Chapter 72

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 72

Chapter Title: Barrier Breakthrough

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A heavy silence hung over the lab. The Azadivar siblings stood before the screen, waiting for Director Mi-rae to speak, while she alternated between glancing at her tablet and their faces with a bored expression.

"Truth be told, I've got a shitload of things I want to say."

"Yes, got it."

"But let's just stick to one question."

Thud.

Mi-rae tossed her tablet onto the sofa like it was trash and leaned forward, opening her mouth toward the siblings.

"Why the hell liquid?"

"Pardon? Oh, solid barriers or barricades are a pain to store normally. And they take too much time to deploy."

"What about liquid? Not an issue?"

"Relatively less so. I cited the relevant research on page 31."

Mina wrapped up her response with surprising firmness.

"Theoretically, it's perfect. And from your experiments, it should handle A-rank attacks just fine."

"Really?!"

"But you ignored the most important part."

The most important part?

Turning toward Mi-rae, they saw her staring intently at the liquid barrier in the siblings' hands.

"The hardening time."

"Ah..."

"That barrier hardens completely after just three minutes exposed to outside air. What about high-rises? That damn liquid would solidify before it even reaches the first floor."

Mi-rae was spot on. If they installed the sprayers on the top floor as the Azadivar siblings designed, the odds of the liquid reaching the ground floor intact were slim to none.

Even in the previous timeline, fixing that issue had taken the most time, or so I'd heard. It'd be great if I remembered how they solved it, but the news hadn't covered that detail.

'Would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Regressor's Eye know?'

Well, this info came straight from the news too, so it wasn't all that useful.

While I appraised them with the Regressor's Eye, the siblings continued receiving feedback from Mi-rae.

"And second, barrier removal. Dissolving the stuff coating an entire building with your solvent would take a whole month."

"Ugh..."

"The ingredients are a problem too. You used monster meat byproducts to cut costs, right? That crap's so complex it invites contamination during mixing. Didn't think of that either? You idiots."

Mina and Muha looked utterly deflated, but their hands flew across their notes, jotting down every word from Mi-rae.

'Still, the fact that she sat through the whole presentation means she's interested in their research.'

With Mi-rae's personality, she'd have kicked them out without a second thought if it was bullshit. But she'd heard them out to the end and was even giving solid feedback.

Things were looking positive.

"...So, does that mean our research is basically impossible to develop?"

Muha finally spoke up in a subdued voice. The critiques were valid, but hearing them all at once seemed to crack his mental armor a bit. Mina, beside him, appeared less shaken, though her white-knuckled grip on the pen betrayed her trembling hand.

'Can't exactly offer empty comfort...'

"Who said it's impossible? It just has issues to fix. No grit, huh?"

"M-Mi-rae?"

Mi-rae spat out a colorful curse before continuing.

"Hardening time? Calculate the descent based on building height and adjust the mixture accordingly. Can't even run those numbers? Piss off and die then."

"Y-Yes, yes!"

"And the solvent? I've done similar research—base it on that. What's so hard about it?"

Mi-rae furrowed her brow like she genuinely couldn't comprehend, snatching the coffee from the side table and downing it in one gulp.

"Hey, when do you two head back?"

"End of the year. We're on tourist visas..."

"Three months, then."

Clunk.

Mi-rae slammed her cup down and held up two fingers toward the siblings.

"Okay. Wrap it up in two months."

"D-Does that mean..."

"The next lab's empty. Make yourselves at home."

"Waaah!!"

Mina and Muha jumped for joy right there. They shouted something, but their rapid-fire chatter made even the translator glitch.

"Thank you, Director Mi-rae!"

As they went wild, I quietly thanked her too.

"Didn't do it to hear that from you. Don't get the wrong idea."

"You've always been interested in barrier research, right?"

"Eh, a bit of interest, yeah. Got sidelined by corporate money-grubbers chasing other projects."

Mi-rae removed her glasses and rubbed her face with one hand.

"You somehow dragged this stuff here."

"Got lucky."

"...Your personality really changed."

Has it? I'd felt a bit more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠relaxed since recovering some memories. Guess others noticed too.

"They got a place to crash?"

"Took them to my place for now."

"Move 'em here. Use the hotel vouchers from those L Group bastards."

"Director Mi-rae...!"

A capable adult's aura shone from this cranky chain-smoker. I couldn't help staring with my hands over my mouth, and sure enough, a string of curses flew back.

"Director An Mi-rae! Hunter Shin Ji-ui! Thank you so much!!"

Mina and Muha bowed deeply, eyes sparkling at us.

'Maybe, just maybe, we can avert the apocalypse in this timeline.'

"Whoa~ It's hu~ge~!"

Mina flung herself onto the bed, laughing gleefully. The hotel room Mi-rae had arranged exceeded expectations: two king-sized double beds, a massive bathroom, a spacious work area, and a minibar in a suite. The view from the window took in Namsan Tower and the Seoul skyline at a glance.

"Quit the clowning and take these."

Mi-rae pulled two blue cards from her robe pocket and tossed them to the siblings.

"These are..."

"Lab access badges. Can't register you as researchers on tourist visas."

Sure enough, they read 'Visitor Only.'

"Same reason I can't pay you. But instead."

Thud.

Mi-rae placed a black card on the table. Gold lettering bore her name and the L Group logo.

"What's this?"

"Hotel membership card. Eat at the buffet, grab coffee—whatever. You'll use it up however you want while you're here."

"Director!!"

"Shut it."

Mi-rae headed for the door, pausing to glance back.

"...If you want, just clock in later."

"P-Pardon?!"

"Quiet. Be at my lab by eleven tomorrow."

Bam.

Mi-rae left.

'That escalated fast.'

Tearing my gaze from the door, I saw the siblings' eyes brimming with respect for Mi-rae. It gave me a tiny glimpse of why Hunter Han Jin-woo was smitten with her.

"Anyway, glad the lodging's sorted."

"As long as she approves our research, we'd sleep on the street. How can someone be so kind and caring?"

"Director An Mi-rae is a goddess, a goddess!"

Kind and caring... Didn't fit Mi-rae at all, yet terrifyingly spot-on somehow.

"This all feels like a miracle."

Mina lay flat on the bed, face enraptured.

"Meeting Hunter Shin Ji-ui at the Chicago Dungeon Conference, getting our research recognized by Director An Mi-rae, and now working together..."

Mina shot up, arms stretched to the ceiling.

"We were right to immigrate to America!!"

"That's your takeaway?"

Muha chuckled incredulously while unpacking, shrugging when our eyes met. Mina flopped back down, mumbling.

"India and Nepal are nice, sure, but they don't have facilities like this."

Thump.

Nepal—my body reacted before my brain.

'Apostle "Kumari"'s turf.'

"You lived in Nepal too?"

"Yeah! Our grandma's there."

If that held in this timeline, Kumari's traces should be there. Maybe the siblings knew something.

"Did gates break out a lot in Nepal?"

"I was little, so I don't remember well, but I heard they did."

"Almost no registered S-rank hunters, so cleanup was slow."

Environment to hide awakening, then. Kumari might be concealing her identity.

"Still, they managed somehow, so hidden hunters must have some sense of duty."

"Right, right. Especially that 'Kali's Spear'."

Thump.

My heart raced again at Mina's words.

'Familiar.'

I kept a straight face and asked her.

"Kali's Spear? A nickname?"

"Yeah. This weird hunter shows up at the clutch moments during gate breaks and handles everything."

"No one's seen their face—just a huge spear floating around. Nepalese call it 'Kali's Spear'."

'Definitely Kumari.'

Still in Nepal, then. One less variable.

I turned toward the door, leaving the siblings immersed in hometown tales.

"Anyway, I'll head out. You two haven't adjusted to the jet lag—get some rest!"

"Hunter Shin Ji-ui worked so hard for us since dawn—thank you!"

Mina bounced off the bed and scurried over. Muha joined her, eyes shining like puppies.

"We won't waste the chance you gave us!"

"We'll succeed with this barrier research for sure!"

All I'd done was boost their confidence a little. Feeling a bit awkward, I just smiled and patted the genius siblings' shoulders a couple times.

That dawn.

"Nngh..."

Shin Ji-ui pulled the blanket up with a groan. The breeze slipping through the half-open window felt chilly. After some tossing, her face settled into peace again. Her body rose and fell gently with each breath.

Bzzz.

Then her work phone vibrated in her inventory. Normally it'd wake her, but after the morning's chaos, she slept soundly enough that it wasn't enough.

Bzzz, bzzz.

The phone buzzed desperately, as if pleading to be noticed.

Bzzz, thud.

But it eventually went silent, vanishing back into the heavy quiet of the inventory. In the center of the flickering screen was the name of its pitiful caller.