K3hKhVAHE2Iz1x4uzbpuy0MLRoeB
K3hKhVAHE2Iz1x4uzbpuy0MLRoeB
Chapter 10
The road to the lowest depths of Hanseong.
Despite that, the two sitting across from me in the car, Taewoong and Moo-yeong, wore puzzled expressions.
“Young Master, clinics specializing in artificial limbs are typically located in the bustling parts of the city.”
“That’s true, if you’re looking for clean, government-registered prosthetics listed in the central system.”
Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of merchandise I’m after.
As I thought that, the automated chime signaled our arrival, and the vehicle came to a smooth stop.
When I opened the door and stepped outside, the scene before me was exactly as I had imagined.
A mountain of trash.
The final destination for all the waste spewed out by the massive megacity known as Hanseong.
In this place, where even breathing was impossible without a respiratory aid, massive cargo drones and laborers were handling the heaps of garbage.
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t understand why we’d come to a dump like this?”
I raised my hand and pointed toward a specific area.
“Look at those people working in the waste processing sector.”
“People…?”
Only then did they notice the laborers transferring refuse across the mountains of trash.
Crunch, clatter—!
Most of the workers at the site wore filthy clothes, their faces worn down by fatigue.
Junk metal compacted by old robotic arms.
Men and women lifting and hauling away scrap that likely weighed hundreds of kilograms.
There was a simple reason why humans, and not transport drones, were doing this work.
Because humans are cheaper than machines.
But that wasn’t the real issue.
Only then did the two of them notice the workers’ reinforced exoskeletons mounted along their spines and the prosthetic arms made of artificial parts.
“Those arms...?”
Moo-yeong hadn’t figured it out yet, but the seasoned Taewoong grasped the anomaly right away.
“Artificial limbs capable of exerting that kind of force are at least Grade 3 or higher. Those aren’t authorized for use by common laborers...”
“And yet here they are, using them like it’s nothing. Why do you think that is?”
Taewoong responded immediately.
“Security modules have been ripped out… they’re unregistered prosthetics.”
“Correct.”
As he heard my answer, Taewoong’s face darkened.
“Unregistered” was just a prettier name. What those workers were wearing were essentially junk.
Prosthetics long past their safe operational life span.
No security modules, not even the bare minimum of safety features meant to prevent immune rejection, just raw, rusted metal.
The toxins seeping from unsanitary alloys would eat away at their flesh, and their decaying nerves would burn with constant pain.
Anyone walking around this dump with those things attached to their body probably had, at most, four years left to live.
“Well, whether these poor souls die from disease or get crushed under a drone, it’s not really our concern, is it?”
“……”
“The only thing we should care about is this: where did these people get such prosthetics?”
“Young Master... surely you don’t mean—?”
Before Taewoong could even finish, I began making my way toward the interior of the hill made entirely of trash.
A massive mountain of garbage that had buried the remnants of an old city.
The moment I opened the giant gate nestled inside and stepped in—
“Seventy for a pair of arms?! Are you kidding me?! Huh?! Give me my arms back, you crazy bastard—! Ugh!”
“That’s a good price, you idiot. When people’s arms are in surplus, you think you get to whine? NEXT!”
“Now in stock! Third-generation prosthetics from Haetae Industries! Brand new! Still sealed in original packaging!”
“Our auction item for today, a full 16-year-old human body set, closes at 420! Sold for 420!”
Amid the chaotic clamor, the enormous dome arena of the old inner city came into view.
Makeshift structures built with slate and twisted metal scraps.
Signs stitched together with salvaged debris.
And countless prosthetics hung like butchered meat in a slaughterhouse.
“This… all of this… in the middle of Hanseong?”
“Whoa…”
Stunned by a sight they had never seen before, their awe only lasted a moment.
Taewoong, turning to me, posed a question.
“Young Master, how did you even know a place like this existed?”
Oh? That’s a sharp question.
I grinned mischievously as I replied.
“Of course I know. I came from the future.”
“……So in other words, you’re not going to answer. Understood.”
No, really—I did come from the future.
Such a skeptical brat.
Just as I was thinking that, something from the bustling crowd bumped into me.
“Young Master!?”
“Relax. It was just a bump.”
While I was speaking, the figure that had collided with my chest gave a small bow and apologized.
“Ah, I’m sorry, hyung!”
A boy with a smile, quickly scurrying away after his apology.
Ah. That was way too obvious.
As Moo-yeong stepped forward with concern on his face, I let out a quiet sigh.
“Pickpocket. Pretty slick, too.”
“A pickpocket? But most of our funds are stored in accounts. What would they even steal…”
“They must’ve taken something. Let’s see, in my case…”
As I rummaged through my coat, a chuckle escaped me.
“Oh-ho.”
After checking my pocket, I muttered with a smirk.
“He stole my identification badge.”
* * *
“Heehee! That’s what happens when you space out—you get picked clean in a flash!”
With a proud grin on his face, the young pickpocket darted off through the black market alley.
His destination: a church nestled in a corner of the marketplace.
“I scored one!”
He yelled triumphantly as he burst through the doors. At once, a crowd of children swarmed around him.
“Hey! Jeong Haesang swiped something!”
“What’d you get? Is it food?!”
“Dunno yet! Gotta open it first!”
“C’mon, open it! Quick!”
But the excitement didn’t last long.
“Haesang.”
“Ack.”
At the sound of his name, a man emerged from the back of the room.
“Don’t tell me you stole something again? How many times have I told you that’s not okay...”
The young man sighed as he gently cupped the small cross hanging around his neck.
His gaze was a mixture of affection and concern as he looked at the children.
He looked no different from any other young man in Joseon, but something about him felt utterly out of place here.
“Stealing from others is wrong. And I’ve told you countless times—outside is dangerous…”
“Forget that! Open it already!”
They never listen, do they…
The priest sighed as he stepped in and snatched the stolen item from the beaming children.
“Aaaah!”
“Father, come on!”
The kids reached out with regretful whines, but the man they called “Father” was firm.
“You don’t even know what it is. What if it’s something critical, like a life-support device?”
I need to return it before this causes even more trouble.
With that thought, the priest pulled the contents out of the pouch.
“…Huh?”
Inside was a jade-colored identification badge—an official hopae.
[Kim Chang-woon, XXth-generation descendant of the Andong Kim clan]
“Uh-oh.”
“Ooooh…”
“Ah…”
The object that had slipped from the pouch.
The name engraved on it.
As soon as they saw it, the older children went completely silent, one by one.
Even after rubbing their eyes and checking again, there was no mistake.
An identification badge.
And not just any identification badge, but one belonging to the Andong Kim clan—the most powerful among all the noble families with political dominance.
The gleaming, opulent badge seemed to radiate with authority.
Everyone froze for a moment, unable to process the weight of what had just landed in their hands.
Then the boy who stole it muttered in a whisper:
“Yeah… we’re screwed.”
* * *
“Hmm, hmm-hmm.”
I strolled leisurely, completely unbothered, as I made my way to retrieve my stolen identification badge.
In a lawless place like this, walking around dressed as flamboyantly as I was would usually attract every pest and parasite in the vicinity.
Fortunately, that didn’t apply to me.
“What the—are you insane?!”
“That’s a Grade-1 prosthetic body…!”
“He could shatter you just by twitching a finger. Run! Run!!”
That’s right. The one acting as my bodyguard was none other than Seo Taewoong.
A walking weapon, wrapped head to toe in a top-tier, Grade-1 artificial body.
Forget trying to mess with me, even approaching recklessly would turn you into minced meat.
“Young Master, even with me by your side, isn’t this a bit too relaxed?”
“Relax. It’s not like the identification badge is going to run away. The tracking function is still active, and hey—it’s a good excuse to explore the neighborhood.”
Answering the still-concerned Taewoong, I followed the signal to its destination.
A concrete building at least a hundred years old.
It was hard to recognize through all the dust, but I figured out what it was easily enough.
“A church? Here?”
“A church, sir?”
“Yeah. In a place riddled with black-market weapons and illegal prosthetic trades, of all things, a church. Don’t you find that funny?”
At the mention of a church, Taewoong quickly activated his ocular interface.
“The above-ground structure is just a disguise. Multiple heat sources and metallic objects underground. Judging by the shape... those are—”
“Looks like this’ll be easier than I thought.”
I walked past him and pushed the door open.
“Young Master!”
Taewoong followed quickly, warning me of the danger.
But the moment we stepped inside, the hand he’d stretched forward dropped helplessly.
A shabby, run-down church.
And inside, waiting for us was…
“P-please forgive me! I’ve sinned! Spare my life, I beg you!”
A man prostrated on the floor, holding out my stolen identification badge in both hands.
Surrounding him were children, huddled protectively like a wall of small bodies.
“He’s right! Please just spare our lives!”
“What if—what if we gave you just the priest? Would that be enough?!”
“Kids? What are you saying right now?!”
“Father! Now’s the time to follow God’s teachings!”
“Self-sacrifice! If you go, Father, we all survive!”
“Kids?! What do you mean by that?!”
Huh. Well now.
This was… kinda entertaining to watch.
Even as they trembled with fear, the kids chattered away with that strange, unfiltered honesty. Watching them, I quietly called out.
“Lower your weapon, Taewoong.”
“Young Master, they are thieves who stole the identification of a noble clan. And more than that…”
Taewoong narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of the necklace around the man’s neck behind the children.
“A Catholic. A heretic who disturbs Joseon’s order with foreign beliefs. We cannot simply overlook—”
“Order? You call it order to throw your precious citizens into a landfill and work them to death?”
“……!”
“Enough, Taewoong. That’s an order.”
My voice was firm, and Taewoong, after a brief pause, slowly deactivated his prosthetic systems.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was siding with these Catholics.
But given the structure of this church... this priest guy—
—could turn out to be surprisingly useful.
“Father?”
“……!”
Startled to hear a nobleman using an honorific, the priest instinctively bowed his head.
“P-please, sir, don’t address us so respectfully! We are only—!”
“You said, ‘I’ve sinned. Please spare my life.’ That’s what you said, right?”
“Y-yes? Huh?”
He looked dazed, but quickly realized his situation.
“Ah, yes! I—we didn’t know who you were, sir! The children didn’t mean any offense, I swear!”
“Come on. Offense? Over a single stolen identification badge?”
Just an identification badge, huh.
At those words, the priest lifted his head, eyes wide in disbelief.
Both Taewoong and Moo-yeong looked equally stunned.
Not that I blamed them.
After all, among us noble clans, people live and die for their names and reputations.
“A revolution could turn those names into toilet paper overnight—what’s so precious about garbage like that?”
“Uh… excuse me? I’m sorry?”
“Talking to myself. Now then…”
Ignoring the bewildered priest, I leaned in close.
An innocent face. A heavenly smile.
Wearing what might’ve been the gentlest, kindest expression on Earth, I looked him dead in the eyes.
“Let’s say this. I’ll overlook everything—for the price of your life and your silence—if you do me one little favor.”
“A f-favor… sir?”
The priest’s face turned pale as he stammered.
“Yes. A favor.”
Luckily, I’d already found a jackpot in this godforsaken black market.
“Let me see your church basement.”
---The End Of The Chapter---
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