Chapter 16
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 16Safe Management Subject (1)
March 14th. "Are you really satisfied with that?"
A voice is heard through the speaker installed in the room. Taking my eyes off the television, I expanded my detection beyond the walls. Perhaps in preparation for a possible attack from an entity, the containment facility was surrounded by thick steel walls. Not only that, I also found out the fact that the connection point between the containment room and the Bureau of Management facility is separated.
'The underground is wide open?'
I just found out, but an intentional hole existed below the containment facility. Beyond that is so distantly deep that it can't even be measured by my detection range.
Whether magma flows down there, or if there is a deep sea, is unknown. This specially separated structure seems to be the final measure taken to protect the facility in case the entity runs wild out of control.
"Can't you hear me? I'm asking if you're satisfied with that."
Kang Tae-jun's annoyance-laced voice is heard again. I turned my body as if looking towards the back of the sofa.
With no windows, everything is walls. Only one airlock door sits alone, but it doesn't mean I can see Kang Tae-jun. I spread my detection widely.
'He's over there.'
It's not straight ahead. The floor right above the containment facility. I can feel Kang Tae-jun monitoring me with a camera.
"Bzzzzz- A little──." "A little? Hah, it shouldn't just be at the level of a little, you shouldn't be satisfied at all. What kind of guy in the world asks for only that much as a reward?"
It's a great reward by my standards, though.
Clean clothes that don't smell. Not just one suit, but they handed out exactly ten, so if the clothes smell, I can just change into another one. Even the facility managers wash the clothes for me every single day.
A soft sofa. This is innovative in that furniture exists where I can sit and rest. I don't have to sit on the hard floor anymore.
And the best thing, a large television. This magnificent size that seems to almost fill the wall is reminiscent of a theater. Watching mukbang on this large television is truly the highest sense of satisfaction.
"If you're going to watch, at least watch a movie. Watching a morning talk show on an expensive television?" "Zzzz- Why do you guys── neglect── this entity?" "…Huh?"
An absurd reaction returns. Perhaps unable to grasp the intent of the words, Kang Tae-jun, who was racking his brains while looking at the monitor, opened his eyes wide and spoke into the microphone.
"Don't tell me… is that a joke? Calling a TV an entity?"
A joke, he says. I was serious.
"This guy is a headache-inducing one. An anomaly making jokes. The more I see, the more human you seem."
And then he shot a dagger-like remark.
"It's an anomaly-like sense of humor."
Is that a compliment? An insult? Kang Tae-jun takes out a notepad from his desk. He was taking a pen out exactly the same way, but it slipped from his hand and fell on the floor.
"You really do all sorts of things."
He looks down to pick up the pen, but the pen had just rolled behind him. Since he was looking around in the wrong places, I let him know.
"Zzzz- Behind you──." "Huh? Behind? Ah, thanks."
Kang Tae-jun, who looked behind him, found the dropped pen and picked it up. While writing a temporary record in the notepad that I have a terrible sense of humor, he abruptly stops. Looking into the monitor with terrified eyes, he asked with a trembling voice.
"You fuck, how did you know?"
What do you mean how did I know. Because I can see it, I know. I should just consider that the supervisors, including Kang Tae-jun, have absolutely no knowledge about me.
"Zzzz- I can see it──." "Y-you can see? You can see it?"
Kang Tae-jun, who pushed his chair away and stood up, looked around as if searching to see if a camera was hidden. Then he spread three fingers.
"You said you can see what I'm doing, right? Then guess this too." "Zzzz- Three fingers── above your head──, you just─ changed it to two──." "Oh, fuck!"
Kang Tae-jun, whose mouth is very foul, pushed the notepad aside and entered my information into the computer in detail.
[The visual range of the entity in question does not follow the common sense structure of humans. Even from the containment facility, it can pierce through the walls and see up to the control room. The visual range is not yet determinable. Requesting to be written later.]
"How do you see? Why can you see beyond the walls?"
I just have such an ability. I cannot tell him the cause and the method. Therefore, I didn't say anything.
Kang Tae-jun, with a frustrated expression, vigorously rubs his rough beard out of habit.
"Man, is it because it has no head. Having a single conversation is fucking tedious."
I turned my body back to the television. Today too, the program host eats food. The food he is eating was fried chicken.
'……He really eats deliciously.'
It looks delicious, but because it's a taste I don't know, my appetite isn't stimulated. I'm suddenly curious. The taste of that fried chicken. I want to eat like humans too.
"Bzzzz- zzz-." "If you have something you want to say, say it. Just don't make noise." "Zzzz- That thing─." "What. …Fried chicken?" "Zzzz- What── does it taste like?"
Kang Tae-jun turns off his microphone and laughs. Practically bursting into loud laughter, he tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and laughed, then turned on his microphone a little later.
"Do you want to eat that?"
I didn't answer.
"Alright, let's try ordering one."
He really ordered it. As soon as a female employee looking horrified entered the control room, she poured nagging onto Kang Tae-jun. It's a familiar face. The woman who drove the Humvee Kang Tae-jun boarded when I was escaping the hospital.
"Commander Kang Tae-jun! Are you crazy?" "That's fried, right?" "Ah~ yes! It's very deli~cious fried chicken."
The fried chicken placed on the desk is still steaming even now. Put in a bag, and inside it, fried chicken packaged in a paper box.
"Who orders fried chicken to the facility!" "That's why you received it outside and brought it in. It's disguised as a hotel building anyway, so what does it matter." "The disguised building isn't the problem! Ordering fried chicken at the facility is the problem!" "It's not like I broke Bureau of Management law. Is ordering one fried chicken something to be scolded so much for?"
Kang Tae-jun grumbles while dividing the fried chicken onto disposable plates. When he divided it roughly into portions for three people, the woman asked as if puzzled.
"Who is the remaining one person? Dr. Seo Young-eun?" "Tell that rude bitch to buy her own food. Besides, it's not even her day to come to work today." "Then whose is this?" "His."
Kang Tae-jun points at the monitor. The woman asks back with a deathly pale face.
"Whose?" "His! He's pointing at it." "Are you perhaps saying that guy is 37286?!"
She hurriedly backs away and glares at her superior with distrustful eyes. Kang Tae-jun, expressing with his face that it's okay, made a hand gesture telling her to hurry and deliver it.
"I don't want to!" "I haven't turned off the microphone yet, so he's listening." "Th-then I don't want to even more!" "Why?" "What do you mean why! You're telling me to deliver fried chicken to the e-entity?"
Hearing this makes me a little upset. I asked them to buy me fried chicken, but she says she doesn't want to give me fried chicken. The condition I demanded from them for entering this containment facility was 'to treat me like a human', though.
Kang Tae-jun hurriedly scolded her powerfully.
"Lee Da-eun! What was the condition made while cooperating? Recite it right now!"
Lee Da-eun. That is her name. Perhaps realizing her mistake in an instant, Lee Da-eun lowered her gaze with a terrified face.
"T-to treat him like a human." "Just because that bastard is in the containment facility doesn't mean we have the upper hand like other containment rooms. We are currently in a cooperative relationship with each other. That's why the containment room door is designed to be openable from the inside as well." "Th-that is correct." "If you understand, go down, give him the fried chicken, and come back. Apologize too if possible. Come to think of it, have you exchanged greetings yet?"
In the end, Lee Da-eun, holding the disposable plate containing the fried chicken with both hands, comes down the stairs whimpering. Standing in front of the containment room door where I am, she asked with a moist voice.
"W-will I be okay alone?"
Kang Tae-jun's blunt comfort is heard through the speaker.
"You were promoted from Level 6 to Level 5 not long ago anyway. You're past the assistant role. What threat class entities does a Level 5 manage?" "G… Green! Sir!" "And the threat class level of the entity beyond that door?" "Green! Sir!" "Right, go in." "Heu-euk."
Beeeep-Hiiiiisssss-
The airlock door opens automatically. I turned my body from the sofa towards the back again. Lee Da-eun standing in front of the door holding the fried chicken exactly as if holding a cake. When she sees me, her face turns pale blue.
"Ah… Ahh……. Wh-what do I do… what do I do!" "Lee Da-eun. Calm down. If you think of him as the same kind of person, you can treat him normally, can't you." "H-he doesn't have a head, though?" "Think of it as him cutting his hair short." "I-it's burning, though?" "Think of it as dyed short hair."
Lee Da-eun, approaching carefully, hands out the plate with a stiff posture. After getting up from the sofa and approaching, I blankly stared at the plate.
A delicious smell. So this is the smell of proper food. Perhaps the grease soaked in properly, it's glossy, and the lean meat looks large. When I reached out and grabbed the plate, Lee Da-eun backed away one step like a robot and let go.
"He r-received it! He received it!" "Since you gave it, he received it! Stop making such a fuss!"
The chemistry of the two people looks exactly like watching a comedy duo. I briefly examined the fried chicken and picked up a chicken leg.
'What on earth does this taste like?'
I observed the fried chicken while turning it left and right in my hand. The chicken skin is crispy. I guess I should call this flour skin.
Now let's recall how to eat. The program host definitely took a large bite out of a meaty part. I brought the chicken leg to my head.
"…C-Commander. Wh-what do we do in a situation like this?" "Ha, fuck. W-wait a minute."
The chicken leg swishes through the blue flame. Because there is no temperature, the fried chicken doesn't burn, nor does it get eaten. Since I have no mouth, I can't take a bite, and since I have no throat, I can't swallow the meat. After vainly swishing with the fried chicken, I lowered my hand for a moment.
'How on earth am I supposed to eat.'
Let's try an attempt. I'll try covering the chicken leg with the blue flame, just like when I ate anomalies or evil spirits.
Fwoosh.
"Kyaaak!"
I briefly increased the flame and affected the chicken leg. The chicken leg caught fire. In the midst of this, Lee Da-eun continues to back away toward the door out of fear.
'Now let's try sucking it in.'
Swoosh.
I sucked in the flames as if consuming it. However, it only burned the chicken leg; I didn't feel anything like a taste, nor was it pulled into the flames. What was left in my hand was one pitch-black burnt chicken leg. I looked at the chicken leg with a bitter feeling.
'How should I eat?'
I approached Lee Da-eun, who was backing away. Lee Da-eun freezes again. I placed the burnt chicken leg on the plate and picked up another piece of fried chicken.
'If the flame doesn't work.'
I brought the fried chicken over, past the vicinity of my head, and pulled it to my neck area. And towards the cross-section of my neck.
Thud.
I placed it on there.
"My goodness. He placed it on the neck cross-section!"
Lee Da-eun broadcasts this in the meantime. After smearing and rubbing the fried chicken on the neck cross-section, I placed it back on the plate with a sad feeling.
'Come to think of it, my throat was blocked.'
The cross-section of my neck was cut cleanly, and skin already covered it. In the first place, I don't even have a throat. Ultimately, I have absolutely no means to eat the fried chicken.
What remained in my heart was only despondency. What I can taste are anomalies at best. Those things that are disgustingly tasteless, I mean.
"A-are you… okay?"
Lee Da-eun asks carefully. After staring intently, I turned around leaving my regretful feelings behind. After returning to the sofa, I sat down again and watched television.
"I-is the television fun?"
Lee Da-eun doesn't go back and musters up the courage to ask. I bobbed my body back and forth as a sign of affirmation. It is an expression substituting a nod.
"There are a lot of more fun programs. Shall I give you a schedule?"
I can tell that this is her own effort to view me as a fellow human. Though there is still a clumsy and stiff feeling in her tone and actions. When I made a sign of affirmation again, Lee Da-eun let out a small sigh of relief.
"Do you perhaps not need a computer?"
It would be good to have a computer too, but right now television is better. When I remained completely motionless without answering, Lee Da-eun, feeling some nervousness, wiggled her fingers and suggested something else.
"Y-you don't happen to like board games, do you? Like chess……." '…….' "There are a lot of other hobbies too. A-and I'm s-sorry for saying bad things earlier. It was because I was scared……."
I'm not narrow-minded enough to harbor hostility over that much. When I just stayed completely motionless, Lee Da-eun, who became nervous at that again, continued speaking.
"My name is Lee Da-eun. I am a Level 5 employee of the Bureau of Management."
I already know that because I heard them talking up above.
"S-since you don't have a head, I can't tell if you're ignoring me or listening… Haha."
Bzzzzzz-
As static poured out from the speaker, Lee Da-eun sat down out of sheer terror. She trembled without even being able to let out a scream, but I brought up what I had to say.
"Zzzz- I have a── separate── request──."
Kang Tae-jun immediately answered through the microphone.
"Speak." "Zzzz- I want to── meet another── Object Head── other than me."
The everyday-like atmosphere sank heavily in an instant. Lee Da-eun examined the containment room door with worried eyes, and the speaker was quiet without a word for a moment. Kang Tae-jun is currently thinking with his eyes closed, seeing if he is pondering. It took some time before an answer came out.
"Currently, the Object Heads discovered on our side total 4 cases, excluding you."
I ended up being a little disappointed at the number, which was smaller than I thought.
"There is only exactly one Object Head we have captured."
This must be excluding me too. Finding even one is better than nothing.
"Zzzz- Where── is it?" "It's not here. It is currently contained at the Seoul Headquarters. But even if you meet it, you won't be satisfied."
I won't be satisfied? That is for me to judge, it's not a matter for Kang Tae-jun to cut off decisively. Kang Tae-jun, roughly guessing what I was thinking, hurriedly continued speaking.
"I hope you don't misunderstand. It's because it's not at a level where conversation is possible." "Zzzz- Why── is that?" "It has killed twenty-seven operatives so far, and the number of facility escapes totals two times. Of course, it fails every time because of the single Special Task Force guarding it, but every time we manage that bastard, there are too many employees who go crazy or die."
He means it's excessively hostile. Come to think of it, he did say there were no favorable entities like me, right? Whether searching for the information of the entity in question, Kang Tae-jun passionately tapped on the facility computer.
"According to the recorded contents, there is some interesting information. Wouldn't this perhaps be the information you want?"
I turned my body as if I was interested. Seeing my active attitude, Kang Tae-jun informed me.
"This entity believes itself to be a murderer." "Zzzz- A mur──derer?" "Yeah, specifically, it firmly believes it's human. It says it kills humans because it is human."
Object Heads tend to believe themselves to be human. Since I too had a time when I believed I was human, I understand. But of all things, to be a murderer among them.
"Object Heads basically have poor information. Like you, the fact that they can't speak in the first place is the biggest thing, and especially because they are too insensitive to physical reactions. They're not cooperative either. The only time they show a big reaction is when killing humans." "Zzzz- Even so── I want to meet it." "…There is only one moment when an entity makes contact with an entity."
Kang Tae-jun raised the index fingers of both hands and brought them together as if meeting.
"Entity disposal." '…….' "It's a method of intentionally making two entities contact each other in hopes that one of them dies, or both die. But that is also not a preferred method. Do you know why?" "Zzzz- I do── not know." "Year 2012. It's an incident that happened at the Japan Branch. There were two entities designated as Black threat class. We had no information or technology to gain from them, and since they couldn't be controlled, they were a damn headache. Therefore, the two entities were herded into a massive containment room for disposal."
I listened with interest. Kang Tae-jun's voice has its own appealing power, so it has a taste to listen to.
"We hoped that they would fight each other and someone would die. However, these bastards didn't fight and just stayed still facing each other for a moment. And then do you know what happened?"
He crosses the two index fingers that were together and weaves them like a hook.
"They pretended to fight. Cunningly. The Japan Branch, not knowing that, was just excited. They probably even popped champagne? When the neutralization of both entities was confirmed, the Japan Branch opened the doors for post-processing. That ended up being the cause of defeat. That day is the incident where one of the Bureau of Management facilities in Japan disappeared entirely." "Zzzz- Do you── still distrust me?" "It's not that. This is just a story. I'm worrying about unexpected situations. What are you going to do if that Object Head over there loses its mind and attacks you instead?"
That could happen. From the Bureau of Management's perspective, they have no choice but to be overprotective of an existence like me. If they permit hasty contact and the counterpart Object Head loses its mind? That is an unexpected situation. Losing me would be their biggest worry, but losing the counterpart entity for no reason would also be a loss.
"If I just make it so you can't contact each other, will you be satisfied too? I'll try setting up a meeting, but the procedures and paperwork to go through to prepare it are a mountain. Are you okay even if it takes a long time?" "Zzzz- Even so── I want to meet it."
However, I cannot give this up even for the sake of my original goal. I was born as an Object Head and reached the present, but unfortunately, I still don't know exactly who I am.
The true identity and cause of birth of Object Heads, and although it's a minor reason, there's a desire to just meet someone of my kind. Even if that counterpart is an out-of-control psycho Object Head who believes themselves to be a murderer.
"I will try. It's a guess, but if you bring in some achievements a few times, wouldn't they gladly accept it."
If you want to get what you want, bring results corresponding to it. That's what this means. If there's something given, there's something received. It is Kang Tae-jun's method, who values give and take.
"More importantly. There's something I want to find out about you."
Kang Tae-jun takes a document from the seat next to him and looks into it.
"There is information obtained when tracking you previously. I heard you took a taser and made the police officers faint?"
There was a time like that. But why that?
"The guy who reacted even when hit by a taser just once endured this time even after being beaten by rubber bullets like that."
That is true. I hadn't thought about it, but.
"Could it be that you were strengthened somehow. The feeling of getting used to it isn't quite it. It's a guess, but… there could be a reason related to consuming anomalies with that head." '…….' "So in exchange for granting your request, we want to analyze you properly. You will cooperate, won't you?"
Just in time, a scene of eating noodles is showing on the television. I held up one finger towards the back.
"Zzzz- Noo──dles." "Noo⋯dles?"