Chapter 382: At the Technology Research Institute (1)
Chapter 382: At the Technology Research Institute (1)
"As you can see, the research at Branch 02 primarily focuses on space and law distortion..."
A bald male researcher explained as he led me and my disciples through the laboratory.
Even though Branch 02 was a Restricted Area, it was still a widely known Research Institute. High-ranking officials often came for inspections, and researchers from other branches frequently visited for academic exchange, so guiding outsiders seemed to be a routine task.
In fact, the bald researcher leading us appeared quite accustomed to this, delivering his presentation with practiced ease.
"...'Law distortion' might sound incredibly daunting, but the concept isn't actually that difficult. If there's a rule that says 'water boils at 100 degrees Celsius,' rewriting that entirely is very hard. For example, a law like 'water always boils on its own' is extremely difficult to implement, and even we find such things impossible. However, we can manage to cross out the '100 degrees' with a marker and write '25 degrees' instead."
He continued his explanation without a single stumble, avoiding technical jargon to make it easy for even a layperson to understand. Whenever the theoretical talk started to feel a bit dry, he would pivot.
"Now! By applying our research, things like this become possible."
He immediately showed us something interesting to recapture our attention.
What the bald researcher demonstrated was a classic "sawing a person in half" magic trick. The major difference from a normal magic show, however, was the complete lack of deception or stagecraft.
When the researcher placed a part of his body into a tool that looked like a window frame, that specific body part would pop out of a different point in the surrounding space, wiggling its fingers or toes.
"Uh... even like this, it's still considered connected, right?"
"Hmm? I don't feel any power. Pure technology? Oh? Wow."
Even my disciples, who were used to seeing all sorts of bizarre sights, seemed fascinated. they let out genuine exclamations of wonder, clearly enjoying the performance.
Though, the two of them seemed interested in entirely different things.
A-bin was peering intently at the severed surface the researcher was trying to hide, while Si-hyun was focused solely on the machine itself, muttering, "Why can't I feel any Otherworldly Power?"
Regardless of their specific reactions, the researcher nodded with a satisfied expression, seemingly grateful for their interest. It was a smooth Research Institute tour, so pleasant it was hard to believe we were in a high-security facility.
To be honest, if I were in a normal state of mind, I would have been quite intrigued by the sight as well, thinking, 'I didn't realize spatial research had progressed this far while I wasn't looking.'
But right now, I didn't have the mental capacity to spare for such things.
My mind was completely occupied with thoughts of the underground and the Regressionist terrorists.
I was exercising patience to ensure my thoughts and emotions didn't leak into my outward behavior, but it was unavoidable that my overall reactions were sluggish.
And so, the tour continued with my two disciples providing the reactions I should have been making. We passed through several sub-laboratories and were just about to enter the Mechanical Engineering Research Institute when a loud voice rang in our ears.
"No, do you honestly think it's possible to implement anything with such a disastrous blueprint?"
It was a haughty, incredibly arrogant voice.
"If you're going to be like that, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me more clearly exactly what is wrong."
The researcher facing him was trying his best to speak rationally, but he couldn't quite hide the fury laced in his voice. The veins bulging on his forehead and his tightly clenched fists made his rage painfully obvious.
However, the opposing researcher, who was shouting loud enough to make the whole room ring, didn't care about that anger and continued his critique.
"Let's look at this measurement first. This is a precision instrument meant to perform law distortion, yet the tolerance is 0.1mm? Are you insane? I assume you intended for this to be mass-produced. Is this a device meant to kill the user by failing in the field?"
Even if his points were valid, the condescending tone he used was enough to make even me, a mere bystander, feel annoyed. It was the kind of speech guaranteed to make the person on the receiving end boil with rage.
"A 0.1mm tolerance is within the acceptable range! Weren't you a biology major to begin with? I don't understand why you're even commenting on a blueprint!"
Finally, the researcher who had been trying to maintain his composure exploded.
The war of words, taking place right in front of outside visitors, began to take an even more entertaining turn.
"Biology is a broad field. My specialty is bio-mechanical design. I am an expert who performs precision manipulation at the nano-scale to make fickle biological matter perform with the rigidity of a machine. That is why I cannot understand how the field of mechanics, which is far easier to process, can produce such a tolerance. Ah, I suppose your lack of a PhD means your expertise is a bit... lacking?"
Wait, did he just drift into a personal attack?
The blow was so sudden and lethal that even I cleared my head of other thoughts to focus on the conversation.
"Engineering! Doesn't! Need! A degree! Practical experience is more important!"
The researcher who took the hit turned bright red as he protested.
"That's what everyone who couldn't get a doctorate says."
The opposing researcher snorted, speaking as if the argument was already over.
"I have a Master's! If it weren't for that damn Otherworld Invasion, I would have my PhD... No. Forget it. I'm going to get it right now. Fine, you do it all! I'm quitting!"
The red-faced researcher spat out the words from the depths of his soul.
Slamming the blueprint onto the desk, he huffed and puffed as he stomped toward us, near the entrance.
"Hey, calm down! You know he's always like that."
Other researchers swarmed around him, trying to soothe his anger.
"Let go! I can put up with anything else, but I won't stand for insults to my career! Huh? Do you have any idea how much I've contributed to the Bureau? I'm the one who built the Reality Stabilizer Dual Reference Structure Engine! And yet, just because I don't have one lousy PhD, I get treated like—"
Just as the researcher with the impressive career was venting his fury, his eyes wide with rage—
"Just let him go. Dr. Nakamura, Dr. Morozov. If 'Mr.' Hans wants to leave, why stop him? We must respect individual opinions."
A powerful finishing blow flew in from the other side, one that sounded devastating even to someone like me who had no ties to academia.
"Whoa..."
"Oof..."
"Even to me, that's a bit much..."
It was a comment that shocked everyone—from me, the undereducated one, to my two highly educated disciples.
The laboratory, filled with high-achievers, froze instantly at that lethal strike.
This team had likely avoided that topic until now.
Based on what I was hearing, this man named Hans clearly had an academic complex, but because he was talented and experienced, he had been the team leader. Whether it was a natural result of his competence or a deliberate act of consideration from the others, it was clear that his lack of a degree was a taboo subject.
Honestly, to someone like me who didn't even have a bachelor's degree, let alone a Master's or PhD, they all sounded like geniuses. But a person's complex is something others shouldn't touch.
The worst possible blow had been dealt to the group's fragile dynamic.
In the silence where no one dared to speak, the self-important biology doctor strolled across the room.
"Hah. Even the Bureau’s top laboratory is only at this level. No wonder corporations and villain groups are snatching up all the promising researchers."
The middle-aged researcher in white gloves spoke as he flourished his lab coat like an actor in a play.
He walked toward us—toward the exit—passing Hans and making sure his shoes clicked loudly on the floor. He continued to talk as he walked.
"Look at reality. Even the Bureau’s best researchers are nothing by global standards—"
The mouth that had been spewing insults so fluently suddenly stopped.
"...Huh?"
The mouth that had been pouring out criticism turned into a hole that gasped in bewilderment.
"...Ah? Uh? Why? How?"
He began to break out in a cold sweat, his confusion palpable. His legs shook like his trembling pupils, and he barely managed to steady himself against a nearby desk to keep from falling.
The man who had been performing at the peak of his arrogance collapsed right there, with everyone's eyes on him.
As he fell apart so suddenly, even Hans, who had been the target of his vitriol, cooled his anger and stared at him.
"...How... Why are you here?"
The researcher, who had been stammering nonsense like "Why? Is this a dream? How? Huh?", finally managed to form a proper sentence.
Everyone, including myself, waited with curiosity for what he would say next.
After about two seconds of silence—
"Crimson★Hammer... You... Why..."
An unexpected name tumbled out of his mouth.
As the eyes of everyone who knew who Crimson★Hammer was turned toward me, I desperately tried to remember if I had ever seen this researcher before.
Soon, I found the answer.
"...Who are you again?"
The answer was that I had no idea who the man in front of me was.
* * *
"Ah, right. The... Future Food Creation Society... was it?"
I suspected that wasn't the right name even as I said it.
"...The Future Science Life Manufacturing Society."
Well, I got 'Future' and 'Society' right.
Anyway.
The researcher, who had finally calmed down, and I were now talking to each other.
He seemed to be one of the scientists whose legs and arms I had crushed in that secret underground lab, but honestly, I didn't remember a single one of their faces.
Well, one thing was for sure.
"How many years did you get?"
"...It was twenty years. Magical Bloody."
"I'm going to hit you."
You should be glad you called me Crimson★Hammer earlier.
If that nickname had come out back then, I would have punched you right in the jaw.
Well, putting that aside.
"So you chose about twenty-five years of research duty instead of prison?"
"To be precise, I was offered twenty-six years."
I see.
Then it wasn't my place to say anything.
I didn't know what kind of charges were piled up to get him twenty years for a crime that ended in failure, but the fact that they offered him a research position meant he hadn't caused direct loss of life and wasn't involved in human experimentation.
"Then serve your time well and live a decent life. There will be people who talk trash about your past, but just kick them aside and ignore them."
After leaving him with that bit of advice, I stared blankly at the ceiling.
"...How unexpected."
"What is?"
A comment reached me as I gazed upward.
"Based on the rumors of that blood-soaked Magical Girl, I expected you to beat me further, saying my punishment was too light."
"...Just how are these rumors about me spreading?"
I'm not that extreme.
...Probably?
"Unless someone crosses the line, I have no intention of beating up someone whose crime ended in failure."
I added that quickly, sounding a bit like an excuse, but it was the truth.
"The line. Is that so important to you?"
The researcher fell into thought at my words.
Seeing him like that, a sudden urge rose within me—the desire to hear the opinion of someone who had once stood on the side of evil, outside the norm.
"Human experimentation. What do you think of it?"
What was the point of asking this?
The person in front of me wasn't that kind of person.
The ones I really needed to ask were the ones I was about to encounter.
Just as I was regretting letting the question slip out—
"It's a waste of time. Both ethically and practically."
The researcher answered instantly, without even a second's hesitation.
"We certainly created monsters to attack people, but that was out of necessity. If there were another way, we preferred not to involve humans. I suppose that was the last shred of conscience we had."
The researcher spoke boldly about his past as a villain. He continued without pause.
"Furthermore, from a research perspective, any data obtainable through human experimentation can be sufficiently gathered through animal testing. The results from an uncontrolled subject are predictable. Unless one has a strange obsession with the concept of a 'Mutant' created from a modified human, it's better for cost management to create monsters or robot armies like we did."
Having said his piece, he fell silent.
I slowly chewed over his words.
Efficiency and cost management.
Truly the words of a villain.
It might be because this man was obsessed with monsters and had no interest in Mutants, but it meant that even a mad villain who churned out B-Ranks wouldn't touch humans without a reason.
I knew very well that this was a meaningless question.
The researcher in front of me didn't represent all villains; he was just one mad scientist.
Still... this made things easier.
It didn't matter if it was the wrong answer.
Those bastards had definitely crossed the line.
A line that even villains wouldn't cross.
So, this time, I would make sure to kill them.
"Thanks. You've put my mind at ease. Do your job well. You're going to be here for twenty-six years anyway, so it'll be easier if you manage your reputation."
I expressed my gratitude to the man who had given me that certainty.
"Don't worry about it. I'll live like this until I die. And a researcher's life isn't twenty-six years; it's forever."
The villain who had listened to my advice replied with a laugh.
"I felt that if I set it at twenty-six years, I might repeat the same mistakes once it was over. The moment I received the paperwork, I changed it to a thousand years with my own hand."
He laughed loudly as he said that.
"Then I guess you'll have to live for a thousand years."
I tossed that joke back at him.
"Then a thousand and one years from now, you'll probably come chasing after me with your hammer."
And so, we looked at each other and laughed.