Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 74



Only Noblemtl

Jincheol was the same, but everyone else in the group was bewildered by the sudden bright light and the thunderous metal performance.

Aiman ​​and Snow immediately drew their swords and spears and prepared to fight, and Haita also lowered his posture by making a hand sign with both hands. Rahiman was almost flat on the ground.

To such a group, a voice inside the dashboard shouted cheerfully.

[Welcome to the Great Palace Hotel! How long has it been since we had a guest? Hehe! Haha! I’m so happy! Just say anything! Our hotel is the best hotel in Las Vegas and we are ready to provide the best service for our guests! Oh, of course, some services may be limited due to the current lack of manpower and external factors. Haha! Hehe!]

As I was blankly staring at the dashboard, the boy who had drawn his sword whispered softly.

“What are they saying over there now?”

“···Can’t you understand?”

“I don’t understand. It’s a language I’m hearing for the first time.”

But Jincheol understood. It wasn’t English or Korean. Jincheol thought for a moment, then went back to the dashboard and placed his hand on it. Aiman ​​and Snow flinched, but they didn’t stop him.

[Wow! How long has it been since I felt the touch of a customer? My entire logic circuit is tingling! Oh my!]

“···”

This kid, isn’t this a joke? Jincheol felt a little creepy, but he didn’t take his hand away.

“···What is that? The final law? Does that apply?”

[Of course! According to the final decree, guests can currently enjoy all the services of the Great Palace Hotel for free! Accommodation, buffet, theme park, and everything the hotel offers for free! For free! You can enjoy the ultimate service of modern capitalism, which costs hundreds of millions of dollars, without spending a single penny! Isn’t it amazing? Hehehe! Of course, this is only if at least one of those services is still alive!]

“Then, first, turn off the music.”

[Huh? Are you serious?! How can the myth of metal be revived after such a long time…!]

“It’s too noisy. Turn it off for now.”

[···Yes, if the guest wishes.]

With a very gloomy answer, the wind-up dolls that had been playing roughly as if they were going to break the world suddenly stopped moving. Their bodies made a jerking sound and stopped. They didn’t fall down, but they were hanging limply as if they were hanging by a string. Now, we can have a conversation.

“What language are you speaking now? It’s not Korean or English.”

[It’s called brainwave vibration language. It’s a language that only the guest and the hotel can understand. If you talk like this, no one can eavesdrop on the conversation between the guest and the hotel. It’s awesome, right?]

“It’s interesting. But I wish my friends would understand it too.”

[Friends? The only fully human here are the guests? Oh, are you talking about Frankenstein’s monster next door? Oh no! The guests who came after thousands of years are the synthetic advocates! Hehehe! Hahaha! Beautiful!]

Are all AIs like this, with a screw loose? Jincheol said, feeling bewildered.

“What the hell? What’s wrong?”

[No! There is no problem! In accordance with the final law, we will unconditionally accept your request! Now, the four articles of discrimination against genetically synthesized people in the hotel have been completely abolished! Your friends can also talk to the hotel! Nice to meet you, synthetic people!]

Snow and Haita flinched at the cheerful shout. Haita said in surprise.

“Wow! Did you convince the demon to understand our conversation? You convinced him with just conversation, without any magic… That’s amazing!”

[Of course! All the guests of the Great Palace Hotel are special and amazing! This guest is especially beautiful! Such a pure human being!]

“···?”

This guy is also a fool. Jincheol, who realized that the AI ​​he met after Jindallae was half-crazy, shook his head slightly. Then he saw a strange scene. Unlike Snow and Haita, Aiman ​​and Rahiman still had puzzled expressions. They looked like they couldn’t understand the conversation.

“Hey. What about those two? They can’t hear me.”

[Huh? ‘People’? Aren’t there no people here anymore? Huh? No way! Are you counting bioroids as people, following synthetics?! Oh my! The world’s inclusiveness has improved so much while this hotel was buried underground! This is really beautiful! My logic circuits are tingling! I think I’m going to go crazy! Hehehehe!]

Then, soon, Aiman ​​and Rahiman’s ears perked up.

[Hello! Specially at your request! This hotel will treat you as an honorary guest! Stay right next to the guest! If you walk alone, you will be charged a million dollars for every step you take! Hahahahahahaha!]

Aiman ​​dropped the longsword he was holding at the sound of a voice that sounded half-crazy. He muttered with a hollow laugh.

“···I’ve wandered around many places and occasionally met spirits, but this is the first time I’ve heard such a manic voice.”

“The magical power I feel isn’t that strong either. I think it’s a spirit that has become strange after being alone for a long time.”

“Is that so?”

While Aiman ​​and Haita were talking, Jincheol came to his senses and remembered his original purpose.

“What, what is that? Weren’t there people who came here before us, like the Rabitos?”

[Rabbit? Aha! So you’re calling the BR003 model Rabito! It’s a much better name than Bio Rabbit! Awesome! Hehehe! But I think you’re asking the wrong question, sir? There have always been Rabitos here. For thousands of years, ever since Las Vegas was buried underground.]

“Whenever? The Rabitos have always been here?”

[Of course!]

With that refreshing answer, there was a clanking sound from the platform where the wind-up dolls were hanging. And as the dolls rose, something rose from under the platform making a whirring sound.

“···?”

The whole party squinted their eyes and looked at it, because it was not easy to tell what it was just by looking at it. But soon Rahiman fell backwards with a hissing sound.

The reason why he came up from under the stage was because it was Rabito who had been turned into a mummy inside a small iron cage.

[The BR003 model is a bioroid developed as part of the 22nd Century Underground Project. This bioroid was utilized not only in this hotel, but also in all hotels, casinos, theme parks, etc. in Las Vegas. It was very popular as a mascot and employee at various theme parks, from simple chores like cleaning and serving.]

With a rattling sound, several more Rabito mummies came up onto the platform. They were not locked in iron bars, but were tied to iron poles and turned into mummies while standing. Another difference from the mummies locked in iron bars was that they were wearing old, but fancy military uniforms.

[The most popular one was the theme park called ‘War of the Worlds, American Mythology’ at the Great Palace! From the British Redcoats to the Nazis, the Soviets, and the Allied Forces during World War III! They even recreated medieval knights, although they were few in number! The armored rabbit knight was very popular! It was a really awesome time···]

The lights illuminating the indoor plaza swayed slightly with the voice. And the lights drew some kind of hazy shape across the plaza.

Those blurry figures moving in such a bluish form were ordinary people and Rabitos playing happily with them. Those Rabitos were slightly smaller than the current Rabitos, and their faces were more character-like.

For just a moment, Jincheol and his party were faced with a moment from ten thousand years ago.

The group could not hide their surprise. Aiman ​​and Haita felt the breath of the ancients, Snow was staring blankly at the sight of several families laughing together without any quarrels, and Rahiman was staring blankly at the sight of his ancestors happily interacting with people without any worries.

Jincheol was also blankly staring at the people. He couldn’t say anything because he was just seeing ordinary people for the first time in a long time. Families, lovers, and friends laughing and chatting while sightseeing at the theme park. However, there was a gap of time between them and Jincheol that they could never reach.

Jincheol felt as if he was being sucked into a bottomless pit and was looking out into the bright outside world. Although his feet were clearly on the ground, he felt as if he had lost his sense of direction and was falling through empty space.

He spat out all those feelings in a concise manner.

“···Fuck.”

Did he sense Jincheol’s mood? The blue illusion disappeared in an instant. Everyone in the group blinked their eyes and couldn’t come to their senses for a moment. In particular, Rahiman sat down and stared into space with confused eyes.

At that time, only the child who had come to his senses spoke.

“Wait, did I hear you correctly? That spirit seems to be saying that the race known as the Rabito was an ancient slave race···”

[Slave? Well, maybe you could call them that. But is that why they were unhappy as slaves? I don’t think so, hehe. Their very birth itself was genetically designed to feel comfortable being ruled and commanded. Maybe being a slave is a higher status to them. Freedom is scary, and the iron bars are peaceful. That’s the life of a rabbit wearing a crown instead of shackles. Hehehe···]

“gibberish!”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the voice that suddenly rang out. The one who shouted was Rahiman. He had been sitting with a confused look on his face, but he stood up with one leg on the ground and glared at the mummies on the stage.

“Were we designed to be slaves from the beginning? Then what about the countless fellow Rabitos living on the surface right now? Do you dare insult their lives, everything we have achieved, by calling it a slave civilization!”

[···]

He raised himself up completely, supporting himself on the knee of the leg he had already stepped on. And with eyes that made it hard to believe he was a rabbit that had been trembling with fear until now, he glared at the stage and the entire indoor square with his burning eyes and shouted in all directions.

“What slave fights to have more? What slave destroys a country because it doesn’t suit him? What slave wages war to prevent the bankruptcy of his country? What slave fights to have the world? Do these vain fantasies that dare not touch reality define my race, our race, the greatest of all, as slaves?”

[···I see. Was it a mutation?]

The dashboard’s calm tone was different from before. That calmness soon changed to something like joy.

[Hehehe. That’s right. These underground humans avoided the last war. That’s what the underground city was built for. They lived like that, supported by their slaves, and with the power of the final law. After a long time, some of them said they wanted to return to the surface and left, and the rest slowly died. Their end? Hehehe. They were eaten by the slaves they loved so much. It was all because of mutants like you.]

Then one of the wind-up dolls quietly started playing again, quietly laying down an intro on his guitar.

[The mutants finally killed their master and left this underground. But not all BR003s left. In this dark underground where all users disappeared, they spent their time breeding and eating each other. Hehe, haha. Just as the mutation killed their master, the mutation changed them. How? Very beautifully.]

At that moment, Jincheol heard a sound and raised his head. His gaze turned to the ceiling of the brightly lit indoor plaza. He hadn’t noticed it when the lights were off, but it was open. It seemed like there had been a glass ceiling, with the steel frame still remaining.

And from that ceiling, a white hide appeared. An eyeless white beast. A relative of Rabito who had remained underground and evolved strangely. Its mouth opened wide, revealing teeth like broken glass. A scream of “Kueeeeek-” came out of its mouth.

“···What the fuck.”

[Heeheehee! Hahaha! Beautiful! Beautiful! Fake steel! Start singing again-!]

With the sound of the dashboard, the heavy metal that Jincheol had stopped started again. And with that ear-piercing music as the background music, the four-legged Ravito relatives began crawling in through the hotel ceiling.