Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Corpse Tree
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The Headquarters Chief's boring, pedantic explanation dragged on for another twenty minutes or so.
To sum it up simply: "Not you, the thing you were researching."
Moon Woo-seok's expression improved in real time as the lengthy explanation continued. It was quite the sight.
He'd probably been worried it would lead to something like, "Lend us a hand."
The Headquarters Chief led us down to underground level 44.
Anything below level 40 was for isolating Tales, so the thing Moon Woo-seok had been researching must be a Tale too.
In the elevator, Moon Woo-seok muttered to himself. Summing it up, it was, "No matter how I think about it, this is dangerous."
An elevator is still just an elevator, no matter how big.
And the Headquarters Chief, no matter his age, was once the ace of the response team.
A man like that wouldn't miss Moon Woo-seok's mumbling.
"Got a complaint?"
Which translated to, "Your hands look particularly appetizing today."
"No?"
And so, the high-level conversation showcasing the Chief's experience and the researcher's knowledge ended in Moon Woo-seok's utter defeat.
"Before Woo-seok helped you out, he was researching something. Care to explain?"
"Sure. To put it simply... what I was researching is a Tale called the Corpse Tree."
Ding— Underground level 44.
"I heard it was originally a spatial type, but the entire space was moved here to level 44 somehow."
The underground level 44 I'd never been to before had corridors stretching on endlessly.
Red LEDs like something out of a sci-fi movie blinked intermittently along the walls, and white lights lined the ceiling every meter, so it wasn't dark at all.
Soon, a massive space opened up, and inside it...
"What the hell is that?"
Unlike its name, it was just vast red soil spreading out.
The only thing giving away that it was a Tale was the blue sky indoors and the sun shining hazily at its center.
"This is the Corpse Tree?"
"No. This is the environment where the Corpse Tree can grow."
Moon Woo-seok grimaced, as if recalling some bad memory.
"Chief... are we really doing this?"
The Chief gave him a look like, "What do you think?" Moon Woo-seok sighed deeply and walked over to the storage shed nearby.
"You probably guessed from the current situation and the name. This Tale requires corpses."
For the first time, as he said that, Moon Woo-seok actually felt like a researcher.
My first impression had been that he was just a con artist pretending to make items for the Tale Shop himself.
Moon Woo-seok poured a bag of unidentified crimson granules onto the red soil.
"What’s that?"
"As I mentioned earlier, since it needs corpses... we process them into... something easy to use... uh."
"Ah. Got it. Shut up now."
I didn't want to hear any more details.
"It should start growing soon."
The moment Moon Woo-seok finished speaking, what happened next was downright shocking.
There was no sprout, as you'd expect from a plant.
Instead, fingers burst out of the ground.
While Kim Do-hyun and I were both stunned by the grotesque sight, Moon Woo-seok didn't react, as if it was familiar.
Crunch—
Another finger popped up beside it.
Soon, the two began wriggling, clawing at the earth like they were digging, splitting the soil as they emerged.
Naturally, arms were attached below the fingers, hands gripping arms, and new hands grabbing those arms in a repeating pattern that formed the tree trunk.
"This is the Corpse Tree I've been researching."
As Moon Woo-seok spoke, the Corpse Tree kept growing.
What had just been fingers multiplied and twisted, morphing into the shape of leaves.
"Fucking gross."
That was my first impression.
"Then let me explain the rest."
The Headquarters Chief tapped the Corpse Tree as he spoke.
"As you can see, the Corpse Tree is made of human body parts. And those parts are no different from actual human bodies. You could think of it as converting unusable corpses into tradeable goods for dealings with the Merchant."
"...It does seem useful for trades with the Merchant. But the fact that it hasn't been used yet means..."
There had to be some reason it couldn't be used.
"That's connected to why I was researching the Corpse Tree."
Moon Woo-seok picked up the conversation smoothly.
"It's fine in this state. But if flowers ever bloom on this tree, that's a huge problem."
"When do the flowers bloom?"
"That's the issue. We can't predict when. It could bloom right after growing, or maybe not until a year later."
Moon Woo-seok stared at the Corpse Tree.
It was still flaunting its grotesque form, but no flowers yet.
"A year ago, it bloomed immediately after growing, and it took a whole month just to suppress it. We couldn't run experiments for a while after. Though before it grows again, it takes about three months."
I'd never heard about that incident, but it wasn't strange.
Management hiccups happen often, and as long as it doesn't escape the floor and affect others, rumors don't spread.
Each floor of the Bureau is that isolated.
Kim Do-hyun, who'd been listening quietly, raised his hand slightly to ask a question.
"Woo-seok. So what happens when the flower blooms?"
"The flower drops, creating a new Corpse Tree. That one blooms too... and it multiplies like that. Multiplication itself isn't the problem... but when there are a lot, they lure people in. They make you come close and kill yourself, feeding the trees nutrients—"
"Understood. Yes, there are definitely some points of unease in using it."
"But listening to your explanation made me think... Why were you researching this? If you don't sow corpses, nothing happens. And even if it's for the Merchant now, you didn't need it back when you started."
"Well... after joining, all the interesting stuff was already taken by others, so this was all that was left..."
"Ah."
It felt like peeking into a new researcher's struggles.
Kim Do-hyun watched the Chief poking the Corpse Tree, then spoke up as if realizing something.
"So, we can just leave it like this?"
"The rule was to dismantle it right after growth for study, but this device I developed from the last experiment delays blooming by about ten minutes, so it's fine for now."
Moon Woo-seok pointed to the vibrating machine nearby.
"Impressive. Who made that device?"
"Ah, I did."
"Hmm. Never heard of a 'I' on the team. Which squad?"
"No. 'I' isn't a person's name. I made it myself."
"You, Woo-seok?"
"Yes."
"You?"
"Yes..."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Researcher Moon Woo-seok is a god!"
"He compounded this medicine again!"
"My parents survived thanks to this drug..."
Thanks to the parts harvested from the Corpse Tree, the trade with the Merchant went smoothly.
The Merchant seemed satisfied with the hands and fingers we prepared, let out a deep laugh, and right before we left with the goods, warned us about the side effects of the gloves.
You little shit.
"Look at those gloves!"
"No human could make tech like that..."
"See? Moon Woo-seok is a god, right?"
...
Of course, the goods including the Carpenter's Gloves were credited to Moon Woo-seok again, causing yet another uproar.
It looked a bit different since he'd made the Corpse Tree suppressor himself, but seeing people freak out still felt a tad envious.
"It's all the Chief's fabrication, so Moon Woo-seok's blameless..."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
Moon Woo-seok had fled somewhere to escape the crowd, and Kim Do-hyun was crouched beside me.
Looking at him, Yoon Seo-yeon came to mind—wonder where she'd vanished to.
Did she survive, or is she dead?
I'd prefer she lived.
Not out of friendship or anything, but because there's a lot I need to find out.
If she's alive, what crazy shit is she up to now?
"Gotta catch her quick and beat some answers out of her."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
Anyway, after so long, I just wanted a good, honest fist conversation.
Yoon Seo-yeon would definitely have survived somehow.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ow, what the—?!"
What the hell?
"This."
My finger pointed at Yoon Seo-yeon in the drawer—Schrödinger's Yoon Seo-yeon, sleeping beauty in the forest.
It felt like two things mashed together, but that's just her weirdness; nothing to be done.
Anyway, forgetting I had a drawer-mate was my downfall—I yelped in surprise.
Who wouldn't jump seeing a face pop out right when you open a door?
Do you think Tales don't get startled by people?
"Yeah."
My mind is human, after all.
I shoved Yoon Seo-yeon aside and yanked out the book underneath.
Label Library.
Time flies.
Opening the Label Library, the musty dust smell of the Shop vanished, replaced by a pleasant fragrance tickling my nose.
"Long time no see, Merchant."