Geocaching #15
The improvised act worked well. I had considered claiming we knew each other, but that might look suspicious if they investigated later, so this approach seemed safer. Either way, this should spare Jin-seop's life. The biggest remaining problem is convincing him, but I know the guy inside out. I talked him around smoothly in the previous loop, so it should work again this time.
"Grong. I'll give it a try, but I doubt it'll go smoothly. Don't get your hopes up too high."
"Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"
"As you know, the Bureau has been investigating the fake agents to uncover their true identities. But they reflexively self-destruct, and even when we manage to capture them alive, normal communication is rarely possible."
"..."
That part had always puzzled me. No matter how I looked at it, the Bureau seemed far too ignorant about the fakes.
"Even professional interrogations yield the same results. The Bureau has classified the Fake Bureau as an anomaly and ruled communication impossible."
So the Bureau had reached that conclusion.
"I see. To be honest, I was starting to suspect there was something wrong with our intelligence capabilities, since we knew so little about the enemy."
"A reasonable suspicion. But these are unidentified entities, so there's only so much we can do."
"Still, we've learned quite a bit about them this time. If we interrogate that agent, we might uncover something useful."
"That would be a major breakthrough."
"Please look forward to it."
Regardless, reporting this incident would mark significant progress.
"Huff, huff...! Huff! Shit!"
I watched the half-panicked Jin-seop and waited for an opening to strike. Even though he was a brainwashed agent, he clearly wasn't immune to fear. Brainwashing didn't completely rewrite someone's personality. Or perhaps fear had been deliberately left intact—after all, you need it to survive against anomalies. Either way, a low-level agent's testimony wouldn't reveal everything about the Fake Bureau. We'd probably need to turn at least a section chief, but how could we even reach one?
Ah! There's Manager Jo Seong-chun in the basement. Maybe I should pay him a visit?
Now that information about the Fake Bureau was starting to surface, several possibilities came to mind. While mulling this over, I noticed Jin-seop ejecting his magazine to reload.
"Now!"
Jaaldi and I burst out together.
"H-huh?!"
Too late, you idiot. I immediately shoved Jin-seop to the ground.
"Guhk!"
Jaaldi snatched his gun and helped subdue him.
"Bureau, ah, no! The vest!"
I deactivated his suicide vest with practiced ease. Reduced to a harmless civilian in seconds, Jin-seop screamed. Unfortunately for him, the most lethal man alive—Grong—was right here. Anyone who crossed paths with me was finished, except for Director Lee Do-hyeong.
"What the—?! Jaaldi and Grong?! What the hell is this?!"
"You recognized us right away."
Jaaldi spoke with a blank expression. Come to think of it, he'd been talking about Curas right before he died. We never heard the conclusion. Jin-seop was seeing me as human right now. What about Jaaldi?
"Jaaldi and Grong? What are you talking about? We're not those people."
I feigned ignorance.
"What?! You're obviously lying!"
"Lying about what? Got any proof?"
"The Bureau database—!"
"Why? Do we look like monsters to you?"
"You were about to transform into monsters, mmph!"
From the looks of it, Jaaldi also registered as human to him. Apparently, all Bureau agents appeared as transforming freaks from Jin-seop's perspective.
"Haa. I wonder if a proper interrogation is even possible."
"Leave it to me."
"More importantly, are you sure you recognize him?"
"That's the thing... it's a bit hazy. I'll check."
I removed my hand from Jin-seop's mouth.
"You. What's your name?"
"Like I'd tell you!"
"No, it's not that. You just look like someone I know. I feel like I should remember, but... you're human, right? Not an anomaly?"
"You crazy monster bastard, of course I'm human! What else would I be?!"
"Calm down. I'm not a monster either."
"The hell you aren't!"
I grabbed Jin-seop by the shoulders and began the persuasion. The core points were the same as last time. I pressed him on whether I looked like a monster, pointed out that we were communicating normally, and suggested the Bureau might have done something to him. Gradually, his aggression started to fade.
"Think back. Everything that happened before you became an agent. Did they do anything strange to you?"
"Huh...?"
I analyzed and calculated the reactions Jin-seop had shown in the previous loop, continuing the interrogation as his hostility steadily drained away.
"Feeling like talking now?"
"Wait, just... just a second..."
"Catch your breath."
I handed him some water and stood up.
"Grong?"
"Yes?"
"Did you major in psychology somewhere?"
Jaaldi looked genuinely surprised.
"You've got a talent for interrogation."
"You saw it yourself. I have a knack for coldly analyzing people's psychology. You could say I'm naturally sharp. I was just born this way."
"You were doing so well—stop with the nonsense. Still, that was impressive. Shaking the fake agent's psyche like that."
"I just approached it differently."
"Differently?"
"Team Leader... doesn't it seem strange to you? Does that guy really look like an anomaly?"
"..."
"I don't think so. He's human. A civilian who got captured and brainwashed by the Fake Bureau. Doesn't it look that way to you?"
"Grong. We need to approach this carefully."
Jaaldi grew wary at this point. She'd learned a fair bit about the fakes since arriving here with me, but at her core she was still a Bureau department head. The Bureau maintained that the Fake Bureau were anomalies, and as a director, Jaaldi had lived by that directive.
"We can worry about that later. There's no harm in investigating on-site, right? Let's just see how it plays out. This is our chance to learn more about them."
"Understood."
So I continued talking with Jin-seop.
Once the perception-altering pen was turned off, the interrogation of Jin-seop concluded. Jaaldi stared down at the dazed man, visibly shaken.
"So they really were just ordinary people who got caught up in anomalies and brainwashed...?"
"That's the conclusion we've reached."
"I need a moment. I have to rest."
Looking shell-shocked, Jaaldi walked slowly over to the wall, leaned against it, and let out a long breath. I'd never seen her this rattled before. Despite her cold exterior, Jaaldi was deeply responsible and kind-hearted. Learning that the anomalies she'd been killing all this time were actually civilian victims must have been devastating.
"This is... strange. Grong, I can't easily accept the results of this interrogation. There's no way the Bureau wouldn't have known this much."
"Excuse me?"
What was she getting at?
"Your interrogation itself was excellent. But the Bureau must have conducted countless interrogations like this. We've been at war with them for a long time."
"Well... that's true. But you said the higher-ups reached that conclusion."
"Right. At some point, the order changed from capture to kill. Since they kept self-destructing anyway, we were already giving up on captures when the order came down like a final nail in the coffin."
I had a sudden hunch.
"Don't tell me... the Bureau's upper echelons deliberately suppressed this information?"
Jaaldi closed her mouth. I could guess why they'd hidden it. There was no easy way to rehabilitate the brainwashed fake agents. And during wartime, indulging in that kind of humanitarianism would only increase the chances of defeat. Even though the Bureau prided itself on rescuing civilians, it didn't bother trying to save those beyond hope.
Still... wasn't this incredibly suspicious? Even the department head Jaaldi had been kept in the dark?
"Either way."
Jaaldi stood up, straightened her suit, and looked at me.
"We'll have to look into it ourselves. Grong, I'd like to investigate this matter. Will you help?"
"Of course. Uncovering something like this is half the fun, isn't it?"
"You're a good one, you know that."
Perfect. This would bring me closer to Jaaldi.
"Hey. Song Jin-seop, was it?"
"Y-yes...?"
"Once we're out of here, give us more information. We'll protect you."
"U-understood... I'll do that."
"Good."
We'd need to hear more details once we got out—things like the Fake Bureau's work schedules and missions. Information only an agent could provide.
"Grong. I'd like to leave right away, but I think we should explore this place a bit more."
"I agree."
Jaaldi seemed genuinely intrigued now.
"The Bureau."
"Yes?"
"If this world spawned from the hospital is mimicking reality, then there should be a Bureau building here too."
"Huh?"
Wait. She was right. There would be a Bureau building.
"I'm going to check it out."
"Oh...! I'm getting a good feeling about this!"
Exploring this place might turn up something valuable.
"I noticed there are still working cars driving around. We could probably use one."
"Good idea. Let's get moving."
"Song Jin-seop. Follow along for now. We'll do what we need to and then get out."
"Yes..."
Jaaldi went to find a car while I kept an eye on Jin-seop and followed her. Jaaldi, Grong, and Song Jin-seop. A bizarre trio. A strange combination of anomalies, really. Or maybe it was a decent team after all? Compared to the lineup of Jaaldi, the nun, and the Slayer, this one felt more normal. Then again, when I thought about it, there wasn't much difference. Jin-seop was basically a bomb-toting terrorist like the Slayer, and I was just as obsessed with hunting vampires as the nun. In the end, it was a very similar setup. We weren't the same, but we were eerily alike. If I stretched it, Director Lee Do-hyeong could even fill the giant's role. Either way, I was very curious what this team might accomplish.
We drove off. Our first stop wasn't the Bureau. It was the geocaching site—the mountain where this whole mess had started. I figured we should head there first.
The drive was uneventful. The buildings in this area hadn't collapsed, and there were no signs of the stitched ones either. I was curious why, but there was no way to know right now.
While driving, we continued the conversation we'd left unfinished last loop.
"So what did Curas look like?"
"Engulfed in flames... like some kind of anomaly."
"Hmm."
Jaaldi spoke while driving.
"So our Bureau agents have been perception-altered to look like monsters."
"That's possible. They managed to brainwash people, after all."
"Then what about this? The Bureau database."
I was curious about that too.
"The Bureau database... I don't really know the details. It contains information on anomalies and Fake Bureau agents."
"How do you check it?"
"Well... you just know when you look at it. Honestly, I can't explain it properly. It's not like I understand the principle—it's more like the information just appears in my head..."
This was seriously suspicious too. How exactly did these Fake Bureau agents operate?
Well, we'd find out once we got back and heard the full story.
"We've arrived."
We'd reached the mountain.
"We'll continue this later. Get out. Time to hike."
"Song Jin-seop. Are you confident in hiking?"
"My basic stamina is decent."
"Good. Then, Team Leader, let's head up."
"Right."
The three of us began climbing the mountain. Last time, I'd thought it would be fun to go treasure hunting with guys like Kim Seong-jin and Song Jin-seop. And now here we were, doing exactly that.