Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Devil's Workshop
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"How many have we completed?"
"About 300."
"That's not nearly enough."
"Can't be helped. The number of 'corpses' being brought in has dropped sharply lately."
"Wo cao! We have to meet the Party's quota."
Two researchers in white lab coats were talking.
They moved between the beds, checking on the people lying there. Thirty people—twenty-eight children and two women—were fast asleep.
*Beep-.*
*Beep-beep-beep-.*
A large machine stood next to each bed, with numerous thin wires running from it and connected to the children.
Not only that, but several bags filled with liquid hung from IV poles, all connected to the children's arms, injecting some unknown substance.
"It's true. The accelerator extracted from women is purer than from men, and from children, purer still."
That's right.
This machine was designed to extract and refine a mana accelerator from human beings. The researchers' job was to operate the machines and record the values on their charts.
"You got another pair of gloves?"
"Here."
One researcher peeled off the gloves he had used to touch the children.
He then put on the new pair he was handed.
"Disgusting. This one's already been through the 'grave' seven times. No wonder the yield is so low."
"This one's only been through five times and is already running on empty. Let's squeeze out every last drop before we send it on its way."
The 'grave' the researchers mentioned.
Like 'corpse', it was a kind of code word.
Just as they called the people corpses, they called the place they were confined a grave.
This was their system.
They would kidnap people from all over China and conduct an initial physical examination.
If a person didn't meet the conditions for producing the mana accelerator, they were discarded.
Most of them were adult men. They would be injected with a cocktail of drugs and dumped in a marketplace, or if that was too much trouble, simply left in the mountains to become food for wild animals.
Once the suitable subjects—mostly children—were selected, various chemicals were injected into their bodies before they were hooked up to the machines.
The first cycle ended after the raw mana accelerator was extracted from the children.
Then they were returned to what they called the grave to rest.
This process of being brought out and sent back was repeated over and over until nothing more could be extracted.
Only then were the children allowed to rest.
Forever.
*Slosh-.*
The researchers carefully poured the transparent liquid extracted from the machines into glass tubes, moving from one bed to the next.
Their role would end once this liquid was inspected, refined one more time, put into syringes, and sealed.
Then, Hunters dispatched by the Party would come to collect it.
"Once we're done with the kids here, let's have a drink in my room. I asked for some liquor. Ugh, that guy is so greedy for money. Can you believe he asked for 2,000 yuan for something that costs next to nothing outside?"
The researcher who had changed his gloves spoke in a cheerful voice.
He had asked a Hunter from the Party, whose face he knew from frequent visits, to get him a bottle of good sorghum wine.
He had received the liquor from the Hunter that morning. The thought of finally tasting it after work put him in a good mood.
But for some reason, there was no reply, only silence.
"Hey, Zhang Yichen?"
The researcher turned around.
Zhang Yichen, the researcher he had just been talking to, had vanished without a trace.
Feeling that something was wrong, he turned back to the front.
"…!"
A man in a black mask had appeared out of nowhere.
Before the researcher could react, the masked man grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth.
***
Do-jae wrapped the fallen Chinese men from head to toe in duct tape and gagged them.
Just like the ones he had buried in the ground earlier.
*Consider yourselves lucky I'm not killing you.*
Do-jae had a golem sling them over its shoulder and then walked over to a table.
The table was covered with various documents, a computer, and tubes filled with liquid.
*There's no time…*
Do-jae expanded his subspace and swept everything into it.
His original objective had been to copy the data and files and leave with only a few samples, but his mind had changed after seeing the children.
*CRASH-!*
Do-jae summoned his golems and had them move the children lying on the beds.
At the same time, he destroyed every last machine.
Except for one.
*Vwiiing-.*
Do-jae stored the one remaining machine in his subspace.
He thought having the machine might help with analyzing the mana accelerator samples.
If research on the mana accelerator progressed faster, MID would have more time for other things, which would, in turn, benefit Do-jae.
Helping MID was ultimately an act of helping himself.
*Now that I've decided to rescue the children, I have to completely destroy this facility.*
Do-jae's second objective.
On his way here, Do-jae had encountered several researchers and patrolling Awakened Ones.
Each time, he had mercilessly taken them down using his golems and Golem Armor.
He didn't shy away from conspicuous actions.
He had already decided to destroy all the equipment and facilities anyway, and he needed to set a fire to thoroughly erase any traces.
*I have all the data. Now to get the children out.*
Do-jae started heading back.
After evacuating all the children and adults, he would have a golem he left behind start the fire.
He soon arrived at the iron-barred prison.
The young boy he had seen earlier was standing ramrod straight, gripping the bars, waiting for him.
"You waited."
*Clang-.*
*CRASH-!*
Do-jae tore the iron bars off with brute force.
The loud noise roused the people in the other cells, who slowly turned to look.
"Thank you."
The boy bowed his head deeply.
Do-jae nodded with a gentle smile.
"Go stand over there."
Do-jae moved on, tearing off the bars of the other cells one by one.
The people who were relatively lucid thanked him and helped carry out their fellow prisoners.
He had opened almost all the cells when it happened.
"Cao ni ma!"
An angry shout suddenly rang out, and a child came flying from the opposite direction.
Do-jae moved swiftly to catch the child.
"Filthy bastards."
In the distance, a man was rubbing the sole of his dress shoe on the ground.
Even at a glance, the aura he exuded was anything but ordinary.
Do-jae immediately used Eye of the Golem to check him.
[Character Information]
Name: Li Shun (李峋)
Level: 86
Class: Human
Details: 37 years old, Male, 181cm, 82kg, Director of Mana Accelerator Development, People's Hunter Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Status: Annoyed, Bothered, Irritated
[Stats]
Strength: 271 / Stamina: 130 / Agility: 201 / Spirit: 110 / Resistance: 35
[Skills]
Passive: Mana Recovery Lv. 9 / Body Enhancement Lv. 8 / Stamina Recovery Lv. 5
Active: Internal Arts Lv. Max / Saber Arts Lv. Max / Footwork Lv. Max / Lightness Skill Lv. 9
*He's strong.*
The opponent, as seen through Eye of the Golem, was incredibly powerful.
His Strength and Agility stats were higher than Do-jae's, and while his other stats were relatively lower, they were by no means negligible.
Moreover, his skills were something straight out of a martial arts novel.
"Such a meticulously crafted enterprise. And you've made such a mess of it. Where are you from? Japan? Or maybe Korea?"
"…"
"Not going to answer? Suit yourself. You'll be dead soon anyway."
Li Shun took out a small pouch.
Then, he pulled out a long saber so large it was hard to believe it had fit inside the pouch.
"Oh, right. Before I kill you, let me tell you something. Your effort in finding this place is commendable, but unfortunately for you, this isn't our only facility."
"…!"
"What, surprised? With this vast continent and its overflowing population, did you really think we'd only build one? Too bad. Sorry I couldn't send you to the afterlife with better news."
Li Shun advanced, saber in hand.
Do-jae quickly equipped his Golem Armor.
He knew he couldn't face him bare-handed.
Just then, in the midst of the tense standoff, a new window appeared before his eyes.
- Quest has arrived!
[Quest]
Type: Sub
Description: Combat with an enemy. Kill your opponent and achieve victory.
Restriction: None
Reward: +100 Points
Penalty for Failure: Forcibly summoned to another world.
*A reward of 100 stat points… but if I fail, I'm forcibly summoned to another world? The penalty is one thing, but it's telling me to kill him…*
This was a first.
A quest to kill a person.
He'd had countless quests to hunt monsters, but never one to kill a human being.
*SWOOOSH-.*
*CRASH-!*
The man's great saber sliced through the spot where Do-jae had just been standing.
The sheer pressure from the blade crumpled the iron bars.
It was a saber wind created by pure strength, not a mana-infused skill.
"You slippery rat!"
Li Shun prepared to swing his saber again.
Do-jae couldn't just stand by.
If he kept launching attacks like that, the ordinary people nearby could get caught in the crossfire.
Worse, they were so drugged they could barely stand on their own.
He had to either close the distance and take the attacks head-on or create a situation where it was just the two of them.
*Get the people outside. And tell Young-jin to take them and get away.*
Do-jae summoned all his golems, cramming them into the passageway.
Judging by Li Shun's surprised reaction to the golems, they should be able to buy him some time.
While they did, the remaining golems would get the people out, and Do-jae would lure Li Shun away.
Once Do-jae and Li Shun were fighting, Young-jin could escape.
He could only hope Young-jin would quickly understand the golems' intentions.
"Aaargh!"
But Do-jae's prediction was slightly off.
Li Shun flowed past the golems' attacks like water and began killing the captive Chinese one by one.
"Feeling sorry for them? You're trying to save these insects? Hehehe, what will these beggars do even if they get out of here? It's better for them to die than to live by begging. It's better for the continent's image, too!"
Li Shun swung his saber like a demon, slaughtering the people.
*This is wrong. How can a person…*
Seeing the quest, Do-jae had been conflicted.
Could he really commit murder?
But watching Li Shun, he made up his mind.
Whether it was guilt or a sense of sin that came after killing a person, he would bear it.
If he didn't kill Li Shun here, it was clear that more innocent lives would be lost.
"Stop it, right now!"
"Oh? A Korean?"
Do-jae shouted as he burst through the ranks of his golems.
Li Shun looked at Do-jae with interest, replying in broken Korean.
Even so, he didn't stop killing people.
The moment Do-jae was right in front of him.
*G-grrr-.*
He barely managed to stop his attack and dodge to the side.
"Such a goody-two-shoes."
Li Shun was holding the young boy from before.
The boy's thin neck was caught in Li Shun's grip, his feet dangling in the air.
And then Li Shun.
*CRACK-!*
He slammed the boy into the wall.
The boy couldn't even scream. He let out a pained groan, coughed up blood, and went limp.
"You bastard!"
The Chinese boy who had overlapped with his image of Do-young.
That boy was now dead, his body twisted grotesquely.
Do-jae lunged with all his might, tackling Li Shun and smashing straight through the wall.