Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1698: I am so F-king awesome, aren’t I?

“You there! Yes, you! Have you ever wondered what the corporations don’t want you to own?

Tired of overpriced holograms that break after a software update?

Tired of paying for expensive light shows that disappear the moment the power goes out?

Tired of paying subscriptions just to look at pretty lights?

Then come closer, ladies and gentlemen! Today might be the luckiest day of your life…”

A young man wearing a huge black hat stood behind a folding table piled high with old technology.

His fingers danced dramatically above the collection as though he were presenting priceless treasures instead of forgotten junk.

“These are the finest pieces in my stall!

They don’t need subscriptions to run.

They don’t need software updates that break something every single time.

Most importantly, they belong to you and only to you.

Once you buy them, you are the OWNER!!”

A small crowd had gathered around the table, their eyes wandering over the strange collection with growing curiosity.

“In fact, we are running a special one-plus-one offer today! Buy one item, and you can take another one completely free!”

“Daddy, what’s that?”

The child pointed toward one of the rectangular devices resting near the edge of the table.

“That, my dear, is a smartphone. People used them decades ago.” The middle-aged man chuckled softly. “Ahah… talk about nostalgia. Young man, do you mind if I take a look? Does it still work?”

He looked toward the young merchant with a friendly smile.

“Of course, sir.” Young Aether flashed a bright grin.

“Customer satisfaction is our highest priority.

Our company’s sole vision is to keep customers happy.

As for the board members… well, they can fuck themselves.”

“Hahah… Are you sure you’re allowed to say that?” the middle-aged man asked, laughing as he picked up a sleek, curved-display phone and turned it over in his hands.

“Daddy, give it to me!”

The child tugged on his sleeve, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Here, take a look.”

The moment the device settled into her small hands, she frowned in confusion. The object felt strangely heavy compared to the feather-light technology she was used to.

“Why is everything inside the glass, Daddy? It feels so weird…”

“Haha…” The middle-aged man merely chuckled while searching through the other objects displayed across the table.

Meanwhile, the child continued examining the ‘ancient’ device, rotating it from side to side while studying her reflection on the dark screen.

Then it happened.

Step!

Ssshh!

Thud!

A sudden breeze slammed against her back.

No… It felt less like wind and more like something… or someone… had struck her from behind.

The force made her stumble forward. The phone slipped from her fingers and crashed onto the pavement below.

Crack!

The sharp sound echoed through the busy street.

For a brief moment, everything seemed to freeze.

Both Aether and the middle-aged man snapped their heads toward the source of the noise, shock spreading across their faces.

“D-Daddy… I… I… aweeee… aweee…”

The child’s face crumpled instantly. Tears welled in her eyes before spilling down her cheeks.

Her father quickly lifted her into his arms and began comforting her.

Meanwhile, Aether bent down and picked up the broken remains of the phone. Several fractures ran across the display, spiderwebbing through the ancient device.

Yet instead of anger, only a weak smile appeared on his face.

“It’s alright, little girl. Nobody is going to scold you.” He brushed a bit of dust from the damaged phone before looking up at her.

“Accidents happen. That’s simply part of life.”

The middle-aged man offered an awkward smile in return. However, despite the obvious damage and despite the fact that it was his daughter who had broken the item, not a single word about compensation left his mouth.

The young Aether’s expression immediately became teary.

“It’s just a month’s worth of food… I-I’ll manage somehow…” His voice wavered as though he were trying desperately to hold back tears. “I… I’m fine.”

The smile on his face looked painfully forced. Even though the phone had been broken because of the child, he couldn’t bring himself to blame her.

The little girl was already frightened enough, and making her feel worse would only leave a stain on his conscience.

“I-it’s alright… there’s n-no need to cry over this…” he continued, swallowing hard.

“Y-Yeah… right… Everything will be fine.”

At that point, it was genuinely difficult to tell whether he was trying to comfort the child or convince himself that losing the phone was not a disaster.

The middle-aged man watched the young merchant’s trembling expression and bit his lip. The sight of Young Aether trying so hard to appear understanding despite his obvious distress filled him with guilt.

After several moments of hesitation, he finally sighed and made up his mind.

“I… I’ll buy it.”

Aether’s eyes widened, and relief washed across his face so quickly that it was almost comical.

“Really? Thank you so much, sir! Sniff… sniff…” he said while nodding repeatedly.

“I truly appreciate it.”

Although the middle-aged man still looked reluctant, he understood where the responsibility lay. He had handed the device to his daughter before purchasing it, and the accident had happened because of that decision.

Without wasting any more time, he pulled out his Silver ID Card and tapped it against Aether’s Golden ID Card.

A soft electronic tone echoed between them as the barcodes embedded within both cards flickered with pale light. A second later, the transaction was completed and the funds were transferred successfully.

These ID Cards served many purposes. They functioned as personal identification, banking accounts, payment terminals, and transfer devices all at once.

Because of the one-plus-one promotion, the middle-aged man ended up taking both phones with him: the damaged device his daughter had broken and another phone that remained in perfect working condition.

“Thank you for your patronage, sir,” Aether said politely, lowering his head in gratitude.

The middle-aged man nodded before walking away with his daughter resting in his arms.

However, even as they disappeared into the flow of pedestrians, the little girl continued staring back at Aether. The tears on her cheeks had yet to fully dry, yet her gaze remained fixed on the young merchant.

For reasons she could not understand, she felt as though something about him was strange.

Aether simply smiled and waved at her.

“Please come again, sweetie!~”

The moment the father and daughter vanished into the crowd, the warmth on his face disappeared completely.

The cheerful merchant persona evaporated as though it had never existed, leaving behind only an expressionless young man staring into empty space.

“Is it done at least now?” he asked coldly.

!~Ding~!

[Affirmative]

“Fuck yeah…”

Aether released a long breath and nearly laughed from sheer relief.

He had been trying to change his occupation on the Origin Card since early morning.

Unfortunately, occupations were not selected manually. The Log determined them based on a person’s repeated actions and behavioural patterns.

When he had spent enough time stealing, his occupation had naturally shifted toward theft. If he wanted to change that occupation, he needed to repeatedly perform actions associated with a different profession until the Log finally recognised the new role.

In his current situation, the most practical option had been becoming a merchant.

Because of that ridiculous requirement, he had spent the entire morning standing behind a cheap folding table while advertising ancient technology to passing strangers. He had shouted sales pitches, negotiated prices, answered questions, and pretended to be an honest businessman despite knowing exactly where every item…. had come from.

One customer became five.

Five became ten.

Ten eventually became twenty.

Only after the twentieth customer did the Log finally acknowledge his efforts and recognise his new line of work.

For the first time that day, his occupation had successfully changed.

“About fucking time,” Aether muttered under his breath.

Without wasting another second, he folded the table, lifted it onto his shoulder, and walked away from the marketplace. The crowd quickly swallowed his figure as he disappeared into the busy streets.

His objective here had been completed.

Now it was time to move on to the next target.

****

SSssnnnnggggg~

….

SSsnnnngggg~

A handful of luxury anti-gravity vehicles occasionally crossed the otherwise empty highway, their sleek metallic bodies gliding above the road while faint streams of blue particles shimmered beneath them.

The highway stretched endlessly toward the horizon, illuminated by rows of intelligent streetlights that adjusted their brightness according to nearby light and traffic density.

Inside one of those expensive vehicles, a handsome young man sat comfortably in the driver’s seat while soft music played through the car’s immersive audio system.

“Hmmm~ Hmmm~ Hmmm~ mmmm~”

He casually hummed along with the song while resting one arm against the door. A translucent navigation display floated above the dashboard, continuously updating route information and traffic data. As the vehicle approached a junction, his eyes suddenly narrowed behind his sunglasses when he noticed a figure lying motionless in the middle of the road.

Blue particles beneath the hovering chassis dimmed as the Anti-gravitic engine reduced its output. The car gradually slowed before descending slightly closer to the ground and coming to a smooth halt several meters away from the unknown person.

The handsome young man frowned.

“What the hell is someone doing out here?”

Opening the door, he stepped outside and carefully examined the figure lying on the asphalt.

The surrounding area appeared completely deserted.

He reached toward his waist and drew a compact handgun.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” he shouted while keeping a safe distance.

The figure remained completely motionless.

His frown deepened.

Maintaining a firm grip on the weapon, he slowly advanced while scanning the surrounding environment.

When he finally reached the body, he cautiously nudged the young man with the tip of his boot.

“Hey. If you’re alive, then answer me. Are you injured?”

Still nothing.

He looked around once more while trying to understand the situation.

This route connected directly to the Delta Border Zone, one of the least-travelled highways in the region. Civilian traffic rarely passed through the area, and nobody would willingly walk such a dangerous route.

Seeing an unconscious man lying in the middle of the road without transportation or evidence of an accident made absolutely no sense.

Nobody should have been here.

The realisation slowly settled into his mind as every instinct in his body began warning him that something was wro—

Step!

Chukkk!

A metallic object pierced through his temple with terrifying speed and precision.

The young man’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before the light vanished from them completely.

The rod penetrated one side of his skull and exited through the other, destroying critical sections of his brain before his nervous system could even register pain. His body immediately lost all strength and collapsed onto the road.

Death had claimed him so quickly that he never understood what had happened.

The person who had been lying unconscious on the asphalt was no longer there.

Instead… Young Aether stood behind the corpse while calmly holding the blood-covered metallic rod. A satisfied expression rested on his face as he withdrew the weapon from the dead man’s skull.

Young Aether glanced down at the corpse before beginning a thorough search. Within minutes, he had collected the man’s identification card. After confirming everything he needed had been obtained, he stripped the corpse and changed into the expensive clothing and accessories that the man had been wearing.

After changing into the dead man’s clothes, Aether paused beside the hovering vehicle and examined his reflection in the polished metallic surface.

The outfit was expensive.

Not merely expensive in the ordinary sense, but the kind of clothing worn by people who never needed to worry about money in the first place.

A fitted black jacket covered his upper body, its fabric woven from advanced smart fibres that subtly adjusted to temperature and movement.

A high-collared dark shirt rested beneath the jacket, perfectly tailored to his frame. The fabric appeared simple at first glance, yet its surface possessed a faint metallic sheen that revealed its technological sophistication under direct light. Matching black trousers completed the outfit, reinforced with lightweight composite fibres strong enough to resist tearing while remaining comfortable enough for daily wear.

Several elegant rings adorned his fingers.

Combined with his naturally handsome features, the outfit gave him the presence of a young executive, noble heir, or influential corporate elite.

His black hair contrasted sharply against his fair skin. Beneath those dark locks rested a pair of striking ice-blue eyes that seemed almost unnatural.

A faint smile appeared on his lips as he adjusted the collar of his jacket. [Imgincmt]

“Not bad,” he murmured while studying his reflection. “At least I don’t look like a homeless drifter anymore.”

After dragging the naked body toward the hovering vehicle, Young Aether paused and looked beneath the car, where thousands of blue particles continuously flowed around the gravitic generators.

“I am curious whether this thing actually burns objects,” Aether muttered thoughtfully while studying the blue energy pulser under the car.

He shoved the corpse beneath the hovering vehicle before climbing into the driver’s seat and examining the controls.

The interior looked considerably more advanced than anything from his previous life, yet the overall design philosophy remained familiar.

Holographic interfaces replaced physical buttons, adaptive control surfaces shifted according to user preferences, and multiple artificial intelligence systems silently operated throughout the vehicle.

“Hmm. The only experience I have comes from driving an Aber taxi for a month,” Aether said while examining the dashboard.

“Let’s see… Hmm..”

To his surprise, most fundamental driving functions remained nearly identical.

The vehicle lacked wheels entirely and relied upon anti-gravitic propulsion, but basic operational controls still followed familiar principles. After a brief inspection, he pressed the brake pedal and moved the transmission lever from neutral to drive.

Though if he wanted, he could directly command AI to drive to his destination, but… he wanted to try this out!

You know… Kind of curious~

Immediately, the anti-gravitic engine awakened.

Hmmmmmmmmnnnn!

A deep humming vibration resonated throughout the chassis as countless blue particles beneath the vehicle began moving in synchronised patterns. Circular waves of energy expanded outward from the gravitic generators, creating subtle distortions in the surrounding air.

Beneath the car, the corpse suddenly twitched.

The body initially trembled only slightly, but the vibrations rapidly intensified as invisible gravitic waves penetrated flesh, blood, and bone.

Opposing force vectors repeatedly pulled and pushed every molecule within the body thousands of times each second. Muscles contracted uncontrollably.

Skin rippled!

Bones produced faint cracking noises as microscopic structural stresses accumulated throughout the corpse.

Young Aether immediately focused on the rear camera feed.

The process became increasingly violent.

Every cell within the dead body experienced extreme acceleration and deceleration simultaneously.

Molecular bonds that normally remained stable began weakening under the relentless stress. Proteins started unfolding from their natural structures.

Cellular membranes ruptured.

Blood vessels collapsed.

Internal organs gradually lost their integrity as trillions of microscopic interactions spiralled out of control.

A faint blue glow slowly appeared beneath the skin.

The blood illuminated first.

Moments later, the muscles followed.

Then the organs.

Heat rapidly accumulated throughout the corpse as molecular motion increased beyond normal physical limits. Electrons within countless atoms absorbed enormous amounts of energy before entering excited states. As they returned to lower energy levels, photons were released, causing the entire body to emit a soft blue radiance.

The corpse began losing its human appearance.

The skin darkened and fragmented into microscopic particles. Muscles broke apart into glowing biological dust. Bones cracked repeatedly before collapsing into increasingly smaller fragments. Every layer of the body steadily decomposed under the influence of the gravitic field until the corpse resembled a luminous cloud rather than human remains.

Young Aether watched silently while the process continued.

The cloud of glowing particles became thinner and thinner as individual molecules were torn apart and dispersed into the surrounding atmosphere. The remaining biological matter gradually vanished until no recognisable trace of the corpse remained beneath the vehicle.

The body visibly began to glow as its skin rapidly heated, shifting from pale flesh tones to an increasingly intense crimson. Waves of heat distorted the surrounding air while faint wisps of steam escaped from the corpse. Beneath the skin, blood vessels illuminated with an eerie blue-red radiance as the gravitic energy violently interacted with every layer of biological matter.

Young Aether pressed down on the accelerator without releasing the brake.

SSSNNNNNGGGG!

The gravitic engine released a deeper hum that echoed throughout the vehicle. Beneath the chassis, countless blue particles surged with renewed intensity, moving up and down in synchronised waves.

Every impact forced the body to vibrate back and forth at impossible speeds.

The blood had already reached extreme temperatures.

Internal organs collapsed into scorched masses of tissue. Muscle fibres unravelled and carbonised. Fat liquefied before vaporising into clouds of superheated gas. The heat spread throughout the entire body until every remaining biological structure approached thermal failure.

Then the corpse finally reached its limit.

PUFFFF!

A wave of glowing vapour erupted from the body as pressurised fluids instantly boiled away. The remaining flesh ignited moments later, bright orange flames erupting across the corpse while fragments of burning tissue scattered beneath the hovering vehicle.

BOOOOMPH!

Satisfied with the result, Young Aether released the brake.

The vehicle shot forward like a launched projectile, leaving behind a streak of blue luminescence as the gravitic engine propelled it down the highway. Behind him, the burning corpse rolled across the asphalt several times before finally coming to a stop near the edge of the road.

Large sections had collapsed inward from the destruction of muscle and connective tissue. Blackened skin clung tightly to exposed bone. Occasional involuntary twitches travelled through the remaining muscles as residual electrical charges discharged through dying nerve tissue. The corpse gradually settled into a twisted, scorched shape that barely retained any recognisable human features.

Several minutes later, another luxury vehicle sped across the highway.

As it passed, a powerful wave of displaced air swept across the roadside.

The charred remains, already weakened beyond recognition, fragmented instantly.

Sssh~

Ash, carbonised tissue, and fine grey dust scattered into the evening sky before drifting away on the wind, leaving behind no evidence that a human body had ever rested there.