Ch.24Correction) Chupacabra! (5)

# 024

“Dexter, save me.”

“Keep at it.”

“You absolute bastard…”

Jessie was diligently doing the exercises Rose had taught her.

However, for someone who could count on one hand the number of times she’d exercised willingly, suddenly trying to work out was pure torture.

For Dexter, though, watching a beautiful woman with decadent good looks sweating profusely while exercising right before his eyes naturally filled him with satisfaction.

But instead of expressing this feeling, he started critiquing her form.

“Is that how you do a squat? Straighten your back more, and lower your butt further.”

“…Huff. Shut. Up. Seriously.”

For Dexter, who tended to tease people he liked even more, this was truly a fun and enjoyable moment.

And so, Dexter continued to joke around and play with Jessie in the infirmary that afternoon as well.

“My body, whew, feels heavy, so it’s hard.”

“Of course your body feels heavy. That’s normal.”

“My weight has, ugh, almost doubled. Phew!”

“I like you better this way.”

“…Don’t say embarrassing things so confidently.”

When Jessie gave him a look that suggested she’d curse him out if he said anything more, Dexter smirked.

Just then, Dexter felt a short vibration in his pocket.

Checking his phone, he found a text message from an unfamiliar number.

Though the number was unknown, Dexter immediately recognized who had sent the message as soon as he read the content.

-Results are in. Please call me when you’re free.

It was a message about the evidence he had found with Agent Himena last night.

It seemed the results of the analysis on the transparent liquid found on the fence post along with the perception-inhibiting fabric had just come in.

Dexter stepped outside the infirmary and called the number. The call was answered almost immediately, before the second ring.

-Aren’t you working right now? Are you not busy?

As Agent Himena’s lively voice came through the phone, Dexter glanced around briefly before responding.

“I am working, but I stepped out for a moment. What were the results?”

-The fabric itself is indeed perception-inhibiting fabric, as you said. We’ve determined the liquid is a bodily fluid from a living organism, but we haven’t identified which organism yet.

“I guess OSA doesn’t have that data.”

-All aliens entering Earth are required to undergo DNA testing, so either this one didn’t enter through proper channels or it’s using mimicry technology.

An alien unregistered with OSA meant the problem was getting bigger.

It meant OSA had failed to catch an illegal entrant.

-Of course, it could have entered through another country rather than through our OSA and then crossed into the American continent, but that probability is too slim.

Dexter stroked his chin once as he thought.

‘There must be different types of bodily fluids… is it blood, obviously?’

The universe is vast, so there could be alien species Dexter wasn’t familiar with.

While he could think of several alien races, unable to make a definitive conclusion, Dexter spoke to Agent Himena who was waiting for his response.

“I’ll look into it on my own for now, so please send me the composition analysis.”

-Alright. Please make sure to contact me even if it’s late, okay?

At her final words, spoken with a hint of aegyo, Dexter laughed incredulously.

“Sure. I’ll contact you as soon as I find something.”

Just as Dexter ended the call with Agent Himena and was about to re-enter the infirmary…

“Ah, Officer Hughes.”

“How did you… Oh, are you here because of Blueberg?”

Raymond, recognizable from a distance due to his size, greeted Dexter with a slight nod.

“Haven’t seen you much lately.”

“Indeed, sir.”

“But I hear from other officers that you’re doing well without any major issues. Thank you for handling the sudden assignment so well.”

“It’s nothing. Oh, Dr. Yelena should be in the examination room.”

“Is that so? I see.”

Raymond, wearing a somewhat uncomfortable expression, strode into the examination room. Seeing this, the day shift nurse approached Dexter and said:

“You might want to cover your ears.”

“Huh? Why?”

“You’ll see when you hear it.”

Even though the examination room door was closed, booming voices leaked through.

-Guards… personnel are essential…!

-Keep changing… make up your mind…!

-…not what we discussed before…!

“See what I mean?”

The nurse whispered.

Raymond, who rarely showed even a smile, and Yelena, who always wore a slight smirk, were now shouting angrily at each other.

“Wow, the atmosphere is intense. Are they always like this?”

“Our doctor tends to be a bit too meddlesome with others. And the Chief Guard is quite strict.”

“He is strict, but I’ve never seen him this angry before.”

It was so bad that Jessie in the hospital room had her face buried between pillows with a dying expression. When she made eye contact with Dexter, she shook her head with gritted teeth.

-Get out!

With Yelena’s furious voice, Raymond emerged from the examination room.

Even to Dexter, a fellow guard, it seemed difficult to burst out in anger at someone like Raymond.

Whether it was Yelena’s years of experience or just her tendency to charge ahead without thinking, one thing was certain—her temper rivaled Jessie’s before her frontal lobe treatment.

“…I apologize. My voice was probably too loud.”

Raymond spoke to Dexter, who looked fed up, with his usual expressionless face.

“It’s fine. These things happen.”

“I think I’ll need to return to the medium-security facility after Blueberg is discharged. Is that alright with you?”

“I’ll follow the Chief Guard’s instructions.”

“Thank you.”

Raymond glanced uncomfortably at the examination room door once more, then bid farewell to Dexter and left the infirmary.

“See you later.”

“Yes, take care, sir.”

After Dexter saw him off, it was the day shift nurse’s turn to check on the situation in the examination room.

As soon as the nurse entered, a complaining voice could be heard through the partially open door.

“No! How can he act like that even if he is the Chief Guard? It’s ridiculous, really!!”

“You’re right, Doctor. Please calm down first and have some cold water…”

“Ugh, does our infirmary look like a punching bag? They come and hit us whenever they want, and try to dump all their annoying work on us…!”

As the examination room door closed, Yelena’s voice became inaudible, but the rest was easy to imagine.

‘Why are they fighting like that anyway?’

Not knowing the details of their relationship, Dexter couldn’t understand why they were arguing so intensely.

‘Whatever, they’ll sort it out themselves.’

Dexter decided to stay out of it unless it directly affected him.

* * *

Upon arriving home, Dexter immediately turned on his computer without even taking time to shower and sent a message to Eliya.

>Perception-inhibiting fabric was found on Earth.

Eliya’s reply came shortly after.

-On Earth? I’d like to get some of that for myself.

Whether he thought it was a joke or not, Eliya didn’t respond seriously but sent a playful message, to which Dexter replied with irritation.

>Stop talking nonsense. It shouldn’t be found on Earth in the first place.

-That’s true. It is something that shouldn’t be found on Earth, but an alien might have secretly entered wearing it temporarily?

Dexter dismissed Eliya’s message.

>Does that make any sense? You sound like you’re talking about space pirates firing antimatter missiles.

-It was a joke, but you’re the champion of scolding in the universe.

>Make your jokes funny, please. Anyway, do you know anyone who might know about this?

There was a brief pause before Eliya’s short reply came.

-I could find out with a bit of investigation. The key point is that this fabric is classified as a strategic material on other planets and individuals can’t use it.

Eliya continued:

-I’ll look into this. I’m suddenly interested too.

>Why?

-Didn’t you say you were curious? If something makes you curious, it’s probably a bigger deal than it seems.

Dexter chuckled as he replied:

>You’re talking nonsense. Oh, and bodily fluid was found where the fabric was torn. If I send you the composition analysis, can you roughly identify which species it’s from?

-Since it’s an analysis done on Earth, I can’t give a definitive answer, but I’ll check if you send it.

>Thanks. I’ll contact you again later.

-Alright, but give me some profitable information!

>Later! This guy, possessed by a money-hungry ghost or something.

Before Dexter could send another message, Eliya quickly added:

-You could just pay back the money you owe.

>I said I’ll pay you back with information! I have something urgent, so I’ll contact you later.

-Wait…

Dexter closed the messenger before Eliya could say more and clicked his tongue.

“He’s really going to die buried in money, seriously.”

Still, among the people Dexter knew, Eliya had the widest network and acted the fastest.

He would investigate quickly and accurately, if only to extract information from Dexter in return.

Having entrusted the investigation to Eliya, Dexter opened the body correction device settings program for the first time in a while.

He should have checked the settings right after the incident with Jessie, but he had forgotten due to the “Chupacabra” case.

“Huh?”

Dexter was surprised to see the warning message he had failed to check earlier still displayed, and clicked on it to see the detailed warning.

[The settings for oxytocin and phenylethylamine are higher than the wearer’s current state! Please be cautious as the wearer’s hormonal state may be abnormal.]

“Oh no…”

That incident was indeed caused by the hormone settings in the preset.

Moreover, Dexter wasn’t particularly meticulous by nature, so he hadn’t felt the need to open the settings program unless there was a problem. He never dreamed this would become an issue.

He would need to make more precise adjustments the next time he used it on Judy.

But Dexter’s expression wasn’t entirely negative.

“Hmm, but it might have been a good mistake.”

Imagining Jessie with her surprisingly cute behavior and enhanced decadent glamour, Dexter unconsciously smiled contentedly before clearing his throat and regaining his composure.

“Ahem. The remaining time is… not much left.”

[Time until complete application: 3 days, 2 hours, 45 minutes, 53 seconds…]

The body correction device seemed to be working well with Jessie’s constitution, as the remaining time until complete application had decreased more than previously predicted.

After checking the complete application time, Dexter counted on his fingers to calculate the date.

“So I work tomorrow, have two days off, and then retrieve it right away.”

The retrieval itself would be easy, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

Having dealt with two important matters, all that remained was to have a late dinner and get some rest.

However, today he felt more like eating out than at home.

“Maybe I’ll go to Oasis Bar.”

He suddenly craved the cheeseburger made by the owner of Oasis Bar.

A thick homemade beef patty with slightly melted cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, a few pickle slices, and special sauce drizzled on top.

As that magnificent visual came to mind, Dexter’s stomach began to rumble.

“Ah, I can’t resist. I’m going for a cheeseburger.”

Dexter headed straight for Oasis Bar.