In a parallel present, delivery man Ray Tincelli is struggling to support himself and his ailing younger brother. After a series of two-bit hustles and unsuccessful swindles, Ray takes a job in a strange new realm of the gig economy: trekking deep into the forest, pulling cable over miles of terrain to connect large, metal cubes that link together the new quantum trading market. As he gets pulled deeper into the zone, he encounters growing hostility and the threat of robot cablers, and must choose to either help his fellow workers or to get rich and get out.
Megumi Soutome is a contract employee in the editorial department at a publishing company. She is invited by her colleagues to join them for a drink get-together, but Megumi Soutome declines their offer. She leaves quickly after work. The reason why she is in such a rush, is so she can have a "solo katasu." She enjoys solo activities like eating alone at restaurants, having her own party, and staying at love motels.