Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: New Project
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What? What the hell is this guy babbling about?!"
The guard who had rushed over aimed his gun at the naked man.
The man was crouched down, burying his head in his knees.
"How did you infiltrate the research institute? Identify yourself!"
"There are holes. Holes everywhere..."
The man kept muttering like a madman, ignoring the guard's shouts.
The guard cautiously turned his head to look at Se-hwa and me before asking,
"Does either Researcher Lee Se-hwa or the Black Princess know this man?"
Se-hwa, still groggy from just waking up, shook her head with a dazed expression.
"I don't know. Why am I even here in the first place? I feel like I was having a nightmare, but this is weird."
"According to the CCTV footage, Researcher Lee Se-hwa, you were running alone down an empty hallway."
"What? I did? I kind of remember running in my nightmare, but I don't recall the details clearly."
The guard continued talking to Se-hwa while still aiming his gun at the naked man.
He then glanced at me, asking with his eyes if I knew the man.
"I don't know him either."
"I-is that so. Whew. What the hell is this lunatic?"
The guard let out a deep sigh.
Soon, urgent footsteps approached from down the hall.
"People are finally coming. Researcher Lee Se-hwa, you should head to the mental contamination exam room for a check-up."
"Yeah, got it. I thought I'd woken up from the dream, but being inside the research institute makes me think something's off too."
Se-hwa nodded obediently, convinced.
The guard alternated glances between the naked man and me, hesitating for a moment.
He then carefully spoke up.
"CCTV captured the Black Princess confronting this man. We're about to interrogate him now. If it's not too much trouble, could the Princess accompany us?"
"What's in it for me if I do?"
"Pardon? W-well..."
The guard’s eyes shook with unease.
His lips trembled, but he couldn't find the words to say.
"Hehe. Just kidding. I don't have anything else to do, so I'll tag along."
I'd probably need to rack up good deeds diligently to get a Level 5 keycard.
Not just with Se-hwa, but I should build favor with others too.
Soon, more people arrived.
Se-hwa waved to me, saying she'd go get checked and come back.
Since I'd already stripped away the anomalous entity causing trouble, there shouldn't be any issues.
"Hngh. Hnghk. I can see the holes. The holes..."
The sobbing naked man was forcibly pulled to his feet by people grabbing his arms.
We followed behind them into a small room.
The room looked like an ordinary conference room with a square table.
A woman was already waiting inside.
"Ugh, what the hell is that? Someone get some clothes quick and cover up that eyesore."
The woman grimaced, pointing at the naked man entering.
Someone dashed off and returned with a worn T-shirt and pants.
"Here, clothes. Put them on now!"
"Hic. H-holes. No. I hate it. Hate it!"
"Damn it. What the hell is he saying? Just put them on!"
The people wrestled the clothes onto the naked man, who resisted fiercely.
Eventually, no longer naked, the man was forced to sit across from the woman.
I sat one seat away from the man, facing the woman.
"Nice to meet you. So you're the famous Black Princess. I'm Researcher Kwon Sae-ron."
"Hello."
"Hnghk. Even with my eyes closed, I see holes. Urgh."
Researcher Kwon Sae-ron sat politely and greeted us.
She had black hair down to her shoulders and round black sunglasses that stood out.
She looked like an eccentric scientist straight out of a comic.
Sae-ron glanced back and forth between me and the man from behind her sunglasses.
"Oh my, who do we have here? The Korea branch leader of the Humanity Liberation Alliance."
Sae-ron recognized him immediately, as if she already knew his face.
"Your name was Kyle, right?"
The man finally stopped muttering at the sound of his name.
"K-Kyle. Yeah. My name is Kyle."
"So how did you get into the research institute?"
Sae-ron stared piercingly at Kyle.
Even with the sunglasses hiding her eyes, her gaze felt intense.
"How? I-I don't... I don't know. How did I get in here? Why am I even here? Where is this place?"
"Sigh. Can't tell if he's lying or actually insane."
Sae-ron let out a small sigh.
She then turned to me with a friendly smile.
"Princess, do you know this man?"
"First time seeing him today. He had a ton of anomalous entities, though. Thanks to that, I ate well."
"Ahaha. Is that so? Who would've thought the Humanity Liberation Alliance's leader was using anomalies for personal gain. Too bad it didn't get out to the public."
Sae-ron burst into laughter before straightening her posture.
Her expression suddenly turned serious as she asked firmly,
"I saw it on CCTV. What did you do to Kyle? He was sprinting, then suddenly vanished, only to drop from thin air naked moments later."
"I accidentally swallowed him along with the anomalies and spat him right back out."
Sae-ron kept staring at me even after my answer.
Her round sunglasses bored into me, as if staring long enough would expose any lies.
"It wasn't my fault. That old guy wrapped himself in anomalies first. He's the one who messed up. I'm innocent."
This was self-defense.
Anyone would slip up if someone slathered themselves in anomalies like that.
"Ahaha! It's fine. No one's blaming the Princess."
"Right? Hehe."
Sae-ron and I shared a light laugh.
Indeed, I hadn't done anything wrong.
"Where do the anomalies you eat go?"
Sae-ron asked casually, like she was just checking in.
"Huh? Uh... probably down the esophagus to the stomach? Is this a trivia question?"
I didn't know the exact digestion process.
Why ask something like this out of the blue?
Sae-ron gave a small, satisfied chuckle at my response.
"Yes, exactly. I was just giving a quiz to kill time."
Kyle still hung his head low, muttering about seeing holes.
Sae-ron reached out and shook his shoulder.
"Stop yapping and snap out of it. Unless you want to get eaten by the Princess again."
"Hnghk! N-no! Anything but that! Never!"
Kyle jolted up in horror, trying to leap from his chair.
But his body was tied to the chair, so he just slumped back down.
Hmm. Even if it was an accident, I spat him out right away.
He's overreacting a bit.
"Sorry for taking your time, Princess. You're free to go now. I still have a lot to discuss with this guy."
"Got it. I'll head out first then."
There was no reason to stick around, so I stood up at Sae-ron's words.
I said goodbye and left the room.
"N-no, not there! That place has it! Humans can't handle that thing!"
Kyle's desperate cries faintly leaked out from the room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Knock knock. The knock echoed through the quiet room.
"Come in."
The door opened, and a researcher in a white lab coat entered.
It was Researcher Lee Se-hwa, handler for the Black Princess.
"Hello, Director Kwon Sae-ron of the 6th Research Institute. I'm Researcher Lee Se-hwa."
Researcher Lee Se-hwa bowed politely in greeting.
"Have a seat. You said you had a request for me?"
Lately, the Black Princess was the biggest topic at the Ansong Research Institute.
Ever since she subdued the Philosophy Doctor, no one in the institute didn't know her nickname or appearance.
Consequently, her handler, Researcher Lee Se-hwa, had drawn a lot of attention too.
"Yes. I do have a request."
Researcher Lee Se-hwa paused for a moment.
Then, as if steeling herself, she spoke.
"For the live experiments I'll be handling going forward, I hope there are no deaths."
"Yes, understood."
"Even if they've committed crimes, they're still living beings... Pardon?"
"I said understood."
Researcher Lee Se-hwa stared with wide eyes.
Her prominent dark circles were striking.
"Really? Just like that?"
"Hehe. Researcher Lee Se-hwa, have you been getting fooled your whole life? Should I pretend this conversation never happened?"
"N-no! Thank you, Director!"
Researcher Lee Se-hwa bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
"It's something we could just assign to other researchers. No real reason to stick it on you specifically."
"Oh, I see..."
For some reason, her expression darkened slightly despite getting her request granted.
"By the way, Researcher Lee Se-hwa."
The researcher recomposed herself and looked straight at me.
Since I'd granted her favor, maybe it was time for me to ask one.
"Want to take on a new project?"
It was time to properly start utilizing the Black Princess.