How to Live as an Immortal Chapter 004

God, I beg you

*

It was barbaric, but in the current state of affairs, one couldn't even assert their own rights without such measures. Arnold looked at him with an uneasy gaze, as if asking if he really agreed, but Shin’s thoughts remained unchanged.

"It's strange. Both you and Binter."

Arnold, repeatedly rubbing his face dry, looked at Binter. Dozens of thoughts were floating in his mind: that revenge only breeds more revenge, that you could become just like Gerald, and so on.

Binter understood those feelings all too well. But would things be resolved by just enduring and moving on? If Gerald had been willing to reflect on his own wrongdoings, the situation wouldn't have become this complicated.

The school had already decided to cover up the incident. The students, though sensing something wasn't right, let it slide. After all, it wasn't their problem.

There was video evidence recorded on the device, but the police handling it were on Gerald's side.

There was nothing Binter could do.

Just like when he was at the factory.

"I'm sorry, Uncle. But I can't just stand by and watch. Maybe I'll regret this decision later. But opportunities like this only come once. I'd rather act and regret than not act and regret."

A statement filled with strong determination.

Arnold had to admit that he had underestimated Binter all this time.

Even if the words were spoken carelessly, the process behind them wasn't shallow. Rather, he must have repeated them countless times in his heart until they reached this point.

"Is my thinking wrong?"

Arnold's mind went blank at this sudden question.

Right, that wasn't what he should be considering now.

"No, you've done nothing wrong."

Arnold realized that what had been holding him back all this time was pretense and hypocrisy.

An adult-like response? Deep and careful consideration?

It was all meaningless. It was cruel to demand exemplary behavior when nothing was going according to the natural order.

Arnold silently patted Binter's back and bowed his head.

"Shin, I beg you."

*

Although it had been a while since receiving a request, the troubled feelings wouldn't easily disappear. As always, being good or upright didn't guarantee a fitting outcome.

Especially in the Dome.

Since the Third World War, humanity had been enjoying its greatest heyday. The universal basic income and the cleanly managed streets were evidence of this.

It wasn't that the rulers had suddenly awakened to altruism. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they hadn't actually done anything substantial.

Then why had such results come about?

There was no need to ask oneself.

This was the benefit of endlessly advancing technology.

Just as no matter how carelessly one builds, an apartment doesn't become a mud hut, this standard of living had become the norm.

Yes, this was what remained after the privileged class had greedily devoured the flesh.

Naturally, the inside was festering and on the verge of rotting.

The unjust incident Binter experienced was a fitting example.

The police, who should have been the people's staff, had long lost their original function. They saw citizens not as subjects to protect, but as subjects to enlighten.

Related scandals had surfaced several times before.

The most critical incident was the 'Millennium Code Gate' that occurred in Dome No.1 in 2302.

It started with a report that patrol drones were lowering punishment levels or even erasing charges altogether based on the target's position.

As it was just a conspiracy theory, hardly anyone took it seriously. After all, patrol drones had been handling most minor offenses encountered in daily life, except for major crimes.

To think there was a flaw in something that had been proudly functioning as a tool for maintaining public order.

Citizens believed without a doubt that no matter how corrupt the city government managing the Dome was, they wouldn't make a choice that would overturn the foundations of the community.

But not long after, when the VIP list was actually revealed, such expectations and interest crumbled miserably.

The police dismissed all suspicions as groundless, but when an internal whistleblower discovered the related algorithm, the situation became even more complicated.

The company that supplied the patrol drones, 'Millennium Code', was a mega-corporation spanning six Domes, known as a MegaCorp.

One of the few groups that could challenge the authority of the city governments ruling each Dome. Such a place couldn't have released a product without any preparation. It wasn't even a matter that could be handled unilaterally from the start.

Only then did people notice that there had been close consultations between the two organizations. And they finally realized that the patrol drones were just the tip of the iceberg.

With the emergence of artificial intelligence, the value of labor had plummeted endlessly. Even tasks that once had to go through human hands were now often carried out on the network.

They were caught trying to exploit this point to establish a foundation that could even ignore the law.

Did they think they could no longer hide it?

The hastily organized special investigation team acknowledged the existence of the related algorithm. And admitted that there had been some kind of agreement. It seemed like justice was about to be served, but that was purely an illusion.

A fine of 5 billion pia.

The amount imposed on Millennium Code, which had caused social controversy, was ridiculously small.

A punishment that could only be called a slap on the wrist.

It was a natural consequence that the enraged public initiated violent protests against this mocking verdict.

Accordingly, a storm hit Millennium Code, which had not only colluded with the current state of affairs but also contributed to maintaining it.

It seemed to be settled when the chairman of the time stepped down and the vice chairman took over to clean up the mess, but even that was just the beginning.

It was revealed that the vice chairman who took control of Millennium Code was none other than the brother of the president representing the city government, and the very person who had ordered the creation of the VIP list.

When it was revealed that the chairman who had become a mere figurehead was actually just a shield prepared by the city government, citizens once again flared up at this brazen act.

But it was after the statute of limitations had already expired.

Neither the police nor the prosecution moved. Despite the clear cause and effect, and the obvious guilt, nothing changed.

Faced with this powerless reality, people no longer stepped back. The consciousness that if they couldn't rely on public authority, they would impose sanctions privately, began to sprout.

It was only a moment before radical ideas escalated to extremes.

Everyone became either an avenger or their agent.

What unfolded afterwards was a cauldron of chaos.

The uncontrollable chain of hatred was finally calmed when an unknown person massacred all the individuals involved in the incident.

As they say, after the rain, the earth hardens.

People, as if awakening from a spell, gradually found points of agreement.

To the extent that separate regulations for self-defense and self-help were enacted.

In the process, the android investigators scheduled to be deployed along with the patrol drones were thrown into the trash bin along with their plans, and the AI judges being prepared by the prosecution also came to nothing.

This case proved that while artificial intelligence might be perfect, the humans handling it were not.

Morals and ethics outdated as much as technology advanced.

As a result, humanity, unable to move towards a better path, kept going in circles.

It was around this time that the profession of 'problem solver' surfaced.

In fact, the history of service delegation had deep roots in modern history.

Gangsters coming out into the open to set up detective agencies, gathering to call themselves vigilante groups, emphasizing professional talent by putting forward the grand term 'problem solver', but the essence remained unchanged.

Agents fulfilling wishes that couldn't be achieved within the boundaries of the law.

For an immortal wandering without identity, it was an irresistibly attractive profession.

*

The empty rooftop of a factory.

Whirr!

As a patrol drone whizzed by overhead, the group in school uniforms scattered without hesitation.

About the size of an adult male's upper body.

Though not particularly large, it was a device ready to be deployed to crime scenes at any moment. Prepared to begin suppression operations right away.

Although its armament was limited to restraint and thus had no lethal force, you never know. At that speed, even a collision could be threatening.

To begin with, it was absurd for patrol drones to fly so low. Unintended contact accidents could occur.

Therefore, during normal times, they were supposed to ascend to heights where they wouldn't be noticeable.

Yet the patrol drone had deviated from its programmed route because of the control device Gerald clutched in his hand.

"Once you get used to it, it's no different from an RC car."

Though it had been scratched a few times in the process, Gerald paid no mind and continued manipulating the hologram to control the patrol drone.

"We won't get caught by the police, right?"

"Ha, you little punk, acting all scared despite your size. It's fine, it's fine. It's my brother's."

Although it was equipment issued to security officers—

"I just borrowed it for a bit, there's no problem."

It wasn't the first or second time. Moreover, he had even been caught last time. But it ended with just a warning. Didn't they say not to touch it carelessly next time?

But Gerald wasn't one to give up because of that.

Suddenly, the patrol drone hit the factory wall as it passed by.

With a loud crash, rebar and concrete fell off.

"It's dumber than I thought."

As one of the gang members said that, Gerald smirked. Even to him, the patrol drone seemed rather dull. It was almost laughable that these things were protecting the dome. But it wasn't unreasonable.

"Because there's no artificial intelligence or anything like that."

"There isn't?"

As another guy asked, Gerald shrugged his shoulders.

"You think they'd put it in hundreds of thousands of units? Even though they just fly around for half a day, it'd cost tens of millions of pia."

Essential functions were delegated to a large-scale cloud computing platform. In other words, it was as if a group of AIs were remotely controlling them.

To reduce costs, there were only recording devices inside, no computing units.

—That was his brother's explanation.

'No, didn't he say something about moving to an easily auditable system when some gate broke?'

He felt like he had heard something, but couldn't remember the details.

It was then that a voice came from behind.

"By the way, what are you going to do about that Binter guy? I heard he's making a fuss about submitting a petition to the city government."

"It's a waste of time."

It wasn't even a conflict between corporations, who would pay attention to the misfortune of a single student? Moreover, all the documents Binter submitted would be reviewed and deleted by the police first.

"Leave him be. He needs to taste some bitterness before that stiff neck of his will bow."

"Well, you were pretty intense this time."

"I want a security officer brother too. Can't I be the youngest at your house?"

"Bullshit."

Even Gerald didn't deny that it had been a good experience. He could clearly confirm how far his power reached. In the future, he would be able to face criminals without trembling.

In fact, this incident was at a level that even a security officer couldn't easily prevent. But because his family had worked in the police for generations, he had various connections.

It was thanks to that that he could extinguish the wildfire in advance.

'This is the legacy I'll inherit, huh.’