Ch.227Record of Task #033 – Fear Not the Darkness (1)

I left Belwether with just a box and my body, slipping away as a disgraced retiree, but at Night Watch, I could have become an honorable retiree… No, I wouldn’t have needed to leave in the first place.

True to my freelance mercenary status, registering as a self-employed individual was a quick and simple process. Contrary to my initial concerns, I very easily… and without any particular feeling, ceased to be a regular employee of Night Watch.

I change my profile status on the freelancer network to “Do Not Disturb.” Even though I had set it to “Resting,” messages asking when my rest period would end had started arriving. That’s how I became independent.

It was an uneventful independence, without any grand celebration… just an ordinary independence celebrated with a can of beer like the ones I used to drink at Night Watch. If anything, I’m glad there wasn’t any pressure.

Now I could work when I wanted to work and rest when I wanted to rest. Does that really mean much? Night Watch work started at 8 anyway, and I was living with a body that didn’t get tired from night shifts.

So, the real big change was… that I no longer had to worry about Night Watch suffering from my actions. Now, no matter what insane things I did, Manager Yoon wouldn’t need to be flustered.

Perhaps this was something I should have done before launching the chair-stealing operation. That’s what I decide to think. Arthur-2, who had watched that retirement ceremony with me, started grumbling in a voice that seemed somewhat uncomfortable.

She got the position she had wanted so badly. She wouldn’t need to leave Night Watch or disappear from LA. The comparisons would soon fade away. Now she was herself, as herself.

“When I told you to give up your life, this isn’t what I meant. It’s just… you know. Unsettling. It feels like I stole your position.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Arthur-2. Considering how much you’ll be compared to the original, you’d better not stop preparing for a job change. Don’t you think?”

Arthur-2 chewed her lip in displeasure and pushed me heavily with her prosthetic hand that had strength-enhancing features. I don’t move back much. In terms of performance, I always have the upper hand.

“Damn, I hadn’t thought of that…. It doesn’t matter. Like you said, the part of me that is me rather than you is growing, so soon I won’t even be a point of comparison.”

“Don’t forget to prepare emergency measures so Kay doesn’t choke from laughing when you start wearing skirts as everyday clothes, Solvers—”

Before I could finish saying her last name, a fist flew toward my face. It had enough force to crush an ordinary person’s face, but Arthur-2 threw that punch without hesitation, and I caught it lightly.

After pushing her fist away like handling a little sister, I stroke her hair until it feels fluffy. Arthur-2 hated it, but doing this makes me feel like I have someone closer than those children returned to life.

We don’t share blood, but we share genes; we don’t share memories, but we share recollections—siblings… perhaps more like brother and sister. That’s how I decided to think about it. The list of things I can accept grows every day.

My job change ended that simply. Now I willingly dive in. I’ll learn more about mutants, and what I learn will show me the way. That’s more than enough.

I search for Belwether’s Anti-Mutant Division on the freelancer network. Hundreds of requests to eliminate wanted mutant criminals pour out. Since it’s my first time, I decide to choose something that will put my mind at ease. I examine the charges.

I choose one who deliberately used his abilities indiscriminately during an engagement with Belwether’s Anti-Mutant Division, killing both civilians the division was evacuating and division members before fleeing.

His ability itself was unimpressive. It only confused the vestibular system, making it impossible to maintain balance. It naturally didn’t work on the Anti-Mutant Division, but it worked on civilians.

And when the Anti-Mutant Division tried to evacuate those disoriented civilians from the scene, even carrying them if necessary, the homemade bomb that mutant had prepared in advance exploded.

The Anti-Mutant Division, being a security team, shielded the civilians, but they weren’t large enough people to embrace everyone. Quite a few mutant support activists died on the spot from the blast pressure and fragments.

I won’t ask if he could kill people who showed him kindness. His only purpose was survival. So, he received help for survival and used others for survival.

Therefore, he’s a human better not existing than existing. An unqualified person. This city needs more people, not more beasts. I confirm the job acceptance. A communication will come.

After a few seconds’ delay, a connection request comes in from a communication channel displaying the Belwether logo. Not the black-outlined white sheep I was used to seeing, but a white-outlined black sheep logo.

I connect the call. Despite the background being easily predictable, the other party first identified their affiliation. Perhaps people with many suspicions dislike being suspected themselves.

“This is Gabriel Walker, Section Chief of Belwether Los Angeles Branch Anti-Mutant Division 7, freelancer. I’ve confirmed your volunteering for the wanted mutant hunt. However, even for a freelancer, mutant hunting…”

He pushed a video to me through the virtual screen. It was body cam footage. It showed an Anti-Mutant Division employee raising his gun at a mutant, then opening fire on his own colleagues.

The shielding wasn’t perfect. Or perhaps the ability worked through different stimuli. In the end, that mutant’s head was blown off by a prepared sniper, but memories don’t disappear.

“There are many risk factors. They’re living variables, aren’t they? So, may I send you training and virtual reality training files from our Anti-Mutant Division? The job acceptance will come after that.”

He might seem to trust people too easily, but I was a freelancer certified by Belwether, where they worked. If such a person offers to help with a job, it’s natural to provide all possible support.

“If the Anti-Public Division is helping…”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d call us the Anti-Mutant Division. That other name only brings bad rumors. We hunt mutants only for the city’s order and safety, not as crazed human hunters.”

The Anti-Mutant Division has its own hardships. I wonder if I need to be considerate, but getting friendly with an information provider is always good. Human likability easily creates security vulnerabilities.

“Ah, I apologize. If the Anti-Mutant Division is helping, I welcome it. I might not be able to focus solely on hunting wanted criminals as I have other work to juggle, is that alright?”

“Even hunting just one would help us suffer less from staff shortages, so any help is appreciated. Especially from a certified freelancer.”

The Anti-Mutant Division is suffering from staff shortages. Are there fewer people than their notoriety and fear would suggest? I gather the information that falls like crumbs from his words. You never know when it might be useful.

“But, it seems you haven’t taken on any work related to our Anti-Mutant Division until now… Isn’t this rather sudden? Most of your previous work has been resolving disputes within or between companies.”

“Before receiving my freelancer license, when I worked for a Belwether partner company, my main job was night security maintenance work focused on hunting wanted criminals, so I’m just choosing familiar work. It will also be an opportunity for growth.”

I didn’t think all they could teach was how to kill mutants. I could also learn intelligence operation know-how, and clearly methods for hunting humans. It was an opportunity.

“So you’re just another bounty hunter after all.”

“Just another bounty hunter after all.”

“I’m glad you’re not a mutant-hater. Those humans might be full of enthusiasm, but most can’t even properly distinguish friend from foe. The important thing isn’t killing mutants.”

The Anti-Mutant Division’s mindset seemed fine. The important thing is not killing, but protecting. At the very least, this division chief firmly believes his job is to protect employee-citizens.

It actually seemed better than the average security team employee. When I was Shepherd Six, I somewhat blindly disliked mutants. I firmly believed mutants were variables that needed to be eliminated.

“The important thing is maintaining efficiency, and ensuring employee-citizens can sleep soundly. Oh, but I’m not a mutant support activist or anything, so no need to worry.”

I naturally ask what people on the opposite side of mutant-haters think. He sighed briefly before answering. An interesting person.

“It’s fortunate that you don’t waste good intentions in such places. Do you know who the biggest victims of mutant crimes are?”

“The people we’re talking about now, right? Those who sympathize with mutants.”

Noah’s mother was also a mutant support activist. Seeing what happens, the slogan “Don’t let the witch live” doesn’t seem so excessive.

“Mutants almost always betray those people when needed, and they must know this… I honestly don’t understand why they try to help those living variables.”

There must be people who think hunting humans is wrong, genuinely good people… and certainly fools intoxicated with being “the good person helping poor mutants,” but most aren’t like that.

Absurdly, the last group avoids danger best. They don’t actually aim to help, and as hypocrites, they would never sacrifice their own lives for the help they give.

Rather, those in the field like the Anti-Mutant Division understand reality best. Seeing their lack of doubt, was Belwether able to convince these people sufficiently? Maybe so.

Perhaps if all this is truly a noble task of hunting unstable and dangerous mutants for the sake of employee-citizens… it doesn’t matter either way.

It would be much easier to convince Belwether than to make Panacea MediTech create a classification like “morphogenesis” to protect and discriminate against mutants, making them think like Belwether.

Good deeds are just intermediary steps, and the final goal is to make Belwether choose Panacea MediTech instead of Hollowwood Creek, isolating Hollowwood Creek.

So, if the destination is the same, the path can be chosen again. I was hoping Nadia could choose a path that would make her happy.

“As you said, it’s misguided kindness. As you know, kindness or the belief that all people have good nature can become blind.”

The world isn’t full of just good people. There were evil and stupid kids like Walter, and even the Special Operations Division, which wasn’t bad, could burn their lives with wrong judgments.

Accepting reality as it is helps. It prevents expecting to paint a midsummer landscape with only jaundiced red, sticky yellow, and already dead brown.

“Haah, that’s the problem. Anyway, my digression was too long. How would you like to schedule the training? If you don’t have other plans, it would be best to set it as soon as possible…”

“Then, may I visit you tomorrow? I just became an independent freelancer today. I don’t want to spend my first day as a freelancer as a day off.”

I naturally spoke in a friendly manner, and Section Chief Gabriel Walker didn’t reject that friendliness.

“I’ll be helping you then. I heard you’re from Belwether, would you like to come at your original work hours? Other Anti-Mutant Division employees will also be glad to help a freelancer.”

I had no intention of refusing any place with much to learn. If I had to become a mutant hunter, I needed to become the best mutant hunter. I didn’t bother hiding the smile rising to my lips.

“Then, tomorrow… I’ll come at Belwether’s work hours. You won’t be disappointed in my abilities.”

“I wasn’t expecting to be disappointed. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. For the company and employees and shareholders.”

The fact that he naturally used the security team’s greeting among employees rather than Belwether’s company greeting confirmed that I was being treated as a partial insider.

After ending the communication with Section Chief Gabriel Walker, I reconnect with Chance in my mind. For this kind of thing, I needed Chance’s… emotional module with pre-war moral concepts.

“Chance, you know what I’m going to ask now, right?”

“Affirmative. I infer you’ve called to reconsider together ‘Am I doing well?'”

“Next time, should I call for something more trivial? Like lunch menu deliberations.”

It was meant as a joke, but Chance took it quite seriously. It was more natural than Chance making jokes.

“Affirmative. Deliberating lunch is better than worrying about meeting Prometheus. Simultaneously negative. Consuming a lunch diet considered only for nutrition would be a negative experience.”

Chance wanted to talk about trivial things but had no talent for them. Whether resembling me or not, we were both people standing on rather ambiguous boundaries.

“And, in this artificial intelligence’s judgment… you are living not badly. It is a pleasure to watch the gradual resolution of the overall lack of ability.”

“Even if I’m only catching wanted criminals, can you say it’s a pleasure to watch me devote myself to mutant hunting?”

“Hunting wanted criminals is on a different track from the genocide committed by Detroit’s renegades. They are hunted because of their own actions.”

Chance seemed to vaguely understand how I felt about mutant hunting. Through Chance’s voice, I confirm things I already knew but wasn’t certain about.

“And, you have always made choices closer to righteousness on the moral line. This artificial intelligence trusts your judgment. If things go wrong, I will advise you. Will you listen?”

“If I don’t listen to your advice, whose advice would I listen to, Chance? You’re asking the obvious.”

Now it’s truly time to do everything on my own, but I’m not that alone. Chance, opportunity, always circles around me, reaching out a hand—I just need to reach out and grab it.