Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 140. Assembly
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"Leave out the black hair?"
Song Arin muttered as if she couldn't wrap her head around it, and Jang Chaeyeon gave me a puzzled look.
"Who said that?"
"The branch chief."
"The braaanch chief?"
Song Arin's brow furrowed, clearly displeased.
"Does the Kangseo branch chief have the brains to say something like that?"
"Arin."
"Well, it's not wrong."
Song Arin grumbled and crossed her arms sullenly, while Jang Chaeyeon rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head.
"Why, though."
"I think I know."
Yoo Daon's strengths.
Durability... no, she's tough.
Her weaknesses, on the other hand.
Aside from her joint techniques, she's just a regular person who's pretty good in a fight, with decent athleticism and stamina.
"Guess it's not a place for civilians."
Not that Yoo Daon could hear me.
A spot where not dying would actually backfire.
And yet, it's a place Song Arin could go.
"...Tricky."
With my chin in my hand, lost in thought, Jang Chaeyeon placed a hand on my shoulder and shook her head.
"It's fine."
"Huh?"
"If the ace of the Kangseo branch Containment Team is going, she'll come back alive no matter what."
...
Jang Chaeyeon's words were full of trust, but her expression as she said them was deeply unsettling.
"Why's your face like that, then?"
"She'll come back 'alive' only."
"What does that mean?"
Way too ambiguous.
"She usually survives, but doesn't achieve the objective."
"Ah."
Perfect for us.
"If we have to, we'll need to get out alive too, so it's actually a good thing."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded, and Song Arin let out a sigh.
When I relayed this to Yoo Daon,
...
She froze for a moment, then smiled at me like nothing had happened.
"I'm fine. Hurry back."
"You're really okay, Daon?"
"Of course. I'll keep a close eye on Ye-eun and the Team Leader."
The smile on Yoo Daon's face stayed fixed there like a mask until I left the office.
And then.
*
"Uwaaaah!"
I looked at the people screaming as they dangled.
"...Huh?"
"What's up?"
My voice came out puzzled without thinking, and Jang Chaeyeon tilted her head at me.
"I can't see them."
"Huh...?"
They're invisible.
They're clearly people hanging up there screaming, but no translucent windows appeared over anyone's heads.
"Arin."
"Yeah?"
As I opened my mouth to ask Song Arin something, the robot interrupted our conversation, cutting it short.
"This new batch has strong stomachs."
A mechanical voice blended seamlessly with a human one emanated from the robot in front of us.
I quickly exchanged glances with Song Arin.
Should we puke now?
I can't.
Then pretend we have iron stomachs.
We finished our wordless exchange in seconds and turned back to the man.
In situations like this, just staying quiet works.
No need to talk more and complicate things.
I stared silently at the robot, which nodded and made a sound like a satisfied smile.
"Good. Then let me explain your jobs."
Hanging people up and still hiring—talk about guts.
Three people followed behind the robot.
"Arin."
"Yeah."
Keeping my eyes forward, I spoke to her casually.
"Those people up there."
"They're people, but their minds are like infants'."
"Got it."
Minds like infants, and no info on any of them.
"Actually, a few new hires came in last week too."
-Thud, thud.
Footsteps utterly unlike a robot's echoed from his feet.
"But they all quit or went mad."
"Rescuing people is a job too—a job," he muttered as he walked.
"There's one newbie holding up okay, but their work's a bit lacking at times. I expect better from you all."
"...So what exactly do we do?"
Song Arin smiled brightly at the robot.
Do we need to talk here? I wondered, but the robot responded more positively than expected.
"Ah, good question."
Song Arin nodded with a friendly smile I'd never seen before, and the robot kept walking.
"This place is..."
We walked down a winding corridor.
Is this even a company? Back of a factory suits it better.
-Creak.
The robot opened a door.
...
The sight before us was hard to put into words.
Three suited people were dry-heaving, scooping something up.
What they were scooping was
"...What the hell is that?"
Black clumps. No burnt smell, and even my eyes saw nothing identifiable.
No clue what it was, and the robot, hearing my question, crossed its arms with a grinning face.
"That's a part."
"A part?"
"Newbie, why do you think we research so hard?"
"Uh..."
I recalled the screams from the people on the racks.
"Beats me."
How could I understand broken minds.
"All for technological advancement."
...
Everyone here's spouting nonsense.
"We've actually produced many successes."
The robot continued as it walked.
"First, pianos that play automatically based on the listener's mood."
Sounds fine at first.
"They amplify emotions—happier when joyful, sadder when sad. Big swings mean big fun, right?"
"Won't it make depressed people more depressed?"
"That's why the suicide-encouraging piano got recalled entirely."
Management Bureau handled that, probably.
I half-ignored him and kept walking.
"And your job is the toughest one—the gate all newbies pass through."
He stopped before a heavy iron door.
"The work itself is simple."
The door opened, and
"...Urk..."
Song Arin grabbed my arm and retched,
...
Jang Chaeyeon looked down at the floor.
I looked ahead.
A conveyor belt.
And on it, countless people were being "assembled" organically.
Arms and legs fitted in, heads attached, and sometimes horrific screams erupted from the heads.
"Uwaaaah!"
An indescribable foul stench spread.
"Assembly."
"...Assembly."
The robot nodded at my words.
"We make people and deliver them."
"Deliver?"
"No product has demand like people."
Hold on.
"So this makes people?"
"Ah, not quite... Hmm, clones, maybe."
The robot trailed off.
"Install certain items, and the numbers grow."
Install?
'There's something like... a necklace there.'
The branch chief's words resurfaced.
"...Understood."
The robot clapped at my words, smiling.
"So, your goal is to assemble these people."
...
Song Arin stared at the conveyor belt, face pale.
Human clones.
"...Got it."
The necklace might be closer than I thought.
"...Ugh..."
I picked up a vividly lifelike arm and matched it to a torso.
This was going to be gruesome.
*
...
...
...
Does this robot even know gender?
We three got the same room.
Dragging my exhausted body, I surveyed it.
Three beds. And something like a kitchenette.
Normally, sharing a room would've gotten some reaction,
"Ugh..."
But Song Arin just dry-heaved into the sink.
Jang Chaeyeon slumped to the floor, utterly spent, and started rubbing her arms.
"Everyone okay?"
It was backbreaking labor.
Body aching, and the occasional screams and horrific smells—I'd thought puking might help, more than once.
Song Arin grabbed my arm as she came out of the bathroom.
"...Arin?"
"Take me there."
"Huh?"
"Quick, to the bed."
Song Arin looked up at me with hollow eyes.
...
I took her arm and led her to the bed, sitting her down.
The old mattress creaked, and Song Arin clutched her head, muttering.
"It was horrific, really."
"...The smell? Or the work?"
"Neither."
She gripped her head tighter.
"The sounds."
"Sounds?"
"Screams and pain from everywhere."
Screams and pain.
She might've heard things I couldn't see or hear.
...
Song Arin released her head.
Her hair cascaded down, and she met my eyes.
Her voice as she spoke to me was
"...Please."
Trembling.
"Yeah?"
"...Stay by my side."
It was unlike her usual confident self—fragile, like she might collapse any second.
"...Sure."
I sat beside Song Arin.
She grabbed my arm.
Her hand was ice-cold, shaking violently like palsy.
My eyes met Jang Chaeyeon's, who'd been watching.
Her gaze, usually blank on me, was on Song Arin,
Filled with pity, unlike her usual self.
...
"Hey."
How much time passed.
Song Arin muttered, still clutching my arm.
"Yeah, Arin."
"One favor, please."
"Anything easy."
If she needed it, and I could do it.
"Let's sleep together."
...
In that moment, flames seemed to flicker in Jang Chaeyeon's pitying eyes on Song Arin—an illusion.
"...Yeah...?"
Song Arin's weak voice tickled my ear.