* * *
There was a car parked near the entrance. A man standing in front of it looked quite distressed. The AI recommended this car.
Na Kang-In approached the man and asked,
“Is this car for sale?”
The man grumbled,
“No. I brought it to sell, but they told me to scrap it. They said it can’t be fixed, and even if it could, the repair costs would be higher than its value.”
“Can I take a look?”
“Sure.”
Na Kang-In opened the hood.
The AI scanned the engine compartment. Through AR lenses, a virtual cursor quickly swept over the engine.
In a low voice, he asked,
“Can you fix a car like this?”
The AI responded,
[On the battlefield, sometimes you have to get even wrecked cars running.]
“Even such an old car? This model is over 10 years old, and to you, it’s like 70 years old.”
[I have repair manuals for vehicles up to 100 years old.]
“Wow, Natural Robotics must have considered museum pieces when they made you.”
[Correct.]
“Really?”
[Requesting temporary control of your hands.]
“Go ahead.”
A moment later, the AI finished its inspection and reported,
[There are issues with the electrical system and the powertrain.]
“The question is whether it can be fixed.”
[The electrical wiring needs to be reinstalled differently. Additional parts are required.]
“So it can be done.”
Na Kang-In asked the man,
“How much are you selling this car for?”
“Really? You’re really buying it? It stalls a lot, and the engine sounds terrible.”
“I know. I’ll offer more than the scrap value.”
[Just let the dealership handle the paperwork.]
“That’d be great. Haha.”
Shin Eun-ha quickly pulled Na Kang-In aside and whispered,
“Na Kang-in oppa, that car is too… Do you need money? I can lend you some.”
“That car is good enough for me.”
“Should I find you a job as a stunt director for the next movie? With the salary, you could buy a new car.”
“No, that one is perfect.”
***
Na Kang-In drove the almost scrapped car to the junkyard.
Shin Eun-ha, sitting next to him, grumbled,
“You bought a junk car to go to a junkyard? Why are we going there?”
“To fix this car.”
Her eyes widened a bit.
“Huh? You know how to fix cars? Were you a mechanic before?”
“I don’t have a license.”
As if expecting this, she said,
“Oh, so you’re going to fix what the mechanics couldn’t, without a license, at the junkyard.”
The junkyard sold parts stripped from cars. They had car audio systems, side mirrors, headlights, and many other parts.
Na Kang-In looked at the junkyard display. Over the piled-up parts, translucent outlines appeared.
The AI spoke,
[You need all these items.]
“Isn’t this overspending?”
– The only place cheaper than here is a landfill.
Na Kang-In bought all the parts the AI indicated, paying in cash. He put them in the car’s trunk.
They left the junkyard. From the passenger seat, Shin Eun-ha asked,
“Aren’t you fixing the car here with those old parts?”
“I need more.”
He also visited a tool shop and an electronics store, buying wires, tools, and a small electric welder.
Shin Eun-ha grumbled,
“Na Kang-in oppa, do you even know how to use all that?”
“Are you leaving or not? Why are you following me all day?”
She argued confidently,
“After following and helping you so much, shouldn’t you at least feed me if you have a conscience?”
“You didn’t help.”
“Do I have to lift metal to help? I kept talking to you so you wouldn’t get bored.”
“Hmm… black bean noodles?”
“Don’t you dare try to settle it with that!”
“On second thought, even ramen seems too much.”
As soon as the menu dropped below ramen, Shin Eun-ha changed her tone and spoke politely,
“Na Kang-in oppa, please cook for me.”
Though Na Kang-In’s car looked like it should be scrapped, it didn’t stop on the road. They went to his place for lunch.
Shin Eun-ha, eating the meal he cooked, gave him a thumbs up.
“This is why I can’t leave you. It’s so delicious, and it’s free!”
“You should just eat out. It’s worse when you have someone who can cook.”
***
After eating, the AI said,
[You need a place to repair the car.]
“I can’t do it in the apartment parking lot, can I?”
[It might raise unnecessary suspicion.]
“Then I need to rent a suitable place?”
[I found a location that can serve as a base for equipment manufacturing.]
Translucent text with a phone number appeared in front of him.
[It’s a small workshop that recently closed down.]
“How much to rent it?”
[The recent budget you secured is enough to rent it.]
A map appeared with a blinking dot.
[It’s in a secluded area on the outskirts of Seoul, away from prying eyes.]
“When did you find all this out?”
[I’ve been gathering information on potential bases.]
“You did this while I was zoning out, huh?”
To the north of Seoul, there are many mountains.
If you go north from the apartment Na Kang-In has chosen as his new base, you’ll encounter mountains. Beneath one of those mountains, in a remote area, there was a small ironworking shop.
The small, worn-out building originally had the ground floor serving as an ironworking shop and the second floor used as a simple warehouse for storing goods.
An electronic door lock was installed at the entrance of the ground floor.
Na Kang-In entered the door code. The lock clicked open.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, the interior wasn’t too dark thanks to the light filtering in through the windows.
AI Zijin suggested,
[For enhanced security, the windows need modification.]
Na Kang-In flicked the light switch, illuminating the interior.
“It’s not the windows that are the problem, but the equipment here.”
Inside the ironworking shop lay broken, old cutting machines. There were a few other pieces of equipment, but none of them were in good condition.
As Shin Eun-ha followed him in, she asked,
“Where are we, Na Kang-in?”
“This used to be an ironworking shop. The owner retired and closed it down, so I’ve rented it for the time being.”
“When did you do that?”
“We finished the discussion over the phone a while ago.”
Shin Eun-ha asked skeptically,
“I’m just curious, are you really going to fix that old car yourself? And here?”
[I propose fully acquiring this facility to use as a workshop for equipment fabrication and modification. With our current funds, we can’t find a better place than this.]
All the cutting equipment here is broken. They’re too old to be of any value other than scrap metal.
This place is right beneath the mountains, and there are hardly any people around. Plus, this area isn’t even in Seoul; it’s in Gyeonggi Province. It’s slightly beyond the boundaries of Seoul, but the land prices here are cheaper than in Seoul.
But even with all that, we can’t afford to buy the land, the building, and the broken equipment for fifty million won.
Na Kang-In sighed.
“We’re short on money.”
Shin Eun-ha misunderstood his words.
“Na Kang-in, with fifty million, you could buy a new car.”
“I’m not talking about cars.”
“Are you seriously considering living here? This place has absolutely zero investment value, right? Really, isn’t it?”
“I’ve only rented it for a year, for now.”
Shin Eun-ha breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“Why are you relieved?”
Na Kang-In fully opened the iron door of the shop.
Then, he pushed the car he had just towed a bit inside the workshop and opened the engine compartment.
Putting on gloves, Na Kang-In said,
“Watch me repair the car.”
“Should I assist you?”
“You might break a nail.”
“I’ll just cheer you on then.”
AI Zijin spoke up.
[Let me show you the repair method.]
A blue line appeared around the component that needed to be disassembled. Next to it, a translucent holographic image displayed the process of disassembling the part.
* * *
Dropped?
No, it is not dropped. The update was just yesterday.
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