episode_0020

This request is to explore an abandoned factory.

That participant!

Four people from the Blue Heart Office.

And there were five of them, including Youngmin from the Ildong office.

‘Surely our office… had eight people?’

I started to wonder what the exact composition was.

“Silvia, come to think of it, what about other people?”

“Except for one person who will stay in the office. I entrusted other requests to the remaining three.”

Well… for the office to run properly, one or two requests were all it took.

Right now, this is already my third request.

But according to what Sylvia said, it seemed like there was one person left.

“…Then who is the other one?”

“This is Mr. Badek who will be joining us.”

“Badek?”

Aside from Sylvia and Johnny, I didn’t even know the names of our office’s fixers.

“Johnny, who is Badek?”

“What is it, sister? They were those friends from back then, but you don’t remember them?”

Those friends back then?

When I blinked with an expression of uncertainty, Johnny said that he and I were the ones who called me sister.

“Ah, those old men!”

“The younger of the two is Badek.”

I really appreciated Johnny’s explanation… but I wasn’t sure which of the two men was younger.

Anyway, since they are both old men, it will be okay.

“Silvia So when does Youngmin come?”

“I think it started this way from the Ildong office. I think it will probably arrive soon.”

I don’t know what’s in the abandoned factory we’re heading to, but it’s me and Sylvia, plus Johnny and Youngmin.

It was a combination that was not scary to any enemy.

If Youngmin and I deal with the enemy at close range, then Sylvia and Johnny can wipe them out with firepower from a long distance.

Of course, as is usually the case in abandoned factories, there was no guarantee what would pop up.

While the Blue Heart Office fixers get ready to move on from Sylvia’s bar.

Badek finally appeared.

“This is true. Am I a little late?”

“Ah, old man.”

Contrary to what Johnny said, honestly, it was difficult to say which of the two old men was younger.

“Welcome, Mr. Badek.”

If you think about it, it’s Johnny and Badek…

Badek was a human and Johnny was a black orc, so I wondered if their names were reversed.

“So we’ll leave now only when Youngmin comes?”

“That’s right.”

“This is my friend! Why are you so late!”

“It’s been a while since I hunted, so I was a bit worried.”

Unlike Johnny, who was wearing a black jacket and sunglasses, Badek looked like a hunter from the Wild West.

A cowboy hat, a brown leather coat, and even a bandana around his waist.

“If you do this, your long-distance firepower will be stronger.”

“Yes, I can cover both short and long distances anyway, so I just have to change depending on the situation.”

Come to think of it, Sylvia was quite good at keeping the gargoyles in check with a shotgun the other day.

While I was thinking about that.

-Tiring!

The doorbell rang and Youngmin appeared.

He wore a tie as red as his eyes and a coat over a black shirt.

“Oh! Welcome!”

I waved and welcomed Youngmin.

Youngmin came up to Silvia and me and asked about this request.

“Didn’t you hear from Deoksu?”

“I just heard that they were looking for something in an abandoned factory.”

“You will be able to hear a more detailed explanation on site.”

Once all the solvers who would participate in the request had gathered, Sylvia began to lead us.

***

Immediately after leaving the bar, we boarded a van driven by Johnny.

The distance seemed to be quite long.

By the way, Johnny’s van felt stiff and sharp, as if someone thought it was a car from Dream City.

Badek was in the passenger seat, and I, Sylvia, and Youngmin were in the back seat.

“Silvia, so where should I go?”

While Johnny confirmed the destination with Sylvia, I asked Youngmin.

“But can you keep moving with our office?”

“Huh?”

“The Ildong office is also busy here and there.”

“That’s right. But it’s okay because my brothers are here.”

If that’s the case, that’s a relief.

“And since I also vouched for your troubleshooter apprenticeship… Isn’t this a given?”

“That’s right. Deoksu and I also vouched for it, but Youngmin is in charge of Chris.”

Sylvia seemed to have heard Youngmin’s words, turning her head and saying.

“…So Youngmin is my teacher?”

“If I had to put it that way, right?”

A white-haired kid and a blond-haired kid have a student-master relationship.

I thought this might look cute to other people.

Still, a teacher can be said to be a teacher.

“Thank you, and take care!”

Strictly speaking, there was no need for Youngmin, who was from another office, to do this for me.

Taking that into account, it seemed reasonable to express this level of gratitude.

“…Yes!”

Youngmin responded to my smiling answer with a smile.

….

As I was looking at Youngmin’s pure smile, I found myself averting my gaze without realizing it.

My face seemed to be red… and my body seemed to be hot.

Oh, maybe it’s the cold. Yeah! It must be because of the cold!

While I was trying to make sense of the unknown cause, the van driven by Johnny stopped moving.

“What, have we arrived already?”

“Yes, it’s around here.”

The three of us in the back seat got out first, followed by Badek in the passenger seat and Johnny in the driver’s seat.

“You can join the security maintenance solvers nearby.”

“Will they provide a detailed briefing?”

“Yes, it would be a bit difficult if not.”

Sylvia answered Youngmin’s question.

“Ha, I don’t think those guys will do their job properly.”

However, Johnny expressed his dislike for the security maintenance fixers by mentioning their poor workmanship.

“I think so too. But there are bound to be decent people among them.”

I thought maybe he was referring to Jenny.

“Oh, I see it over there.”

“Eachwiit!”

As soon as Johnny spoke, pointing to people in the distance, a sneeze came out of my mouth.

“Chris? Is it very cold?”

“Hmm. But I think it’s too hot to wear too many layers.”

It was truly a very ambiguous situation.

To use an analogy, is it cold when you turn on the fan, and hot when you turn it off?

“It’s okay. You can just finish it and go back.”

“Well, it would be nice if it ends soon like you said.”

Johnny was already starting to sound anxious.

Meanwhile, Youngmin and Badek were already busy rolling their eyes as they looked around their surroundings.

“The abandoned factory is probably that building, right?”

“Oh, it’s not as small as I thought?”

In the direction Youngmin pointed, there was an abandoned factory with an eerie sight.

At least it was bigger than I thought.

“…Was there a factory in a place like that?”

“It is said that the factory was recently abandoned.”

Meanwhile, Sylvia gave an additional explanation to Badek’s reaction.

***

The security forces welcomed our arrival.

That means that only if we complete our mission properly will we be able to take advantage of the brokerage fees and commissions.

“Are you from the Blue Heart Office and the Ildong Office?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Their number was a little over ten.

“The abandoned factory you see in front of you is the factory where the leak occurred exactly a week ago.”

Leak accident? It seemed like he had made a mistake while researching something dangerous.

However, according to the police officer who maintained security, there appears to have been an external operation.

“We’ve marked where you need to explore on a map showing how the factory looked when it was still intact.”

Sylvia checked it and shared it with our terminal.

However, since I don’t have a terminal yet, I decided to watch Sylvia’s together.

“Oh, something is complicated.”

“This is the structure before it became an abandoned factory.”

“So how much of a risk is it?”

In response to Badek’s question, the security maintenance investigators began to tell what they had confirmed during the few days they had observed.

There is a certain amount of people who target the remains of abandoned factories.

Damage related to a leak may occur, so sufficient caution is required.

According to rumors, several other companies are also showing interest in this abandoned factory.

“Then maybe another company hired a troubleshooter.”

“Yes.”

Fixer vs. fixer.

In the world of Dream City, as well as here in Maguspol, conflicts of interest between solvers were very frequent.

Just like in the Conakry office.

However, there was a good possibility that something like this could happen during the process of processing the request.

“For now, we are blocking the main entrance to the abandoned factory.”

In other words, there were other entrances to the abandoned factory than this one.

I started to have a hunch that something was getting more and more dangerous and a premonition that it would be fun.

“The most important thing is to retrieve the products that companies want from abandoned factories.”

The security forces mentioned it as if it were more important than our lives.

“Che.”

Of course, Johnny didn’t seem to like their attitude.

Well, at least the entrance was blocked and guarded, so it was better than the security maintenance solvers in this city.

There were often people who asked me to risk my life without any such thing.

“Okay then, let’s just go in.”

At Sylvia’s words, we started moving towards the abandoned factory.

However, Sylvia called Badek aside and after talking about various things, she decided to leave him behind.

“Silvia, can we reduce the number of people further?”

“Yes, we still need someone to let the outside world know what kind of situation we are in.”

So to speak, Badek’s role was to be a channel of communication between us and the security forces.

“Everyone, be careful!”

“Ha, okay, my friend!”

While the two old men, Johnny and Badek, waved at each other.

There were two solvers watching the scene from afar.

“Isn’t this a different story?”

“Those uniforms belong to those who maintain public order.”

A troubleshooter with a large stature and a rugged iron mask.

And an all-black fixer with black hair and black clothing.

The two solvers saw the four solvers heading to the abandoned factory and began preparing to move.

“Which side should we aim first?”

“I will take care of those guys.”

“Not the ones going to the factory?”

In response to Iron Mask’s question, another solver pointed to the solvers at the entrance.

“Because we need a hole for our clients to escape.”

“…Okay, do whatever you want. But I need to get paid more.”

***

After the conversation between the two solvers, of which we have no way of knowing.

Not long after, Sylvia’s terminal started beeping as if it were on fire.

“…!”

“Silvia, what’s going on?”

“Wait a minute.”

As Sylvia quickly put the terminal to her ear, Badek’s voice began to be heard through the terminal.

There was a lot of noise, but then several gunshots were heard.

The screams of the security guards and the heavy breathing of Badek, who seemed to be moving somewhere in a hurry.

“The entrance is under attack! Be careful too!”

“….”

As soon as Badek warned of the danger, something was seen inside the abandoned factory building.

A faint reflection visible in the dark.

White steam that quickly disappears when it hits the cold air around it.

No one said anything, but the four of us were already ready for battle.