Chapter 135
Chapter 135
Ah, So That Was It
***
After Hudson recovered the young man, Ga-on, and disappeared.
Left alone, Philip finally let out the breath he had been holding all this time. To him, it had felt like the first act of his life, awkward beyond belief, yet from Hudson's perspective it seemed otherwise. He had let it pass without even pointing it out.
But did Hudson know?
Unfortunately, that very attitude would end up tightening the noose around his own neck.
Recalling the back of his father's figure, which might very well be the last time he ever saw it, Philip slowly closed his eyes.
Some people might judge it this way.
Had he not followed Ga-on's instructions and instead reported everything to Hudson, the situation would have turned around. That his failure to do so was merely proof of his weakness.
Some might even scold him, asking whether anyone had held a knife to his throat and threatened him. Yes—
They had.
“You did well.”
The person emerging from the blind spot was a beautiful woman of indeterminate age. Her office attire, unified entirely in black, should have looked mundane, yet it suited her in an oddly striking way.
Was her name Im Sol?
“I'd appreciate it if you removed this thing from my back.”
Only after he quietly voiced his discomfort did the unidentified Wingless Drone drop away.
Philip was a scoundrel, but he was not an idiot. If there had been an opportunity, he would have confessed a hundred times over. However, perhaps Ga-on had anticipated that possibility and called for assistance.
And a rather terrifying one at that.
“I've heard the general circumstances. He told me to make sure your identity is properly secured.”
She did not like the fact that this had become overtime work, but it was an order from Ga-on, who had now become the young master. Furthermore, Im Sol had no desire to leave a scourge upon society wandering free.
“Weren't you supposed to let me go if I did as I was told?”
“You seem to be mistaken. You still haven't properly paid the price for the crimes you've committed.”
Float.
The Wingless Drone, Comet, rose until it reached Philip's temple and deliberately waved its sharp tip before his eyes.
“Now then, let's go. We've prepared a place suitable for someone like you to lie down.”
***
Who was the hardest person in the world to kill?
A cyborg armed with an MUG—3? A gang swarming like cockroaches? Or perhaps an enhanced human who had trained their entire life?
Having lived for hundreds of years, Ga-on could confidently say they were little more than mischievous brats. Hadn't even the master of the Millennium Code fallen by his hand?
Without question, the most troublesome adversaries in modern society were politicians.
That was simply the nature of politics. Though they seemed divided, they united with remarkable strength whenever a common issue arose.
Killing Hudson would have been easy. But it went without saying that the process of covering it up afterward would be arduous if he handled it recklessly. The Public Enforcement Corps, the Board, and the Colony would all find his disappearance suspicious.
Thanks to the calling card of being Baek Seol's half-sibling, he would remain safe even if the worst-case scenario occurred, but that did not mean it was the best option. Considering the aftermath, it might even be better not to reveal it at all.
That was why he had willingly climbed into a body bag and hidden himself inside the trunk.
It was suffocating, but the advantage of not being discovered was second to none. After all, who would ever expect a dead man to come back to life?
Clunk—
He pulled out a small earpiece from inside his clothes and inserted it into his ear. The device was a voice amplifier called a Louder. Though its performance was lacking in exchange for portability, it was more than capable of picking up conversations taking place inside the vehicle.
Sure enough, a voice mixed with static soon reached his ears.
[Being a fixer actually worked out for the best. Even if he dies, there won't be anyone to mourn him. We won't have to bother with cleaning things up afterward.]
[Then how shall we do it? Fire? Water?]
Hudson let out a low hum. After pondering for a moment, he finally reached a conclusion—
[We'll go there.]
The words were remarkably suggestive.
[Oh, right. Investigate who hired that bastard.]
[Understood.]
After that, only silence followed. Both men seemed to be the type to speak sparingly. Still, he had obtained one useful piece of information.
'There...'
It was almost certainly the place that could explain what had happened to Wendy. It was also exactly what he had been aiming for. He had acted under the belief that if he followed a path similar to hers, the result would likewise be the same.
Clunk—
If his guess was correct, even if Hudson died there, not a single line about it would appear in the news.
Politicians were only frightening when they possessed justification. Once their dirty secrets were exposed, there were few groups more prone to fracturing into factions.
Clunk—
Just how enormous was the secret Hudson had hidden?
He was already looking forward to finding out.
***
Construction was in full swing on the site designated as District 50.
Perhaps because of that, even though working hours had ended and no laborers were moving about, the site felt less gloomy and more chaotic. Construction materials were scattered everywhere, and heavy machinery sat parked along the roadside.
Since land allocation had not yet been finalized, screens had been erected like walls in place of fences. Even the most basic infrastructure remained incomplete, making life inconvenient, but the wealthy were already claiming prime plots in advance and expanding their domains.
The mansion standing alone amidst the dusty streets was proof of that.
A stately Rococo-style structure, a villa that faithfully recreated the romance of a distant medieval age. A single car entered its grounds.
And instead of using the front gate, it deliberately circled around to the rear entrance.
This was because Hudson had ordered it beforehand.
There was nothing to gain from attracting attention.
As they entered, an android butler emerged and bowed respectfully despite the early hour, not a single flaw visible in its composure.
“Welcome home, Master.”
Hudson waved a hand dismissively before getting straight to the point.
“I brought materials.”
“Outside again, as before? But didn't that person say replacements are no longer acceptable?”
“I'll only be consuming them.”
“If that's the case, I'll have it prepared by the next gathering.”
More androids emerged from behind the android butler and took hold of the body bag.
Now that the handoff was complete, that was the end of the matter.
Hudson turned away indifferently, but the experience from the previous week suddenly caught hold of him. It had been a shocking incident even for someone with no interest in fine dining.
On top of that, he had already been worn down physically and mentally by the exhausting meeting.
For some reason, he felt hungry.
Ordinarily, anything kept within the mansion could not be casually taken out without “his” permission, but there were occasions when exceptions were tolerated.
That was why Hudson glanced at the android butler and spoke.
“I'd like to eat immediately.”
Then he pointed at the body bag.
“For real.”
Understanding Hudson's intention, the android butler nodded as though there was no problem.
“I will prepare it at once.”
***
Just because he was inside a body bag did not mean he was unable to observe the outside world. While his vision was restricted, his other senses became sharpened to an extreme degree.
From the vibrations, he measured the height of the stairs.
From the faint voices, he gauged the size of the space.
From the sensations against his body, he determined the shapes of surrounding objects.
Every element coming from the outside was processed without omission or distortion. It took only an instant for a map of the mansion to form in his mind.
How much time had passed?
Feeling a chill against his back, Ga-on realized he had been laid down somewhere.
“Strip it.”
At those words, the body bag was opened.
The first thing that entered his sight was bright yellow hair that looked as though it could emit light. Such a vivid primary color could never be found in a human. It was proof that the being was an android.
“How...?”
Apparently, it had not expected him to have his eyes open. A flicker of surprise crossed the android's face.
But only for an instant.
As if reaching a decision, it gripped a scalpel and immediately swung its arm.
Ga-on already knew well that androids could be even more dangerous than humans.
That was why he did not hesitate.
He snatched away the scalpel and plunged it into the android's neck. After crushing the other five that had been waiting nearby, Ga-on let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and looked around.
Medical equipment.
An operating table.
And a trolley.
No matter who looked at it, it was an operating room. Which only made things more puzzling. He could not understand why an unlocked android would raise a scalpel against a dead body.
It wasn't as though it had suddenly decided it wanted to revive a corpse.
This went beyond merely destroying evidence.
When he stepped outside, an even more bewildering sight greeted him.
Kitchen knives and pots.
A stove and sink.
A refrigerator.
There was no need to look any further.
This place was—
‘A kitchen?’
Even if a mistake had occurred during the design phase, such a layout would have been impossible. It had to be interpreted as intentional.
Why insist on such an absurdly inefficient arrangement?
No matter how much he thought about it, no answer came to mind.
‘No...’
There was one possibility he had considered.
A possibility so horrific and tragic that he wanted to reject it outright.
But he could not simply stand there denying it forever.
As though possessed by something, Ga-on searched for the stairs leading underground.
If his thinking was correct, then the mansion's structure was not inefficient at all. Rather, it was logical and entirely reasonable.
Sure enough, just as he had suspected, an elevator leading underground was hidden nearby.
However—
[Identity verification required.]
There was one hurdle to overcome.
Ordinarily it would have posed a challenge, but there were several related personnel piled up in the operating room. Comparing them should provide the answer.
[Verification complete.]
As expected, the procedure was bypassed the moment he presented the bright yellow android.
The interior of the elevator was spacious. Large enough to accommodate one or two stretcher carts with ease.
It was a specification wholly unsuited for an ordinary mansion.
Unless something was being stored underground.
“......”
The destinations available were limited.
In truth, there was nothing to consider.
There was only a single button.
Still, the elevator operated for an unusually long time.
How deep was it planning to go?
Two hundred meters, perhaps?
By the time his ears began to feel blocked, the descent finally stopped.
The deeper he went, the stronger the strange sense of foreboding became. Ga-on swallowed dryly.
The underground section of the mansion resembled a gigantic convention center.
Or rather, a plaza.
A single vast space was being used without restraint.
The only things serving as partitions were state-of-the-art cultivation pods.
The equipment, packed together like barnacles, resembled a display case filled with trophies.
Approaching one of them, Ga-on squeezed his eyes shut and wiped away the white condensation covering the glass.
“......”
What was growing inside was cultured meat.
Its appearance was not all that different from what he had seen at RG Purification Foods.
But its foundation was entirely different.
[B44301—Baek Hwayeong]
[B00234—Tuni Porter]
[C56255—Boris Nikolayevich Pasternak]
[D54368—Nazer bint Abdul Al-Tikriti]
Every single one was the name of a famous person.
And not one of them was dead.
They were all still alive.
The possibility he had feared had become reality.
“Khk... Khkhk.”
Why had Wendy, sacrificed because of Philip's stubbornness, reappeared as a clone human?
Why had Hudson desperately tried to conceal whether Wendy was alive or dead?
“Ah, so that was it.”
Ga-on laughed like a madman.
But there was not the slightest trace of laughter in his eyes.