Chapter 56 : Exhibition of the Empty City (1)
Chapter 56: Exhibition of the Empty City (1)
Two subjects with faces perfectly identical to Kang Da-hee.
One, contained in a capsule, was unconscious, while the other, taking a selfie in front of it, wore a slightly sad smile.
〈What do you think it is?〉
“What do I think it is?”
At Ar’s words, Diesel slightly furrowed his brow.
A cloned human? A backup body? A modified magic test subject? Or maybe it was actually an android.
It was just a single photograph, but countless possibilities surfaced in his mind.
〈None of those.〉
Ar said, gently swishing her tail.
〈She’s her twin older sister.〉
“…….”
When the unexpectedly bland answer took the wind out of him a little, Ar continued speaking.
〈As you can see, it looks like she’s undergoing preservation treatment. She came down with mana sclerosis.〉
Mana sclerosis was a disease most feared by mages, in which mana coagulated along the mana channels, and the resulting backlash caused the body to gradually harden.
There was absolutely no way to treat it, so contracting it was practically a death sentence.
“But what’s so interesting about that?”
Was the tragedy that had befallen Kang Da-hee’s older sister what Ar found interesting?
Diesel looked at the spirit with concern, wondering if Ar’s personality had developed a little strangely.
〈Because, you see.〉
But with the answer that followed, such worries proved unnecessary.
〈The person inside that capsule apparently got sick due to the aftereffects of the ‘Seed Experiment.’〉
“What……?”
The Seed Experiment.
“Explain it in detail.”
Diesel’s gaze grew a bit more serious.
〈There isn’t much detailed information written down, but apparently Kang Da-hee’s older sister had far greater magical talent than Kang Da-hee herself.〉
“They’re twins, but their talents are different?”
〈Yes. This seems to be a fairly common phenomenon. According to papers in the field of astrological magic, there are research results suggesting that magical talent manifests differently depending on the celestial conditions at the moment one draws their first breath after birth, and according to that, even on a millisecond scale—〉
“That’s enough.”
When Diesel cut her off, Ar shot him a sharp look, then continued her story.
〈So it seems Kang Da-hee’s father carried out some kind of experiment on that sister. Like I said, the experiment called the Seed Experiment.〉
“Hm…….”
Councilman Kang Leon.
Diesel recalled the name he had come across while preparing for Podvig’s interview.
“Is there any information on what that experiment was?”
Was it an experiment to create a Seed, or one to extract something from a Seed?
He didn’t know about the former, but if it was the latter, the situation became a bit special.
That would mean Kang Da-hee’s sister was a Seed.
〈Unfortunately, there’s no information about that. This is just a conjecture based on the contents of Kang Da-hee’s diary. Would you like me to pull out the original text and show it to you?〉
He considered asking to see it for a moment, then stopped himself.
“It’s fine. If you don’t have it, Ar, then it doesn’t exist.”
〈Of course.〉
Thinking about it, the story sounded quite plausible.
If there existed a power strong enough to kill the Ghost of Destruction, it was only natural that countless studies and experiments would be conducted on it.
‘Even so, experimenting on your own daughter…….’
No, maybe he was interpreting the word ‘experiment’ too negatively.
Perhaps it really had been something meant to help his daughter.
〈Anyway, she’s been living pretty desperately.〉
“Who?”
〈Kang Da-hee. She’s really doing her best to save her sister.〉
“Is that so?”
〈Her father wants to give up treatment immediately. But it seems Kang Da-hee is somehow stopping that. Ah, by the way, when I say ‘giving up treatment,’ I’m arbitrarily softening the inhumane term ‘disposal.’〉
“…….”
Using his own daughter as an experiment wasn’t enough, and now he wanted to dispose of her.
It felt like his earlier negative assumptions were probably correct after all.
‘Just how much of a piece of trash is he?’
Diesel recalled his days as a bounty hunter, when he roamed the city alone.
Now that he thought about it, such horrific things seemed to happen not only in the underbelly of the city, but in its upper layers as well.
〈So, yeah. That’s all.〉
In any case.
The keyword ‘Seed Experiment,’ something mildly noteworthy, had appeared, but it wasn’t directly related to him.
As Ar said, it was just slightly interesting information.
〈Right?〉
“Yeah.”
To Diesel right now, it was nothing more, and nothing less.
“Haah…….”
Well past 10 p.m.
Kang Da-hee, sitting in front of a monitor with a haggard face, let out a deep sigh.
The completely empty office felt rather bleak, but by now it had become a sight more familiar to her than the daytime.
‘Just a little more and I’ll be done.’
She briefly stretched, twisting her neck this way and that.
Then she noticed her own hands trembling and stared down at them blankly.
‘Still, it’s a relief.’
The issue she had been most worried about—the treatment costs—had been resolved.
She had even considered resorting to gang loan sharks with interest rates exceeding 500%.
‘I’ll shower with cold water for a while, and I can get by on protein bars for meals.’
She was worried because of the large expenses she’d already paid, but now that she had gotten a job at Podvig, things would gradually improve.
‘Clench your teeth and endure, no matter what it takes. That’s what you’re best at.’
She clenched her fist tightly, then turned her gaze back to the monitor.
At that moment, a message suddenly came in through the company messenger.
[ Kang— Da—hee 씨. ]
“Yes, Assistant Manager.”
[ Morn— ing— what— ’bout— the— stuff— I— asked— ? ]
Because of the coquettish female voices and loud music audible in the background, it was hard to hear clearly.
Even so, she inferred the question from the few words she could make out and replied.
“I’ve finished organizing the analysis of the statistical data you gave me, and the detailed mana value calculations are almost in the final stages. I think it’ll be done in about an hour.”
[ Good. You did well on that. ]
Perhaps he had moved to a quieter place, because his voice sounded much cleaner now.
But the content was anything but clean.
[ There’s an external business trip scheduled. ]
“A business trip……?”
[ Yeah. ]
James’s schedule flashed through her mind.
“May I ask how many days it will be?”
[ Two days. The dates are around next weekend, but it’s not confirmed yet, so I’ll let you know again. ]
“Ah…… next weekend.”
[ Just in case, don’t make any plans around then. ]
“Underst—”
The connection cut off before she could finish her reply.
“…….”
With not even the energy left to sigh, she rubbed her dry face.
A sudden business trip, of all things.
‘If it’s the weekend, what about my magic training…….’
Another worry arose.
But realizing that no answer would come from worrying about it now, she refocused on her work.
In the empty office, the clacking of an old keyboard began to echo.
“This is really a damn bastard of a job.”
Inside the vehicle moving for preliminary preparations.
Matafil, sitting in the driver’s seat, muttered.
“When the client’s a megacorp, it’s always some shady crap. Don’t you think, Pinkbit?”
He tapped the steering wheel a few times, then looked at Pinkbit sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror.
“…….”
But the white-furred beastman just stared blankly out the window.
“The pay’s good, though.”
When Diesel spoke up in her place, he nodded along.
“Yeah. A Type-19 spirit core. Never even imagined we’d run into something like that.”
‘That’s just the bonus, you idiot.’
Even excluding the bonus, this job was quite lucrative.
Jobs commissioned by megacorporations were usually high-difficulty and left a bad taste in the mouth, but the pay was incomparable to ordinary work.
‘Well, the bonus is so absurdly overwhelming that it kind of overshadows everything else.’
But a bonus was just that—a bonus.
It was never a guaranteed reward.
Strictly speaking, there weren’t many ways to come back with a Type-19 spirit core intact.
If everything went perfectly according to plan, it wouldn’t be difficult, but unexpected situations always tended to arise.
“The highest-grade one I’ve ever encountered was a Type-16 fire spirit. Just looking at it felt like my eyeballs were about to get roasted. If a Type-16 was that bad, just how strong do you think a Type-19 is?”
“Enough to supply power to an entire city.”
A megacity nearly twice the size of Seoul would run on that single power source.
More precisely, it would run on a Type-19 spirit core.
“If it weren’t for that damn hacker bastard, this might’ve actually been kind of fun.”
Matafil tapped the steering wheel again.
“Speaking of which. I remembered that guy.”
“……?”
“The name Raja sounded familiar, and turns out he’s from a clan I know.”
Since the job of a Ghostcatcher inevitably required working in teams, there existed large and small groups known as clans.
In the underworld, which tended to be conservative toward newcomers, belonging to a clan served as a kind of skill verification and identity guarantee.
Diesel himself had received several recruitment offers, all of which he had turned down.
“Abyssal Flame. Ever heard of it?”
Abyssal Flame.
An assassination-specialist clan active worldwide, and not one with a particularly good reputation.
“I’ve heard it’s a place where some pretty shady Ghostcatchers gather.”
“Not just shady—openly so. It’s a clan that’ll take anyone as long as they’ve got skill, even if their background’s questionable.”
Matafil clicked his tongue and continued.
“I thought they mainly handled assassination jobs, so I don’t know why they’re getting involved here. Either way, you absolutely can’t trust that hacker bastard.”
The moment he finished speaking, a voice came through the closed channel.
[Report your position.]
“What a fine gentleman.”
Matafil snorted and reported.
[We’re almost there.]
[Give me an exact time, you idiot bastard.]
[Ha……. About ten minutes to the checkpoint.]
[Good. Don’t pull any stupid shit when passing inspection, and once you reach the location, wait quietly inside the vehicle.]
The connection cut off with a click, and Matafil muttered in a thoroughly pissed-off voice.
“Once the job’s done, I’m killing that bastard first. Don’t stop me this time, Pinkbit.”
“…….”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Please present your IDs. All three of you.”
The final checkpoint before entering Neo-Asadal.
It was still a city without residents, but perhaps because the completion date was approaching, the inspection procedures were quite strict.
“Understood. All three of you are agents from Red One Security, correct?”
When the name of the security firm under Podvig came up, Matafil replied in a cheerful voice.
“Yes, that’s right. So, are they handing out decent incentives over at Bluecap these days? Stock prices jumped about tenfold thanks to that exclusive contract with Cheonrang.”
“……Proceed.”
As the barrier blocking the road lifted, Matafil stepped on the accelerator without hesitation.
“Stiff bastards.”
‘When the client’s a megacorp, this part is nice.’
Countless megacorporations had their hands in the Neo-Asadal project.
And naturally, Podvig was among them.
A troublesome infiltration that would normally have required painstaking effort was resolved entirely with a single employee registration.
Once again, he could feel the power wielded by those who ruled this city.
“So that’s the famous paradise, huh.”
Matafil whistled as he looked ahead.
A gigantic structure appeared before them, like a snow globe stretched to an enormous scale.
‘It really is spectacular.’
A massive wall gave people a sense of stability.
Perhaps that was instinct, inherent to living beings.
So a city not only surrounded by enormous walls but even covered by a dome would naturally offer an indescribable sense of security.
「Welcome. This is the greatest paradise on earth, Neo-Asadal.」
Upon entering the walls, a sign placed by the roadside greeted them.
‘A paradise exclusively for the wealthy, no doubt.’
To move into this city, one had to pay at least five times the price of equivalent housing outside.
And that was just for the shabby homes on the outskirts—astronomical figures must have been attached to the luxury residences in the central district.
“Wow, even the air feels different here. Don’t you think?”
When Matafil opened the window, fresh air brushed against his face just as he said.
Pinkbit in the back seat seemed to feel it too, sniffing lightly with her small nose.
“Mages really do have it easy, not needing to prepare anything separately.”
Inside the parked vehicle near their destination.
Matafil muttered as he strapped a pistol magazine to his belt.
Although mages also had just as much to prepare as other professions—only of a different kind—Diesel didn’t bother pointing that out.
[Stop dragging your feet and get started.]
Raja’s rough voice echoed in his ear.
Along with that, the three Ghostcatchers got out of the vehicle.
‘This is it.’
The target of this preliminary operation: a large exhibition hall located in Neo-Asadal’s ‘Artist District.’
Posters for an exhibition scheduled to open as soon as the city was completed were plastered across the building’s exterior.
When Diesel spotted the title, he let out a faint snort.
「The Aesthetics of Strategic · Tactical Weapons」
‘What a crazy world.’
It was a sensibility he found hard to understand, having lived through the Korean era.