Chapter. 23. Heir of Gedroits, Field (15)
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Crad!
‘Underground structure. Broken elevator. ‘Lead plate exposed where the concrete wall collapsed.’
“….This is the Cheonryuje nuclear bomb shelter. “The external contamination blocking function seems to be working properly.”
“I will take off the protective clothing.”
Although they have been invited, the opponent is ‘an unidentified group whose identity is unknown whether they are enemies or allies.’
So, Cheonryuje and I’s entry followed the military doctrine of a small number of people infiltrating, as had been done in Area 45 a long time ago.
There was no significant difference in the mode of infiltration as both HIV at that time and us today were both people with deep roots in the military. Quickly occupying the risky area within a predictable structure and rushing inside.
However, there is a very big difference from then –
“Replacement of the leader. It is a T-shaped passage. “I will rule out one side first.”
Crack, clap, clap!
One of the two was a human tank that could act as an airplane landing gear with its bare body, so it could do things like block the dangerous area with its body and take the lead.
Thump— thump—
“….ahead. To the front left of the open passage. 8 pyeong hall. “There is an entrance to the basement on the right.”
The other was that, as a beneficiary of an extrasensory program created by the greatest genius of this century, he possessed an insane reconnaissance ability close to human sonar.
If the three friends of the past could be viewed as three special forces from different fields coming together to infiltrate, then this infiltration of the Artists’ Union was at the level of two super soldiers created by a mad scientist carrying out an operation.
“clear.”
“Wait a moment. “Let’s just take care of this and let’s go.”
The only time I stopped during my almost sprinting alert was when I took something wrapped in tape out of my bag.
“It’s been coming out ever since. “How many are in that bag?”
“Besides these, twenty more? I heard it’s a product made by attaching leftover explosives like Semtex RDX to the Cremore base that holds the remote fuse? Ian was frustrated because he didn’t have much use for ‘old’ explosives these days. “He gave me a lot of things I used to make as a hobby at home.”
“…should I call it a productive hobby or a destructive hobby?”
A lump of gunpowder wrapped in silver-gray duct tape was, of course, an item that Metal Joe, a creature that breathes gunpowder smoke instead of oxygen, had in abundance.
“No one called and came out to meet us, and no one blocked entry. “If they don’t intend to be hostile over there, we can assume that they are gathered together and waiting, but if not, the only explanation is that they are planning to draw us in deeper.”
“hmm. “Is this to create an escape route in case of an emergency?”
“The fact that you invited me means that I have business to do. This means that it is a very suitable environment for those who are based over there and are familiar with the geography to take a detour and block our retreat route after infiltrating deeply. If they really planned to do something like this to me-”
As I pretended to press a switch with my hand, Chen Liu-je’s brow furrowed slightly
.
“I should go out the way I came.”
“Is it always like this?”
“maybe? mostly?”
“….not good.”
He doesn’t seem to like the sight of me planting a bomb under a chair in what appears to be a rest area. I’m probably thinking about a future where I accidentally explode or die.
“Installation complete. “Let’s keep going.”
“I hope I never have to use that.”
After taking a short breath, Cheon Ryu-je stood up and tapped the wall with the bar of the chainsaw that had been put down for a moment.
“Stairway type hallway open to the left and right.”
“Wow, it’s convenient. “I would really appreciate it if they would be on guard with guns instead of strange weapons.”
“I don’t prefer shooting. “I have severe tremor.”
“Oh my.”
Even if you come down quickly, it only lasts 10 minutes.
These large-scale military nuclear shelters are built at a certain altitude above sea level with a depth of at least 2 km. Since the distance is not 2km, but the depth is 2km, without an elevator, you have to run until you are out of breath to reach the depth. There was a long way to go.
The empty bomb shelter, neatly refurbished as if it were new, only greeted us with the eerie sound of footsteps.
****
How much further did it come down?
My guess is that there were about 3 mixed explosives left in the bag for more than 1.4km and they were being used sparingly.
“hmm.”
“It finally shows something that matches the monster lair I imagined.”
Just as the large-scale bunker in Area 45 had a large living area in the deepest part of the ground, the nuclear bomb shelter here would also have a large space in the deepest part. I was going down to the basement with the thought that the only place I could find was a large space that could accommodate monsters the size of a group or a collector surrounded by a huge amount of screens.
Rustle!
Suddenly, a space with a very different theme from before opened up starting from the stairs leading down to the next floor.
“…is it trash?”
“It’s not even trash. This sturdy vinyl is so useful that it is treated as scrap that can be sold in bundles. Look, this one also has a mark in the middle where it was tied with a string.”
I picked up one of the colorful pieces of trash that stopped the two of us and thrust it in front of Emperor Chen Liu’s eyes.
“Looking at it, it doesn’t seem like it was collected for that purpose.”
Silver-foiled plastic waste sparkles in the dim fluorescent light. On the outside, a banana-shaped character with arms and legs was smiling with a twisted face.
It was a bag of snacks. The kind I enjoyed eating as a child.
“It’s an object that brings back memories. “This is where the main point begins.”
“memory?”
“okay. That’s what they say. “The purpose of the Artists’ Union is to help mutant comrades who have potential but are about to wander and die in a certain moment of memory so that they can become Type 3.”
Of course, when you see that the old tiger Buru goes out in obedience to his personal desire of ‘wanting to die while experiencing overwhelming fear from the right opponent’, the ostensible goal is only to increase his kind, but like a type 3 variant with a psychopath base, he pursues it in his own way. It seems like there is something to be done.
Anyway, in reality, the organization’s goal is to ‘increase adaptors/type 3 variants.’ By collecting old things like that.
I can’t figure out what kind of structure such a formula comes from, even if I use all my imagination and my basic biological knowledge, but this is what the guy in the white suit who called himself an ‘adapter’ and was doing absurd things like moving through space said with his own mouth. It was.
Area 38. When I went on my first BDSM caravan to sell Dome’s transitional weapons. ‘W’, who appeared in the caravan accommodation like a ghost, looked at my left arm, which had already turned into a monster, and was making a very happy voice.
=========
‘We studied ourselves really passionately. What is type 3 variant? Why do some people become giant monsters and others remain in a human-like form? ‘Are we monsters or humans?’
‘I am what you call an adaptor, a Type 3 variant. He died during the Great War, was reborn, lived for 6 years, has faint but vague memories of my past, and sits before you with his own thoughts, will, and purpose. Am I human? Or is it a monster born from the whims of a virus?’
=========
A type 3 variant that takes human form, wears human clothes, speaks human language, and thinks about whether it is human. The shock I felt when I met W was something close to the mental fear you feel when encountering a being that is far outside of your common sense.
“That guy said that. After some research, the mutant virus randomly passes through the host’s memories at the moment of death like a stepping stone. From the 70th birthday party, the kindergarten talent show, the moment I enlisted as a private, back to middle school. “It goes back and forth like that and suddenly settles in a place where there is a huge mental defect, like a huge crack or trauma.”
“If you survive the mental load while going through the process to become like that – type 3 variant. “If not, they explained that it would just become a type 2 mutant, a walking corpse, and soon, when the body rots, it would become a type 1 mutant like a zombie.”
“….hmm.”
“I understand?”
“hmm. “I have never received any special education.”
Cheonryuje expressed with an expression that showed no shame whatsoever that he had no intention of accepting complex concepts beyond a certain level.
“Is there any reason to explain such meaningless knowledge?”
“All the miscellaneous things scattered down there were collected for that reason.”
Rustle!
I let go of the bag of snacks I was holding.
The flat bag of snacks swayed back and forth and disappeared down the dark stairs. When we shined a flashlight into an area that had no lighting, unlike underground facilities up until now, all kinds of plastic wrapping paper spread out along the road like a red carpet reflected colored light, dyeing the dark passageway in five colors, and the wide air-raid shelter passageway was filled with rain. It reflected the objects that filled the narrow wall.
“W That guy said that. Although he had no one to protect with his life or a goal to achieve at the risk of death, he succeeded in becoming an adaptor. What is important is the strong omission in the subject’s memory and the ‘reference points’ of memory necessary to trace back to that point. “He said he assigns ‘value’ to things that stimulate memories in that way.”
The snack bags with all kinds of languages written on them, including Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and Korean, were collections to remind people from different hometowns of their childhood memories of eating snacks. The hallways were full of toys, including old bicycles made of iron, buildings made of Lego, game consoles, and figures that were ridiculously expensive for toys. The things lined up endlessly in the dark hallway under the stairs were small objects that evoked nostalgia for the pre-war era.
=========
‘Today was fun. It was really worth your time.’
=========
After saying all he had to say, the guy got up and spoke in a friendly voice, as if I were already one of their compatriots.
=========
‘Oh, I forgot to tell you this. Once the mutant virus has started blooming, it will continue to move against your memory to establish itself. If you feel that dangerous times have arrived, please contact me using the ID on the business card I gave you. ‘You are a worthy person to end your life in vain as a type 2 variant.’
=========
“W….he was a bad boy.”
Wow.
It seemed like the feeling of holding that guy’s hand still remained in my left hand.
He has become even more of a mutant than before, and has gone beyond contacting them and entered their household on his own. If you look at the current situation, wouldn’t it be that the result was that he did what he wanted?
“Anyway, all the old objects you will see from here on out are not just collections, but a kind of core production line that plays a very important role in the goals of the group called ‘Artists Union’. You could say something like that. These are things that they consider very precious-”
Swoosh-
Slap!
“If anything, ‘With just this one button, those damn [artworks] you guys have been dying to collect will be reborn as true modern art! If you don’t want everything to be reduced to ashes, go away!’ “It means you can do the same thing.”
“…is it a bomb again?”
“yes. “I felt this way after using the human landing gear earlier, and I really thought that if I overused the power of my mutated body, I would be in big trouble.” Lighting
up the
dark hallway with a flashlight, he entered the path of miscellaneous items, then dug out the part where the items were most thickly piled up with his hands and planted explosives inside.
Even though I moved around a lot so far, I wasn’t tired at all. That was scarier.
‘As a human being. In the case of the dumpling guy, he said he couldn’t help it because he didn’t know about my physical condition, but from now on, he will only move within human boundaries. Only at the level of the human Professor Park.’
‘When it’s really necessary, you should use your hands properly. In that way, I have to use my remaining [human part] in a planned way. So that I can deal with those who will become obstacles to my peaceful future with optimal efficiency and without running out of hands at the moment of need…’
Clutter –
In an instant, the sound of an empty can pierced through my thoughts. It was an item that fell from the area dug to plant a bomb.
“…Canned beans?”
Actually, it is something that could happen. If there is a collection of miscellaneous items that can stimulate memories, military supplies should not be left out, as most of the survivors have experience of war. In particular, items related to meals, which are a rare opportunity for soldiers to rest, are especially special, so of course the ratio will be high.
“Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this.”
Canned beans. When I opened the lid just past the expiration date, a sour smell was everywhere, and when I put it in my mouth, it felt like the sour smell was seeping from the root of my tongue to under my eyes. However, it was a supply from the days of the 14th Special Operations Forces that was provided to us by our allies.
“…I’m going to turn.”
The moment I saw that, I couldn’t help but laugh. It’s not that it wasn’t, it was that the way I was just thinking seemed very similar to the way I thought as a supply soldier back then.
‘I calculated the rest of my life. Just like the time when we had to worry about how to distribute insufficient supplies to maintain combat power for a longer period of time.’
The fear of death was so naturally excluded. Because I exhausted my mind too much during my April World days? Have you already experienced death once in Area 38? Because I have memories of death not just once, but multiple times, including Hyde’s experience, in my head?
‘It’s not normal.’
There were too many changes in a short period of time and not enough time to accept them.
‘An angular good man. ‘The perfect person they so desperately wanted after being ruined by being too biased toward the altruistic side.’
That was the evaluation I received. I am the human image that was broken in that way after being hit and hit by various incidents. So, they are the perfecters they have been waiting for, who will become good and dedicated pioneers who cannot go astray.
‘Then what about my happiness? What am I hoping for? ‘For what?’
What am I after? No, did I even have a subject called ‘me’ in the first place?
‘Hyde.’
In the sudden panic that came upon me, my mind led my thoughts along a path that had long been familiar to me.
Although it was still empty. Just as the shapes of objects linger even when I close my eyes, his empty space remained within me in the form of ‘Hyde’s empty space.’
‘Tell me, Hyde.’
The unanswered questions echoed through the empty space and converged to one point. What am I? Do I really think of myself as something to be consumed by others? Has Professor Park’s life already worn out and disappeared somewhere? The mushy thoughts were leaking out like brain fluid and slowly flowing towards somewhere.
‘…I guess it’s because there’s no one to manage it.’
It was tilted. This is the bookshelf of memories he has accumulated. For some reason, unlike what I saw before, they are tightly packed together and seem to be slowly tilting toward the center, as if they are being sucked in…
Ah?
‘….memory? Converge to one point?’
.
.
.
.
Wow!
-The process of becoming a type 3 variant!!!
The moment the end of my thoughts touched the words ‘type 3 variant’, something in my mind that had been gray and white suddenly dissipated and I was able to think clearly.
‘What what? What am I? ‘Where is what I want?’
I don’t know if this is some kind of piece of trash that crawled out of someone’s head! First of all, I’m not the type of person who thinks stupid things like that!
‘Something hit me. When I came in, I was talking back and forth about the purpose of this space, but I almost used it for that purpose and ascended to heaven in one go!’
As if it had been dipped in water and then drained, my brain came back to its senses and quickly picked up memories of the past. In the defensive position built by the Dom to deal with the Happy Blinds and mutants in Area 38, a strange situation occurred where soldiers suddenly fought over nothing and even killed each other!
‘A stake with feet! Strange smoke that couldn’t be stopped even with a gas mask! Among the artists’ union adaptors there, there was definitely someone who did something like that!’
And the moment when I suddenly thought about the cause of my strange thoughts like ‘Professor Park in the final stages of depression.’
“Kuheuuuk!”
Just as a drowned person barely breathes fresh air, I raise my head and breathe in the breath I was able to receive after finally escaping from the prison in my head.
“hmm. “It was really nice to see him focused, but it’s a shame.”
“…You bastard…!”
White gloves passed before my eyes, and the sleeves of an equally white suit caught my eye.
“Don’t misunderstand. As the curator of this museum, I am delighted to see you enjoying the exhibits so deeply.”
Adapter responsible for most of the external activities of the W Artists Association.
The white gloves were taking away the explosives I had just placed.
His arms were filled with all the explosives I had set up on the way down.
“It is a great honor for you to come visit me in person, but I will decline to give you these toys. “Vibration, smoke, and heat all have a fatal effect on sensitive exhibits.”
“Anyway, it’s a strange thing. I’m sure Cheonryuje is several times ahead of you in terms of mental perfection. “While he is still wandering through his memories, you have come back to the surface.”
“…!”
‘Cheonryuje!’
When I turned my head to the point where I thought my neck might be broken, I saw Cheonryuje frozen as still as a statue a few steps away.
I am breathing. The difference from before I became dazed was that instead of the laser-bladed chainsaw I always used lying on the floor, I was pulling out the old sword I had been wearing as an ornament.
“Cheonryuje, you-!”
“Oh, you shouldn’t approach me now. “If you get cut by something like that, you will never see any good results.”
“…cut?”
When I asked, W nodded slightly and threw the can that had fallen on the floor towards Cheonryuje.
Whisper –
A can of bean cans slowly crossed in front of Cheonryuje and landed on the other side without any incident.
Tang!
Tangrang!
But there were two falling sounds.
“Ha ha ha ha ha. Isn’t this scene ‘worth’ just to see? Although they are not as good as Professor Park, they are people I really wanted to meet, and I cannot thank you enough for bringing them along on their way here. “The collector’s choice was right again this time.”
“What is that…”
W was laughing, but I wasn’t in the mood.
Unlike Cheonryuje, who seemed to be sleeping quietly with his eyes closed, the old long sword in his hand was.
Between the rusty metal, thin blood vessels were becoming more and more clear, and they were connected to the waist of the Emperor Cheonryu, who was hanging there, with living blood vessels.
“I’m sure you told me. “They are not as good as you, but they are people I wanted to serve.”
“If it is….”
I remembered the story of Cheon Ryu-je that I heard on the plane on the way home. An old sword that is essentially a culmination of his past. The sword that was forged in the fire where the friend he admired, who had shown him, as he was dying in a drug den, that humans could become so great, died and his body was cremated.
‘….There was some experiment. Seoho directly participated in the experiment and I was bitten by the test subject.’
In the conversation we had during the flight, he said this as a hypothesis about his unusual physical abilities.
‘When I think about it now, the people who went crazy after being experimented on looked like type 2 mutants that had just died.’
‘Professor Park, it’s different from yours, but I might also be a half-mutant.’
If Cheonryuje is like that, then what about his dead friend who directly participated in the experiment?
His friend had a spirit so brilliant that he regarded it as an eternal ideal.
“The body of our adaptor follows the form of the mind, but the form follows the material that was around at the time of death. Even we can’t violate the laws of physics, right? “It’s the same way Abomination gathers nearby corpses to form a body.”
W spoke in a brighter voice and pointed to the sword in Emperor Chen Liu’s hand with his white gloves.
“I really wanted to meet Mr. Cheon Ryu-je and the adaptor ‘Han Seo-ho.’ “This is how I get to meet you.”
Han Seo-ho, the person at the center of Cheon Ryu-je’s mental breakdown.
W called the old sword brimming with veins by his name.
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