Chapter 4

In the sunlight, a pitch-black figure stood on the rooftop.

The building had eighty-five floors and stood some four hundred meters tall. Only four buildings in the entire Upper District were as tall. Looking down from the edge, even the "great" Upper District seemed tiny.

Chu Zu stepped onto the railing. Under the sunlight, the man's silhouette narrowed to a black slit. He lowered his center of gravity and leaped off.

In complete free fall, Chu Zu counted the floors silently, drew his grappling gun, and fired at the glass gleaming gold before him.

With the grappling hook as his pivot, Chu Zu tensed every muscle. The steel cable snapped taut with a sharp sound, and the black figure smashed bodily through the reinforced glass, rolled twice across the debris, and landed.

On the forty-fifth floor, the person Luciano wanted dealt with was hiding.

"Does Luciano have an illegitimate child?" Chu Zu still had the leisure to check the information Dai Xian had given him with the system.

"The original novel didn't say." The system answered at once, while keeping a constant watch on his surroundings for him.

The tasks Luciano gave him were mostly physical labor. Though Chu Zu was fit enough to handle them, his experience still fell short of the original "Chu Zu's."

He hadn't paid much attention while working yesterday and had nearly killed one of his own. The system had pulled out all the stops to assist him and spent several hours on edge, but at least nothing serious had happened.

But the butler, Jeeves, had caught the mistake. The system had written a report on Chu Zu's behalf, hinting that it was an aftereffect of the surgery, and had finally managed to talk its way past him.

Once Crown of Neon Light was over and they had the credit points, the system was determined to sell Chu Zu the Master Wang auxiliary device from the store.

"Master Wang": A man among men! A male among males! Master! Wang!

The description was abstract. In short, it was an automatic character-control assistant focused on combat skills. Point it somewhere and it would attack there; as long as the body could keep up, it would always perform at its peak.

The host's life was at stake, so they had to buy it even if they didn't have enough credit.

The system had made up its mind.

At worst, it could exploit another bug and sell itself again when they moved on to the next book!

Chu Zu took it well. Before he died suddenly, he had been a weakling who couldn't lift or carry much. Now he treated it as exercise.

With the system watching their surroundings like a mother hen guarding her chicks, he felt reassured enough.

"An illegitimate child is no use to Tangqi. Our protagonist is too upright and honorable. Dai Xian would get an earful if she suggested it, so that's probably why it wasn't mentioned in the original."

Chu Zu analyzed the situation.

"But it's different for me. I have no shame. And you know what? If I got my hands on Luciano's illegitimate child, I could take half of Esposito away, even if he wasn't dead yet."

System: "...I don't think Dai Xian meant it as an insult."

"Same thing."

Chu Zu stared at the body-temperature detector and infrared sensors at the end of the corridor and began looking for another route.

"The loyalty of an information broker really is terrifying. I saved her because I wanted to keep doing business, but she was willing to gamble even more than I thought. She went all in."

With difficulty, the system deleted the words, "Because you're very charming when you act human, and worth going all in on."

When Chu Zu had smiled faintly at Dai Xian's written question, "Do you want to become Luciano?" the system had finally realized what the "career ambition" its host was always talking about meant.

It also belatedly understood why Chu Zu had said it didn't matter whether "Chu Zu" had gone mad or turned stupid; he wasn't normal either.

He was more than abnormal. "Chu Zu" was probably the least human pure human in this world.

Following the original plot and adding the details Chu Zu had gradually supplied, all the logical flaws could be explained.

His agreement with Luciano was real. All he wanted was "the best things in the world." He knew Luciano wouldn't give them to him, so he took them himself.

His display of being moved by Tangqi was fake. He wasn't taking sides; he only wanted to use Tangqi to kill Luciano.

You call that betrayal? Who broke the agreement first?

Too career-driven, too unhinged.

But it fit his character.

Since he hadn't suddenly gone mad from an illness and had been unhinged since he was twelve, it actually made sense for him to be the final boss of the whole story.

Chu Zu changed routes. The good news was that fewer people were closing in on him; the bad news was that he was farther from his target.

The people surging toward him had come looking for him of their own accord, yet they looked hesitant and terrified when they faced him.

At the moment the system indicated, Chu Zu pressed the button in his hand, instantly detonating the plasma cutters he had set up a few minutes earlier.

Neat cracks appeared soundlessly in the floor and ceiling. Only then came the thunderous crash of falling rubble and dust.

When he found his terrified target, the system prompted him: "The readers' interim reviews of Crown of Neon Light are out. Would you like to download them and have a look?"

Chu Zu pushed off the ground and leaped backward.

He jumped clear of the building, fired a grappling hook at an upper floor with one hand, and aimed his gun at the target's forehead with the other.

The other man had a gun raised too. Even with trajectory correction, his aim was nothing special when he could neither stand steadily nor keep his nerve. Several metal bullets whistled past Chu Zu's side.

Chu Zu pulled the trigger. "Let's see."

The system cleared its throat.

"I've selected some reader comments for you:

"'That dumbass author finally got someone to fix the plot?'

"'Fuck, Luciano was a piece of shit even as a kid.'

"'Brother Tang never disappoints. Help, Chu Zu, you've already told him confidential information. Can't you just go with him?!'

"'Luciano, what are you doing? I can't find anyone more deserving of death in five thousand years of history. Serves you right to get sold out.'

"'Wait... Chu Zu... isn't he a little too pitiful?'

"'Guys, I can't take it. Chu Zu really has it rough... He even remembered to get Sister Dai out... and told her to find Brother Tang... Don't just tell her to find him, you go too! Nothing good will come of following Luciano!!'

"'Seriously, who helped the author revise this? I feel like it's a trap. He's already suffered so much, how am I supposed to hate on him now?'

"'No spoilers! No spoilers! New readers' lives matter too! I support Brother Tang starting a redemption side quest for Brother Chu!'"

Chu Zu leaped into the fortieth floor and looked for an escape route at random.

"Even Dai Xian knows I'm no good, so why are the readers still saying they feel sorry for me?" he asked, puzzled.

System: "Because you and Dai Xian are both minor characters. The main text only unfolds from the perspectives of the protagonist and important supporting characters. It only showed what Luciano did to you and what Luciano overheard."

Chu Zu: "..."

Chu Zu: "Looks like I'll have to find a chance to declare my ambitions to Tangqi or Luciano?"

The system could already imagine the readers' reactions when that happened. It said numbly:

"Yes. You'll have to show them how unhinged you are."

"Operation complete," Jeeves reported. "Chu Zu's heartbeat is steady, and his breathing rate is normal. His resting heart rate and blood oxygen have returned to their normal pre-surgery levels."

On the holographic projection, a red dot was moving at high speed. Chu Zu soon left the building, slowed down, and walked leisurely toward Dai Xian's residence.

"Where did he stop?" Luciano pointed at the red dot.

Jeeves: "Neando Flower Shop."

"Who's in the shop right now? Who did Chu Zu meet? Is it one of Dai Xian's covert contacts?"

"Mr. Luciano."

Jeeves spoke slowly. "The Nedoan Flower Shop is an Esposito business. You wanted fresh flowers for your sixteenth birthday, so you provided the funds and Mr. Chu Zu kidnapped a florist from Lower District Nine. You dealt with the florist when you were eighteen. The current manager is his apprentice, and also one of Esposito's people."

Luciano fell silent, vaguely uncomfortable about his earlier questioning.

Jeeves continued, "Mr. Chu Zu bought a bouquet of 3D-printed Confre and asked the manager to write a card by hand. It reads: 'For Dai Xian.'"

Luciano remained silent. After a long while, he gave a laugh whose meaning was unclear. "It seems he really likes Dai Xian."

From his tone and words, Jeeves concluded that the remark was sarcastic and required no answer from him.

The loyal butler continued his report.

"Dai Xian has booked three customized meals a day for two people for three months. In the meantime, someone from the Lower District tried to contact her, but she refused to meet them."

"Within the Upper District's local information network that we have access to, Dai Xian also appears to have abandoned everything she had built up."

"A more accurate analysis will require more data."

Luciano switched off the projection, somewhat disappointed. "A useless woman."

"Should I notify Mr. Chu Zu to dispose of her?"

"Sync the flower shop's surveillance footage and call him."

"Yes, sir."

For Luciano, who held the highest level of authority, there was no question of a one-way communication terminal accepting a call.

The instant Jeeves connected to Chu Zu, Luciano softened his tone and spoke warmly.

"Can your body still take it?"

In the surveillance footage, Chu Zu was accepting the Confre from the manager.

He was very familiar with the voice that came abruptly through his communicator, and his movements didn't falter. "It won't affect my work."

"I have dinner with a representative of Preo tonight. Order some flowers and have them sent over for me."

Chu Zu immediately gestured to the manager and asked for the flower list

and ordered more than three hundred fresh flower bouquets, charging the exorbitant bill to Luciano.

"They'll be delivered a little after four this afternoon." Chu Zu confirmed it with the manager, and after the manager nodded, he continued, "I won't be able to submit the receipts for the previous tasks to Jeeves until tonight."

Luciano narrowed his eyes, his tone unchanged. "Aren't you coming?"

"I need to go to the Lower Eighteenth District."

"What for?"

"I don't want to say." Chu Zu held the Confre, his tone cold. "You can order me to answer, or control me and stop me from going. It's all up to you, Luci."

Luciano smiled instead, resignation in both his expression and his voice. "Are you still angry with me? I didn't distrust you. I was just worried Tangqi and the others would fool you. Let's have dinner together tonight, and move back in."

Chu Zu lowered his eyes halfway and looked at the flowers in his hands and the manager's handwritten card. "I remembered."

He said, "The Mitoli boy who calls me brother—you had me kill his uncle today. He was the one who made the deal with you back then. You got rid of Mitoli's legitimate heir, and he became your partner after taking over Mitoli."

The flower shop manager froze, wishing he could cut off his own ears immediately.

"I know why you called. You regret letting Dai Xian go, and you want me to deal with her." The man on the surveillance screen lowered his shoulders slightly. "You've started breaking your promises to me too, Luci."

Luciano's expression froze.

That loathsome emotion began to rage again. Yet Chu Zu wasn't pretending to be pitiful. With rare dejection, he stated the facts, passing mild judgment on Luciano.

Luciano's voice was a little hoarse. "...Chu Zu."

Chu Zu waited quietly for him to continue.

Luciano had no need to placate him. After the device was implanted, Chu Zu wasn't worth the extra effort. Luciano understood his present restraint as the magnanimity expected of someone in power.

"I always keep my promises," Luciano said slowly. "You wanted Dai Xian, so I gave her to you. If you want to go to the Lower District, I won't ask about it either. I trust that you won't betray me, so you have to have faith in me too, all right?"

Chu Zu looked up at the flower shop's surveillance camera, his scarlet eyes meeting Luciano's across the screen.

"All right," he said.

"If you want to give Dai Xian flowers, you can give her a real Confre, or roses. Put it on my account."

"No need," Chu Zu said. "Is there anything else?"

The connection was cut.

Luciano frowned in his seat. After a long pause, he gave Jeeves an order.

"I want to know where Chu Zu is going, who he meets, and what he says."

Jeeves: "I will keep a constant watch on Mr. Chu Zu's movements."

"If you judge that he's behaving abnormally..." Luciano stopped. He had noticed the electronic photograph on the desk, taken when he and Chu Zu were twenty.

Chu Zu had rarely shown any expression since childhood. Luciano had suspected that his facial muscles were necrotic and had even had him examined. The conclusion was that everything was completely normal; he was perfectly healthy.

At twenty, Luciano graduated from school and took over Esposito, and one door to power after another opened before him.

Chu Zu hadn't yet developed his current physique. He had grown tall quickly, and his waist was narrow and lean, a sharp contrast to the blond young man beside him who had dragged him into the photo.

As the picture was being taken, Luciano had complained that holding him was uncomfortable because of his bones. Chu Zu had silently moved half a step aside, only to be pulled back.

"Eat more and take better care of yourself. I really couldn't get by without you."

The camera had captured Chu Zu's expression at that moment.

He looked slightly startled, sunlight spilling into his red eyes. He even seemed a little at a loss, the corners of his mouth curving into a youthful smile.

At least back then, Luciano's ambition had not yet swollen. He was not stingy, and he valued his promises.

"If you judge that he's behaving abnormally..." Luciano's face was expressionless. "Stimulate his nerves and induce hallucinations. Make him bathe the Lower Eighteenth District in blood."

Jeeves: "That would cause irreversible nerve damage. There is an 85.547% chance that Mr. Chu Zu would be left an invalid."

"Then he'll still be my invalid," Luciano said. "I'll still give him the best things. That's what we agreed."

Jeeves said kindly, "Your instructions have been received."

Lower Eighteenth District.

"What the hell? How has he survived this long looking like that?"

Holding the flowers, Chu Zu asked the system in disbelief.

Looking at the child before them, who looked almost exactly like Luciano as a boy, the system fell silent too.

"Dai Xian... is fucking amazing." That was all it could say.