episode_0359

An dim interrogation room. A single light, left on to create a gloomy atmosphere, swayed unsteadily, illuminating a black bob-haired woman tied tightly to a chair in the center of the room.

When the time came, Unit 9021 poked her.

“Wake up.”

“Ugh… Where is this…? I’m going to sleep… Don’t wake me up…”

She mumbled in her sleep, then buried her face in the table and snored softly.

“She’s not waking up.”

Suddenly, dormitory life came to mind. Daphne used to wake us up when we wouldn’t get out of bed. Honestly, I didn’t want to do that. Daphne’s embrace was too big and soft.

But this one was sleeping soundly even on this hard chair.

Her adaptability to sleep was so impressive, she’d probably even sleep in a lecture hall chair. It was truly surprising.

Even after we had just beaten her up.

“Wake up! Take this!”

-Splat!

I shot her in the face with a water gun. She shivered, then rose with a bewildered expression.

“Ugh… Huh? Unnie? Is that you, Unnie? Or a different Unnie? Where am I?!”

“Finally awake.”

“Unnie,” she said. What a horrible thing to hear. Knowing her true age now, I no longer wanted to hear that bizarre sound.

While I inwardly replayed her nonsense, her eyes scanned her surroundings. The scene was revealed under the dim light.

“Hmm, Unnie. Is this the interrogation room? What, are you going to torture me or something?”

“Exactly.”

The room was filled with neatly organized tools and weapons of all kinds.

But what our Violet liked best was the washing machine placed in the center.

I pointed at the washing machine.

“Alright, Ajumma. From now on, answer my questions properly. Got it? Or you’ll be going in there.”

“Wow, Unnie. Ajumma? I’m younger than you!”

Judging by her continued nonsense, it seemed her brain had gone bad from researching artificial viruses at the Nano Lab. Normally, I would call Bernike, a brain expert, but now it was time to use Violet’s traditional brain therapy method.

“Seems like strange viruses have infected your brain? I’ll cure you!”

“What? Uh, Unnie. What’s wrong… Hahahaha…”

“‘Unnie’ my foot! Snap out of it, Ajumma!”

-Thud!

“Ow!”

The girl—no, the ajumma—clutched her head. We decided to confront this sinister human in a girl’s disguise with the cold truth.

“Phoebe Drexler! Senior Researcher at Selexis Nano Lab! Ajumma, stop with the ‘Unnie’ talk and quietly answer our questions. Got it?”

“Ajumma! What a horrible thing to say. You terrorist! How dare you insult a beautiful girl like me…”

Getting bored, I hoisted her up.

“Eek! You pervert! Ugh! Where is this?!”

Phoebe dropped into the large washing machine with a thud. This ajumma, who had claimed to be a beautiful girl to the point of developing schizophrenia, seemed to finally regain some sense just before the wash.

“Ugh! What is this! Aren’t you going to take me out?!”

We proudly introduced Ariel Group’s new communication tool.

“Ah, this is a washing machine modified for washing people. If you close the lid like this, and press the button…”

-Whirrr!

“Washing machine? What? No! Let me go! Aaaaaaah!”

“I will not tolerate disguises as beautiful girls!”

Water spurted out as the washing machine began to spin at high speed. It was quite sturdy, so it would last a long time.

Inside, screams and the whirring sound mingled, creating a strange music.

Since she was bound tightly with magic restraints, she wouldn’t be able to break out of the washing machine.

*“To introduce something like this! It’s a revolution in interrogation!”*

*“As expected, we are geniuses!”*

The human washing machine was truly a beautiful innovation. Violet no longer needed to bother with beating people directly or individually increasing voltage.

The automation achieved with a single button greatly improved the quality of life for both the interrogator Violets and the interrogated. After all, spinning in a washing machine would hurt less than being beaten!

It was truly an automated industrial revolution in the field of torture!

Our Violet’s means of communication with suspects had moved one step closer to the Geneva Convention.

After repeating the spinning and stopping for several tens of minutes, we opened the lid. We were able to pull out the washed ajumma, who looked like a pathetic drowned cat.

“Ah, ugh… Ughhhhhh…”

“Alright, are you ready to answer now? Senior Researcher Drexler. First, tell us why you tried to run away when we tried to investigate you.”

When her name was called, she frowned as if possessed by a ghost, then pouted and looked like she was about to cry.

“Ah… haha… What? What did I do wrong?”

**

According to records, Corvus Infection was an artificial virus created with nanochemical technology. A company called Selexis Nano Lab used nascent nanotechnology to create a virus that interacted with Aether.

The goal was to develop a mass destruction weapon for monster eradication.

But the funny thing was, it didn’t affect monsters at all; instead, it only affected humans—specifically, some awakened individuals and most unawakened ones.

The results were beyond imagination. In terms of social impact, it was comparable to the Spanish Flu or COVID in the Rustroom.

Millions were infected, and hundreds of thousands died, or so they said.

So, it was understandable why people reacted negatively as soon as the Corvus Infection was mentioned. Especially those older than me.

“Hah… That crazy company’s people? Violet, why did you let those kinds of people go…?”

“I didn’t know! Professor-nim!”

Even the scholarship student siblings turned pale as soon as they heard. Unlike Professor Albert or Instructor Frederick, it was something that happened when they were truly young, but its social impact was reportedly immense.

“So, scholarship student. What should we do?”

“…Judging by her actions, she’s no ordinary woman. Her asking about you from the start is suspicious. I think we should interrogate her and lock her up. If she falls into someone else’s hands, problems are sure to arise.”

“Right, she kept looking around nervously and tried to hide her identity. She had other intentions.”

Perhaps the Foundation destroying their company and capturing their senior researchers and key personnel to put them in stasis was a case of evil vanquishing evil.

“From the start, you were wary of your surroundings and questioned our identities. Was that because you were afraid your past activities would be exposed?”

“Th-that… How could I trust you when I don’t even know who you are! You suddenly appeared and are claiming to be a terrorist organization! Aren’t you trying to use us?”

When the virus was mentioned, this crazy ajumma kept grumbling as if she had done nothing wrong.

“Yes, I spearheaded its creation. But so what? I didn’t intentionally release it, did I? A mass murderer, that’s slander! The bioweapon for killing monsters was a temporary change in direction demanded by investors. It was originally research for human enhancement.”

“Then why didn’t you just say that?”

Phoebe retorted, as if wronged.

“Unnie, do you trust me? I’ve never heard of Ariel Group. Why should we explain our identity to someone we’ve never met, Unnie?”

“Uh… Is that so?”

“You said you’re fighting the Foundation? So aren’t you trying to use us? Telling us to unconditionally listen and follow you—Ow!”

I hit her. I had already seen how terrible the bioweapon she created was. Not to mention its heinous symptoms.

“Anyway, you did make the weapon, right? So many people died, and you don’t feel anything? I heard that you intentionally leaked it because the higher-ups pressured you due to lack of research progress?”

According to public knowledge, that was the case. When there were no significant results, various clans and investors pressured them, leading to a strong confrontation, and they intentionally released the virus as a threat.

“Just as you can’t trust me, I can’t trust you. In fact, you might be someone wicked like Raihan.”

“Raihan…? Why the president of that new pharmaceutical company?”

Phoebe seemed confused for a moment. She soon erupted in anger.

“Ugh… Anyway, I did protest a bit roughly when investors threatened to sue. But saying I intentionally sold it to a criminal organization or leaked it is slander! I was caught without a chance to explain! I didn’t know! Why am I only treated as a villain?!”

Right, I need to find out who the investors are. But before that, I needed to delve into Phoebe’s mind. She was strange, immediately suspecting us and claiming to be wronged.

“So, release me! And the other Unnies and Oppas who came with me! And, reveal your true identity first!”

“Okay, I understand. Then I’ll investigate you first, so offer your head.”

Now was the time to use my second unique ability. I’d had almost no chance to practice, but it didn’t matter.

Even if I failed, I’d just gain another smart nanochemical expert Violet. Whatever I did, it was a gain.

“Here I go!”

“What? What are you doing! Aaaah! No! My head! Aaaah!”

Her memories began to seep in. The memory infiltration unique ability seemed to be properly established in our bodies, as the connection was quite fast.

At this rate, I’d be able to see everything quickly.

“No! Noooo! Aaaahhhh!—”

It was at that very moment, as she screamed madly.

*-“Just a moment! Is the interrogation still ongoing? Could you please listen to me?”*

At a moment when I might have plunged directly into the network, Yurik Ajusshi called another clone. I took my hand off.

“Ughhh…”

Piles of memories accumulated in the network. Suddenly, I felt something strange.

“Is that ajumma right…?”

**

Red light was projected onto experimental mice isolated in double-layered cages.

The mice, which had been moving busily, slowly quieted down. In this manner, samples were prepared and aligned sequentially from the previous day.

Laphlaxia’s researchers cooperated with Foundation personnel to carry out the given protocols.

“Excuse me, could you take a look at this?”

A researcher observing the mice called over a superior.

One particular mouse was standing on two legs, gazing at the researchers with clear, bright eyes.

“Isn’t it an experimental mouse? Has something gone wrong?”

“Behavioral pattern changes have been observed in individuals starting from the wavelength investigation with Ariel Group’s magic power samples two days ago. Their behavioral patterns have significantly changed. Distinct changes were primarily observed at the intellectual level. As you can see, their posture and reactions…”

CCTV footage from two days prior played on the senior researcher’s monitor.

It showed the mice attempting to manipulate the cage locks using pens and clips found nearby.

“The individuals tried to escape from their cages. While experimental rats are naturally highly intelligent, this level of change… A precise measurement would be needed, but a significant improvement in cognitive ability has been confirmed. How about we proceed with a separate verification procedure?”

The senior researcher reacted sharply to his subordinate’s curious suggestion.

“What is this? Do we have time to worry about such things now? This isn’t your private research lab.”

“Oh, my suggestion was merely…”

“It’s a common phenomenon. When exposed to Aether and undergoing monsterization, it’s common for intelligence to increase during the mutation process. Do you know how many highly intelligent gene-manipulated individuals there were before our company closed? Even in now-defunct labs, there were countless monsters modified to understand human language. Don’t waste time on useless things and just proceed with your assigned tasks!”

The hesitant researcher decided to follow orders from above.

As he returned to his work, the senior researcher decided to use the particular individual that had caught his eye for a test.

“Good, we’ll use this individual. Prepare! We’ll start the first test in 1 hour. We’re behind schedule.”

Thus, the fate of one mouse was decided.

After being affixed with a red label, the mouse was placed among the cages of other mice with different markings.

A faint black smoke soon billowed from one side, dispersing into the air.

An hour later, the change began.

“Squeak! Squeak squeak!”

The red-labeled individual thrashed violently.

As other mice watched warily, the mouse’s limbs began to turn black at the extremities.

The black spots quickly spread throughout its entire body, and the blackened tissue crumbled and fell to the floor like burnt ash.

Ten minutes later, the individual that had once been a mouse completely collapsed.

Other individuals continued their activities without any abnormalities.

“First test, success confirmed. No abnormalities detected in other individuals excluding the subject.”

The cage was immediately transported to the incinerator.

Screams were buried in the flames.

Numerous sealed cages of experimental animals stood in rows, awaiting the next experiment.

**

*“Why did we call Ajusshi again?”*

*“We thought he’d cooperate well if we persuaded him since he’s a fellow researcher.”*

Of course, Ajusshi, having heard various things, had cautiously requested it first. Perhaps the advantage was that we now had a good cop in the picture.

*“Does it remind you of Magic Engineering Slave No. 1?”*

She must have been reminded of that ajumma, who was captured by us on severe charges and whose whereabouts were now unknown. Well, in terms of scale, the fake beautiful girl we caught this time caused a bigger incident.

We dragged the slumped ajumma researcher out of the interrogation room and headed to another room.

Seeing her sitting there, it seemed the conversation had gone well.

“…Hehehehe!”

The Nano Lab people who had been talking with Yurik Ajusshi gasped and jumped up when they saw the dejected Phoebe.

“Ughhhhh…”

“What have you done?! You!”

“Ah, interrogation!”

I had used a somewhat aggressive conversational method, and people’s faces contorted with anger and sadness.

Maybe I shouldn’t have put her in the washing machine. Maybe I went too far. But since they were all tied up, there was nothing they could do anyway.

“Ughhh… Ughhhh…”

I briefly pulled Ajusshi aside and roughly explained what I had done. When I mentioned attempting memory reading, Ajusshi’s face contorted with fear for a moment.

“…Th-there was no need to go that far! She almost became a second Violet. She could have been completely taken over. Why is it that everyone we bring in is like this…”

Ignoring Yurik Ajusshi’s lamenting muttering, I returned to my seat and got to the point.

“So, you said you had something to say?”

The man who seemed the most serious among the Selexis Nano Lab researchers spoke as their representative.

“We’ve been framed. The virus leak decades ago wasn’t our doing. We only heard of Ariel Group just now, and we don’t even know who you people are.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

“We just asked the investors to extend the deadline. As for hiding our identities… I can’t argue if you’re angry about that, but…”

The man paused for a moment, then sighed.

“The whole world sees us as bad people, so what else could we have done?”

Another researcher nodded and continued.

“At first, we thought you were an illegal group. We thought we’d be caught or exploited like before. This person says you’re an organization fighting the Foundation, but… How do we know if you’re good people?”

An older researcher bowed his head.

“Look, young lady. If you think about it, it’s our fault… Senior Researcher Drexler asking all those questions and hiding our identities was for our sake.”

“That’s right… So instead of bothering the manager-nim, just torment us!”

The researchers, though scared, started to step forward one by one.

“Unexpected. That attitude?”

“We weren’t sure if you might be an organization similar to the Foundation. That’s all.”

Yurik listened to their words, then turned towards us.

“From what I hear… when the Foundation raided these people’s lab, all the surrounding researchers fled. So they were falsely accused without a chance to explain… I heard from the Helios people that after the lab facilities were closed, there was a brief mention that one of the investors was a Foundation affiliate, but it was quickly brushed aside back then. Without even a chance to defend themselves or explain, the patent expropriation unit stormed in and arrested everyone. After extracting research information for a few days, they simply imprisoned them…”

Ajusshi paused, then spoke.

“It’s far from a normal punishment or judgment, wouldn’t you say? It seems.”

Perhaps that was it. That might be why Ajusshi called me in the middle. It was such an old matter that there was nothing I could do right now.

*“Besides, it’s already in the past, so did we really need to go this far?”*

*“But that one! The ajumma was cosplaying as a beautiful girl! Suspicious. She’s definitely exuding the aura of an evil ponytail!”*

*“That’s true.”*

Voices of self-reflection were starting to emerge, making things confusing.

I figured it was time to end the aggressive interrogation here.

After all, we still had to strategize to conquer Luminex’s other terminals and defeat those strange swordsmen and archers.

“Ugh… My head hurts…”

Just then, Phoebe woke up. It was time to wrap things up.

“Alright, I won’t ask any more questions for now. For the time being, cooperate with us. Just stay still. Got it?”

“…What? Unnie! You do this to a person! And you don’t even apologize? Argh! This is—”

“Alright, want another round?”

“Aaaah!”

As I raised my right hand, the ajumma shrieked and flinched. She must have remembered what happened earlier. She trembled with a frightened expression and backed away.

Seeing her reaction, the collective consciousness recalled Pavlov’s dogs and the principle of conditioned reflexes.

“…P-please stop. That’s too dangerous. Isn’t it too much to even joke about?”

“Ah, right…”

Unable to watch any longer, Ajusshi stepped in front of her, and I backed off. If there truly was a legitimate reason, what we did was too much. It wouldn’t be good to joke excessively.

*“Hmm, we were too hasty!”*

“Alright, Ajumma! Consider yourself lucky. Thank that Ajusshi!”

We turned to prepare for the next battle.

**

Yurik adjusted his glasses with a short sigh. He turned his head at the sound of someone suddenly sitting down, seeing a young-looking girl with a bob cut slump to the floor, letting out a hollow laugh.

It seemed his unpredictable, mischievous, and wicked young employer had tried a recently acquired dangerous unique ability on this person.

If it had gone wrong, she could have been completely taken over.

“Are you alright?”

With complicated feelings towards the person caught in complicated circumstances, Yurik extended a hand.

The girl, who had raised her head, flinched for a moment, then slowly reached out, took his hand, and stood up.

“I apologize, our employer is a bit… impatient.”

Yurik wore a troubled expression. While he pondered how to continue the conversation, Phoebe, who had been staring blankly, suddenly burst into laughter as if she had never been on the verge of tears.

“Haha. Oppa, what’s with that face? Your expression just now was hilarious!”

“Me? Really?”

Phoebe giggled, watching the flustered Yurik.

“Anyway… Thanks for stepping in earlier, Oppa! It was really scary, you know? Sigh… They’re not called terrorists for nothing.”

“O-Oppa…”

Yurik mumbled unconsciously at the unexpected honorific.

“But the term ‘Oppa’…”

“What about it?”

Just as Phoebe’s expression was about to turn cold, another researcher behind her shook his head.

*‘Just accept it.’*

Yurik, who had been observing the situation, didn’t understand why but decided to comply.

“A-anyway, are you alright?”

“Yeah! Oppa! I’m fine!”

Phoebe Drexler smiled brightly.