At the heart of downtown stands a massive shopping complex.

Known as the Junk Plaza.

The sight of chicken coop-like buildings, with floor area ratios exceeding 1,000%, densely packed in all directions, is enough to take one's breath away.

In the shadowy streets deprived of sunlight, neon signs of various colors cast a gloomy light in place of the sun. Combined with the hazy weather caused by environmental pollution, it was always difficult to distinguish between day and night in Junk Plaza.

It's no wonder Jin was reminded of Kowloon Walled City when looking at the downtown landscape.

The den of Hong Kong that disappeared in 1993 was right here.

More glamorous. More chaotic.

"Hey there, handsome."

Jin turned his head at the seductive voice.

In an alley devoid of light, a woman perched on a green garbage bin smiled alluringly.

"Hello? Want to spend some time with me? I'll give you a discount."

She then tapped her rounded hand against her mouth, pushing her tongue against her inner cheek in rhythm.

Jin understood the meaning all too well.

But he shook his head.

"No money."

"I said I'd give you a discount. With a face like yours, it won't even feel like work for me."

"Can't get it up either."

"...Really?"

"Really."

Jin gave a thumbs up to the woman who was momentarily speechless and turned away.

Sadly, there was no lie in Jin's words.

His pockets were empty, and he couldn't get it up.

Ah, not when he lived in Vietnam, though.

It had been like this since he fell into the game.

At first, he thought it was just psychological. But as time passed and nothing changed, he began to suspect it had something to do with the Irregular trait.

The trait that had saved Jin's life so far.

Now, recalling the vague description:

Autophagy and energy efficiency maximization. And the degree of evolution was written, if he remembered correctly. Based on this, Jin's brain theory suggested that the energy needed for reproductive ability might be being used elsewhere.

Recovery or muscle enhancement or something like that. Anyway, something along those lines.

It was practically certain, given that over the past year, his skeletal muscle mass hadn't changed much, but his strength had been steadily increasing.

Human muscles, regardless of age or gender, can only exert about 4kgf of force per 1cm2 cross-section, but Jin's superhuman strength had long since surpassed such common sense.

And it had grown even stronger recently after breaking through the superhuman puck.

Wait a minute.

Even though he's superhuman, his reproductive ability hasn't recovered?

Jin rubbed his chin with a rather serious expression.

Of course, given his personality, he didn't dwell on the concern for long.

Well, it'll work out somehow.

There are still many constellations I haven't activated yet.

Who knows. One of them might have a solution.

In reality, there were many unlit constellations within Jin.

The problem was that he didn't know the unlocking conditions.

Considering that [Fast Recovery], which he chose when starting the game, was the first star of the fist-shaped constellation, it seemed that breaking through the most basic puck was necessary to move on to the next one, but for now, he had no idea what that was.

If only I had studied the walkthrough more thoroughly.

But what good would such regrets do now?

"...By the way, where am I?"

Jin stopped walking and looked around.

[Junk Plaza District 4, Area A]

Judging by the high-hanging sign, he had arrived at the location described by the hot dog stand owner, but the chaotic nature of the streets left him feeling disoriented.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

This street looked like that street, this alley like that alley.

Wow. Just a moment. I'm dizzy.

As Jin blinked, stunned all by himself, it happened.

Thump!

A dull impact on his back.

Followed by an irritated voice.

"Ugh..."

Jin turned his head.

There stood a man.

Sharp, sword-like eyes with a goblin mask covering the lower half of his face. He was as tall as Jin, and at his waist was... hmm. A sword?

Not just a palm-sized knife that back alley thugs might carry to intimidate someone, but a long sword that nearly touched the ground even when worn diagonally.

If he had to compare, its appearance was similar to a hwando or a Japanese sword, but its length was closer to a two-handed sword. It looked like it might be the twin dragon sword of Admiral Yi Sun Sin, which has been missing for 100 years.

How does he even draw something that long?

It seems longer than the range of motion of his arm.

As Jin was thinking this, the man spoke.

"Why the hell did you stop suddenly?"

Jin scratched the back of his head at the man's words. The other's tone was unpleasant, but it was true that he had suddenly stopped.

"Sorry about that. I'm not familiar with this neighborhood."

"Move."

The man brushed past Jin's shoulder as he passed.

And then, he staggered.

Slowly turning around while regaining balance from the rebound, his eyes were fierce.

Jin didn't avoid his gaze either.

What a weakling.

Why bump shoulders if you can't handle it?

But their staring contest didn't last long.

A group of people noisily crossed between them.

And when they disappeared from view, the man was gone too.

"...What was that?"

Jin relaxed his clenched fist, feeling deflated.

Well, that decorative sword he's wearing probably can't even be drawn. It might scare others, but it doesn't work on me.

After letting out a snort, Jin looked around again.

And immediately felt dizzy.

"Ah, so where am I again?"

----------------------------------------

After circling similar places about ten times,

Jin finally managed to find the place the hot dog stand owner had mentioned.

This wasn't some hidden gem in a market; between places that should have taken only 1-2 minutes to walk between without obstacles, all sorts of side streets and street vendors were tangled like threads.

For most people, this would have been a problem easily solved by turning on a navigation app. In an era where you could input an address and have the shortest route projected as a hologram in your field of vision, there was no need to wander around.

But for Jin, who hadn't inserted a BCI chip, this was a fundamentally flawed proposition. After asking passersby who had little patience for kindness, he finally found himself in front of the bar, narrowing his eyes as he checked the sign.

[Anecdote]

Anecdote. I've come to the right place.

Jin immediately opened the door and stepped inside.

The tinkling of a bell greeted him, and simultaneously, a young bartender who had been polishing glasses behind a long counter turned his head.

"Welcome. Please make yourself comfortable."

Looking around the interior as he received the bartender's greeting:

In front of the wooden counter were round stools without backrests, placed at appropriate intervals.

With wall lights and footlights providing just enough illumination to lazily light the place, the overall atmosphere made Jin wonder if this really was downtown, it was so calm.

Jin, who had just been lost in the middle of a bustling market, felt a sense of cognitive dissonance, but he quickly gathered his wits and settled into a suitable seat.

Then he spoke to the bartender who was silently watching him.

"Are you the Linker?"

The bartender blinked at the question. Then, with a faint smile, he said:

"Are you a Solo?"

"Um, yeah. I've taken on a request, so I guess that makes me one, right?"

"And your name is?"

Your name is? The polite speech tickled Jin's ears, making him reflexively scratch them before opening his mouth.

"Jin."

"I see. Jin. Please wait a moment."

The bartender said this and momentarily stopped moving.

It was a brief moment, but while his gaze was directed at Jin, his eyes seemed to be swimming in a different space, emitting a mysterious light.

Finally, as his focus sharpened, the bartender spoke.

"I apologize, but after searching the Solo intranet, no matching subject was found. Are you perhaps a Level 5 or higher Solo? If so, a simple query would be impossible. I beg your pardon for the rudeness."

Jin, momentarily bewildered, scratched his cheek.

"I don't have anything like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I came here to become a real Solo. I don't have any certification badge or anything. I didn't even know such things existed."

"Ah. I understand."

As the bartender nodded unexpectedly compliantly, a conversation was heard from a short distance away.

"So how's Area 49?"

"The worst. Since Taha unified all the clans, it's practically a small dictatorship."

"Taha. He was an ambitious man. You be careful too."

"Careful of what? He's just a corporate lapdog after all."

"That comment. I wonder if you could say it in front of Taha."

A pair of men and women were walking out from behind the central shelf where bottles were displayed.

Jin's brow twitched.

Not because of the woman with red hair so lush it was admirable, but because of the man walking alongside her.

Sharp eyes, a goblin mask covering the lower half of his face.

And an unreasonably long sword.

He was the man who had shouldered past Jin on the street.

"...Hm?"

The man saw Jin too. As displeasure frosted over his eyes visible above the mask, the woman standing next to him naturally turned her head.

"Oh? We have a guest."

"This is Jin. He came here wanting to become a Solo. It seems he wants a contract."

At the bartender's words, the woman raised one eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

Then she widened her stride and approached the opposite side of Jin.

A smoky yet sweet scent wafted strongly with her clicking footsteps.

"So, Jin, you came here wanting to become a Solo?"

At that voice, Jin, who had been engaging in a second round of staring contest with the man, turned his gaze away with a sour expression.

"Ah, yeah."

"Would you like something to drink first?"

"I don't have any money though."

The woman chuckled at Jin's words.

Whether she thought it was a joke or intended to treat him for free, she turned and grabbed a bottle from the shelf.

Should I ask for cola?

Jin, who had been contemplating for a moment, simply accepted the glass of alcohol the woman offered. It didn't feel right to complain about the side dish when he was getting a free meal.

"Shall we start with introductions again? I'm Califa. As you can see, I'm the manager of Anecdote."

"Jin. The man who will become the Solo King."

Pirate King, Mercenary King, Knight King, and so on.

Having grown up consuming snack culture full of all sorts of XX Kings, Jin roughly combined Solo with King to express his ambition.

Strictly speaking, Solo King would be correct, but who cares?

Then is 'get-tem' also 'geut-tem', and 'balcon' also 'footcon'?

That confidence seemed to have won Califa over.

"...Solo King?"

Califa, rolling the unfamiliar word in her mouth, soon tilted her head back and burst into laughter. Unlike her delicate frame, it was quite a hearty laugh, which made it all the more pleasant to hear.

"That's interesting. I like it. So much that I want to bring out a contract right now. But Jin, being good at humor alone isn't enough to become a Solo. More precisely, you can't contract with me. Anecdote doesn't do business with just anyone."

For a moment, Jin saw a red glow forming in Califa's iris. Artificial eyes? No, it seemed to writhe as if alive.

"To check your skills as well, first, a few suitable requests..."

"That won't be necessary."

The one who cut off Califa's words was the man with the goblin mask.

He had been standing still like a statue since he saw Jin again, but as soon as the opportunity arose, he spoke without hesitation, as if he had been waiting for the moment to interject.

"No need to take the long way around, just fight me once. I've been wanting to check something with that guy anyway."