A Deep Breath and a Strange Pact
I felt the heavy knot of mana swirling deep in my lower abdomen, right below my navel, and slipped into a profound state of thought.
China-style mana cultivation. The greatest advantage of this training method, which in future knowledge is also called internal energy cultivation, was crystal clear.
Even if my innate ability wasn't a physical enhancement type, I could still gain a certain level of physical strengthening through the mana accumulated inside my body.
Of course, I wouldn't be able to perfectly match the durability or destructive power of pure physical enhancement awakeners who are designed from birth to hammer mana directly into their bodies.
But with proper application, there was still room for me to become significantly stronger than them.
'I wonder if the me from the future I saw, that bald-headed Yoon Siwoo, also pushed this mana cultivation method and his ability to read emotions, or even greater powers, to their limits to show such absurd combat power.'
I sat on the edge of the bed and slowly recalled the battle memories I had glimpsed in Yeon Jisu's memories.
The rapid swordsmanship she had shown in her memories, the movements that closed the distance in the blink of an eye, and the ruthless attacks that pierced through her opponent's weaknesses.
Ultimately, the driving force behind all those movements depended on how efficiently I could circulate high-density mana within my body.
'This could actually be done... I should try it once.'
I recalled the combat tactics that caught my eye from various battle memories in Yeon Jisu's mind and that occasionally appeared in comics or web novels, and focused the mana on my right hand, especially the fingers.
Then I drew out a thin strand of mana from my fingers and lightly manipulated it.
The mana, tinged with a purplish light, gathered at the tip of my finger before slowly rising into the air.
Ziing-.
A single thin mana thread pulled from my fingertip wriggled like a snake and began to move according to my will.
"Oh, it works?"
Excited, I shot the mana thread from my right hand toward a roll of toilet paper located about five meters away.
The ejected mana thread cut through the air silently and tightly wrapped the target roll of toilet paper.
A faint resistance was felt at my fingertips.
I manipulated the surface of the mana thread as if sharpening it like a blade and snapped my wrist.
Swaack.
The roll of toilet paper wrapped in the mana thread was sliced cleanly like paper.
I wrapped the mana thread around the cut roll again and pulled it toward me as if trying to bring it back.
The toilet paper flew through the air and was sucked into my hand as if pulled by the mana thread.
"This is pretty fun?"
I curled my lips and tried drawing a mana thread from my left hand as well.
Soon, slender blue lines extended from the tips of my ten fingers.
In the dark room, I crossed and wove these faintly glowing lines in the air, repeating precise control practice as if performing a complex thread-weaving trick.
Sweat formed on my forehead, but the sensation of mana dancing according to my will at my fingertips was quite thrilling.
Finally, I poured all the mana I had accumulated in my lower abdomen that day into the control practice until the room spun before my eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning.
After finishing my special vacation, which had been sweet, I returned to my duty as a security team member at the Superpower Research Institute with my body feeling lighter.
I changed into the newly issued uniform and entered the first-floor lobby.
The institute was as calm as if it had completely forgotten that the regressor Yeon Jisu had caused a big commotion.
Through the transparent glass walls, scientists in white coats were still busy rushing around with piles of unknown documents, and only the mechanical sounds from various devices filled the morning.
I spotted Park Cheoljin returning from patrolling the western section of the institute and ran over to him.
"Brother Cheoljin! Good morning.
Was the inspection safe?"
With my greeting, Cheoljin, holding a tumbler, turned his head and let out a snort.
"Oh, Siwoo, you took a good rest?
While you were resting, nothing big happened in the western section.
Your body's recovered now?"
"Of course.
After a full day of rest, I feel like I could fly.
Oh, by the way, sir.
How was the report I submitted yesterday handled?"
I asked with a deliberately serious expression, lowering my voice.
Cheoljin glanced around and pulled me close by the shoulder to answer quietly.
"Ah, that dangerous substance, the one related to the Fragment of the Abyss?
Even the higher-ups were a bit surprised about that."
"So what?
Are they immediately isolating it?"
"Well, there's no clear decision yet on how to dispose of it right away.
But because you detailed the risks so thoroughly, it seems research on decomposing the fragment or applying physical stimuli has been halted for the time being."
I secretly cheered in my heart at Cheoljin's answer.
'Nice! At least the urgent fire is out for now.'
If research was stopped and it was only physically isolated in a safe place, at least the bad ending where the entire institute was invaded by this unknown entity and people were controlled could be avoided for a while.
"Haha, that's really good news.
Working with a bomb you don't know when it's going to explode isn't something the security team wants to do."
I sighed in relief and smiled.
Cheoljin shrugged lightly and replied as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Well, that's true.
But anyway, we field workers don't know much about that kind of academic and complex stuff.
The smart scientists will figure it out on their own."
At Cheoljin's reply, I nodded lightly while secretly swallowing a bitter feeling.
If the smart scientists, who wanted to control the uncontrollable power, caused the institute to be blown up, what expression would Cheoljin make?
I tried to change the subject by fiddling with my empty cup and asked.
"By the way, sir, how do you plan to handle the intruder locked in the basement?
That woman named Yeon Jisu?"
Cheoljin scratched his head as if he had a headache.
"Hmm...
That, I don't know either.
First, since the intruder came here to steal our core artifact, we have to extract all the information we can from this institute.
So while you were resting, I and other agents went down several more times to interrogate her."
"Oh?
Interrogation?
How was the result?"
Cheoljin sighed deeply and shook his head.
"Don't even ask.
Since you kept her at the brink of passing out yesterday and extracted information, her mental state has become very poisoned.
She doesn't even drink a sip of water we give her, and ordinary torture doesn't work anymore.
She acts like it's not even the same person."
It was only natural.
She was someone who had gone through eight regressions.
Her mental fortitude, trained through repeated regressions, was far beyond the fragile level that could be broken by even a single institute security team's pressure or torture.
Cheoljin looked at me with a frustrated face, then pointed toward the basement with his chin and said.
"That's why...
Siwoo, how about you go down and interrogate her again?"
"Huh?
Me?"
"You already got some idea of her purpose from that intruder.
Since we can't get anything even if we keep pressing her, you go and use your ability again to dig out more information about the Fragment of the Abyss or the behind-the-scenes forces."
I cried out inwardly.
Cheoljin wouldn't know what I had done to that woman.
But for my future peace of mind, I had to try talking to her again somehow.
"Ooh... So this time, the two of us will have a deep conversation in the interrogation room..."
Boom-!
"Kyak!"
Before my joke even ended, Cheoljin's palm slapped the back of my head.
The impact was sharp enough to make tears well up in my eyes.
"You crazy guy, spouting nonsense again?
Stop the jokes and go down and bring back results!"
"Aigoo, I understand!
I'm going, going!"
I covered the back of my head with both hands and walked while muttering.
Leaving Cheoljin's grumbling behind, I entered the elevator to go down to the basement.
The pretense I had been showing disappeared completely, and a heavy sense of tension settled on my face.
'Haah...
If I end it like this with Yeon Jisu as my enemy, my life is really screwed up.
No matter which cycle, the moment she is released, she'll come for me first.'
The cool air from the third basement floor rushed in through the elevator door.
I straightened my clothes and hardened my expression.
I stood in front of the door to the interrogation room.
I had to somehow improve my relationship with this regressor and make her understand that I was not her enemy but rather someone who could help her.
Kkigigig-
With a heavy metallic sound, I opened the interrogation room door and entered.
In the center of the room, on a steel chair, Yeon Jisu was still bound by thick restraints.
Because she hadn't had proper water or food in a day, her complexion had become much paler than yesterday.
But the moment the iron door opened and my face entered her field of vision...
Yeon Jisu's head, which had been lowered, jerked up.
Hostility that could tear me apart flashed in her eyes.
The shame of having been interrogated helplessly by me yesterday and fainting, and the hatred directed at the original culprit behind the current situation.
'Wow, damn...
Just with her eyes, she could kill someone.
If I leave her like this, I'll really have my neck cut off later.'
Feeling my knees tremble, I forced a completely relaxed expression and approached her.
"Ah, our Yeon Jisu.
Your face has deteriorated a lot after just one night.
Didn't you eat properly?"
I greeted her in a deliberately friendly tone and pulled a chair in front of the iron desk to sit down.
But Yeon Jisu didn't even acknowledge my greeting and simply stared at me coldly with lips tightly closed until blood could form.
"..."
The interrogation room was filled with heavy silence.
If I continued this kind of standoff, negotiation or anything else would come to nothing.
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly and made a pretend troubled expression.
"Haha, well...
To be honest, I was a bit heavy-handed yesterday.
I admit I went a bit too far with the electric shock.
I'm sorry."
Yeon Jisu's eyebrows twitched slightly.
My apology for being sorry didn't seem to register.
I immediately added a cheerful excuse.
"Hey, I had no choice.
I'm a security team member of the institute.
My superiors are watching with wide eyes from behind.
To extract information from you, I had to show that kind of strong pressure.
This is the plight of a worker trying to protect his job."
Even with my absurd excuses, Yeon Jisu still didn't answer.
She only transferred her overt suspicion and hatred directly to me.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and finally decided to play my trump card.
"Haah...
It's natural that you don't trust me.
Even me, I wouldn't trust myself."
I sighed deeply and leaned back against the chair.
Then I looked straight into her eyes and said in a straightforward voice.
"When you lost consciousness and fell...
I accidentally overheard what you were muttering.
That thing you were saying unconsciously...
The Fragment of the Abyss?"
"..."
The moment the word "Fragment of the Abyss" left my mouth, I saw a slight fluctuation in her emotions.
Finally, her long-frozen emotions showed a subtle change.
"That fragment..."
I spoke as if trusting her, dropping the news she would most want to hear.
"As for disposing of it, it seems it will be handled the way you want.
Decided to stop all experiments involving decomposition or interference and isolate it for the time being."
"..."
Finally, Yeon Jisu's voice came out of her mouth, which had been exercising her right to silence.
I saw her hostility slightly ease.
There was still her sharp vigilance that she didn't fully trust me, but with the fact that she had avoided the worst disaster she had tried so hard to prevent, her emotions were visibly stabilizing.
I smiled kindly at her and raised both hands in surrender.
"I won't ask what your affiliation is or what your purpose was in coming here to steal that fragment.
Well, you might have been acting on someone's orders, or it might have been some pointless sense of justice."
I continued carefully choosing words so she wouldn't feel I knew the truth.
"But if what you said is true and that Fragment of the Abyss is really a dangerous thing that contaminates human minds...
I want a little more detailed information about the Fragment of the Abyss.
If you cooperate honestly with me, I'll convey it to the higher-ups in a way that they can understand the risks more strongly and take safe measures."
In reality, I already knew better than anyone that the Fragment of the Abyss was extremely dangerous because I had glimpsed her entire memories.
But I couldn't let her know I knew the future truth.
So, to draw out her reaction and build a cooperative relationship later, I approached carefully.
With her proposal, Yeon Jisu stared at me with bated breath.
Her intense internal conflict was conveyed through her emotions.
After a long silence, Yeon Jisu asked in a cracked voice.
"..."
"Really...
You'll do that?
Stop the experiments and seal it?"
Without hesitation, I nodded.
"Of course.
If what you said is true and it's really a bomb that could blow up the entire institute, I have to stop it.
I have to work here earning a salary for a long time, so I have no choice.
This is a choice for my safety.
Don't suspect me for nothing."
I winked playfully and finally revealed my true feelings.
Yeon Jisu frowned as if she had seen something unpleasant for a moment.
I clearly felt her emotion of 'I shouldn't have seen that' flash by.
But then she sighed shortly as if accepting.
"..."
"That fragment...
It's not just a mineral that amplifies mana."
Yeon Jisu finally opened her mouth heavily.
"The mana extracted from the Fragment of the Abyss is vast in quantity, but those who absorb it slowly have their minds eroded, and eventually they are taken over by an unknown entity with unknown identities.
If the scientists in this institute force-decompose the fragment or apply physical impact...
The mana condensed inside will spread out and erode all humans within a radius of several kilometers."
Her explanation, spit out in a dry and blunt voice, matched the future truth I had seen in her memories perfectly, with no error.
I stroked my chin with a serious expression and pretended to listen intently.
Inwardly, I smiled in relief that she had told me the truth without lies.
"Okay.
That explanation is enough to scare the scientists."
I finally stood up and pushed the chair back.
"Thank you for cooperating.
I'll convey the information you gave me to the higher-ups in a way that makes it seem like I did a good job.
And I'll try to get as much leniency as possible by reporting that you cooperated with information provision.
So for now, rest well."
With my added words that sounded like I was being generous, Yeon Jisu looked at me again.
However, she still had an expression of not fully trusting me.
"..."
"Do as you please."
She turned her head away and closed her mouth tightly again.
It seemed she was tired of even talking to me anymore.
But to me, beyond her cold attitude, I could see her emotions calming down.
"Haha...
She's not honest."
I snorted and walked toward the interrogation room door with a light step.
Anyway, I had successfully blocked the most urgent problem, the worst death flag of almost getting at odds with this regressor.
Kkigigig-
I closed the heavy iron door of the interrogation room and came out.
My mind was lightened as I swept my thick bangs back.
For now, there wouldn't be any hair loss.