Bloop…
All the decayed and crumbled grass scattered beyond my grip. As I rubbed the powdery grass and the sand of the desert that felt utterly lifeless, I quickly realized how ridiculous it was for people to claim nature is just beautiful.
Nature is this cruel. Rather than beautiful, it’s more fitting to say it’s savage. I scooped up some crumbled grass and sand and threw it into my mouth. Upon seeing this, Levitan grimaced and twisted her lips in disgust.
“Yuck—are you eating dirt?!”
“…Spat.”
“Can’t I at least give you milk if you’re hungry? Not that it’s out yet…”
I lightly ignored her question and scooped up sand from another spot, tossing it into a compositional analyzer to begin analysis. Not long after, the analysis results came out, and I confirmed that there was absolutely no sign of vitality in it.
It’s odd. Some portion of the scattered vitality could have dispersed into the surroundings. But it couldn’t have completely dried up like this. At the very least, it wouldn’t have happened overnight.
Feeling puzzled, I looked around at the people nearby—specifically, the fighters who clocked in this morning.
“Did anyone come by here?”
“We’re the morning shift; nothing of the sort happened.”
“What about the night duty from yesterday?”
“They just stared at the monitor in the CCTV room all day and didn’t find anything unusual.”
“I’ll have to see for myself.”
As I arrived at the CCTV room with the fighters, I discovered a significant issue. There were plenty of CCTVs filming the outskirts and entrance of the city, but none capturing the experimental field that was in the midst of this madness.
With this, I couldn’t confirm how that field rotted or whether someone sneaked in and sprayed pesticides. After a brief exchange of polite greetings with the workers, I left, scratching my head and fuming.
‘Am I wrong?’
No way. But reality was ruthlessly shoving the harsh truth in my face. I just couldn’t accept it. There was no way pollution that couldn’t be resolved even with the latest fertilizers created from Earth science existed, especially in a world that barely had 21st-century technology.
Someone was clearly meddling. Realizing this, I once again scooped up sand and packed it into pots. I ended up with about three pots filled from different areas.
“What are you gonna do with that?”
“I’m going to run an experiment. To see if I’m truly wrong, or if there’s another reason.”
“Why not just dump fertilizer all over the desert?”
“Well, if you’re okay with the entire city becoming plant food.”
“…Are there side effects like that?”
“Do you really think this is some kind of joke?”
With Levitan glaring at me seriously, I shrugged my shoulders and replied.
“Well, that’s why we’re being extra careful with our experiments, right?”
And I was pretty sure nothing like that would happen.
… At least until yesterday.
But today was different. Whether there was some toxin in this land that I couldn’t identify or if a riddle’s meddler was at work—something was definitely off with this experiment.
“I’d rather it be a toxin… but…”
What if someone was actually sabotaging this experiment? What if they were trying to ruin our plans to restore nature maliciously?
Whoever it was, they would not be forgiven. Absolutely not.
* * *
The experiment continued. A week had passed, and the plant transferred to the laboratory was growing just fine. In other words, the sand didn’t have any particular toxins.
However, while the pot in the lab thrived, the fields in the city had rotted three times already. Almost like they were teasing me, it was happening irregularly.
“The first day it rotted in just one day, then the day before yesterday it took three days, and now it’s rotting in just two days?”
No toxin operates like this. This was definitely someone’s interference. Convinced of this fact, I immediately had the Evilus Android patrol the entire city. I also added CCTV to monitor the fields, only to realize a week later that all those efforts were in vain.
The land had been drained of life, and the plants were still rotting.
“Hmmm…”
“Uh, could it be that Scientist made a mistake…?”
“What?”
“Oh, I mean… that could happen, right…?”
“That’s impossible, Ayle.”
I pointed out that the pots using the same soil, seeds, and fertilizer were thriving, and even the fields I set up in the newly built laboratory in the city were doing fine.
It was just the fields in this area that were rotting away. This was a phenomenon that made no logical sense, suggesting it wasn’t my issue but rather something was intentionally sabotaging my experiment.
After going through the painful explanation, it seemed like Ayle finally understood that the experiment failing wasn’t my fault, and she nodded.
“Uh, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry? Asking questions isn’t wrong! If you’re ever curious again, feel free to ask—anytime!”
“Is it wrong to ask questions? If you have any more curiosities in the future, feel free to—”
“Uh, I don’t have any! I won’t have any!”
Thinking Ayle, who had exceptional learning abilities, understood what I meant, I checked the Evilus Android and CCTV. Neither device was of any help in preventing the crime, but I thought they would be great in catching the culprit.
The moment I found the recorded scenes on the CCTV and Evilus Android, I let out a chuckle and headed straight for Meister.
“Ugh! Why?!”
“You? You did this, didn’t you?”
“Wha— what the heck… Ah! Ugh!”
I kicked Meister who was busy spreading fertilizer in the field. No footage was captured on the CCTV or Evilus Android. It was as if the cameras and Androids had stopped working only during that time.
As far as I knew, only one person could commit such an act: a superpowered individual with the ability to control all machines. Meister, who unreasonably held the position of my assistant…
Having pieced together all the circumstances and evidence, I unleashed all my pent-up anger on Meister. It was just five minutes later, when he finally dodged my attack in rebellion, that I realized he wasn’t the culprit.
“Seriously! I told you it wasn’t me!? My powers are all sealed up, and the robots made by the professor don’t even respond to my abilities!”
“Hmm, you’re right.”
“Is that it? No apology?”
“Sorry, but you just look like someone I want to hit.”
“Ugh! If it weren’t for the professor!”
After it was revealed that Meister wasn’t the one who disabled the machines, I scratched my head in frustration. Could it be that there was another superpowered individual similar to that slave?
Even though he’s currently my slave, he’s by no means someone to take lightly. He could easily bring down modern society if he wanted to—like a nuclear bomb. The thought that there could be not just one, but two of such powerful beings wandering the world…
‘This doesn’t add up…’
Having one is manageable.
But two?
That means three, four, five, six… There could be any number of similar superpowered individuals.
And the fact that there are multiple beings capable of destroying the world with just a flick of their fingers while this world is still somehow intact is hard to believe. There are so many impulsive boys and girls out there. It wouldn’t be strange if the world had ended at least once.
It’s not strange that it could have been destroyed long ago.
This means that the ability user secretly infiltrating the city and decaying plants is not a superpowered individual handling machines like a slave. Of course, this is merely speculation; I’ll only know for sure when I meet them…
“─This won’t do.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Starting today, we’re working overtime here.”
“…Overtime? What’s that about?”
“Yup.”
Until that damn intellect thief shows up.
I decided to lie low in the plains. And that nuisance didn’t show their face for over a week, mocking us. What an infuriating character.
* * *
‘Ten days from today…’
My eyes feel heavy.
But I force them open. I know it’s not physical fatigue that’s making my eyes feel heavy. My body, which has stupidly downed a fatigue recovery drink, can go for about a week without sleep. I’ve endured for as long as a month before.
Just ten days. If I can’t handle this, I might as well give up on being a graduate student.
‘When are they coming? Are they ready to give up?’
The experiment continues, and by now, weeds have grown enough to tickle my calves. Beside me, on a makeshift bed, Levitan is sound asleep, eyes closed. Judging by her occasional mumbling and groaning, she seems to be deep in slumber…
I trust her rabbit-like senses. Even in sleep, she possesses that superhuman instinct to detect enemies at any moment.
Ears perked-!
“…Hmm.”
As expected, the moment I thought about it, Levitan’s ears perk up. I widen my eyes and look around. Despite the evilus androids patrolling, a chilling silence blankets the area. Glancing at my smartphone, I see it has become unresponsive.
“They’re here-!”
“Ugh-!?”
Levitan jerks upright at my voice, looking around frantically. But there’s not a shadow of a person anywhere.
To cross this vast plain, there should at least be some rustling in the grass, yet even that sound is conspicuously absent. Is the master of this silence simply reaping lives without a sound…?
Wiping the cold sweat from my nape, I glance up at the night sky, and my gaze meets the green-haired girl wrapped in a floating cloak beneath the full moon.
A face I’ve never seen before. So it must be the culprit, without a doubt.
And at that moment, the corners of the girl’s mouth began to curve like the moon.
