Chapter 45: The Ideal Leader (２)

****

This is the humanoid containment containment cell.

A very dangerous guest was currently locked inside one of the containment cells, so… this time, I needed to come to the cell and check in person.

I looked at the person beyond the glass panel.

“Head of Research. How are you feeling?”

Head of Research Lee Seah. She’d been locked up by those Human Resources Department bastards for three days straight, getting her emotions and evaluations probed. Now she was apparently back in a containment cell.

Lee Seah looked tired. More exhausted than angry, though the fatigue was plain to see. I put on a businesslike smile and looked at the Head of Research.

“Yes.”

“What did Human Resources Department have to say?”

“They said it was fine. I explained the complaints that had been filed against me with Human Resources Department and told them not to do that sort of thing.”

Right. At least they figured it out now.

I gauged the Head of Research’s mood again. Lee Seah seemed generally subdued, probably from the rough time she’d had in the containment cell.

“You should return to your duties now.”

“Is it a transfer? Or a demotion? If I’m being moved, where am I being sent?”

I shook my head.

“Just return to your duties. If Human Resources Department says Lee Seah’s return to work is acceptable, I have no intention of taking further measures.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

A brief silence. Lee Seah lowered her head.

“Thank you, Director.”

“Well… no need to thank me. I can’t very well keep the most capable researcher in Facility 82 locked up just because I find it uncomfortable to look at.”

Click.

The containment cell door opened. Lee Seah walked out slowly, wrapped in a blanket. I slipped my right hand into my coat and gripped my pistol. Special rounds, of course.

“I hold no personal grudge.”

“I know… I’m just grateful.”

Head of Research Lee Seah. A few days locked in a containment cell, and she’d become far more human than the one I remembered. I couldn’t tell how much of it was genuine. The Head of Research kept bowing her head toward me.

Of course, this could all be an act — she might be nursing a grudge and planning to claw at me later. But I had no intention of tormenting Lee Seah over that possibility. I only hoped the Head of Research would recognize my sincerity.

Click.

Lee Seah closed the containment cell door, then leaned against it for a moment, looking at me. She seemed to have something she wanted to say.

“Is there something you’d like to say?”

“Well, nothing special… Dr. Geum. The Foundation offered many times. Become the Director, become the Chief Researcher of the Director’s Office. I refused. I had no interest in high positions, and the Chief Researcher was a cursed post.”

I’d heard this story before. That the Head of Research had once been the facility’s top figure, that before I arrived, all of that work had been hers. That sort of talk.

But.

Lee Seah had neither the temperament to want to be a leader nor the ability to be one. The leadership she’d shown was nothing but nagging and harassing her subordinates until they got the work done.

It was an efficient method, but only because Lee Seah was smarter than all of her research staff combined. It was a method that would never work outside the Research Department.

“Dr. Geum. Your only meaningful achievement was the Project Blue Rose that blew up. I thought you’d do worse than I would.”

“I probably would have, too.”

“I don’t like admitting it, but. You did well, Dr. Geum. If people knew what you were doing, all of them would be grateful.”

I let out a sigh.

“I’m not locking you up again. Cut the flattery.”

“Ahaha…”

Still, I was glad Lee Seah seemed to be taking the situation in stride. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the Head of Research had tried to kill me.

“Well then. Keep up the good work.”

The Head of Research returned to work immediately. That is, she walked straight from the containment cell toward her own office. I headed to mine as well.

There really was no time to waste, honestly. Plenty of people had collapsed from overtime after what happened in that city, and quite a few had died.

This wasn’t the time for Lee Seah to be idle.

Though I was the one idling in my office. The Head of Research had been recovered, I’d looked over some papers, and wasn’t today’s work already done?

****

Project Blue Rose.

That was the incident Lee Seah had mentioned.

I have no memory of that research project, and aside from Nanami, I’ve never met anyone who brings it up, but…

Apparently, the past me took part in this project. Nanami had said it—that I’d worked at the Foundation before.

Was this the project?

I let out a deep sigh. Only one thing was certain. I couldn’t trust anyone. Not even—no, especially not—the past me.

No matter how hard I rummaged through my memories, nothing came to mind. Well, that was only to be expected. If it was the Foundation’s handiwork, they wouldn’t have left a single trace.

The other staff didn’t know I’d once worked at the Foundation either. They’d just assumed there was something to me.

As expected, the Head of Research knows something. Something no one else in this facility knows.

****

The next day.

“Ah, there you are, Director!”

One of the researchers was knocking at my office door. They hadn’t sent an intern or a rank-and-file staffer—a full researcher had come running. Must be something big.

“What’s the matter?”

“The research team is calling for you. The Chief Researcher asks that you come to the super-massive containment zone. This is something you really need to see in person…”

I let out a small sigh. I did sometimes wonder why people who came running in a hurry could never just say what the problem was clearly.

Though, to be fair, once you actually got to the scene, there were plenty of absurdly convoluted situations that would’ve taken an hour or two just to explain in words.

What was it this time?

The super-massive containment wing was quite far. Far enough that you had to take the facility tram. I sat down awkwardly in the seat next to the Foundation staff member.

“…”

“We’ve got some time before we reach the super-massive containment zone, so brief me on the situation.”

“Ah, yes. I’m Dr. Chae from the Metaphysics Division. A monster is running wild in the super-massive containment wing. We’re attempting containment.”

“I see.”

Dr. Chae continued her explanation.

“It’s a demigod entity recovered from the forgotten city. When we found it, it was in a near-death state from the nuclear blast and god-killing gas, but after some time in the containment wing, it started rampaging again.”

You haven’t found a way to counter it yet, I take it?

“One moment.”

I pulled out my phone.

There was a manual for responding to anomalies whose weaknesses couldn’t be identified. Honestly, I’d wondered while reading it whether I’d ever actually need it, but…

Looks like I’ll be using it today.

Guidelines for Responding to Unidentified Anomalous Entities.

“Is this the Weapons Division? This is Dr. Geum from the Director’s Office. Please bring a set of special ammunition to the super-massive containment wing. Yes, right now. We’re in active engagement.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The call ended quickly.

During the ride, I skimmed the Metaphysics Division’s containment records and the relevant manuals. There had to be a solution. We just hadn’t found it yet.

****

It was an incident on a far larger scale than I’d expected. Which made sense—they wouldn’t have put a small monster in the super-massive containment zone.

I squinted at the containment zone. What on earth was going on down there?

“What is that, exactly?”

The scene beyond the iron bars defied comprehension. A super-massive containment cell large enough to fit an elephant.

A black monster was writhing in the unmanned zone in front of the containment cell, and researchers and soldiers were scrambling to contain it.

At the center of the unmanned zone, in the panopticon, something that looked like a heavy machine gun was spitting fire.

“Yes.”

“We’re barely holding it inside the building with the reality anchor and causality distortion generator, but… I don’t know how much longer we can buy time.”

I looked down at the unmanned zone of the super-massive containment area. A monster extending black tentacles. That was the giant eye that had been floating over the city.

“Understood. What containment procedures are the Metaphysics Division and the Super-Massive Division currently using?”

The researcher thought for a moment.

“Silver bullets, god-killing gas, and liquid nitrogen.”

Those were the standard things you tried against monsters. They apparently hadn’t figured out what could land an effective hit on this one.

Neither did I, admittedly.

“Hmm, you’ve been buying time well. Let’s work out a solution on three fronts, the Foundation way.”

These people aren’t without answers, I’m sure. It’s just that there’s no one to take responsibility or give orders.

“By solution, you mean…”

“We search past literature on the monster, bring specimens of each type to test whether they respond to specific substances, and verify whether a solution is viable.”

“We’ll proceed immediately.”

“The monsters may overwhelm the research personnel. Please move as quickly as possible.”

For now, let’s head into the super-massive containment wing.

****

There was no time to put on full gear, but I had to go in wearing a tactical headset. With heavy machine guns and other firearms firing, you can’t hear a thing otherwise.

The super-massive containment zone.

It was dug out in an octagonal shape about 10 meters underground, with seven massive containment cells positioned along seven directions of the octagon.

“Director Geum, we’ve arrived on site.”

“We’re in combat. That monster was lying down earlier, but it suddenly became active. We’re trying to figure out how to kill or subdue it.”

“Good work. Don’t worry, and don’t die. I’ll think of a solution.”

The sound of a motorcycle came from outside the containment cell.

“Th-the special ammunition set has arrived!”