New Roommate

Noa made arrangements for So-Rin to move into an apartment in the same building he lived in. He contacted the landlord and confirmed that there was still an empty unit available. So-Rin would return to her dormitory for the night and move into her new place the next day.

So-Rin's dorm was a corporate facility, provided for people undertaking their training camps. Now that her training was already finished, she had to move out.

As Noa settled onto his couch, he looked at Cloud with a huge grin. "Welcome home," he greeted the cleaning robot.

"Thank you," Cloud responded.

 "Now that you're here, treat this apartment as your own," Noa said, gesturing around the sleek, angular living room made entirely of steel and glass.

Clould examined the room.

"Well, if this were your apartment, you'd be the one to clean rooms, wash dishes, and cook meals, right?"

Cloud beeped in agreement. "I am programmed to help you with household tasks. It is my duty to make your life easier."

Noa smiled at Cloud's dedication. "Well, how about you start by vacuuming the living room? It's been a while since I did it."

"Consider it done," Cloud whirred to life, retrieving the vacuum cleaner from the closet.

Cloud might look like a half-sphere vacuum cleaner, but it was actually a maid robot with hands.

While Cloud worked on cleaning, Noa reached into the cabinet and pulled out a white box. He took an injection of botulinum toxin and a neuromuscular blocking agent from the box and injected them into his hand. His hand went numb, and sweat was beading on his forehead.

Noa suffered from alien hand syndrome, a condition that caused his brain to become disconnected from his hands. In order to alleviate the symptoms, he needed to inject these drugs periodically.

As Noa relaxed on the couch, he felt grateful for Cloud's help. The apartment now felt like a true home.

Noa took a deep breath and leaned back on the sofa, his eyes fixated on the door. He noticed a shadow on the floor resembling someone's body, but no one knocked. 

Instinctively, Noa stood up, walking cautiously towards the door, his eyes on the CCTV screen. A tanned, thin yet muscular man wore a black shirt and pants paced back and forth in front of the apartment building, which raised Noa's suspicion.

Without hesitation, Noa opened the door and swiftly tackled the man from behind, sending him crashing to the floor. He pinned him down, forcing his arms behind his back. The man struggled and thrashed, but Noa's muscles bulged with the effort, holding him down with ease.

The man groaned in pain. "Let me go! I was just looking for a place to stay."

Noa quickly realized his mistake. "I'm sorry, I thought you were up to something," he said, helping the man up.

The man brushed himself off, looking up at Noa with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "Do you usually attack people who come to your door?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, I'm really sorrtly. I saw you on the CCTV and thought you were acting suspiciously," Noa replied, feeling embarrassed.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Suspiciously? I even have some luggage with me, not a weapon. "

Noa felt his face flush with embarrassment. "I'm really sorry. I didn't… I didn't mean to. I'm just—"

The man sighed. "It's fine. I'm also at fault. I was indecisive about pressing the doorbell."

"We're cool now." In reality, Noa was still mortified.

"Are you still looking for a roommate? I saw your ad on social media."

Noa nodded. "Yeah, are you interested? My apartment isn't that big though, and there's only one bedroom."

The man smiled. "I am. I don't mind sharing the apartment with you, and I can sleep on the sofa. I'll pay half the rent."

Noa considered for a moment, then nodded. "That sounds fair to me."

"Great," the man replied.

"But wait. I have to check you first, since I don't want to take a risk."

Noa took out a small cylindrical device from his pocket, and the man stretched out his hand.

"Do you mind?" Noa asked, as he examined the man's face. He obediently stretched out his arm toward Noa.

Noa scanned his fingerprints, analyzing the unique ridge patterns and characteristics to confirm that he was a real human.

Humans had unique fingerprints, which an android couldn't imitate. Using a fingerprint scanner allowed him to determine whether one was a human or an android.

"Done," Noa said as the device showed a green light.

Noa led the man into the apartment, relieved to have found someone to share the space with. He showed him around, and the man seemed pleased with what he saw.

"I'm glad we're doing this," Noa said with a smile. "It's nice to have some company."

Aside from that, it will lighten his financial burden as well.

Noa gestured toward the comfortable couch. "Please, have a seat," he said warmly.

"Thank you," the man replied, settling onto the cushions. 

"Do you mind telling me about yourself?" Noa initiated the conversation once again.

"My name is Eden. I grew up outside the city, but I've been living in Neo Arcadia for over a year now. I just can't come back anymore."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Noa," Noa replied, "The way you talk is a bit different. How do I put it… You sound more unrestrained than others." he asked.

"I hid. I have a fake identity and I'm not under Infrablack's control. Those android authorities almost caught me multiple times, but I was able to escape," Eden replied, "What about you? If you can tell, I can also tell."

"I didn't hide from them, and I have a new legal identity, but they can't control me."

"How come?"

Eden had boldly told him about his illegal identity, so Noa thought that it wouldn't be too bad to let the other party know of his secret.

"Well, I guess there's no harm telling you. Before the new era came, there was a device that was implanted in my brain that could counter the program," Noa explained.

"Ah, gotcha." Eden nodded.

"So, what do you do for a living?"

"Nothing actually." Eden shrugged. "I have a way to access the system, so I just earn what I need by doing quests. That's how I survived until now. It feels like hell, you know. But even if you're worried, broken, or even scattered into pieces, you just have to keep fighting."

There's not much Eden could do with his current identity. He was no different from an illegal immigrant, and if he dared showing up in front of authorities, he would probably be banned or, worse, killed. With this, he could not look for a job. 

Leaving Neo Arcadia, the capital city, was impossible as well, since the border of each district had walls that would shoot anybody who touched it with a deadly laser. 

 "I'm sorry to hear that," Noa stated.

"No, I'm not complaining." Eden shook his head. "Perhaps you can hire me?"

 "How can I hire you when I'm almost broke myself?" Noa asked, "That's exactly why I'm looking for a roommate."

 "Can you waive my rent? I'll be your assistant. I'll do anything," Eden offered.

Noa took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to fully take in the man sitting in front of him.

Tanned skin, eagle-eyed dark eyes, and wavy black hair. His sharp, angular features and cold, unsmiling expression gave him an air of danger, and the burn scar on his cheek, which seemed to have come from a laser, only added to that impression.

Noa already had Cloud, a cleaning robot, to do the chores. 

But maybe there were other things that Eden could do. He still had to think about it.