Murder Case (3)
"Save me, Daddy... It's so stuffy in here... When can I go home...?"
This happened one day before the incident. Through the glass, it was saying that.
Jeong Woo-gyeom, the information chief, just watched silently before jotting down notes on his checklist.
Has the state of the contained entity changed? [None.]
Did you notice anything suspicious about the contained entity? [None.]
Please honestly describe your impression of the contained entity. [Same as always.]
"Daddy... Why won't you save me? Why did you just watch me get eaten...? Daddy...!"
Watching it scream like that, Jeong Woo-gyeom thought:
Good. You're the same as always.
Well, it's a monster, so that's to be expected. No growth, no enlightenment. Just a monster living eternally in the same form.
Thanks to you being the same, I can stay the same too. The despair. The rage. This murderous intent. It's all because of you that I never forget.
The best way to tell if someone's human or a doppelganger? Kill them and see.
...That's the most common method because doppelgangers are monsters that are impossible to distinguish otherwise. In a way, they're a perfect fit for containment fiction.
They perfectly mimic memories and personalities, so even friends, family, or lovers can't tell. Plus, a doppelganger disguised as human passes every test as human.
So the doppelganger lives as human—but it's still a monster. Those mimicking humans rise to high positions in society. And in the end, they always betray humanity.
For example, imagine a doppelganger impersonating a Special Task Force employee. It gets promoted to director, then suddenly opens all containment zones at once? Humanity would be in crisis instantly.
Such a bad end existed...
I hadn't experienced it myself, but in my past life, I'd seen a VTuber I followed hit a doppelganger bad end.
It's not a monster that openly kills people, but if left alone, it infiltrates human society. If ignored, it strikes at the perfect moment to doom humanity.
Better to resolve it here than get backstabbed later.
"How many suspects are there?"
"I didn't count exactly, but definitely three digits."
"That many...? It was the night shift."
"A containment zone breach happened. Emergency, so they woke everyone up and called them in."
Ugh, way too many... Investigating each one individually would be tough. Better to narrow the suspect pool with standard procedures first.
One silver lining: As an otaku, I enjoyed mystery stories.
"The basics of mysteries start with the crime scene! Let's investigate the scene first."
I declared it dramatically.
Bodies tell a lot. And in stuff like Crime Scene, crucial clues are usually found at the scene.
"Watson, can you check the body?"
"Yep, got it, Detective. Assistant Watson will act on the detective's orders."
Watson's body gradually faded. Like turning opacity down to 50%.
The translucent Watson clung to Jeong Woo-gyeom's corpse.
Watson's a bit forceful, but as self-proclaimed detective assistant, her investigative skills are top-notch.
Watson reached out to Jeong Woo-gyeom's body. Her hand passed through his clothes, searching every inch.
No damage to the corpse, yet she thoroughly investigated.
"No injection marks. Poison possible, but autopsy needed—that's not Watson's domain. No traces of struggle or trauma. Possessions: just candy."
Watson reported.
Can't do autopsies, huh. But candy?
"Yep. In the corpse's pocket."
"Can you bring it?"
"Yep."
Watson's hand phased through his pants into the pocket, pulling out only the candy.
White-gloved hand. Thumb and index finger pinched the candy, holding it out to me.
Dark red, no wrapper—just the candy straight in his pocket. Surface dusted with lint and fibers.
"...Why keep something like this in his pocket?"
No way he carried it to eat. Who eats a linty pocket candy? Storing half-eaten candy? That dirties the pocket.
Either way, unnatural.
"Yep, key evidence. Assistant Watson will store it, Detective."
Watson pulled a ziplock from somewhere and bagged it.
Handy... If only she wasn't so pushy.
With the body checked, I turned to the glass wall.
A massive glass tube taking up a third of Room 96. Originally, the doppelganger was trapped inside.
【A 'doppelganger' not disguised as human exists as silvery amorphous slime. Like mercury jelly.】
Basically, a slime monster.
Slime-form doppelgangers can slip through sewers, so bars won't contain them. That's why the unbreakable glass was crucial.
"Seon-ah, why'd the glass break?"
"Containment zone breach."
Baesena explained: Special reinforced glass. Powered up for extreme durability—nearly impossible to break physically.
Conversely, power cut drops durability. The breach was a shutdown, weakening the glass. Doppelganger exploited it to escape, she guessed.
"...Containment seems too lax."
"Power's always on normally. No one worried. Kids say it was bad luck."
That reminded me: This is a horror game.
I'm self-employed now, but you could join Task Force or Foundation. Or go rogue with a cult.
Task Force players faced escapes often. Setting-wise, their facilities are lacking. But constant peace wouldn't be horror.
Occasional breakouts for players to suppress—that's the game.
Good call going self-employed...
Ugh, no night shifts for me. Damage to universe's best skin? Cosmic loss.
Universe's cutest girl as entrepreneur benefits all.
"Still, Task Force kids are great at monster hunting? Recontained 22 of 24 escapees fast. Maybe better than Foundation?"
"Y-yeah, sure..."
"Honestly, doppelganger wasn't ideal for us. Usually hand to Foundation. Woogyoem insisted on keeping it."
"Huh?"
I blinked.
Task Force held the doppelganger because of the dead chief's insistence?
"He's the chief. Hard to overrule when he pushes for internal containment~."
"Why'd Jeong Woo-gyeom want it here?"
"Various excuses, but revenge. He had a daughter—killed by the doppelganger."
Baesena summarized his backstory.
Jeong had a daughter. Doppelganger killed and impersonated her.
Jeong came home early that day, witnessed it. Pretended not to notice.
Acted normal dad-daughter, subtly luring it. It played daughter perfectly to avoid suspicion—its downfall. Task Force agents ambushed and captured it.
Thus, Task Force contained it.
"Foundation requested transfer multiple times, but Woogyoem refused. Probably wanted to kill it himself."
"......"
Such a story. Thought he was kindly. Unexpected past—surprised me.
Anyway, his push led to Task Force holding it unsuitably. That misstep got him killed.
"Watson, estimated time of Jeong's death? And what he did before?"
"Ah, I have that. Pre-breach electronic logs remain."
Baesena handed data. Before I could take it, Watson snatched and summoned a whiteboard on the wall.
"Yep, organizing, Detective."
02:52 - Jeong Woo-gyeom arrives at 90-series containment zone.
02:55 - Jeong Woo-gyeom enters Room 91.
02:57 - Jeong Woo-gyeom exits Room 91, enters Room 96.
03:00 - Containment zone breach occurs.
03:01 - Assistant Watson discovers Jeong Woo-gyeom's body.
Neatly summarized. Well, she tries to kill me if I fail, so helpful during cases.
Not omnipotent, but excels in her scope.
I eyed the board, quizzing Baesena.
"The breach—targeted at Jeong?"
"Unlikely? Few knew he'd be in 90s then. Just monitors and info staff."
"So he was here pre-breach? Why?"
"Woogyoem visited 90s often. Checked entities daily himself. Even as chief."
"...Revenge obsession?"
"Yep."
She nodded.
"Figured he was inspecting."
"Anyone summon him here?"
"No. He was alone in 90s."
"Hm..."
Scene and movements checked, but questions piled up—no closer to truth!
...No detective talent here.
Watching mysteries doesn't boost deduction...
Ditch sleuthing for first love stories? Anyway, Watson calls me detective, but I'm a fixer.
End service, Mayuri. Inner self whispers: Live as cute girl fixer.
Just find the doppelganger.
Distinguishing human/doppelganger? Near impossible. Bring a monster that can? Too hard, no time.
But universe's cutest girl has a way.
Cute Girl Punch...?
Call suspects one-by-one—or gather all—and punch. Works only on monsters.
Human: fine. Doppelganger: mod activates.
No deduction needed—case solved. Not cute detective, but queen of cute girls!
"Seon-ah, call the suspects now!"
"Suspects?"
"Yep! One by one... No, gather them all...!"
Couldn't finish.
What’s this? Neck chills. Jaw stings, skin tingles.
Like a kitchen knife to throat.
Unconsciously rubbed neck, checking it's intact.
"Mayuri-nim? What's wrong?"
Lisa noticed, worried. Everyone eyed me puzzled.
Couldn't answer.
System message froze me.
Bond Effect with Magical Girl's Birth activated.
You have detected danger.