Chapter. 17. Preparation for travel (13)
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Tiririk- Tiririk-
Click.
“Unless there’s a terrible accident this morning, you’ll be the only one using the emergency line. “Isn’t that right?”
“Uh… good morning-”
“Don’t say the same thing. From the sound of sirens to the sound of shells exploding, even vibrations echoing throughout the dome. If there is someone with enough nerve to be able to sleep last night, I would want to hire them. Can you explain what happened? Other than what Ezel briefly explained yesterday, from start to completion of the work. “Everything I know.”
“Well then, we have to start with the aftermath of the Area 38 incident…”
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Click.
A sigh over the communicator. The sound of ice clattering and the nervous turning of paper.
First, an evacuation order was issued for the largest offline market inside the dome, and as gunshots and loud noises rang out all night long and the ground shook as if there had been an earthquake, the first person to contact was the president.
Local variant symptoms were rare, but quite a few patients were kidnapped, sold, and told everything they saw inside.
“okay. “That’s right.”
The president listened to everything without saying a word except for the occasional clearing of his throat, pondered for a long time, and then spoke.
“Transition is inevitable in a rapidly changing society. “Although this incident is not that common.”
“But it’s a Dom, right? This is a group that seeks to restore the order of the past, and we need to stop crazy people like this serial killer who would run away with both feet. It’s not anywhere else, it’s the front yard of the dome. Zeus Belly.”
“…I understand. First of all, I agree that it was necessary. “I also understood that the people there did the work that Dom had to do.”
“Oh then-”
“I have no thoughts, so please go back.”
“…You haven’t even said anything yet?”
“We both know what to say next, so what difference does it make if we say it or not?”
“Are you really not going to help me even a penny?”
“I know the answer, so there’s no need to say it.”
Damn it.
I tried to gently coax him into compensating for the damage, but he hit me before I could even say anything.
No, how can you say you understand everything and then tell me to use poison? I didn’t just solve other people’s problems, I caught all the rats in their master bedroom!
“President, do you have no conscience?”
“Of course, if we had left it as is, it would have grown into a quite serious problem for the security of the Dome, so it is true that we received your help.”
“That’s right!”
“Morally, it is right for us to bear some of the burden.”
“yes!”
“But where do things in the world return to Tao (道) and righteousness (義)?”
“So- ah?”
President Young was going along smoothly, then took a sharp turn and suddenly lowered his voice in a serious tone.
“Let’s just list the facts that have been revealed. We never commissioned such a task, the scale of damage far exceeded what we had anticipated, and we never cooperated in the process. From a legal perspective, this means that the ‘Let-Human Clearance Operation’ was entirely an event of an individual military group called BDSM. Do you understand?”
“No, but it’s a human matter-”
“If the police missed the criminal, but a passerby tripped him and caught him. Can a passerby demand compensation from the police?”
“No, I mean”
“Can I ask for a reduction in the price of the meat just because I cut it myself at a restaurant that slices the meat for service?”
“That-”
“It is clear that your voluntary kindness and good personal security activities helped run the Dome, but we are not obligated to compensate for it. “Maybe they should have sent at least a temporary report before the decision was made.”
“….hey!”
I’m pushed. Damn it.
Look at the timing when I hit him! I am pushed out of Malppal! Even while talking about whether or not this person has features such as alcohol overclocking, I can still hear the sound of him slurping and drinking. Why is he so cool?
“Are you really going to come out like that! “We don’t even know each other!”
We are Nami!
“I’m sorry, but Dom can’t afford such unexpected expenses right now. Let’s just say that there was no case of undeclared military action in the area. “I’ll take care of the rest of the financial aspects.”
“President!”
“Oh, and as for the conscience, I sold it for quite a lot a few years ago. “I was wondering if you were curious.”
“I’m the president!!!”
“Oh, one more thing. Please repay the 1 million Kat borrowed to the designated account as soon as possible. You won’t be charged any interest. As much as it is ‘between us’.”
Pop.
Tou- Tou- Tou-
“Hello, hello?”
I hung up.
In the end, he clung to his acceptance in an ugly way, but all that came back was the miserable cries of the communicator.
“Heuhuhuh…”
As I was looking in vain at the gradually brightening Zeus Valley, my friends who were grinning next to me approached me with a chuckle.
“what?”
“….the teeth won’t even go in. “It’s like a fucking alcohol-fueled mechanical human.”
“Kya! That’s why I like that person! mind! You must clearly distinguish between public life and public life! When you’re the head of a group, isn’t it natural to be cold-hearted sometimes, even every day? Even though the dome has no obligation to compensate for this incident!”
“Tell them to make omakase with flea liver, or flea liver. “Fuck you.”
“Hehehe. You are Sisyphus, not a flea. “Don’t you have enough money?”
“…How does it make money?”
Before contacting the president, I contacted Corduro in a panic because of the dizzying amount of paper with zeros on it.
[Yes – the perfect companion for your life – Professor Park’s Housing AI Corduroy ~ Since the owner is away right now -] [
It’s me, dude.]
[….Huh?]
Too.
ddu.
ddu.
[Yes~ The voice was confirmed~ It was also confirmed that it was an unregistered sender~~~ Dude!!! What kind of stupid AI these days would fall for voice phishing that copies voice fingerprints! yes! I know there was one or two like you! uh! My master has made some money, so the whole neighborhood is trying to figure out how to make a living. It’s so annoying! uh! You just wait there! I’ll track the source right now! I’ll spread it all over the community!]
[Hey.]
[It’s a communication that isn’t even registered in the community! These days, scammers don’t even have the sincerity to make a living -]
[A revolver that was just at home. I have no use for the seven sheaths on the bullet, so should I use it for you? Are you out of your mind?]
[Master?]
[It’s been a while, dude. It looks like the house is being guarded well.]
[Owner niiiiiiiim!!!!!]
This guy was crying loudly in a high tone with a unique electronic sound, as if he had been bothered by something.
[Oh my gosh, I heard the news that the owner came out of the community! In the past few months, all the contacts I received have been scammers, hackers, and this reckless guy, and I’ve learned a lot of suspicion!]
[That’s it. Please tell me how much balance I have in my account.]
[Money! Money! I have to call you! Every time I look at my master’s account, all my worries disappear! The speed at which money grows is so fast that it eats up memory! Did you know that there is a feature in your account that automatically reduces the font size if the numbers are too long? There must be a few AI people in the world who have seen this in person, right?]
At the amount of money he called me while making such a fuss, my hand, which had been shaking like an aspen tree, stopped as if it were a lie.
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[master. master? It’s not broken, right?]
It was a shame that it didn’t have a receiver since it was a communication device built into the body. In this situation, the perfect reaction would be to drop the receiver with a shocked face.
rich.
I’m rich.
There is no longer an individual survivor who raised his voice by saying that this scrap metal is raw iron mixed with copper! I am now so rich that my eyes pop!!!!
I compared the simple bill in my hand with the amount called by Corduro. Let’s see. This is roughly….
“How much is left after paying?”
“Uh… if you calculate that the ground has subsided and the Zeus Valley wall has become dangerous, and the amount of damage is skyrocketing in real time…” “
What if?”
“…I guess I can pay it in a lump sum?”
It was like that. The receipt that made Professor Park, a real man who could blow up a person’s head with his bare hands and have a cup of coffee in the midst of a mountain of blood, tremble, was an item that did not even need installments.
“Yeah dude. This means that the person named Professor Park is no longer an individual survivor of the past. The number of BDSM members exceeded 350. What this means is that we are a group that continues operations in dangerous areas without rest. Do you know how much we spend per day? You are the leader of that group. This means that I am not a petty citizen who can say that eggs are on sale today or something like that. President Young, that person knows how rich you are, so he just passed it on to you. If repaying that had turned Dom’s hero into a beggar, would he have asked you to repay him? Now, throw away that beggar mentality inside you. “It will change when you see hundreds of billions of dollars being taken out of your account.”
“What if I can’t adapt?”
Having a lot of money means a lot, and even though I didn’t intend to, it hurts to see all the money I worked so hard to earn disappear all at once.
In any case, the somewhat shocking money problem had been resolved to the point of generously distributing bonuses to the crew, so it was now time to think about the next step.
“What about the patients?”
“I was told not to send him to the dome, so I brought him to our headquarters. “Is the rat head still in the dome?”
“It’s just a guess, but for now.”
As I looked down at the scene where stone dust was still flying, I thought about the information I had gathered down there.
“Unlike a black market, it has well-equipped, state-of-the-art facilities. “This isn’t something that can be done just by having money.”
All of the technologies and materials used to make experimental medical equipment are not common and leave traces.
One tail.
“Jocas said that. Those mutant by-products may not know how to hunt, but the processors are only real experts. When I looked inside, there were more than one guy who looked like a craftsman. It can be said that two or three people were raised directly, but it is difficult to say that underground criminals mass-produced specialized personnel in a more systematic manner than Yangji in such a small space. “Maybe if I find a byproduct processing expert who has suddenly lost contact with me, I can follow up.”
Since it was a rat’s den that was no different from a maze, there were probably some people who managed to survive even if the ground collapsed and Zeus Valley was surrounded. If an evacuation route has been opened all the way outside of Zeus Valley, it is at a level where even the inspection department cannot find it even if they rush out.
Processing experts, who are irreplaceable human resources, would have been the first priority for rescue during evacuation, and some of those seen underground would have inevitably escaped alive.
Whether it’s solving the inspection department or buying someone with money, if you find that guy and find out who he contacted and how he got into this, you’ll have one more problem.
“Use of captured, mutating humans. It is said that the mutated parts are processed and sold like normal mutants, and even though the remaining human parts are not changed, the mutant’s unique feature of ‘no rejection during transplantation’ is that the heart, liver, lungs, and all other organs are harvested and sold. “She said that if there were a universal transplant organ suitable for anyone, the difficulty of organ transplant would be drastically reduced to the level of simple surgery, so this would sell a lot.”
Organ transplantation is a medical innovation that replaces human organs like a robot with almost no aftereffects. If there are people selling, there are also people buying. A person who would pay a lot of money to have his organs replaced. Since he had a lot of money, he would have tried to use that money to treat him somehow before he reached the end of the rat den, and of course, traces of such medical practices would have remained.
Find those guys, hang them in the basement of the inspection department, and ask, ‘Do you want to gut them and retrieve the stolen goods, or just call them?’ If you ask the same question, you will get three rat tails.
“The last thing I saw was a half-made firearm I saw in the basement. No matter how state-of-the-art facilities the rat den has, metal casting facilities are difficult. Because it is impossible to take care of all the heat and gas that comes out of it. There must be a company that supplied the parts needed to make firearms. “From gunsmiths to used firearms dealers, if you look for a company that has dusted off the goods and supplied them, you will find four rat tails.”
Although the information was gathered in a hurry, the quality of the information was good as I checked it as an insider, even if only for a short time.
“If you keep checking and pulling each rat’s tail like this, you will eventually find it. “Who sought out and operated a criminal group of this scale, and to what extent were they involved?”
“Okay then! “But why is your expression like that?”
“….I’m just saying that we can find it. In the process, the entire dome will have to be stuffed like a honeycomb.”
Four large rat tails each. If you pull it, it will inevitably become visible no matter how much you hide it, and the rat head, who is probably contemplating whether to stay here and raise the game again or fold everything and leave the dome, will immediately leave the dome if there is a commotion.
“This kind of follow-up investigation is bound to take time. The rat’s den was buried, and even if you cut it into pieces from the tail to the body, you couldn’t catch the head. “This operation was a failure.”
Strictly speaking, the main human hunting group was evicted from the dome, so the request itself can be considered a success.
Still, since I couldn’t catch the guy who created the Saw-like ‘human trauma mass production facility’, I wondered if I would have to grind my teeth before going to bed for the next month.
“What can I do? A person cannot live only with perfect success every time. If an operation is always successful, would you call it an operation? “It’s just work or work.”
“….I don’t know! Now let’s do some cleaning up and go have some fun! “I’m done!”
No matter how hard I tried, there was nothing I could do from here on out.
So my job ends here.
What I thought would take a long time ended so awkwardly that I had to return 6 days of vacation that I had already given up on. At this level, should I call it a good thing or a good thing?
“Aftercare… Even after this incident is over, it will be difficult for patients with local mutations to live a normal life, right?”
“I guess. No survivor wants to have someone next door who might turn into a monster at any moment. “The wasteland people are very strict when it comes to safety.”
“That he…. underground criminal…. cockroach….”
“Hmm? Oh, that’s right too. The fact that people with this rare condition are making money will eventually spread in secret somehow. “It won’t be long before a second or third human hunter emerges.”
Change in people’s perception. And they say we need a little more practical protection…
As I was opening the car door after being told to think about it on my way to the headquarters, something suddenly occurred to me when I saw the Vex guy.
“Hey Bex.”
“uh….?”
“Do you have Rabbit’s personal contact information? “I said we were still seeing each other.”
“Uh… right… right?”
“Please connect me to the phone just once. “I was already involved in a lot of things, so I thought I’d take a look, but since I’ve done this, I’ll deal with it all at once.”
“It’s difficult for me… It’s not difficult… I don’t listen well to what other people say… Ravika is closed…”
“It’s okay. “There is a magic spell that you can definitely encounter at least once.”
“Magic… spell?”
“Puh-ha-! Professor Park can call a woman out unconditionally? “The mutant passing by will do a tap dance.”
Ian, who was behind the wheel, laughed and Bex looked at him with suspicion, but the communication was connected.
I was really confident this time.
Click-
“Yes! This is Rabbit Princess’ personal and secret contact information! Vex-! No way, make all the calls first! Yes, I said it every day, but if you stutter, don’t just use sign language all the time, you need to talk at least a little and get into the habit of getting better-”
As soon as the communication connection was established, a bright voice came out like a rapid-fire gun.
“Uh huh… No, I’m trying… No. No, it’s true that I want to meet you now, but that’s not it…”
Bex, who seemed to be quite comfortable with the person, spoke a little in her own way, but then handed the phone over to me as if asking for a favor.
“I’m a little busy right now, but if I split my time, I think I’ll be able to come out for about an hour-”
“Oh, it’ll take another hour, so it’s better to cancel your schedule instead of splitting it up.”
….There was silence for about a second.
“oh. Are you Professor Park? Long time no see?”
“yes. “I was a little worried, but it’s good to see that you and Bex seem to be getting along better than I thought.”
“I was worried too, but it was more of a preference than I expected. “Is that why you called to ask about your dating history?”
“It’s not like that. “I think it’s time to have a proper talk.”
“Huh~ If you’re talking about it, what kind of story is it?”
I feel like I’m just pretending not to know and moving around here.
I might hang out, but this is someone whose vacation is flying by the second.
“What did Professor Park receive as a reward for clearing World 3?”
“oh.”
“Let’s take a look at the candidates who completed it. “I have something to say other than that.”
“…The bait is too good to just pass up. great. “If you meet just one condition, I will drop the rest of today’s schedule.”
“What if it’s a condition?”
“Bex, he will drive a stylish and clean car by himself and pick me up, not the truck or buggy he always drives. Oh, please wear a suit too. “I don’t like uncomfortable clothes, so it’s hard to force myself to wear them, so I hope I can see you one more time.”
“That’s about it. “We’ll put you on a white horse and decorate you with a million roses.”
“Wow, that’s cool. See you later then~”
Tiririk-
side! Communication was cut off from the other side with a sound.
“…Vex. I’ve met a lot of women over the past 40 years, but she’s not an ordinary woman. “You will be captured for the rest of your life.”
“It feels like a storm has passed.”
“Heh… hehe…”
We talked on the phone for a while and it was a conversation that clearly revealed what type of person he was.
Anyway, I said I would come. If Rabbit cooperates, most of the remaining work will be completed easily.
“If I finish this, I will really rest. Hey, do you know where we can go to have fun?”
“You and Dana? Or all together.”
“….Together?”
“What a eunuch. “Hey, there’s a nice place right now, so let’s just go after work today and come back.”
“Thank you, thank you. I’m going to get some sleep. “Wake me up when we arrive.”
As I said that and leaned back against the backrest, the fatigue from staying up all night hit me all at once.
‘Complete candidate. 6 days of vacation remaining. It’s a happy memory….’
These are all things that happen in real life, but if you look closely, they are intertwined with games.
I felt once again how deeply that man had intervened in my life, and I surrendered myself to the rushing water.
In my sleep, I could hear Bex and Ian arguing about the roses and the house with the horses.
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