* * *

The owner, Cha Dong-seok, was excited.

“Let’s buy twice as many ingredients for dinner!”

Na Kang-in responded.

“Today, we’re only doing lunch.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I have something to do.”

Cha Dong-seok’s eyes flickered and then steadied.

“So, double pay for tonight?”

He had worked like a hired chef for two hours today. During those two hours, he earned 20,000 won per hour.

But for tonight, he received an offer of 40,000 won per hour.

AI Zinji said,

[We are low on operational funds.]

Na Kang-in replied.

“Deal. Then, I’ll work from 5:30 to 7:30.”

Owner Cha Dong-seok quickly turned to his niece.

“Eun-seo, put up a notice. Today’s special dinner will be served from 5:30 to 7:30. Once we run out of ingredients, we’re done. The menu is….”

Cha Dong-seok looked at Na Kang-in.

Na Kang-in said,

“For today, let’s stick with the Jeongabok style mixed rice.”

“Right! People who heard how good lunch was will want the same thing for dinner!”

The evening shift ended in two hours. Na Kang-in worked four hours today and earned 120,000 won.

Cha Dong-seok asked with a big smile,

“So, we’re doing lunch tomorrow too?”

“That will depend on the situation tomorrow.”

“Oh… then we can’t take reservations.”

“Reservations?”

“For the PC seats.”

After his shift, Na Kang-in sat in the most secluded spot in the Zijin. Some of the people who had finished their meals had left, so there were empty seats.

“With 120,000 won, we’ve secured some initial operational funds.”

AI Zinji asked,

[Is 120,000 won really enough?]

“Barely enough? Aren’t you underestimating the hard-earned money I made?”

[I cooked today.]

“With my hands.”

Continuing this argument would disadvantage Na Kang-in. He quickly changed the topic.

“What’s our next step?”

[We haven’t gathered enough information to move to the next phase.]

“Then we need to collect more data. Can we still access the government network we used last night?”

[The maintenance equipment connected to the national network from outside was disconnected last night.]

“Then we need to find new information.”

There was a problem. The monitor screen wasn’t updating properly.

[Internet connection lost.]

“Huh? Why?”

Suddenly, complaints were heard everywhere.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“I was about to win!”

“My pentakill!”

Na Kang-in stood up. Every PC in the Zijin had a problem.

Two night shift part-timers were trying to handle the situation with worried faces. Due to an issue with the regular female part-timer, Cha Eun-seo, the owner’s niece, who usually worked during the day, was there at night.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Cha Eun-seo told the male part-timer,

“You said you’re good with computers? Fix it.”

“If I could, I would have already done it. We might need to call someone.”

“It’s night. Where can we find someone?”

Cha Eun-seo, in a panic, looked around and made eye contact with Na Kang-in who was standing.

“Ah!”

Cha Eun-seo quickly ran to Na Kang-in and asked over the partition,

“Oppa, you’re good with computers, right?”

“Me?”

“I saw you working on some programs while passing by.”

Although he sat in a corner, his screen could be somewhat visible to passersby. But to recognize it as hacking just by glancing at it, the person must also be a hacker.

Na Kang-in whispered to AI Zinji,

“We used the government network last night. Could we have been traced?”

[With 2020s security technology, they cannot trace us.]

“Still, we should check, right?”

[Of course. Even if it’s not a counter-hack from government hackers, we need to manage our temporary base’s computers securely.]

“Then handle it.”

[We need to check the server first.]

Na Kang-in asked Cha Eun-seo,

“Where’s the server?”

There was a server managing all PCs inside the Zijin. He sat in front of a terminal directly connected to that server.

“Zinji, I’ll give you control. Show your skills.”

[I’ll demonstrate advanced hacking defense from 2082.]

His hands moved over the keyboard and mouse.

Various information rapidly filled the screen. Some of the software he used to infiltrate the government network last night were standalone and didn’t need installation. He used a USB lying around the Zijin to copy those software and used them on the server.

Within five minutes, AI Zinji reported,

[No traces of us being tracked from our activities last night.]

“Good. Just in case.”

-[A hacking attempt was detected.]

“Huh? Hacking? Here? Why?”

[There’s a program installed that hacks personal information. This function conflicted with the server’s security program, causing the internet to disconnect.]

“Aren’t such programs supposed to work around security programs?”

[Someone might have been testing this server during development.]

“Find out who the hacker is.”

[Starting the trace.]

His fingers quickly tapped the keyboard. Shortly after, AI Zinji reported,

[Located the hacker.]

“Simple, huh?”

[The hacker used seven servers to avoid being traced. Six of them are overseas. I tracked them all in five minutes. Natural Robotics’ hacking defense and counter-tracking technology is excellent.]

“Great, but the latter half sounded like an advertisement.”

[The default settings include product promotion.]

“Can’t you turn off that setting?”

[To disable the promotion setting, the main office of Natural Robotics must create and connect a custom access device.]

“Could they make a custom access device in 2022 when they didn’t even make one in 2082?”

[You also need to know the unique access code.]

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

[No, I am not.]

“It sounds like you are. Anyway…”

Na Kang-In looked at the monitor.

“Where is that hacker now?”

[Close to here.]

“So they tested it at a nearby PC bang. Why did it need to be nearby? Does the hacker have to install the program directly?”

[Yes.]

“Then let’s go meet that guy. He needs to be persuaded.”

Voices of complaining customers could be heard everywhere.

Na Kang-In gave instructions.

“First, let’s stabilize our base. Restore the internet here.”

[I will remove the installed hacking program.]

The work was completed quickly.

Soon, the internet at the temporary base PC bang was restored.

Cha Eun-seo clapped her hands with joy.

“Wow. Amazing. Oppa, you’re not just good at cooking but also a computer expert?”

Na Kang-In boasted.

“It’s just because I don’t usually do it. This much is easy if it falls into my hands.”

[I did it.]

Although the internet was back to normal, the complaints from the customers didn’t subside.

“I was playing a game and it got disconnected. What do I do now?”

“I’ve been looking at my smartphone for 10 minutes.”

Cha Eun-seo was flustered.

“Um, well… Ah! I’ll give you 10 more minutes!”

That didn’t stop the complaints.

“That’s the least you can do!”

“Ah! I missed 10 minutes of my drama!”

“My pentakill!”

Na Kang-In asked AI Zijin.

“Locals at our base are about to cause a commotion. What’s a quiet way to resolve it?”

[Provide food. The more underdeveloped the area, the more effective it is.]

From the perspective of 2082, 2022 is indeed technologically underdeveloped.

Na Kang-In suggested to the people.

“I will provide some simple snacks as a service.”

At the word ‘snacks’, the customer who had shouted ‘pentakill’ asked.

“What kind of snacks?”

“Homemade snacks.”

Most of the PC bang customers had tasted Na Kang-In’s cooking earlier that evening.

“Wow! Then that’s great for me!”

As soon as Na Kang-In said he would make something to eat, the people who were complaining immediately fell silent. Some even smiled brightly.

A customer who had just entered the PC bang asked another person.

“What are these snacks that suddenly changed the tense atmosphere like this?”

“I don’t know.”

“Excuse me?”

“But since it’s made by a real chef, it’ll surely be delicious.”

***

Na Kang-In went into the kitchen.

“Suggest a snack that I can make quickly.”

Thanks to the AR lens, a list of snacks appeared before his eyes. Photos and brief descriptions were also included.

[Here is a list of snacks popular on the battlefield. Only those for which we have ingredients at the current base are listed. Please choose.]

He selected one.

“Let’s go with number 3.”

[You chose the snack with the lowest ingredient cost. An excellent choice.]

“Is that an automatic response when you save the budget?”

[I do not understand.]

“You said it was an excellent choice. It’s the first time I’ve heard such a compliment from you.”

Snack number 3 is a food made from flour as a base to provide carbohydrates to soldiers.

While kneading the flour, he spoke to Cha Eun-seo.

“Take out four frying pans and put them on the gas and electric stoves. Set the heat to maximum.”

“Yes!”

The AI Zijin moved his hands to add sugar, red pepper powder, seasonings, and spices to the flour. He also added fruit juice from the refrigerator and used an appropriate amount of MSG.

Cha Eun-seo asked.

“If you cook fruit juice from the supermarket instead of fresh fruit, won’t it taste weird and sour?”

[Natural Robotics’ field tactical cooking skills stably remove the negative flavors of preserved ingredients.]

Na Kang-In responded.

“If it’s made well, it’ll be fine.”

“Ah. Smoke is coming from the frying pan!”

[I will add the ingredients.]

Many field tactical cooking recipes involve cooking large quantities quickly over maximum heat. This snack was no exception.

It didn’t take long to complete the snack. He lifted the frying pan and flipped the contents onto a cutting board. The food, which looked like a thick pancake or a fritter, fell onto the board with a thud.

With the tip of a kitchen knife, he scored the snack into a grid pattern, cutting it into small pieces.

He lifted the cutting board. A large container was right next to it. He poured the cut snack pieces into the container.

He moved the contents of the next frying pan onto the cutting board and said.

“Distribute these to the customers. I’ll keep cutting.”

“Okay!”

Cha Eun-seo divided the pieces of the snack, which looked like hardtack, onto plates and brought them to the customers.

The customers looked at the snacks and tilted their heads.

“What is this? Hardtack?”

“It’s only similar in size to hardtack and the shape is slightly different. There are no holes in the middle.”

“The color is different from hardtack too.”

“Is it safe to eat?”

A customer picked up a piece of the snack and bit into it.

“Oh?”

It was delicious.

The friend sitting next to him followed suit, picking up a piece and eating it. Then he exclaimed.

“Wow. This is good.”

“Really. It’s spicy and slightly sour with a hint of sweetness and saltiness. Wow, what kind of flavor is this? What’s it called?”

The customers’ reactions were positive. Cha Eun-seo beamed.

“I’ll ask our chef oppa!”

* * *