Chapter 59: A Hint of Danger
Chapter 59: A Hint of Danger
[Our adventure starts right now!]
The ending credits roll along with the vigorous voice of a boy with a comical hairstyle.
The story was a bit childish and cliché, but it felt very interesting and fun to me at the moment.
Daesik and Sosik seemed satisfied, too, as they were sitting still and staring at the screen.
Should I say it’s fortunate that we agreed on a channel that we could all enjoy after some discussion?
Anyhow.
Those weird guys.
It seems like about 5 days have passed since we saw the broadcast where someone calling themselves “Twilight’s Call” appeared and mumbled something.The timer that was shown then suddenly disappeared at some point, but now that I could watch TV, I could roughly tell the time.
The news always informs you of the date and time.
After seeing the ending credits finish, I changed the channel and turned on the news.
As the pretty announcer unni, no, nuna, rambled on about this and that, I checked the date and time.
Yup. It’s been 5 days.
If my calculation is correct, I think there are roughly… 2-3 days left until that timer ends.
Perking up my knowledge pouch, I mulled over what I had seen back then.
The ominous words spoken by that guy from Twilight’s… Twilight’s Call.
He definitely said he was fed up with hiding the truth, right?
I’m not exactly sure, but it was roughly that nuance.
At first, I thought the scope was too broad.
There are too many hidden truths in this world.
Even excluding the existence of anomalies like myself, things like the corruption of those in high places… Stuff like that.
But after checking the news from time to time over the past five days, I think I know what hidden truth they’re talking about.
If what Twilight’s Call… said was broadcast nationwide, wouldn’t it have been mentioned at least once on the news?
Well… It’s possible that the people hiding the existence of anomalies controlled it.
If they erase the memories of people all over the country, it wouldn’t be difficult.
…Is that possible?
If it really is, that’s a bit…
Anyhow.
Thinking that way, it seemed highly likely that Twilight’s Call only broadcasts to the TV in the room I’m in or only to the building I’m in.
If so, what they’re talking about is probably the story of the canned food company.
But it was hard to guess why they were angry.
I understand that they’re unhappy about hiding that truth, but I can’t understand why they’re getting angry about it.
Hmm… Could they be a group of people who bought a ton of Soylent Purple Co.’s stocks?
Because Soylent Purple Co. went under, and all their stocks turned into data scraps?
Even so, that can’t be it.
I got the feeling that there might be some kind of faction split, even among the people hiding the existence of anomalies.
Indeed.
In places where people live, things that people do are all like that.
If everyone thought the same way, wouldn’t that be even more creepy?
…I don’t like politics, but that’s the world people live in.
Hmm.
So.
…What the heck is that timer that’s no longer visible now?
I don’t know.
It seems this is the limit of my abilities.
With this much, aren’t I quite smart?
It felt good to use my brain (not that I have one) for the first time in a while, but I wanted something sweet because I thought too hard.
As if knowing how I felt,
The door opened, and an exhausted-looking Han Seori entered.
In her hand was a tray with food on it.
The dark circles under her eyes seemed to have gotten darker than 5 days ago.
Is it because of the broadcast by those Twilight’s Call guys?
…Because of them, I was just lying around watching TV, but I wasn’t too happy to see Han Seori’s face getting more haggard.
“It’s time to eat…”
Look at that.
Her voice has no strength at all and is staggering.
If she goes to the countryside in that state, won’t she be force-fed until her stomach bulges?
Han Seori, who put down the tray without strength, crouches down as if to watch me, Daesik, and Sosik eat.
I carefully approached and distributed the food to Daesik and Sosik, then stared at Han Seori for a moment.
And held out food to her.
I thought that the one who really needed food right now might not be me but her.
My hand reached out without thinking.
At first, Han Seori blankly stared at my hand, then received the food from my hand with an awkward smile.
It was just ordinary bread, not some kind of animal food, so there shouldn’t be any problem.
She tore off a corner of the bread she was looking at and ate it, then put the rest inside my body.
“…Thanks. That gave me some strength.”
What are you saying after just one piece of bread?
…It’s not like I made it anyway.
Han Seori, who was crouching like that, watched me, Daesik, and Sosik eat with a satisfied face.
Eventually.
When I finished eating, Han Seori carefully approached and hugged me.
“Can I hold you for a bit?”
At the voice that sounded like a tired person found their only resting place, I couldn’t move in her arms.
Han Seori being this exhausted must be because of those Twilight’s whatchamacallit guys, right?
She was muttering in a very irritated voice back then, too.
Although I’ve never seen the Twilight’s whatchamacallit guys… somehow I didn’t like them very much.
By the way.
She is unexpectedly big.
I’m talking about height.
Seeing my view rise higher than I thought, I tried hard to think of something else.
It was warm, perhaps because Han Seori’s body temperature was being transmitted.
Below, Daesik and Sosik were at Han Seori’s feet, looking up at me and Han Seori.
Are they envious?
Heh.
Somehow, I felt good.
*Beep… beep.*
The time on the timer filling the screen had quickly decreased, now indicating less than a day remaining.
Meanwhile.
At the news that something suspected to be an anomaly appeared in the East Sea, Han Seori fell into thought for a moment.
‘…Could that be related to the timer?’
Considering the timing, there was a good enough possibility.
Unless a spaceship suddenly emerges from the sea, it probably is.
What the hell are they planning?
Han Seori pressed her temples *squeeze, squeeze* at the headache that started again.
Han Seori, who was tapping on the desk and pondering, manipulated the panel and called Kim Cheonsu.
Before long, a sweaty Kim Cheonsu hurriedly came to the space where she was.
Seeing him covered in sweat, Han Seori blinked for a moment and opened her mouth.
“…What were you doing before coming?”
“Ah, um… I was moving luggage from the closed lab.”
“Is that so…? Isn’t that still not finished?”
“Ah, it just… ended now.”
“I see… You must have had a hard time.”
Kim Cheonsu’s face, which was like a dead man’s, brightened noticeably at Han Seori’s recognition of his hard work.
Han Seori spoke with a determined face.
“I think I need to go down to the East Sea area… Could you prepare a vehicle?”
“Uh… Are only the two of us going?”
“Yeah… Well… They’ll probably prepare everything over there, right?”
As Han Seori murmured that, Kim Cheonsu’s half-dead face became even brighter.
In a small voice, Han Seori said:
“…We’re not going on a trip.”
“Ah, of course, I know that. I’ll prepare right away!”
“…And take a shower before we leave.”
“Yes.”
The moment the excited Kim Cheonsu turned his body, Han Seori spoke as if she had forgotten:
“Prepare a small anomaly transport vehicle, not a regular one.”
“Yes?”
“I said prepare a small anomaly transport vehicle.”
“Ah, yes.”
In the time Kim Cheonsu hurriedly left,
Han Seori, who decided to head to the East Sea where something estimated to be an anomaly was discovered, thought:
‘…Those bastards have something in mind.’
Really… if they were going to expose the secret of Soylent Purple Co., what they should have done was not warn them, but take action through news, internet, tabloids, etc.
In the first place, they were in no position to give such a warning.
And…
Han Seori felt like she knew what they were aiming for.
Although it was just a hunch… maybe they were aiming for 7496-KR, the slime girl.
From what she found out, unfortunately, the recent abnormal incidents occurred in the branch and lab where she was.
And… 7496-KR got her jelly involved in almost all the incidents.
Well, she herself was also involved in almost all of them, but rather than targeting a person, it would be more natural to think they were targeting an anomaly.
…It could be that she was barking up the wrong tree.
‘If those bastards are really targeting 7496-KR,’
Wouldn’t they draw attention with ‘something’ in the East Sea and aim for the lab to seize 7496-KR?
If it was something like that, their actions made sense.
They probably needed time to prepare ‘something,’ whatever it was.
And they must have done ridiculous things like broadcasting to get all their attention focused there.
The puzzle pieces fit together.
Then, Han Seori’s course of action was simple.
Take what they want and flee to the East Sea branch, which will be boiling with anger.
‘I’ll give Committee Member Yoo Kangjik a heads-up around halfway, and he’ll take care of it.’
The fewer people who knew, the better.
That’s why Han Seori chose Kim Cheonsu.
He’s relatively trustworthy, at least.
‘…’
While preparing to leave, Han Seori silently looked in the direction of the isolation room where the slime girl was.
It may be a bit of a strange thought,
But she hoped that what Twilight’s Call was aiming for wasn’t the slime girl.
She hoped that her thoughts would end as just excessive delusions.
But ironically,
…She had to act on the premise that her thoughts were correct.
Han Seori smirked and moved her steps to the isolation room where 7496-KR was watching TV.