episode_0030

Meeting room on Monday morning.

I called a meeting of managers again. Of course, because of Retry, the last meeting was a non-event.

“Yes. I understand the situation well, Director. Is it still a secret how the information was obtained?”

Intelligence Chief Mel said.

Mel is the oldest person in the bureau and a charismatic middle-aged man. Since I am not usually in the management office, I always miss meetings.

However, this time, I came to the management office for the first time in a long time as if there was something important to do, and I even attended the manager’s meeting because I had left.

“In a dream, a pervert named Maria told me.”

“Director, please refrain from making profane remarks.”

Mariela tackled my remark.

In this worldview, there is a religion that is unreasonable to the real Christianity called Virgin Mary. And in that religion, the person who is revered like Jesus is the Virgin Mary.

It is said that Mary is the only being who can hear the voice of God and can see every corner of the world from where she sits.

What is surprising is that, like Christianity, the Church of the Virgin Mary has a fairly long history, and the Mary they worship is real and still alive.

In addition, the abilities mentioned above are not mythical exaggerations, but are actually possible.

I’m sure you’re still watching, you’re an unemployed, voyeuristic pervert with nothing to do.

I roughly waved my hand in the air.

“Who did you say hello to?”

Mariela looked at me with strange eyes.

“Who would it be? Of course it’s Maria. He says his hobby is voyeurizing on me.”

“…Never say that in front of St. Mary’s Church.”

“That’s natural. I’m not even a fool.”

Each of the managers looked at me with a surprised expression.

“Why, what.”

I, too, am discerning between right and wrong.

“Hmmmm..! I know you don’t want to tell me. Anyway, what you said, Director, must be true.”

Mel cleared her throat and returned to the topic.

“Here are the data I collected while working overtime all weekend. It’s not like I’m training a mutt, but my goal has changed three times in the past few days. Everyone is making a fuss about taking a vacation.”

Well, it’s worth it. At first, they told him to do Pavo for the Union, but then he changed it to Pavo for Lodi, and this time, he told them that there was no need for the Union and to rob the Defense Bureau.

“The Ministry of Information has worked hard. I’ll give you vacation and bonuses.”

“…Zeek? Bonus…? Are you kidding?”

Tanya asked in a confused voice. Is your budget very tight? After this is over, I’ll have to talk to Yeongtaeng to ask for more budget.

“Well, we’ll discuss that later, but for now, let’s look at the data Mel brought.”

I roughly tore open the sealed paper and took out the contents.

A document filled with tables and numbers, a report from the Knights regarding damage, and various other documents popped out.

“The first data is the Defense Bureau’s receipts and disbursement records. It was quite difficult to steal because it was for internal records. If you look at the highlighted part, you can see that Oz Seven’s inventory is quite empty.”

“Huh… ”

After checking the data, I found out that part of Oz Seven had indeed evaporated somewhere.

‘Are these fucking bastards embezzling? And Oz Seven?’

Oz Seven, the official name is Oz-7. This is the 7th version of the Oz series, an innovative strengthening drug created by Olivia.

The performance is quite good, there are almost no side effects, and it is highly stable, so it is frequently used by the Security Department of the Management Bureau, and is even supplied to the Defense Bureau.

‘If Olivia finds out, she’ll go crazy.’

First of all, one case was caught. This alone would upset the National Defense Bureau. As expected, the intelligence department does a good job.

“The next data is the damage report. A few months ago, one of our drivers suffered a serious injury in the backfield and had to retire. Still, it wasn’t a particular issue.”

“…What is this again?”

This worldview lags behind the development of high-power weapons such as tanks, fighter planes, and missiles. Even considering that it is from the mid-1900s, it is at a serious level.

This is not because scientists in the worldview are idiots. This is because it is inefficient to simply create such lumps of scrap metal.

Since it is a worldview in which superhumans exist, people are tanks, fighter jets, and missiles. Rather, because it is a human, it costs less money and has higher tactical utility.

Naturally, the Empire focuses all its budget and manpower on training superhumans and manufacturing equipment for them to use, and the Imperial Knights were born that way.

The money invested in one driver is approximately tens of billions of dollars. Well-trained top-level knights have power comparable to nuclear weapons, literally making them the strongest military group in the empire.

The Imperial Knights to which Lufia belongs.

A knight who is an asymmetrical force that suppresses rebellion with his very existence, an idol for the people, and who can literally be called the face of the empire, was attacked by a gangster from the back world?

Regardless of whether this is true or not, there is no way to ignore this because it is a matter of the empire’s prestige.

‘And yet it was just buried without any special issues?’

A foul smell wafts through the air. This stinking smell goes beyond the Defense Bureau and also comes from the knights who are involved.

Although the Defense Bureau is the superior organization of the Knights, the influence of individual knights is also significant. If you don’t want to ask about the incident, an issue is bound to arise.

Additionally, the knights do not get involved in the behind-the-scenes world. Just as there is no need to send in tanks to catch gangsters, there is no need to write an article here either.

But why did this guy get beaten up in the back world?

It’s difficult.

“The following data is a statement. I compiled eyewitness accounts of the day of the incident. What is commonly mentioned is… ”

“A monster with blue skin.”

It was a word that was bound to catch the eye. Because the masked knights who accompanied Roddy had blue skin.

“Yes, there were commonly eyewitness accounts of a blue-skinned monster. It was said that it was seen not only on the day of the incident, but also often afterwards.”

Oz Seven, a strengthening drug stolen from the National Defense Bureau, a knight who was suddenly buried in the back world but was buried, and an eyewitness account of a blue-skinned monster.

’50 years of advanced technology was created in the back world just two years after it was delivered to the Defense Agency.’

All of this means one thing. These ten bastards from the Defense Bureau sold Oz Seven to the underworld.

The driver who was attacked must have been carrying drugs and money. Of course, it wasn’t just a transportation method, it was probably more deeply involved.

Those who were purchasing drugs would have succeeded in developing their own drugs by copying Oz7, and would have tried to stop the trade.

The driver would have protested against their words to stop the transaction, and a scuffle would have erupted into bloodshed.

Being a knight brings overwhelming money and fame if you have the skills, and since he was doing this kind of work, the knight’s skills were obvious to the eye. So, he must have been robbed like a dog by thugs who were soaked in strengthening drugs.

‘Because the map was stabbed, the incident itself was buried.’

If this scenario goes on, your leg will be hit hard. In the end, the root of all evil was the bastards of the Defense Department.

I briefly conveyed the scenario I had in mind to the managers. Mel nodded as if she had expected it, Tanya didn’t seem to be interested, and Bailey asked with a puzzled expression.

“Zeek, I know because I often use Oz7, but it wasn’t that bad? Doesn’t it make no sense that a knight who was a decent person no matter how weak he was was just beaten by a weak thug?”

As far as Bailey knows, it doesn’t make sense. But to me, who knew how Oz7 was made, it made sense.

“Oz Seven is made by diluting the drug Oz Six. The reason it was diluted was because the side effects were too severe.”

“Oz Six knows. But the one that was leaked was Oz Seven, right?”

“The structures of the two drugs are the same because they were simply diluted. So you can make Oz Six with just Oz Seven.”

“……”

Bailey was momentarily speechless.

Oz Six is an insane drug that, when administered to a real-life three-year-old child, becomes strong enough to take down the UFC heavyweight champion with one hand.

However, the side effects were so severe that it could not be used. It was a drug that could cause death with just one dose, as the muscles in the entire body began to melt as soon as it was administered.

So it only became usable after being significantly diluted, and in the process, side effects and performance drastically decreased. Of course, it’s still not bad.

“Oz Seven was intentionally diluted a lot for stability. Thanks to this, you can avoid suffering from side effects or addiction. But they won’t care about that. If it wasn’t fatal, I would have ignored side effects for the sake of performance.”

I think they may have found the optimal level where the medication does not kill them right away, but only shortens their lifespan.

While looking through the materials, I found a note with a location written on it.

“Mel, what is this?”

“The location of the research institute. This weekend, Olivia and I wandered around the black market and found a guy who specialized in experimental equipment, and we tracked him down through his ledger and found out.”

Oh, I ordered that too. I forgot it while retrying.

I thought it was just a brother-sister reunion event, but I wonder how far it will escalate.

“With these materials, it would be possible to reorganize the Defense Department. So who will be the new head of the National Defense Bureau?”

Mel, who was crossing her arms, answered my question.

“Roben. He is the third-highest ranking member of the National Defense Bureau. He’s quite young, has talent, has a good reputation around him, and even if you brush him off, he’s a special type of person.”

“Hmm… Then, if we just cut the two guys above, Robben will naturally become the director.”

“Yes. Deputy Director Boris, the second-in-command, is involved not only in drug embezzlement but also in all kinds of corruption. You won’t have much trouble cutting it. The problem is the director of the National Defense Bureau.”

“That perverted raccoon is an amazing guard of his own food bowl.”

Even if corruption is revealed, only Boris will be fired and the head of the Defense Department will be fine. He is an incompetent man who has become well-versed in how to take care of his own food, as he has been in his position for over several decades.

“Well, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a way. There is no need for us to just use clean methods. First, I have to meet that guy Robben.”

I roughly organized the materials and spoke to Mariela.

“Mariella, please prepare the plane ticket. We’ll be leaving right away and there will be 3 people. The destination is the Defense Bureau headquarters.”

“Okay.”

The reason I’m buying three tickets is because Bir, I, and one trustworthy security guard will be accompanying us.

“Bailey, tell Alessia to prepare for the business trip.”

“Alessia? What, are you two close?”

“Rather than being friendly, he was nice to look at.”

“Contemplation, I don’t know what it means.”

The others are scary, but Alessia is trustworthy. Plus, I got permission from Alessia to behave like a dog during the previous route, so it’s okay to bother her.

‘allow… ‘Did you get it?’

Well, I guess I got it. Even if I didn’t receive it anyway, what would I do if I had to criticize it?