“Remind me of the mission,” Kaname instructed.
“We’re currently buying up as much aluminum as possible, a metal you might recognize. It’s used to produce a one-yen coin in real life. Not much is happening at the moment, but if prices spike within the next hour, our stock will skyrocket, by a factor of up to ten thousand. That will give us the opportunity to sell off the metal we purchased for tens of thousands of snow at a price in the hundred millions. In fact, we’ve already taken steps to do so by making use of a large but declining corporation named F. Ober.”
It was tempting to invest in expensive metals like gold or platinum, which cost at least three thousand snow per gram, but aluminum, at one snow per gram, was the target here. It was easy to buy, and if the per-gram price went up by even a single snow, you could double your money.
The coupe sped out of Mega-Float II onto a long highway-like bridge. One side looked out onto the coral sea, the water a greenish shade of blue. Kaname accelerated, weaving between the other cars as he made his way over the gently curving bridge. The speedometer hit two hundred kilometers per hour in an instant, but Kaname didn’t feel his life was in danger. It just felt like playing a racing game.
“How can we make that happen?” he asked.
Tselika explained. “F. Ober Industries is an AI business in the camera sector, but it’s currently not even in the top ten. It’s been difficult for them to obtain semiconductors, thanks to the sharp increase in the price of some particular rare-earth materials: metals the average person has never even seen or heard of called kuchnoids. But there’s this new technology that smaller companies have discarded, ignorant of its true value. Once F. Ober gets its hands on it, it’ll be able to substitute kuchnoids with regular old aluminum. The company will become a global leader, and the price of this metal we’re sitting on will shoot through the roof.”
Windows popped up all over the display-like windshield. They showed stock numbers and estimated trading prices of the aluminum that F. Ober would soon need, various routes from the park to the main offices, predicted numbers and strength of enemy Dealers, and the locations of possible attacks.
“So what do we actually need to do?”
“Pick up a briefcase from the park on the peninsula and deliver it to F. Ober headquarters on this landmass. However, this is a big moment in history—a tug-of-war between kuchnoids and aluminum, between tradition and the future. We must handle any opposition that comes our way, or else it’s all over.”
Money (Game) Master was best thought of as a game of financial dealings where nothing was against the law. The players, called Dealers, entered a virtual financial district known as Tokonatsu City and competed to see who could grow their seed money the most. There were no levels or experience points. A Dealer’s strength could be boosted only by cash, which players used to secure items and equipment. Those reduced to nothing could collect empty cans for change and try to earn it all back, and a serious player could begin to own land and businesses, turn their hand to financial dealing, and even blow up the buildings of enemy Dealers. That was the kind of world this was.
Reaching the end of the long bridge, the car approached the shark’s tooth–shaped peninsula. White beaches lined the shores, and palm trees and hibiscus flowers flourished along the roadside and in flower beds. Tall skyscrapers reflected the sunlight like mirrors. A cesspool of money that gobbled up desires and bloated itself on them. Sometimes even the Dealers couldn’t control it.
“One last question,” said Kaname. “Are you ready?”
“When you are, My Lord,” Tselika replied.
The sports car, vibrant like mint ice cream, arrived on the peninsula and headed for the financial district.
Kaname received the silver-paneled briefcase in the park from an AI agent whose smile was just a little too perfect and threw it in the trunk. The estimated distance to the F. Ober headquarters was about fifteen kilometers. He turned the vehicle around, brushing dangerously close to a large metal dumpster about the size of a small car. As soon as he left the park, enemy Dealers immediately closed in on him. Kaname shifted gears up and up, quickly manipulating the stick, pushing the car into sixth, then seventh gear, even though he usually stuck to fifth. The needle on the speedometer flew up to three hundred kilometers per hour.
But this was nothing but an ordinary day in Tokonatsu City. The flashy sports car behind Kaname remained visible in his rearview mirror, and although security cameras covered the walls of buildings and streetlights, not a single one of them would bother to report him.
In the passenger seat, Tselika scanned the map that covered the windshield in front of her and spoke in a puzzled voice while turning to her right.
“My Lord? We’ve veered off our shortest route!”
“If we go that way, we won’t stand a chance.”
Racing down the main road, Kaname ignored the traffic signals and cut across the curve of the intersection. He forced the gears back down, making them drop speed, and yanked hard on the hand brake to cause the rear wheels to skid. The tires screeched, painting a black crescent on the surface of the road, and he completed the right turn while narrowly avoiding a large truck coming in from the side.
By using the hand brake and gearshift, Kaname was slightly outpacing his pursuer. It didn’t look like this was going to be enough to shake them off, though. The roof of the bright-red sports car opened, and a man poked his upper body into view. He was holding something in his hands.
“Submachine gun!” yelled Tselika.
“He’ll never hit us when we’re moving this fast.”
Rat-a-tat! A quick burst of fire sprayed, but just as Kaname said, not a single shot hit the tires or the gas tank. That said, it still wasn’t fun to see sparks fly from the asphalt so close.
Tselika began to protest. “He could have a red dot sight that lets him auto-aim or something! It won’t matter how fast we’re moving if his sights are lined up automatically!”
“Why is an AI-controlled Magistellus so scared of taking a bullet?” he asked.
“Because it still hurts to get shot! And if I take a fatal wound, I get frozen and can’t move! But most of all, I couldn’t bear the thought of damaging this vehicle that serves as my temple!”
“Why not? It’s not like anything would happen to your AI data if they destroyed it.”
“And? Do you think the temples and cathedrals of your world were only meant to serve a functional purpose? The glory of my vehicle is how I present myself to the other Magistelli! How humiliating! For it to suffer even a single scratch would be like shattering every single window in my bathroom, so the entire street might feast their eyes on me while I’m showering!”
“And that’s a big deal because…?”
“Aaargh!”
“Tselika. The auto-aim is especially susceptible to any kind of sudden movement. At this speed, in this wind, there’s no way he’ll be able to line up a shot.”
Kaname appeared unperturbed as he gripped the wheel. Just then, something started to happen in the bright-red sports car behind them. The man, appearing to give up, shrank back down inside the vehicle and reappeared with a new weapon resting on his shoulder.
Tselika’s eyes went wide. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is that a rocket launcher?!”
“Don’t worry. It’s not guided. Only a direct hit will deal enough damage to destroy us.”
“Are you still counting on the auto-aim?”
“He won’t hit us. The most he could do is blow up one of these dumpsters.”
“How can you be so sure?!”
“I can smell it. I’m not getting that tingly feeling yet. We’re still safe.”
“The Lion’s Nose, I presume? Listen, how am I supposed to place my trust in something that’s not an in-game skill or physical booster?!”
At that moment, he realized something. Scattering 9mm bullets was one thing, but what would happen if a rocket launcher missed and took a piece out of the sidewalk? Of course, these accidents were one of the best parts of Money (Game) Master, but in some cruel twist of fate, a hardworking Dealer girl had just so happened to pick that exact spot to set up a fruit stall.
“…”
“My Lord? Are you listening?”
Kaname had a split second to decide. He slammed his foot down on the brake pedal. The coupe suddenly fell back, like it was stopped from advancing by a huge hand. Tselika, apparently too cool for seat belts, flew forward and nearly struck her forehead on the windshield. Then, in what felt exactly like being blasted backward, the vehicle closed in on the red sports car that was approaching from behind. Kaname fell in alongside it, matching speeds. The two men, one driving and one above, looked on, flabbergasted.
Kaname took Short Spear from Tselika’s lap and used it to break the glass of the driver’s seat window. Without relying on auto-aim, Kaname manually lined up the sights with the driver of the red sports car, focusing on the man’s forehead. He pulled the trigger once.
There was no loud gunshot. The barrel sported an integrated silencer. There was only a short metallic ringing sound, like plucking a metal pick. The bullet punched straight through both the other car’s window and the driver’s skull. The red sports car spun out of control, crashing into a nearby camera-equipped traffic light, the other man still hanging out of the open roof.
Tselika gave an almighty shriek. “Aaaaaaaaarghhhhhh! My vehicle! My temple! What are you doing, My Lord?! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhh!”
“What? Sorry, I can’t hear you over the wind!”
“Don’t play dumb with me, My Lord! It’s not like that fruit-vending woman is going to thank you, and yet you chose to defile my precious windowpane!”
“Helping others isn’t about bragging rights or asking for something in return,” Kaname replied offhandedly, hoping to shut Tselika up. At that moment, something else happened.
As if to block the road, a huge tanker broke across the intersection and slammed on the brakes. More cars were closing in from behind. Kaname was trapped.
“What are we going to do, My Lord?!” asked Tselika.
“We get that huge thing out of the way.”
“Ha! You sound very confident. And how exactly do you plan to do that?!”
As the wind roared around him, Kaname fiddled with the gun in his hand.
“You mind if I break the front window, too?” he asked.
“ARE. YOU. OUT. OF. YOUR. MIIIIIIIIND?!”
Clicking his tongue, Kaname shoved his right arm out the broken side window and pointed the barrel. Of course, it wasn’t like he needed to use the scope at this range, but he would still have to eyeball the aim.