Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 90: Dominic (2)
A few days before Dominic’s aircraft was attacked —
Titan Tech Eastern Branch.
Near the top floor, Riley’s personal office remained softly lit despite the late hour.
Outside the window, the dazzling night view of eastern Babel sprawled in chaotic brilliance—but her gaze stayed locked on the holographic documents scattered across her desk.
Since the lab was destroyed, she’d been working temporarily out of this office, overseeing the reconstruction plans.
“Hoo...”
Riley lifted her eyes from the pile of documents and rose from her seat.
Rotating her stiff neck lightly, she walked toward the wide glass window.
The view of the central eastern city beyond was as overwhelming as ever.
Skyscrapers stabbing the sky, neon signs and holographic ads flooding the gaps between them, and streaks of aircraft light tearing through the night overhead.
But all that brilliance had lately begun to weigh heavily on her.
Like her position—granted far too suddenly—it felt alien. Precarious.
A spacious personal office located on the upper floors.
A top-priority personal AI assistant, assigned under the guise of maximizing work efficiency.
A brand-new Titan Tech aircraft, always on standby.
None of it felt like it belonged to someone who, just months ago, had quietly immersed herself in research inside an underground lab.
She had been designated as the next lab director for that secret research facility.
A meteoric promotion, triggered by the lab’s devastating destruction—and the fact that she’d been the only core researcher to survive.
At times, Riley felt like this seat had been bought with the sacrifices of her colleagues, and a heaviness settled in the pit of her chest.
Guilt and responsibility pressed down on her shoulders.
“Whitey... do you think I’ll actually be able to do this?”
She whispered softly, as if speaking to the white bird perched on her shoulder.
[You’ll be great! You’re smart, Riley!]
The voice rang clearly and cheerfully—echoing directly inside her mind.
It felt like invisible warmth gently wrapped itself around her shoulder.
“Yeah. Thanks, Whitey.”
Riley gave a faint smile and reached out into empty space as if to touch something real.
Then, mimicking the act of stroking feathers, she slowly nodded to herself.
When she first regained consciousness in the secret lab after the incident, she thought Whitey was just a product of trauma—or a fleeting hallucination.
But now, Riley believed the little bird was real.
A special being that only she could perceive.
And that belief had only recently solidified into certainty.
It happened by accident just a few days ago while she was working late in the office.
She’d seen Whitey walk across a datapad built on an AI interface—and spotted faint, physical traces left behind on the surface.
It was definitive proof that Whitey wasn’t just a figment of her imagination.
A ghost or hallucination wouldn’t affect an AI frame.
The moment she realized that, Riley had exhaled in quiet relief without even meaning to.
“I guess it’s time I reported you, huh?”
She had avoided reporting Whitey to Titan Tech out of fear that it might be considered a sign of mental instability.
If that happened, she wouldn’t just lose her shot at becoming director—she might get kicked out of the company entirely.
But now that she had a shred of evidence that Whitey was real, there was no need to hide it anymore.
It was time to report it.
And of course, there was only one person she’d report to.
Her direct superior—and one of the few honest, trustworthy people left in Titan Tech.
Dominic Krylov, Director of Development.
Riley picked up the datapad from her desk and began composing a message requesting a private audience with Director Dominic.
She chose each word carefully, thinking about how to explain the existence of the invisible little bird on her shoulder.
She was nearly done with the message when—
A sudden incoming signal popped up on her datapad.
The icon flashed red.
The caller was Director Dominic Krylov.
****
Right after Dominic’s aircraft was shot down —
Titan Tech Eastern Branch rooftop.
Under the darkened sky, burning drones fell like comets, crashing into the streets below in bursts of light.
The wind from their explosions whipped fiercely across the rooftop, tugging at Riley’s hair and blazer with violent force.
She braced herself against the gusts, barely staying upright, recalling the short conversation she’d had with Dominic Krylov just days ago.
“Did... Director Dominic really predict this would happen?”
Riley murmured in a nervous voice.
Just then, Whitey came bouncing across the black rooftop cloth, calling out to her.
[Over here! Riley!]
Shaking off her thoughts, Riley hurried in that direction.
The inside of Titan Tech was utter chaos.
As soon as Dominic Krylov was confirmed missing, everyone affiliated with his faction came under attack.
It was as if all the other factions—every single one—had made a secret pact to betray him at once and turn their backs on him in perfect unison.
Every internal communication line in the company had gone dead, and in the halls and offices, gunfire and screams echoed in waves of violence.
Even now, a full-on civil war was unfolding inside the building—Dominic’s faction versus the rest.
Fortunately, as soon as Riley received Dominic’s emergency signal, she had managed to escape to the rooftop using a pre-designated emergency stairwell.
But that didn’t mean everything had gone according to plan.
There had been others scheduled to evacuate besides her—
but unfortunately, they hadn’t made it to the rooftop.
By the time Riley arrived, barely making it herself, everything Dominic had arranged was already waiting.
A special alloy door sealing off the rooftop’s only access point.
Heavy drones circling overhead, protecting Riley from above.
Two boxes of emergency-delivered pizza tucked away in a rooftop corner.
And beside them—a massive pizza-shaped summoning circle, veiled beneath a black cloth.
All of it had been prepared by Dominic.
She didn’t fully understand what was going on,
but she had no choice but to trust him.
He was the only hope she had left.
The alloy door sealing the rooftop was sturdy enough that it couldn’t be opened by conventional means—
but how long it would hold was uncertain.
Same for the heavy drones locked in battle with rival faction drones—
they’d all be shot down eventually.
“She needs to get here soon...”
Riley muttered, pulling away the black cloth covering the summoning circle, her voice thick with unease.
That was when the sound of frantic pounding rang out from behind her—from the other side of the rooftop door.
BANG! BANG!
The alloy plating started to groan and dent under the repeated impacts, as if screaming.
Sparks burst at the hinges. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
The edges of the door were beginning to split.
“Director Riley! Open this door right now! There’s nowhere left to run!”
The voice came from one of the internal audit team members.
Once, they had been polite. Professional.
But now, all she could hear was the raw menace in their tone.
They were armed with Titan Tech’s top-of-the-line implants—
and they held the authority to forcibly deactivate the implants of other employees.
The only reason Riley had made it this far,
evading the terrifying audit team,
was because of her uniqueness.
No implants. Just an ordinary body.
No subordinate researchers to command.
A research director in name only.
She had no means of high-speed escape,
and no way to influence the chaotic battles erupting throughout the building.
That was likely why, while the other key figures had been swiftly eliminated,
she alone had slipped past the surveillance net.
But even that advantage... was coming to an end.
“Please, hurry...”
She clasped her hands toward the summoning circle and prayed, earnestly.
Prayed for the arrival of the one Dominic had called their final hope—
the Pizza Demon.
Her heart pounded like it was about to explode.
And then—
One minute passed.
SCREEEEECH.
With a sound like tearing steel, the rooftop door was blasted inward and clattered to the floor.
THUD, THUD.
Heavy combat boots echoed across the rooftop surface.
The audit team had broken through the door and emerged onto the roof.
The moment they saw Riley, they raised their black-barreled rifles straight at her.
There was no intent to negotiate.
No attempt to capture her alive.
No...
Riley squeezed her eyes shut, her face pale with dread.
A sense of frozen blood and utter despair washed over her body.
BANG!
The gunshot rang out heavy and sharp.
And Riley thought—this is it.
But no pain came.
No bullet tore through her body.
Silence, thick and unnatural, settled like everything had stopped.
And then—
a voice cut through it.
A strange voice.
One that didn’t belong here at all.
“Hand over the pizza!”
A high-pitched, almost childish voice—
but somehow filled with weight and menace—
rattled across the entire rooftop.
[Riley, we’re saved!]
Whitey’s voice rang out in giddy relief.
Riley opened her eyes just a sliver.
What she saw was Whitey, bowing politely in one direction.
And as she lifted her gaze fully, the impossible unfolded before her.
Shadows—
spreading like ink, swallowing light as they rolled outward.
And at the center of that blooming darkness,
a girl began to emerge, slowly.
White hair streaming around her.
A black coat traced with ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) glowing blue circuitry patterns.
A ridiculous triceratops hat perched atop her head.
The Pizza Demon. A.
She calmly adjusted her hat, glanced around,
then stretched one arm toward the audit team without the slightest hesitation.
“Attacking the pizza shuttle...!”
