How to Survive in a Fusion Punk

Chapter 22 – The Burden of Money

For the past few days, Jin had been feeling miserable.

Did he get hurt again?

No.

He had gotten into a few arguments, but nothing serious enough to cause injury.

Was it because he was hungry?

Five meals a day, always more than two servings per meal.

No further explanation needed.

Was he stuck on what skill to choose?

No, he had already decided which to pursue; it was just that his experience points were a bit lacking.

So, the reason Jin was struggling was simply because…

He had too much money…

Looking back, not long ago, Jin had been a poor, penniless soul, barely able to buy a slice of cake with the loose change he had.

The money he earned from his first mission was spent entirely on Gravis, so it didn’t feel like his, as it vanished just like the payment for his card bills.

And now, he had suddenly been handed 25 million credits.

Could he handle that?

Of course not.

He treated his money bag like a treasure, constantly checking if his precious funds were safe, opening and closing the zipper over and over.

This is why people say only those who’ve spent money know how to handle it properly.

The luxury Jin had indulged in so far had mostly been food.

Apart from that, he had bought a helmet with a wireless communication feature and extra magazines from Brof.

But his money bag was still heavy.

This may sound absurd, but honestly, it felt like he was carrying a huge burden.

It was the same now.

Since his pockets were empty, he parked the Manticores in a quiet alley and quickly pulled out a wad of bills, making sure no one was watching.

Suddenly, a cat jumped out.

Jin, who had instinctively aimed the Gravis at the cat, was startled by its sudden dash and lowered the barrel.

He plopped down where he was, realizing that guarding the money bag was getting to him.

He was close to developing a nervous breakdown.

“…Maybe I should just find a place to rent?”

He thought about it for a moment but quickly dismissed the idea.

The leftover money would need to be left at home, but how could he trust the safety of Downtown?

The money bag wasn’t the only problem, there was the Manticore as well; it was one of the things that made Jin’s life even more stressful.

But it was all because he loved it.

If you don’t believe him, look at it yourself.

It had custom 21-inch wheels and large tires on both the front and rear, with a sexy matte khaki body that had been expertly redone.

There were some scratches and dents here and there, but they were just signs of usage, nothing too severe.

It was the kind of thing you could explain away with a little wear and tear.

If it were too pristine, people might think it’s some sort of luxury car, which doesn’t quite fit the vibe of Downtown.

Manticore was the kind of thing everyone would want.

Because of that, Jin always worried about where to park it.

He worried someone might steal it.

Several times, he woke up in the middle of the night and checked the motel parking lot, making sure it was still there.

At this point, it wasn’t just paranoia; it was starting to look like the early stages of “bikophobia.”

Something was seriously wrong.

Jin made up his mind that he couldn’t keep living like this.

He fiddled with his device and scrolled through the few contacts he had.

It was time to call Khalifa.

Although his pride wouldn’t allow it, he figured he might as well ask for a favor.

He could leave the money with her, rent a parking space, and if things went well, he could even get a meal and stay with her.

Wouldn’t it be awkward with Po?

Nah, he wasn’t even thinking about that.

“…Dammit.”

Jin couldn’t bring himself to press the call button, lowering his head in defeat.

After a long sigh, he finally stood up, when a sudden memory popped into his head.

Quickly, he opened the device again, checked the date, and slapped his forehead.

“Oh, right. Rumpumpumpum…”

***

“So, you were really busy last week?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Jin nodded, taking a big bite of the sandwich in his hand.

Then he paused.

Why did the bacon taste like paper?

With a serious expression, Jin examined the inside of the sandwich, when the woman sitting opposite him, Jenny, spoke up.

“Well, you should’ve told me you couldn’t make it. Me and him were waiting until 3 AM.”

“Haha, I was fine, though…”

While Jecky, the one responsible for making Jenny wait with him awkwardly chuckled, Jin, who was still munching on the remaining sandwich, answered with a heavily mumbled voice.

“I wanted to call you to say something too, but the terminal’s circuits completely melted…”

Then, after a bit of rambling, which was more like a series of excuses than actual explanations, Jenny finally uncrossed her arms and asked, “So, are you okay now?”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t just have the terminal’s circuits melt on their own, right?”

“Ah… I did have to go to the hospital, but I’m perfectly fine now. Wanna see?”

Jin lifted his shirt slightly to show off his washboard abs, and Jenny, staring at them intently, furrowed her brows.

“Unfair. How come you’re so toned despite eating so much?”

“Maybe he’s just constantly pooping a lot?”

Following Jecky’s comment, Jin’s brows twitched.

His voice may have been shaky, but he could still say anything.

At any rate, with the misunderstanding cleared up, the trio continued their meal together.

For Jin, it was one of the rare moments of peace.

And that’s why this was such a bad timing.

Of all times, why did Khalifa have to call now?

“Yeah, Khalifa, I’m in the middle of a meal right now. I’ll call you back in a bit…”

[No, Jin. This is urgent.]

Her voice interrupted him sharply, and without any delay, it pierced his ear.

[I’ve sent a URL via text. Don’t worry, it’s not a virus. You can click it safely. Once you do, the navigation app will install, and follow the coordinates it shows. I’ll explain the details on the call.]

“Right now?”

[Right now.]

After briefly pulling the terminal away from his ear, Jin let out a sigh as he looked at the siblings staring at him, clearly wondering what was going on.

“…I have to go.”

***

Vroom!

The Manticore slid down the road.

“What the heck is going on?” Jin asked, switching lanes to overtake a car.

Then, inside his newly purchased helmet, Kaliha’s voice reached him.

[Don’t freak out, but an artifact, possibly from the Age of Light and Roses, has been discovered in Downtown. It was posted on the Dark Web today, and its shape and characteristics match records almost perfectly.]

…An artifact? The Age of Light and Roses?

What kind of nonsense was this?

Jin, who wasn’t remotely shocked, suddenly snapped back to reality when he heard her calling his name.

[Jin? Are you listening?]

“Yeah, keep going.”

[Alright, let me continue. The reason I’m so sure it’s in ‘Downtown’ is simple: the seller left traces.]

And that was all Jin managed to understand from the explanation.

The rest of her words went in one ear and out the other.

To summarize briefly:

The Dark Web was a cyber black market requiring access permission or special software.

On the outside, no one knew what was being bought or sold.

But once you were inside, it was a different story.

Customers in the black market could vaguely sense each other’s presence, kind of like at a masked ball.

For example, you could still tell someone you know wearing a mask despite the mask, from his body shape, voice, and speech.

Dark Web users typically hide their identities with encryption tools, but for some reason, the seller of this artifact didn’t do it properly.

[Just seconds after, the account was encrypted, but it was already too late. The people who needed to see it had already seen it. One of them was Po.]

While hearing this, Jin turned the steering wheel.

The Manticore smoothly took the corner, leaned left, and then straightened as it sped up.

“Po? How?”

[It was by chance. Po is really into old relics, so he spends his free time rummaging through the Intranet. Today, that led him to the Dark Web.]

He had a classy hobby, huh?

Jin thought to himself as he asked.

“So, did he buy it?”

[If he had, he wouldn’t have contacted you. The artifact has already been sold, and now it’s on its way to the buyer.]

[By the way, Jin, are you almost there? It should be showing up soon.]

It was only then that Jin noticed something odd and glanced at the navigation.

The route that had only been marked by lines now seemed to be getting closer between two dots.

That meant they were almost at their destination.

But…

Wait, why is it moving?

Jin quickly lifted his head after confirming that the destination was aligned with his position.

And then he saw it.

A black van speeding down the main road with bikes surrounding it like a protective formation.

“Khalifa-?! Can you explain what I’m seeing right now?”

[You found them. They’re a gang called Sweet Dream. They were lucky enough to find an artifact, but they’re also too dumb to realize they’ve been traced.]

“So this is the navigation. It was a tracker?”

[That’s not important.]

A voice with a slight laugh responded.

[So today, I’m not Khalifa the linker, but Khalifa the client. How about it, Solo? Could you retrieve the ring-shaped artifact from those guys?]

Jin sighed in response.

“Hey, if you’re going to keep doing this, it’s going to be a problem. I have my own life too.”

[If I upset you, I apologize. We had no choice. You were the only Solo we could contact in downtown. But don’t worry, the payment is generous.]

As Jin pushed the speed further, he focused his attention on the most important part.

[I’ll give you a base payment of 10 million credits and an additional 25% of the appraised value of the recovered artifact. No annoying middlemen, so no commission. How does that sound?]

Jin smirked at Khalifa’s self-deprecating joke.

“Alright. I’ll take the job.”

[Just so you know, the Sweet Dream guys are human traffickers, so don’t get soft on them. Good luck.]

The call abruptly ended.

Now completely alone, Jin focused on his target.

There were eight bikes.

They still hadn’t noticed him, so it was time for a quick move.

Jin slammed down the accelerator.

VROOOOM!!

With a deafening roar, the Manticore swerved between lanes, closing the distance rapidly.

In no time, Jin caught up to the gang and drew Gravis from his waist.

Firing was not the goal.

No matter how skilled Jin was, he couldn’t shoot Gravis one-handed while speeding at over 120 km/h.

So instead, he gripped the barrel tightly.

Then, maintaining his speed, he swung the weapon and struck the back of a gang member’s head.

CRACK!

A sound that could hardly be believed to come from a human body echoed as the gang member’s face slammed into the dashboard.

The bike immediately lost control, sparking as it skidded across the asphalt, and the rest of the gang turned in alarm at the noise.

“What, what’s going on?!”

“Jack!”

“What the hell! An enemy!”

At the same time, another gang member’s head exploded.

This time, the gang member’s face was flattened as he was thrown into the air.

His body bounced like a ball a few times.

Naturally, human bodies don’t have the elasticity of a ball, and by the time he had bounced twice, his limbs were shattered.

“Dammit!”

Furious at the brutal death of their comrade, the others drew their knives in unison.

They immediately sped toward the khaki-colored bike.

Jin saw it in the rearview mirror.

“Kill that bastard!”

VROOOOM!!

The heated engine noise signaled the start of the battle on the road.