Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 43: Golden Murdock (6)

But something about it still didn’t sit right.

The closer I got to the destination, the thicker the tension in the air became—hard to explain, but impossible to ignore.

A metallic taste coated the back of my tongue, and it felt like faint electricity was crawling across my skin.

A familiar sensory reaction near AI Erosion Zones.

Eventually, I reached a hilltop that offered a clear view—and stopped for a second to take in the spectacle.

A massive black sphere was consuming the earth itself.

Like a black moon devouring the sun.

Titan Tech forces and their equipment were arrayed in tight formation around it, while countless news choppers circled above, broadcasting the scene in real time.

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“...Shit.”

They weren’t exaggerating when they said it was the largest event recorded since the Great Convergence.

A standard Erosion Zone might take out a single building.

This thing looked like it could swallow a small city whole.

Even more disturbing—the visible surface was just the tip of the iceberg.

The curvature of the zone was too gradual. The real core had to be buried deep underground.

Yeah, this was definitely the kind of mess that justified a 500,000 credit job.

I hadn’t had time to prep properly since I left Neuron Nectar in a rush—but that wasn’t a huge problem.

My body was already the perfect weapon.

Just as I was scanning for a way into the Erosion Zone without getting spotted by Titan Tech’s security perimeter—

‘!’

Something burst out of thin air.

I instinctively dropped low and slipped into a combat stance—but quickly relaxed once I saw who it was.

“Oh. It’s you.”

The kid floated in front of me, like always—appearing out of nowhere.

But unlike usual, they looked kind of... deflated. Listless. Just hovering midair, swaying like wilted lettuce.

“What’s wrong? You sick or something?”

The child drifted toward me slowly.

I reached out, but as always, couldn’t touch a damn thing.

That’s when I realized what was off.

“Oh... Amber’s coating wore off, huh.”

Amber had come up with a special solution that let the kid “touch” physical objects.

Distortion-responsive liquid, or something like that?

It coated the kid’s non-physical form in a thin layer, letting them interact with the material world despite having no body of their own.

But the stuff evaporated over time. It had to be reapplied regularly.

“You should’ve asked Amber to put it on again.”

[No human around....]

The kid slowly shook their head.

Which meant Amber wasn’t at the office.

That was rare.

Amber almost never left her post.

“Yeah? I’ll try calling her. Wherever she is, I should be able to reach her.”

At that, the kid perked up and started orbiting around me like a tiny, happy satellite.

I smiled a little and opened my AR interface to place the call.

I needed to consult Amber anyway—about the lab, and about Murdock’s suspicious job.

Might as well.

‘...?’

But no matter how long I waited, Amber didn’t answer.

Something urgent come up?

When I couldn’t get through to her, the kid slumped onto my shoulder with a pout.

They just flopped there, belly-up like a lazy cat.

In the end, I headed toward the Erosion Zone without any advice from Amber.

As I neared the edge of the zone, I saw a staggering number of soldiers patrolling the area.

Troops in black armor moved in perfect formations, sweeping the perimeter, while the sky buzzed with surveillance drones.

But an Erosion Zone of this scale couldn’t be locked down with formations and drones.

Not even close.

It was a city-sized anomaly.

If they’d had more time, they probably could’ve set up a full surveillance net with CCTV and sensor grids.

But this was right after the incident broke out—there was no such luxury.

I drew energy from the Hexa Core «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Ring in my chest, sharpening every sense to its limit, and began studying the soldiers’ patrol pattern.

There’s a blind spot every thirty minutes because of the building angles.

I spotted the hole in their path and funneled every drop of energy I could into my legs—then burst out like a bullet.

Timing it with the precise moment I dropped out of visual range, I launched forward.

The instant I hit the wall of the Erosion Zone—black as ink—a chill shadow wrapped around my body like a liquid.

It felt similar, but not quite the same, as when I used Titan Tech’s shadow abilities.

I pushed my way through the barrier, like moving through cold fluid.

“...!”

What greeted me on the other side was nothing I could’ve predicted.

For a second, it felt like I had stepped into a completely different world.

Both sides of the path were lined with blooming cherry blossoms, glowing pink and vivid.

Not just a few trees—an endless tunnel of them.

Every time the wind blew, petals filled my vision in waves of pink.

Beneath my feet, a neatly paved walkway sloped gently downward.

This is supposed to be an Erosion Zone?

Every Erosion Zone I’d seen before had been grotesque.

Some reversed gravity. Some trapped you in loops where time repeated the same moment again and again.

But this one—this one was peaceful. Beautiful, even.

And that’s exactly what made it terrifying.

A gut-level instinct crawled up my spine: something was wrong.

The kid must’ve felt it too—they dove into my hair and disappeared.

“So this path leads to the lab...”

I pulled just a trickle of energy from my core, keeping my guard up, and started walking.

Tap. Tap.

My footsteps echoed faintly through the quiet cherry blossom tunnel.

The scent of the petals was sweet—but with something sticky and rotten underneath.

The path kept going downhill, but strangely, I couldn’t see where it ended.

On any normal slope, you’d see the bottom just by looking.

But this just kept stretching forward, lined by endless pink.

I took a deep breath and continued down the path.

Now and then, petals brushed across my face.

When I reached out and touched one, it felt dry—like paper.

“...”

I don’t know how long I walked.

Suddenly, another smell crept in through the flowers—one that hit my nose with a sharp, coppery tang.

It was blood.

Thick. Metallic. Reeking of death.

I stopped and scanned my surroundings.

Turning my head carefully toward the cherry trees flanking the path, I saw it.

A grotesque sight between the trunks.

Bodies—several of them—strewn across the ground.

Combat mercenaries, by the looks of it. Loaded with high-end implants.

Victor-tier gear, easily. But now they were just cold meat.

Golden Murdock must’ve sent these guys before me...

Their faces were frozen in pure terror, like they’d been taxidermied in fear.

No visible wounds.

But when I looked closer, I noticed it—thin, white roots from the cherry trees had grown under their skin, spreading out like veins.

Shhhh.

A soft noise.

The sound of roots slowly, quietly gnawing through flesh.

The trees were feeding on these mercs—using their meat and blood to bloom.

“...”

My brow twisted.

I stepped past the bodies and kept descending.

The tunnel began to darken.

Like watching the sun slowly set—except faster, deeper.

Soon I couldn’t even see my own boots.

Even the faint blue glow from my coat and hair couldn’t break through it.

It felt like the darkness itself was eating the light.

I was about to trigger an energy pulse from my core to push the dark back—

—when a white light suddenly appeared in the void.

Floating there like a tiny moon.

A small, round figure emerged—a bird.

No way that thing should’ve been able to fly, not with a body that round.

But the little white bird hovered before me, tilting its head just slightly to look at me.

Like it was inviting me to follow.

Then, slowly, it began to fly forward.

It’s guiding me?

I started walking again—blind in every direction but forward—following the glowing white bird.

The kid slipped out of my hair and just stared at it.

Stunned. Silent.