Ch.29Council

Robin sat at the mahogany desk, interlocking her fingers. When she twisted them with force, she realized that she now had to solve something important and serious.

It had been 146 years, 3 months, and 21 days since she had passed the date when she should have died. Many things had left her side. Family, friends. Other human relationships. The longing for parents and love for children that seemed eternal. Ideologies. Beliefs. Even her name and identity. But this habit alone had stubbornly survived.

The Foundation’s leadership always had things that needed to be done. Always. There had never been a time when it wasn’t important and serious.

Robin accessed the laptop that only she could use within the Foundation.

[Beginning authentication. Please remain still for a moment.]

[Checking user for memetic contamination.]

[Verifying fluctuations in reality values – Hume.]

[Checking device for anomalies.]

Green text scrolled across the black screen, and soon the familiar desktop appeared.

[Welcome.]

[Council – #8 Robin]

[Automatic language translation meme -Babel- active]

A total of five people attended the highly secure video conference. The minimum number required to make “not-so-critical” decisions.

Other council members had declined to attend, citing research schedules, health deterioration, and other reasons.

“Greetings, Council members.”

Robin offered the customary greeting, but hardly anyone responded. Since factions and private meetings among council members were taboo, meetings always proceeded this way.

“I’ll begin the meeting. Information regarding the date and participants will be automatically recorded, and the minutes will be registered in the Foundation’s Class A secure database.”

After Robin finished her greeting, a dry voice spoke.

#29. Aile. Like most council members, a man she had never met in person.

“Robin. Please explain once more why you called this meeting.”

“Understood. The agenda is…”

As she laid out her carefully prepared agenda, she checked the corner of the screen.

#16. #29. #72… The code of the speaking member glowed white before returning to gray.

Only one person had not spoken at all.

#4. The Professor.

One of the few council members she had met in person.

“Professor.”

Robin couldn’t help but speak up.

“Where exactly are you and what are you doing right now?”

***

An old apartment filled with anomalies.

Body parts and monsters. Even strange murals. Though it was an utterly disgusting space, there had to be at least one habitable place even here.

In a clean corridor, in front of “The Professor’s” office, a man in white clothes removed his hat and cleared his throat. Soon, a voice came from inside the room.

“Come in.”

The man did as instructed.

As he entered the room filled with the scent of old books, the familiar back of an old man greeted him. One of the members of the Council, the Foundation’s highest leadership. The man called “The Professor.”

“Professor. I’ve just completed the recovery agent procurement operation. The number of sacrificed personnel is 13.”

“I know.”

“We’re also tracking the woman you mentioned. We should be able to secure her soon.”

“You’ll secure her by tomorrow evening.”

The man closed his mouth and bowed his head.

The Professor always foresaw the future. The Foundation exists to protect humanity from anomalous and supernatural entities, and for this purpose, the Foundation’s leadership also possesses superhuman abilities.

Sometimes he makes decisions so cruel that all his subordinates are shocked. Sometimes he makes claims that even the Council itself cannot understand, but there is no doubt that his ultimate goal is the well-being of humanity.

***

Hurriedly returning to the 7th floor. After frantically bringing supplies to the storage room, I decided to share what I’d newly discovered with everyone.

The threat in the apartment isn’t just anomalous entities. Some group is conducting experiments. They likely killed the previous owner of room 704 as well.

Room 701, used as a meeting room.

I came here with Choi Serim from the storage room, but the other two people are nowhere to be seen. There’s no answer when I knock on the door.

“I’m glad you’re safe, at least.”

“Yes… but I think everyone should know what might happen next. Do you know where the others are?”

“Well. I don’t think they left this floor. I’m not sure what they’re doing though. They’re probably together.”

Just as Choi Serim answers, Daju gets ready to dash out.

“Oppa, wait here for a bit.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I need to go somewhere.”

“We could just go together…”

Without giving me time to respond, Daju runs down the corridor.

When I follow her, I find her banging on a door somewhere in the middle of the corridor.

Bang bang bang!

“Unni! Are you with Seok Hyunmin?”

“Yes! Just a minute!”

“Hey. How can you not call me oppa even once? And now it’s Seok Hyunmin?”

“Just die, you old man.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

A moment later.

Creeeeak-

The door opens and Heo Yoon appears.

“Ah, Daju, you’re back? Dabin is here too.”

Her hair is disheveled, and she has a toothbrush in her mouth.

“Unni, what were you doing?”

“You. Why are you shouting like that? I was a bit tired and taking a nap, and then, well. Just hanging out.”

“Why are you with that old man?”

“Um… just because? He’s a patient. He’s been moaning after seeing the memetic kill agent, so I had to check on him even if I didn’t want to.”

“Then why are you brushing your teeth?”

“Huh? Do I need a reason to brush my teeth? My mouth felt a bit stale…”

Cough cough.

Yoon runs to the bathroom, hacking.

An irritated voice calls out.

“Ah, Yoon Daju! Stop making me talk!”

“……”

Meanwhile, Daju’s gaze toward Seok Hyunmin outside the room is completely cold.

“Die.”

“Heh.”

Hyunmin looks down at Daju and smirks. He has the face of a life winner who has everything in the world.

“Thank you, Yoon Daju.”

“I’ll kill you!!!”

I kind of understand the situation, but why is Yoon Daju acting like that?

The more I see her, the stranger she seems.

Serim quietly tugs at my sleeve from beside me.

“Dabin.”

“Yes, noona.”

“Let’s go.”

As we move away from the scene, Choi Serim suddenly calls me.

“Dabin.”

“Yes?”

“Remember what I said before?”

“Which one?”

……Ah.

I remember now.

Everyone gathered in room 701. As always, Heo Yoon leads the meeting.

“So according to Dabin, there’s a mural on floor 13A1 that looks 3D and you can enter the space inside, but it’s actually 2D. If you fall into the trap, the painting reverts to 2D, and anyone inside gets flattened. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“And the other thing is, be careful of crazy people. He found traces near some mechanical device, and it seems they’re making recovery medicine by sacrificing people… these people are probably from the Foundation. Besides us, they’re the only humans here. I kind of knew this already, but hearing it like this makes me tense again.”

Heo Yoon sighs and runs her hand through her hair. This is also a familiar scene.

What’s different from usual?

Seok Hyunmin isn’t slumped over the desk.

“So what do we do about 13A1? Should we avoid it for now?”

“I don’t know. I’m worried about getting new supplies too. What should we do?”

Heo Yoon and him aren’t even fighting.

Yoon Daju is muttering something beside me, but it seems best not to disturb her. Choi Serim is typing on her laptop as usual.

So I’m the only one left to give an opinion.

“I think we just need to be as careful as possible. I mentioned it because I was worried, but the traces I saw there were old. If we navigate carefully, shouldn’t we be okay?”

Heo Yoon shakes her head with her arms crossed.

“How can we avoid what we don’t know about? What if we run right into them?”

“Then we fight. Or run away. It’s the same as when we meet monsters. We don’t stop exploring the apartment just because we might encounter monsters, right?”

“No. People are more dangerous. They can think.”

This time, it’s Seok Hyunmin who offers an opinion.

“Or how about we all go down to 13A1 together? At least with people who can fight. We’ll all bring weapons.”

“Hmm. That’s not a bad idea. What do you think, Serim?”

“I think that sounds good.”

“And Daju…”

I nudged Daju, who was spacing out beside me.

“Yoon Daju?”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Alright. Then let’s be as careful as possible and quickly gather small amounts of supplies before coming back up. It would also be good to try different times each day to find a safe period. Got it. Now go rest.”

I returned to room 704 with a sense of unease.

I lay on the bed in the morning sunlight, but the terrible images wouldn’t leave my mind.

The sack that Park Sungjin had brought.

The writhing flesh inside it…

What on earth is happening here?

***

[Council Meeting Minutes dated ■■■■/■/■]

[Participants]

Host: #8 Robin

– #4 Professor

– #16 Aile

– #29 Memory Keeper

– #72 Colonel

#8: Professor. While I respect your judgment, we also have the right to know about the future you’re seeing.

#29: I agree with Robin. What exactly are you seeing that makes you act alone without consultation?

#4: It’s just an investigation. An investigation requiring large-scale elite personnel and top-level security. Dozens, hundreds of independent anomalous entities gathered in one space. Reality values fluctuate wildly depending on location, and spatiotemporal coordinates shift. There has never been anything this unstable among the anomalous entities secured by the Foundation.

[A moment of silence passes.]

#4: And I’ve been continuously updating the interim research results.

#72: This isn’t a matter to end with interim research! Professor, do you think it’s right to take elite personnel without sharing the overall research purpose? This has been an issue I’ve been pointing out since last time. Just because you can see the future doesn’t mean you can move alone without sharing anything…!

#16: Colonel. Please calm down.

#8: I ask the Professor again. What exactly is that apartment that requires such a large-scale investigation? I’d like you to properly explain this time.

#4: Yes. Basically, I can see the future, but these are only fragmentary images. I know there are other limitations, and that I need the cooperation of other council members. The peculiar thing about this apartment, temporary number CREEP-200-t, is that it’s connected to a future I cannot properly see. When I went to that location, I couldn’t see the apartment’s appearance.

#16: Then it might be related to ‘multiple dimensions,’ or the ‘inability to interpret’ itself might be the anomalous property of the entity.

#4: No. It’s not that simple.

[Edited]

#4: Everything is still just speculation. I didn’t want to throw the Foundation into confusion before a proper investigation. This may not resolve all misunderstandings, but I hope at least the Foundation won’t be divided. Robin.

#8: Yes. Thank you for your explanation. This concludes the meeting. That is all.