Chapter 109: Measurement
"Welcome back to Australia, Mr. David Min. Ms. Yuri Min. And..."
"I'm Yulia. She's our daughter."
"Ah, yes. So I've heard."
Cheol-woo and his group stepped off the helicopter, and Jason rushed over to greet them.
...Their family had gained one more member in the meantime.
"She's no ordinary civilian, is she? An ability user?"
"That's right. She seemed to have decent specs, so I smuggled her out of the US on the sly."
"Hey. The kid's listening—watch your mouth."
"What? It's a compliment."
"..."
Just as expected, the girl possessed extraordinary abilities too. It made sense—they weren't the type to suddenly take on an elementary school-aged kid out of mere pity.
Could their initial entry as a married couple have been a ploy to recruit ability user children? Jason shuddered at their meticulous scheming.
"How are your injuries?"
"Injuries? Why do you ask?"
"I heard you were beaten to a pulp and underwent surgery that was basically full-body reconstruction..."
"Ah, it wasn't that bad. I only had surgery on my shin and elbow. My wife—er, sister—only needed hers fixed on her ankle. The rest was all thanks to the blue drug."
"..."
Either way, the fact remained that they'd sustained injuries severe enough to shatter them into pieces. And they'd recovered fully with just the blue drug and a few simple surgeries? It was hard to believe. Was the blue drug that incredible, or were these people? Or both? Jason swallowed a wry smile.
It was certainly good news that national strategic assets had such durability.
"Regarding the monster corpse, the US and New Zealand investigation teams have been dispatched, and they've agreed to pay $12 million USD as a lump sum. Of that, $9.6 million will be deposited into your account based on your share. We'll settle the exact amount later once the research value is clarified."
"Sounds good."
"And about the bounty..."
"Was there a bounty on that monster?"
"No, there wasn't. No one imagined anyone could hunt something that could slice an aircraft carrier in half. Still, given how much you've eased fears over Pacific maritime logistics, a reward seems only fair. We haven't set an amount yet, but I'll let you know once it's finalized."
"Got it."
How much should the bounty be for slaying the colossal beast that had choked off Pacific sea transport? Jason felt dizzy just thinking about it. No doubt it would be an amount the Secret Intelligence Agency's budget couldn't handle.
Of course, even that astronomical sum would be recouped in no time. The advantages of leading research on the giant monster corpse, plus investment pouring in from allied nations requesting collaboration—it was immense value.
"The ability user who could detect other ability users—the one I handed over to you. What happened to him?"
"Ah, verification confirmed his ability is quite reliable. It seems ability users have higher concentrations of specific substances in their brains than normals. Current human tech can't measure it easily, but his ability can quantify it as an absolute value."
"So higher values mean stronger abilities?"
"Not always, but generally, yes."
"Then take Yulia to him first."
"Understood."
In other words, he was basically a combat power scanner. Good thing they'd kept him alive on a hunch—it turned out to be a cheat item. Wonder how high Yulia's score would be. Actually, what about me and sis?
He suddenly grew curious.
"Oh, and... I lost the railgun."
"In the US?"
"Probably dropped it in the ocean while fighting the giant monster. I blacked out, so my memory's fuzzy..."
"If that's the case, no issue. No risk of it being captured. The manufacturer is thrilled—they're dying to hear your usage experience."
"Usage experience? Don't they already have all the performance data?"
"That's separate from what only the user feels. For instance, they never imagined you'd run around massacring ability users in full-body armor with it. Or snipe from over 4 kilometers. And shooting out a giant monster's eye to reach its brain? They wouldn't have even dreamed it."
"Hm..."
The railgun had been damn good in practice. Among portable firearms, nothing matched its firepower except recoilless or rocket launchers, and its range was unmatched. The only downsides? The front grip was too small. It wasn't an issue up close, but for sniping, he couldn't stabilize the barrel without borrowing his sister's shoulder. The trigger pull was too light and deep, making it hard to gauge when it'd fire.
Fix those minor flaws, and mass-produced versions would be killer. He'd grab one or two the moment they hit the market.
"And... thank you, Mr. David Min."
"Pardon?"
"When I heard you were enjoying the festivities in Las Vegas, I worried you'd settle in the US. I don't know the president's offer, but it must've been better than ours. Thank you for turning it down and coming back."
"If you're grateful, hurry up with the bunker construction. The blueprints are done, right? And the SMR contractor's equipment has arrived."
"Yes, yes. We'll push as fast as possible. Aiming for completion within two years."
"Two years? Make it one."
"But... the engineering is top-tier. Given the depth, scale, and reactor safety, two years is already aggressive."
"Not my problem. Finish it in one year."
"W-We’ll... try our best..."
Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Jason acquiesced. From his experience, David Min didn't bend on decisions. His stubbornness was ironclad. Best to agree now and beg for extensions or scale reductions later.
"We're here."
"...That's him?"
"Yes. You already know his face, don't you?"
"I do, but... he looks totally different from before."
Arriving at Secret Intelligence Agency HQ, Cheol-woo and Yuri couldn't hide their bewilderment. In a spacious private office, a man lounged with his prosthetic leg propped on the desk, napping under a gleaming nameplate.
His once-dyed blond hair was back to black, and he wore a crisp suit. Where was the third-rate thug who'd led a gang of punks? Cognitive dissonance hit Cheol-woo hard.
"Kyle. Wake up. Time to work."
"Director? How many today... Ack."
The man stretched leisurely, then locked eyes with Cheol-woo. His face drained of color, freezing like he'd seen the Grim Reaper.
"Looking healthy. Last time you were ranting about forming anti-government rebels with ability users."
"Th-Those anarchic thoughts are long gone. Thanks to your guidance, Mr. David Min, I've started a new life. Peace comes from order and power. I've repented and will now use my ability for that order."
"Yeah, yeah. Keep at it."
"Y-Yes, sir..."
Cheol-woo clapped his shoulder encouragingly, and Kyle shrank like a sycophant, grinning obsequiously.
There was a time he'd raged against government oppression of ability users and assaults on freedom—but that felt ancient now. Freedom and peace? Great in theory. But they required overwhelming power.
So he'd gathered like-minded ability users into a gang, only to get wiped out by David Min in under ten minutes. That's when Kyle realized: "strong power" was nothing before "overwhelming power."
With a monster like that in the agency, rebellion was suicide. Best to be the government's dog. Mandatory registration? Fingerprinting? Fine. More control meant safer society—he believed it now.
"Test all three of us."
"I'll guide you to the testing room. This way."
"How does the test work?"
"Started with visual scans, but accuracy was low, so we switched. We scan the subject's brainwaves with equipment, feed it into my head. I read the waves and output an ability score, which the machine quantifies."
Yulia first. A headset-like brainwave scanner was fitted on her head, and Kyle donned one too. The machine hummed, and soon numbers appeared on the screen.
"Is 95 points high?"
"The value is absolute, but results are relative. Scale is 0 at bottom, 100 at top, average 50. 99.99 is... the highest ever. Double the previous max."
"..."
"..."
Silence fell over the testing room. Yulia's score on the bell curve graph sat far beyond the right tail.
Jason pondered briefly, then grabbed the computer and deleted her data.
"Yulia's results will be classified. Only those present know—no leaks. Agreed?"
"Yes. Best that way."
"Agreed."
The more who knew, the worse. Jason's gut said so. He'd heard the expedition commander suggested letting David Min die while unconscious. Public fear of powerful ability users was rampant—what if word of this off-the-charts girl got out? If the PM or Governor ordered her elimination, would he obey? His head ached at the thought.
Until policy on strong ability users solidified, her existence stayed hidden.
"You two—Mr. Min and ma'am—have a seat."
"Who're you calling mister? I'll kill you."
David Min and Yuri Min took turns next, donning headsets.
Overflow Detected
Upper 98th Percentile
Jason and Kyle gaped at the result screens.
What the hell...?
"What? What's wrong?"
"Single-digit numbers keep glitching. Upper 98%... Impossible."
"You said visual works too? What do we look like to your eyes?"
"Ah, that. Ability users show a bright white aura. I gauge by size and brightness."
"So how do we look?"
"Too bright—I still can't make out your faces. It's like balls of light instead of heads on your shoulders."
"..."
Examining the data, Jason finally understood. Overflow. The numbers exceeded the computer's max integer capacity, causing errors.