Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Fifth Floor
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“N-No. I don't! I'm not in any kind of relationship with that man. And I never will be!”
As Haon frantically shook her head, Nova’s expression instantly softened as he spoke.
“Darling. You're starting to hurt my feelings.”
His handsome face was all smiles, as if he hadn't been cold just a moment ago.
Unsettled by his unpredictable behavior, Haon pressed closer to Juyeol, peeking out from behind him to glare.
“You're only doing this because you covet my abilities.”
“Do you want me to covet something else? Shall we go home?”
“Crazy bastard.”
As Juyeol scowled, Nova shot Haon a subtle, smiling glance.
“If you needed some affection, you should have just said so.”
“I don't need any!”
“Come here.”
The moment Nova spread his arms, a red firework exploded behind him with a bang, like the climax of a movie.
“…?”
The three of them looked up in confusion at the night sky where the sparks were fading.
Peeeeew—.
Bang! Boom! Crackle! Ka-boom!
Gorgeous fireworks began to erupt madly across the pitch-black sky.
As Haon watched the festival of fireworks with a bewildered expression, Juyeol muttered a quiet curse.
“Looks like a gunpowder warehouse got raided.”
As if to confirm his suspicion, the acrid smell of gunpowder drifted on the wind.
A look of deep interest spread across Nova's face.
“This looks fun. I needed a place to warm up, and this is perfect.”
His notoriously fickle attention had quickly shifted.
Noticing this, Juyeol was already trying to send a signal to Hero Headquarters, but his suspended privileges meant it was useless.
“Damn it.”
As Juyeol clicked his tongue, Nova gave a little wave.
“Darling. I'm going to go have some fun for the first time in a while, so try to bear it even if you miss me.”
“What? D-Don't come back!”
“Okay. See you tomorrow night. I'll miss you, too.”
“No—.”
Haon couldn't hide her bewilderment at Nova's back as he turned and walked away after saying his piece.
“…What is with that guy?”
“He's the guy you were crazy about. Did your tastes change?”
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Muttering at Juyeol's indifferent reply, Haon pushed his back.
“Let's go to Elder Solmae first.”
“Why that old man? Did you find something out?”
“You're hurt. You need to get treated.”
Juyeol, who had been trudging along, stopped dead in his tracks.
“It's just a graze from a bullet. No need to go all the way there for that. I'm fine.”
Haon grunted as she tried to push his back, but he didn't budge.
“You're really not going? Then where are you going to get that wound treated?”
“I'll take care of it myself.”
He spun around and snatched Haon's phone.
“More importantly, what did you shoot at Nova? Did you modify your phone into a laser gun or something?”
“A mana bullet? It's a product of Mana Engineering!”
Mana Engineering. It was a word that popped out of Eun Haon's mouth just when he was about to forget it.
Juyeol narrowed his eyes, turning the phone over and over. Aside from being a model he'd never seen before, it looked like an ordinary phone in every way.
But having seen it charge the Awakening Sphere's energy, he couldn't think of it as just a phone.
He felt uneasy, wondering if he had inadvertently helped create a dangerous weapon, but if he could find a clue about his sister's death…
His mind racing, Juyeol returned the phone to Haon.
“Just make sure you fix my helmet properly. I'll come pick it up tomorrow.”
“The repairs are done, but there are still some finishing touches left. But can you come get it in a few days instead of tomorrow?”
At her urgent words, Juyeol paused his turn and looked at Haon.
“N-Nova said he's coming. I want to work on the lab's defense systems first.”
He stood there with a look that said he had much more to say, but he just replied, "Do whatever," and walked away. He needed to let the other Heroes know that Nova would be at the scene.
“Juyeol! Make sure you treat your wound!”
Calling out to his back, Haon also hurried out of the old district.
Unaware that he was thinking, 'After all that drama, you two are finally breaking up.'
* * *
As soon as she arrived at the lab, Haon replaced the front door.
Multiple layers of mana-infused metal plates would not be easily broken, not even by Nova.
It wasn't invincible, but compared to a simple gate arm or barricade, it was an incredibly sturdy security door.
Only after checking the new door several times did Haon feel at ease, and she became incredibly busy, making adjustments all over the building.
She liked the building overall, but its structure wasn't ideal for freely manipulating mana.
“Blue. The lab has a defense system, right? How do I activate it?”
[It does. The voice commands activated by Haon's voice are 'Warning' and 'Die'.]
“…”
After standing blankly for a moment, Haon linked the defense functions to her phone.
“Blue. Prepare defenses.”
Following the much gentler command, laser guns popped out from the ceiling and walls with metallic clicks.
“…So this is why visitors were allowed to come up to the lab without any special procedures.”
It seemed the 'Eun Haon' of this place considered defense to be no different from offense.
While searching for areas to improve as she toured each floor, Haon stopped in front of the fifth floor, which was sealed shut by multiple layers of security.
Excluding the basement, the five-story building had such high ceilings that it was comparable to a ten-story building.
The first floor was for haphazardly piling up delivered materials.
The second floor housed the server room and was a dumping ground for half-used materials.
The third floor was a storage room for commissioned items and a workshop for production.
The fourth floor was the lab where she had woken up after falling into this dimension.
The rooftop was a penthouse.
Each floor had a different purpose, and now she could finally see what the mysterious, veiled fifth floor was for.
With a trembling heart, Haon placed her palm on the fingerprint and vein recognition pad.
After entering a password, passing a retinal scan, entering a second password, and passing a voice recognition test, a green light finally lit up above the door, and the lock disengaged.
With a humming mechanical sound, the steel doors slid open to the sides, releasing a flood of cold, white vapor.
'What could she have hidden to warrant so many layers of security?'
Haon's eyes shone with anticipation, but she flinched at the familiar energy flowing from the opening.
“…Huh?”
There was no hesitation in her steps as she walked through the door, but her mouth fell open in disbelief.
As the thick vapor settled, a laboratory completely different from the one on the fourth floor was revealed.
If the fourth floor was an expanded version of a university lab, the fifth floor looked like a villainous scientist's lab straight out of a movie.
The first thing she saw were animal specimens and anatomical charts in glass cases stacked up like a wall.
There were many specimens twisted into bizarre shapes, making her wonder what on earth had been done to these various animals.
'Ugh. She supposedly studied both biology and mechanical engineering…'
With a disturbed expression, Haon walked past the glass cases and deeper into the lab.
A glass flask connected to a cooler held a fluorescent golden distillate, and extracts that had boiled over from various test tubes stained the floor.
Next to it, an energy extractor faintly dusted with golden particles was firmly bolted to the floor.
Examining the golden particles with trembling eyes, Haon let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
“Oh my god.”
It wasn't a mistake.
The familiar energy she felt the moment the fifth-floor door opened. The golden particles on the energy extractor.
They were all traces of the Awakening Sphere.
'To think she made a separate lab just for the Awakening Sphere. This is why she asked Juyeol for it.'
As she frantically looked around the lab, Haon discovered equations written on a glass board and data scattered on the floor, and she was left speechless.
'How could she have progressed this far with Awakening Sphere research in a world that hasn't even discovered mana?'
Just as Haon was a genius, the 'Eun Haon' of this dimension was a genius too.
'It would have been better if she had used that brilliant mind for something else, but…'
With a queasy look, Haon peered at a small monitor.
Near the energy extractor were a patient monitor, a surgical chair, and an IV stand, things you would expect to find in a hospital.
They all showed considerable signs of use, suggesting that 'Eun Haon' had been conducting human experiments alongside her Awakening Sphere research.
'This must be why she met with Elder Solmae.'
Solmae had said that 'Eun Haon' asked about drug side effects and genetics.
Why would she need to conduct human experiments for Awakening Sphere research? An ominous, unsettling feeling washed over her.
After staring at the screen and research data for a long time, Haon was horrified and checked the other pages.
“W-What in the world is…!”
「Test Subject 52: Permanent vision loss after 3 doses of unidentified substance. Disposal complete.」
「Test Subject 53: Cerebral hemorrhage after 1 dose of unidentified substance. Disposal complete.」
「Test Subject 54: After 4 doses of unidentified substance…」
The papers fluttered from her weakened grasp.
'How could a person do something like this?'
Haon stared uneasily at the surgical chair, its seams bursting from long use.
'Eun Haon' had been conducting forced Awakening experiments, injecting people with an unknown substance.
She continued the experiments until their bodies were completely broken, as if testing the durability of an object.
“Blue. Have there been any successful cases of forced Awakening in the last two years?”
[After reviewing the news from the past month, I have found no articles regarding the success of forced Awakening.]
Haon let out a sigh of relief at Blue's answer.
“As I thought, this experiment could never succeed without knowledge of mana.”
The 'unidentified substance' written in the research logs was probably a mass of energy containing mana.
A mixture of countless drugs, combined in terrible ratios, would have slowly driven the test subjects to their deaths. Even without being 'disposed of'.
'But something's strange.'