Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Test Subject Log
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Test Subject Log.
Gyeonggi-do Paju, a shuttered chemical factory.
The factory district, shrouded in pitch-black darkness, was deathly silent.
A man with a black hood pulled low over his face slipped through the shadows like a ghost along the barren road, where not a single streetlight flickered.
Han Siwoo came to a stop in front of the abandoned factory's rusty chain-link fence.
It appeared to be a haunted ruin, abandoned years ago with no trace of human visitors.
'Tire tracks.'
Faint impressions of large truck tires lingered on the weed-choked ground.
And crucially, the subtle hum of vibration emanating from the transformer behind the factory.
Hum-. Hum-.
It was a faint noise, but unmistakable proof that power was still flowing.
There was only one reason industrial electricity would run to an abandoned factory.
'This is definitely the place.'
Siwoo slipped through a gap in the chain-link fence.
Muffling his footsteps and keeping to the shadows, he made his way toward the building.
Upon reaching it, he crossed the dust-caked floor and stood before the freight elevator.
A faint light glowed on the button panel.
'Power's on, as expected.'
Taking the elevator would be simplest, but far too risky.
CCTV or security systems were likely active.
Without hesitation, Siwoo bypassed the elevator and headed for the materials warehouse.
He cross-referenced the factory blueprint he'd memorized against the actual layout.
'There's space behind this wall.'
In a cluttered corner stacked with materials.
When Siwoo shoved aside a slab of rotten plywood, an iron door revealed itself—its color subtly mismatched from the wall.
Creak.
He opened the door carefully to avoid the rusty hinges screaming.
A dark staircase yawned downward into the abyss.
Before descending, Siwoo straightened his clothes.
He pulled his hood even lower and started down the stairs.
Even in the gloom, his blue eyes gleamed with sharp clarity.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Basement Level 3. The deeper he went, the heavier the air grew.
Humid and oppressive. A stinging chemical reek mixed with the metallic tang of blood, poorly masked by disinfectant.
A horrific stench that refused to be scrubbed away.
Siwoo pressed a handkerchief to his nose and stood before the iron door at the corridor's end.
For some reason, the lock was already disengaged.
Bang.
The interior was completely empty.
Dozens of surgical tables lined the vast laboratory, but nothing rested atop them.
"......"
An overturned IV stand. Scattered stacks of papers. Shards of shattered ampoules on the floor.
Traces of a frantic midnight flight, packing in haste.
'One step too late.'
Just as the informant had warned.
These bastards fled their nests without hesitation at the first sign of pursuit, like migratory birds.
They'd erased their tracks with expert precision.
Siwoo slowly paced the barren lab.
Dark crimson bloodstains crusted the floor in spots.
So much blood had spilled that it had seeped between the tiles, impossible to clean.
'Insight Eye.'
Siwoo scanned with Insight Eye, but not a single presence registered.
They'd wiped even the traces spotless.
But Siwoo didn't give up.
If they'd left in a rush, something had to have been dropped.
He approached the incinerator.
Still radiating faint warmth, its interior held scraps of unburnt paper tumbling about.
Siwoo donned gloves and sifted through the ashes.
"This is..."
A charred fragment of a chart.
[Subject Record] [Code name: U-07 / Status: Excellent compatibility / Judgment: Transfer] [Code name: Y-404 / Status: Poor compatibility / Judgment: Disposal after experiment] [Code name: K-21 / Status: Poor compatibility / Judgment: Disposal after experiment] Subjects.
They referred to people not by names, but code names.
Who was U-07?
Excellent compatibility—did that mean the experiment succeeded?
The words "disposal pending" sent a chill down his spine.
Siwoo pocketed the chart scrap and scanned the surroundings again.
Something glinted from a dust-filled pit beneath a corner surgical table.
'A ring?'
A plain silver band, no gem set in it.
But the moment he picked it up, an eerie sense of familiarity washed over him.
'I've seen this somewhere before.'
Siwoo pocketed the ring and rummaged through the office desk one last time.
Drawers empty, but behind the trash bin, a crumpled memo lay discarded.
Seemingly dropped in haste while packing.
Siwoo unfolded it to reveal an unfamiliar address.
[Transfer Location: Anseong 2nd Logistics Warehouse (Closed Area)] "Found you."
He clenched the memo tightly.
The crumpling paper echoed through the silent lab.
Without hesitation, he turned and headed out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The same moment. Gyeonggi-do Anseong, basement of an abandoned logistics warehouse.
This place was far more secretive and equipped with cutting-edge facilities than the Paju factory.
Cold LED lights illuminated the surgical table.
A woman lay bound spread-eagled upon it.
Leather straps bit into her wrists and ankles.
A gag filled her mouth, her eyes wide with terror, whites showing.
Her patient gown bore no name on the chest—just a number.
[404] "Ready?"
A masked researcher asked, and the assistant beside him nodded.
Their eyes were cold and emotionless, like machines.
"Vitals stable. Awakening inducer administered."
"Good. Let's begin."
The researcher pressed the recorder button.
"8:42 PM. Subject 404. Experiment commencing."
Subject 404's eyes shook violently.
'Save me... please...'
She wanted to scream, but the gag allowed only muffled grunts.
Each thrash dug the leather straps deeper into her wrists and ankles.
Blood seeped out, but she couldn't stop.
The cold surgical table stabbed into her back.
"Anesthesia?"
"Omitted. Data shows higher pain levels increase bloom probability."
"Understood. Proceed."
The researcher took up the scalpel without a second thought.
The cold metal touched 404's neck skin, sending chills racketing through her body.
Slice.
"Mmph!!!! Mmmpphh!!!"
Her body arched like a hooked fish.
The agony of living flesh tearing ripped through her brain.
Skin parted, crimson blood streamed down her neck, soaking the table sheets.
The air filled with the fishy stench of blood.
But the researcher didn't pause.
With deft motions, he incised the muscle and secured the airway.
He used tweezers to extract tissue near her vocal cords.
Blood vessels burst in 404's writhing eyes from the pain.
"Sample."
The assistant brought a dish containing something.
A writhing mass coated in purple slime, pulsing like a heart.
"Subject 404 possesses potential mediated through vocalization. Implanting this into the vocal cords should force the ability to bloom."
The researcher shoved the sample into the gaping throat.
Sizzle-!
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Flesh melted where the seed touched, as the mass began fusing with nerves and vessels.
"Grraaak!!!!"
404 screamed through her gag as if chewing it to pieces.
Her throat burned like she'd swallowed a fireball.
The vivid horror of something devouring her vocal cords and taking root in their place.
It felt like her vocal cords were incinerating.
Her eyes rolled back, her body convulsed.
Nails raked the table's leather, drawing blood.
Her writhing form was pathetic.
"Values spiking! Mana waves unstable!"
"Pin her down! Keep her still!"
Assistants rushed in to crush her limbs.
The researcher sutured unperturbed.
Each needle pierce elicited jerks from her body.
Bloody tears streamed endlessly from her eyes.
Pain surpassed limits; consciousness flickered.
'Kill me... just kill me...'
But they denied even death.
They force-fed recovery potions to prolong her life and continued the experiment.
Beep. Beep.
Machines whirred, logging data.
The researchers sighed at the monitor readouts.
"Failure again. Tsk. Compatibility didn't exceed 30%."
"What now?"
To them, 404 was no human.
Just a data point. A test subject. Nothing more, nothing less.
A disposable tool.
"Dispose of it. No time to process now—leave it for incineration later. Next is K-21? Incheon, right?"
"Yes. Clean up and let's move."
The researchers stripped off their bloody gloves and exited the OR.
The machines fell silent. Cold stillness descended.
404 lay abandoned on the table.
A centipede-like scar marred her neck hideously.
Purple energy oozed from the wound.
Her swollen throat looked agonizing at a glance.
"......"
A single tear trickled from her vacant eyes.
It traced her ear and dripped onto the cold table.
Drip.
The tiny splash echoed like vast despair.
No life remained in her gaze. She was a soulless doll, spirit slain.
She was forgetting who she even was.
Pain alone proved her existence.
She was merely Failed Subject 404, slated for disposal.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Siwoo pulled out of the Paju factory and fired up the engine.
He reached to input the next destination into the navigation.
The site scrawled on the memo they'd dropped.
[Destination: Gyeonggi-do Anseong-si, 2nd Logistics Warehouse] But his finger froze mid-air before touching the screen.
Siwoo's gaze shifted to the item tossed on the passenger seat.
The plain silver ring unearthed from the dust pit.
He picked it up.
'Hm?'
Turning it slightly revealed initials engraved inside.
"M & Y? No way."
Only then did he pinpoint the source of that nagging familiarity.
It was eerily similar to the ring always on Choi Min-seok's finger, one he'd seen countless times.
A chill of foreboding raced up his spine.
"Guess I'll find out by checking."
Siwoo wrenched the wheel.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The hospital entrance at 3 AM was hushed.
Only the distant wail of ambulances heading to the ER broke the quiet.
Siwoo parked in a dim corner of the lot and made a call.
"Min-seok, it's me. Can you come down for a moment?"
[Ah, yes, Representative. Be right there.]
Moments later, Choi Min-seok emerged from the hospital entrance.
His complexion had noticeably improved in just days.
The news that Ji-yu's long tormenting illness was nearly cured was his greatest joy.
Spotting Siwoo, he bowed deeply.
"Representative. What brings you here at this hour?"
"I have something I need to confirm."
Siwoo got straight to it.
He pulled the silver ring, wrapped in a handkerchief, from his pocket and offered it to Min-seok.
"By any chance... does this look familiar?"
Min-seok took the handkerchief with a puzzled expression.
Under the streetlight, the silver ring gleamed faintly.
"This is..."
Min-seok's pupils quaked like an earthquake.
With trembling hands, he lifted the ring.
His mouth gaped like a man choking on air.
"Wh-where... how did you get this..."
"Check the inside."
Min-seok turned it over to inspect the interior.
Faded from wear, but the engraving was unmistakable.
[M & Y] "Ah... aaah..."
Min-seok's legs gave out.
He collapsed to the spot, clutching the ring to his chest.
"Yun-seo..."
He couldn't stifle the bursting sobs.
It was the ring his wife, missing for five years, had worn.
Now returned through Siwoo's hands.
A trace of the wife he'd buried in his heart, fate unknown.
"This... it's my wife's."
Siwoo silently watched.
He couldn't bring himself to say he'd found it in a bio-lab's dust pit amid experiment remnants.
"Your wife's name, if I may?"
"Kim... Kim Yun-seo."
The chart fragment flashed in Siwoo's mind.
[Subject K-21 (Disposal Pending)] K for Kim. Subject 21. And the ring's Y.
'Dropped the ring while relocating the lab. Which means...'
She might still be alive.
Or perhaps already broken beyond retrieving even her ring.
"Representative. Tell me. Where is it?"
Min-seok stared at Siwoo with steely resolve.
Give him the location, and he'd charge in right then.
"Min-seok."
Siwoo gripped his shoulder.
"Listen carefully to everything I say from now on."