Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Just Information Gathering
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This was, after all, just information gathering.
Amid the hazy cloud of gypsum dust.
A dim silhouette came into view.
The anomaly's arm seemed to have pierced right through the newb's chest, its shadow stretching long.
The nurse anomaly's mouth slowly split open like cracking porcelain.
A mocking smile crept across its fractured face.
As if it were certain it was over.
The pen slipped from Information Junkie's hand.
His eyes widened, breath catching in his throat.
Newb 120053's death.
The words filled his mind, leaving no room for thought.
"Gone just like that?"
As shock left him dazed, an unfamiliar sound pierced his ears.
Not a scream tearing flesh, but a heavy thud.
'...What?'
It sounded like something slamming into a solid metal plate.
His vacant eyes slowly shifted.
His frozen gaze turned toward the fog.
Pale dust swirled in the air, and within it, a faint shape flickered.
Information Junkie held his breath.
No way.
As the fog slowly cleared, the hidden outline seeped into his vision.
He spotted the paper clenched in the newb's mouth.
And that was──
A paper no Anomalous Tale Gallery user could fail to recognize.
An item Information Junkie himself favored during anomaly explorations.
[Nullification Shield]
It blocked one physical attack.
The effect lasted about a minute.
So then.
Like pieces of a puzzle snapping together, the situation came into focus.
The newb had deliberately held off using it until now.
Saving it for this one moment when the attack was closest.
One wrong move, and the newb wouldn't have survived.
A hair's breadth from death.
But what did that matter now?
It was a pointless hypothetical.
The result of the gamble lay right before Information Junkie's eyes.
The newb had bet everything and won spectacularly.
The newb spat the paper from his mouth onto the floor.
The damp sheet stuck to the concrete with a faint sound.
In that instant, a thrilling shiver raced up Information Junkie's spine.
His hands, his feet, his whole body.
Trembling.
He'd never felt excitement like this in his entire life.
His heart pounded wildly.
Something boiled up inside his chest.
Work, the boss's office next door—none of it mattered.
If he didn't let this emotion out, he'd regret it forever.
His mouth gaped open, and he chewed out the perfect single word encapsulating it all.
"HOUUUUUUUUUU──!!!"
His shout shook the office walls.
The rush of ecstasy left his chest feeling light, everything released.
But as the emotion poured out, reason slowly returned.
Knowing his boss's temper, there'd be hell to pay for the noise.
Information Junkie shrank back, bracing for the boss's appearance—only to let out a hollow chuckle at the voice from next door.
─KYAAA! That's what I'm talking about!!! Our newb!!
Upon closer listen.
"Aren't these people supposed to be working?"
It wasn't just the boss.
Cheers echoed from all over the Management Bureau.
Second Team Leader's desk.
Lab Director's spot.
A few other places too…
"..Guess I'm in no position to judge."
Fuck it.
Another shout burst from Information Junkie's mouth.
"SIUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!"
***
Once his emotions settled, Information Junkie turned back to the screen.
The newb's body had been flung out of the emergency room from the impact.
Thud─!
Nullification Shield.
It only blocked physical attacks, after all.
It didn't account for the momentum that came with them.
A minor bug, if you could call it that.
About five seconds later, all other physical laws kicked back in.
Information Junkie had often griped about why they never patched it.
But he'd changed his tune now.
That bug was what saved the newb.
At the emergency room entrance.
The nurse anomaly twisted its body, struggling desperately to escape the room.
Regular static leaked from its gaping mouth.
─Paaatienttttt…
"So the area is designated."
The newb's gaze flicked briefly to the entrance, then he stood and headed one way.
At the end of his gaze, a middle-aged man stood in the hallway.
─…You held up well.
The newb set the child he was holding down on the floor.
The child, head bowed for a moment, slowly lifted their gaze.
Focus gradually sharpened in eyes that had seemed like empty shells.
Trembling lips parted, a faint sound escaping.
…Daddy.
The middle-aged man's eyes shook violently at the child's words.
─Bo… Boram…?
A touching reunion.
But the gallery's chat exploded with question marks.
The room split into those who missed the one-minute mark and those who caught it.
[Human Centipede] : ...Holy shit. Fuck. I'm tearing up.
├[Taste of Collapse] : For real lol
[Heavenbreaker Emperor] : ...???
[Poison Needle Pufferfish] : ???
[Cream Bun] : Who the hell is that old dude all of a sudden? Am I the only one lost?
[Flounder] : Uh.. so that kid is that guy's kid, right? Right? Yeah?
[Dark Meter] : So who is that guy anyway?
[Crazy Woman] : ...Someone explain.
Information Junkie hurriedly typed into the chat.
A third party had appeared out of nowhere.
It felt like what he'd thought was the prologue was actually episode 1, with a real prologue before that.
Some story was unfolding that he alone didn't know.
[Information Junkie] : Um… Water is Water, Bread is Bread?
├[Water is Water, Bread is Bread] : What?
├[Information Junkie] : On second thought, I was rude earlier. If you have time, could you explain again?
He regretted dismissing it as bullshit; now that hint from the user resurfaced in his mind.
A reply came soon after.
├[Water is Water, Bread is Bread] : lol
Information Junkie's face hardened at the immediate response.
It was dripping with mockery, clear he had no intention of explaining.
“…That fucking asshole?”
The past dismissal of "not needed" was long gone from his mind.
That's when it happened.
The screen flushed red with a warning.
[Anomaly moves to punish the being ignoring rules.]
[Crazy Woman] : …What the hell? Is this a thing?
[Heavenbreaker Emperor] : The anomaly changed tactics.
[Not Human] : …Fuck.
[Repeated rule violations temporarily release rule constraints.]
Information Junkie's eyes snapped wide at the system message.
He had some idea what this was.
This message only appeared in specific situations.
Information Junkie had once imagined it himself.
‘What if you could use Rule Ignore Paper infinitely? Even invincible anomalies could be breached.'
He'd learned the answer from a video the Lab Director recommended.
─Earth of the 13th worldline.
The incident where 32 Anomalous Gallery users pooled coins to buy 'Rule Ignore' paper.
They'd boldly challenged a disappearance-class anomaly.
The result?
A massacre.
The very purpose of rules.
Why anomalies killed within the framework of rules.
Anomalies weren't convenient tools for killing humans.
Quite the opposite.
The sole chain binding anomalies—to protect humans.
The restriction: they could only penalize rule violators.
But repeated violations thinned that chain until it snapped.
Temporarily, at least.
In that moment, the anomaly was fully freed from the compulsion to follow rules.
And that alone was enough.
Information Junkie knew the anomaly's power all too well.
How terrifying an anomaly unbound by rules truly was.
His gaze frantically locked onto the screen.
He spotted the paper in the middle-aged man's hand.
It rattled his brain.
When the hell did he use that?
Just one minute missed, and the gap was this huge?
Shouts echoed through the Management Bureau hallways.
─Aaaah! When did you give that?!
─What the hell is that thing!!!
─What were they even talking about?
He couldn't make a fuss anymore.
Not because of work.
It was just beginning.
The Rule Ignore effect.
The nurse anomaly that had lunged to kill the newb moments ago now calmly exited the emergency room.
Information Junkie got chills at the sight.
Thud—!
Thud—!
Guard anomalies began appearing in the hall.
Too many to count.
And by their builds, they were no pushovers.
The crisis didn't end there.
The floor shook.
As if the building floated on a vast ocean, the entire level rippled and vibrated.
Boom—!
Through the newb's view, cracks appeared in the building.
And from them, Information Junkie saw an anomaly in a white coat with six arms.
The core of Happy Sharing General Hospital anomaly.
The first confirmed sighting.
It always hid at the top floor, never showing itself.
The newb's desperate expression flashed as crisis dawned.
─We need to get out! Right now—
From then on, what Information Junkie faced wasn't just footage.
Not cold video.
Someone's life, their end, unfolding like a story.
Unable to catch his breath, he became a spectator, drawn into the scene.
“In truth… I knew the moment I first saw her. That this child wasn't the real Boram. A father wouldn't fail to recognize his own daughter. But…”
“If this child was made in Boram's image… then she's my child too. A being I must protect.”
“…I'm glad. And now I know what I must do.”
They say a well-made movie pulls you in even mid-watch.
“You know, back in the day, I was—embarrassingly—a top lawyer. At a massive firm. My days were packed with lawsuits and contracts."
“…I used work as an excuse, but I never properly played the dad role. Probably scored zero as a father.”
Something was about to happen.
“But still…”
“As a lawyer, I never took a loss. Not once.”
The moment a chilling resonance emanated from the man who'd seemed like a mere old guy.
Information Junkie could no longer call him that.
“I made a contract with the anomaly. Wishing my daughter health. But I didn't act rashly. Contracts always have clauses and penalties. If breached, you'd bear responsibility. I always confirmed that before stamping. With a solid notary too. Same back then. Principles and rules. That's how I lived as a lawyer.”
That was—
“Have you ever wondered why this building is lit up so excessively? Day and night blurred, blazing like a city that never sleeps.”
One man's—
“…I'll claim the price.”
“Can the price be changed?”
“Then I change the price. And I demand immediate payment for 13 years of overdue penalties from contract breach.”
Choice to protect his family—
“…The price is this building's button.”
The reward for 13 years of noble sacrifice.
Its weight was suffocating.
The man lifted it with a smile.
“I'm no monster. …I'm a living, human being.”
His rough, calloused hand grasped the newb's.
The child's hand overlaid them.
Fists clenched, the button clicked softly.
“Let me die as a human at the end… Truly. Thank you so much….”
Thud… thud…
The guard anomalies closed in on the newb.
Even from afar, their footsteps sounded right beside him.
Thud… thud…
"..Ah.."
In the end, Information Junkie realized.
The source of the sound.
This was.
Not footsteps.
The beating of his own heart.
The ground crumbled.
A massive arm burst forth.
The anomaly threatening the newb was seized and vanished.
Arms extended around the newb at the center.
Even the nurse anomaly was no exception.
The source of terror vanished pathetically.
The countless enemies disappeared.
The desperate crisis flipped in an instant.
Now one against many.
The newb was the many.
The hospital director anomaly thrashed, offering a deal to the newb—no one watching cared.
The gallery users already knew the newb's choice.
As expected, laughter spread through the chat at his next action.
[Heavenbreaker Emperor] : lmao lololol
[Cream Bun] : lmaooooooo
[Flounder] : lmaoooo Mt. Fuji!
Middle finger.
The middle one raised.
The newb mouthed the line.
"Where do you think you're going, you freak."
The hospital director, the anomaly's core, sank into the floor amid bursting light.
Everything brightened.
Information Junkie finally got it.
Why.
The dead ones were so obsessed with the newb.
The lingering aftertaste still made his chest tremble.
Haa─
He leaned back in his chair.
Glanced at his notepad.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Emergency Room
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Only blank space remained.
"...Guess I have to buy it now? This is, after all.."
Wiping ink from his hands, Information Junkie grinned.
"Just information gathering."