Chapter 379: Technology Research Institute (2)
Chapter 379: Technology Research Institute (2)
“What was that explosion just now?”
Suppressing the fury rising within me, I glared at the agent, who was wearing a forced smile.
What on earth did I do to deserve getting blasted by a bomb just for visiting the Technology Research Institute?
Sure, I got a 'warm welcome' with a bomb at the Geneva Branch too, but those guys were complete lunatics, and the bomb itself was non-lethal, so I just chalked it up to their usual antics. These tech guys aren't supposed to be that crazy. Besides, no matter how I looked at it, that bomb was definitely designed to kill.
“…Everyone is unharmed, so isn't it fine?”
The driver-slash-agent said this as he turned his head away, avoiding my gaze.
I knew it. This guy knows something.
The way he was driving like a maniac right before the explosion was clearly an attempt to avoid it. Though, despite all that fuss, he failed to dodge it in the end, resulting in this disaster.
“I have plenty of ways to find out anyway, so it won't make much of a difference if you just tell me now, right?”
I intensified my glare, putting pressure on the agent to find out exactly what was going on.
About thirty seconds passed. The agent tried his best to endure it, but his face grew paler by the second. Finally, just as his complexion turned a noticeable shade of blue...
“…Due to the non-disclosure agreement, my annual salary will be docked.”
The agent offered a pathetic, yet realistic excuse.
“It’s fine. It’s just a habit. Pay cuts are only scary the first few times. Once it happens often enough, you stop being afraid.”
Eventually, you reach a point where the Management Bureau just gives up on you. As the numbers in your bank account dwindle, your soul gradually drifts toward a state of nirvana.
You only need enough money to survive, after all.
Empty-handed we come, empty-handed we go.
What a magnificent realization.
I truly wish the other Heroes could share in this truth as soon as possible.
So.
“Why don't you just speak up and find some peace? You chose to be a Bureau Agent because you didn't care about fame or money anyway, right?”
“…I have a pet to feed.”
“It’s not even a kid. Then you have even less to worry about.”
Hehehehe.
Somehow, I was starting to enjoy this.
As I was busy bullying my junior agent—contrary to my original intention—a woman's voice suddenly rang out.
“Why don't you stop there, Hero Crimson★Hammer?”
She used that godforsaken Hero name of mine—the one I tried to change at the Geneva Branch whenever I had free time, only to have the application rejected.
“Huh?”
I let out a voice full of irritation and turned toward the person who called me.
A woman I had never seen before was standing there.
She was wearing a white lab coat, which seemed to be the universal fashion choice for Bureau researchers. However, despite the coat being pristine—without a single speck of dust or oil stain—the woman herself looked far from normal.
She had dark circles so deep they looked like makeup, and her messy, rainbow-colored hair was haphazardly bunched up and held together with a clothespin.
Her dress was a dingy, grayish long one-piece that could hardly be called normal attire.
Up to this point, I could have accepted her as someone who had simply gone mad from overwork. But the final accessory on her body branded her as a complete lunatic.
Wrapped around her waist like a belt was a robotic arm. That arm was holding a holographic pad and a purple IV bag, making me wonder if this person was actually a patient who had escaped from a psychiatric ward.
“…And you are?”
The aura of madness she exuded made even me—someone hardened by the likes of Oxymoron and the Librarian—tread carefully.
“Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I am the Director of the Branch 02 Research Institute, AO. It’s spelled A-O.”
She spoke as she brushed her hand against her white coat and then extended it toward me.
“Ah… right. Nice to meet you.”
I cautiously took her hand.
Even as we shook hands, I doubted her words and checked the ID card hanging from her chest.
…What is wrong with her ID?
Everything else seemed normal. The photo on the ID showed a woman who looked like her, albeit a bit more put-together, and the position was clearly stated as the Director of the Technology Research Institute, Branch 02, under the Management Bureau.
The suspicious part was where the name should be.
The area where a long name in the Roman alphabet should have been was scratched out so thoroughly with something sharp that the lamination was peeling off, making it illegible.
In place of that scar, 'AO' was written in large letters with a black permanent marker.
Isn't this forgery of a public document?
No, is there really a lunatic bold enough to forge a public document like this?
“…AO?”
I was so bewildered that I ended up muttering the name aloud.
“Yes. My original name is pointlessly long, so that is what I go by. I don't know if we'll meet again, but I would appreciate it if you called me that from now on.”
“Uh… okay. I understand.”
Since I had no idea how to respond to such a person, I gave a quiet answer, and the handshake ended.
After that brief exchange.
“Agent John Smith?”
She slowly called out the agent's name.
“I’ve told you several times, it’s John Morrison, Director.”
The agent corrected his name as if he were used to it, while simultaneously proving that the lunatic in front of us was indeed the real Director.
“Yes, Agent John Doe. Good work. You may go home for the day.”
The lunatic in front of us didn't listen to a word he said and made her declaration.
“Director. I’ve told you this many times as well, but our chain of command is… forget it. I’m leaving.”
The agent left us, his final words dripping with the exhaustion of someone who had given up on everything. He waved his hand behind him as he walked away, as if saying we should meet again if fate allowed.
After the meeting with the Research Institute Director—who had dominated the situation with her sheer presence—ended, Han A-bin and I exchanged glances, wondering what on earth was happening.
“Director AO! I have a question!”
Suddenly, someone bursting with energy shouted loudly.
“What is your question?”
In contrast to the high-energy person, Director AO gave off an aura that said, 'I think I’m about to die.'
“That thing on your waist—is it the new MRH-Z-003 model from Papia Robotronics?”
Baek Si-hyun’s eyes sparkled as she stared intently at the robotic hand on AO’s waist.
“To be precise, it’s a modification I made based on that model.”
Perhaps interested by Baek Si-hyun’s remark, a bit of life returned to AO’s voice, which had sounded like a corpse just moments ago.
“Oh? Is it that easy to modify? I have an older model, but even when I took it apart, the internals were so precise I couldn't figure out how to touch them…”
Baek Si-hyun was starting to go into overdrive.
“Do you not see my name? I am the Director of the glorious Branch 02 of the Management Bureau’s Technology Research Institute. I can do this with my eyes closed.”
And life began to return to the 'corpse' AO as well.
“Wow. Whoa.”
“If you’re interested, I can show you the differences between this and the original.”
“Really? I’m okay with software modification, but hardware is just impossible for me…”
“You can tinker with the programs applied here? That’s quite interesting. Would you mind showing me…?”
“Here!”
“Ho… It’s a bit crude, but the optimization is brilliant. I see, using the resources like this…”
What are those two doing?
Where did that laptop even come from?
Why are they huddled together, whispering to each other?
Director? Didn't you call for me?
Why are you two lost in your own little world?
“A-bin, what on earth is going on here?”
“If you don't know, Senior, how would I?”
True.
“Anyway, I’m glad Si-hyun has cheered up.”
“…Are you sure she hasn't just gotten worse?”
I had a feeling she was going to cause trouble.
Even while I was talking to Han A-bin, all sorts of weird things were happening.
Why did the single laptop turn into three, and why are they all connected to the robotic hand?
And why is the robotic hand spinning around while holding up its middle finger?
“Hahaha! Take that, you Papia Robotronics bastards! I broke through the profanity filter!”
“Let’s try the bras d'honneur next.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s when you raise your fist at a right angle and grab your bicep!”
“Ah, a Latin-style insult.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the two of them began typing furiously on their keyboards.
The arm that had been flipping the bird now began to spin while making the fist gesture.
“Hahahahahaha!”
“It broke much easier than I thought. To think the Papia guys left a backdoor like this. Um, so… Researcher Jane Doe?”
“It’s Baek Si-hyun! And I’m not a researcher!”
“Researcher Baek Si-hyun. You seem to have a real knack for this. Would you be interested in joining the institute…?”
“I’m too busy being a Hero right now! I don't even have my doctorate yet!”
“That’s a shame. Regardless of the degree, if you’re a Hero, it can't be helped.”
“I’ll think about it later!”
“Yes, please do.”
Well, is it really okay for a career path to be decided like that?
It seemed Baek Si-hyun had already found a way to make a living quickly after she retired as a Hero.
“…This is insane.”
“I agree.”
I felt like I had said the same thing earlier, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.
The atmosphere between those two was something I couldn't easily break into.
As I stood there blankly watching the 'Tactical Apocalypse' the two of them were creating.
“Now that I think about it, if the profanity filter is broken, this form should be possible too.”
Director AO, whose eyes had become bright and clear, suddenly started tapping on the laptop to move the arm.
With the fist clenched, the thumb…
“Director AO. What are you trying to show The Kid?”
I stepped in and blocked AO’s actions.
There are things you should show a kid and things you shouldn't.
Get a grip, you crazy Director.
“Ah. Crimson★Hammer. My apologies. I forgot. Anyway, what do you mean by 'kid'…?”
“The Kid right there, the one you were having such a fun conversation with. She’s a minor.”
Probably.
Is she? Either that or she just barely stopped being one. It’s one of the two.
“Is that so?”
Was this revelation shocking even to Director AO? She turned to Baek Si-hyun with a surprised look and asked a question.
“When is my birthday again?”
Baek Si-hyun blurted out another stupid remark.
How do you even forget your own birth—
Just as I was about to say something.
“I understand. I often forget my own age and birthday as well. By the way, what’s today’s date?”
“I don't know!”
“Well, it’s not that important, so there’s no need to worry about it. Anyway, it means you are definitely young… I look forward to your future even more. How about it? Shall we sign a contract in advance…?”
As she spoke, AO held out the holographic pad that the robotic arm had been holding.
“No, I told you to stop.”
To halt this runaway train, I grabbed AO and pulled her away from Baek Si-hyun.
About two minutes later, the madness finally subsided.
“Ahem. Anyway, welcome to the Management Bureau’s Technology Research Institute, Branch 02. Hero Crimson★Hammer. Hero Baek Si-hyun. Researcher Jane Doe.”
“Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you, Director AO.”
I gave a half-hearted second greeting in response to AO, who had returned to her senses.
“Let’s discuss the details in the Director’s office.”
AO didn't react to my words at all and immediately got to the point.
…Aren't we skipping a lot of steps?
“Hey, Director AO? We came here for a tour.”
“Yes, let’s discuss the details in the Director’s office.”
She really doesn't listen to a word I say.
Knowing full well that it was useless to argue with people like her, I let out a sigh and followed behind AO.
Han A-bin followed quietly behind me as well, but…
“You have great fashion sense, Director AO!”
“Thank you, Researcher Baek Si-hyun.”
The two of them seemed to get along perfectly, continuing their conversation without end.
…Right, I was wondering where I’d seen that fashion sense before. It’s Baek Si-hyun’s usual style.
My sigh grew even deeper.