Chapter 237
Chapter 237
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: The Organ Transfer Bus
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Hmm. In short, you're saying long-term treatment happens automatically, right? If used properly, it seems quite useful...”
That was the first reaction from No Do-ha, the Highway Management Corps chief, after receiving the report on the existence of Village Bus No. 44.
As expected from someone who had the peninsula's top psychopath directly under her command. Hearing that healthy people's organs were being smoothly harvested, and reacting like this—truly the end times.
“You're the one who shoved death row inmates into that bus first, aren't you, you madman...”
Hitting me with straight facts like a coward.
In another regression cycle, I'd secretly tested her MBTI, and No Do-ha came out as ISTJ. That's why it's hard to deal with T-types.
For reference, though no one cares, Yoo Ji-won was ESTJ. If you see similarities between the Highway Management Corps duo, it's not your imagination.
“By the way, I don't quite understand. How exactly are buses and organ harvesting connected to create such a monster...?”
Ah. On that point, I, the Undertaker, a doctor of monster studies, had a theory.
“For starters, there's a vehicle called the Gaswagen operated by the Nazis during World War II. Think of it as a mobile gas execution chamber. It killed Jews using carbon monoxide from the engine. By the time the bus reached its destination, all passengers were dead.”
“Fuck. There was shit like that too...?”
There was. As expected of Old Man Show's homeland—ruthless to the core.
(For reference, Old Man Show's family was a pure 100% red commie dynasty that had supported the Social Democrats since their ancestors.)
“It was discontinued because cleaning the vehicle got too bothersome, with complaints piling up.”
“Haa... But still, that has nothing to do with organ harvesting, right? I doubt they were selling organs from bodies poisoned by gas...?”
“On that note, the neighboring country had an Execution Bus.”
Execution Bus.
A real vehicle operated in China. Instead of building a fixed execution chamber, they simply modified a bus.
More advanced than WWII era, it used drugs for executions instead of harmful gas. The bodies from these had most internal organs at A+ grade, making them suitable for circulation.
“Fuck. There was shit like that too...?”
There was.
No Do-ha's expression was gradually shifting to 'Maybe humanity deserves to be wiped off the earth for justice,' so I hurriedly added.
“Excluding Gaswagens and Execution Buses, buses are actually frequent guests in urban legends. You wake up in the middle of an island in a battle royale with a bomb necklace... You've never seen a movie like that?”
“I think I've heard of it...”
“Putting all those images together created the monster 'Village Bus No. 44.'”
So we conducted a test.
“Alright, Prisoner No. 37. You just need to walk to that bus holding this book.”
“What's this book...?”
“Just a plain classic literature book. Don't worry about it.”
It was a super bestseller pamphlet by a German author, [Communist Manifesto]. Not a Korean translation, but the original imported copy, handed to the death row inmate.
“Go there holding this book, and shout this in front of the bus where it's visible. Got it?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Over there. You really mean you'll reduce my sentence to life imprisonment if I just do that?”
“Of course! I'm the Undertaker, the Undertaker. The Highway Management Corps chief's one and only best friend, and the operations team leader's master. One word from me, and it's done. What, or do you want to go back and get your throat slit?”
“N-No, sir. I'll do it.”
The death row inmate approached Village Bus No. 44 and shouted.
“W-Workers of the world, unite――.”
But the inmate couldn't finish the sentence. The bus, parked quietly until then, suddenly accelerated.
At around 300 km/h.
Screeech- Boom!
The inmate didn't even think to dodge and reverted to being a corpse. Splatter. Guts flew everywhere.
Among them, the right arm holding the [Communist Manifesto] flew over and landed right between No Do-ha and me, a hole-in-one.
Test successful.
“As expected, it seems mixed with the Nazi Gaswagen as a base. Nazis hated communists as much as Jews, after all.”
“You said China's Execution Bus was mixed in too—why would it hate communists...?”
“Who knows? Don't demand such fine distinctions from a monster. Or maybe it's refined enough to distinguish between the Soviet Union and China.”
“You're fucking insane...”
We moved to the next test.
“G-Guild leader. If we're caught doing this for real, it's gonna be bad...?”
Sim A-ryeon rolled her eyes. Clearly anxious, glancing around.
Our current location was the Mo Gwang-seo Christ Cathedral in Mokgwangseo—not the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in the Eastern Holy Nation. The heart of Pyongyang.
Like the Imperium of Man in Warhammer, the Eastern Holy Nation also had a Golden Throne.
Right now, beside Sim A-ryeon and me sat the living god, the reincarnation of Jesus, Mo Gwang-seo Christ, on the throne.
“I-If we're caught messing with Mo Gwang-seo, even I, the Saintess holding all real power in the North, could get the boot.”
“A-ryeon. Don't you trust the guild leader?”
“Y-Yes? No, I don't...?”
“......”
“......”
“I'll set up a one-on-one fan meeting with Nymphocalypse DJ later.”
“I've trusted only you, guild leader, from 120 million years ago including my past life! L-Let's go quick!”
We swiftly kidnapped Mo Gwang-seo.
We'd already parked Village Bus No. 44 in a secret spot in Pyongyang. An underground parking lot with walls sealed tight to prevent any noise leakage.
“Whooa. As expected of the guild leader. Wh-When did you prepare a hideout like this?”
-Scribe.
“Before the Eastern Holy Nation was founded. Pyongyang originally has secret underground bases scattered around.”
-Scribe.
“Wow! T-Tell me some too! Lately, dealing with faithless heretics is such a hassle. It'd be easy to bury them in places like this... Um, more than that, guild leader.”
“What?”
-Scribe.
“D-Doesn't it seem like Mo Gwang-seo has been mumbling something toward you since earlier...?”
“It's your imagination. This guy's just a monster stuck in a rigid pose—without Ha-yul here, it can't use human language.”
“Oh, imagination, huh? Hehe. I thought so tooo.”
-Scribe.
“Then on three, open the bus door. One, two, three. Hup.”
We cooperated to toss Mo Gwang-seo inside Village Bus No. 44.
Then.
Flash!
There was light.
Mo Gwang-seo's body burst, dyeing the bus windows blood red, but even that profane red shone holy in the glow of his sacred light.
“Oh.”
“A-Ahh! Eye- Eye-candy! Eye-candyyy...!”
Sim A-ryeon flailed around, putting on a 'glasses- glasses-' scene straight out of old anime.
But Mo Gwang-seo's holiness didn't stop there.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
Splatter! Splatter! Splatter! Splatter!
Every three seconds, light burst nonstop from inside the bus. Naturally, blood sprayed each time, painting the windows with red dye.
Village Bus No. 44 killed Mo Gwang-seo, and Mo Gwang-seo unerringly revived. A fierce clash between two prideful monsters.
Watching their battle would be entertaining, but I had a more important task.
“Saintess. How is it?”
[...For now, it seems treatment is happening.]
Checking if it treated incurables.
The Saintess had dispatched various Awakeners to observe the patients' conditions.
[First, the blind patients are recovering fastest. One, two, three... It's quick.]
The Korean Peninsula's medical system was average at best but had top-tier peaks.
Thanks to 'Prosthetics Maker' No Do-ha and 'Aggro-Drinking Bird' Sim A-ryeon.
However, No Do-ha took too long crafting prosthetics one by one.
Considering her Highway Management Corps chief duties, even 72-hour days wouldn't suffice.
No Do-ha herself always wanted more patients, but I firmly limited numbers. I knew from experience she'd collapse if pushed further.
Sim A-ryeon wasn't omnipotent either.
Strictly speaking, omnipotence would be problematic. Absorbing too much aggro from the world would turn her into a Fallen for sure.
I'd deliberately skipped the episode where Sim A-ryeon became a Fallen. But maybe I'd deal with it later. Not by choice.
'If the combo of Village Bus No. 44 and Mo Gwang-seo proves harmless to incurables.'
Then the Peninsula's medical system would enter a new era.
I'd even abandon the Eastern Holy Nation if needed.
Riding Mo Gwang-seo on the bus was more efficient than seating him on the Golden Throne.
[The patients are continuously healing. Ah.]
[Wait, Undertaker. ...Something's wrong.]
Of course, no such convenient future arrived.
“What's wrong?”
[Some patients... Specifically six patients show strange phenomena.]
[A halo appeared above their heads.]
Halo. Angel's ring.
[Wait. Not just halos. Wings sprouting confirmed on the six patients.]
[...!]
[The six patients are moving. Undertaker, stop Village Bus No. 44!]
I drew Do-ha.
My aura swept through, turning the bus into a pile of scrap. The monster was instantly destroyed.
From the bomb-crater-like pit, a flash- spread. Mo Gwang-seo's final revival.
[The patients... The winged ones are flying at tremendous speeds.]
[Direction, presumed Pyongyang.]
[Really fast. 300 km/h, no, accelerating more. 500 km, 600 km, speeding toward Pyongyang. The closest one has entered Pyongyang airspace.]
[Undertaker, the destination is probably.]
This place.
“A-ryeon.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Come to the guild leader.”
“Yes.”
Sim A-ryeon came to me without question and hugged. I raised my aura, weaving a barrier around her and the surroundings.
KABOOM!
Almost simultaneously, the ceiling split. Whoosh-. Dust and debris stormed wildly, bouncing off the aura barrier.
I swung Do-ha to sweep away the dust cloud.
Then, through the hole in the sky above, the monster appeared.
-Aaaaah.
An angel.
The Saintess had described wings sprouting on patients. Fitting, yet inaccurate.
The floating monster was entirely made of wings.
A massive eyeball writhed at the center.
The giant eye connected endlessly to smaller eyeballs front-back-left-right. Each with long feathery eyelids like wings.
Resembling the biblical angel's description.
-Aaah, aaaah.
The 'aaah' voice echoed where eyeballs turned and wings flapped.
Immediately, thousands of laser beams shot from gaps in the wings toward me.
“Hm.”
Roaring blasts poured.
The already underground bunker deepened further. A decent mountain peak would've vanished from that one laser strike.
'Six of those monsters together, and each attack would be near Meteor Shower class.'
Confirming I was unscathed despite its assault, the 'angel' flapped wings again. Lasers regenerated without cooldown.
I lightly swung Do-ha.
A dark wave slash obliquely cut the lasers, charging the angel.
Slice! Dozens of wing layers slashed diagonally. Unlike the angel's thunderous attack, my strike was silent.
With a sound, the angel was cleaved.
-Aaah. Aa. Aaah.
Flutter flutter.
Wings fell one by one.
Like white magnolias drooping their heads.
Once the belated spring flower petals finished falling, the angel vanished without a trace.
The bunker's ruins scattered with massive wings.
“......”
I stared blankly.
All the while, Sim A-ryeon silently gazed up at my face.
I smiled and stroked her head. Only then did her blank expression soften.
“Sorry. Things got a bit big.”
“I-It's fine. We can just purge them all!”
“Has the devil tainted Pyongyang's soil...?”
“Don't use it? The village bus.”
“Yeah. I won't use it at all.”
“Hehe......”
Afterward, five more 'angel' monsters attacked in succession.
Defeating them was easy, but cleanup was tricky.
All Pyongyang citizens had witnessed the bizarre winged freaks flying from the sky.
Still, Sim A-ryeon stepped up to calm the citizens, resolving it somehow. In the harsh Eastern Holy Nation, she was treated as a savior.
I finally returned Mo Gwang-seo to the Golden Throne, then contacted Yongsan's control tower.
“Saintess. Any common traits among the six patients who turned into angels?”
[Yes. As you probably guessed, Undertaker, all suffered near-fatal wounds from the Void, practically dead.]
“I see.”
I sighed.
“Seems if too many internal organs get replaced by Mo Gwang-seo's body, they devolve into monsters.”
[I think so too. One or two organs is harmless, but beyond a threshold, identity shifts.]
“Those replaced by Mo Gwang-seo's organs become his duplicates... Hence turning into angels.”
A bus is a means of transport.
Ultimately, it conveys something somewhere.
What Village Bus No. 44 transports isn't passengers—it's bodily internals. Every organ.
In other words, its true name is the 'Organ Transfer Bus.'