Chapter 174

The perception of septic tanks in Kilikia is not very good.
It’s an extremely dangerous job, no matter how well paid, and if you happen to run into a parasite out there, you’ll never be able to return to the city again.
People with a lot to lose, whether it’s a home or property, can’t do it. In other words, septic tanks are mostly for the poor who have little in their hands.
First, they are shunned for the riskiness of their work.
It’s even loathed by the lower classes.
Basecamp, however, was surprisingly normal.
“You’re here. I’m Tatara, a plainclothes officer with the Outreach Department of the Security Force.”
“I’m Yi Hyun Kim, President of Dustborn Corporation.”
“That’s an honor, I hear about you often.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
I shook hands with the security guard at the base camp.
They wore gloves to avoid exposing skin to each other. You can’t get infected from contact with a carrier unless you’re completely parasitized, but it’s conventionally shunned.
“Is this a hospital building? It’s a lot cleaner than I thought it would be.”
“Haha, that’s what all the first-timers say.”
Tatara said, shifting her gaze to the hospital.
“For some reason, there’s a preconceived notion that we’re living in tents in abandoned factories, but that’s not the case, because when you leave the city, the buildings are what’s left, and you don’t have to settle in a place where everything is falling apart.”
It was a no-brainer.
It’s abandoned now, but history records it as a territory of the Kilikian Federation. Furthermore, it’s close to the capital, and in the past it was part of a bustling city.
‘It’s not like Hagia Sophia was hit by a catastrophe.
The Kilikian Federation has shrunk its territory not by choice, but by the will of the state. The existing infrastructure is largely intact, if unmanaged.
“But, um. There’s something beautiful about prejudice.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means watch out for people.”
Tatara tapped her side. She wore a holster over her blue-tinted hazmat suit. A single justice automatic pistol loomed in the holster.
It wasn’t a weapon for beasts or parasites.
“There are missing people in septic tanks almost every time, and citizens think they’re infected and denied access to quarantine, but the true infection rate is less than 3 percent.”
“Three percent is high.”
“The number of missing people is far greater than that, and the causes are likely to be varied, as the dangers abound: flying monsters could fly in and bite, parasites could swoop in and….”
He fiddled with his holster.
“There will be arguments.”
It’s a dead city. There are no surveillance cameras or passersby. No high-ranking police officers accompany the cleanup crews. The septic tanks can do whatever they want.
“If I may offer some advice, it’s better to think of them all as outlaws.”
It was also meant to be intimidating.
The relationship between the Guard and Dustborn was better than before. Tatara didn’t know why the representatives were going out of their way, but she didn’t want Dustborn to be rattled.
Personally, I didn’t want to create any unnecessary backlash.
But Kim’s response was anything but blunt.
“I’m used to that kind of thing.”
It was too good to be true.
* * *
We can’t just take off in any direction. We don’t want to rescue everyone who’s missing, so we need to get solid information first.
“Currently, the septic system operates in four tanks. Each week, one group is replenished, and after four weeks, the group goes back to the city. Each comes back to base on Monday and Tuesday and reports on their performance.”
“Are there any false reports?”
“We have them leave evidence with the cameras we hand out. We film them exterminating the larvae, which is most commonly done by driving them into a pit or something and burning them.”
It seemed to be a bit of a circle jerk. You lend them your equipment and the septic tank takes care of the placenta of your business. The police are barely out of reach.
“This is going to be hard to control.”
“I tend to listen to them because the first week is awkward, but once we get out and about, it’s a different atmosphere. Once they get organized, they start to see us as just people who pay them.”
Although we don’t give you an allowance,” Tatara adds sheepishly.
“Well, that’s kind of reasonable.
There’s not much you can do about the septic tank. There’s no point in teaming up with another group to take over a base camp if you’re not going to spend it on something else. Everything of value, whether it’s money or safety, is concentrated in the city.
Less than fifty at most, maybe two hundred if you count all the missing so far, and if you mess with them, the city’s security forces will show up and wipe them out in a day.
A little rebellion, maybe, but not a riot.
The only person you have to look up to is Joe Won, who is in the same situation.
“Ah, yes. If you’re Brandon Putty, I remember you. Unusually, you brought a child with you.”
Tatara’s face turned bitter.
“It’s a shame, what did he do to deserve this….”
I was able to get the gist of the story.
Gemma Putty had said she had been missing for about 20 days. This didn’t mean that she had left the city 20 days ago, but that it had been that long since she was expected to return.
I’ve been out of the city for almost two months now. Of course, I knew this before I arrived, but the questions and answers provided additional information.
“At the last minute, we were missing five people, and that included Brandon Putty and his daughter.”
“What happened?”
“Well, from what I’ve heard from the leader, he said the Parasite attacked him while he was sleeping, and he only realized he was missing after he managed to escape.”
Tatara shrugged.
“Of course, there was no proof.”
The truth was likely far from the truth. Something must have happened. Chelsea’s complexion darkened as she realized the odds of her still being alive were very low.
“Where is that?”
“It must have been E2, E3, that area. I’ll have to look at the records.”
You don’t just kill larvae anywhere. There are several points that septic tanks work on. Areas that are easy to drive larvae to, easy to photograph, and easy to sleep in.
The location of Mrs. Putty’s disappearance was E3.
With Tatara’s help, we mapped out the details of the location.
“There have been a lot of incidents/accidents lately, not just at E3, but all over Area E. Maybe there really is a horde of parasites, please be careful.”
I was also told to be vigilant in case the riot police were paying attention.
I was satisfied with the results of the investigation: I got a lot of information without having to bother the people at the septic tank. The security forces were cooperative, which made things easier.
Get back in the car and drive to Area E for about 5 minutes.
“……Hmmm! Oops, sorry.”
Leone, who had been mute the entire time, spoke her monumental first words. Suddenly, she hiccups and looks away. As if she had committed a great sin.
“Ugh. Why did you bring her here if she’s so nervous?”
“You said you didn’t mind if I brought him.”
“I’m fine, but maybe he’s not.”
“You’re full of shit, if the boss says so, so be it.”
Chelsea said, “Ew,” and looked at Kim. She glared at Mr. Baduk.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s there for a reason.”
It was a heartbreaking misunderstanding, and I certainly didn’t mean to tease.
“You’re going to have to get some hands-on experience.”
“Oh. I thought you were going to dismiss him as too young?”
“I guess Turkam heard about this. I don’t know if you two get along or not.”
Chelsea calls Turkam a waste of a player, Turkam calls Chelsea a personality. If you look closely, they look like siblings. They seem to have gotten along pretty well.
“Well, we got him anyway, so we’ll roll with it when we get the chance.”
Unlike Yudahee, Leone specializes in combat. She’s more of an all-arounder with a lot of hexes. In the game, her weapon type changes every time she uses a skill.
‘I’ve lost three weapons, but….’
He was an anomaly, but he was ubiquitous, so he was sometimes used. At the time of its release, the character was criticized for its lack of description.
As expected, Leone excels in training, whether it’s shooting or swordsmanship. In the game, she’s extremely weapon-dependent, but the real world is a different story.
Of the current Dustborn members, he was the most similar in style to Kim Yi-hyun.
“He’s a good one if you keep him.
First, I want to see how I would behave in a real-life situation. Surviving the isolated school may have proven her mental toughness, but I don’t know how she’ll fare as an operative.
If it’s not too much trouble, he’s willing to give away the AP-116 he brought back from Ishrad. While dealing with Chelsea’s problem, I’m also taking Leone’s midterm evaluation.
“You’re supposed to roll until you drop.”
“I’ll try to live up to your expectations, hee hee…!”
“Man, the good times are gone.”
Chelsea tipped her water bottle behind her and dragged it along.
“I swear, in about two weeks, you’ll be fucking Kim’s ass.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“It’s not me, it’s Mr. Ekidna, who sometimes says that I’m just a jerk.”
“He makes things up that don’t exist.”
“I’m working so hard, I’m embarrassing myself.”
“You two need to get along, man.”
In the back seat, Leone breathes a sigh of relief, whether it’s because the hiccups are gone or the mood has lifted. She wasn’t sure if it was because the hiccups had stopped or because the mood had lifted.
“Is this Zone E from here?”
Broken sidewalk blocks on the side of the road. Street trees withered from years of neglect. Cans of septic tank waste rolled on the sidewalks in this dead urban landscape.
Area E was once a middle-class residential neighborhood. Office buildings flanked the main road, and dilapidated apartments were visible on the sidewalks.
And there was also something in the front.
“Hey, stop!”
A middle-aged man in a mask flailed his arms in the middle of the road. I slowed down, realizing that I couldn’t possibly hit him at this rate.
Before the car has even come to a complete stop.
“Four people down the street to the right. Here they are.”
“Two on the left. I don’t know their armed status.”
“Well, I don’t see a gun, but I’ll be careful.”
It didn’t look dangerous enough to warrant leaving my seat.
I pulled the mask up to my nose and got out of the car. I was afraid to show myself and felt stares everywhere. More people were found inside the building, bringing the total to eight.
“It must be a septic tank.
While I was quickly navigating, he was looking at Kim’s group.
“Are we all off? There’s only three of us?”
“That’s it, you’re free to look around.”
“I need you to step out of the way.”
You circle around at a distance and peer inside the vehicle. Soon, the man speaks into his radio and says, “Moore. The officers, who had been watching from a distance, took the signal and walked over.
The gun is still invisible.
Instead, something else catches my eye.
“Woman to two, man to one….”
Greed glints in the eyes of the septic tank.
“Ha. I knew it, you assholes.
It was definitely the end of the world.