135
Ch.135 Research Institute Dissolved
The collected building debris is transported to factory facilities within the fortress city, where it is reborn as recycled materials. Everything that looks like trash rolling around the closed-off District is, in fact, a resource that will later be used for the city. Holding a large rock in each hand, I strode confidently toward the truck.
“Wow, what’s that? Is that really a human?”
“Is he a superpower human? But what’s his rank?”
“A high-ranking superpower human doing manual labor?”
Instead of dropping them with a thud, I placed them down gently without a sound. The heroes who had been standing guard around me stopped and marveled at my movements.
“Is that person the one they were talking about? An A-rank?”
“I heard in the report that he’s a victim of human experimentation.”
“Hey, Bongbap! Think about the truck’s suspension and the weight—!”
“Say it simply.”
“Can you break the debris into smaller pieces and stack them evenly?”
Starting with the largest pieces, I carefully stacked them according to the truck’s balance, splitting overly heavy debris in half on the spot. As I effortlessly snapped steel bars and concrete with my bare hands, a fine mist was sprayed over me to prevent dust from flying—a light rain conjured by superpower humans who controlled wind and water.
“Hey, did you see that guy’s body?”
“Gulp…”
“When they said heroes had to work on-site, everyone complained, but…”
“If I knew I’d see something like this, I wouldn’t have said a word.”
Though I didn’t sweat, my wet skin glistened, drawing sharp gazes from female heroes. Ignoring the sticky emotions floating around me, I cleared the debris and sent off a truck.
“Human heavy machinery has nothing on him.”
“Seeing even the heroes amazed, I guess Mr Go really is something else.”
“Ah, so that’s the guy who uses that weird alias?”
The citizens focused on their work without worrying about monsters. Even the heroes, who had been guarding the perimeter earlier, joined the manual labor after seeing no monsters approach.
“W-City really is overflowing with resources. They’re even using a superpower human of that rank as a laborer.”
“It’s the opposite. Starlight and the other heroes are personally helping out. Because high-ranking superpower humans are leading the work, the city can afford to be relaxed.”
“Hey! Water girl! Spray the water a bit lighter here! You’ll ruin the mixture!”
“Wow, a flame wielder’s welding is better than construction drones.”
“How are you carrying three of those without being a superpower human?”
“Try raising three kids—you’ll manage.”
With heroes and laborers working together, the foundation work was completed quickly. After efficiently clearing the debris, I was hired on-site to transport steel bars for pillar installation. This, too, was done swiftly, making the laborers, who were paid by the team, beam with joy.
“There’s no god of manual labor but him.”
“Whenever I’m on-site, I like him more than the Black Cat.”
And so, the prefabricated building modules, half-completed in the fortress city’s factories, began to pile up. The construction, progressing much faster and smoother than expected, soon neared its end. Inside the framework built with modules, it was time to fill in the interior materials. Since the goal this time was to create a structure that could withstand the Black Cat’s weight, steel bars and cement were packed in densely.
“Can’t Starlight just harden it with flames?”
“Tsk tsk… This is why people who don’t know construction shouldn’t talk.”
“Hardening with flames? Convenience comes with increased danger. That’s like using a butcher’s knife for everything.”
“Concrete needs time to cure properly—then it’ll last a hundred years!”
“We can’t give the Black Cat shoddy work! Fast but sturdy!”
Once all the pillars’ concrete entered the curing stage, everyone threw off their hard hats and cheered.
“Today’s work is done!”
“Let’s go eat!”
“Manual labor means free meals!”
The construction, which had started in the morning, ended before sunset, and everyone walked back to W-City, laughing and chatting. After arriving, they washed up at makeshift shower facilities near the outer walls and headed to eat the food prepared by the citizens. The entire process was broadcast across the city via drones hovering around the construction site.
“And so, the first day of W-City’s great stride—building an Annihilation-class monster’s playground—has passed. Ah, Black Cat, we will pour all our strength into creating a place for you. This is the first communication, the first symbiosis between monsters and humans. Right now, you are witnessing not just W-City’s but all of humanity’s new history!”
W-City’s broadcast of the construction process was more of a display, a warning not to challenge the Black Cat. The emotional outburst from the W-City announcer was exaggerated, but it reflected the citizens’ feelings. Watching from start to finish, citizens from other cities left their comments.
[Why do I tear up just seeing people go outside the walls and return smiling?]
[Wow… Insane. No monsters showed up in the end.]
[It actually worked?]
[City expansion? And they’re not even building outer walls first—just starting with a giant cat tower?]
[Does Black Cat’s protection cover not just W-City but its surroundings too?]
[A giant cat tower… Damn. Black Cat’s really settling in W-City.]
[Can’t our city build something like that?]
People who, though protected from monsters, believed they would eventually die trapped inside their cities. To them, W-City’s construction of the Black Cat’s tower in the closed-off District—a vast, monster-infested area—was a source of envy and despair. Only W-City, overflowing with resources and manpower, and free from monster attacks thanks to the Black Cat, could achieve this.
[If the Black Cat came to our city, we could do even better.]
[Too late… Black Cat’s staying in W-City.]
[This is why being first matters.]
The paradox: to summon the Black Cat, they needed something even greater, but without the Black Cat, they couldn’t build such things. Gradually, people gave up on the hope of bringing the Black Cat to their cities. And at the same time—
[W-City really is safe.]
[I want to move there…]
[I want to see the Black Cat with my own eyes…]
Stimulated by the desire for safety, identical movements began emerging across other cities.
[I want to go to W-City.]
[Me too, Black Cat…]
[Me too, me too…]
***
“W-City! It’s W-City!”
“The monsters aren’t coming closer…! They’re running away!”
“Ah…! We made it! Finally!”
On a day when the Cat Tower construction was progressing smoothly, W-City citizens, cheerfully working on the first floor—Black Cat’s hideout—looked up at the distant shouts. Humans and a few superpower humans, walking through the closed-off District teeming with monsters. Some missing limbs, others carrying corpses, covered in blood. Starlight, welding steel bars, flew over.
“Refugees? From where…?”
“W-we walked. Please help us.”
“Sis, get up, we’re here. W-City… We made it.”
“You walked?! From where?”
“We’re from G-City. Starlight, I’m a B-rank hero from G-City.”
“Are you insane?! Walking from G-City?!”
Shocked, Starlight immediately called other heroes to transport the wounded. The laborers, still working hard on the hideout, peeked out to gossip about the refugees.
“Hear that? Those people walked here from G-City.”
“Heard over half died to monsters. How did they make it with only half gone?”
“Apparently, the superpower human with them had a unique ability—survival instinct. Can sense life-threatening danger.”
“Better than being a living alarm that attracts hordes of monsters.”
“But seriously, are they sane? Walking through the closed-off District?”
Even on their way back after the day’s work, the citizens kept talking.
“So there really are illegal refugees sneaking out.”
“Illegal refugees?”
“You know how people from other cities are flooding in, wanting to move to W-City?”
“With the Black Cat’s reputation, of course.”
“But there are too many applicants, and the official route is tough.”
Officially relocating required liquidating assets, obtaining government permits, and boarding special cargo trains that moved between cities. Only those with rare skills, high-ranking connections, or superpower human family members could do this.
“Seems like a lot of people from other cities want to move here.”
“That construction broadcast must’ve had a huge impact.”
After the broadcast, official relocation applications reached capacity instantly. City rulers, needing to retain talent, banned relocations entirely. So people began sneaking onto trains as stowaways.
“Now they’ve stopped the trains too.”
“Really? Had no idea.”
“Thanks to the Black Cat, W-City is overflowing with everything but food.”
Cities once shared resources to survive, but W-City no longer needed to, thanks to the Black Cat. With no way left to reach W-City, some refused to give up.
Those who’d rather risk death than starve. Those who just wanted a better life. Heroes tired of fighting monsters daily. They quietly banded together, using smuggling routes meant for villains, to escape their cities. All to reach W-City, where the Black Cat ensured safety. To return to a time without monster threats. Half died on the way; half made it.
“Heroes deserting is dangerous.”
“Shouldn’t they be punished?”
“Even punishment is better than staying where the Black Cat isn’t.”
Among the laborers, refugees who’d arrived earlier spoke up.
“We were skeptical before, but now they’re openly building this.”
“When you see someone who could be the next top S-rank hero focused on something as silly as a Cat Tower, even fools would trust the Black Cat.”
“Other cities lose people to monsters daily. Here, if you risk your life to arrive, you’re guaranteed safety.”
“Even sleeping in parks here is safe. Really.”
Hearing this, the citizens realized just how special W-City had become. And they knew this wave of refugees wouldn’t be the last.
“Hey! More are coming!”
“Illegal refugees!”
As predicted, more refugees arrived. As the laborers, finishing the day’s work on the Black Cat’s hideout, turned to leave, they spotted figures walking toward them under the setting sun. Like the first group, covered in wounds, guarded by a superpower human.
“D-did we make it…? Finally…”
“Hang in there! We’re almost there!”
“Help us! We’re refugees from B-City!”
“B-City? The fortress city that barely suffers monster attacks even without the Black Cat.”
“Even B-City’s people are coming?”
Citizens buzzed at the revelation. The B-City refugees, escorted by a superpower human, chased after the citizens heading back inside.
“Let us in! Inside!”
“I ran a famous restaurant in B-City! You won’t regret it!”
“Hey, wait! Refugees need identity checks with the heroes first!”
“Hey! Hero! A villain from B-City surrendered! Arrest me! Just put me in W-City’s prison!”
The ones who brought the B-City refugees weren’t heroes—but a villain. Even he meekly asked for arrest, shocking W-City’s citizens. And among them—
I was stunned to see a child.
“So this is the Black Cat’s city…!”
Sensing something odd from the young boy, I stared at him. His gaze turned toward me, standing out among the laborers. Meeting my eyes, he curled his lips and silently mouthed:
‘Nice to meet you.’
‘CXI.’