Chapter 8: Ki, Do, Hyo (1)

Lee Do arrived at the motel and immediately examined the books.

He sat on the sofa, turning on the TV for some background noise. The books had titles like “Iron Fist” or “Flowing Palm.” 
They were slightly different from the Changquan and Taijiquan he’d seen in his original world.

[TL note: Changquan = “Long Fist,” a northern Chinese martial arts style known for extended, flowing movements; Taijiquan = “Tai Chi,” a Chinese internal martial art focused on slow, controlled motion and balance.]

But Jujutsu, Wushu – Eastern martial arts – were clearly recognizable.

The common thread was the emphasis on mindset and character cultivation. Lee Do flipped through a few more pages, then stood up from the sofa.

The books described hypothetical scenarios and countermeasures against armed opponents, but, of course, firearms didn’t exist in ancient times.

There were no countermeasures against gunmen in traditional martial arts. But whether then or now, the human body remained relatively unchanged.

He could still assume the stances.

“…”

Lee Do tried to mimic the poses in the book’s photographs.

One leg raised, arms spread out like a crane. Or, hands extended, fingers curled like a tiger’s claws. Or, a lowered stance, center of gravity rooted firmly like a thousand-pound weight.

‘This isn’t right.’

Weren’t they too… flamboyant for practical use?

He tried throwing punches and kicks as described in the book, but the more he tried, the more convinced he became. The modern martial arts, utilizing the principles of the body’s mechanics, as the woman had suggested, would be a hundred times better.

Lee Do lit a cigarette, sat back down on the sofa, and continued flipping through the books.

He was more interested in the parts that dealt with character cultivation than the martial arts techniques.

The existence and conceptualization of Qi.

That humans are born with Qi, and it is stored in the lower Dantian. That Qi is the intersection of mind and body and can be strengthened through training.

[TL note: Qi = “life energy” or “vital force” in traditional Chinese philosophy and martial arts.]

This world, like the view outside his window, was extremely realistic, yet traces of the supernatural remained in the books.

And his body was supernatural. A martial artist’s body, to be precise.

‘Cultivating Qi.’

A training method to accumulate Qi in the Dantian through breathing. He had somehow learned it while surviving in this world, so Qi, at least to him, was real. And through countless battles, injuries, and practice, his Qi had accumulated explosively.

He just didn’t know how to use it. His internal energy was probably already beyond that of a first-rate martial artist.

“…”

Lost in thought, Lee Do flipped to the next page. Then he stood up and assumed a stance.

He held a cigarette in his mouth, inhaled the smoke, focused on his Dantian, and clenched his fist.

The attacks he had just tried were based on internal energy. If internal energy existed, perhaps he could find a clue in these ancient texts.

‘Gather Qi in the Dantian, let it rise along the spine, and accumulate it between the shoulder blades.’

Gather Qi in the Dantian. Gather Qi…

Like just before cultivating Qi, let the Qi flow and circulate within his body.

Between the shoulder blades.

As the smoke filled his lungs, Qi surged through his meridians.

‘Lower your stance, with an inhale, move the Qi to your elbows, then push it to your fingertips.’

He inhaled, the smoke filling his throat, and he punched. Whoosh!

“…!”

Lee Do stared ahead.

At his fist.

And the empty air.

There was no result.

‘ I really did waste my money.’

He adjusted his cigarette, sat back down, and closed the 1,100-credit books.

‘Gangho Jangpaerok isn’t reality, it can’t be.’

The old ways were old for a reason. Modern martial arts, refined with modern principles, were far more effective than these nonsensical things like Qi and internal energy. Character cultivation and ancient wisdom were useless in this era.

He took out a bottle of whiskey and stared blankly at the TV.

The news played on the holographic screen.

The same old story. High-tech advancements, yet the beneficiaries weren’t the citizens or the nation. With no mention of corporations, of course.

As Lee Do continued to drink his whiskey,

“…”

Suddenly, beneath the subtle flow of alcohol through his blood vessels, he felt it – his Dantian.

He groaned.

He felt the smoke-filled air, the beads of sweat forming on his skin from the bright sunlight outside. His breathing. The sensation of the cigarette between his lips as he took a drag.

He realized his Qi was depleted.

His Dantian.

It was Qi. Internal energy, the very supernatural thing he had only used for cultivating Qi.

Smoke curled into the still air.

Lee Do looked down.

At his lower abdomen, then at the 1,100-credit books from the past. He opened a book again.

The Core Works and Scavenger incident ended relatively smoothly. Thanks to q134.2e successfully retrieving the NIM. The Scav who had taken it had no idea what it was and sold it to q134.2e for 15,000 credits. She then handed it over to the labor consultant.

‘I examined the NIM just in case.’

Good, evil. It was to verify the convictions of a certain solo.

Certainly, it had nothing to do with the competing corporation.

The original owner of the NIM was just an ordinary person who enjoyed vlogging. It seemed that the competing corporation’s involvement after the incident was mostly true.

Of course, even if it were a lie, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that she completed the request.

“That solo isn’t here,” the labor consultant said. The Oni Mask, the only one standing, leaning against a pillar, replied,

“He hasn’t been answering my calls for days. I was going to invite him to the toy store.”

“Do men do that sort of thing together?”

“No, we can get separate rooms. You can come too if you want. Separate rooms, of course.”

“That’s a dirty offer.”

“You’re more innocent than I thought, huh? You didn’t even know about that.”

q134.2e frowned.

The labor consultant, who had been looking at her, adjusted his glasses and placed a bag on the table.

“Anyway, thank you for your hard work. Honestly, I didn’t think a small brokerage like this could handle it… Thanks to you, it was resolved much faster than I expected.”

650,000 credits.

“And this is half of our solo’s share.”

He gestured towards the Oni Mask and added a bonus. q134.2e gave the Oni Mask a questioning look, but he just shrugged.

“You guys are pretty efficient. We could work together again sometime.”

“Is that why you’re giving us so much?”

“A wise person looks at the long term, not the short term. You can thank me.”

It totaled 1,000,000 credits.

“…Hmm.”

Just as the request was handled quickly, the payment was processed just as fast. Before the labor consultant and the Oni Mask left, the Oni Mask said to q134.2e,

“Register that unjacked friend on the server. I couldn’t find him there.”

“He can do that himself.”

“Are you trying to monopolize him or something? Guys like him will rise up on their own. It’s pointless to keep an eye on him.”

“When did I?”

“Whatever. Well, see you around if we see each other.”

The secondhand shop was now empty.

The server. It was a slang term for a recruitment site for mercenaries. A massive darknet used by fixers, gangs, organizations, corporations, and even government agencies.

q134.2e sat down at her desktop while dividing the credits for Lee Do.

She had taken the opportunity to hack the drone itself while accessing its packet node.

And that’s how she obtained the footage.

Footage from the scene. Relatively short footage of a single unjacked individual taking down multiple armed Scavs in an instant.

It was low-quality footage, the kind that wouldn’t even make it onto gore dark web sites, but her expression was as serious as the first time she had seen it.

‘…It’s still unbelievable.’

He wasn’t using modules that accelerated neural networks to superhuman speeds. Nor was his speed achieved through some unrealistic module enhancement. It was within human limits. But everything about his movements was uncanny, inhuman.

And the weapon he used was just a staff.

She thought he had used a gun, but he’d done it with the staff from the carrying case on his back.

“…”

She had been surprised by his primal brutality when he first brought in the Scavenger, but she hadn’t imagined it would be this primal. An outdated weapon like a staff against modern firearms.

And quite effectively, too.

There were solos who used katanas or blades, but those were just new technology disguised as old. Weren’t they all ultimately just monomolecular cutters or a collection of similar technologies?

More than anything, he was unjacked. Just a fragile, flesh-and-blood body vulnerable to a single bullet.

She gulped and replayed the footage. Tapping her fingers on the table, she touched the sensor behind her ear and projected a small hologram in front of her.

-[q134.2e]
Found the NIM. Offered the Scav some bait.

-[q134.2e]
Transaction complete. Just need to deliver it.

-[q134.2e]
The client’s coming, you should come too.

Messages that remained unread. What was he doing?

She frowned, then typed another message.

-[q134.2e]
I need to split the money, so come to my shop.

After a pause, another message.

-[q134.2e]
Are you interested in a semi-permanent ID?
It’s nothing special, just thought I’d make you one. What do you think about becoming a proper solo?

She doubted an unjacked individual could register on the server.

Still no response.

“…”

She stared at the unresponsive chat window, then turned off the hologram.

She looked at her desktop.

She pressed the spacebar again, replaying the footage from the beginning. It was just footage of an unjacked individual subduing several armed Scavs.

-[q134.2e]
Are you interested in a semi-permanent ID?
It’s nothing special, just thought I’d make you one. What do you think about becoming a proper solo?

At that moment, Lee Do was wiping sweat from his brow, just opening his burner phone.

The towel was already soaked. Despite wiping so much, a few more beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

He took the last cigarette from the pack and put it in his mouth.

-[Dropmoneydamn]
Even High-Tech CEO misses are into Dropmoney lol
with the freebies and moaning~ lol
LINK: ixp://dropmoneydamn.zone

-[016-811-8641]
Aren’t you coming to the toy store?
I might end up using two portions, including yours.

-[GL!TCH_404]
D@mn!!!! Look there!!! Your brainwaves are exploding!!!!!!!!!
⧗⧗⧗ Neuron hash processing…
※ Analyzing… : Life detection = ERROR (X _ X)

Messages that had piled up.

Like bugs swarming rotten apples. Spam and messages from unknown numbers.

He swallowed some whiskey instead of water, took a drag of his cigarette, and wiped his sweat again with the already damp towel.

He parted the curtains and looked at the skyscrapers bathed in the rising sun.

Bright.

Bright enough to make his dark-adjusted eyes sting.

The room was a mess. Cigarette butts were scattered everywhere. Empty whiskey bottles, once stacked in the refrigerator, now littered the room.

The incessant white noise of the news continued from the TV, praising mega-corporations.

He didn’t know how many days had passed. He just felt like his Qi was draining with every breath.

He looked down.

-[q134.2e]
Are you interested in a semi-permanent ID? It’s nothing special, just thought I’d make you one. What do you think about becoming a proper solo?

He looked at the last message again.

Lee Do, smoking his cigarette, went into the bathroom to wash up.

It was just a after all.