Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 102: Strangeness (1)

Studio 3 of Sakamata Media Network was far more tense than usual.

Preparations for the live broadcast of Lex Chroma’s Underground Babel were in full swing—and today’s featured subject was more special than anything they’d aired before.

“Lighting check complete!”

“Audio system’s good!”

“Cameras 1 through 5, all set!”

The voices of staff members filled the studio.

Dozens of crew members were moving briskly, checking and double-checking everything, and at the center of it all stood Lex Chroma, his entire body adorned with flashy neon implants.

Today, Lex Chroma was wearing fluorescent green implants—clearly a nod to the star of tonight’s program.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Today is a truly extraordinary day!”

Lex Chroma shouted toward the cameras with his signature exaggerated gestures.

His voice brimmed with excitement.

“We’re about to show you a lifeform no existing megacorp could ever produce—honestly, it’s unbelievable!”

At the center of the set, a small steel cage had been installed.

Inside, a grotesque lizard glowed with a fluorescent green hue, curled up and motionless.

Its size was comparable to an average iguana, but the eerie green light radiating from its skin made it obvious this was no ordinary creature.

“All right, shall we begin?”

At Lex Chroma’s signal, a co-host approached the cage holding a sharp knife.

A specially designed robotic arm reached into the cage and grasped the lizard’s tail.

Shhhk.

The blade sliced cleanly through the tail.

Fluorescent green fluid splattered, and a strange vapor rose from the severed area.

“Take a look! A normal lizard would take weeks—months even—to regrow its tail. But this one...”

Before Lex Chroma could even finish his sentence, new tissue began to explode from the severed point.

Within mere seconds, the tail had fully regenerated.

“Incredible! Is this even biologically possible?!”

The atmosphere in the studio was growing more feverish by the second.

The production crew escalated the experiments to be even more provocative.

They scorched the lizard with a flamethrower, but the charred sections were instantly covered in fresh, new skin.

They ran high-voltage current through it, but though it convulsed, the lizard soon appeared completely unharmed.

They even crushed its head entirely—yet the fluorescent green mass twitched and writhed, forming a brand-new skull.

“We’ve broken 20% viewership!”

Cheers erupted from the control room.

But on the faces of a few staff members, a faint unease flickered.

The lizard... was changing.

It had barely moved at first, but now it was becoming more active.

And with every death, with each regeneration—it was getting a little bigger.

One of the cameramen murmured in a shaky voice,

“Something’s off... that thing’s almost doubled in size since we started...”

But in a studio electrified by climbing viewership, no one heard that anxious voice.

Lex Chroma maintained his professional smile as he addressed the camera again.

“You’re seeing this too, aren’t you? This incredible phenomenon! A lifeform that grows stronger every time it dies—could this be the true legacy of MK Corporation?”

Yet tension laced even his voice now.

The lizard had reached the size of a large dog—and the sound of its claws raking the cage was growing louder.

“We need a new cage!”

A staffer shouted.

A larger cage was quickly prepared, and specialized equipment was brought in to transfer the creature.

Even after that, the lizard “died” several more times.

They used tranquilizer darts, electric shocks, even liquid nitrogen.

But every time, the lizard regenerated faster, grew larger, and became more aggressive.

“This is... this is just astounding!”

Lex Chroma exclaimed, watching the lizard with an expression of genuine awe.

That look was partly admiration for the strange creature—but mostly the realization that tonight’s broadcast was a massive hit.

The viewership had already surpassed 25%.

It was the highest rating in Underground Babel history.

The cage upgrades continued.

What began as a small enclosure now needed to be the size of one that could hold an elephant.

The lizard had grown to a size approaching that of a dinosaur.

“Some of you are asking whether this is dangerous...”

The fluorescent green glow grew even more intense. Its eyes now radiated what could only be described as pure hostility.

“Don’t worry! This cage is made from Sakamata’s cutting-edge alloy technology! It could withstand a direct hit from a tank!”

Lex Chroma grinned confidently at the camera.

“I’m no biotechnology expert, but...”

He spoke as another cage was being readied, trying to buy some time.

“There’s a very interesting question here. Just where is that lizard drawing its energy from? To keep growing like that, it would have to be absorbing matter or energy from somewhere, wouldn’t it?”

And then—it happened.

BANG!

The now-massive lizard slammed its head into the cage.

The special alloy cage—supposedly made with Sakamata’s finest tech—held firm.

“See? Sakamata engineering never fails!”

Lex Chroma opened his mouth to speak again, but—

The lizard rammed its head a second time.

Harder.

Its skull cracked open, and fluorescent green fluid splattered in every direction.

But the lizard didn’t die.

Instead, with its shattered head, it began rapidly forcing its way through the cage bars.

“...Shit.”

Lex Chroma’s smile disappeared from his face.

“Run!”

Someone’s scream filled the studio.

But it was already too late.

The lizard had shredded itself like thin slices of meat to slip through the cage—and once outside, its broken body regenerated at impossible speed.

Then that massive mouth opened wide.

Lex Chroma—who stood closest—was devoured in a single bite.

“AAAAAGH!”

Chaos exploded throughout the studio.

The lizard rampaged madly, devouring every person it came across.

Cameramen. Audio engineers. Lighting crew.

One by one, those trying to flee vanished into the belly of the giant, fluorescent green monster.

At last, the lizard charged directly at the camera.

Its gaping, glowing jaws filled the entire frame—

CH-CHUNK.

The broadcast cut out.

It was the highest-rated episode in Lex Chroma’s Underground Babel history—

And the final one.

****

A quiet back alley in the northern outskirts of Babel. A small pizza shop flickering under a fading neon sign.

The sign read Papa Joe’s Pizza, though half the letters had gone dark, and the outer walls were flaking paint in patches.

It wasn’t part of a franchise. The interior was nothing to look at. Just a run-down hole-in-the-wall neighborhood joint.

And yet, I took a bite of the pizza with a satisfied expression.

“Mmm...”

The cheese, gooey to the point of dripping, had browned perfectly where it met the heat, and spicy pepperoni was piled on top.

Simple—but exactly to my taste.

Sometimes, these hidden spots turned out to be way better than the big-name chains.

I’d stopped by while clearing out Corrosion Domains in the north—to test my new White Shadow ability and, while I was at it, increase the number of children. A detour that turned out to be an unexpected jackpot.

Leaning back in my chair, I stared at the old TV mounted on the wall.

It was replaying Lex Chroma’s Final Broadcast yet again.

I’d lost count of how many times it had aired by now.

[Lex Chroma’s Shocking End!]

The screen lit up with a flashy subtitle, and the familiar footage played again.

The fluorescent green lizard growing larger. Lex Chroma rambling with excitement. And then—

Gulp.

Lex Chroma being swallowed whole by the now-massive lizard, played again in slow motion.

Sakamata Media Network was milking that scene for all it was worth, layering it with every special effect imaginable.

[Experts Analyze the Identity of the Fluorescent Lizard!]

[Is It MK Corporation’s Curse—Or a Failed Megacorp Experiment?!]

[In Memory of Lex Chroma: His Greatest Moments.]

“How many more times are they gonna air this crap...”

I sighed and muttered under my breath.

Still, the ratings must’ve been good—because the network # Nоvеlight # had gone full in on Lex Chroma specials, airing them around the clock.

They’d even made documentaries.

The Secret of the Fluorescent Lizard, Lex Chroma’s Final Day, Tragedy of Underground Babel, and so on...

And with strange animals like that fluorescent lizard now popping up all over Babel, it looked like they’d be rerunning that final broadcast forever.

“These days, weird creatures like that are showing up everywhere...”

Like a tiger flapping massive membrane wings, flying between buildings like a bat.

Or a bipedal water deer walking upright like a human, using its front legs to rummage through trash cans.

Even I had come across several of these oddities while wandering the northern outskirts.

“Meow.”

At the soft feline cry, I turned my head.

A black cat was sprawled across the table.

Its fur was sleek and glossy, plump, and well-groomed—looked ordinary at first glance.

But this one wasn’t ordinary.

The cat slowly raised its head and stared at me in response.

Slrrrk...

In an instant, the cat’s body wavered like shadow—melting fluidly through the table and reappearing in my lap, curling up into a ball.

Of course it did. This thing was, quite literally, a liquid cat—just like the old joke.

What the hell’s causing so many of these things to appear all of a sudden?

I stroked the cat’s back, lost in thought.

It was clearly artificial.

There was no way this was some natural phenomenon.

But who... and why?

Chaos in Babel? Profit motive?

No matter how much I thought about it, the perpetrator’s intent was completely unreadable.

On the TV, as the infamous scene of Lex Chroma being devoured played again, the anchor’s stiff voice resumed:

[Once again, reports of mutant lifeform sightings across Babel have spiked significantly. Citizens are urged to exercise caution.]

Even the news was now using footage of Lex Chroma getting eaten by a lizard.

[The mysterious gray aurora over Babel skies several days ago was determined to be a sensor error, according to analysis—]

I tuned out the rest and stood up from my seat.

The black cat rubbed against my leg as if reluctant to part.

Truthfully, the sudden influx of strange animals wasn’t an immediate threat in and of itself.

No matter how impressive their regeneration or unique abilities—when it came down to it, bullets still made everyone equal.

Even the endlessly regenerating ones, like that fluorescent lizard, were—at worst—a nuisance to the megacorps.

Still... something feels off.

It was a gut instinct.

A heavy, looming sense that something dangerous and enormous had already begun.

“...Well, nothing I can do about it right now.”

Shaking my head, I stepped out of the shop.

The black cat meowed and trailed behind me.

“Don’t follow me.”

“Meow.”

“Acting cute won’t work.”

“Mee-owww.”

In the end, I sighed and picked the cat up.

As I walked through the bleak streets of the northern outskirts, I looked around again.

Billboards cast their sickly glow through thick smog.

Junkies staggered, dazed and twitching.

Gunfire echoed not far off...

The everyday surface of Babel looked peaceful enough.

But beneath it—something was definitely beginning to stir.

For now... I’ll keep watching. Maybe Amber has a lead I can ask about?

With that thought, I stepped into the shadow.