Ch.152[Chapter 152] Chaos

Sir Dominic looked at v.a.l.l.o.c. with an expression of disbelief.

His face seemed to ask how he could have possibly known that an incident would occur.

Sensing Sir Dominic’s gaze, v.a.l.l.o.c. awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Ah, it’s nothing special.”

After leisurely taking a sip of his coffee, v.a.l.l.o.c. savored the aroma for a moment before continuing.

“Did I ever tell you that I’m a regressor?”

Sir Dominic nodded.

Come to think of it, he seemed to recall hearing a story about how v.a.l.l.o.c. had lost money on cryptocurrency after regressing, and how other regressors were responsible for his losses.

It was probably right after fighting the bug on his first day at work.

“Regression is common in Gacharland. You know? There was even a server wipe not long ago.”

V.a.l.l.o.c. took another sip of coffee, adding, “Time isn’t really that important a factor in Gacharland.”

“This happened before I regressed too.”

“But didn’t you say things could change due to other regressors’ interference?”

“That’s true.”

V.a.l.l.o.c. took a bite of his donut.

After chewing and swallowing the piece in his mouth, v.a.l.l.o.c. casually answered Sir Dominic’s question.

“But some things never change. Like the explosion just now, the Unborn President’s birthday, or the fact that I love donuts.”

V.a.l.l.o.c. grinned.

Sir Dominic heard v.a.l.l.o.c.’s answer and gazed out the window for a moment.

Smoke was still rising in the distance.

Sir Dominic still couldn’t understand the situation.

…

“A-choo.”

What on earth was that sound?

It was the sound of a girl sneezing at the epicenter of the explosion, where smoke was still rising and flames had not yet been extinguished.

It was an extremely small and cute sneeze, but considering what this girl had done, it wouldn’t sound cute at all.

“What could have gone wrong?”

“I don’t understand.”

The site of the explosion was the Black Company’s secret laboratory.

Then the girl sitting on the charred debris, resting her chin on her hand and thinking deeply, must be Dr. Banshee… no, she was called Remi.

Remi roughly wiped her face with the wet towel she received from Zero.

And when she removed her soot-covered safety goggles, she felt her vision clear.

“Why does it keep failing, Zero?”

“As always, I believe it’s the absence of a recipe.”

Remi turned her head to look at the debris that still retained some form.

The appearance of a laboratory full of beakers and flasks, as if experimenting with something… or rather, what had been full.

Though it was now in ruins, Remi had been conducting an experiment in this laboratory.

“No, even without a recipe, I’ve made it more than 10 times. I was even more precise than the recipe!”

“It appears to be systemically locked.”

“Yeah. That must be it. Ugh. And I can’t bypass it with hacking either.”

Anyone who heard this conversation this far would think:

What on earth are they talking about?

Remi said she had made ‘something’ more than 10 times without a recipe, something she was trying to make for the first time.

And she said she could measure more accurately than the recipe.

No matter how you listen to it, it’s a strange conversation.

But Zero seemed familiar with it, conversing properly with Remi.

Why were they having such a conversation?

“Ugh. Do I have to find the recipe this time too?”

“You’ve been complaining about it consistently through more than five regressions.”

“Well… because finding the recipe is a hassle.”

Remi spoke seriously.

In fact, Remi had the [Regression] tag.

In fact, regression wasn’t such a rare tag in Gacharland.

“Come to think of it… it’s almost that time.”

Remi muttered as if suddenly remembering something.

“It seems our parting is not far off.”

Zero said impassively.

“Well, we’ll meet again soon.”

“Yes. We’ll meet again.”

The conversation between Remi and Zero sounded like one between people who were about to part temporarily.

Something was about to happen in Gacharland that only Sir Dominic didn’t know about.

…

System Industries headquarters.

Inside, in the conference room where executives had gathered, there was only a sense of tension.

“…When is his birthday?”

A man with a cigar in his mouth asked nervously.

A man in a checkered shirt frantically typing on a laptop across from him said:

“According to observations… tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, huh.”

The man with the cigar sighed.

“His whims are something else.”

A woman in an elegant suit muttered.

“How far will it go this time?”

The secretary standing next to the woman asked her.

“Who knows.”

The woman sighed.

“It’ll be according to his whims.”

With those words, all the executives looked at the PowerPoint presentation floating in front of the conference room.

The PPT clearly displayed the phrase “Regression Countermeasure Meeting.”

…

[Announcement to all System Industries employees. Tomorrow is the President’s birthday. We repeat, tomorrow is the President’s birthday.]

“Oh. My goodness.”

While Sir Dominic still couldn’t understand the situation, an announcement echoed throughout System Industries.

V.a.l.l.o.c. heard this and looked surprised.

“I heard he follows the lunar calendar, but this is too early.”

V.a.l.l.o.c. grumbled.

“What does that-“

“Let’s get ready to leave. Before we get caught up in it.”

Sir Dominic tried to ask v.a.l.l.o.c. something, but v.a.l.l.o.c. hurriedly started packing his things and said to Sir Dominic.

As if leaving work was indeed the right answer, the system message that followed immediately said:

[All employees should prepare for the aftermath of the President’s birth after leaving work. We repeat-]

Sir Dominic still didn’t understand the situation, but he started packing his things as v.a.l.l.o.c. and the system message instructed.

Thinking that something big was coming.

…

In Gacharland’s sewers.

“This should be enough.”

Park Chunbae smiled maliciously.

Numerous boxes piled in an empty space in the sewer.

Park Chunbae looked contentedly at the small hill of boxes marked “Handle with Care” and began to mutter.

“With this much explosive power, I can take care of all those tankers in one go, right?”

That’s right.

These boxes were all filled with explosives.

And… this space was right below the Tanker Union’s clan building.

“When the foundation collapses, they’ll naturally fall into chaos.”

Malley said as he approached Park Chunbae.

Though Malley maintained outward calm as if nothing was wrong, he too was inwardly excited at the sight of these tremendous explosives.

“Soon, after this explosion…”

“Our alliance will storm System Industries.”

Park Chunbae and Malley faced each other and smiled maliciously like villains from a fairy tale.

This was the plan devised by the Ilseong Alliance and Mountain Bridge Marsh:

The Ilseong Alliance would plant explosives under the Tanker Union building to collapse it along with its foundation.

The tankers would naturally be thrown into confusion, and all eyes in Gacharland, where tankers held strong positions, would focus on them.

At that moment, Mountain Bridge Marsh personnel would infiltrate System Industries.

This was because Sir Dominic’s personal information was currently with System Industries, but externally they claimed they would disrupt the system to prevent tankers from reviving.

On the surface, it seemed like a situation where both sides could gain sufficient benefits.

“…I’m feeling uneasy about this?”

Tails said, looking at Park Chunbae and Malley who were smiling wickedly.

“Things can’t go this smoothly. There must be something.”

Tails’ intuition whispered.

“Something we’ve forgotten-“

“Hey, Tails.”

Malley growled at Tails.

“It’s good to worry, but look around. Don’t you see everyone’s already anxious?”

At Malley’s words, Tails looked around.

Some were frowning, wondering what Tails was talking about.

And others were scared, saying things couldn’t go this smoothly, just as Tails had said.

Tails looked at their faces and made an expression as if realizing his mistake.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

“Above all.”

Park Chunbae cut off Tails’ excuse and began to speak.

“If things go well, that’s good. Why be anxious? We have no way back anyway. Just by joining hands with Mountain Bridge Marsh, we’ve created grounds for expulsion.”

“Right. There’s no turning back now.”

Malley agreed with Park Chunbae’s words.

As if everyone realized this fact, only a quiet silence flowed through the sewer.

“Anyway-“

Park Chunbae broke the silence and shouted to the people.

“Soon we need to bring down the Tanker Union building and cause as much chaos as possible in Gacharland.”

The Ilseong Alliance members nodded.

As Park Chunbae said, they had no way back.

Therefore, they had to act like people with nothing to lose.

No, they must act that way.

That would increase their chances of survival.

If Mountain Bridge Marsh kept its promise, that is.

“Time’s up.”

Park Chunbae glanced at the boxes of explosives.

“Blow it.”

The cold command echoed through the narrow space of the sewer.

They lit the fuse.

It was then.

Tails, who had been constantly plagued by anxiety for some reason, suddenly realized one fact.

“The President is about to wake up-“

But Tails’ words would never reach the Ilseong Alliance members.

The explosion had already occurred, creating a massive fireball and blast in the sewer.

The explosion was successful.

And… the Tanker Union building began to collapse.