Chapter 03
-*The day after tomorrow, at noon, stand behind the blue tram stop in the 4th Residential District, next to the trash
can. Then you will know.*
—
His clientāno, his client group? Anyway, they seemed quite meticulous.
Even though they could have simply relayed the request through a middleman, they seemed to want to observe Raimund directly.
In the end, Raimund had no choice but to go to the designated location at the appointed time.
While riding the red tram to the 4th Residential District, he gave up his seat to the surging passengers, got crushed in a corner, and wiped the sweat gathering in his palms on his pants.
Putting aside the large sum of 50,000 credits, what if he got caught? What would happen to Olive, Peony, and Hazel back home?
Crumpled in a corner of the tram, Raimund was lost in all sorts of thoughts. Visions bordering on paranoia flashed through his mindāthat this was actually a police sting operation and he’d be arrested the moment he reached the spot, or that he’d be delivering drugs or illegal weapons and accidentally get caught by the police, immediately dragged off to prison.
If he was unlucky and the illegal transaction was busted, how many floors underground would he, the errand boy, be locked up in?
Raimund had heard of the ‘underground prison’ beneath the very ground he stood on.
When the UK Shelter was built, most of the unpopular facilities were buried underground.
Why? Because if you had to account for a place to confine criminals and death row inmates, the shelter would have to be built that much larger.
But since every square foot the dome enclosing the sky expanded cost a fortune in tax money, the prison was built deep underground, alongside facilities like sewage and waste treatment.
This wouldn’t have been possible if humanity hadn’t had the technology to build structures of such immense scale underground.
While he was deep in thought, the tram arrived at the 4th Residential District. The decelerating tram disgorged a mass of passengers before continuing along its route.
Raimund slipped past the passengers’ eyes and went around to the back of the station. In the narrow, dead-end alley stood a large green trash can.
Raimund pulled his hat down low and hid himself behind it. About ten minutes remained until noon.
For a long while, he watched the people passing through the alley from behind the trash can. Old people, children, women, menāhe couldn’t tell who his contact would be.
Would they have a fierce look? A bulky build like the one who had punched him in the face yesterday? A tattoo on their neck, or conversely, would they look like an ordinary, unremarkable citizen?
After ten minutes, Raimund’s tension peaked. He felt like his whole body was tingling. But despite being so on edge, no one approached him.
Just pedestrians passing by indifferently.
People who didn’t even glance his way.
One minute passed. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed.
Raimund felt utterly deflated. He couldn’t keep waiting for someone who wasn’t coming at the appointed time.
Just as he decided to leave the spot, a black cat that had been lying on the wall at the end of the dead-end alley let out a long meow and jumped down.
*Meow.*
The cat, letting out a clear cry, approached silently and nonchalantly rubbed its body against Raimund’s leg.
Yellow eyes like full moons, with black vertical pupils, looked up at him.
It’s rare to see live animals inside the shelter. Apart from rats, the government controls the population of birds and mammals.
Raimund, seeing a cat for the first time in a long while, hesitated and whispered quietly.
“Shh. Go away. I don’t have anything for you.”
*Mew.*
“I said I don’t. Do I smell tasty to you?”
As he was roughly stroking the head of the cat that was weaving between his feet and rubbing its body and cheeks against him, Raimund’s hand stopped.
Around the cat’s neck was a very thin chain, and at its end dangled a small glass bottle about two knuckles long.
What’s this now?
He scooped up the unresisting cat, which was happily mewing. The glass bottle around its neck came off more easily than expected, and the rolled-up note inside unfolded in Raimund’s palm.
[Deliver the bag inside the trash can.
Today, 20:30.
Economic District, 1st Street, Amers Department Store.
Rear entrance guard.]
By the time he finished reading the note, the cat was already back up on the wall. Under the cat’s fixed, staring yellow gaze, Raimund opened the trash can right next to him. Inside wasn’t crumpled paper, snack wrappers, or tissues, but one black bag.
The bag was quite heavy. How many pounds did it weigh? What was inside it?
No. He shouldn’t think about it.
All he had to do now was not think about anything and just deliver the bag to the designated place.
If he just did that, and got back safely, 50,000 credits would be deposited into his credit stick. After the commission was taken out, it would be about 45,000 credits.
Raimund slung the suspicious bag over his shoulder and hurriedly left the alley. Large yellow eyes watched him as he quickly blended into the crowd on the street.
—
He walked aimlessly through the streets. He couldn’t go home carrying a bag without knowing what was inside it.
He had to kill time somewhere until 8:30 PM. After changing trams and heading to the Economic District, Raimund hesitated, then impulsively entered a small cafe.
“An espresso, please.”
“That’ll be 15 credits.”
Of course, it wasn’t real coffee. It was just black liquid squeezed from artificial coffee beans, sold as a beverage.
And yet it was this expensive. Raimund grumbled inwardly but held out his credit stick, and the cafe owner processed the payment quickly as if it were only natural.
Settling into a seat and placing the bag on his lap, Raimund stared blankly at the people outside the window. How long had it been since he’d felt this idle?
The Economic and Administrative District surrounded the Central District, which housed Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.
The central ministries of public institutions were located in the Administrative District, and businesses of all sizes had their offices in the Economic District adjacent to it.
This was why all the money and people in the shelter flowed here and emanated from here. Floating population, power supply priority, pollution cleanup orderāthe Economic and Administrative District topped every list.
It would be great if he could find a job in the Economic District. Even a tiny office job would be a godsend.
Suddenly, Raimund had that thought. After he got paid, maybe he could seriously think about the future?
For him, who had experienced the irony of not being able to get a job because he had no money, a few tens of thousands of credits in spare cash was like a windfall.
If he could get even a part-time job organizing documents, that would be wonderful.
He might not get a full-time position, but if he worked diligently, maybe people around him would trust him with work.
Then, if a company had a manpower shortage and hired formally, wouldn’t they consider him more favorably among the candidates?
He hadn’t finished school, but he was confident he could learn anything if taught. He could do simple arithmetic and read, too.
Yeah. Let’s work hard from now on. Let’s quit these shady jobs after today.
Thinking that, Raimund hugged the bag tightly. He didn’t care what was inside it, or which gang or mafia it was connected to.
Raimund sat there for over six hours.
The owner, uncomfortable with him occupying a seat for so long after ordering a single 15-credit coffee, sent several glances his way, but Raimund, engrossed in planning his happy future, didn’t notice.
When he left the cafe, the hands on the clock pointed to 7:50 PM.
It was less than a 20-minute walk from the cafe to Amers Department Store.
But he planned to hurry a little, mindful of unforeseen circumstances, to deliver the bag on time.
With the heavy bag slung over his shoulder, Raimund stepped out into the street, which was beginning to sparkle as lights came on, and walked with a light step.
The weather was chilly. Beyond the setting artificial sun, an artificial moon rose in the deep blue sky.
It was called an artificial moon, but he’d heard it was actually an intercontinental communication satellite device. He didn’t know much about that.
Entering 1st Street in the Economic District, the number of people visibly increased.
Probably because it was home to Amers Department Store, the largest in the shelter, along with various other shops.
Raimund wove through the crowd, careful not to be swept away by the overflowing masses.
Someone bumped his shoulder and passed by. Raimund cursed briefly at the white-haired pedestrian who didn’t even offer an apology.
He’d only paused for a moment, but a woman brushed past him narrowly and let out a short cry.
“Ah!”
“Excuse me, your hair! Hold on, let me get it out.”
“What are you doing? It got caught in your bag zipper!”
She was a woman with long hair. Her waist-length hair was adorned with what looked like decorative pins, and it seemed they had gotten caught in the bag’s zipper as she passed.
Raimund kept apologizing and tried to free the flustered woman’s hair.
*Why won’t this come out?* The stiff zipper, perhaps new, wouldn’t go up or down.
After struggling with the small zipper there for a moment, it finally went up with a *zzzzip* sound, and the woman’s hair was finally freed.
“Watch where you’re going!”
“I’m really sorry.”
The sharp-tongued woman vanished back into the crowd with an annoyed look.
Watching her leave, Raimund sighed in relief. Thank goodness nothing serious happened.
As he turned back to close the bag zipper, seeing the slightly opened gap was by no means, absolutely not, intentional.
The zipper, opened about half a handspan.
The contents inside.
In the pitch-black space,
Numbers flickering red, casting a seductive glow.
47. 46. 45. 44.
He couldn’t comprehend what he had just seen.
So, instead of closing the bag, he turned his gaze towards Amers Department Store ahead.
The department store displayed a campaign poster for the Shelter Government’s environmental initiativeāa beautifully smiling model showing off her bracelet.
People ceaselessly entered and exited through the large main entrance, bathed in bright, warm orange light. Some
wore suits, others looked like families or couples. The security guard standing in front was answering a question from an elderly couple and guiding them inside.
A massive department store with 17 floors.
This was 1st Street in the Economic District, the most bustling area in the entire shelter.
And what was inside his bag was…
The fine hairs on the back of Raimund’s neck stood on end.
A huge clock installed on the department store rooftop broadcasted the hourly advertisement. Past birds and fish
gliding across a green background, the clear letters ’20:00′ rippled.
Raimund was standing in the most crowded place in the shelter,
with a bomb that could destroy all this peace.
