was neatly arranged beside her bed, but with no AI frames present, none of it was connected to her.

A vase of fresh flowers sat in the corner, filling the room with a soft fragrance.

Riley felt both relieved and confused.

She should’ve been dead.

Shot in the stomach, her body growing cold, her vision going black—that was the last thing she remembered.

There’s no way I should’ve survived...

She slowly sat up.

There was a twinge of pain where she’d been hit, but it was bearable—far more than she expected.

When she touched her abdomen, she felt thick bandages wrapped around her—and beneath them, the faint, rhythmic vibrations of medical nanobots.

She rose from the bed and walked cautiously to the window.

Beyond the glass, cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Pink petals glowed under the sunlight, dancing gently in the wind.

It looked exactly like her dream.

The sight made her think of Whity—and that made her heart ache.

She had always wanted to see the cherry blossoms with them.

Whity...

A white bird flitted into view before Riley.

It was hazy, semi-transparent—but unmistakably Whity.

Round little body, small adorable wings, and those eyes always filled with curiosity.

Startled, Riley reached out instinctively—but her hand passed straight through it.

Like trying to grab mist.

“Whity, is that really you?”

Her voice trembled with overwhelming emotion.

The white bird fluttered its wings joyfully and circled around her.

She couldn’t touch it—but it was still Whity.

That distinctive movement, that energy—there was nothing else like it in the world.

We’retogethernow!Always!We’re together now! Always!We’retogethernow!Always!

Whity’s voice rang inside her mind.

Telepathic, like an echo in her chest.

The white bird perched itself on her shoulder.

She couldn’t feel its weight or texture—but a gentle warmth spread across her skin.

Like a tiny sun resting beside her.

There were a thousand questions she could’ve asked—but she didn’t.

What mattered was that Whity was with her. Somehow. Some way.

Together, they stared out the window at the overflowing bloom of cherry blossoms.

Like the picnic from her dream, still playing out in silence.

****

A few days after escaping the Erosion Zone, I was lying flat on the floor of my studio apartment, staring up at the ceiling.

“I’m bored...”

In the corner of my vision, “I” and Agwi were playing with the Kiwis—who looked slightly bigger than before.

Wish I could always have that much fun too...

Then the sound from the television caught my attention.

A Babel Network anchor was practically shouting about some historical event.

<The First Erosion Zone in Babel History to Naturally Disappear> <Total Erosion Zone Dissolution Confirmed>

Even the scrolling headlines alone gave away the mood.

It must’ve felt like the impossible had just happened.

And that made sense—it was a first in Babel’s entire history.

There were barely any casualties either.

The manifested entity inside the Zone had been unusually non-aggressive.

A thing the size of a soccer ball had waddled over and tried to headbutt people. That was it.

No one got seriously hurt.

As I listened to the anchor rambling, I muttered under my breath:

“That escape was rough...”

I had to get out before the Zone vanished completely.

To be fair, the escape itself wasn’t all that hard.

The problem was how much time I wasted finishing the job. Thinking things over.

Because of that woman—collapsed in blood.

That pale woman with a gunshot wound to the stomach.

There was a hole in her abdomen, but the shadows were holding it together.

The problem was... once the Zone disappeared, those shadows would disappear too.

She would’ve died for sure if I left her there.

But carrying her out wasn’t an option either.

She had no implants. None.

If I tried high-speed movement with her, her insides might rupture.

And if I moved too slow, she’d bleed out before we even got close to an exit.

So in a rush, I peeled off a piece of my own skin and used Jinlung Technology’s ability.

Told it to hold the wound shut.

My skin «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» shimmered with blue light and crawled into her wound like it understood me.

“Did she make it out alive...?”

That’s when “I’s” voice rang out.

Shedid!She did!Shedid!

‘Huh?’

I asked what the hell that meant.

“I” tried to explain, but whatever it was trying to say—its vocabulary couldn’t keep up.

I had no idea what it meant.

But still. I guess it meant she lived.

“That’s a relief.”

I exhaled slowly.

Looks like the piece of me did exactly what I hoped.

At that moment, a commercial came on—implants glowing gold across the screen.

Fancy junk. Useless and overpriced.

And for some reason, that made me think of Golden Murdock.

‘He’s probably dead.’

I’d waited for his call, but nothing came.

And if a merc gets paid 250,000 credits in advance and doesn’t hear from the client? That usually means the client’s gone.

Besides, considering what Murdock asked me to do... he was probably the one who triggered the Erosion Zone.

Odds are, Titan Tech caught him.

Fine by me, though. If he’s dead, I don’t have to return the advance payment.

Heh.

I bit into a steaming slice of pizza and tried reaching Amber through the AR interface—but no answer, of course.

Even when I visited the Seoul office, the place was locked tight. Not a trace of anyone.

‘Where the hell did Amber go?’

Sure, she’d gone off-grid before—but never this long.

Something was off.

“Kyuu-kyuu!”

As I was thinking that, Agwi started bumping into my foot, chirping noisily.

When I turned to look, he was pointing toward the door with his stubby arms.

And then, I heard it—heavy footsteps outside.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A sound I’d never heard before.

Not Amber’s. Not Ariana Scarlett’s either.

Didn’t sound like Victor’s, though maybe... maybe it could be.

If he’d overloaded himself with implants and doubled his body weight, it might make that kind of sound.

Then came the knock.

Few people knew where I lived.

And even fewer would show up at this hour.

I opened the door cautiously—and a massive man stood there, his shoulders nearly filling the entire frame.

He looked down at me.

On his black coat, the letters BPD were stamped in bold.

Babel Police Department.

‘!’

The police? Out here? They usually didn’t give a damn about the outskirts...