Chapter 177

Seeing no way out of the crisis, Villa cooperated. For starters, he confessed that this was the third time he had come to the cleanup.
“Actually, all of them are experienced except for the two I mentioned earlier.”
Inevitably, Kim thought back to what the woman had said earlier.
“From what I hear, you’ve known each other since the beginning. Were you in the same group before?”
“No, I don’t think so, and they all came out at different times.”
“So?”
“You don’t have to be out of town to meet them, you can meet them inside.”
This means that there is a community of experienced people.
It’s not unreasonable: cleanup work pays pretty well, as it’s almost like a living stipend, and once you’ve got the cash in hand, you’re bound to brag a little.
“Some people wonder what a septic tank is really like.
There’s no reason why you can’t get together if you want to.
The tricky part is how they got together.
“We met, for what purpose?”
“When I first came out ……, the group I was in was out of the ordinary – they acted like they knew everything, even though it was their first week, and some of them, including the group leader, seemed very close.”
“Like you guys.”
Biya nodded in agreement.
“I was lucky then,” he says, “there were five of them and four who knew nothing. I guess it was too much to sell them all. The leader took two of them as ‘merchandise’ and cajoled the other two.”
“So you were one of the two who talked them down.”
“Yeah, well. I learned this and that.”
This time, all but two of Villa’s teammates had similar experiences. They were a group of like-minded people in the city who applied for the septic tank and were easily accepted because of their experience.
Unfortunately for the two, they were prey from the start. That would have been the case if Kim Yi-hyun hadn’t shown up. All it takes is the right event, whether it’s a monster attack or something else.
It would have been one of those all-too-common missing persons cases.
“I kind of get it, but.”
There’s something that doesn’t make sense.
“What are you guys getting paid for? If you’re a group living outside of the city, you don’t look like you have a lot of money. Can you afford to pay them enough to be willing to be trafficked?”
“That, mmm.”
Biya was hesitant to speak. She didn’t threaten him at gunpoint. I just stared at him, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
“I’m going to tell you, don’t look at me like that. You’re scaring me.”
He said he’d do it himself, so I let him.
I don’t know what the fuss is about.
“We get them to cooperate with us, like drive the larvae around. They’re already infested, so they don’t seem to mind.”
All you have to do is sit back, relax, eat, and take a video of the caterpillar as it burns. It’s a risky job with a big paycheck, but the risk is gone, and the paycheck is there for the taking.
I get it. As tempting as it is, Hadama is…….
“Hey, make sure you have an attitude.”
“Yes?”
“If you’re going to cooperate, see it through.”
“Seriously, just ask everyone else. You’ll get the same answer.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re not lying, but I don’t think you told me everything.”
Kim’s eyes turned cold.
“No matter how scum, nay, the more scum you are, the more meticulous you are about the bottom line. You’re kidnapping innocent citizens, and you’re underpaid for the work you do.”
“…….”
“Tell me straight, you don’t want to get a hole in your head after all this ranting.”
“Well, ha.”
Biya scratched her head and said with determination.
“There’s one other thing besides human trafficking.”
“Go ahead.”
“Taking the caterpillar to the city…that sort of thing.”
He paused to explain.
“They’re connecting people who need it, and they don’t know how to get in touch with each other, but they’re getting $5 million for a 20mL bottle, so I guess this is big…?”
The more I spoke, the more my voice crawled. Kim’s expression was fierce, and I think Biya had a vague sense of the seriousness of what I was about to do.
“You crazy bastards.”
Something shitty was happening in the unknown new Kilikia.
* * *
I shared my findings with my team.
“Human trafficking. What would an infected person buy a normal person to do?”
“They don’t know about that. It’s not something a middleman needs to know.”
“…I thought it was just a glamorous city, and this is what was going on behind the scenes.”
Leone was horrified by the casualness with which heinous crimes were being committed. She’d seen human nature in her isolated school, but she’d been a normal student until the Parasite outbreak.
On the one hand, Chelsea objectively recognized the severity of the situation.
“No, this isn’t normal.”
Compared to the smuggling of larvae, human trafficking was a minor issue.
“Shouldn’t this be caught in quarantine?”
“He says he hasn’t been caught yet. I’m new to this.”
If he had been caught even once, Dustborn would have been informed. Given the level of risk, it should have been passed on to Kim. There’s no way Bryce would have intentionally left it out.
“Maybe it’s the bulk.”
“You mean it’s too small to fit?”
“The instruments in the quarantine center are basically for humans, so it can be difficult to detect. If you bring in a lot of them, they set a limit on how much you can bring in. ….”
“He’s kind of willing.”
“I’ll look into it properly when I get back.”
Without exaggeration, it was an event that could change the course of Kilikia’s fortunes. Parasitization from within the city. If not contained early enough, the city will collapse in the blink of an eye.
“I can’t let that happen.
They cannot afford to lose ground for nothing. It’s not just the financial loss, but Kilikia itself. It’s the place where I’ve been active for the longest time, for one reason or another.
“Well, I’m glad you noticed it now anyway.”
“Yeah, that could have been irreversible.”
Chelsea’s nervousness at the sight of him was understandable. It was understandable. If Gemma Putty hadn’t come to her rescue, she wouldn’t have even known.
“That doesn’t mean you have to thank the client.”
“I don’t care what anyone says, I would never think of that.”
Chelsea frowned, as if I hadn’t already.
“It’s not my personal problem anymore.”
“Well, shouldn’t I go back and tell them first?”
It was one of the strongest options. Return to the city, contact the council, and begin the investigation as soon as possible. It’s the least risky option I can think of.
However, it’s not the best option.
“If they do, the infected are more likely to kill themselves. They must have collaborators in the city, and if Biya doesn’t show up at the trading post, that would look suspicious, too.”
“I’m also concerned about what the trainee said, about what they’re trying to get people to do.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Leone became anxious as the situation escalated. I brought her here lightheartedly, and this is what happened. It was an unexpected surprise for Kim, but that’s all it was.
There’s a small part of me that thinks it’s a good thing.
When you roll, roll properly to gain experience.
“Just like we used to do.”
It’s time to instill the Dustborn way in your trainees.
* * *
Biya squinted in the rearview mirror as she pulled away. Gone was the easygoing demeanor of their first meeting. There was nothing but irritation toward Kim.
“…… Hey, are you sure this is okay?”
“It’s not like you’re going to lose money no matter how it rolls.”
“It should be, but….”
If anything, Biya should have wished Kim dead. To keep quiet. If they got home safely, the crimes of Biya and her crew would be exposed.
Proof? Create it.
He didn’t have the slightest faith that it was an errand boy from a small, unheard-of company called Colossus Company. He didn’t know who they were, but he could guess.
“The Special Investigations Unit of the Ministry of Public Security, or…….
It might be the Dustborne Corporation you’ve been hearing about. Rumors of Dustborne were common among the poor. Being close to the criminal underworld, they were all the more eager to hear what they had to say.
The rumored Dustborne was a ghost.
Specialized groups that use all manner of illegal means to pursue criminals. Their legitimacy is guaranteed by the parliament and the police force. With a strong backing, they operate freely and are considered the nemesis of the underworld.
“One of them, a guy named Hyun, I heard was crazy.
The current plan was not normal either.
The trio, suspected to be Dustborn agents, have offered themselves as merchandise. The two women are in the trunk, while the man sits in the backseat, bound with rope.
-Proceed with the transaction as scheduled.
-Take us to them.
An operation to infiltrate a group of infected of unknown size and purpose. As far as she could tell, the infected preferred young men, regardless of gender, so the three of them were a pretty good deal.
It is unlikely to be impossible to break in.
But no one in their right mind would do this.
‘I have about a dozen lives.’
It was ridiculous, but not a deal breaker.
It was already bad enough that they had failed. The way they were acting, Biya was likely to become an Outlaw, so we had to stop her from going to the city somehow.
But I’m going to get into the limb.
I could have clapped my hands and rejoiced.
“Well, I’m good, fuck it.
Little did I know what was about to happen.
* * *
We arrived at an abandoned factory where the outer walls had been torn down to reveal the bare bones. I took a car, but the location was less than 10 minutes from Area E.
It’s a place to trade, but it’s not far from home. These guys were pretty bold. Perhaps they had even kidnapped some of the missing themselves.
“Here they come.”
A man sat on a pyramid of aluminum pipes. He wasn’t alone, of course: a dozen people in all, forming a casual circle around him.
Bum-like row colors everywhere.
The exposed skin is undergoing crystallization.
“Let’s see. Is this the only one?”
“There’s more this way.”
“Aha, trunk.”
The man checked the trunk and whistled.
“Oh, pretty. The kids will love it.”
He smirks and pulls something out of his pocket. It was a plastic pill bottle that looked like a lighter. Biya stares at him as he pops a couple pills into his mouth.
“Why. You want to try it?”
“Nope. I was just wondering….”
“It’s nothing, it’s just a disinfectant that’s been refined into a pill for city sanitization.”
“Huh, is that okay?”
“I don’t know. But if you eat it, it slows down the mutation.”
After gagging a few times, he chuckled.
“Isn’t it amazing, Selv, how you made all this stuff?”
“Well, yeah, haha.”
“I didn’t say laugh, asshole.”
He patted Biya’s cheek. The crystals sprouting in her palm crackle and she makes a small sound. Meanwhile, her coworkers have pulled the three of them out of the car.
The man walked over to Kim.
“What do you think. Do I look funny?”
“…….”
“It’s a monster, and it is. Don’t you think?”
When I didn’t answer, he continued to ramble on.
“I didn’t want to be like this, and neither will you.”
The reddish-brown eyes flickered, signaling with their gestures. The four infected surrounded Biya, as they had been talking about all along.
“What, what, why are you doing this?”
“Ah. I thought I’d be a little more careful. It’s not safe if the marshals get a whiff.”
The man smirked with a gruff face.
“Two girls, two guys. Perfect. Who’s first?”
“Let’s start with that asshole. I didn’t like him before.”
“Yeah, I did. He looks at people like they’re fucking filth.”
“No, I don’t know when I… Ugh!”
Biya was grabbed by the arms and forced to his knees. The man walked over to him again, rummaging in his arms and this time pulling out an opaque vial the size of a finger.
It was a familiar object to Biya.
The lid opened and a larva wriggled inside.
“Ah-ha. It’s misleading and sneaky.”
“Ooooh! Ooooh!”
The infected forced Biya’s mouth open. A larva crawled halfway out of the bottle in front of her nose. Biya struggled, tears in her eyes and snot in her nose.
A human silhouette jerked up from behind the man.
“Uh, why isn’t that moving…!”
With no chance of stopping them.
Kwazik!
An axe has been stuck in the back of his head.