Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Grade 3 Yellow Card Key
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I'm Park Cheol-woong, team leader of the Reacquisition Mobile Team.
I've spent years as an agent, risking my life battling all sorts of anomalies.
I've negotiated with countless anomalies to escape the brink of death.
That's how I've endured day after day to climb my way up to team leader.
And right now...
I'm witnessing a bizarre scene unlike anything I've ever seen, even through all my tumultuous years.
"Guweeehk."
The Princess vomited up a chunk of the Swelling Flesh Mass onto the floor.
Some penguin species swallow fish to store them, then regurgitate it later for their chicks.
In those penguins, the fish comes back up almost intact.
Why am I thinking of that all of a sudden?
"Want to try some of this?"
Because that thing is shoving the anomaly it just puked up right in my face.
The flesh chunk was almost intact, aside from the sticky slime coating it.
Does it have an internal structure similar to a penguin's?
I want nothing more than to blast that flesh right now and splatter it everywhere.
The last thing I want is to eat it.
But...
I have to fulfill my duty.
"Sure, I've been craving some of that meat myself. Thanks for saving me some."
The Reacquisition Mobile Team's mission is to subdue escaped anomalies and contain them.
If the anomaly dies during subdual, the mission is a failure.
Even if it's an anomaly the Princess puked up, we still have to secure it.
"Let me clean it up for you."
The Princess rubs the flesh chunk against her clothes, wiping off the sticky mystery goo.
The flesh chunk is spotless now.
"Here you go. Good as new."
Strangely, even though she wiped the slime off with her clothes, they didn't get dirty at all.
The Princess's outfit must be some kind of anomaly itself.
That solves the mystery of why she always wears the exact same clothes. Not that I particularly wanted to know.
I pick up the proffered chunk of Swelling Flesh Mass.
The squishy texture is utterly revolting.
"Thanks."
I give a curt thanks, and the Princess smiles faintly, looking pleased.
She gazes up at me with an expression like she's expecting something.
Our eyes meet.
Damn it.
"I'm pretty full right now, so would it be okay if I save it and eat it later?"
"Oh... okay."
The Princess droops her head, her face full of disappointment.
The Black Princess is a new anomaly whose traits haven't been fully analyzed yet.
No one knows what dangers might arise if we carelessly upset her.
I have to play along with her moods.
As disgusting as it is, it seems like she really wants me to eat this flesh chunk.
"Hoo..."
I stare down at the flesh in my hand.
I take a deep breath, hold it, then take a small bite.
As my molars pierce the browned surface, juices ooze out from the flesh.
It's like eating a spoiled steak fished out of a food waste bin.
"Mm, delicious."
"Hehe, right? It tastes nice and grilled."
The Princess beams with satisfaction.
Does that anomaly know the joy of sharing food?
It's fascinating, but I'd prefer if it understood that humans don't eat anomalies.
"I'm full now, so I'll eat the rest later. That okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
Only after I take a bite does the Princess finally seem content.
"Well then, I'll be going first. Take care."
The Princess hums a little tune as she walks off somewhere.
Once the Black Princess is out of sight, the team members gather around me.
"T-Team Leader! Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Aside from it tasting like absolute shit, it was tolerable."
I pull out my canteen and rinse my mouth with every last drop of water inside.
It was a horrific experience I never want to go through again.
"At least the reacquisition was a success. The key now is how similar this flesh fragment is to the main body."
I examine the flesh chunk, now with a bite taken out like the Apple logo.
The flesh twitches faintly.
For some reason, the infinite proliferation trait of the Swelling Flesh Mass isn't manifesting.
"Operation over. Everyone, return to alert status for the next mission per procedure."
I declare the op complete and proceed with post-mission procedures, starting with recontaining the flesh fragment.
Since I ate an anomaly, I undergo an additional physical exam.
During the checkup, I get lost in thought.
'The rumor that the Black Princess can eat anomalies was true.'
Cannibalism between anomalies is rare.
Plus, with their bizarre traits, even when they fight, it's extremely uncommon for one to actually die.
The Black Princess could kill the Swelling Flesh Mass.
'That's an incredible trait. An anomaly that can kill other anomalies... We'll have to be extra careful with her from now on.'
The Princess possesses rational intelligence and can hold conversations.
A being that can converse and kill anomalies.
What would happen if an official investigation report on the Black Princess came out?
The government, civic groups, other countries, religious organizations—you name it.
Countless factions would try to exploit her for their own gain.
'Not my problem, though.'
My head starts to ache. Politics aren't my jurisdiction.
I'm just a lowly agent who follows orders.
And I'll stay that way forever.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 Breaking News [Title: Black Princess Subdued the Swelling Flesh Mass ㄷㄷ] Everyone knows the Flesh Mass, right?
You know, that horrific thing that grows infinitely.
The cause hasn't been figured out yet, but for some reason it escaped containment.
Guns don't work on it due to its traits, so the response team brought flamethrowers.
But even those didn't work.
While the team was panicking and didn't know what to do...
The Black Princess showed up.
She chowed down on the Flesh Mass right away and killed half of it in an instant.
💬 Comments — 1 Is it really okay to let a girl like that roam free in the research institute? — 2 She's pretty docile for now lol;; — 3 Shouldn't we dunk it in acid or thicken the concrete walls or something to lock it up proper? ⭐ Top Comment — 4 I've had my life saved by the Princess before, so I can't complain. Just know that the Black Princess is one of the nicer anomalies out there. — 5 I'm on the response team, and without the Princess, subduing the Flesh Mass would've been impossible. Honestly, we only stopped it because they let the Princess loose. 📰 Breaking News [Title: Who's the Strongest Anomaly in Korea?] Korea has two research institutes: the Seoul one and Ansong.
Including Seoul, who's the strongest in your opinion?
💬 Comments — 1 The Seoul institute is in the capital, so they just collect weak anomalies. — 2 Just look at Ansong lololol — 3 For real lol — 4 The strongest has gotta be the Doctor, no contest. — 5 That one whose containment cell cost tens of billions lolol — 6 What the hell does it do to cost that much? — 5 They coated every surface—ceiling, floor, walls—in solid gold. The Doctor can't break gold. ⭐ Top Comment — 99999 Priㄴncess is stㄹroㄴng too!!! — 7 Wait, this number keeps popping up lately. What is it? An anomaly? — 8 Info team leader got pissed about 99999 lolol — 9 This account only posts about the Black Princess. What if it's actually her? lololol "Princess~, what'cha up to?"
While I was messing around on the staff community forum, Se-hwa came into the room.
It's already been a few days since I ate the flesh chunk.
Luckily, I didn't get chewed out for smashing the corridor door.
The excuse that I accidentally broke it while tripping worked, it seems.
"Just on the computer."
I was about to show Se-hwa the screen as she approached.
Beep-.
Suddenly, the monitor made a weird noise and turned off on its own.
"What? Princess! Telling me not to peek? Fine, I won't look at your screen."
Se-hwa, mistaking it for me turning it off, backed away grumpily.
I didn't particularly feel like correcting her, so I let it slide.
"Aww~, I brought a present for the Princess. Guess you hate me. Boo hoo."
Se-hwa pretends to cry, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve.
"What present?"
"I'm a good researcher, so I can give presents even to Princesses who hate me."
Se-hwa pulls out a yellow card key from her pocket.
It's the color of the Grade 3 key she bragged about when I got my blue Grade 1.
"Here, take it. The bigwigs were grateful for your help, so they upgraded your card key to Grade 3."
The yellow card key had my photo and nickname on it.
I take the card key.
"That should open pretty much any door now. So no more body-slamming doors, please..."
I learned that card key levels can be upgraded.
Hmm. Since it's like this, I kinda want to aim for the highest, Grade 5.
If I help people diligently, maybe my rank will go up?
Time to spread some good deeds around.