That’s How They Became Villains

# 3. Minutes Before the Incident

“Welcome, I’m #24!”

10 minutes before the incident.

At a convenience store near Janggeum Station in Cheongang Special City a Vitaloid was greeting customers with a smiling face.

“Part-timer, what’s that? Get me that blue thing behind you.”

“What, this convenience store doesn’t even sell diapers? If you’re going to set up shop near a station, you should at least stock diapers, shouldn’t you?”

“Noona…I spilled ramen on the floor while eating…Could you clean it up…”

It hadn’t been long since public opinion advocating for the human rights of enhanced humans and Vitaloids began spreading on social media.

Therefore, it was still a time to wait for people’s perceptions to change.

“Yes…Is this the product you’re referring to…?”

“I’m, I’m sorry…Next time, I’ll consider stocking diapers for customer convenience…”

“Of course…Where did you spill it…?”

So the Vitaloid endured.

Though it could think just like humans and experience the same stress, it knew well what happened to Vitaloids who went against their Origins, so it endured and endured.

“No, not that one, the one below it. This is why metal scraps are…”

“Consider stocking? Well, I never have. It’s not like I’m talking to an automated response system…”

“Hey, why are you being so awkward talking to a robot? Are you stupid?”

But how far should this patience go?

Is there an end to it?

“I, I just wish the convenience store would go out of business for a day…”

Letting out a single complaint when unable to endure anymore should be considered human-like.

5 minutes before the incident a female customer visited at an odd hour.

“Welcome, I’m #24!”

It was close to dawn.

The sky was as pitch-black as ever, yet everyone still called it dawn – that ambiguous time.

‘Ugh, the smell of alcohol…’

The pungent smell of alcohol assaulting its olfactory sensors seemed to paint a picture of what the customer had been doing.

Most likely she had been drinking at some club, rubbing bodies with men.

Many decadent images learned through deep learning in the Vitaloid’s learning device came to mind.

However,

“…!!”

The Vitaloid erased all such thoughts from its mind as soon as it saw the customer’s face.

It was an expressionless face that somehow looked like it was smiling, a pure face.

Roundly curved eyebrows and slightly upturned corners of the mouth revealing infinite curiosity about the world.

Anyone could tell she was a woman who had just entered the prime of her youth without anyone explaining.

The customer’s presence was incredibly shocking to the Vitaloid.

That there was still someone in this city who could make such an expression.

It was a shock comparable to first love.

3 minutes before the incident.

The Vitaloid’s gaze continued to follow the customer’s every move.

Even if it tried to hide it, it couldn’t. How could each action of picking up and putting down items be so pure and sublime?

Now even the smell of alcohol coming from her body made the Vitaloid think, “Perhaps she wanted to learn about drinking but had no one to teach her, so she tried drinking alone at home.” That said it all.

How does this person smile? How can I make her smile?

The Vitaloid’s thought sensors were filled with such electrical signals.

1 minute before the incident.

With a crackling sound, all electronic devices in the convenience store went down.

‘What, what’s happening…?’

Though confused by the sudden anomaly, the Vitaloid didn’t take its eyes off the customer for a moment.

Perhaps that’s why the Vitaloid saw the customer, unfazed by the sudden power outage, gathering necessities like ramen and trying to leave.

To which the Vitaloid asked,

“What are you doing, customer…?”

Creeping, anxiety rises.

Could this be an enhanced human crime I’ve only seen on social media?

No, that can’t be. At least not with her.

Look at that. Eyes clouded with embarrassment.

As if she didn’t know I was here…

‘…….’

At that moment, the Vitaloid’s learning device, which had been blocked by some membrane, activated.

Enhanced humans.

So the Anti-Origins were originally humans who, in the process of replacing their bodies with machines, had their emotional electrical signals weakened.

Thus, they eventually became like children with a mental illness, fixated on a single goal or chasing primal stimuli.

…Children?

“What are you doing, I asked…?”

As if hiding its anxiety, the Vitaloid shouted.

Whether it was courage or recklessness, it did so even more as it crossed over to the counter.

At that, the smiling customer, who seemed to hesitate momentarily, raised the corners of her mouth even higher, as if she couldn’t contain her enjoyment of the situation.

“Heehee.”

She began to laugh.

“…….”

At that moment, the Vitaloid’s world changed.

The city’s dreary, dark landscape became colorful, the scent of flowers it had never smelled before tickled its olfactory sensors, and there seemed to be a halo behind the customer in question.

Ah, the halo was actually visible.

So this is the superpower of enhanced humans I’ve only heard about.

“Why are you laughing…?”

The Vitaloid, anxious that this might be the last time it would see her smile, asked.

“Customer…?”

“No reason, really.”

And finally, the Vitaloid got to hear a direct answer in her voice.

“Does laughter need a reason?”

Afterwards, the Vitaloid’s vision flickered.

When it regained consciousness, everything around had returned to normal.

The lights, refrigerator, CCTV, calculator – everything was normal, just like the usual convenience store.

If anything had changed, it was the single can of drink and note left on the counter.

‘Drink this and cheer up, unnie.’

It was a note written on what looked like a receipt. Upon checking the POS terminal hurriedly, sure enough, nothing had been paid for.

“Ha…haha…”

The Vitaloid’s heart raced.

Was this pounding due to fear, or something else?

“I didn’t…get to ask her name…”

The Vitaloid, A.G.O (Age-O), took deep breaths, looking forward to the day it would meet the mysterious customer again.

*

[You have committed an evil act!]

[Illegal jamming of electronic devices installed in public places, theft of daily necessities, and damage to private property]

[Evil points increased by 5.]

[Current evil points: 5/100,000]

“Wow, damn. That’s stingy as hell.”

I clicked my tongue looking at the window floating in the air.

Even though it was a small-scale evil act, I hacked public devices and only got this much…

By simple calculation, I would have to repeat this mischief 20,000 times to reach the target.

‘I’d probably end up in jail as Minos City’s greatest petty criminal before that happens.’

Indeed, the title of protagonist’s nemesis isn’t given for nothing. They have high standards.

I sat on a bench placed along the street, eating crushed raw ramen while lost in thought.

“Crunch, crunch…”

I used my ability for the first time, yet I could use it as naturally as if I had used it before.

Thinking about it, that made sense.

This might be my first time using this ability, but it wouldn’t be my body’s first time.

‘It doesn’t seem to have penalties like someone who reads the future and consumes their lifespan…’

Here, “someone” referred to the CEO of the Unhwa Group in the original work, who delivers a desperate future prediction to Last and dies uncomfortably.

‘In a high-tech city surrounded by electronic devices, electronic jamming is definitely an ability with merit.’

I should think carefully about when to use it.

“Crunch, crunch…”

Come to think of it, can telekinesis lift people too, not just inanimate objects?

As an experiment, I tried using telekinesis on myself to levitate.

-Whoom-

Then I felt a slight floating sensation as my body rose about 5cm into the air.

“Oh.”

This… is fun!

For a while, I played around adjusting the output of my telekinesis, enjoying the floating sensation of my body rising from the ground into the air.

*

Meanwhile, at the management office near Janggeum Station.

“What’s this?”

“Is it a short circuit? Suddenly all the electronic devices in that area went down?”

The managers who had been working overnight gathered around, pressing their faces to the screen, annoyed by the work that had arisen at the crack of dawn.

“Senior, take a look at this.”

“What is it?”

The man called senior was clearly irritated by the incident that occurred at quitting time, yawning lazily as he spoke.

“This is just a short circuit. That’s why I told you to call in technicians for regular maintenance.”

“But that area just had technicians visit recently?”

“Shut up. It’s almost morning, so let the next shift take over. I’m going home to sleep.”

The senior left his seat and the juniors who had been watching the screen, as if reluctant, followed their senior out of the management room.

Surely, it would be nothing, they thought.