The owner of Dong-jin Transfer, Seon-ja Park, frowned deeply as she looked at the chip Dong-jun Noh held out. Instead of answering, she slammed her soldering iron down onto the workbench with brute force.

  Clang!

  The sharp metallic sound echoed through the cramped shop. She jerked her chin toward the entrance and snapped, "I'm not doing it. Take it and leave."

  Dong-jun froze in shock, his hand still holding the chip in mid-air. "Excuse me? But you haven't even looked at it properly yet."

  "Just go..."

  Desperate, Dong-jun added a compliment he normally wouldn't have bothered with, trying to bridge the gap. "Uh... Pil-gu Park sent me. He told me that when it comes to memory recovery, this place is the best in the complex..."

  But the moment the name 'Pil-gu Park' left his lips, Seon-ja’s eyes turned ice-cold. She brushed off the precision parts scattered on her workbench as if shooing away a pest and stood up.

  "That man sent you? That idiot still hasn't come to his senses."

  "What? What do you mean by that?"

  "Look at yourself, kid. You look like a drowned rat, and you bring in a dangerous piece of hardware like this? This isn't a charity. If you don't want to get reported, get out of here right now."

  Dong-jun looked down at his appearance. He had forgotten. Muddy water was dripping onto the floor from his tattered, rain-soaked coat. Dried bloodstains from the underground base were clearly visible on his cuffs. To anyone, he looked like anything but a normal customer. Her reaction was unexpected, leaving him utterly bewildered.

  I thought she and Mr. Pil-gu were close... Why... Why is she acting like this?

  The owner of Dong-jin Transfer turned her back on him. But Dong-jun couldn't give up like this.

  "Wait... Ma'am... please..."

  "I told you to get out!"

  As she slammed her hand on the workbench, Dong-jun was practically pushed out of the shop. Through the glass door that closed with an irritable creak, he could see her cold back. He was helpless against her stubbornness. Just then, a woman’s voice faintly drifted from inside the closed door.

  "Mom, was Uncle Pil-gu here again?"

  After scrubbing the blood and dust off his face in a restroom, Dong-jun stood in the middle of a deserted hallway, clutching the chip in utter despair.

  "Sigh... I'm screwed."

  "Arisa, I think we really got this wrong..."

  Arisa responded in a dry tone that didn't sound like an AI at all. [...I agree.]

  "..."

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  Images of other AIs—the ones that would say anything even if it was wrong—passed through Dong-jun’s mind.

  "But Arisa, why did she get so angry the moment I mentioned Mr. Pil-gu? Do you have any ideas?"

  Dong-jun felt a slight sense of disappointment since he had followed her with absolute trust, but he knew he was the one who had to move in the end, so he had nothing more to say. However, Arisa seemed to process data for a longer time than usual before speaking cautiously.

  "Well... this is what I think."

  Arisa said carefully. "Seon-ja Park. She's Mr. Pil-gu's older sister."

  "What? His sister?"

  "Yes. And the husband was Dong-jin Lee. Dong-jin Transfer was originally run by him."

  "Ah... so that's why the shop is named..." Dong-jun nodded.

  "That's right. But... three months ago, Dong-jin Lee reportedly started developing a certain humanoid with Pil-gu. They said they were going to 'change the world' together."

  "Yeah... and?"

  "Immediately after, Dong-jin Lee went missing."

  Dong-jun’s eyes widened. "Missing?"

  Arisa said that was all she knew. She added that there must have been some situation related to that event.

  "Hmm..."

  Dong-jun was speechless after hearing Arisa's words. Instead, he fell into deeper thought. He realized something major had happened, but the truth was, that knowledge didn't provide an immediate solution.

  "Whew... things feel like they're getting even more complicated..."

  "I feel the same way."

  Arisa’s reaction—not offering a solution this time either—definitely felt a bit strange.

  Damn it...

  Reality was bleak, but he couldn't just stand there. Dong-jun checked the time. There were only 6 days and 6 hours left until 'that day' predicted in his book. He had been out since early morning and was exhausted. But he couldn't stop.

  Should I try knocking on that door again? Or...

  "Arisa, are there any other repair shops nearby?"

  At that same time, in the image analysis room of the Guro Police Agency.

  "Resolution restoration and rendering complete."

  At the investigator’s report, the large main screen brightened. As the flickering face from the CCTV footage passed through a deep-learning program, it was revealed as clearly as if it were taken from inches away. Soon, the program displayed a profile.

  "Dong-jun Noh... 38 years old. Occupation: Writer. No prior criminal record."

  The captain stared intensely at Dong-jun’s face on the screen, resting his chin on his hand. "Why would a clumsy guy like this show up here? What was he trying to do?"

  "Entry into the Guro Distribution Complex has been confirmed. There is no record of him exiting yet," the lieutenant replied.

  The captain thought for a moment and then let out a cold sneer.

  No need to do the legwork.

  He tapped his tablet to access the entire complex security network.

  "Broadcast a message to every terminal in the complex. 'Request for cooperation in harboring a key wanted suspect.' Hide his face but send the silhouette and physical description. State that a reward will be paid for an immediate report."

  "Yes, sir!"

  A moment later, the quiet Guro Distribution Complex began to stir.

  "What is this?" "Look here. Read it."

  Old monitors in every hallway, terminals in the hands of merchants, and even the information boards hanging from the ceiling vibrated simultaneously, emitting a red light.

  [ URGENT NOTICE: Tracking Unauthorized Data Possessor ] [ Description: Black coat, slim build, approximately 180cm tall ] [ Reward will be paid upon reporting. Press Speed Dial 1. ]

  Suddenly, Arisa sent a warning to Dong-jun, who was leaning against a wall to catch his breath.

  [Writer, we're in big trouble! The police have turned the people in the complex into hunting dogs.]

  Dong-jun, who was about to drink hot coffee from a vending machine, burned the roof of his mouth in surprise. "Ow, hot...! What do you mean?"

  Down the hallway, a merchant who had been closing his shutters looked at his terminal and then glared at Dong-jun. His eyes were like those of a beast that had spotted its prey.

  [The police sent a message to the entire complex. Everyone around you is checking your description right now.]

  "Why are they checking my description?"

  The merchant’s finger moved slowly toward the speed-dial button '1' on his terminal.

  [1]

  Only then did Dong-jun realize. Every light in the complex, every person... was targeting him.

  "Writer, hurry—!"

  Beep—!

  "Damn it."

  The sound of a report rang out.