Chapter 178
Chapter 178
Murmur, murmur.
Startled by the sudden shock, Iri hurried toward the Living Fireworks exhibition hall. The atmosphere inside was already quite noisy. At the very back, in front of the giant aquarium—the climax of the exhibition—crowds had gathered.
-“D-Did you just see that?”
-“It’s a production effect, right? It has to be!”
-“That scared me……”
What in the world had happened?
I squeezed through the gaps between people and approached the massive aquarium.
Some complained about me pushing forward, but this wasn’t the time to respond to every single one of them.
“Excuse me! Sorry! Just a moment, please!”
Eventually, I managed to make it all the way to the front. Judging by people’s reactions, the loud shock just now seemed to have come from here.
But even after inspecting the inside of the aquarium, there didn’t appear to be any obvious problems. The interior was filled with an opaque midnight-blue liquid. Unless the ‘fireworks’ revived and emitted light, it was impossible to confirm what was inside.
‘If only I had a [Vision] related module.’
I narrowed my eyes, straining to see the ‘fireworks’ within.
And then, in that very moment—
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Kwooooom!
With an ear-splitting scream, a giant fireball shot out from inside the aquarium straight toward me.
Instinctively, I assumed a defensive stance without realizing it, but there was no need. The aquarium’s glass wall blocked the fireball.
“W-What… was that……?”
Once I confirmed I was safe, I straightened my body and looked back inside. That’s when strange lifeforms finally came into view.
They looked quite different from the ‘fireworks’ I had seen in the project plan. They had translucent tentacles similar to sea anemones, but unlike the original ‘fireworks,’ these had no roots and floated around the tank like fish.
If I had to compare, they resembled cliones.
Another name: shell-less sea butterfly.
They looked like the sea angels of mollusks. But because of their massive size, they felt more like ‘devils’ than angels.
Huge cliones swam through the tank, shimmering with ominous crimson light. It seemed the shock I had felt outside earlier had been caused by them.
‘What’s going on here?’
As Student Council President, I had read through the project plan. Nowhere had it mentioned creatures like this.
That fact alone gnawed at my instincts, filling me with the thought that ‘this’ had to be dealt with.
Fortunately, I wouldn’t have to step in personally. In the distance, I spotted several professors in charge of managing the Living Fireworks heading our way.
-“Everyone, please step aside for a moment!”
-“Excuse us! Excuse us!”
The faculty pushed through the crowd until they reached me. They noticed my presence immediately.
“Ah, you’re the Student Council President…”
“I’m Iri Elisbell.”
“R-Right, of course. Would you mind stepping aside for now? We need to inspect the aquarium.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Well…”
When I pressed them, the professors looked troubled.
But since I kept staring, they eventually opened their mouths. It seemed that after witnessing this myself, they had no choice but to reveal the truth to the Student Council President.
“The ‘fireworks’ went berserk?”
“That seems to be the case.”
Inside the Living Fireworks control room.
Surrounded by professors, I listened to their explanation. This wasn’t the kind of conversation that could be held openly in front of all the spectators.
“But why, all of a sudden?”
“We don’t know the cause. We’re still investigating… but the [fireworks], over generations, suddenly experienced mutations in their genetic code.”
“I don’t understand the details, but basically you’re saying a mutation occurred, right?”
The ‘Living Fireworks’ were artificial lifeforms.
They were a kind of biological art piece that expressed the entire process of a firework—firing, rising, bursting into light, and fading away—through living organisms.
Launching, shining, extinguishing—that was the life cycle of one generation of ‘firework.’
“They have an extremely short life cycle—one generation replaced roughly every 30 seconds. Almost like bacteria.”
“Since they’re created by artificially combining the genes of multiple organisms, their DNA structure is unstable. In other words, they’re highly prone to genetic mutations.”
“That’s why we keep controlling them through programming. By sending electromagnetic waves into the internal liquid, we can guide their evolutionary direction as intended. That way, we can create various forms of ‘fireworks’…”
Blah, blah.
As expected of the Science and Technology Department professors, they suddenly began lecturing about the ecology of the ‘fireworks.’ But this wasn’t the time to sit and listen. I cut them off.
“Anyway, what you’re saying is that something went wrong in the process. That’s why some unwanted, strange creature was born instead.”
“Y-Yes, that’s correct.”
“And you don’t know the cause yet?”
“We’re still investigating…”
“Could it be an inherent flaw in the artificial lifeform itself?”
“You’re suggesting it was made wrong from the start? Impossible! It was designed to function without issues for up to 135,000 generations!”
That was when—
“I-It’s probably because of electromagnetic waves……”
From a spot where she hadn’t been noticed, Miyu quietly joined the conversation. All eyes turned toward her. Uncomfortable under the attention, Miyu hunched her shoulders like a turtle and cautiously continued.
“T-The most likely possibility right now is… that someone among the visitors smuggled in a prohibited item… something that emits strong electromagnetic waves… ugh!”
Halfway through, Miyu grimaced, clutching her temples with both hands and swaying as though she might collapse.
Alarmed, I hurriedly supported her.
“Miyu, what’s wrong!?”
“I-I’m okayyy… my head just suddenly started hurting…”
She staggered only briefly before continuing.
“So, the highest probability is that ‘something’ emitting strong electromagnetic waves is the cause……”
“No way. Before entering the exhibition hall, all electronic devices must be surrendered and modules deactivated. And besides, the hall is built with panels that block electromagnetic waves.”
“B-But if not that, then no other cause can be found……”
While a young professor and Miyu exchanged their views, I fell into thought for a moment. If, as Miyu said, the unknown cause was indeed ‘waves’—
“C-Could it be?”
“Hm? Did you think of something?”
“This is it.”
I pulled out the mechanical device I had found earlier behind the exhibition hall. I had entered in such a rush that I hadn’t managed to hand it over at the entrance.
“I saw someone drop this near the building and run away. At first, I thought it was some kind of bomb, so I contacted the Security Team, but apparently the same thing was found in other places too.”
“Who the hell did that? And what even is this?”
“I don’t know. Miyu, do you know what this is?”
“W-Well… at first glance, it looks like some kind of scanner……”
Miyu accepted the device and began inspecting it closely.
“Ah, yes. It’s an electromagnetic wave collector.”
“A wave scanner?”
“Yes. But its exact purpose can only be figured out by disassembling it. Especially this part here—I’ve never seen anything like it before. The level of technology involved is quite… ugh!”
Miyu winced, as though another headache had seized her.
I reached out to support her again, but she brushed my hand away. Then, with an oddly calm tone, she spoke again.
“I’ll take it with me and examine it.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Yes. I have equipment in my room.”
Miyu suddenly stood up.
Then, almost as if delivering an order, she said,
“I’ll handle this device, so don’t worry. I’ll also take care of the ‘fireworks.’”
“Can you really manage it?”
“If I adjust it a little, they’ll return to normal. But my condition isn’t great today, so I’ll head back now. And, Iri.”
“Yes. Go on.”
“There’s a chance someone intentionally planted this. Please look into it.”
“……”
Her logical, precise instructions.
Her tone and demeanor felt somewhat different from usual.
That strangeness gave me a sense of unease, but I shook my head, dismissing it. She was probably just exhausted from preparing for the festival.
“Alright. I’ll leave it to you. I’ll count on you.”
“Yes. Then, I’ll be going……”
With that, Miyu trudged out of the control room. Though alarm bells kept ringing inside my mind as I watched her leave, I had no time to dwell on it.
‘I need to find the culprit before this escalates any further.’
I immediately contacted Raina in the Student Council office and the Academy Security Team.
Right after the ‘fireworks’ went berserk.
The Academy was placed on emergency alert.
[If anyone has seen this object, please report it!]
The Festival Operations Committee and the Academy Security Team worked together to distribute leaflets about the ‘unidentified mechanical device.’
To catch the culprit who had planted it, they also reviewed security camera recordings and tightened their surveillance network.
-“Uh, let’s see… who was it? There was someone this morning carrying a ziplock bag, but I can’t remember well.”
-“Try to remember what time it was.”
-“There were so many visitors today. How can I recall all that? But I think it was one of the graduate students.”
-“Damn it! Do you know how many graduate students there are in the Academy? And that’s all you remember?”
-“I-I can’t help it if I don’t remember!”
By the time the first day of the festival came to an end, guards armed with powered armor and rifles patrolled the Academy grounds in preparation for possible incidents.
And then, new information surfaced.
-“Chief! They said they found the culprit!”
-“What? Who is it?”
-“Some guy named Orphia from Team 7. He confessed that he planted it. But…”
-“But what?”
-“He said he only planted one.”
-“What?”
Through multiple reports, more than twelve of the devices had already been discovered and recovered. Yet the suspect confessed to smuggling in only one.
Which meant—
-“There’s another culprit?”
-“I-I don’t know. He clammed up, maybe out of fear.”
-“Then threaten him or whatever it takes to make him spill everything. Damn it, the Student Council brats are already breathing down our necks.”
-“And with the Stingray Chairman backing them, if things blow up, all our heads will roll.”
The guards muttered as they walked down the corridor.
Unbeknownst to them, someone was secretly watching.
It was Feng Wei.
‘Damn it, what the hell is going on?’
He glanced down at the ziplock bag in his arms. The device he had received from the android was still there. He had been too scared to plant it near Miyu, let alone do anything else with it.
And yet, the culprit had already been caught?
And more than a dozen of the devices had already been found?
‘So… I wasn’t the only one hired for this?’
Feng Wei forced his trembling hands still. He should have refused from the start when it first felt suspicious. Things were spiraling far beyond what he had expected.
‘S-Should I quit now?’
Yes. If he stopped now, maybe he could pin the blame on someone else. He could just leave this thing somewhere obvious and pretend he knew nothing.
But.
‘The money…’
If his client—the android’s master—was rich enough to hand out that much money to multiple people, then he had to be unimaginably wealthy.
And if he managed to pull this off despite the risks, the reward might be several times, or even dozens of times, greater than the first payment.
‘What do I do? What should I do…?’
As Wei hesitated—
Clank. Clank.
The footsteps of the guard unit in powered armor grew closer. At this rate, they were bound to spot him.
‘D-Damn it!’
To hell with it!
Cursing inwardly, Wei bolted. His destination: the Living Fireworks exhibition hall.
The entrance was locked tight, but since he had stolen a key from Professor Richardson’s lab, it wasn’t a problem.
Click.
He unlocked it and slipped inside.
He cautiously made his way toward the control room.
That was when he heard a strange sound.
“…because of you… it’s my fault…”
Mumble, mumble.
Someone was muttering to themselves.
‘W-What the hell?!’
Someone was here.
The realization sent chills racing down his spine. If he continued forward, he would surely be noticed. Wei hurriedly turned to leave.
But at that moment—
His eyes caught sight of a black figure.
And then, countless ‘fireworks’ burst out of the aquarium, soaring into the sky.
As if captured in slow motion, Wei could see every detail as thousands of tendrils stretched toward him.
“Ah.”
-Beautiful.
That simple impression—
was the last thought that crossed his mind.