38. Metal Pan Factory
The flow was unstoppable.
Jinri and I were half-dragged by the young security guard with the jet-black flashlight to the entrance of the power plant and ushered straight into the lobby.
We parted ways with the boy there and stepped inside.
True to a building in Tropical Night City, the interior was chilled to an extreme by overly efficient air conditioning, cold enough to almost feel a shiver.
A piercing chill enveloped our bodies, making us shudder involuntarily.
Feeling that cold, Jinri and I naturally held hands and quickly surveyed the first-floor hall.
The ceiling was designed to mimic space, with artificial satellites twinkling like stars and space stations suspended as if floating. The background was a deep, rich purple, nearly pitch black. In its center flowed a river-shaped galaxy, elegant and utterly unfamiliar, as if it didn't belong in this solar system at all.
It was like the image of an eternal, vast river from some unknown civilization.
"It's huge,"
Jinri murmured.
I nodded and replied,
"And cool."
I wanted to say "cold," but uttering those words felt like it would only make the chill worse, so I chose my words carefully.
We headed to the reception desk first.
"I'm Yura, and she's Jinri,"
I introduced us.
"What lovely names,"
the receptionist responded with a delicate smile.
"Please wait a moment. I'll assist you shortly. By the way, what brings you here?"
"Oh, I hadn't mentioned. Sorry."
I cleared my throat and continued.
"We're rich. But we have too much money, and it's heavy. So we came to squander it. We can't board the right train unless we lighten this load. We keep derailing."
"In other words, a diet to burn money? Like burning off excess fat from the body."
"Exactly."
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
The receptionist chewed gum while scrolling through social media on her smartphone, then turned to us with an adorable smile.
"Take the elevator to the 1,987th floor. That's the gym."
"Thank you."
Jinri and I hung card passes around our necks like employee badges and headed to the elevator.
Just as I was about to press the button for the 1,987th floor, a shadow blocked the way.
A boy around 11 years old stood in front of the button panel.
Short in stature, he stood on a cardboard box-like platform, acting like an elevator button boy instead of a bellboy. Dressed in a proper suit and hat, he wore a serious expression like an honor student.
"Are you going to press the button for us?"
Jinri asked, and the boy nodded sharply.
"That's correct. This building has 1,024,729 floors, and finding the right button requires knowledge of calculations and coding. Without a button boy, you'd never reach it."
"In a world where everything is automated, providing this kind of hospitality is impressive,"
I said. It might have sounded a bit sarcastic. The boy flashed a somewhat world-weary smile and, as if ignoring me, opened a laptop and began typing on the keyboard.
"What floor?"
"Uh…" I almost forgot for a second but recalled it. "1,987th floor."
The boy quickly pressed the button, and the elevator began to rise.
Silence enveloped the interior.
With each movement of the elevator, a faint motor sound could be heard from somewhere. It was a vivid, quiet resonance, like gentle waves lapping at the shore. Unlike the horizontal sway of waves, it felt like the water's surface rising in height as it approached land—a scientific, fluid sense of levitation.
The elevator wasn't just ascending; it gave the illusion of gliding lightly over the water's surface, floating upward.
In that moment, Jinri and I surrendered to the wave-like rising sound of the elevator, enjoying the fluctuations in the noise, until we finally arrived at the 1,987th floor.
The elevator boy opened the door and bowed politely.
"Then, enjoy your lavish spending."
At the boy's words, we smiled and handed him a thick bundle of bills—physically heavy cash.
"Wow!"
The boy exclaimed in surprise, eyes wide as he was buried in the mountain of money.
"This is the first time I've ever gotten a tip this big!"
"It's the first time I've ever given a tip this big, too."
Stating the obvious, I held Jinri's hand and stepped out of the elevator. The boy set the overwhelming amount of cash on the floor for a moment and began operating the panel to return to the first floor.
Just before the doors closed, the boy's small voice leaked through the gap in the elevator.
"Now I can finally quit this job…"
The doors shut completely, and the elevator descended again with its wave-like motor sound. Jinri and I exchanged wry smiles and proceeded deeper into the 1,987th floor.
What spread out before us was a vast factory.