Chapter 85: The Abandoned Foundation Facility (１)

****

Hotel swimming pool, mojito, Nanami.

Well, I don’t like alcohol, so mine was non-alcoholic. I can’t exactly drink during work hours, right? I glanced over at Nanami, who was lying on the sunbed next to mine.

“We really should’ve gone to the beach.”

“Room service doesn’t come to the beach. Though I suppose if we’d looked into it more, we might’ve been able to arrange something.”

“Still, the weather’s a bit disappointing. I wish the sun were a little brighter.”

“Dr. Geum. Why don’t you call Foundation HQ and ask them to change the weather?”

“Hmm.”

I’m not sure that’s possible. Though, come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen Foundation HQ turn down one of my proposals. Except when they ask me to explain myself first.

“Next time, let’s swim with whale sharks in Okinawa. Or find a nicer hotel to stay at.”

“Nanami. I appreciate the thought, but why are you suddenly so obsessed with having fun?”

“No particular reason. I’ve got money and I should spend it, but I couldn’t figure out where to use it.”

“That’s a simple reason.”

“Honestly, I’d rather get back to Seoul soon. Jeju is boring. And these facilities feel strongly like something I don’t recognize.”

“It’s been a while since I went out without a gun in my pocket. Feels a bit tense, honestly.”

“There’s really nothing on Jeju. Anything hostile to the Foundation has already been ground to dust. All that’s left here is a few abandoned Foundation facilities.”

Small mercies, I suppose.

“Good work out there.”

“I wonder if we really need to poke around. There’s no evidence the Foundation’s Jeju Naval Base caused any problems, is there? We don’t even know what we’re supposed to be looking for.”

“Blue Rose. I’m not saying they did anything wrong — I just want to know what the Foundation is doing.”

“It’s obvious. They’re making monsters, or works of art. People like Dr. Geum and me. And whatever else only God knows about.”

“Is that so?”

Nanami nodded.

****

Kennedy died riding in an open car. Shot by a bullet from a CIA agent hiding nearby — no, a civilian sniper with no backing at all.

I’d been a little worried, but the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair was better than I expected.

“The sea breeze is nice.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, is there no speed limit here?”

Nanami didn’t answer.

She only accelerated.

“Anyway. Dr. Geum. From now on, we’re going to visit all fourteen abandoned facilities on Jeju, one by one.”

“Why?”

“You said you wanted to go. I’ve packed the gear. Unless some legion is lying in wait somewhere, there’s nothing that can stop the two of us.”

I nodded.

You can circle all of Jeju by car in two hours. Even with fourteen facilities, three days would be more than enough to see them all and still have time to spare.

“Ah. The first one’s pretty close. It’s a facility on the beach. They’re calling it Blue Rose Facility-12 for now, though I don’t know what it is.”

Seeing it in person might change things.

I looked out the window.

“This is a restricted area, isn’t it?”

“Seatbelt on?”

It was, actually.

CRASH!

Nanami plowed straight into the chain-link fence, and the barrier tilted over. The car came to a stop a few meters later. The bumper’s probably totaled.

I got out of the car.

“Isn’t this a rental?”

“I’ll pay for the repairs, whatever.”

The bumper was, as expected, completely smashed. Nanami got out carrying her equipment. I grabbed my bag too.

“It’s not dangerous, right?”

“It’s not dangerous, that’s why we’re being so casual—”

Nanami stopped mid-sentence.

A boat of some kind was moored beside a concrete building on the beach. The building was fairly large, but more importantly, the yacht was pretty big too.

“Shit. I should’ve worn my uniform.”

Yeah, you should have.

It looked like a civilian vessel, but a yacht moored right next to a Foundation facility in a restricted zone… believing it was a civilian boat was a stretch.

I mulled it over for a moment.

“What should we do?”

Instead of answering, Nanami drew her greatsword.

“Those people are hostile, right?”

“I’ll cut them in half.”

Suspicious types like that were never friendly. I tucked my pistol into my waistband.

Let me make one quick call first.

“This is Dr. Geum. Urgent notice to Jeju Naval Base. Coordinates 33.22, 126.23. Please confirm there are no Foundation assets in that area.”

I’d gotten the number last time.

Admiral Hourani’s adjutant. The Admiral had refused to meet me to the very end, but I’d gotten the adjutant’s number instead.

[What is it?]

“33.22, 126.23. Please confirm there are no Foundation assets in that area.”

[No Foundation assets.]

Good. Now we kill them all.

****

The plan was simple.

Use the scuba gear in the trunk to get under the boat, then have Nanami cut the vessel in half with her greatsword.

We’d figure out what came after, after.

We started diving about a hundred meters from the boat. As we went, there’d be waves pushing out toward the sea, like a headwind.

Nanami gestured underwater, and we changed course toward the vessel.

The sea was clearer than I expected. Combined with the ultrasonic feed in the dive goggles, visibility was pretty decent. The ship’s silhouette was plainly visible through the water.

There it is.

Nanami drew her sword. Would it rust if she soaked it in seawater? It looked like plain black iron, so it’d probably corrode like crazy.

Bubbles started streaming off the blade.

Nanami swung.

A shockwave rippled outward in every direction, and a person-sized hole blew through the hull’s underside. Nanami flashed me an OK sign with her hand.

I surfaced my head above the water.

We climbed aboard using the anchor line. Well, the ship would keep sinking now that it was gashed, but a decently built boat could hold out for about an hour.

“Hands on your foreheads!”

I leveled my gun at the people on deck. Who the hell were these people, anyway? I took another quick look around.

“Wait, please. These people are innocent.”

I turned toward the voice. Something was walking toward me. Who told you to walk? I said don’t move.

The trigger. My muzzle flashed, and the approaching figure grabbed their leg and went down.

“I said don’t move.”

My gun lowered slightly.

****

I know this person.

Deimos, of Pluto LLC.

“No, I’m serious. These people are just civilians here on vacation, I swear. I’ve cooperated with Foundation operations every single time, and all I’ve done is help you people. Is this how you treat an ally?”

Deimos was clutching their leg, but there was no blood. Guess they’d gotten upgrades here and there. Probably just a bruise.

I stared at Deimos.

“Explain what you’re doing here. The civilians get off the boat and go home.”

“…”

Nobody got off. After a brief, awkward silence, Deimos spoke.

“These people live here.”

“…?”

“They live on the boat?”

“Yes.”

“They live on a vessel owned by your employer?”

“Yes.”

“And they work here too?”

The civilians nodded. Disgusting. These bastards. As expected, the Group of Interest is the enemy of humanity.

I fixed the bayonet onto the end of my rifle.

****

Deimos’s yacht was half-sunk by now. We took Deimos and moved to the beach.

“Mr. Deimos. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”

“Wait, hold on!”

“Thought of a reason?”

“There’s an anomaly on the yacht. There are a few artifacts in the yacht’s safe—”

Not the answer I wanted to hear. I pressed the bayonet against Deimos’s face.

“Wait! What exactly are you angry about? I’ll give you money. I’ll live my life giving my assets back to society, just please spare me.”

“Closer to the right answer.”

“Wh-what do you want? Tell me.”

“Hand over a humanoid anomaly to the Foundation. One that’s at least somewhat useful.”

Deimos nodded.

“Understood. I understand, so…”

“You’ll send me off?”

“If I send you to Seoul, that pays for my life, right?”

Well, nothing I can do about it.

I’d pushed him far enough.

****

This should be enough.

Deimos and his group fled toward the sea on the broken yacht. They must have some kind of anomaly that can repair ships.

“Cockroaches.”

I nodded.

“Well, let’s look around the facility. Who knows what’s in there—maybe the Pluto LLC bastards came here looking for something.”

There had to be a reason they came.

****

The inside of the abandoned building was dark.

Clean, though. No signs of recent human use. The facility was very small, and there wasn’t multiple containment wings—just a single one.

“What do you think this place was?”

“I’d call it a prison.”

*Scrape.*

Nanami’s iron sword dragged along the corridor floor.

“Not sure, but it seems like a prison used for Project Blue Rose. One of Project Blue Rose’s creations was probably kept here.”

“…”

Nothing special.

“What about the Pluto people?”

“Who knows. They were probably supplying anomalies and artifacts to the Foundation, and they must have remembered this location.”

So that’s why they hid here? Can’t tell why they came. The abandoned facility looked startlingly desolate. I thought for a moment.