A Tour Through the Abyss
Thud, thud….
Contrary to his initial frivolous impression, I followed the one who had suddenly fallen silent and asked,
"What about the other employees?"
Even though he was my senior, using polite speech would have been proper, but after what had just happened, I had no desire to do so. In truth, it wasn't merely a matter of mood—I simply didn't like him.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to care about my tone or behavior. For some reason, he kept glancing at me as if seeking my approval, so I decided there was no harm in speaking even more casually.
"Aaaang—. K-khm! They're out on field assignments. As you know, we mostly work on-site, so we don't come into the office very often."
"Hmm…."
I understood from my own experience, but the reality differed from what I had imagined, leaving me slightly disappointed.
As we walked alone down the empty corridor, the only sounds were our echoing footsteps and voices. There was no sign of hurried steps, keyboards clacking, or people moving about the office.
"Kyahat—. I know what you're thinking, but you should consider it a blessing. I told you—our department is infamous for being vicious. There isn't a single normal person here."
He turned toward me and burst into laughter. Watching him, I wondered if he might be right. Seeing more creatures like him would only bring disgust.
Vrrr—.
"Where are we going?"
I asked in the silence as we rode the elevator together.
"The Development Department. It's the place that made the Brainwashing Stamp you're using. They conduct all sorts of experiments on humans there."
"Experiments?"
"Kihit—. That's right, experiments. Human experiments, to be precise."
"That's…."
"You're not going to start acting hypocritical now, are you?"
He glanced at me with a mocking smile, as if he had read my thoughts. I fell silent, and though he looked like he wanted to say more, he held back.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened. As I stepped out, the smell of chemicals hit me first, followed by the whirring of machinery echoing from every direction.
What followed was the same dim lighting as my own department, the space packed with unidentifiable machines and chemicals. The sight practically advertised that suspicious experiments were being conducted here, stirring a flicker of wariness in me.
"Are you the Brainwashing, Corrupting, Parasitic Department members who requested a tour of the Development Department?"
Before long, a woman in a maid outfit emerged from one of the rooms, smiling as she spread her arms in welcome.
The maid outfit caught my eye first, but upon closer inspection, her arms were clearly not those of a normal human.
'Prosthetics?'
At first I thought so, but I was wrong. Her hands were mechanical—purely robotic.
"Kyahat, that's not a human. It's an android. Look at those Development Department bastards, dumping work onto dolls because they're too lazy. They're only good for experiments and development, nothing else…."
"An android?"
The woman waiting for us with a smile looked identical to a human, aside from her exposed mechanical hands. Though I had only seen fragments so far, her speech and mannerisms were no different from a person's. I had never heard of modern science reproducing such technology.
"Kick-kick! No. That one was made into an android while still alive. They left only the vital organs that machines can't replicate and replaced everything else with parts."
"That's—."
"Kahat—. You don't seriously think the original human agreed to this, do you? That thing now moves only according to the program imprinted in its head. Probably only a third of its brain remains—the rest has been swapped out for machinery. Why—"
He turned to me with a meaningful smile.
"Feeling pangs of conscience again? Thinking you joined the wrong company?"
I met his gaze and fell into thought. This company was far more unethical and beyond common sense than I had imagined. If the world ever learned the truth, it would face not only condemnation but upheaval in every sense. Yet even knowing that, I felt no guilt. Would guilt erase my two billion in debt? I had a debt to repay, and for that, this company had to exist. I didn't condone these insane acts, but I had no intention of hypocritically lamenting or stopping them either.
"No."
"Kyahat—. See? I told you, you're not a normal human either."
After organizing my thoughts, I answered firmly, and he burst into laughter.
"Have you finished your conversation? Then please follow me."
The android in the maid outfit smiled like a person and began leading the way.
"Our department develops over a hundred pieces of equipment and drugs every year. Most focus on controlling the human mind or modifying the body. Thanks to that, we supply upgraded gear to company employees for smooth operations or sell them to clients in product form."
We walked down the corridor while the android explained like a guide.
Thud, thud….
"Aaaaaaaaagh—."
"Kyaaa—."
With every step, horrific screams echoed from the unknown rooms lining both sides of the corridor, surrounding us. Neither the android nor he reacted at all as they continued walking. The android smiled serenely the entire time, while he yawned loudly, looking bored. I felt a lingering discomfort I hadn't yet adapted to, but I could still endure it. I had known this intellectually, but ever since the Guide entered my body and I began company work, my mind had already left normalcy behind. Thinking that, his words about me not being an ordinary human might be an undeniable fact.
"Khehehe…."
A woman's moan from somewhere made me stop. Drawn by curiosity, I approached the door where the sound originated and peered through the window. Inside the dark room, a blonde woman sat bound to a chair, her limbs restrained. A headgear-like display covered her eyes, emitting light in the darkness. I didn't know exactly what the device was, but it seemed to be forcibly injecting visual stimuli directly into her brain. Combined with the unidentified machine pressed between her spread legs and the devices attached to her nipples like milking machines, it appeared designed to induce pleasure. Most of her face was hidden by the headgear, but the evidence was clear in her slack, drooling mouth and the dazed smile plastered across it.
"Khehe…."
The laughter of a bitch drowned in pleasure. As I listened to that familiar sound, the android approached and explained,
"Along with administering drugs to induce pregnancy, we're imprinting audiovisual materials directly into the brain to test whether pregnancy is possible without semen. As a result, her pelvis has widened, her uterus has expanded, and she's producing milk as if pregnant, but she hasn't reached actual pregnancy yet."
The android calmly described the experiment on the woman while smiling. There wasn't a shred of guilt in her explanation of the scene that so casually violated human rights. Though she spoke with what seemed like human emotion, there was no substance behind it. Only then did I fully realize she was something else wearing a human form.
"Is that physically possible?"
"It's an experiment, after all."
The android turned to me and smiled brightly.
"What if it fails?"
The woman inside, letting out deranged moans of "Khehehe," showed no sign of ever leaving the room normally.
"She's a valuable company asset, so we'll try to recycle her as much as possible. If she becomes unusable, she'll be sent to the disposal site."
"What does 'disposal' mean?"
"Usually, she's ground up in a blender into minced meat and fed to the creatures bred in the Biology Department. But if she has a decent appearance, she'll be sent to the Productization Department to be turned into an onahole doll."
"The Productization Department is next."
The Branch Manager, who had been listening, added nonchalantly.
Still reeling from the shock, I forced my gaze away from the scene inside the room.
"Have you seen enough? Then let's move on."
The android smiled emotionlessly and took the lead again. I listened to her calm explanations of the experiments unfolding in the rooms on either side, and at times even entered the labs to witness them firsthand. Then—
I gave up halfway.
"Ugh…."
"Kyahat—. The Development Department really is intense. Even I thought it was a bit unpleasant at first."
As I retched into what looked like a sink, he patted my back.
"Kgh…."
Wiping the drool from my mouth, I tried to steady my spinning head. It had been too much. I could somehow endure seeing limbs severed and replaced with parts from other creatures. But the moment they split a skull in half and inserted electrodes into the exposed brain to observe reactions, I couldn't take it anymore and fled the lab.
"Kahahat, you seem to have calmed down, so let's move to the next department. How about it? Think you can handle it?"
I answered his deliberately provocative tone by slowly closing and opening my eyes. He grinned and we changed floors.
"Welcome! Are you the Brainwashing, Corrupting, Parasitic Department members who requested the tour!? Nice to meet you!"
This time it was the Productization Department. As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, a young woman in a maid outfit greeted us.
Her outfit was identical to the android's, so I couldn't help but ask why.
"Kihit—. It's the Branch Manager's preference. Disgusting hobby."
That was his answer. In short, they wore those clothes because of orders from above. I didn't know the reason, but the personal perversion was palpable.
"Hurry, hurry! There's so much to explain! Kyaaat—. It's been so long since we had outside guests, I'm so excited!"
"That one's human, right?"
I whispered to him as we followed the chattering Productization Department employee.
"Kick-kick! I told you, there are no normal beings in this company. That's a doll."
"A doll?"
"Didn't you hear earlier? The good-looking ones get turned into dolls. They're puppets with no sense of self. Their limbs move on command, and their genitals can feel everything, so sexual service is possible. That's why they're extremely popular with clients—especially necrophiliacs. One of our flagship products. See that?"
Following his words, I turned my gaze. Inside a black tank stood a silver-haired woman—or rather, something with a human body but joints made of doll parts—staring blankly with empty eyes. Blue and red fluids were injected into her body through tubes.
I could guess that the liquid was the substance used to turn living humans into dolls.
"This is a product currently undergoing dollification. Doesn't she look nice?"
When I stopped to stare at the doll, the employee guiding us approached with a bashful smile. Then, as if struck by an idea, she clapped her hands and said brightly,
"Want to try putting it in her? It's brand new, so the feeling should be great. Internal ejaculation is obviously okay too! It even has an automatic cleaning function inside! Since it's been a while since we had guests, I'll let you use it specially!"
"Khat—. I'm not interested in dead things. I prefer living creatures. That way I can eat their brains."
"Hiiing—."
When he waved his hand and walked away, the employee made a disappointed sound before looking at me. Faced with her expectant gaze, I averted my eyes and turned back to the product being turned into a doll.
'…Get a grip.'
I had to steady my mind amid the endless stream of shocking scenes that defied common sense.
