Chapter 89

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 88

Chapter Title: Object of Admiration

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As I came down to the first floor, Agent Yoon Ha-seo was directing the people.

Patients crying out in pain from all around and students showing seizure symptoms caught my eye.

In particular, the condition of those whose memories had become tangled—two sets mixing together during the process of the rooftop computer shutting down and deleting others' memories—looked quite serious.

If they had 100 percent someone else's memories, that would be one thing, but with ambiguously erased memories overlapping their own sense of self, they seemed confused about their identity.

"This is as far as I can come with you... I'll head down first."

"Thank you for your help. I'll bring some snacks later, Eve."

"Yesss... Sounds good..."

Eve, like Sowol, couldn't fully humanize herself, so she couldn't show herself to ordinary people carelessly.

Especially in a situation with so many patients, she—as a disaster-class anomaly—risked driving them into mental collapse just by existing.

Regrettably, Eve didn't step out of the elevator and descended to a non-existent floor.

I took over Se-yeon’s little sister from Eve's back and immediately handed her to the agents tending to the patients.

Now it was time to part with Se-yeon too. I felt a bit sorry for making her come along and suffer needlessly.

"Thanks to following you, Fixer, we were able to rescue my sister safely. Thank you, Fixer."

"No need. It's thanks to the shaman holding out so well."

"You're always so humble, Fixer. Well then, I'll go with my sister. I'll contact you later. Thank you again, Fixer."

"Sure. See you next time."

As her sister was loaded onto a stretcher, Se-yeon followed the department agents, saying she needed to stay by her side.

Now, once I handed over the fainted Harry to his guardians, my business at Garam University would be mostly done. Sensing their presences, the kids seemed to be coming down from upstairs. I could head home soon.

As I tracked the kids' presences, the onmyoji approached me.

"Hello, Fixer. I'm Park Hae-sol from the House of Moss. Would it be alright if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we took custody of Harry?"

I'd been waiting for them to approach anyway.

People with their faces covered in pitch-black veils politely requested to take Harry.

With their faces hidden behind black veils, they looked suspiciously cult-like, but checking their info windows confirmed they were indeed from the House of Moss.

Nothing suspicious showed up on the IDs they presented either.

They seemed to be the ones managing the half-blood Yi Hae-ri.

"Here's Harry. He's unconscious right now. I've already done emergency treatment."

I pulled out the life-sharing IV and handed the fainted Yi Hae-ri over to them.

The onmyoji from the House of Moss thanked me, then wrapped a white cloth around the naked Harry to cover her body before pulling out a small syringe and drawing blood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from her.

They put Yi Hae-ri's blood into a slender vial containing some unknown liquid, shook it a few times, and then muttered among themselves with troubled expressions.

Something had gone wrong.

"What is it?"

"Um, Fixer. Did... that thing enter and leave Harry's body?"

"Pardon? Oh, yes. Briefly, though."

"I see... Understood. Thank you for your help. We'd like to invite you to the House of Moss and repay you properly for this incident. If you have time, could you visit? If you say yes, we'll prepare a car right away and escort you with the utmost care."

"The House of Moss? I was planning to go anyway. What do you mean by invite?"

"Exactly as it sounds. Since we received your help, we want to host you."

"The Pitch Black hasn't completely disappeared yet, has it? The one that entered the Dark Shadow Monk's body might still be around."

"No. We just confirmed its presence is gone. The Dark Shadow Monk's body in Busan was found moments ago, and the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams no longer detect it."

"The Pitch Black is completely gone?"

"Yes. It has completely vanished from this land."

The woman beyond the blue screen had dragged the entire Pitch Black away?

There were clearly two masks: the one stuck to Yi Hae-ri and the one on the vanished Dark Shadow Monk's body.

The Pitch Black had lost all its masks in this world and been pulled to 'that side'.

Even better. It meant things were definitely safe for the time being.

"It's all thanks to you and Harry taking action. We'd like to offer proper compensation and let you stay as long as you wish."

"As long as I want? Even for years?"

"Of course. And we'll provide everything during your stay. This is also a request from the elders. We won't leave you wanting. The main hall's facilities are among the best in the country. If you wish, you can bring family or friends. For a Fixer like you, we can open the entire main hall."

Sowol wanted to go so badly anyway, so I planned to stop by once. Might as well go, get compensated, and check out the facilities.

From what I'd heard, the House of Moss main hall was a massive underground facility. Harry had said it was so well-equipped it felt like a top-class Japanese-themed hotel.

'They probably want to see Sowol and the Ghost Kings, not me.'

I'd already heard about the House of Moss from Harry.

It was a place where severe anomaly victims gathered to nurture anomaly enthusiasts.

With so many people of such unique tastes, they must be curious about Sowol and the Ghost Kings' conditions.

Non-aggressive disaster-class-plus anomalies that could communicate were extremely rare.

"Sure. I was planning to visit early next week anyway. I'll contact you through Harry beforehand."

"Ah, could you contact me directly instead of Harry?"

"Not through Harry, but you?"

"Yes. Harry needs absolute rest for the time being. It might be hard for her to receive your contact."

"Hmm. Absolute rest, huh. Harry was pretty badly hurt. Alright."

"Thank you for understanding, Fixer."

Was that really the only reason they wanted contact through him instead of Harry?

I'd noticed the onmyoji acting oddly ever since I mentioned the Pitch Black entering and leaving Yi Hae-ri's body.

I didn't know what it was, but 'Deceitful' had appeared. It meant they were lying.

Something very bad seemed to have happened when the Pitch Black entered and left the half-blood Harry's body.

Should I dig deeper, or let the House of Moss handle it?

"Fixer! Hey! It's me!"

Should I follow Harry to the House of Moss right away, or leave it to them for now?

As I pondered alone, Agent Yoon Ha-seo came running toward me.

Right, I could check Yi Hae-ri's condition later when I visited the House of Moss.

I saw off the onmyoji and greeted Agent Yoon Ha-seo.

"No injuries, I hope?"

"Do I look like someone who could get hurt, Agent?"

"Not at all! Our response team's pride and unregistered special agent wouldn't get hurt by some anomaly tricks! Just asking out of courtesy!"

Seeing Agent Yoon Ha-seo laugh heartily, I thought she'd changed a bit since awakening at Hanmaum Saetbyeol Apartment.

In a very good way.

The lethargic, fearful past self was completely gone, and even the drug-dependent side had vanished.

Actively moving around the site, managing and directing other agents—she'd clearly grown from that apartment experience.

A good sign. The stronger the human-friendly groups, the less work for me.

"By the way, Agent. What are those pills you're giving the patients?"

"Oh, those pills..."

The Garam University students who had passed out and woken up were suffering severe mental shock or identity confusion from the mixed memories.

But after the department agents gave them mysterious pills, their conditions improved rapidly.

For some reason, the students who took the pills became extremely docile. Some kind of sedative?

"Those pills wipe out a full day's memories."

"Pardon? They erase memories?"

"In simple terms, today's Saturday, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, those who take the pill forget everything that happened today. They revert to having memories only up to Friday. Think of it as a memory eraser."

It was literally a pill that erased memories.

What kind of technology made that? Was it some kind of tool-type anomaly?

"The horrific memories or others' memories overwriting theirs will vanish with the pill, so everyone will return to normal soon. It's like a brain rollback."

"Isn't that a dangerous drug?"

"No! Well... Overuse can cause brain damage, but one every three months is fine. We've tested safety through agents already."

"..."

Wait, the agents were the guinea pigs?

Overdose would punch holes in the brain.

But it reliably erased traumatic memories without aftereffects, so it was used in emergencies.

Especially effective for patients on the brink of identity collapse from incomplete foreign memories.

"Getting those pills is extremely difficult, but rescue comes first."

"Can't the department produce them itself?"

"I think not. From what I heard, they have to be retrieved from below."

"Retrieved from below? What does that mean?"

"Well, even the rumors are classified, but you're an unregistered special agent, so I'll tell you."

Maybe because her favorability was so high, Agent Yoon Ha-seo glanced around and told me the secret of the department's basement.

"They say there's a staircase in the department basement connected to the Backside World."

"...Pardon?"

"Going down those stairs leads to a place where you can obtain the pills. Of course, I only heard it from a senior, but it seems pretty credible, right?"

Rumors that agents were sent directly into the Backside World for deep expeditions, retrieving tool-type anomalies from the 'Abandoned Hospital' and 'Factory' to sustain the Anomaly Management Department.

Even the rumors were controlled as classified info, so more than just gossip.

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Of course it is. That's why only high-ranking agents can enter. Lowly ones like me can't even approach the stairs."

"Huh. Pretty intriguing."

"Right? And during the apartment incident we handled together, remember the special team was at the hole in Paju?"

"I remember."

"Probably for a similar reason."

"A hole to the Backside World opened in Paju?"

"I'm not sure of the details, but Senior Jae-hyeon said it wasn't a simple sinkhole. Backside-related incidents are department jurisdiction, so they probably sealed it quickly and built a department building over it."

"So that Paju hole is..."

"Likely an entrance to the Backside World. All rumors, of course. But it doesn't feel like just rumors, so I told you."

A bit of the secret behind how the Anomaly Management Department maintained its power was revealed.

They went into the Backside World themselves to fetch tool-type anomalies. Seemed plausible for more than rumors.

They always brought strange items or drugs to resolve situations—turns out they had solid sources.

No way some of the agents' special drugs were produced via anomalies, right?

'That's why they say not to fight the department guys.'

Looking at the World of Doom Gallery's newbie faction guide, item 7 said:

Agents from the 'Special Forces', not regular ones like Agent Park Jae-hyeon or Yoon Ha-seo, were on another level.

Come to think of it, a high-ranking department exec had asked me to visit the basement once. Related, maybe?

"Uncle...!"

"Ah, the kids I've been waiting for are here. I'll head out now, Agent."

"Yes! Take care, Fixer! Oh, you free tomorrow? Want to grab coffee? My treat!"

"Sorry, busy."

"Aha! Too bad. See you next time!"

I said goodbye to Agent Yoon Ha-seo and approached the kids who'd come down to the first floor.

"You guys okay?"

"A little dizzy..."

"I'm fine."

"M-Me too..."

Everyone except Ha-yeon looked fine.

Ha-yeon said her stomach felt off. Two different onmyoji arts mixing caused a bodily backlash—probably from Harry's memories she'd held until recently.

"If you're not feeling well, go get one of those pills over there. It'll fix it."

"Pardon...? A pill?"

"Yeah. But it'll make you forget everything from today."

"Ah... That's a bit..."

Ha-yeon didn't want to forget today's experiences.

Clearly, when we met earlier, she'd been consumed by Harry's memories. She didn't want to lose the new technique she'd developed using them.

Of course. Receiving Yi Hae-ri's knowledge of onmyoji arts was better than years of secluded training for rapid growth.

"I don't want to lose... my hypnosis app either."

"Hold on. Yu-rim, 'hypnosis app' sounds kinda dangerous."

"Uh... I-I won't use it for bad things. Promise..."

It was great that Yu-rim and Ha-yeon had grown a lot from this incident.

But their new skills were all way too dangerous.

Ha-yeon had fused fungal arts and spirit-mixing arts from Harry's memories into some bizarre 'aphrodisiac recipe', and Yu-rim created a 'hypnosis app' from Se-yeon's memories.

"I can't lose out. Yu-ha, no new techniques from my memories?"

"M-Me? Not really..."

Yu-ha averted her eyes from me.

Probably recalling when we met in the hallway earlier.

"What's wrong, Yu-ha? You seemed so confident earlier. Why avoid my eyes?"

"N-No! Don't tease me, Uncle."

I definitely remembered what Yu-ha had said earlier.

Let me recall two hours ago.

Two hours ago, Garam University hallway.

"You're the Fixer? Don't make me laugh. The Fixer is me. No matter if you've taken my body, you're not real. Right, you're the Pitch Black! Trying to fool me!"

"No, Yu-ha. It's obviously me no matter how you look. Snap out of it. The spirit is crying."

"You're saying the same nonsense as the Five Flower Bell Spirit. You anomaly scum. I won't fall for your Fixer impersonation! I'm the real Fixer! Go, Sowol! Take down that fake!"

"...Yu-ha, Sowol isn't a Pokémon. And she won't listen to your commands. Plus, that's not my speech pattern. Too forced. If you're imitating, do it right."

"Th-This! You impersonator!"

After that, Yu-ha got knuckle-rapped by me and snapped back to normal.

Nam Yu-ha thinking she was the Fixer.

I couldn't hold back laughter the moment we met.

The Five Flower Bell Spirit freaking out demanding I return Yu-ha was pretty funny too.

Still, it showed how Yu-ha really saw me.

She'd always wanted to be like me, hadn't she?

The biggest emotion Yu-ha held toward me was probably 'admiration'.

"Got it, Yu-ha. Won't tease anymore. But no impersonating the Fixer from now on, okay?"

"Aargh! I said no! It was just the anomaly making me weird! I didn't impersonate!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's head home then. You all did great today. I'll buy whatever you want to eat."

"Don't just gloss over it like that!"

I should pick up some snacks on the way.

Order the kids' favorites like mala tang and tteokbokki. Time to get some nourishing stuff for the Ghost King too.

Sowol would love a han-gwa set. Snacks for Eve...

I still hadn't found the two missing doors, but I couldn't work nonstop.

Enough for today. Time to rest a bit.

I led the kids out of Garam University.

I hadn't met the AI Promotion Club client yet, but the incident was resolved.

Time to ride Bboong-bboong home.