70. IN Corp Sejong Branch (2)
70. IN Corp Sejong Branch (2)
'......'
Nothing.
To be precise, there was absolutely no information.
The large screen I saw at the previous Cheongju Branch only had the sign [Standby] written on it.
The screen was off.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
I looked at the computer.
The computer was off.
Next, the place where that mysterious monster full of heat had appeared at the previous Cheongju Branch.
'......'
That place was also intact.
However, in the spot that had been wrecked by that monster back then, there was now a single experimental bed.
'That's probably... the bed they use for experiments.'
And the other computers as well.
Then, it was highly likely that they had succeeded in the experiment here.
'Transplantation with a high-grade serum.'
At the time, what was injected into Baek Hanmin was a 93% fire-attribute ability.
It was an experiment within 5%.
But it failed.
Then that means they succeeded here. Regardless of what percentage it was.
'Then where did they go?'
They disappeared.
It doesn't seem like they died.
It doesn't seem like Infected appeared here like there, either. Since there are absolutely no traces.
I tried turning on the computer.
'It's not working.'
It was password-protected. Even if I cracked it, if they had any brains, they would have deleted everything and moved.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
I headed to the Chief Researcher's office.
I thought there might be something here.
At the Cheongju Branch, the Chief Researcher died with the tablet left on, so I was able to find out IN Company's orders.
Locked door.
And on top of that.
'Unlike Cheongju, the security is incredibly tight.'
They made it almost like a bunker door.
Though it's meaningless since it's metal.
I ripped it right off and entered.
ㅡDeol-keong
Then the Chief Researcher's office came into view.
'......'
There was no tablet.
Instead, there were many Post-it notes.
'Of course. Who would leave electronic devices behind? They'd take them all.'
Next to it, I see a photo. A researcher, who must have been someone's dad, with a photo of his wife and daughter.
There was also a business card...
'Chief Researcher Lee Cheol-woo, is it?'
Probably this man in the photo.
So, he takes care of his own family while doing that fucking research.
I scanned the inside of the researcher's office.
What I saw were numerous Post-it notes.
These probably aren't important information either. Since they left them behind.
Post-it notes in the same handwriting were stuck here and there,
I found a note that stood out particularly.
[March 22nd Our Daughter's♡Birthday: Bring Hariping doll]
"...This is ridiculous."
Seriously.
I guess even total psycho bastards take care of their own kids.
More than that, it says 'bring', not 'buy'.
And... if it's March 22nd...
'That's after the apocalypse.'
Then is the Chief Researcher's family in a safe place?
[March 27th Father-in-law and Mother-in-law's Wedding Anniversary]
Seeing the Post-it next to it, it became certain.
Seeing that he even remembers his in-laws' wedding anniversary, he must be quite the devoted husband.
'Or he's henpecked by his wife.'
Doing all sorts of things, seriously.
Anyway, the conclusion is that their families and relatives are all in a safe place.
Even seeing that not a single family member turned, they must have been vaccinated with something similar beforehand.
Seeing that they are taking dolls and even remembering their in-laws' wedding anniversary in a safe place while people outside are fighting monsters and dying, or dying at the hands of people, they must be quite high-ranking.
'Come to think of it, it's not that they seem high-ranking, they are high-ranking. Being a Chief Researcher.'
Then that means there's a place where they are living.
'...Are they inside Sejong? Or somewhere else?'
I searched through the other Post-it notes.
There were tons of notes with unknown calculations written on them.
This is probably about the experiments.
INRS 4
INSS 11 There were also notes like this.
It seems like content about deaths or personnel here, but since it was briefly written on a Post-it, I couldn't understand what it was.
And there wasn't any particularly important content either.
The only thing worth salvaging was...
[Nonsan, Cheonan, Jeungpyeong]
The text written like that.
Two cities. And they are cities. Jeungpyeong is a county.
They are all places near Sejong.
But there are several cities in this vicinity besides Nonsan and Cheonan. Right away, there's Cheongju, Daejeon Metropolitan City, and Gongju City right next to it.
However, it was a bit strange that only those three places were written down.
Am I thinking too deeply?
Especially Cheonan and Jeungpyeong are the places where the 37th Division and the 17th Fighter Wing are said to be, right? I don't know about Nonsan.
If the Chief Researcher went as far as to write those three places down, it seemed like there was definitely something there.
'......'
There was nothing more coming out beyond this.
Like what I saw at the previous Cheongju Branch, orders for INRS INSS,
Or experiments, or experiments regarding superpower extraction didn't appear.
It means it's certain that they moved.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
The remaining 10 floors also had nothing coming out except for staggering Walkers and Runners.
To roughly summarize what I obtained from the Sejong Branch, it's this.
It seems the experiment was probably a success. Seeing that the lab I saw earlier was intact, it seems they succeeded in transplanting superpowers.
INRS INSS are not visible. I'll have to roam around inside Sejong a bit more, but because of 1, the superpower transplantation succeeded, and quite a bit of time has passed. It's highly likely they are continuing to extract superpowers from machines.
It seems there is an intact space where the Chief Researcher and his family are. Since it says his daughter and in-laws are alive and well, it seems there is somewhere where the families of high-ranking people are alive.
The researchers and special forces of the Sejong Branch have all moved somewhere. (Verification needed)
Is this it?
To know more details, it would be better to track the information on this Chief Researcher's Post-it notes.
Nonsan is far.
Jeungpyeong and Cheonan are far too, but it's about time to go. I got that information when I brought Seol-hwa, So-young, and Min-ah, which was around April 8th.
It's May 2nd now, so it's been almost a month.
'......'
There were some fucking crazy things in that month, but there must have been many things happening on their side too.
Since I'm not the only one moving.
IN Company, which spread the infection and superpowers, and their minions must have been moving actively too.
Right away, traces of that movement can be seen here at the Sejong Branch too.
How could an ordinary person like me defeat guys like that? Assuming they thoroughly funnel superpowers from several people to one person.
'I wonder if they're really like Level 6 or 7.'
But I can't just not move.
Since they were weaklings at the beginning, they might not have gotten that strong. Since the Cheongju Branch and Sejong Branch are empty, it'd be better to raid a place that's still intact.
'Before that, I'll look around Sejong a bit.'
Because INRS or INSS might still be here. You never know.
#
However,
No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like those guys and high-ranking classes like their families are in Sejong.
'.......'
Because it's clearly just a totally ruined city.
Still, compared to Cheongju, there were traces left here and there that the military had come.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
Sometimes a corpse wearing a military uniform, or a smashed military vehicle,
Or lost weapons.
However, the City Hall where they gathered was in such a bad location, so they eventually failed.
Since I can use any vehicle now, I just floated one and moved.
A vehicle with no engine sound moves through the quiet city.
This is the IN Company Sejong Branch on the upper left of Sejong.
If you go down, apartment complexes and financial buildings appear, but due to the nature of Sejong Special Self-Governing City, there are many large roads, so the view is wide open.
Therefore, it's easy to get attacked.
However.
'There are no Hunters.'
There were no cracked marks unique to Hunters in the area above the Geumgang River in Sejong, and I saw a few traces of people.
'There seems to be people in that apartment over there too.'
However, since today's goal is to look for traces of IN Company, I didn't intend to intentionally contact people.
'And I can't think of people at the 4-month mark as normal.'
Like the guys who would lure people in like at the Hana Sports Center,
Or like Han Hae-il, they could be cunningly plotting things.
ㅡTak
The sound of the vehicle touching the ground.
That's how I arrived at the IN Mart Sejong Branch. It's the same as the IN Mart located to the right of Cheongju Elementary School in Cheongju.
It was a mart at the intersection near the apartment complex, and since most of the places where INSS were extracting were densely populated areas, it would be efficient to examine the inside of such places.
The mart front door I approached while killing Walkers and Runners.
The mart was strangely completely dark, and it seemed like there was some problem inside.
1st floor entrance.
'...A barricade?'
However, the barricades at several entrances indicated that this place was a survivor base, and seeing that the barricades were breached and Walkers, Runners, and Sirens were visible inside, it seems they were wiped out.
However.
'There are bullet marks.'
Since I saw traces of heavy firearm usage, there was no reason not to go in.
Also, the time they were extracting was 1-2 months ago, and since enough time has passed, it's enough time for Infected to appear.
1st floor grocery section.
ㅡSa-sa-sak
I see Crawlers making 'Kieee' sounds.
I remember having a hard time when I went to the Green Fresh Market with Yun-ji and Seo-yoon back when my level was low.
Of course, they are easy to catch now.
The bullet pierces the Crawler's head.
The guys falling down one by one.
The Siren sees him and screams, and Walkers and Runners flock in, but they die easily too.
'It really is an absurd ability.'
Superpower Level 5.
It has the same name as a game, 'Level', but this is almost close to magic.
No, it's more than magic.
Insane supernatural ability.
Abilities beyond a one-man army.
'......'
The higher the compatibility, the better the ability.
Metal manipulation.
Brainwashing.
Contract.
Fire-attribute.
Besides these, there are countless other abilities, and they are powerful.
'Now IN Company will classify those abilities, line them up, and transplant them to the higher-ups.'
And they will put their subordinates in front, clear the Infected, and raise their gauge to obtain powerful abilities.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
IN Mart.
3rd floor furniture store.
Numerous bullet marks and the familiar, ㅡbeep-beep-beep sounding Extractor.
Next, the recently dead Infected near the Extractor, and shell casings scattered here and there.
'It's probably roughly that kind of story.'