Chapter 184

11:53 PM.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. President.”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you in person, by the way.”
“It’s only natural, isn’t it?”
The call was urgent, and Chief Allen came running with his men. Sure, it was a city-shaking disturbance, but a high-ranking official on such short notice.
“I’ve always preferred to run on my feet.”
I’d rather fight in the field than go through paperwork and attend meetings. Ekidna and Bryce have taken on tasks that should have been handled by the CEO. You have to pay the bills.
“I can see why,” Allen grunted.
“Me neither. I need to get back to my roots.”
“Beginner?”
“We’ve had scandals in the past, whether they were fabricated or not, we’ve lost our reputation, and we’re trying to be as visible to the public as possible to regain their trust.”
“Wasn’t that almost three years ago?”
“If I thought it was going to be a flash in the pan, I wouldn’t have started.”
Kim was tongue-in-cheek. The officials in Kabek, Allen, and Kilikia had been exemplary. There may be some corrupt officials, but at least his acquaintances had good minds.
‘For some reason, the name of the Chief of Police has been mentioned in the debriefings.
I didn’t realize it because I’ve always been out and about, but it seems that some people are trying harder as the world becomes more urgent.
“It’s like old times.
The early days of Dustborn. Relations with the police, once fraught, are now on good terms. Whenever there is evidence of the company’s success, there is a shrug of the shoulders.
Cleaning up after yourself is another story.
“What about suspects?”
“Nine times out of ten, it’s the death penalty.”
Allen shifted his gaze to the cordoned-off street. Two victims were being loaded into an ambulance. On the one hand, Clara Silvas was bundled into a thick straitjacket and placed in a transport vehicle.
The officers’ behavior toward Clara was extremely discreet.
“The Parasite attacked civilians inside the city, and Clara Silvas is a professional player in the league, so there’s a limit to how much control we can have over the media since it happened in the city center.”
“I feel for the aluminum guy.”
“Both victims are also family members of someone.”
Kim waved her hand in the air, as if to say don’t pity me.
“I just thought it was a good idea, I don’t think much of it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yeah. I’m not even a fan of aluminum players.”
Tragedy has become commonplace at the current Polaris.
As tragedy struck Chelsea not too long ago.
But “Clara Silvas” was not a common name.
“Surely there must have been something wrong with the instrumentation.”
“Just so you don’t get the wrong idea, there was never any manipulation.”
“I don’t suspect anything. It must be a special case.”
Kim was openly intrigued.
Wary of where his mind might wander, Allen nailed it down in advance.
“I’m sure you’re aware of ……. We can’t leave Parasite in the city.”
“Of course.”
The answer was cool,
‘I’m not so sure about this….’
I couldn’t believe it.
* * *
The next day.
Kim was faced with a conundrum in the morning.
“Please. I’m begging you.”
Al fell to his knees, his head on the floor. It was as if he had heard about his brother from somewhere and rushed over. The futile pleas only served to irritate Kim.
“To Asterique… I said things I shouldn’t have said, and I apologize to him as well, and I’m not going to say anything in return because it’s completely my fault and it’s the right thing to do.”
That’s right.
You criticized me for jumping the gun.
Asterike had gotten her comeuppance.
“I’ll do whatever I can, and I have a fortune that you won’t recognize, but I’ve saved up. I’ll make any arrangements you need, so please, please….”
“I want Clara Silvas alive.”
“……Yes.”
I didn’t say, “Let me see you one last time,” which would have been a low-hanging fruit, but Al is a down-to-earth human being. He knows his own personality.
One last meeting won’t be enough. He might even pull out a knife, but it’s like hitting a rock with an egg: he doesn’t have the skill to get his sister out of the city alone.
That’s where Dustborn comes in.
“I’m a little confused. Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’ve been around the block for a long time. I know the ins and outs of the city.”
There’s no shortage of companies sponsoring leagues. And they come in a variety of sectors. After attending a few sponsored parties, your perspective on the city changes. You realize how powerless you are as an individual.
Above all.
You’ll find out who the real powers in the city are. The current council doesn’t care about corporate power. But there is someone who can intervene in their decisions.
“Hmm.”
Kim didn’t try to deny it.
He was a human being who could pass multiple inhibitions.
The Johanna Feltner case strengthened Dustborn’s position, but it wasn’t the only one. Dustborn was the strongest hand in the deck to deal with a parasite outbreak that could happen at any time.
“Do you know what your brother did?”
“…I’ve been told that the victims were fortunate to have escaped with their lives, but that doesn’t mean that’s all there is to it. We intend to compensate them fully and…….”
“No, to be honest, I kind of like those assholes.”
They weren’t exactly “innocent civilians.” They were pretty bad. The kind of criminals who cleverly avoid CCTV or intimidate their victims to keep them from talking.
It was a blind spot in Kilikian law, which required evidence for everything. If you were a drug or illegal weapon trafficker, they’d probably tamper with the evidence, but they weren’t that stupid.
“Last night’s incident was pretty high-profile, and it’s already making the rounds – people are freaking out that a parasite has appeared, and the doomsayers are going to stir up more anxiety.”
Clara Silvas threatened the city’s security.
For Kilikia, who had been through the measles once with Legion, it was like a reversal of fortune.
“If you kill them, the uproar will die down, but you’ve planted the seeds of unrest, which is very damaging in the long run, and I think you had some idea of that.”
Aluminum had no retort. He was just looking away, and the result was bloodshed, a self-inflicted wound.
“I don’t care how good you are, you’re not getting the numbers.”
“…are you saying that the compensation I can give you is not enough?”
“Yes, it’s not enough.”
A cold silence descended between them.
After a moment, Aluminum rose from his seat and bowed deeply.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me unannounced and unexpectedly.”
When he reversed his position, Al’s face was impassive.
‘Your eyes are back.
Kim had a hunch. If left alone, it would surely die.
She has no intention of helping you. I’ve crossed paths with Asterique a few times, but we’re not close. In fact, I feel a little uncomfortable with her. I know you say family is important, but what good is a city anyway?
“As I said, I’ll apologize to Asterique separately, so if you’ll excuse me-”
It was a combination of all the factors.
“There are ways to make up the difference.”
There are tradeoffs to be made.
“What do you mean……?”
I replied, noticing the small flicker of hope on the other’s face.
“Your sister will need to be a guinea pig.”
Clara Silvas.
It’s a specimen too good to let die.
* * *
Two conditions are required to end the catastrophe.
The first is the closure of the “rift” connecting Polaris to the Otherworld. This is something Kim can’t do anything about right now. Leila’s role in the game is huge, and the rift hasn’t even been fully revealed yet.
“This is something we’ll worry about after the apocalypse is further along.
The second is the progress of research in the Cellbrosics Lab.
Closing the rift will not cleanse an already polluted continent in one fell swoop. The continent’s inhabitants must have a strong immunity to pollution.
“That means you need a vaccine.”
“You can make something like ……?”
“Is there any reason it can’t be done?”
Kabek was in disbelief.
But there are plenty of success stories out there.
“Spellcasters are a good example. Peccatums are also significantly more resistant than the average person. In fact, they’re probably still genetically able to overcome contamination.”
It doesn’t take much science. Pecatums and other pollution-resistant mutants can be paired together. Generation after generation, it will eventually be overcome.
That is, of course, assuming you succeed in closing the crack.
“The problem is that Clara Silvas isn’t even a spellcaster, and I don’t know why, but she’s ‘adapted’ to being a normal person.”
“I don’t even know if you can call that adaptation.”
Kavek recalled the report he’d received from the security forces. They’d detained Clara in a room surrounded on all sides by a special alloy and monitored her for several days.
“I’m never in a steady state, I don’t know when I’m going to be paranoid again. It’s like you can’t control it, and the cycles are getting shorter and shorter.”
“That’s how I see it, too.”
It is predicted that it will soon lose its humanity. At that point, it will be no different from any other completion. It will still be significant as a sample, but it will lose its uniqueness.
“It’s a temporary adaptation, and that ‘temporary’ is important.”
A form of parasite that didn’t exist in the game.
Maybe vaccines will be developed much faster.
“……I see what you’re saying, but, meh.”
Kavek frowned.
As Kim points out to Alum, this is too much to ask. It’s time for tangible results to ease the public’s anxiety, and a “kill and steal” approach is not enough.
However.
“Performance is something you make up for elsewhere.”
“Do you have anything in mind?”
Kim smirked.
“You’ve been a nuisance. Let’s get rid of the rats.”
When in a hurry, it’s Legion.
* * *
Sergio Camello.
Arrested for caterpillar trafficking, Sergio’s imprisonment was grueling. He was trained by the Legion’s intelligence unit, but only for a short time.
As a spy, the organization was blown up before it was complete.
In a word, he was sloppy. So much so that he was arrested as soon as the law enforcement began to investigate in earnest. He was unable to choose self-determination upon arrest. Another example,
“Eh, Edwin?
Edwin Berenice feels a sense of camaraderie with his unannounced visit.
Tap, tap, tap.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Edwin from Dustborne Corporation.”
Edwin tapped the pedestal in a characteristic rhythm as he spoke.
This was a common password in Legion.
That naturally translated into a sentence in Sergio’s brain.
‘Conversation, eavesdropping. Help, trouble.’
When Sergio received the password, he was thrilled.
A brain exhausted from intense interrogation has come to a conclusion that is extremely convenient.
“You’ve been infiltrating Dustborn…!
That day he revealed the hideout of his comrades.