The Farm Helper Awakens
On the rooftop of the building across from the company cafeteria at the Cheonma Bio Farm Overcheon Center, I glared at the guys in the cafe, their faces frozen in shock, while half-hiding behind the railing.
“Puhaha! That guy's the one? The bald dude in the gray suit and purple tie?”
“...Yeah.”
“Soo-hyeok, see anything from up here?”
Yelena approached, dusting off her hands after finishing the job.
“Ah! Yelena. Good work.”
“No big deal. Just leave this stuff to me, Soo-hyeok.”
“Heh heh. Nice.”
“......”
Lee Sang-hoon, tied up tight beside me, wore a gloomy expression. He probably had no clue what he'd just gotten himself into.
“Alright, Lee Sang-hoon. You're an accomplice now.”
“......”
“Hmm. 'Accomplice' sounds kinda shady, huh? Think of it as being in the same boat.”
The guy, who'd been silent for a bit, finally scowled and spoke up.
“...You really think you can pull this off without any issues?”
“Yep? Obviously.”
“What?”
“I guarantee it'll all wrap up nice and clean, no problems.”
“How the hell is that......”
“Tch.”
He wasn't as quick on the uptake as he seemed.
“Your company, Cheonma Group. You said teams don't know jack about what the others are up to, right?”
“...Yeah.”
“So who knows you were out on escort duty today?”
“Probably just Oh Jae-hyeon, the deputy manager, and Executive Director Ju Ho-ryeong.”
“Exactly. That's what we're counting on.”
“......?”
Lee Sang-hoon tilted his head slightly, still not getting it.
“To everyone else, that flattened bastard down there will just look like a suicide.”
“A basic investigation would reveal that's bullshit in no time......”
“Why bother investigating? Who benefits?”
“Ah.”
“If they dig, it might expose what they were up to. Execs like him would rather take the easy road than risk that kinda fallout.”
If the cops got involved, it'd be a nightmare for Executive Director Ju and that bald prick. Worst case, word gets out they bugged a client's mansion. And this probably wasn't their first rodeo— they had a whole specialized team for it.
“......”
“Bet it'll hit the news soon. 'Cheonma Bio Farm Employee Takes Extreme Measures Due to Overwork' or some crap like that. Wanna wager on it?”
“...So what're you planning to do with us?”
“Told ya. You're accomplices now.”
“......”
“So from here on out, do whatever. Go back to the company and face Ju's wrath, or hole up somewhere and lay low.”
He could slink back to Ju as-is, and it'd still serve as a solid warning.
“...You serious?”
“Yeah. Or if you hate that, I could just kill you too.”
“...Spare me the jokes.”
“Heh heh. You sure it's a joke?”
Lee Sang-hoon shrank back at my half-joking tone.
“Whew.”
Warning delivered to that Executive Director Ju bastard. Eyes would be on him for a while, so he wouldn't dare act rashly.
“Alright, we're outta here.”
“...Hold up.”
“What, gonna miss us?”
“That woman. Who the hell is she?”
Just as we were about to leave, Lee Sang-hoon threw out a random question.
“...What're you on about?”
“...Never mind. Must've mixed her up with someone.”
“Hmph.”
Figured it'd seem suspicious. A foreigner in some rural backwater like this. But since I didn't know much either, I let it slide.
Once the monster of a man was gone, C-Team Leader Lee Sang-hoon and his crew finally let out sighs of relief.
“T-Team Leader, what do we do now?”
“......”
Sang-hoon sank into deep thought. Head back to Executive Director Ju Ho-ryeong like this? He'd get grilled for spilling secrets to that guy, no doubt. That'd mean death, at minimum.
Might as well be dead already. Not literally, but publicly.
“Hoo.”
No choice now that things had gone this far. It was something he'd mulled over ever since joining C-Team. He'd just kept putting it off, figuring the timing wasn't right.
“...Guess it's time to retire.”
“...Yes, sir.”
His team nodded without resistance. Identities wouldn't be an issue. Fake a death for their old ones, whip up new ones—that was their specialty anyway.
“Fine for me, but you guys okay with it?”
“Of course! We only stuck with C-Team 'cause of you, sir.”
“...I'll handle contacting the director.”
“...Yes, sir.”
Small mercy, at least. They hadn't sniffed out the truth about Neulpureum Orphanage.
“Hmm? This is actually pretty decent?”
My first time trying cup ramen mixed with mayonnaise.
“Hee hee. It's a traditional dish from my homeland.”
“Traditional my ass. Cup ramen's only been around a few years.”
*Slurp.*
The next day, Yelena and I sat in the living room in front of the TV, mixing mayo into our cup ramen.
The news was covering yesterday's incident at Cheonma Bio Farm's Overcheon Center.
“Whoa, that happened? I must've left the center right around 3.”
Sujin muttered while brushing her teeth, getting ready for work.
“Ugh, that's awful. But good thing we didn't see it.”
“Eh, par for the course for me. Lucky Yelena didn't go, or she'd have seen something gruesome.”
“Mmm. Y-yeah.”
“Huh? Still feeling sick?”
“N-no, I'm fine. Don't worry, Sujin.”
“Jeez, I keep telling you to eat proper food instead of this junk.”
Sujin seemed annoyed at Yelena scarfing down cup ramen but shrugged off the mayo mix.
“No, Sujin. I was craving a taste of home.”
“Mm. Well, if that's it, no helping it.”
Sujin smacked her lips regretfully.
“Cheonma Bio Farm folks'll probably show up this afternoon.”
“What? Why?”
“Why? You signed up for their stuff, so they've gotta install all sorts of gear.”
“Oh, right.”
“Take good care of 'em. I'm off!”
“Yeah, have a good one.”
Sujin headed back to work. She really hustled. Must be wiped from the Overcheon trip yesterday.
“Soo-hyeok. Those guys yesterday. Why target Sujin's house?”
“Eh? No idea.”
“Ugh.”
“Anyway, most likely 'cause of the otherworld crop farming. They were curious how we do it.”
That made the most sense. They'd even offered Sujin a fat check for the know-how. Even at our small scale, it turned a nice profit. A giant like Cheonma Group going all-in? They'd rake in a fortune.
But...
Something felt off. That Executive Director Ju Ho-ryeong, and for some reason, Director Jin So-wol too. Plus, that last thing Lee Sang-hoon almost said. Seemed like an idle question at the time, but maybe it meant something else.
Just feels fishy.
Like forcing a puzzle piece into the wrong spot.
“Hmm. I see.”
Yelena seemed relieved and slurped more ramen.
What was I missing? Felt like something important...
“...Ah!”
I snapped to, set down my ramen, and bolted to the yard. Yelena, mid-slurp and clueless, chased after me in a panic.
There in the yard was the 'guy' I'd shoved into a box yesterday.
“Uwaaa......!”
Do-cheol. Cheonma Group's farm helper robot. Word was, Cheonma Bio Farm dominated this market. Smart cookies.
In a world where non-awakeners couldn't hack farming, you couldn't make every laborer an awakener—economics wouldn't allow it. This bot filled that gap. Tireless, tougher than any normie, so big operations had at least a couple.
“Nooo!”
Too late now. It was just scrap metal.
Opening the plastic box, charred bits dripped out. Too distracted yesterday to check. Soaked and lightning-struck? Perfect recipe for a short circuit. Do-cheol had folded up nice and fried.
Clutching at straws, I pulled it out and laid it on the ground. Hit the power button—nothing.
“Hic... snif...”
“Soo-hyeok. What's this?”
“My toy......”
“Hmm. You're such a kid, Soo-hyeok.”
“Shut up......”
I pictured the perky Do-cheol from Cheonma Bio Farm. Sleek white body, joints letting it move freely.
“Sorry...... for such a crappy owner......”
Hope its next master treats it better.
“Isn't this from Cheonma Group?”
“...Yeah.”
“Might have bugs or trackers. Those Cheonma guys are shady.”
“True, but......”
Yelena had a point. Director Jin or Executive Director Ju—didn't matter. They were all Cheonma Group to me. Sang-hoon said they were different factions, but that was just his word. Could be BS.
If so, better off smashed like this. Easier on the mind.
Yeah. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed for my dead toy.
Be reborn as a cute puppy robot next time. Nah, just come back as a fresh Do-cheol to me.
...Zzzt.
“...Huh?”
Zzzzt...!
Like answering my prayer, sparks flew across Do-cheol's body.
My prayer worked? I'd never learned divine arts, and this wasn't how they operated anyway.
Crack!
Its stiff joints twitched. Great that the broken toy moved again, but resurrection? Nah.
“Soo-hyeok! Get back!”
“Tch. What now?”
Vrrr!
“Whoa?”
Now its eyes glowed blue. Unlike the white glow of the Overcheon Center bots.
“Oho.”
And that familiar aura, that scent. I'd felt it before.
When recruiting Dwarf Master Urgen.
[This... old... fart...!]
“S-Soo-hyeok! What is this?!”
“Whoa! It works?!”
I'd just prayed for it to reborn as Do-cheol and return. Did I unlock divine arts back on Earth? Was that why?
Nah. The energy pouring off it was unmistakable.
“This reeks of golem spirits!”
“Golem?”
Elves weren't the only ones tight with spirits in the otherworld. Dwarves were too—more like masters at it.
They crammed souls into golems using spirit arts. Way more forceful than elven methods, borderline sealing.
No wonder they bickered nonstop.
Anyway, not the point. Golems needed spirits to run, whatever the method. Back then, as a demonkin, I could only watch.
“Remember me? Do-cheol?”
[Do... cheol...?]
“Ah, Do-cheol's the robot's name. Gotta call it by its spirit name or something.”
[My... name is...! Not... Do-cheol...!]
“Mm. Yeah, I get it. So first, what's your n—”
[My... name is...! Noble being...! Ent Master Brahim...!]
“...Huh?”
Ent Master? I'd heard of ents. The monsters I'd smashed on my first day back.
“Ah.”
I glanced at its feet. Thin wooden roots tangled messily, linking to the firewood pile in the corner—leftovers from bashing those ents.
“Oops.”
Its true identity: one of those monsters I'd killed.
I hadn't murdered some innocent spirit. It'd been corrupted into a monster first. Common enough in the otherworld—kill what you think is a beast, turns out it's a tainted spirit.
“Aha ha... it was you? Sorry about that time......”
Before my apology finished, its fist slammed into my solar plexus.