42 – Internal Sector (2)
The front door slid open. At the same time, a digitally synthesized voice spread outside the speaker.
“Come inside for now, hyung.”
Lian cautiously stepped inside the room filled with wires. Soon, he could face a man wearing a black suit inside the room.
“hahahahaha. I had my suspicions, but I never thought the voice modulation was real.”
Mozly looked up and down at Lian, amazed.
Usually, when you modify your body, there are noticeable signs at the joints or other connecting parts, but Lian didn’t have any of that discomfort.
So, there are three possibilities left.
Either he underwent surgery with expensive implants, he’s really a kid, or…
“Is it a case where growth stopped in adolescence? Quite unusual.”
That’s where Mozley’s interest peaked.
“So, how much did you bring?”
“I think it’s best to start by explaining the types of IDs.”
“Originally, there are about three major types, but I can only make one for you, Hyung.”
“Why is that?”
“Because of your body shape. Usually, they don’t issue IDs to little kids who haven’t even become adults yet, right?”
Mozley said that while tapping the keyboard. At the same time, countless personal information flashed across the screen.
“Trust me. Proving that you’re not a kid is much more cost-effective than this, considering the minimum difference is five times.”
If that’s the case.
Mozley grinned and continued.
“Of course, it’s not that easy on this side either. It’s not a simple task to forge a non-existent ID… much more complicated and meticulous.”
It’s not about forging an ID; it’s about forging the identity itself.
“Usually, when kids die, they’re immediately processed as deceased. So, you have to bring one from the deactivated IDs that seem missing. But the citizens in the well-administered internal sectors are sensitive to such things from the start.”
He’s beating around the bush, but the core of his words was this.
“How much does it cost?”
“hehehehe. As expected, Hyung, you’re good at getting things. Mozley chuckled and tapped on the calculator.”
“170 million cells. Don’t say it’s expensive. It’s because I gave you a big discount.”
“…Hm.”
“If your appearance was average, you could have settled for around 30 million cells. There are quite a few people in the inner sector whose lives have been ruined. They don’t even notice the concept of status when it comes to the humans who work immediately.”
Mozly muttered like that, with a gloomy smile on his face.
“I found him. He went missing a year ago, kidnapped. I checked on the deep web, and it seems that some high-ranking people from a large corporation needed fresh organs. hehehehe, you don’t have to worry about him suddenly coming back to life.”
It’s expensive, but considering the difficulty, it’s not that bad.
Lian knew very well the difference between simply forging an ID card and forging an entire identity.
Perhaps the cost of 170 million cells also includes a risk allowance for directly infiltrating the government’s servers.
‘If I hadn’t had a similar experience in my past life, I would have cursed and called it a scam.’
Lian secretly licked her lips and took out a card connected to a secret account. She wasn’t short on money. She had received a substantial amount of money from the previous successful project.
Thanks to that, she could hold a considerable amount of over 300 million cells.
‘It broke more than I expected.’
But considering the future, it was a cost that she would eventually have to invest.
“I’ll go with that.”
“Excellent choice, sir.”
Mozly chuckled and tapped the keyboard. Unintelligible codes kept scrolling up and down without pause.
“Sir, what name and age would you like to use?”
“Can you change that too?”
“For children’s personal information. Not for adults.”
After a moment of hesitation, Lian opened her mouth.
“My name is Lian. As for my age… let’s just say I’m ten.”
Mozley tilted his head at Lian’s answer.
“You have peculiar tastes. Not fifteen, but ten years old. Is that your preference?”
“….”
“Just kidding. Well, to be fair, if people who know nothing see you, they would believe you’re your age based on your appearance.”
How much time had passed?
“It’s done. By the way, there are no refunds. Technically, they restored your identity that was previously marked as deceased, so if you mess with it again, you’ll be caught in the government’s surveillance net.”
“Are there any other precautions I should take?”
“Oh, right.”
Mozley seemed to remember something and spoke up.
“You need to go to the city hall or district office to register your fingerprints and iris. No need to bribe anyone separately. It’s already included in the expenses your brother paid.”
“I understand.”
“hehehe. If something like this happens again, come see me. I’ll give you a big discount.”
More like a merchant than a hacker. Considering that hackers are generally closed-off individuals, Mozley was quite easy to communicate with.
As Lian was about to leave, he opened his mouth.
“You make quite a lot of money, so why do you live in the outskirts?”
“Because it’s expensive. There aren’t many residential areas in the inner sectors to begin with. Most of them are government offices or corporate buildings. There are a fair number of villas, but… people like me have such fluctuating incomes that it makes a big difference.”
Mozley said that while gesturing towards the computers. Devices that emitted intense heat as they hummed without rest. It was probably costing a considerable amount of money just to maintain them.
Lian left the path and stepped out of the waterworks. After registering basic personal information at the district office and fully registering his identity in the server…
“It’ll probably be finished by evening.”
*****
The next morning.
Lian was lying on the bed.
A one-room apartment a bit too large for solo living. It was the place she found right after gaining her status.
No realtor questioned the fact that a young child was acquiring a one-room apartment. The moment they checked Lian’s bank statements, they treated her not as a child but as a customer.
The same went for her phone. In a society rolling beneath capital, this was entirely possible.
“It’s close to the mercenary group too.”
Less than a 30-minute subway ride away. Since there wasn’t a designated time for commuting, she could afford to compromise on that to save money.
“I should start getting ready.”
Lian picked out her clothes and headed outside.
“Damn, I’m late!”
“You idiot! The client filed a claim, and you’re dealing with it like that?”
“Well, we have to win this time.”
Amidst busy office workers rushing to work, Lian’s steps halted at the Turas Metro, circulating the entire city.
“It’s definitely different.”
She felt it since yesterday; the internal and external sectors differed from infrastructure to appearance. Overall, it looked clean and sophisticated.
Just the buildings in the corporate zone visible through the window were several times taller than those in the outskirts.
Some companies were so famous that even before Lian became aware of her past life, she had heard of them.
Decard, renowned for arms dealings, and Sichuan, famous in the pharmaceutical field.
“They had their headquarters on the East Continent.”
Amidst contemplation, the subway reached its destination.
A bustling street with countless vehicles passing by. Boldly standing in the midst of it all, a building.
Although not as colossal as the major corporations in the business district, the name painted atop the building was sufficient to rival them.
[Laplus Mercenary Corps]
In a megacity where over ten million people lived, a mercenary corps that had an unparalleled position among them all.
Although Rean had heard various rumors about the Laplus Mercenary Corps, today marked his first visit to their headquarters.
As soon as he opened the glass door and stepped inside, an elegant lobby with a refined design welcomed Rean.
From Noble mtl dot com
Unlike the temporary branch, most of the people strolling through the lobby were businessmen dressed in sophisticated suits.
Considering the verified skills of most corps members, it was likely they personally hired them as security guards.
“Hey… kid?”
“Leave me alone. My parents work here.”
“Well, if you got lost, the receptionists would have kicked you out by now.”
“My situation is a bit different. Today is the open recruitment day. I know Arcard veterans well, and they said the city is overflowing with modified humans.”
“That… is considered a modified human?”
“Well, it’s a possibility. Logically, it’s not a suitable place for a kid, right?”
Ignoring their conversation, Rean headed straight for the reception desk.
It wasn’t anything strange. Even if a project was successfully completed, the detailed information about the project might not be disclosed.
The fact that Rean had dismantled the Camento Gang might be known only to a few officials, excluding most others.
It wasn’t a significant matter.
“The value of my name, I’ll build it up slowly from now on.”
And then, one day, a request for a mission came in, as expected.
“Have you been well? Rian-nim.”
As soon as Rian arrived at the reception desk, the employee who recognized her smiled.
“What brings you here?”
“If there’s a good request, I’d like to take one.”
The employee’s face showed a hint of embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, but currently we are not accepting any requests other than missions. As you know… after the last incident, we lost a lot of people.”
I heard about it. More than twenty people died.
No matter how large the Lapis Mercenary Corps is, the loss of dozens of veteran mercenaries cannot be easily dismissed.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to take a look around for a moment?”
“Look… what do you mean?”
The employee said so, pointing to the documents on the desk.
[Lapis Mercenary Corps Public Recruitment]
Was that what they were just talking about?
“It wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”
Rian, who had been hesitating for a moment, slowly opened her mouth.
“…Where should I go?”
“Just go up to the 5th floor.”
*****