44. The Extravagance War
We boarded the Apache and exchanged farewell greetings with the arms that had carefully crafted it by hand.
Breaking through the glass of the factory's exhaust port, the Apache carrying Jinri and me took off toward the world.
From the height of the 1,987th floor, the surroundings of the power plant were breathtakingly pure and beautiful.
Looking back, thousands of arms were waving at us.
Leaving the power plant, we began crossing the electric sea, vaster than the Pacific.
"Hey, you two,"
the Apache called out.
"Aren't you a bit too heavy?"
Those words finally reminded me.
"Oh, right! We came to the power plant to squander our money!"
"Come to think of it, yeah,"
Jinri agreed. I immediately started worrying.
"We planned to spend money at the power plant, but in the end, we did nothing related to that."
"Then,"
the Apache suggested. "How about scattering all the money you have now into the electric sea below?"
"That's a great idea!"
I agreed.
From my pocket, I took out a compressed invisible inventory—like a backpack—and tried releasing just 0.000% of my total wealth. Even that filled the spacious helicopter cabin with banknotes, suffocatingly so.
And then, the money-scattering began.
Jinri and I didn't need to bother throwing the bills by hand; colorful banknotes leaped out of the backpack one after another, dancing in the air like a swarm of butterflies, cherry blossom petals, or gold leaf powder, raining down into the electric sea on their own.
The sight was gorgeous, like a celebratory festival, cleansing the depths of our chests.
As we gazed at it in a daze, almost possessed, fish living in the electric sea with scales gleaming from golden ink leaped like flying fish from the sparkling water surface, starting a grand carnival to catch the parade of banknotes pouring from the helicopter.
The electric sea was enveloped in uproar.
The mayor of Tropical Night City announced over the Apache's radio: "The grandest carnival in the city is currently being held in the electric sea in front of the power plant." Then, humanoid robots from all over the city mobilized self-driving cars, drones, personal aircraft, helicopters, and even UFOs, gathering to create a festival grander than the sum of all famous festivals worldwide squared.
"Amazing…"
I muttered in astonishment. Jinri seemed to feel the same, widening her eyes and saying,
"It's almost scarily amazing. Is this okay?"
"I don't know,"
I shook my head. "Probably not."
No sooner had I said that than our excessive elation swelled, tinged with worry, and in response, a blaring siren began to sound.
Looking back, a police flying fleet—no, a massive formation led by an aircraft carrier—was approaching.
The carrier was like a floating island, with five enormous ships launching countless drones and fighters—what could be called Z-planes—in formations too numerous to count with the naked eye, chasing us.
"That Apache! Stop!"
The voice was that of the girl police officer who had previously pursued Jinri's taxi. This time, instead of patrol cars or drones, she led an overwhelming aerial carrier, approaching with a lineup akin to a space war.
"No way."
I couldn't help but laugh.
Overcoming despair, I felt as if I had reached a state of enlightenment.
"Apache-chan!"
Jinri called out clearly.
While I stood dumbfounded, Jinri remained calm, fully demonstrating her CPU's high performance.
"Speed up more! Can you shake off the pursuers? Escape to the border?"
"Hmm. How far do I need to go?"
the Apache responded.
"To the border!"
"The border, huh… It's not that far."
There was no trace of tension or fear in the Apache's voice; it calmly calculated the difference in forces and speed with the pursuers, like tapping on a calculator, and derived the answer.
"Shaking them off is difficult, but we can just barely reach the border without being caught. However—"
"However?"
Jinri asked uneasily.
"If one of you gets off here."
The moment I heard those words, my dazed CPU suddenly sprang into action, and reason returned.
I immediately flung open the helicopter door with force.
Then, Jinri hugged me from behind, stopping me from jumping out.
"Yura-kun, no!"
"There's no choice."
I told her in a tone surprisingly calm, cooler than ever.
Once more, I repeated.
"Jinri, you wanted to leave this city, right? If your wish comes true, I don't matter."
"I never wanted to leave the city that badly!"
Jinri shouted. "I just said I wanted to be with you because you have to leave. Whether we leave the city or not doesn't matter. I just want to be with you!"
"But,"
I continued calmly. "Think carefully. Jinri, you're being chased by the police. That's why we tried to leave the city, right? Don't forget that original goal. If we don't leave, you'll be caught. If caught, it's all for nothing. So, first, Jinri, you leave the city—"
"Then what happens to you!"
Jinri cried out in anguish.
Looking down at the electric sea, I derived the answer.
In an instant, a dazzling light flashed in my CPU.
It was a bulb larger than the Electric Kraken we had defeated, a vivid inspiration denser than golden ink.
I said with conviction.
"I'll catch up later."
"How!"
Jinri shouted.
"It'll work out somehow."
"So how!"
Jinri clung to me like a spoiled child, refusing to let go. For a moment, I considered forcing her arms off, but grappling in this unstable helicopter risked both of us crashing.
Changing my mind, I gently placed my hand over the back of hers and whispered.
"Jinri. Thank you for existing."
"…"
You might think, why say that in this situation?
But for some reason, I had a sweet premonition that Jinri would stay silent at these words.
Perhaps the intuition honed at the underground casino at the station kicked in; as expected, Jinri said nothing, only tightening her embrace further. It was a strong hug as if she wanted to suffocate me, but eventually, she loosened her arms and quietly let go.
Without looking back, I could sense liquid welling in her eyes. So, I deliberately didn't turn around and endured the silence for a while.
Suddenly remembering the backpack holding a near-infinite amount of money, I modified it into a machine gun and fired wildly at the pursuing aircraft.
Banknotes burst and exploded, causing countless aircraft to crash.
The scene was like angels blinded by greed sinking into the deep electric sea with the money. They weren't shot down; they crashed, succumbing to the temptation of the bills.
I kept firing repeatedly until my hands went numb.
Spending 99% of my remaining lifespan, I finally exhausted the near-infinite money.
Through this extravagance war over the electric sea, I achieved the alchemy of turning the infinite into the finite.
It would be etched forever in the history of wars.
It was the flashiest extravagance in the world.
Yet, two carriers still pursued. Even after expending all wealth and performing a godlike feat defying physical laws, the main force of Tropical Night City's police was overwhelmingly powerful.
I immediately stood before the open helicopter door without a parachute.
"Then, let's meet at the border."
Leaving those words softly, I leaped vigorously into the electric sea.