Chapter 73: The Abandoned Factory (２)

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Urban exploration YouTube channel, “I See It.”

There are still many hidden places in the world. Places abandoned away from people’s eyes, underground networks connected through sewers or subways, ruins.

In an era where decay becomes a joke and destruction is regarded as mere myth, three young people were walking through the ruins of an abandoned factory, camcorder in hand.

“Hello! I’m Kim Minah. Today I’ll be doing the broadcast narration.”

“Thanks for tuning in. Today we’ve come to, uh, an abandoned factory. One that no other YouTube channel has visited—so we’re the first ones here.”

“Oh. Rumor has it that during the Korean War, the North Korean army wiped out the village that used to be here. After the armistice, when they purged collaborators with the People’s Army, hardly anyone was left in the village.”

“After that too—ah, why is the terrain so rough. Hold on a sec. I hear quite a lot of strange phenomena and tragedies happened in this area. Serial killings in the 1970s, disappearances in the 2000s… In the 2010s, people exploring the ruins went missing.”

Kim Minah pulled out her phone and checked the comment section. Mm, a success. The exact reaction she’d wanted was already showing up. Live comments saying “she’s dead” and “she’s not” to fit the horror concept.

“Ah, it’s fine. I’m recording everything in real time with the camera, so even if I die, I’ll be able to document exactly what killed me.”

“Whoa, thanks for the donation!”

“We’re going inside the factory building now. What if I die, you ask? Then I just don’t die. I’m recording what kills me anyway, right?”

Kim Minah laughed.

“We’re already inside the factory. Someone’s been here before. There’s graffiti, traces of someone living here—kinda creepy. Looks like someone boiled some ramen, ate it, and left the trash behind. It’s old, though.”

“Should we try summoning a ghost? In a place with strong negative energy, maybe a Bunshinsaba would work…”

Kim Minah and her group entered the building.

****

I frowned. No need to go into that disgusting exhibition hall of theirs. Let’s check out the people the task force’s military dog found first.

“Which direction?”

“The ones we’re tracking—they’re human, definitely human, but they’re carrying equipment, apparently.”

“The dog said that?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t ask any more questions.

Strange. Some kind of druid?

“So the situation is… the enemy handles anomalies, and they’ve brought heavy equipment along with the anomalous artists and Clockwork Devices? We’ll need to move carefully.”

“Down below.”

“Let’s sweep. High risk of being spotted. Whatever those things are, let’s neutralize them as fast as possible.”

I adjusted my firearm, then looked down at the factory’s first floor. The odds are against it, but I think I can see some kind of shadow.

Where was it—thinking about the ruckus at the museum still gives me chills. A reality bender.

It killed dozens of people, altered reality inside the museum, and covered the walls with cognitohazards. Today, I have no intention of cooperating with the artists’ little game.

No dialogue. Immediate neutralization.

Shhk. My radio made a sound.

[No hostiles visible. Maintaining surveillance.]

I moved quietly, making sure the first floor was in full view. My finger rested on the trigger.

“…”

I think I can hear footsteps. Let’s see who’s been waiting for us.

[Cellular data activity detected. Cutting long-range communications—radio may malfunction.]

Oh, no kidding. They really do have equipment.

[Director. Order to open fire.]

“Hold on. Are those people really from a hostile Group of Interest?”

Pfft. The suppressed rifle made a strange sound instead of a gunshot. Screams started ringing out a moment later. I looked at the targets through my scope.

One person lay collapsed on the floor. A camera lay shattered beside them, and the rest of the people were running away. Hmm. Should I neutralize them? Or just let them run?

I spoke into the radio.

“Alerting the task force. Two individuals believed to be members of a Group of Interest have fled this building, and one has been subdued.”

[Confirmed.]

“I’ll check on the one who’s down. Requesting cover.”

I got up from my seat.

****

About a minute had passed since the shot was fired. The person we’d shot was curled up clutching their leg. Hey, who is this person, anyway?

I was about to kick the shattered camera on the floor, but changed my mind. The information inside the camera might come in handy later.

“Wake up.”

The person lying on the floor bleeding was a man who looked like a college student. The amount of blood was barely a can’s worth. Probably still within safe range.

Judging by the sound, he was still alive. Keeping my muzzle trained on him, I tossed two tourniquets toward the fallen man.

“Those are tourniquets. Stop the bleeding and answer my questions.”

“Wh-what is this—”

“Why did you come to this abandoned factory?”

“Aaaagh! My leg, my leg!”

Something’s off. If this person were a member of a Group of Interest, they wouldn’t have been taken down this sloppily. At the very least, they’d have given a monologue while dying.

I thought for a moment.

“I can’t help you until you answer. Why did you come to this abandoned factory?”

“Ex-exploring, exploring!”

The screaming is frightening.

More precisely, what’s frightening is that this person’s screaming doesn’t interrupt my thoughts at all. Have I already gotten this used to it?

“You came to an abandoned factory for no reason?”

“Agh, yes, yes!”

Judging by the screaming, it seems only his leg is hurt. I took out a first aid kit and set it on the floor. Hoo. Killing him like this would be a bit much.

“Why should I trust you?”

“Pl-please, it’s true. Save me.”

I picked up the first aid kit.

“Hmm, I’ll treat you for now.”

No helping it. I approached the fallen man and tied two tourniquets around his leg. The bleeding seems to be stopped for now.

“Ah!”

“Breathe. An ambulance should be arriving soon. Explain what happened.”

It’s not a lie.

The Foundation’s ambulance will arrive on scene shortly. After that, he won’t be able to die even if he wants to.

****

Kim Minah hid in a trash can outside the abandoned factory.

“Fuck, soldiers just, ha, please help us. Hah, fuck. Soldiers just shot at us trying to kill us, and one of them’s already—”

What the hell. Kim Minah checked her phone again.

She’d thought she was talking to someone, but the phone’s cellular data was off. No—it was as if airplane mode had been turned on; every communication function on the phone was disabled.

What the hell is going on.

****

Nanami picked up the phone in the Director’s office.

“Hello, this is Nanami.”

“A Group of Interest stronghold and multiple hostile individuals have been discovered on site. Requesting support.”

“Who is this?”

“Team Leader of the task force, Moon of Seoul.”

“Team Leader. There’s another Group of Interest stronghold?”

“So it seems.”

“No, how do these Group of Interest bastards keep crawling out in droves like cockroaches no matter how many times we kill them?”

“I don’t know. Send support. I’m busy.”

Of course you are.

“Yes. Anyway, Recovery Division 2 is currently on standby. I’ll send them right away.”

Nanami got up from her seat.

****

[ACCESS RESTRICTED]

[Filed by: ACCESS RESTRICTED]

[This document is restricted from all personnel except the author until further notice.]

[Popo Cell Culture Experiment]

[Ah. As creatures made into vessels, how could we pass up the chance to create a god?]

[The reason Project Blue Rose failed was because we didn’t take enough risks. Because we lacked materials.]

[Not this time. We have plenty of materials and will. Not only have we secured the corpses of several divine entities thanks to the Forgotten City Incident, but using the Popos to breathe life into those frames is entirely feasible.]

[Do you know the flower language of the blue rose? In the old days, it meant a love that could never be fulfilled, because it was a flower that could not exist.]

[But now, we can create blue roses as many as we want through genetic modification.]

[And so the flower language of the blue rose changed to miracle. A miracle that can be mass-produced in a factory and used with ease.]

[Project Blue Rose ultimately failed. We lost several capable scientists in the process. But we can do it again.]

[Give me money and time. I will create new gods for you.]

****

[Re: Access restricted]

[Filed by: Nanami]

[Well… This is a notice to the staff of the Director’s Office. I assume everyone has found and read the restricted document through their own means. I believe that document is nothing more than a smoke screen.]

[It’s one of two things.]

[Either someone wrote that document in Lee Seah’s tone to frame her,]

[or they’ve already finished the preparations they needed and wrote the document as a fake to hide the project’s progress.]

[Miss Lee Jihye is still under surveillance. I can’t say for certain what the problem is. There’s no basis to think she’s been replaced or is under the influence of an anomaly.]