Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Four floors underground.

The lab director’s office was, unusually, next door to the archive room where documents were stacked. Kim entered the room alone and confronted Kushan.

“This is the first time we’ve met in person.”

A man with long hair tied back. His businesslike voice gives the impression of coldness to the listener. It was a familiar sight to Kim.

“I’ve heard all sorts of things about you through my agents. I’m almost familiar with you now, but I still need to introduce myself.”

Kushan holds out his right hand.

“This is Kushan, the director of the Cellbrox Lab. Oh, is this information you already know?”

It’s been pretty spicy from the start. I don’t know if I should say it’s still the same. Kim Yi Hyun clasped his hands together nervously.

“I’m Yi Hyun Kim from Dustborn Corporation.”

“Have you decided to stop being a bum?”

“Sure.”

She shrugged and accepted it nonchalantly. After a moment of silence, Kushan released his grip, gesturing for Kim to sit down.

Kim sat down on the couch without asking, his eyes darting around the room. It looked like he was spying on her.

“Prudent.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry, there are no traps. Weapons are out of sight, out of mind, of course.”

“Uh, I wasn’t really worried about that?”

Kim shook his head and said.

“I just thought I could see your personality.”

“Personality?”

“It doesn’t look like you have an assistant, but it’s well organized beyond the obvious, like, hey, there’s a shelf of books separated by title.”

On your desk, it’s even more noticeable. Dust-free and clean. Stacks of papers at the right angle. All the stationery neatly laid out.

“I guess you’re a bit of a stoner, huh?”

“I hear about …… being a disaster.”

“Aha. Well, that’s nice and pleasant.”

Kushan didn’t react much, as he casually changed the subject.

“Well, I guess I should return the favor, and thank you for extending the invitation this time.”

“Well, I’m glad you called. I didn’t have a boring ride home.”

“Did Leila give you a good tour? I hope you liked the lab.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t really feel like a lab. It’s more of a complex plant.”

“……has gone through a lot of changes.”

Kushan snorted softly, scenes from the past flashed through his mind like a flashlight.

Originally, Cellbromics Lab was not this big. Even though it was a leading research center in Korea, it was limited to the form of a ‘research center’.

Not now. They’ve gone far outside the box and are dabbling in a variety of things. To outsiders, it was puzzling.

“It was necessary, and if you saw the ground, you’d understand.”

“Normally we would have moved the facility earlier.”

There’s no reason to stubbornly live in an exile. You’ll have a better life if you move.

“Before.”

Kushan didn’t even snort at Kim’s point.

“Shalem was wiped out arbitrarily. While we were going about our business as usual in our sphere of life, the people became refugees.”

It was second nature to him. When Kushan was asked similar questions by outsiders, he would always give the same answer.

“For 20 years, there have been attempts to rebuild Shalem time and time again, and we’ve been there, and we’ve played a role. It’s been a lot of inconvenience, but it’s also a lot of comfort.”

His demeanor was nonchalant. He spoke as if explaining a simple proposition.

“The thing about having more on your plate is that it frees you up. We have a duty. It’s a responsibility that, once you’ve figured it out, you can’t let go of.”

Blue eyes stared back at Kim.

“I’m grateful for you, Kim.”

“I have a lot to be thankful for.”

“I can’t thank you enough, for if it weren’t for you, Ghost would have died in Tulavia. Kilikia would have fallen into the hands of the Legion, and then what?”

Kilikia, the center of the continent. It may be smaller than it used to be, but its location hasn’t changed.

“It’s a conglomeration of technologies from many countries. It’s a well-funded, well-equipped, and accessible to any country…. Losing Kilikia would have been catastrophic. The current tenuous peace would have fallen like dominoes, and the entire continent would have been engulfed in Chapter.”

After taking a breath, Kushan summarized.

“You stopped it, and I can’t thank you enough.”

Rather than being embarrassed, Kim was purely impressed. He had an excellent eye for reading the situation.

If you were in Kushan’s shoes, you wouldn’t take the impact of a single foreign object seriously.

In a way, Kushan was the one who had the most accurate assessment of Kim. He understands the value of what Kim has done.

That’s why they’re so vigilant.

“What do you want?”

Kushan’s eyes sharpened.

“We don’t know anything about you. No purpose, no origin, no connections. We’ve found no record or trace of any previous encounters with Leila in Tulavia.”

“…….”

“Where are you from, what do you know, and how far do you go? What are your ties to the Legion? Are your only collaborators members of the Dustborn Corporation?”

The questions were one-sided. This was not like Kushan. Armed with a sense of mission and responsibility, he always led the rap with a calm demeanor.

And then Kushan shows up in such a disheveled state. Kim was excited as a user, but kept a laid-back demeanor.

I said, raising both hands halfway.

“Well.”

“……what?”

“I realize you have a lot of questions for me, but I don’t feel obligated to answer them straight away.”

Today, Yi Hyun Kim is not a player. She’s not an agent of the lab, nor is she a researcher. She has favors with Cellbrosics Labs, but she doesn’t have to answer their interrogation questions in a straightforward manner.

“I’m here to work with Celbrosix Labs, not to be interrogated. You can do all the digging you want, but I’d like to see some boundaries.”

“This is part of working together. It requires mutual trust, and you’re not trusting me.”

“Isn’t that a pitchfork?”

In fact, I believe in Kushan just as much as I do Leila, but that’s just a reflection of how I feel about the game characters.

“In the first place, I don’t think trust is the most important value when it comes to helping each other. The key is uselessness. A friend who never betrays but is incompetent, or a friend who is competent but has a shitty back…. I’d take the latter by far.”

Without waiting for an answer, he added

“Of course, there have to be more conditions. We have to think about how much it would hurt if we got hit in the back of the head. What do you think? Is the wrap too much for us?”

“That’s a pretty obvious provocation.”

“That’s all I have to say, because we’ve already proven ourselves useful without talking.”

Tap, tap. I tapped my finger on the table.

“Shadow, Snowfield. Shadow may have borrowed the power of your agents, but Snowfield’s elimination is unmistakably ours.”

Humility isn’t the only virtue. Save your bragging for when you can.

“You’ve wiped out a mighty Pekatum army, you’ve served in an army somewhere… It’s much more direct than that, and our common purpose right now is the Legion, isn’t it?”

Kushan didn’t deny it. He drove a wedge into the silent listener.

“Enough of your petty jockeying for position. I assure you, you will not find a more suitable partner than us. We’re capable, and we’re small.”

“Does that mean you’re coming under the umbrella?”

“Why is that?”

I’m going to hit him somewhere. Kim snorted in disbelief.

“I’d rather have autonomous behavior most of the time, but I’ll take command when it’s urgent.”

I would have loved to have a professor direct me once. Once I got my head straight.

That was the end of the story.

The room fell abruptly silent. Kushan’s gaze dropped to the table and he pondered.

After about a minute of silence. Kim blurted it out.

“I just don’t understand why you’re wary of me in the first place.”

Kushan’s head snapped up again. He looked as if he’d heard something unearthly. Regardless, Kim continued to speak.

“I only know what I know, and you don’t, and how many people in the lab, nay, on this continent, know more than you do?”

Spell isn’t the only thing we’re working on at Celbrosics Labs.

Catastrophe.

They’re investigating a catastrophe sweeping the world. Causes, solutions, and more.

At this point, some progress has already been made. One man in particular has a deep knowledge of Kushan and the professor before he lost his memory.

Suspicion filled Kim’s eyes as she looked at him, and soon Kushan began to press his eyes shut with a suddenly tired look.

“…… Speaking of which, it’s a good reminder not to let your guard down.”

“It turns out I have a talent for being sneaky and shameless. It’s saved my life more than once.”

Kim checked his wristwatch with a grunt. It was almost evening.

“Do you have an answer for me? I haven’t actually eaten yet. Leila says the food here is that good.”

Kushan couldn’t help but chuckle. What kind of people are these people?

“We’ll meet again tomorrow. We’ll work out the details then…….”

He sighed heavily and said.

“I hope you enjoy your meal.”

* * *

The MOU was successfully signed.

For a while, the three of them, including Kim, lived in the lab and collaborated on operations. At first glance, this may seem like a one-sided loss for Dustborn, but it wasn’t.

“I’ve been promised enough rewards.

It’s not just about money. The Lab is a place where people of different statuses gather. Various training courses are organized for the growth of agents.

It was a great opportunity for Chelsea and Asterique, but also for Kim, who even asked Ghost to teach him privately.

A week later.

“……Hmmm, Hyun. I wonder if I should say something like this.”

“I think I know where you’re going with this.”

The fifth training room, almost exclusively used for training. Kim sat down, breathing heavily. The floor was covered with step leather that looked like it was used for soccer practice.

“Am I that bad?”

I haven’t even gotten to combat skills. I’m learning to walk from scratch, and even then, progress is slow. I couldn’t help but doubt his talent.

But the ghost shook his head.

“It’s not a matter of talent. It’s just… it takes time. It takes a lot of time, because you’re breaking all the habits you already have.”

I learned it in Kilikia, but only for a week at most. It’s shallow learning. Unless you’re a genius, you can’t get ahead in a short period of time.

Even Kim was feeling lost. There were too many things to worry about.

How to leave few footprints, how to make no sound, how to pass among passersby unnoticed, how to walk efficiently through swamps…….

It’s not that it can’t be done. The question is efficiency.

“How long will it take to get to a usable level?”

“I guess it depends on how you define the criteria. A few months of training will help, but if you’re going to go it alone and try to do covert action… you’re going to have to train for five years at the very least.”

“Five years.”

It’s not a bad time-to-efficiency ratio. If you can put in the work and grow to a level similar to Ghost.

“But that can’t be right.

Ghost is exceptionally talented and has been training for decades. There’s no way he’ll be able to keep up without resorting to tricks.

I can’t afford five years in the first place.

Of course, the Legion would have been deterred by the failure in Kilikia, but even so, if left unchecked for long enough, the world would be half-assed.

“If you want to master a wide range of personal tactics, this is fine. But if you’re looking to improve your operational performance in a short period of time, you’re better off changing your approach.”

“In what way?”

“Hmm.”

Ghost lowered his gaze and fell silent. After a moment, he spoke up.

“I’ll bring in someone. He’s quite the opposite of me in terms of how he operates, but maybe he’d be a better fit for you.”

Telling him to rest, Ghost left the room. When he returned twenty minutes later, a man stood beside him.

“You must be Hyun, I’ve never met you before.”

Needless to say, this was not a first for Kim.

‘……Westcreek?

Ghost brought with him an elite member of the Rap. He was the second six-star agent Kim had met after falling into the Polaris.